Currently Watching: Hogu's Love, Persevere Goo Hae-ra, Hyde Jekyll Me

I've been gone so long that I've totally skipped writing about several dramas that I've been watching. I saw Healer, late to the game, and marathoned the entire thing in a matter of days. I loved it so much and fell so hard for Ji Chang-wook. Crazy.

I also started on several other dramas but have failed to finish them because even more dramas have started and are now taking up most of my time. I'm halfway through Birth of a Beauty but have, for now, put it on the back burner. The same goes for Liar Game (just 4 more episodes, I know), but I'm determined to eventually get back to it. Soon.

Meanwhile, dramas like High School Love On and Surplus Princess have been completely forgotten. And I have yet to get started on Misaeng. Soon, I swear!

What I'm currently preoccupied with are as follows:

1. Hogu's Love - I'm not sure what to make of this drama just yet. I'm sort of addicted to it but I'm not sure why. I love UEE in it and hers is a character I can empathize with. I equally love Choi Woo-shik but for totally different reasons. Also, while I love Im Seulong as an actor, I absolutely loathe his character. Plus, I'm not sure what to make of how they ended the 6th episode. I guess I just have to wait and see.

2. Persevere Goo Hae-ra - I'm not yet completely caught up with the drama because I made the mistake of marathoning the first 5 episodes over a weekend and totally forgot that this is a once-a-week show. So, in order to not be completely left hanging again, I'm trying to pace myself with it. So far, though, so good. The music is awesome. The characters are relatable. The plotlines are believable, taking into consideration the fact that there's only so much verisimilitude a musical drama can muster, of course.

3. Hyde, Jekyll, Me - Not sure if the story is enough to keep me around... But I'm determined to stick with it. I love Hyun Bin and Han Ji-min individually, and while their chemistry has yet to explode, I do think they're cute enough together. Also, Sung Joon is doing so well in his role. He has me so conflicted right now. HA. Here's to hoping this week's episodes bring more light to the conflicts we're facing.

4. We Got Married - How sad am I that Jonghyun and Yura are leaving the show? Very. But I can't say that this has come as a shock. I was waiting for it to happen, even while hoping it didn't. They've only been on the show for a couple of months but their chemistry has been fluctuating - mostly because Jonghyun has the hardest time opening up. Also, that Jonghyun-Nana dating scandal. Le sigh.

There are new dramas about to air soon, of which Superdaddy Yeol, Divorce Lawyer in Love, and Angry Mom look promising. I've also heard good thing about Heard It Through the Grapevine but I'm waiting for more feedback before I actually decide to tune in. So many dramas, so little time.

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Currently Watching: She's So Lovable, Liar Game, Mix & Match

I'm itching to get this entry out of the way because I need to get started on the finale of She's So Lovable. Also, lunch. I'm starving.

So without further ado, here are the shows that are still keeping me very busy.

1. She's So Lovable - Despite the ick factor of dating your dead sister's ex-boyfriend, I must say I'm loving this show. Krystal has definitely climbed some steps up my list of favorite idol-actors. Rain is effortlessly gorgeous. And L, though definitely the weakest link among the 3 leads, is still owning my heart. Shi-woo is such a wonderful character and I hope he survives this heartbreak and stay by Se-na's side, even as just a friend.

Although I love the show, it isn't perfect. It's far from it. There have been a lot of things that made me want to throw a rock at my screen, mainly how Hyun-wook kept his relationship with So-eun a secret for the longest time and would've actually gone all the way to Boston just to keep Se-na from finding out. That was such an ass move and I'm sort of glad Jae-young was just as big an asshole to out Hyun-wook's secret. Also, in the recent episode where Hyun-wook's father decides not to learn anything from fighting with Hyun-wook for the past 3 years and is trying to keep him away from the girl he loves. Like that's gonna keep the balance in your screwed up father-son relationship.

The finale aired last night and my download is almost complete. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to how they close the show.

2. Liar Game - Lee Sang-yoon is love. So much love. He was adorable in Angel Eyes but he's super hot in this one. Shin Sung-rok, too. And despite Nam Da-jung being my least favorite character in the drama, Kim So-eun is so pretty.

The show is intense and is getting more exciting as we move along the rounds of the game. I'm not proud enough to admit that there have been times when they talk so fast about strategy that I'm left not knowing what the hell just happened. So I have had to rewind a couple of times just to make sense of the subtitles.

Right now, I'm not loving how idealistically naive and dumb our lead girl is. Here's to hoping for some character development as the show progresses. We can already see how she's affecting Woo-jin, I only hope some of his smarts rub off on her too.

