A Thousand Years: Kang Chi and Yeo Wool

Because this was too beautiful to not share.

The Nine Tailed Wish Chapter 2: The Dandelion

My mother knew I was gone before the sun came up. I could hear her howl and feel the fresh rain of her tears as I left the divine forest. I had to tell her, especially after she saw me talking to what she believed was a human. My reasons fell on deaf ears. Mother has always hated humans. She told me my father trusted a human once and was betrayed. Once the human saw what he was, their friendship ended, and the hunt for my father began. But I was convinced that not all humans were bad. I spent most of my days watching them from trees, bushes and of course standing in crowds. They couldn't see me, but I always wanted them to. 

It started when I saw a boy, long ago, when I was little and unafraid. I watched him leave the village, even after his mother told him not to leave. She didn't notice him slip away, but I did. He was headed straight for the forest. 

I tried to think about how I could save him. The divine forest was full of monsters and creatures that ate humans. I didn't want to see such a cute and innocent child die. He couldn't see me, so as I followed him, I thought of ways I could lead him back home. I couldn't talk to him, but I found that I could draw things in the sand, on the trees, and I could even throw flowers on the ground. He seemed amused by them, so I started making a flower path and marking the ground. He giggled and followed the flowers that seemed to jump from the stem and land before his feet. He tried catching them, but soon he was back to the village gate and safely home. He tried to explain what had happened to his mother.

My mother was furious.

"We don't reveal ourselves, and we don't help humans!" she shouted when I returned home. 

"He couldn't see me." I said, "And I kept him from going deeper into the forest didn't I?"

My mother couldn't say anything to that, shook her head and told me to go hunting for dinner. She warned me not to help humans over and over again. Each time, she became more hysterical, but this time, hearing this wish, and the process I would go through, she was sad.

"Sakura, you've risked everything! If you become human, I will never be able to talk to you again. You will lose your ability to see me and hear me. Is that what you want?"

"I do love you mother. But I don't feel like I belong to the divine world. I want to try becoming human, and I want to be able to actually live alongside them."

"You can't have both worlds." My mother said, "Stay here with me. If your father were here, he would tell you that you are choosing humans over our own divine race."

"My father isn't here, mother." I said with a sigh, "We don't even know where he is, or if he'll ever come back."

"If you leave here, you won't be able to return."

"I know, but this is what I want. And I can still talk to you. Promise you'll visit me? At least once?"

She never answered me, and left our cave.

I decided that I would have to leave, and a tear slid down my cheeck, causing a light drizzle of rain. By the time I left the forest, it was a downpour. I heard my mother's howl and bowed to the forest hoping she could see me. 

On the way toward the city, I saw a dandelion. Many human children wished on them and scattered the seeds to make their wish come true. I decided to try it, at least once.

"I wish I will see my mother again." I whispered, then blew the seeds into the wind. 

I walked slowly toward the city, and realized that my outfit might freak people out. I found a clothesline, and a light pink dress with white lace sleeves. With the thought of paying the human back later, I changed quickly and found a tree where I hid my gumiho hanbok. I promised myself that I would come back, hopefully with the human who would accept me as I am, and always remember that before I was human,  I was a gumiho. Not thinking of how my hopes could be too high. I bowed to the tree, asking it to keep my divine clothes well hidden, and made my way down the long grassy hill toward the city. 

Gu Family Book- Kang Chi's bracelet and Yeo Wool's love

Kang Chi thinks of Yeo Wool to stay human.

Amazing Kdrama dialogue

I've seen a lot of Kdrama and witnessed some amazing dialogue, but the most recent Kdrama Cheongdam-dong Alice just triumphed over every single scene I have been amazed by.

