More Than Friends / 경우의 수 [2020]

[Jane]

Hello More Than Friends watchers!

 

I am here to share about an upcoming forum game that will be part of Jang Haven's upcoming 100th day celebrations!

This game is organised by members, with members, for members and staff to get to know one another better! Check out this thread for more information to sign up!

 

 

P/S: If you stumbled across Jang Haven recently, come join us and start chatting about the dramas you are watching. So many good ones this season that we can't stop talking about! 

[mademoiselle]

Episode 7

Soo is such a cute (but poor) puppy in this episode.

 

Things that I like:

• Soo did not try to sabotage Woo Yeon's relationship with Joon Soo. Hopefully he doesn't slap me in the face in the next episode.

 

• The bit at the cinema when Joon Soo came after Soo bought the popcorns — I like that Soo decided to leave. If he is a prick then he would have walked up to them and made things all awkward and he did not. At this point I see that he's putting Woo Yeon before his feelings. That's +1 point for Soo.

 

• Kabedon

 

Others:

• I've been meaning to say this & don't think I have because I kept forgetting. The antagonism between Soo and Joon Soo is so strange for me. Technically they are also "business partners", so shouldn't they be polite to each other?

 

• Why do guys keep buying shoes for the girl?! Didn't they say buying shoes mean the girl will eventually leave them?? Aish. LOL.

 

• Jin Joo makes me laugh. She whines about being single and now finally a guy is showing interest in her she is completely oblivious Now it's 2 at that (including Sang Hyuk).

 

New Stills

Oooooh~ what's happening but I love the photo. Ong Seong Wu looks so gorgeous here!!!

 

Spoiler

 

Edited October 24, 2020 by mademoiselle

[Tofu]

It's nice to see the roles reversed in episode 7 with Soo longing for Woo Yeon. He stared at her a lot in this episode -- it was hard not to feel bad for him, but Soo being irritated when Joon Soo is mentioned was so satisfying too. Haha!

 

I agreed that I think it's commendable for Soo to leave when Joon Soo showed up at the movie theater. 

 

8 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

• Why do guys keep buying shoes for the girl?! Didn't they say buying shoes mean the girl will eventually leave them?? Aish. LOL.

Maybe we'll get a scene where they talk about comfortability -- a shoe that's comfortable is better than a shoe that's pretty? Haha!

[Tofu]

From watching clips of episode 8, I've come to realized that there are a lot of talking but very little listening and understanding. 

 

It seems like Soo told Woo Yeon at the end of the episode that he will be the one to have the unrequited love and be the one to wait for her this time. They also found out that they went to Namsan Tower that day, but missed each other too.

[mademoiselle]

1 hour ago, Tofu said:

From watching clips of episode 8, I've come to realized that there are a lot of talking but very little listening and understanding. 

 

It seems like Soo told Woo Yeon at the end of the episode that he will be the one to have the unrequited love and be the one to wait for her this time. They also found out that they went to Namsan Tower that day, but missed each other too.

Sigh, I've learnt we cannot praise someone until we watch both episodes. Soo misbehaved in ep 8 and now both men are being annoying, competiting.

 

Yeah both found out they went to Namsam Tower. And exactly like you said Soo proposes to her that he'll like her as long as she likes him, and more, that he'll wait for her to like him again. However I think Woo Yeon seems adamant to stick with Joon Soo for now. She was a bit hard on Soo, for letting him search for her photo for so long. I read that he disposed all of her other photos and left one, but does that mean he destroyed the films too? Will have to watch to find out coz if the film is intact, he could have just redeveloped them rather than searching through rubbish bins.

[Tofu]

I saw that about the two men and it was a bit annoying to watch. They are both adults they should be able to handle this appropriately. They are also employer and employee too! Like you mentioned, how does this not affect their working relationship? 

 

I haven't watched episode 8 yet so I'll come back to comment after I watch it. In the meantime, let's enjoy Ong Seong Wu's song for the drama named Late Regret. I forget that he was a singer before he was an actor. Haha!

 

His bandmate from Wanna One, Ha Sung Woon, also participated in the OST for More Than Friends too. He's the singer for the song, Is It Coincidence?  -- Linking to Jane's post of the OST here.

 

[SilverMoonTea]

She seems so driven to finish their last photoshot without any hitch, ironically she created that herself by removing the picture from his wallet. Since he has burnt the remaining of her pictures, it send him desperate & nuts looking over it. I have to give credit to the actor, for making Lee Soo's pain so noticeable in the last scene. And I love how Lee Soo had decided he will stick with his now "so called" one sided love. 

