maplecottoncandy

36?!??! He has such a baby face omg 😭
I genuinely thought he was like 17 or something in The Beauty Inside but he was actually 28 at the time?!??!!
I swear he doesn't look a day over 24 even in "My Royal Nemesis."
WHAT IS THIS WITCHCRAFT 😭

Also, get my man some main roles pls, he needs his appreciation. He's adorable and such a charmer <3

Happy watching <3

Agreed! If the regular college stuff only spanned the first 2-3 episodes at most, I think that would be the perfect amount for plot setup, suspense and action. The summary here gives me a lot of hope because it does seem like there's a bigger emphasis on the mystery portion of it. But oh well, we won't know what we get until we actually see it on our screens lol. Anything could sound great on paper and have tons of potential, but how well they execute it will determine if they do the plot justice or not.
Fingers crossed 🤞

sjdfksjfkls thank you, I randomly came up with this after visiting Wonderland and seeing buckets of cotton candy all day (I was obsessed with maple flavored things back then) 😂
Sending you some maple cotton candy to ease that hunger 🍭

You username is pretty cute too <3
Just checked out your profile and YES PREACH! Ban the AI slop, smack it down and flush it to oblivion!!!!
You sound like a really interesting person 💗

Rightttt
It was too abrupt, my brain had to take a moment to switch gears. I was so confused, like where is this going all of a sudden 😭

I see your point and I do agree that the murder mystery thing is intriguing, BUT, the whole premise of the show starts off completely different. How they set the tone as a regular college BL but then deviate from it is worrying me about the storytelling element. It wouldn't be an issue if that portion of the story was short in the trailer and we got this uncanny vibe about how the tables were about to turn as the main "hook" of the show. Instead, this sudden change in genres feels very forced and kind of like pushing a train onto a different track. Imo, it would've worked amazing had they just focused on one genre and given us the murder mystery.

Zombie virus + power struggle between two major authorities in a post-apocalyptic world + human vaccine & human weapon falling in love?
Count me the fuck IN 😩

The rivals to lovers thing is selling the show for me but the whole murder mystery thing feels like they're trying to do too much cause how are you going to take a show that has a very light-hearted and humorous tone and change it to a thriller without throwing off the audience? I just can't see a way in which the director could seamlessly blend the plot unless they introduce a few mystery elements right from the beginning.
Oh well, let's see how this turns out. I don't have high hopes tho.

Our unwritten Seoul was beautiful and healing. There's My Liberation Notes and When Life Gives you Tangerines too. Daily dose of sunshine but I haven't seen that one yet.

FUCK.
I think you're right 😭💔
They shouldn't have given us hope 🚬

Because it quite literally destroys the environment? Because it replaces real humans and takes creative novelty away from them as well as their jobs? Because it's mindless slop based off of algorithms and data?

Not everyone uses AI in their daily life. Some avoid it especially because they know of its impact. Just read a bit more about data centers and how many communities they've destroyed and you'll have a good insight on how harmful it is.

So I'm not the only one then 😭
I stopped watching the first episode halfway because of the whiplash and dichotomy of what I had in mind vs what I actually got and omg Do Hyeon is such a psychopath? His eyes seem so vacant and devoid of emotions that it's eerie (just finished watching ep 1 now). An earlier comment mentioned Secret relationship levels psychopath vibes and I was doubting it before but I can see why they said that now.

The NSFW scene at the beginning was kind of like the bone you'd dangle in front of a dog to get his attention 😭 It's like they had a very stereotypical image of what BL enjoyers prefer and just ran with it. At least that's what their intention behind adding the scene felt like to me, "we need to secure the fangirls within 10 seconds of the show starting so here's your 18+ scene, now stick around to find out whether there's more back where that came from 👀"

I mean, it did the job of establishing that Do Hyeon has very explicitly romantic feelings for Eun Ho right off the bat without any room for debate but it still felt a little shallow to me? Idk, maybe I'm reading too much into it. Inarguably, the opening definitely did have that "WOW" factor that leaves you flustered and keeps you watching.

I am shook.
I was not prepared for that opening scene?!?! 😳
I thought it was gonna be cute and light and almost watched it with a friend, so glad I started this alone 😭

Dude the budget is crazyyyyyy
It looks so good 😩
But I just know the makjang vibes in this are gonna be abysmal 😭
Gonna abstain from reading the webtoon before watching because it would take away the wow factor that comes exclusively from a first watch, will read after I'm done with the show <3

He looks like a combination of Thai actor Apo and Shun from the Japanese gay reality TV dating show "The Boyfriend." It's been throwing me off so much as I watch the Spirealm 😭

I think the audience watching those shows (Knot the series etc) and rating them highly are widely different than the ones that enjoy shows like Connecting to you. We know what we like already and hence avoid shows that don't interest us whereas the viewers from other shows might be dabbling around and giving lower ratings to things that aren't as overblown in terms of romance as the ones that they're used to seeing (I'm trying to be very careful with my wording.)
I know it's a bummer, but we can't really do anything in front of masses. Spreading the word and just leaving good comments weekly would be the most effective. Just try to enjoy your time here with fellow watchers <3