In context, Cheongdam-dong Alice is the story of Se Kyung, who is the Alice of the story. She is poor and loves fashion. One day, she decides to enter the Wonderland of Cheongdam and become a famous designer. In order to do this, she takes advice from a former enemy in High School who has achieved the finer life and has invented a formula to make it happen. She is the Queen of Hearts in the story She tells Se Kyung that she must find a "white rabbit" to escort her into the finer life.
Enter Seung Jo, the mad hatter character who poses as Secretary Kim to avoid being treated differently by Se Kyung. Once he falls for her, he eventually has to reveal this secret. He has gone from the bottom of the ladder to the top as president of Artemis, a well known and famous fashion brand.
Because Se Kyung doesn't know he is the president Jean Thierry Cha, she seeks another White Rabbit and succeeds in becoming well known to a famous designer who becomes the White Rabbit. Misunderstanding Se Kyung's intentions, the White Rabbit believes that she is a gold digger out for an opportunity for money. This continues once he discovers that Secretary Kim is Jean Thierry Cha, and he believes that Se Kyung has known this all along.
At the same time, Se Kyung's friend tells her who Secretary Kim is, before he does, and begins to feel guilty after he finally admits to the lie, and confesses his feelings for her. So she does what anyone racked with guilt would do, she avoids him and runs away. She also tells him that he is too above her in status.
Meanwhile, the White Rabbit won't let her relationship with Jean Thierry Cha go without consequences, and he bribes her to leave and go to a fashion school if she will stay away from him. After the contract is laid out in front of her, Se Kyung proceeds to tell the White Rabbit that her feelings and Seung Jo's feelings are genuine, but the White Rabbit doesn't listen and tells her that she is dirty because she is a poor person in love with a rich person.
Se Kyung is left to choose, leave for France, or be with someone she loves, but she is still racked with guilt, and every attempt Seung Jo makes to get close to her, she runs away. Seung Jo doesn't give up and prepares a major dinner to confess directly, but Se Kyung doesn't show up. After a pep talk from both his friends and Se Kyung's friends, he decides to find her.
After they track her down, Seung Jo finds her at the bottom of a stair well. He runs down the stairs (symbolically showing that he has left the pedestal of his status) and stands in front of a surprised Se Kyung, ready to confess. When he does, this is what he says:
"Don't go!  Today I was going to confess to you. I was going to play a really cool movie ,and following the script ,I was going to do a  really cool confession! I used too think that love was something you felt only at first sight. I didn't know that you could drown in it slowly . If love had a time limit, I want my love to last ten thousand years. Until the day I die, will you love me? I don't want ththat. Until the day I die, I will love you! And, well ,I was going to confess using this cool script, But none of this is right. That kind of stuff isn't me. I am a coward, because the person I love might throw me away. They might leave me. I am afraid. I get scared! When I was little, my mother let go of my hand and left me. Once, the person I loved suddenly packed her bags and left. These things haunt my dreams.  Sometimes I'm so afraid that I turn the lights on. Now you know. I am not a cool CEO. I am not a prince who can save you. I'm just someone who loves Se Kyung.  An ordinary man. Se Kyung, I love you to the point of being annoying. So if you are able to accept a person like me, decide, Ms Se Kyung. Please, instead of abandoning me, instead of running away. Se Kyung, rescue me."

After hearing this, Se Kyung begins to cry and asks him if he can wait for an hour. She runs back to the White Rabbit and tells him:
"You said love is like a name. Like the thousands of thousands names in the world, doesn’t matter what you call it, it is the mind of the person saying it. You’re right. My feelings for Cha Seung-Jo are ugly. But ugly love is still love. So, from now on these feelings of mine for Cha Seung-Jo, I will call it ugly love. You said I could call it whatever I like so I will. It may be ugly, but it’s my love for Cha Seung-Jo. So YOU give up. I will never give up my ugly love." 

These monologues are absolutely amazing!

As a side note: These actors do a great job, and they are so cute together. 

 

Props that tell stories

So I thought of this list awhile back, but never posted it. Here's my imaginary wishlist from my favorite silver screen and T. V. screen stories.

1. The Evenstar Necklace from The Lord of the Rings
(I actually own this one)

This pendant literally symbolizes the story of Aragorn and Arwen. And the necklace itself seems pretty durable considering it has survived battle after battle with Orcs, a rough landing in the river, hike after hike in the mountains, a few horse rides, and finally a passage to the undead and back.

2. The Ruby of StormHold from StarDust

This prop tells the story of how Yvaine came to StormHold and how Tristan became king. This is another durable piece of jewelry because it goes through a crash, a trail in the wild, a witch fire incident, a trip through the sky and of course, the ultimate magical showdown, a starburst.

