rainchild

I had applied for residency in neurology, but the admission was inevitably delayed due to COVID-19 issues. I went into a half-frenzy-half-scared mode when I got the news that interview and all the remaining exams would take place online. Frenzy because I had to juggle studying among everything else, and scared because now I'm not sure if I want to leave my comfort zone and go back to school in the middle of a huge war against the Coronavirus. But there's no running away, and I finished all the exams yesterday. Now I wait.

In the middle of this confusing time, as I run out of games to play, one phrase suddenly comes to mind: otome games. I have no idea which part of my brain comes up with such a suggestion and why, but I end up downloading Mystic Messenger and Mr. Love: Queen's Choice. Two old otome games which, according to two friends, are quite popular in their niche and are worth my time at least for the tragic and broken plot.


As charming as Gavin and Victor are (guess which ones are them from the poster above), I don't have the time yet to fully commit to a game as huge as Mr. Love, given that I still have an action RPG one to grind almost all day long. I stick to Mystic Messenger for now, which so far is showing promises 7 days into the game. As the game matches my real time to dish out content, it feels almost real; as if I am talking to real people and preparing for a real party. It is even more surprising to hear the Korean instead of the usual Japanese voiceover on my games. The only unreal part is how I should go for answers which are not really me to get to the desired ending(s) and find the bigger picture of what's going on. Still, these new experiences are entertaining, so I believe I'll stick around for several walkthroughs.


One point that originally pulled me into these games was the 'dating sims' tag, but turns out this is quite different from my imagination. I was thinking about the style dating sims in Persona series, but neither really works like that so far. I avoid spoilers, so maybe I'm just not yet at that romantic dating point, so we'll see. I do like that I see each character's flairs throughout the chats in Mystic Messenger; everyone is so crazy fun and weird in their own ways, even the minor characters in the emails. More than romance, I'm thankful to have this kind of character and relationship exploration.

After all, that's what reality is about, isn't it?

Bringing back the thing I like to do in all my blogs. Questions are taken from thefridayfive.

1. What is your favorite thing to drink on a hot day? Water and iced tea. Jasmine or Earl Grey. Earl Grey milk tea is heaven btw.
2. What superstitions do you have? That three is my lucky number? I don't really believe in such things, so I don't think about them often.
3. What is your favorite pen to write with and why? Currently, I have none. Back in school days, there was this pen with some kind of rubber tip at the other end that could erase the ink very easily. It is such a holy grail item because we wrote a lot and mistakes would occur left and right. Correction tapes were too much a hassle.
4. What books have you read or been reading during the Pandemic? Textbooks on neurology. LMAO
5. MTV has decided to resurect playing music videos and they've decided to give you a two-hour space to program your favorite music on air. What do you air? I'll do half an hour of Western songs and spend the rest of the segment for Korean and Japanese songs, especially the B-side tracks or songs by not-so-popular artists.

Watching Korean dramas is one of my most dependable escape routes, but I have not been very happy with my selection lately.

I think the last K-drama I finished before starting my latest batch was Hotel del Luna (starring one of my girlcrushes Lee Ji Eun (IU) and Yeo Jin Goo) which was something of 2019. I enjoyed the first half very much; the slow start built momentum as mysteries were laid down and relationships bloomed. It's just that I walk away also feeling slightly disappointed that the core issue was resolved by leaving a bitter aftertaste. I was waiting to get slapped, but the dynamic had gone down the slope before reaching the heights that I expected. I couldn't feel the relief because I didn't see if the characters were truly relieved (and didn't understand why they feel relieved with just that). And then we ran out of time. Despite everything, the ensemble is endearing and the soundtracks are charming. It's my favorite performance of IU as an actress so far (since I don't watch My Ahjussi). I'd say it's still a story worth wasting your time for if you don't mind a little horror on your screen.

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I remember that I was looking forward to The King: Eternal Monarch after Hotel ended because of its interesting premise and cast. While waiting, I randomly clicked on Find Me in Your Memory which sounded amazingly bland on paper but filled with synergy in actuality. The tone, the atmosphere, the soundtracks, the characters, their interactions and dialogues, their inner fights and silly tries blended harmoniously together. Such a pleasing first-time meeting with stars Kim Dong Wook and Moon Ga Young. And then the second half happened where it feels like the writer wasn't entirely sure about how to end the story. Have you tried imagining what happened after the time skip without the time skip and separation issue? What do you think would happen if the main couple thinks a little like the secondary couple? It would fit the title much better: as the heroine finds herself in the hero's memory of the past, the hero finds himself in the heroine's perception of present time. They storm through the hurdles while holding onto each other and their memories, as painful as they are. Several online comments claimed that the last episode's beauty justified the lack of logic; I wish I could look at things as simple as that. The wasted potentials hurt me so.

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Talking about wasted potentials, nothing screams the phrase better than The King: Eternal Monarch. The drama goes from being one I wait with excitement into something-so-bad-that-it-is-so-good in a negative way. How much I wish I could pinpoint one culprit for this subpar product. Sometimes one element saves others like with those I mentioned above, but this drama seems like a mistake of various layers. Ultimately, we are left with a show that doesn't seem to have a logic of its own, and if that isn't the lowest point of storytelling, what is? I am not even going to complain about the parallel universe theory or time travel possibilities when the production team can show a king grows old in 25 years but not his attendants, or not show me exactly what the hero and heroine like from each other, or not tell me one good reason why I should be scared of the antagonists ten episodes in! It's not only a waste of Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun as leads (especially when the latter is another one of my girlcrushes), but of every element involved in this project.

One extra interesting reason (which probably only applies to me) is how the romantic points used remind me of the writer's previous project so much: the poem, the falling autumn leaves, and the brown coat. They are very minor, you see, but when nothing else anchors me to the current story, how can I tell my brain not to wander around?

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I am probably using my head too much while watching these shows. Above all, that's because I sincerely want to understand the story after suspending my concept of reality to a certain limit. I will just stick to the easy, raw, slice-of-life style of Hospital Playlist for now, which I believe can steal heart just from one short clip like this.

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