3. High School Love On - I'm one episode behind. But so far, still good. Woohyun is owning me, as usual. His heartbreak is my heartbreak and I just want to reach into the screen and give him a hug. Well, him and Sungyeol both. Those boys need a break, and each other. To hell with that woman who does not know the basics of being a mother. She's not being a good one to either of the boys when she'd throw Woohyun away so she can be a mom to Sungyeol. In what logic is that even remotely right?

I need to catch up on this before the new episode comes out this weekend. Since several of my shows are ending this week, I might have some time again.

4. Cantabile Tomorrow - Admittedly, I'm super behind on this show. I think I'm only midway through episode 2. So I have a lot of catching up to do. I'm hoping it gets better as it goes on. Right now, the only thing keeping me from giving up is Joo-won and his pretty hair. Oh, also Go Kyung-pyo. Sooo cute!

5. We Got Married - Jjongah couple will be the death of me. I'm really liking the slow progress between the two of them. They're not suddenly super lovey-dovey and Jong-hyun is still really awkward, but visibly less so than he was at the onset. Skinship has slowly been increasing and I love how easy Jong-hyun laughs these days. He's visibly more comfortable around Yura and he's starting to really come out of his shell. It's apparent not just during their dates but also during his interviews.

Jae-rim and So-eun on the other hand are, well, out of hand. Skinship on this end of the spectrum has been insane and Jae-rim is such a sly character. It's absolutely wonderful to watch. But then you also start to question the sincerity since they had only just met. There's no build up, no actual progress, because they started at 0 and sped right to 180 kph.

6. Mix & Match - Honestly, I shouldn't be surprised with the way YG delivered iKON's final lineup. He simply wanted to make people think it wasn't just a battle for 7th between the new guys. Which, admit it, made things a little more exciting. And I really can't complain. I voted for Chanwoo.

Sadly, I also voted for Hongseok. I think my friends were genuinely surprised that I didn't vote OT6 + newbie. I voted 2 old Team B members + Chanwoo + Hongseok. I sincerely feel like Hongseok was a victim of cruel editing, how they made him seem like someone who didn't work hard and like he didn't get along well with the original guys. Which, of course, was obviously not true based on the insane skinship he had with Bobby and Jinhwan in that adorable cuddle pile-up they had going on during OT9's sleepover. Also, he also seemed very close to Hanbin. I'm really hoping YG keeps him around.

Otherwise, I'm fine with the final members. I am such a Bobby fangirl. I absolutely love Junhoe's voice. And Chanwoo was a favorite from the start. Honestly, the best thing about Chanwoo being in iKON is the cuteness explosion between him and Bobby. Kid’s a potential hyungwhore.

Now, my only wish is for iKONTV to happen. Seriously. I need this to tide me over.

I still have several downloads of current dramas that I haven't started on. Maybe now that Lovable and Mix & Match are over, I'll have some time for them. On my back burner are Modern Farmer, Bad Guys, and Misaeng.

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Currently Watching: Discovery of Romance, She's So Lovable, Surplus Princess, Mix & Match

It's been awhile since I've blogged about my current dramas, so I'm not sure if I've missed out on any that I did get to watch but never wrote about. Hmmm...

Despite several dramas ending in the past couple of weeks, my plate is still full with new shows that are just as addicting. Here are the shows that are taking up most of my time right now.

1. Discovery of Romance - I love Eric and he's the main reason I'm watching this show. Not to mention I absolutely fell in love with his on-screen chemistry with Jung Yumi in Que Sera Sera and I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to see them back together in a lighter drama. Granted, while the plotline of Discovery is not as heavy and agonizing as QSS, and therefore an easier watch, it's characters are also not as gripping. Good thing we have Kim Seul-gi and Yoon Hyun-min on board because those two are beyond adorable.

This is not to say I'm not enjoying the drama, because I am. I'm also behind Han Yeo-reum and Kang Tae-ha's love story 100%.  And every time Eric sheds a tear on screen, my heart breaks a little. It hurts so good.

2. She's So Lovable - I'm not sure why I'm watching this show but it's Rain's return to the small screen so I tuned in. Also, I kinda really like Krystal. It's a good thing then that she's doing really well in this drama and is making me forget about her idol self. She has good rapport with Rain, too, despite the big age gap. I'm just really iffy about the whole I'm falling in love with my dead sister's ex-boyfriend bit. It's a huge bit because that's basically the whole plot, but the side plots are interesting enough. I like seeing how the two are brought together by fate (or by that adorable dog, really) and how it all takes place in the music industry where we're given a small glimpse into the dark world of k-pop, plagiarism scandals and all.

3. Surplus Princess - I had no intentions of watching this show but I've been hearing so many good things about it and so I decided to download the first few episodes. I wouldn't say it's the best thing ever to come out of cable tv, but it is cute and I love the whole idea of coming together as a family with strangers you meet in a share house. (Which is what sold the whole idea of Roommate to me in the first place.)

