vienibenmio

She would probably need donor eggs more than a surrogate, but yup.

Thank you! I didn't include it because 1) I don't really know where it fits in story-wise (like you, I assume it's after they're engaged, but I'm not positive) and 2) There aren't really any good interactions between them aside from some still shots if you pause at the right moments. It was a tough decision though!

Thank you for linking my video! I am trying to make it very apparent that this version with their individual scenes is my favorite. When I decided to put these scenes together, I included them because I think they are essential for really understanding and appreciating their romance (the shorter version without those scenes was actually an afterthought). I don't think it's nearly as impactful if you don't see what they were like from the beginning and how their interactions make each of them grow as individuals. You described that all so beautifully. I agree that their relationship was planned all along and developed in subtle ways even before they really interacted for the first time in ep 9. For instance, when I was making the video, I saw that they paid special attention to John's reaction to Ji-wan's entrance on Kingdom of Love 2--they show his face for a reason. It's so subtle that you don't really notice it, but looking back it's obvious.

I also find it puzzling that the writers did such a good job writing their romance but no so much with the leads. However, I think that it helped that they were in the periphery and not the main focus, a little went a long way in this case Plus, the actors just did such a wonderful job showing their feelings and chemistry. They had a lot of just adoring and longing looks that said more than words. Finally, I just find their characters in general more interesting than the main leads. I would love to know more about them!

To be fair, that's because the wrong (unfinished) version of ep 14 was uploaded to Amazon Prime. The finished version was put on Viki and it didn't have any of those issues.

I was really mad to see Joon-ho in the final scene in ep 16. Why would they keep inviting him to things??

John actually never liked Tae-mi, though. He pursued her only because her looks appealed to him and they had similar goals. She was basically like a female version of him. She was a good match for John. The problem is, he wasn't John, he was Jun, and Jun wanted genuine human connection. He starts to realize that he won't find that with the type of women that John prioritized, and that the women he prioritized (women like John) wouldn't like Jun. He even tells Yeo-reum that he's starting to realize he has bad taste in women. IMO, if you think there was no build up or development for his attention going from Tae-mi to Ji-wan, you weren't paying enough attention to his scenes. Even though it isn't that many scenes, so much is conveyed with what is there. That's why I think they're the better couple: they did so much with so much less than the leads. The leads had every advantage that being a lead couple gives them, and even with that they still weren't as compelling to a lot of people (even if you dismiss their appeal as female wish fulfillment, you have to admit that many still preferred them to the lead couple).

I definitely don't agree that leads are automatically the better couple just because they're the leads. It's not like there's a best couple contest and whoever wins gets the most screentime. It's just that their story was the one that was chosen to tell from the beginning. I don't think the setup was the issue with Yeo-reum and Jae-hoon, but rather the execution. Meanwhile, John and Ji-wan was executed far more effectively--and, again, with far less advantages.

No, it's insulting to imply that women only like this relationship because it's wish fulfillment. I admit I do like it because it's refreshing to see a plus-size woman (by Korean standards) who is a genuinely good person not only get a romantic storyline, but with a conventionally attractive man. Compare it to dramas like Oh My Venus where she had to lose weight before the male lead noticed her, or Weight Lifting Fairy where the only actual plus-sized character, who was a side character like Ji-wan, didn't get any romance. We can like that a drama has finally "allowed" that to happen without wanting it for ourselves, because it's nice to see society acknowledge that people can be attractive in ways other than having a certain weight. In real life, heavier or average people find love and sometimes even with people who are thin and attractive themselves.

John didn't like Ji-wan from the beginning because he didn't actually know her and ignored her (and all of the other women, actually) to focus on Tae-mi. He had said all along that he wanted a woman that he could have a good conversation with. Well, he didn't have a real conversation with Ji-wan until the potato scene in ep 9. In that moment, he's surprised to find how much he enjoys her company. Meanwhile, he realizes that the woman he was pursuing is exactly the opposite. She's basically a female version of John, his fake self. The juxtaposition of the two makes him start to realize how shallow and fake he is and think about the kind of man he actually wants to be. Hence why he finally apologizes to Yeo-reum because he learns that, of the women he had flings with, she had the best inner self.

I agree that physical attraction is important, but that's subjective and not set in stone. Have you never experienced that someone can become more physically attractive to you the more that you get to know and like them? Haven't you seen the millions of scenes in romance dramas where the leads initially dismiss each other as "not my type" and then later become attracted to each other? And, as mentioned, John does think Ji-wan is pretty. You can see his growing attraction to her in the way that he looks at her. As the drama went on, the leads had less and less of this type of acting (which I think must be a result of the direction and/or writing, because in real life they seem to have amazing chemistry).

