Flower Boy Next Door Special

As much joy as this drama has given us, FBND decided to say farewell with laughter, shared secrets, and insights. I thought it was a miracle that there was a special, but now I realize they were having a hard time saying goodbye just like us. I know this FBND special might not seem like much, but for someone having a hard time saying goodbye they mean a world of difference.

UPDATED with press conference and Part two

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Every word of translation felt like a reward. Not just for choosing such a wonderful drama, but for all the hours I invested in falling in love with these characters.  They gave me hope, insight, laughter, and even tears, but there was something else it gave me quietly through its message. FBND made me believe in love again. It made me want to trust and believe in it after the damage done from my last breakup. I’ve been jaded about love for quite some time and my heart was frozen – I didn’t believe I would ever want it to thaw out again, but this show managed to with every word and interaction. I realize a fictional show shouldn’t wield so much power and influence over my reality, but I’m glad it did. I needed some push to feel something other than bitterness for a change when it came to love so I will be forever grateful to this webtoon writer for showing me that sometimes making that leap of faith in love doesn’t mean you will always crash and fall. Each of these characters took their own risks with their hearts and some paid off, while others had to wait their turn till the right person came along. The most important lesson is to make that jump. Who knows, maybe one of these days when I make that leap, I will land on my feet and be whole again.

On the recent SBS entertainment show, there is a cute interview of YSY. He shared “I tend to be proper(pure and innocent) to the extent it’s tiresome. I have one sided (unrequited) loves for a long time and then meet (date).” Then he shares something hilarious “I wish they wouldnt come close and talk to me cuz there are so many tall people. like Daniel (Choi) and JW. I like acting with them, but I want to do it while sitting at a table. how good would that be.” (LOL)

*how adorable that in real life, he has a tendency to have one sided loves first before he dates them. Bet he knew what Jin and others were going through on this show then cuz if you think about it there were a lot of unrequited loves on this drama.

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That last scene is what you call blind faith. When there is no reason to believe or hold on anymore, but you do.  When despair is knocking on your door, you should open it cuz it’s unavoidable, but I trust that D won’t do that. Till the very end, she is going to trust E and believe in him. Not just cuz they came too far to go back. There is no retracing your steps when your heart has felt this much and loved too much to turn back. It’s because D knows at this point what it means to believe in him.  By trusting him, she is also having faith in herself. She is choosing to hold onto the one person who has promised not to change for her. That is why she isn’t going to move from that spot till he finishes what he came to say. She knows there is more. She is going to hold her breath and wait for the rest of his words to come. Once it does, the relief will flood over her. I hope it also washes away any trace of doubt she has been harboring in her heart about his love for her. His declaration is going to be poignant, but more importantly, it’s going to heal her. The pain she had over her past trauma will finally find a resting place. I have a feeling I will be crying through every minute right along with her. What a way to start the finale.

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I knew deep down that Jin never resented E for falling for D and their antics tonight proved it. Jin may come off as gruff and jealous towards E, but you can tell he genuinely likes E just as much as everyone else. I know for sure he gets why D fell for E cuz even Jin is aware of E’s charms and Jin is a guy. You can tell from his comments that he has already caught on that this ship has left the harbor and set sail a while back, but he is still trying to catch up to it. As long as he can still see the visible outline of hope, he is going to give chase.  It’s no longer about the three years he already invested or that he was here first waiting patiently all that time. At this point, I bet if you pushed him hard enough, Jin might even admit that E was better for her than him. To his credit though, Jin isn’t going to back down without one last good push. You can tell from the preview that he is going to make one last desperate attempt to make some headway with her. Even though his chance slipped away quite some time ago, I still admire him for trying. In another time and place, I bet Dokmi would have seen him and recognized how he could have been the great love of her life. If only her eyes weren’t filled with E right now, she might even allow herself to consider that thought. The only solace I can give Jin is that he got at least one thing he wanted. She will never forget him or his kindness to her. More than she can ever say, he meant a great deal to her. In that sense, the trace he left on her door might be invisible, but still palpable every time she looks at it.

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I lost track of how many hugs were in this episode. It’s like before he even thinks about it, he just reaches impulsively and embraces her. Whether it’s from relief after worrying about her, when he is just proud of her and words aren’t enough, or when he wants to convince her -but she just won’t listen. Whenever a hug fails to get the message across, Enrique can always fall back on his winning one liners – those sentences that have the ability to make time stand still for a second while you digest the meaning and once it sinks in, you will need a few more seconds to recover from them. When he said “Everything you can see with your eyes, you were giving your heart – that’s what I felt,” my eyes just welled up with tears. I don’t get how he does it- these words seem simple enough, but why is it packed with so much meaning and conviction. You can just tell he gets her – he can see through her lies, her insecurities, her defenses, and with only three episodes left, my only hope is that he continues to keep fighting for her affection. Since the voice of reason is no longer knocking on her door cuz it’s been replaced by this insistent need to put his ambition above her own, I desperately need Enrique to hold on and keep hugging her every chance he gets. The preview shows she is going to do everything she can to make him go back to Spain so I need each of these hugs to make Enrique more resistant to her encouragement to go back. I need him to hold on a little tighter so that it finally gets through to her heart.

Yoon Shi Yoon’s Beautiful Mind

There is something very one on one and intimate about this interview that just strikes a chord of admiration and respect that bubbles to the surface and overflows. I was going to call this post “YSY’s beautiful mind, heart, body, and soul” but it was too long. I just hope there is a part two floating around somewhere so I can translate that as well.

YSY on Feb 17th Gag Concert : he was so amazing -great comedic timing and no nervousness at all.

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After translating for the past ten hours, I’ve come to one conclusion. I think the guys are jumping to the wrong speculations. The Dokmi in the past would have hidden herself away somewhere, but not the one who came this far and made this much progress. She realized in part due to E that she had reserve strength she never knew she had. She has crossed too many lines to go back into her protective shell. She has too much to risk losing to walk away from it all now. She was only able to come this far cuz of these people around her. Her visible imprint is here cuz this is where she belongs. Some hurtful words from a stranger can’t efface that. At least that is the hope I will be clinging to till next Monday.