It's a bonus that I love Kim Seul-gi and that she's being given more opportunities to make everyone else fall in love with her in all these dramas she's suddenly in. Also, Song Jae-rim. Honestly, I've never seen a single Song Jae-rim drama before this. I've heard many a people rave about him on tumblr and on dramabeans but all I know him from is 2NE1's music video of "Go Away" where he brutally smacked CL down to the ground. But then We Got Married decided to cast him on the show and I can honestly say I'm ecstatic to have been "introduced" to him (more on him later). He's adorable and I'm glad to have him (and his yummy apple-bottoms) on my screen so often.

4. High School Love On - Again, another drama I had no intentions of watching until gifsets on tumblr coerced me into downloading the first few episodes. Which I marathoned over a couple of days and now I'm on the edge of my seat every weekend trying to see if the new episode has been subbed yet. Too bad it's only aired once a week and we've already have had several interruptions (a football match and the 2014 Asian Games). I can't wait for the next episode and I've now learned to appreciate Nam Woohyun. I watch this with my younger sister and she likes Sungyeol more. She's trying to convince me that he looks like CN Blue's Yonghwa, but that's absurd.

5. Mix & Match - Call me masochistic, but I am willingly exposing myself to more of YG's cruelty and all I can do to escape this unscathed is to prepare myself for the onslaught of tears the finale will inevitably serve me. I mean, I was already tearing up towards the end of episode 2, how am I supposed to survive the entire thing? Damnit.

As much as I love B.I, it's Bobby who's giving me so much feels right now. He's a monster on stage, but behind the scenes he's always such a caring brother to the other members. He's a softie and is not afraid to cry, he's also sweet enough to truly worry over maknae Dong-hyuk and to comfort him with a hug and a "hyung is here." While B.I is that tough leader we all admire, Bobby is the respectable sunbae who reaches out a hand to the rookies with a huge toothy smile. Too sweet for words. Also, Junhoe. Junhoe's voice just kills me. Those high notes during "Mercy" were intense.

As for the new guys, I think I really like Chanwoo. And not just because I recognize him as an actor. I think he really does have the potential and I find it endearing how he's usually quiet and fearful around the hyungs but then looks totally at ease when he performs. Can't wait for episode 3!

6. We Got Married - I have to admit that I shed a tear or two when Wooyoung and Seyoung had to part. I really thought they looked good together and their relationship felt genuine. I know most of the show is scripted, but those reactions between the two always seemed real. I wish they maintain their friendship now that their time on the show has ended.

Jonghyun and Yura are as awkwardly adorable as ever. And I love seeing Jonghyun slowly breaking down his own walls. He's starting to feel more comfortable with Yura and he smiles and laughs more now. He's starting to initiate more conversations and skinship and I'm all for that. That tickling scene in the last episode made me squeal out loud. Seriously.

And last but definitely not the least, the new couple is totally awesome. Song Jae-rim and Kim So-eun were never really in my radar before they were cast on this show, but I'm happy getting to know them as they get to know each other. Jae-rim seems like a very playful and mischievous guy and it's cool how So-eun just seems to ride his vibe. I have a feeling I'm going to fall in love with these two as the months go by. I'll be bracing myself for eventual heartbreak then.

I have a full plate still, but I'm not one to complain. If anything, why don't we have more hours a day to watch all the drams? I still haven't started on Plus Nine Boys and the new season of Roommate and I'm already feeling overwhelmed. Aigoo.

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Currently Watching: Fated to Love You, You're All Surrounded, Trot Lovers, Marriage Not Dating

It's been awhile since I've had this much shows on my plate... and I love it. SO. MUCH.

That's not to say that the currently airing shows are the best shows ever, but at least they're all managing to keep me glued to the screen and I've been pretty good with keeping up to date with most of them. Which means I'm watching at least two dramas a day, plus the occasional variety show. Which also means I'm driving myself crazy waiting for the next episode and I'm going through all the woes that's part and parcel of live watching k-dramas.

I shouldn't be complaining about lack of sleep and time though, because seriously, I've been begging the drama gods for good stories for the past months and my prayers have finally been answered.

1. Fated to Love You - I only saw the first episode of the original Taiwanese version years ago, so really, I can't compare. But so far, so good.

Although, admittedly, Jang Hyuk's over-the-top portrayal can get testy, it's the fact that he delivers the softer moments of Lee Gun with so much heart that has me invested in him. And I just really love Jang Nara. She always conveys so much with just a simple look or the nuances of facial expression or body gesture. It would've been too easy to dismiss Kim Mi-young as pathetic and weak, but Jang Nara has managed to portray her as having so much inner strength and heart that's hard to disregard. I love it, so far.