 

But clearly can see WY already fallen back under his spell. She should never run into Joon Soo's arm just to divert her pain. When she's confused she already know the answer. Someone given me advice before, when you're confused actually you already knew where your heart lies at. 

[mademoiselle]

On the contrary, we could also look at it as Soo has always been under Woo Yeon's spell just that he's never aware and Soo fell in love with her first...both are cursed, lol.

 

Edited October 27, 2020 by mademoiselle

[mademoiselle]

BTS

 

[Jane]

Hi guys! I have been neglecting this show, but I am catching up now. Just binged 3 episodes in the last few days! Starting on Ep 8 soon. 

 

Like WY's girlfriends, I wasn't surprised that she made the decision to go to Soo over JS. @SilverMoonTea mentioned about WY living with rose tinted glasses about her feelings for Soo, I find it interesting that she actually does want to cast away those glasses by constantly going to him and wanting to make things real. It's quite amazing how she keeps living with her heart on her sleeves, despite knowing she will get hurt.

 

I was so frustrated when Soo didn't tell her why he couldn't make it. Would it kill you to explain things properly, Soo?! But I suppose it taught him a lesson that he should be more upfront and to stop hiding behind all these dismissive statements. I also expect the truth will come out eventually, with Young-hee, Hyun-jae, and Joon-soo knowing the truth. I wonder how Joon-soo feels about it. Even though he "won" through his persistence, he also knows that he's a rebound and he will always be always be second in WY's true affections. 

 

I am going to keep saying this but I really really like the girls' friendship a lot and I like the stories that are told through them. Young-hee's story is the one I am most interested in actually. She seems to be caught between this rock and a hard place. But I don't wonder if she actually likes being relied on as the breadwinner of the family. Even if she was to have money, would she really be happier? Every other scene, I keep expecting Hyun-jae to leave her because she continues to be reluctant to share her life with him, but yet he keeps staying and reassuring her. I don't know guys, I am simultaneously waiting for him to crack and willing them to stay together because they are so cute (esp when they were drunken scene)!

 

Oh Jin-ju ah Jin-ju. I wonder how she is going to deal with the affections of two guys that are not her type. Honestly wasn't quite sure if Sang-hyuk did like her but the CCTV sealed the deal for me. I wonder what that CCTV will capture.....

 

Notable mention to the scene where Young-hee had a company get-together and her Manager said some really irritating stuff and they used dog-barking to overlay on it. LOL! 

 

 

[mademoiselle]

1 hour ago, JenL said:

Haha, I think for me, I don't think the male character is necessarily selfish or bad, but I don't think I can deal with so many episodes dealing with 2 character types I don't particularly like - I think the female character gets under my skin also. I guess at least she tries to date. But I really don't see what she saw in him. It'd be like if I had a crush on a guy because he opened the door for me once ten years ago...unless there's more about their high school years in later episodes...it felt too bland to me for it to be such a strong love?? And confessing again and again and begging someone to love you feels a bit sad and devaluing to yourself (at least in the first episode). I agree that parents play an important role in shaping children's lives - The guy sounds like he's full of baggage. But if you want to see a guy with lots of baggage, I'd just recommend going dating because you see it too much in real life. Mind you, I've only seen 2 episodes, so maybe it gets a lot better later? Also this would be good drama for some, but I think it's just not to my tastes - I think I'm currently more into things having a comical side and the dramas revolving around fun antics rather than emotionally taxing (ie. The funny and ridiculous lies in Start Up & Dol dol sol sol la la sol & 18 Again)

@-StrongTower- @Alice Wonderland

Bringing you guys here hehehe. It's OK, we won't bite! I do think it got better. By the end of episode 2, I was already sold for the show.

 

There's actually prologues/epilogues in the latter episodes (like episode 1+2) about Lee Soo. As for what she sees in Soo, like @SilverMoonTea has said she is wearing pink tinted glasses, I think she doesn't know the real Soo which is why now where they are at is the perfect time for them to really get to know one another.

 

Soo obviously likes her first since high school. We were given privilege to this little detail; however, as stupid as it sounds he doesn't know it/realise it. That's one of the "look forward" point for me because I know once he figures out, he's gonna be so whipped and dead in love/loyal because he is that kind of guy—the kind when in love, it's crash & burn to the point of no return. Hmm, I don't think Lee Soo is full of baggage, he's just hurt/traumatised which is relatable (at least for some of us here because of our real life experiences). And this story is written in a way so that he could learn to love, find happiness and grow out of the shadow of his parents' bad marriage. Agree Woo Yeon was de-valuing herself, which is also why I believe she can't put all the blame on Lee Soo for her not being able to move on. This story doesn't tell you everything immediately, it is like an onion which you have to peel layer by layer to find out more about them, especially Lee Soo. 