3. Time Turner necklace from Harry Potter

Let's face it. It would be amazing to go back in time, and I like the way the movie made it happen. Hermoine knew how to go to all her classes and be on time. She knew the secret to College years in advance!

4. Katara's Necklace from Avatar the Last Airbender
(I own this one too)

(http://ivy-kun.deviantart.com/art/Katara-s-Necklace-169905575)

I love the story behind this necklace. It was carved by Master Pakku for Katara's
grandmother, but she refused his proposal and kept the gift. She then passed the necklace down to her daughter, Katara's mother, and it was inherited by Katara when her mother died. She treasures it because it is all she has left of her mother, and still wears it, even once Korra becomes the avatar.

5. The MockingJay Pin from The Hunger Games
(I finally found this one)

This pin is more than it seems. It represents hope and triumph over the Capital. There's a story behind this piece of jewelry, and Katniss learns the tale before she volunteers for The Hunger Games. A symbol in itself, the pin tells the story of freedom and power.

6. The Star Locket from Sailor Moon

This item tells the story of the Moon Kingdom's fall and Sailor Moon's past. It looks authentic and real, with the theme for Sailor Moon playing and the crescent moon spinning around. It is such a lovely locket and it seems mythological to the Sailor Moon world. (This has been on my wish list for years!)

7. Hairpin and PigRabbit from You're Beautiful
(I own these :)

This prop tells a cute story that has to do with Go-Min-Nyue's charm and Hwang-Tae-Young's fears. Tae-Young was afraid of rabbits, and a pig chased him while he was visiting Go Min-Nyue's hometown. He bought Go Min-Nyue the hairpin when her hairpin broke and actually paid 100 dollars for it, even though the pin was only 3 dollars. (He was so embarrassed that he left without his change)
Once Go-Min-Nyue teases him about rabbits, Tae-Young decides to set the record straight. He makes a "PigRabbit" for her and gives it to her with the hairpin.

8. Precious Moments SnowGlobe from My Girl
(I also own this one)

Yu-rin doesn't know when her birthday is. Her father tells her that he only remembers that it was snowing, so every time it snows, Yu-Rin celebrates her birthday. After she tells Gong-chan this, he buys her a snow globe and the snow globe symbolizes the family that Yu-rin has created throughout the show.

9. The Labyrinth book from Labyrinth

Unforntuately, this prop was literally a prop. There was no story called The Labyrinth, but
it looks so nice that I think it would be neat if they republished the movie novel in this fashion. I remember watching this movie and wishing I could read the original story, before I knew that it wasn't based off of a book.

10. The "K" necklace from Dream High

 This necklace is passed on over and over again throughout the story of Dream High. Each student gets it and achieves some part of their dream, but they don't keep it for long, passing it on to someone else for luck. In the end, the popstar K, which could be anyone of the main characters, keeps it as a parting gift from someone they love.

Kdrama month prompt 30: A Kdrama that made you sad

 I have two once again:

Autumn in My Heart (Autumn Fairy Tale)

This was a sad tragedy, but the actors did a great job making the audience believe in the complicated past and binding fate that brought these characters together again. All of the symbols of Autumn meant something important to the story and created the atmosphere of a sweet love story. I liked all of the season based dramas made by the same writer who wrote Autumn in My Heart, but this story was the most sad of the four in my opinion.
Quote:  “I want to be reborn as a tree; that way I can plant my roots down, never move and can never be separated from the ones I love.”

49 days (Pure Love)

This was such an amazing  drama, and even though the ending wasn't unexpected, it was hard to accept. Ji-Hyun and the Scheduler found all the answers they needed, but the way of the world doesn't change. The characters most affected by this resolution were Hang Kang and Song Lee-Kyung. The ending of 49 days was realistic, and moving. But it was the saddest ending I ever saw in a Korean Drama.

Kdrama month prompt 29: A Kdrama that made you happy

Rooftop Prince

From the classic frying pan scene to the Joseon Power Rangers, this drama was a comedy, historical story and a mystery. The prince and his subjects getting used to the future had me giggling endlessly. Not to mention Park Ha's babysitter role in the first five episodes to show them the ropes and help them blend in. I really enjoyed this drama because it was a different type of genre, and it had many great symbolic and well written scenes that helped you figure out the mystery in the end.