2. You're All Surrounded - This drama is almost coming to a close, and I'm enjoying the ride so very much. And as much as I love Go Ara and Cha Seung-won, I have to say that Lee Seung-gi is selling this drama for me. He has carried so much weight in the lead role and I'm glad he's delivering way beyond expectations. I never doubted his capability as a dramatic actor, The King 2 Hearts assured me of that, but I'm just happy that his progress as an actor has been continuous.

I'll be watching the final episode tonight, and though I know the turn of events will have me squirming in my seat (and plotting the bloody demise of certain drama villains), I'm also looking forward to seeing Puppy happy and at peace.

3. Trot Lovers - Jung Eun-ji. She's awesome. And adorable. And just such a delight to watch.

Admittedly, right now, I'm not yet completely sold on either male leads, but Jang Joon-hyun (Ji Hyun-woo) is slowly converting me. Yes, he's an immature, irrational hothead... But there's still so much time for the drama to turn that around. He doesn't deserve someone as nice as Choi Choon-hee, so I'm hoping the drama makes him work for it. Because when he isn't being an ass, he actually has so much chemistry with Choon-hee. And with Byul! Those two together; they just kill me. And to be honest, while on paper Geon-woo seems like the perfect guy, he just isn't enough for our girl. Choon-hee needs someone who is as passionate about music as she is, someone who's willing to fight for what they believe is right, someone as determined as her. And that's not Geon-woo.

4. Marriage Not Dating - Honestly, I first decided to watch this drama because of Yeon Woo-jin. And of course, Jinwoon is always adorable. But good god, Han Groo is such a revelation. This is the first time I've seen her in anything and I'm in love. She's just wonderful.

Also, I'm always so surprised by the way this drama is spinning gender roles in a way I'd never expect. Initially, when I read that it was about a man who didn't want to get married contracting it up with a girl who is desperate to get married just to throw off his matchmaking mother, I thought it was going to be yet another pathetic female stereotype. Well, color me surprised. Our heroine, Joo Jang-mi may be the romanticist who believes in happily ever after and does want to get married, but she is far from pathetic. Or weak. Or desperate. Instead, she's headstrong and vocal yet kindhearted and loyal. She is also awesome enough to question gender roles and call out injustice where she sees it. Even from her fake boyfriend's seemingly nice grandmother.

5. High School King of Savvy - I'm still not sure about the age gap between our leads, not because it's huge (because realistically speaking, it's only 10 years, and I've seen dramas with 14-20 years age differences) but because the guy is a child. He's not even legal yet. He's jailbait. So here's my dilemma... Jung Soo-young and Lee Min-suk are adorable together. So I do love the kisses and hugs, and everything that makes them a couple. But there will always be that niggling voice in the back of my head reminding me that he is a baby. And she is very much an adult.

Here's to hoping they use that 2-episode extension to introduce some kind of time jump just to make Min-suk legal enough for some sexy kisses. Mmmm...

6. We Got Married (Woo-young + Se-young, Jong-hyun + Yura) - I've finally dropped watching Namgoong Min and Hong Jin-young. Things were getting boring on their end. And reversely, things are starting to pick up with Woo-young and Se-young. They were totally adorable and awkward in the beginning and then right just when they were getting really close, Woo-young kept pulling back and things turned cold. But now they're back to insane skinship and cute bickering so I'm tuned in again.

But, hallelujah! More Hong Jong-hyun on my laptop screen! Gawd, I love that guy. Not only is he gorgeous, he's not a bad actor either. I just clearly have a thing for them male-model-turned-actor group. All of them. Kim Woo-bin, Lee Soo-hyuk, Sung Joon, Lee Jong-suk, Hong Jong-hyun. I love them. So to the person who decided to cast Jong-hyun, THANK YOU. He is beyond adorable. And surprisingly quiet. It's a good thing Yura is extra bubbly and super talkative. Jong-hyun paired up with someone just as introverted as he is would kill ratings. Haha.

Also, have I mentioned that I absolutely adore how Yura is not even trying to rein in the obvious fact that she's super pleased to be married to Jong-hyun, no matter how fake the marriage? That girl is literally kvelling before our very eyes. She's super into him, no acting required. I can't say he feels the same way, but he's certainly intrigued by her. But remember that time when Yura accidentally drove his RC car into the lake? And she persistently said she was sorry and when she was using a hairdryer to fix the toy, the way he looked at her... That killed me.

I have several more dramas to look forward to, with It's Okay, That's Love just around the corner and Discovery of Romance fast approaching. When will I ever find time to sleep again? But nope, not complaining. I love it when dramaland decides to bombard me with awesome shows. After a very long season of drought, I'm quite happy to be drowning in my drama downloads.

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Currently Watching: Witch's Romance, Angel Eyes, Global WGM, WGM

I rummaged through my drama folder to see what shows I was currently watching only to find out that this was it. I have 2 dramas and several variety shows. That's it. My, my, what a dry spell I have here.