 

Having said that, I shall respect your choice not to continue on watching if it's not your cuppa. 

--- --- --- 

@Jane Young Hee is a female version of Joon Young.  You'll know what I mean soon LOL. Hyun Jae is being a really good boyfriend! The writer should elaborate more on this couple too to be honest. I mean, 10 years is a long time I kinda want to better understand why Hyun Jae is so smitten with Young Hee when she sometimes reject having him in her private life so much etc. I was expecting them to have a break up (and find their way back to each other) but so far they are still going strong.

 

I love that dog barking special effects. If only I am skilled enough to do it too for emails/work people. LOL.

[Alice Wonderland]

Hi, first time posting here. Thanks @mademoiselle I know you wont bite cuz you're nice so I come... haha

 

Just done ep 6. 2 eps more. Get some break between my watching, commenting. 

 

I feel that Soo keep missing his chances and now he realized everything too late. He was too busy protecting his feeling and thinking that being that way will make him happy. He grows seeing his parents separated and reunited as a friend. And they looked better that way better than they were married couple. So I think there's a twisted logic inserted in his tiny mind and it grows pretty badly as he gets older. The thought that being friends is much better than a lover. That friend will remain longer than a lover and just being a close friend will keep you safe. No need to get hurt. I guess that what makes him that obnoxious and self-centered. He didn't know how to express his feeling properly and now as he watches that WY tried to distance herself from him and there's the sweet guy who's in love with her. He feels insecure and start feeling that he has passed something important, to be exact he let it go. And the last thing comes is his regret and the pain which he thought he could avoid are eventually coming all his way now. Poor him,  he becomes the boy who cried wolf. 

 

Its clearly that WY still loves him and seems like she always does. The only thing that Soo needs just win her heart back. And to do so he needs to take off his shield that turned him into a jerk all this time. 

[mademoiselle]

New Stills - The two men drinking together can only mean Woo Yeon has dumped both of them

[Alice Wonderland]

Ok. I'm updated to the latest eps. It is very clear that WY will return to Soo. The ending conclusion is just right. Now their roles reversed. Soo likes her but she will push him away. While we all know and so they also know that their heart are still tighten to each other.

 

The writer makes me like for the CEO. But now I feel a bit sorry for Soo. Cuz WY never really give her heart to JS. And it's always belongs to Soo. How to end this tiring triangle. The three party should let it go and be honest to each other. But yeah this is the story they want to tell so we'll take the long road to the end of flowery path. Hahaha. I will enjoy the ride. 

 

So let's talk about the side characters like JJ and her younger boyfriend and YH and her long time boyfriend. I am worried about JJ's bf. Like what the bar guy said, its too sudden that he comes into her and all those coincidence. I think her zero dating experience failure her judgement. She's quickly taking a conclusion while she should have thought about it thoroughly before. Hmm.. that guy is cute tho. Hope he is not a fraud. Then YH and her super patient boyfriend. Dunno what should I say. Just get married and face the hardship together. Don't they see Soo and WY as a lesson? Regrets will always be late. 

[mademoiselle]

@Alice Wonderland Oh yay you are up-to-date! So is this mean you are captivated and liked it better now?

 

The backbone of this story is not fresh, a usual trope. Though with a change in casting and presentation, I do liked it a lot. Ong Seong Wu is so good at being pitiful and acting like an abandoned pup. Soo tugs at my heartstring at times and because we get this revelation of the things he did for Woo Yeon BTS, it's hard to dislike him or see him as a douchebag when we know he isn't.

 

As for Joon Soo, my friend said his character is too vanilla - which I find myself unable to disagree. He is less layered than I had hoped. Still, if there was no Soo... all the things he did/say would definitely win my heart - just not sure how long he could keep up the sweetness coz these things do change after the relationship mature. So in that sense, at least Woo Yeon and Soo are honest in their behaviour and interaction with one another.

 

I agree Jin Joo's loveline appears to be in danger although I wish I'm just being skeptical and overly suspicious. But this is dramaland, it does seem to pave the path that this guy may not be as good as he seems so that Sang Hyuk could take over later.