Some funny stills :)

Frying Pan

Learning about the Escalator

Crane machine

Job interview

Kdrama month prompt 28: A Kdrama not loved by many, but you seem to like

I have two:

Goong S (Prince Hours)

I loved this drama. It was more light hearted than Goong and Yang Soon Ae was a strong female lead character.  I also liked Shin Sae Ryung in the end because she had her own story and character arc that helped her understand that she didn't have to pursue royalty in order to be happy.

Big

This drama was cute, sweet and really funny. I loved Kyun Joon's character and watching him find a family of his own was really moving. All the fun Kdrama references to The Moon That Embraces The Sun and Queen Inyun's Man were great along with the random English phrases Kyun Joon would say when he was upset, really happy or confused. The mystery of Yoon Jae's past was also intriguing.

Kdrama month prompt 27: A Kdrama loved by many but you don’t seem to like

Secret Garden

I tried to watch this one, but I couldn't get past the first three episodes and I have yet to know why. This drama is highly praised, so I'm sure I will give it another watch, but for some reason I couldn't become invested enough in the characters.

I'll add one more: Playful Kiss

There are a lot of fans for this drama, but like I said earlier, I couldn't relate to the main characters and I didn't understand their relationship.

Kdrama month prompt 26: Your Recently Finished Kdrama

A Gentleman's Dignity

I really enjoyed this show. It was complex at times because of all the different characters, but I enjoyed the clever dialogue and the ending was amazing! Best proposal scene in a Korean Drama ever. This show was really about growing up, facing fears and living life. It was focused on the many challenges you face in order to get by and the plot revolved around coping with many difficulties that life throws your way and making life fun at the same time.

Kdrama month prompt 25: Your First Kdrama

Goong, Palace, Princess Hours

This is the show that introduced me to Korean Drama. It started with the Manwha and then my friend introduced me to the show. After that, I watched until it was over. This was another form of therapy from College. I loved the idea of a modern prince and a down to earth girl as the crown princess. The royal life is fascinating, and High School has always been a roller coaster of ups and downs. Putting these together made an interesting story with lots of comedy and history. I also loved the music which was a mixture of classical and historical Joseon era  music. The teddy bears were also cute and cleverly put to retell moments in the show.

Kdrama month prompt 24: Your Worst Couple

I really don't like what I call "bully couples" where the guy is downright mean, and the girl just takes it. There are two examples of this in the K dramas I've watched.

The first is Geum Jan Di and Gu Jun Pyo from Boys Over Flowers

I had issues with this couple because Gu Jun Pyo was a bully, and when he finally liked Geum Jan Di, he still let her get pushed around and insulted by his mother. Not only that, he acted aloof, almost married someone else and literally forgot her. I lost count of all the things that Geum Jan Di put up with, but it irritated me that she waited and waited and waited while Gu Jun Pyo did whatever he wanted. It seemed like Gu Jun Pyo was too selfish while Geum Jan Di was too selfless.

The second example is Baek Seung Jo and Oh Ha Ni.

Oh Ha Ni was literally obsessed with Baek Seung Jo and that bothered me, but what really bothered me was the way he treated her. Baek Seung Jo was downright mean and rude. He graded her love letter, ostracized her, treated her like she was stupid, constantly put her down and of course the classic, messed around with her feelings. He would be nice one moment and cruel the next. He would tell her one thing  and then act completely different. The one other thing that irritated me about this couple was that Oh Ha Ni only wanted to marry Baek Seung Jo. That's it. She had no other goals or dreams, and it took a long time (more than half the show) for that to change. 

Kdrama month prompt 23: Your Best Couple

Ko Seung-Ji and Pan Da-Yang

These two may meet on a bit of a cliche, but their relationship grows from being business partners to friends and possibly more than that. They seem very real. They fight, they get along, they plan fun days together, they go through challenges and do what they can to overcome them.

I'm adding a best secondary couple here:

Jason and Pil-Suk

These two had a lot to learn about singing and performing from each other. Jason taught Pil-Suk to believe in herself and follow her talent. Pil-Suk taught Jason to respect other people's talent and appreciate working as a team player.