I know I said I'd get a move on once God's Gift ended but I don't think I've made much progress. I've downloaded a handful of episodes of Three Days, Gapdong, Empress Ki, and Taiwanese dramas Just You and Fall In Love With Me. Have I seen any of them? Well, aside from the first half of Three Days' first episode? Nope. I have checked out the kissing scenes between Aaron Yan and Puff Guo from Just You on YouTube though. That's as far as I've gone with these dramas.

For the shows that I'm actually watching, and enjoying the hell out of, here's a short rundown.

1. Witch's Romance - We all know I'm a sucker for the noona romance, so it goes almost without saying that this drama is currently owning all my feels. I just love the whole dynamic of power play in noona romances. Here we have Uhm Jung-hwa's character as the bossy, go-get-it, career woman who knows what she wants and doesn't let anything get in her way. She's awesome and she knows it. Park Seo-joon's character, on the other hand, is the kind-hearted, younger man working his ass to the ground to make a living. The roles are totally reversed, and I love it.

They meet-(not-so)-cute and sparks fly - not exactly the positive kind of sparks at the beginning, but isn't that always the case? One thing leads to another, and as coincidence has it, they find themselves making out in bed. And don't we just love tvN's kisses? Mmmm-hmmmm... But then she finds out how old (or young) he is and kicks him off the bed (awwww). There's a 14-year age difference between the two of them and it doesn't sit well with her. But how much do we love that his reaction is the opposite. "What exactly is the problem?" he asks. "I'm 39 and you're 25!" she answers incredulously. But all he had to say to that was a confused "so?"

2. Angel Eyes - I told myself I wouldn't watch another melo, but Kang Ha-neul has a way of convincing me to do things I don't want to do. It's that damn smile. Too bad for me that he's only playing the young version of the lead male role and won't be around for the entire series, but that's good enough for me.

I tuned into the first 2 episodes without high expectations but Ha-neul's smile and adorable Busan accent killed me. Plus, his chemistry with Nam Ji-hyun was just moving. I didn't plan to stay for the long-haul, but the story's got me well and good so I might as well tune in to the next episodes. I was never a fan of Goo Hye-sun but here's to hoping she reels me back into the story and that she and Lee Sang-yoon are as swoon-worthy as their younger counterparts.

3. Global We Got Married - I was totally prepared to fall in love with SHINee's Key and his Japanese model wife Arisa. The fact that they both are fluent in Korean, Japanese, and English made for some awesome bonding. But I'm finding Arisa a tad too shy and Key a bit awkward. Perhaps it's because Arisa is really young, but they've been giving me the oppa-dongsaeng vibe rather than that of a dating couple.

Super Junior's Heechul and Taiwanese pop singer/actress Puff, on the other hand, are the exact opposite. Neither of them are fluent enough in each other's languages and therefore have the funniest conversations using broken Mandarin, Korean, and English, all spoken very loudly, and partnered with a barrage of hand gestures and body language. Yet, for some reason, I feel that there's more understanding between these two and skinship (and so much more) has come easier and earlier for them than any other couple in the history of We Got Married, global or otherwise. Kyaaaaaa!

4. We Got Married - I'm mostly watching the show for 2PM's Wooyoung and actress Park Se-young. These two are adorable together. They're still slightly awkward but things have been slowly progressing between them. Skinship has improved - he finally got to hold her hand! Haha. But, sadly, variety shows have been put on hold due to the tragic ferry incident. I totally understand why we don't have new episodes of our favorite shows, but I also do miss this couple and I hope they'll be back on air soon.

And... that's that. I'm still watching a couple of variety shows, but not religiously. Running Man will always be there, the last episode I caught was the one with the cast of Angel Eyes, so I'm still quite updated. I'm not sure when they resume filming for the show but I hear Sung Shi-kyung will be guesting? THAT EXCITES ME. I've also been watching random episodes of The Return of Superman and 1 Night 2 Days. But when it comes to dramas, I find myself tuning out most of the time. My attention span right now is soooo short that I tried watching the first episode of the Japanese drama Nodame Cantabile and turned it off midway in favor of watching random kpop videos on YouTube. Gah.

I'm crossing my fingers in hopes of getting out of this funk soon. A boatload of dramas are coming my way and there's a lot of them I want to watch. Hopefully I get my drama-watching ass back in shape by then.

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Currently Watching: Prime Minister and I, You From Another Star, Let's Eat

Now, more than ever, I'm feeling the addiction settle in for a long ride. A very long ride. As soon as one drama ends, two more premiere and I find myself watching more dramas than I was a month ago. While, yes, I dropped Pretty Man way before it reached the halfway point, I still find myself drowning in all these shows. So much so that I'm not quite sure if today's dramas are legitimately that awesome or I'm just that thoroughly addicted to them. So before the premiere of 2 more dramas that I've been waiting for come to pass (Emergency Couple - which debuts tonight! - and Three Days), let me recount the dramas that I'm still watching.