 

As for Young Hee, I understand her hesitation. Though I think she must first learn to share her burden with the boyfriend before even thinking about getting married. If she doesn't change this, things would be worst after marriage. Many people faced more hardships after being married, all the issues that had been addressed in the drama will come at her on full force once she's married into the family, so there's no right or wrong in fearing to take the plunge. Remember what Da Jung said on her Divorce show in 18 Again? That for the guy, he's always the guest in the girl's family but the girl became a family at the guy's side etc... that was so aptly said and relatable.

[Alice Wonderland]

Hi @mademoiselle yeah I like it a lot better now and I think I'll continue it. 

 

2 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

As for Joon Soo, my friend said his character is too vanilla - which I find myself unable to disagree. He is less layered than I had hoped. Still, if there was no Soo... all the things he did/say would definitely win my heart - just not sure how long he could keep up the sweetness coz these things do change after the relationship mature. So in that sense, at least Woo Yeon and Soo are honest in their behaviour and interaction with one another.

I feel nervous about JS who always be the sweetheart and says only good things. I mean like his friend says if you keep being anxious while holding something you then let it go cuz it means it's not yours. I like him actually but how he deal Soo is a bit annoying. I mean he starts doing a bit unfair and didn't tell the truth to WY. He doesn't let her decide one more last time to pick him or Soo. Something which begins from dishonest will end up crumbling slowly in the end. He knows that MY is still liking Soo that much but he doesn't want to let her go. But I think what he did is still tolerable as he acts as her boyfriend, being jealous. Well.. a bit sad for him too. He seems to obsessed with WY after his past love that he couldn't keep it. He might end up being the annoying one later. Taking over annoying Soo. Lol

 

And I agreed that among WY and Soo are much closer to each other. I mean they have it all, the sweet sour and bitter part of a relationship. 

 

Totally agreed to the last paragraph you wrote. Oh... 18 Again did teach us all a good lesson huh?  

[mademoiselle]

New stills

I have a feeling that this week we will be annoyed with these two boys and I'm all for Woo Yeon to tell them both off and "dump" them.

Edited October 30, 2020 by mademoiselle

[mademoiselle]

Mian, I'm gonna spam again with HD photos!! So prettyyyy!

 

Spoiler

Heart for you @abs-oluteM

 

[Jane]

Alrightys, I am all caught up, just in time for this week's episodes!

 

@Tofu @mademoiselle With your forewarning to expect the boys to be irritating, I think I was more amused than irritated by the end. If WY does leave both of them as the next episode stills show, they probably deserved that.

 

But besides that I thought Ep 8 had several meaningful lines, especially Soo and WY's discussion about abandonment and how it can be perceived differently depending on where you stand. I thought that they needed this exchange to give each other food for thought for how they have been like so far and to go forwards.

 

I don't know what Soo was expecting from WY now that she knows he likes her. He was expecting her to just fall into his arms with that knowledge? No, my dear boy, you still have a lot more making up to do. Firstly she still has to trust you and that you won't go away again. And she needs to know why you like her!

 

WY was quite right to question his intentions and his feelings towards her. I don't think Soo is ready to be in a relationship quite yet. Finally acknowledging his feelings was a huge step but being in a relationship is quite another thing. 

 

When Soo was talking to his omma, I realised that the More Than Friends label can be applied to his parents as well. They will never be able to be a couple again, having had more bad memories than good ones, but they are beyond platonic friendship. Soo and WY have the chance to create more good memories than the bad ones they currently have.

 

To be honest, I am starting to find Joon-soo rather boring too. He wants to like the things WY likes, accommodates and caters to her. There's nothing to really say WY would be better off with him. There are just no sparks and awareness between JS and WY the way that there is with Soo and WY, so I just don't feel any pull towards this pairing.

 

And then JS talked about feeling anxious in holding on to her. Which means he either senses WY is wavering or he doesn't trust her enough to stay true to him. When she has continuously rejected Soo. Maybe this will be why she seems to leave him in the previews.

 

 

[mademoiselle]

5 hours ago, Alice Wonderland said:

Totally agreed to the last paragraph you wrote. Oh... 18 Again did teach us all a good lesson huh?

Not just 18 Again; it's also Go Back Couple or Hi! Bye Mama because shows like this, the message is to remind us not to make the mistake the characters made. Not wait till it's too late and leave only regrets (Jang Nara with her Omma Kim Mi Kyung, OMG makes me cried so much). Once in a while we need a drama like this. Even "Do You Like Brahms?" tried to teach us to be happy and think of ourselves first.