I appreciate your liking the main couple. I personally liked them a lot up until about episode 7 and then suddenly it felt like they stopped communicating and that Yeo-reum didn't actually have feelings for Jae-hoon. I personally think that being the leads hurt more than helped them, because having so much screentime made their relationship development stagnate until it was deemed late enough in the drama that something could finally happen between them. Friends to lovers is tricky enough without having Yeo-reum hesitate so often to return Jae-hoon's feelings--it makes the audience start to doubt how much she actually wants him, even thoughf there are valid external reasons it starts to feel more questionable because, if Yeo-reum really loved Jae-hoon, surely she could take a risk. It wasn't even just that it was drawn out, though. After they slept together, she didn't seem happy, she seemed confused and awkward like she blacked out and didn't remember how she got there. There's even an essay that posits she slept with him only so she didn't lose his friendship. I don't agree with that take, but if anyone in your audience is even thinking about that a possibility, imo you have failed at depicting a good romance.

You are certainly free to think that the leads' romance is better than John and Ji-wan. I think it's great that someone out there liked their relationship. In fact, I even agree that John and Ji-wan would have benefitted from more screen time and development--I would have loved to have seen what actually led up to John confessing his feelings to her. But to dismiss John and Ji-wan as only being there to appeal to women as wish fulfillment, or saying that people only like them for that reason, is a bit too far for me. Yes, absolutely it was refreshing to see a woman of Ji-wan's get a romance storyline in a Kdrama of all things. But we also like them because 1) they had fantastic chemistry--they said so much with just their body language and expressions, to the extent where their romance became more than the sum of their on-screen time together 2) they were individually interesting characters who complemented each other nicely and had satisfying character arcs and 3) they brought out the best in each other. I also liked it because it was unexpected. I'm usually excellent at predicting relationships in Kdramas and these two threw me off guard (although, if you go back and rewatch, the signs are there from the beginning of filming Kingdom of Love 2 in episode 5).

I think it's a bit insulting to imply that women only like John/Ji-wan because we relate to Ji-wan? Not that it matters, but I don't have that much in common with her. The trauma wasn't what prevented them getting together, Yeo-reum kept turning down Jae-hoon (Jae-hoon is the one with the trauma) and that's when I lost my interest in them. Even after they finally got together, Yeo-reum seemed like she wasn't that excited by him.

John's preference didn't change. That's the whole point. He spent the whole drama being very open and direct about what he wanted, which was a woman he had good chemistry with. He found that with Ji-wan. He realized that he valued that more than looks alone (even though Ji-wan is quite pretty and wouldn't even be considered overweight in part of the USA where I live).

Yeah, sorry if my response was confusing - I was agreeing with you! If anything, Yeo-reum and Jae-hoon knowing each other longer made their romance less compelling because the question then arises of, why didn't they get together sooner?

They knew each other for a long time and also got much more screentime. John and Ji-wan had about 30-40 minutes total (if you just go by their interactions) and did SO MUCH with that time. I can't calculate how much time the leads had, but I don't think it's controversial to say that they got the majority of screentime. If their relationship seemed deeper it's probably also because they had more time devoted to them. I also actually wonder if John and Ji-wan were so well done because they didn't have as much screentime. The main leads suffered from their romance getting dragged out and Yeo-reum continuously rejecting Jae-hoon, which might not have happened if they hadn't been the main focus. I do, however, think that John and Ji-wan were more interesting just as characters alone, even without the romance.

Ji-wan and John seemed like they genuinely enjoy each other's company and brought out the best in each other. I don't agree that it was rushed, if you rewatch them from the beginning it's subtly built up and organic.

I liked the leads a lot at first. But after ep 5, Yeo-reum didn't seem to actually enjoy Jae-hoon's company, outside of the flashbacks. I wanted to like the main leads, preferring a side couple isn't like me.

Thanks for linking the version with context! Speaking as the person who made both, I actually prefer that version. To really appreciate their romance i think it helps to see their individual growth.

The ending of that last video is the beginning of ep 1, the flash forward that the series never revisited. I didn't include it in mine because we don't fully know what's going on in it, and the only real Jijon content is in those stills (you have to pause to catch them). However, one of the shots is my computer wallpaper at the moment 😂

That's my video! I'm glad you like it. 🥰

There actually is a cameo from the A Good Day to be a Dog leads in See You In My 19th Life, but it takes place at least a few years after the events of the former.

And their families! Like how did her mom react to the broadcast about her sexual abuse history? That is waaay more interesting than the main leads' story imo. I wanna know about Ji-wan's career too. I Loved That Jerk! is a great webtoon title AND it got picked up as a drama adaptation. Did her KoL experience and growth influence her future story telling? At least let me see her drawings 😭

TOTALLY. I couldn't shake the feeling that he was going to eventually murder her (it doesn't help that my husband and I have nicknamed him "Cat Killer" because of another drama he was in).

They didn't follow up at all and we don't even know what was going on. The only possibility that works is they're announcing John and Ji-wan's engagement (they're the only Kingdom of Love 2 couple that's engaged six months later, when the flash forward takes place).

The strange thing is the actors have good chemistry in real life. I feel like it must have been an issue with the direction or the writing (or both) or something.

I think she should have had Jae-hoon realize his feelings for Yeo-reum later, instead of him realizing it early and her rejecting him repeatedly. I also think that the cancelled wedding felt like a jump the shark moment. They should have found another reason for her to drop the ball on casting.

There's a really great romance but it isn't between the main leads (lol) and there isn't a ton of screentime devoted to it.