1. Prime Minister and I - I am so freaking in love with this drama and the central pairing. This is one of those shows that sort of caught me by surprise. To be honest, I was never a fan of Yoon-ah's acting. Also, I had no idea who Lee Beom-soo was. Needless to say, I am now more forgiving of Yoon-ah and I already have History of a Salaryman on my to-watch list. I've fallen in love with Kwon Yul and, therefore, Lee Beom-soo as well and I just need more of him. Imagine that. I get into this drama looking forward to Yoon Shi-yoon and Yoon Shi-yoon alone but it looks like I'll be parting with it (only 2 more weeks left omg!) with fondness for both its leads and the awesomeness of their fictional family.

2. You From Another Star - This is yet another drama that has been causing havoc on my nerves on a bi-weekly basis. I was so looking forward to the cute fish-out-of-water plus noona romance the plot promised to deliver, but I got all that and loads more. Not only is it cute and funny at times, but the drama has a tendency to consistently deliver some good terrors and a whole lot of feels every episode. Whether it's shrinking back every time Jae-kyung gets that horrifying look in his eyes, or whether it's wanting to reach into the screen to give Do Manager or Cheon Song-yi a well-deserved hug, it always triggers more emotions than I can bear. Which is a good thing. Also, can I just say, I've always loved Jeon Ji-hyun, but this drama just made me love her even more.

3. Let's Eat - Although I'm not all caught up with this drama, I still fully intend to continue watching it once I get back on track with my watching schedule (my phone got stolen and I have yet to get a replacement - which sucks because I used to keep up with my dramas via mobile videos, so it's not quite the same now that I need my laptop to watch anything). Doo-joon is the biggest, and happiest, surprise from this drama. I usually don't have high expectations of idol actors, so color me shocked by his onscreen charisma and actual acting chops. Also, at this point in the drama, I'm not quite sure if I want Lawyer Kim or Dae-young to end up with Soo-kyung. All I know is that Lawyer Kim is adorable and Dae-young is, indeed, jjang jjang man!

4. I Need Romance 3 - Sung Joon. Do I even need to elaborate? And, honestly, I've only watched the first episode, but that alone made me want to marathon the entire drama only to realize that that's an impossible feat since it's currently airing. But really, I tried loading the second episode into my classic iPod, you know what I mean, right? Those non-touchscreen gadgets with a click wheel thingy?? But trying to read the subtitles off of that thing made me see double, so I'mma have to wait till this weekend to marathon episodes 2-4 on my laptop. I. Can't. Wait.

5. 1 Night 2 Days - With the third season came four refreshing new members and a PD who brought back the fun of the first season. And by fun, I mean the horrible sadistic streak of first season's Na PD. Which isn't surprising because Yoo PD was a rookie producer during the show's earlier season and he's now back to put our cast members through hell and then withhold food from them afterwards. As for the new cast members: Defconn is such an eager beaver and it's hilarious, Jun-ho just slays me all the time, Joo-hyuk ahjussi is the most handsome pabo ever, and maknae Joon-young is just delightful in every way. It's also awesome that our remaining veteran cast members have such a nice rapport with the new guys and it's amazing watching Cha Tae-hyun take the rein to lead our new gang this season when he's always been the laziest and unluckiest member before.

6. Winner TV - These boys own me. They haven't even officially debuted yet (damnit YG, even JYP's debuted GOT7 already) but I'm already craving for more. It's a good thing Winner TV is keeping me (somewhat) satisfied. From what little we’ve heard on the recent episode, I’m already liking the sound they’re pursuing. Stand-outs are Taehyun’s compositions and that one track co-penned by GD and Minho. To think that these are already good enough songs as they are but YG is pushing them even harder when it comes to their songwriting - well, that just raises my expectations even more. Yang Hyun-suk may be a hard sell and has even higher expectations of the boys than we do (which is no surprise, duh) but looking at the bigger picture, that’s a good thing. Winner fighting!

7. We Got Married - Taemin and Naeun ended on such a sweet note and my heart was crushed with their departure... But with that came the awesome awkwardness of 2PM's Wooyoung and his poor wife, actress Park Se-young. The thing about Wooyoung is that he always means well, but he has some sort of foot-in-mouth disease that keeps knocking him down a peg. Which, to be honest, is hilarious. I'm looking forward to all this awkward business to be done and over with and for all the cute to arrive. Which, I know, are not mutually exclusive. Awkward can be cute. It's just that... singing a song you wrote about your ex-girlfriend to your current girl is really not the smartest move. Ha.