31 minutes ago, Jane said:

WY was quite right to question his intentions and his feelings towards her. I don't think Soo is ready to be in a relationship quite yet. Finally acknowledging his feelings was a huge step but being in a relationship is quite another thing.

Yeah, Woo Yeon was in disbelief. She just cannot believe all of a sudden he likes her after all these times. Can't blame her for that, because she never knew all of the things he did for her. Plus she keeps misunderstanding him. She often says things to his face and Soo would be like, "I never said any of that". It all played out in Woo Yeon's mind and her prejudice against him all these years. So they really need to get to know each other better (how in the world she'd love him if she keeps misunderstand him). If she needs to know why he likes her, then I need to know why she likes him!

 

I really like Soo in episode 7 for keeping his feelings to himself and let her be with Joon Soo. I of course didn't like it in episode 8 he purposely being a jerk regarding the shoes bit however we see that he genuinely and sincerely apologises to Woo Yeon for all the hurt he caused her and intended to leave the country after the shoot (and even burnt the photos signifying of letting go except one he just couldn't), not to mention I love the throbbing pain I feel for him when he realised he lost the photos and went looking for it.

 

I wonder how it will play out in the next episode. My personal preference is for him to stay quiet beside her. Be there when she needed someone and wait for her to believe his love is real. I seriously don't want him to confront Joon Soo or be a hinder to her relationship anymore. I want him to just sit there, watch, wait and be tortured (coz he deserves it) and I like the pain. Hahaha.

[mademoiselle]

New stills

Spoiler

 

[Alice Wonderland]

@mademoiselle who punch Soo?! LOL. aigoo yaa... can they stop doing that? It's not fun at all. 

 

3 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

Not just 18 Again; it's also Go Back Couple or Hi! Bye Mama because shows like this, the message is to remind us not to make the mistake the characters made. Not wait till it's too late and leave only regrets (Jang Nara with her Omma Kim Mi Kyung, OMG makes me cried so much). Once in a while we need a drama like this. Even "Do You Like Brahms?" tried to teach us to be happy and think of ourselves first.

Well I watched most you mentioned. Especially HBM really touched my heart the most. Cried from ep 1 to the end. Such a bittersweet one. And btw KMY is the mother of dramaland. Most of those show has her all. LOL

[mademoiselle]

BTS

 

@Alice Wonderland

Joon Soo punches Soo. But looks like Soo punches back too

[Jane]

5 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

Plus she keeps misunderstanding him. She often says things to his face and Soo would be like, "I never said any of that". It all played out in Woo Yeon's mind and her prejudice against him all these years. So they really need to get to know each other better (how in the world she'd love him if she keeps misunderstand him). If she needs to know why he likes her, then I need to know why she likes him!

 

I see that as her coping mechanism to protect herself from another disappointment. She had to deliberately misunderstand him, especially with this sudden turn. Soo needs to work really really hard to get her to stop doing that now 

 

On 10/28/2020 at 1:09 PM, mademoiselle said:

@Jane Young Hee is a female version of Joon Young.  You'll know what I mean soon LOL. Hyun Jae is being a really good boyfriend! The writer should elaborate more on this couple too to be honest. I mean, 10 years is a long time I kinda want to better understand why Hyun Jae is so smitten with Young Hee when she sometimes reject having him in her private life so much etc. I was expecting them to have a break up (and find their way back to each other) but so far they are still going strong.

 

No wonder she feels so familiar! Lolol! I agree that I want to know more about this couple. They were very sweet these couple of episodes, I like how they made it up in the non-dramatic way of a couple who know each other well. It also made me laugh how much they were on the same wavelength when they both decided to tell Soo and WY about Namsan, even though they agreed not to.

 

22 hours ago, Alice Wonderland said:

I am worried about JJ's bf. Like what the bar guy said, its too sudden that he comes into her and all those coincidence. I think her zero dating experience failure her judgement. She's quickly taking a conclusion while she should have thought about it thoroughly before. Hmm.. that guy is cute tho. Hope he is not a fraud.

 

I am surprised that Jin-ju is so readily accepting this young boy. I figured she would be uncomfortable with the attentions of a much younger man since she seems to have grown up with very high expectations of a male partner instilled in her. I am liking that we are getting hints that Sang-hyuk has always liked Jin-ju but he felt inferior to her to make a move. I wonder if him opening Tonight was to establish himself so that he could eventually pursue her.

 

I am very in favour of WY dumping the both of them next episode. The two boys look like they are going to continue trying to one up each other.

[mademoiselle]

Omg hahahahahaha our wish came true @Tofu

I'm laughing so hard