I'd recommend everyone to not go off the rating for any premise that interests you because it might end up being something that you absolutely love. Watch the trailer first and if you're still intrigued, give the series at least 2 episodes (unless it's too cringe to continue), you'll be surprised by how many gems were hidden from you because of this biased rating. That's what happened to me with "When Light Fades." Loved it to bits, rated it a high 9 but the MDL rating is only 7.7 despite being a brilliant series. So glad I've started to just go for the show I like and disregard the ratings, the most I'll do is skim the comments, if there's valid criticism (a reasoning behind not liking the show instead of "it's boring, it's slow" etc) then I'll be more careful but other than that if the ppl in the comments are loving it but the rating doesn't show, then you know it's the ppl that didn't even watch it just bombing the ratings.

Happy watching <3

The cast looks promising but the premise is what's making me doubt the quality. I'm not entirely sold on how well the director and screenwriter could pull this off, going off of their previous works.
Let's hope the cast's talent doesn't get wasted by a bad script.

Agree with everything you just said!
The timeline was never made clear and that threw me off quite a bit. I can understand them not giving the exact date but they should've at least mentioned something like "a few months later" or "4 years later" so the viewers at least have a gist of how much time has passed.

YES YES YES! That lakeside scene bugged me too ughhh! I was visualizing a grand reunion where Vin would run up on shaky legs, heart pounding thinking "this possibly couldn't be- right? But please let it be him," sort of vibe, just a whole lot of inner turmoil. I wanted Vin to just fall to his knees halfway across the bridge in tears because your legs do give out in relief if someone important to you that you thought was dead turns out to be alive. Sin kneeling right in front and comforting him and Vin inspecting every inch of him later with worried hands just ahhh 💘
It could've been made so much more impactful.

I also feel like they didn't give much weight to the literal fact that Sin killed his dad! They just brushed it off like it was just a small accident. People are more spiteful of car accidents than they showed Vin and his mom to be for a literal stabbing. Kind of makes you question how much of an absent father he must've been for them to let it go so easily, felt like there was no attachment (but I will give props to that scene in the forest where Vin was crying after initially finding out, that tore my heart into pieces and felt realistic. I too would want to get as far away as possible from someone that killed my family member. A betrayal like this makes you question everything you know and how life can be so cruel. For it to come to this, that it just had to be him, that it possibly *couldn't* be him. The denial, the excuses, the disbelief, there was so much that could've been done.)

sdkfjslkfsf the letters 😭
Me too lovely, me too 😭

Absolutely! Bas was inarguably the best thing about this show. He was a force to be reckoned with. Lhongchang I feel like wasn't able to fully immerse himself in the role whereas Bas was portraying it head to toe. Had the rest of the cast been on the same level, this could've become a masterpiece. Just because of some tiny little misses, it lost the potential to be as good as it could've been. But still, kudos to them for giving birth to a commendable series.

It was a 9 for me too <3

Yes! Exactly my thoughts on the whole way they executed the last episode!
The show was doing such a good job handling heavy topics like loss and grief until then but suddenly, betrayal of this caliber was nothing more than a tiny misstep? They just brushed it off like he'd only picked a flower from their garden and not killed their dad! People hold a greater grudge than this if you kill their dog!
Love how you wanted Ravin to sit with the revelation longer because me too! Makes me feel like I'm not the only one. And the acceptance arc for the mum would've been beautiful too if it went as per your suggestion. This series really could've benefitted from a longer runtime. Shame that it ended on a note that wasn't as good as the majority of it. Still a strong series tho.

I'm so glad I gave this series a chance despite the low rating because oh my gosh?!??! It was beautiful!
The plot was good and the acting was amazing (from Bas) for the most part, just that Lhongchang failed to fully convey the gravity and emotions in some heavier, more intense scenes.
The story starts off with a bang (literally) and it keeps you engaged. The romance might've been a bit slow in the beginning but that's how a slow burn should be, they shouldn't be all over eo right from the beginning, it makes you question whether there was even a genuine connection in the first place or not. The pacing was done well, it slows things down a bit before picking up again and keeps introducing new conflicts so the story doesn't get boring.

The characters are what made this work for me. They're all very well fleshed out/developed and had their own motives and backgrounds- this gave the story a very human touch. The show was very emotional and delved into a lot of human emotions and experiences like loss, grief, love, justice, and survivor's guilt. The story touches you quite deeply and makes you feels all sorts of things. It makes you root for the good ones and curse at the bad ones, cry with the characters and also kick your feet in excitement. Overall, it was a really good watch, just that the ending felt a tad bit deviated and rushed. Loved the ending scene with the marriage equality act being passed.