Emergency Couple premieres tonight, best believe I'll be downloading that drama as soon as subtitles are available. Also, my friend was in Seoul last month and she spotted Choi Jin-hyuk and Song Ji-hyo in Myeongdong shooting for the show. Back when I visited Korea, I spent almost every day in Myeongdong and I did not see a single celebrity. Life is, indeed, unfair.

Oh, also, Park Yoochun's new drama Three Days is set to premiere in late February. And if the photos from his training are anything to go by, it's going to be awesome. I luff him.

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Currently Watching: The Heirs, Mi-rae's Choice, Pretty Man, Reply 1994

It's gotten really bad, this addiction of mine. I think this is the most number of dramas that I've ever attempted to watch simultaneously. By simultaneously, I don't mean I have 5 different screens simultaneously airing 5 different dramas. But If I could do that and still completely understand what I'm watching, I would. That would cut down on my drama-watching time significantly.

Aside from watching currently airing dramas, I'm also watching an older drama that has been on my to-watch list for so long. Also, I'm revisiting a favorite from last year. So without further ado, here are the dramas that are currently taking up most of my time.

1. The Heirs - As frustrating as it is to watch two overgrown teenage boys playing tug-o-war - sometimes emotionally and most times literally - with a tiny girl, I'm stuck to this drama like glue. For one, it does have a stellar cast - although most of them are underutilized and left in the background.

Aside from the main love triangle, I'm loving all the minor relationships in the drama. The mothers are awesome. Yoon Chan-young and Lee Bo-na are adorable. Well, Lee Bo-na is just all-around wonderful - and here I thought I was going to dislike her. I'm glad they took Krystal's character in a different direction because it's quite too easy to make her haughty, possessive, self-important role and turn her into a mean girl. It also must be said that characters like Lee Hyo-shin and Jo Myung-soo keep me sane.

We have 6 more episodes and I'm hoping we find some believable character growth in our main leads before the finale. If not, I will have wasted 20 hours of my drama-watching life that I could have very well used to re-watch City Hunter, a drama I actually liked Lee Min-ho in.

2. Mi-rae's Choice - While I'm more sympathetic towards the male leads in this drama, the Noble Idiot act that both Oppa and Kim Shin are pulling in the recent episodes are frustrating. I thought my annoyance would be reserved for Ahjumma Mi-rae, but no. The boys are starting to aggravate as well.

I'm just glad I'm still fully behind Mi-rae every step of the way. Because it's one thing to gripe about Noble Idiots and another thing entirely to have no heroine to support. I'm happy Mi-rae is not just likeable, but she's also shown the most character growth in the drama. She's no longer the weak pushover who was happy with being mediocre. Now, she has an actual dream and a goal to work towards. There's no way in hell she's ending up with Ahjumma Mi-rae's life and problems. She's above all that now and her growth has been fun to witness. Honestly, she needs neither men right now.

Here's to hoping that the final episodes redeem Kim Shin's decision to be an ass towards Mi-rae (to spare her from a future that hasn't even happened yet). I mean, we all know Mi-rae ends up with him, right? Park Se-joo may be awesome, but Mi-rae's just not feeling him. Sad. My Shin-woo feels are resurfacing. Let me love you, Shin-woo hyung!

3. Pretty Man - Come to think of it, we have Shin-woo and Go Mi-nam in separate dramas this season, and with the premiere of Pretty Man last week, Hwang Tae-kyung is back as well. All we need right now is for Lee Hong-ki to get himself a drama and my A.N.Jell babies will be complete.

That aside, Pretty Man had a pretty strong premiere week. In my personal opinion, that is. I'm not sure how it rated against The Heirs, who shares the same time slot, but I thought the first 2 episodes showed promise. While I was expecting fluff and cuteness, what I was not expecting was depth and mystery. I should have taken more note of KBS's decision to use Bel Ami as its international title, a reference to the Guy De Maupassant novel. Clearly, we're delving into darker and more emotional corners here.

I'm glad then that they have both Jang Geun-suk and IU on board. Both actors can do comedy and drama quite well. While Jang Geun-suk has a tendency to overact, it bodes well for the drama that he is also a very nuanced actor where multiple emotions come across with a single look.

Though they are of different genres, and are as different as night and day in treatment and aesthetics, what immediately comes to mind with the characterizations in Pretty Man is the 2007 drama Que Sera Sera. That character-driven drama tackled similar themes - an abusive relationship between a simple girl and a gold-digging womanizer. So while both lead characters in Pretty Man are completely flawed, I'm excited to see how working with each other will change them. Because that's where we're headed, right? Right?!

4. Reply 1994 - While I'm not liking how long this drama is seeming to be (20 one-hour-long episodes?!), I can't help but love its plot points and characters. A lot of the plotting is similar to its predecessor, Reply 1997, and yet it doesn't exactly feel the same.

What this drama does so well, as with 1997, is how they tackle real-life situations without aggrandizing these occurrences. First loves, first heartbreaks, one-sided loves, friendship, family - the drama finds these precious moments in the lives of our characters and highlights the emotions without amplifying them. It's very day-in-the-life and can easily make a wrong turn towards the mundane, but it doesn't. It's quite beautiful.

Because of the longer format, compared to 1997's total of 16 30-minute back-to-back episodes, 1994 actually jerks us around more in the question of who Na-jung ends up with. Is it Oppa? Is it Chilbongie? No, it's Oppa, right? Nope, Chilbongie? No! It's Haitai! Team Haitai for the win!

5. School 2013 - Truth be told, while School 2013 is on my list of favorite dramas, I actually haven't watched the entire drama. I used to watch it on KBS World when it aired late 2012 to early this year. And on those days I couldn't watch, I'd immediately go find the recaps on dramabeans while promising myself I'd download the episode eventually. I never did. So I finished the series half by watching it on tv, and half by reading the recaps online. I cheated and I'm sorry.

So now, with the vast onslaught of Lee Jong-suk and Kim Woo-bin feels (from both I Hear Your Voice and The Heirs), I've decided to revisit School 2013. Properly, this time around. I'm still on episode 2 (I started last night, to be fair) but the feels are already there. Heung-soo isn't even around yet and I'm already itching for his appearance and the promise of angst-y bromance. I luff them.

6. White Christmas - This drama has been on my list for the longest time. I actually started watching it several times before but never got past the first episode because of one thing or another. But I've always been told of how awesome it is and that I absolutely must see it. I actually have no excuses seeing how it's only 8 episodes long. And this is it. I swear.

I'm not going to deny the fact that the driving force behind watching White Christmas is, once again, Kim Woo-bin. He is awesome and I just need more of him. Not to mention the very many other model-actors in this drama. Apparently I have a thing for them. Lee Soo-hyuk, Hong Jong-hyun, Sung Joon - I love them all. If only Lee Jong-suk were in this drama too. HA.

7. We Got Married - In this variety-docu series, I'm still totally invested in the relationship of Taemin and Na-eun so I do try to stay away from the crazy things the fans have to say online. I don't need the netizen-driven drama to enjoy this couple, thank you very much.

I've also started to watch the 2 new couples: Jung-Jung Couple and the Yoon-han couple. I actually love Jung Joon-young and Jung Yumi together. They are hilarious and complete opposites, yet so awesome together.

To be honest, I'm thinking of dropping Yoon-han and his wife (I don't even remember her name). While I think they are cute and a perfect match, they bore me to tears. They should just get it over with and get married in real life. I loved Yoon-han even before he got on board the We Got Married train and he's an awesome singer and pianist, but this show is showing me how dull he is. Everything is just so damn serious with them. I can't. My older friends absolutely love it but I'd rather have more of Taemin and Na-eun's adorable first love instead.

So these are the shows I've been busy with on a weekly basis. It's insane. And yet, there are still other shows I watch every now and then, on top of my already busy drama-watching schedule. There's that adorable show Tablo and his daughter are on, Superman is Back. Cuteness overload, seriously. And then, of course, there's Running Man. And I also have to try to tune into the new season of 1 Night 2 Days, if only to check out the rapport between the new cast members and to see if the new PD is any good.

Ugh. I'm so ready to hibernate. Is it December yet? I need a breather. From work, that is. I'm probably just going to keep watching all these dramas (and the upcoming new ones) during my Christmas break.

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Currently Watching: Master's Sun, Good Doctor, Cool Kiz, WGM

Don't we all wish we had more time in the day to get things done? And by "get things done," I mean watch all the dramas, movies, and variety shows we can get our greedy little hands on while keeping on top of things both at home and at work? As it is, I'm watching my shows on my phone while riding the train to and from work. I'm watching my shows before going to bed. Sometimes, I watch my shows at work. And on weekends, I have drama marathons. But my list of shows to watch is never-ending and, matter of fact, it just keeps on getting longer.

With a handful of my shows over and done with (having had to say goodbye to I Hear Your Voice, Monstar, Fabulous Boys, and You're the Best Lee Soon-shin), I've started on several new dramas and I'm still hooked on a handful of ongoing varieties. My current watch-list looks like this:

1. Master's Sun - As a handful of dramas written by the Hong sisters have been my crack in previous years, this new horror/romcom penned by the famous writing siblings is my crack for this season. I'm just eating it all up and it is awesome. Sufficiently scary and satisfyingly heartwarming, this is a formula I never thought would've worked, but it does. Also, So Ji-sub is a hottie.

2. Good Doctor - I'm kind of behind on this drama, having only seen up to the 4th episode, but I am determined to catch up. Joo-won is awesome, as is expected of him, and I've always had a soft spot for Moon Chae-won. So far, the drama is living up to expectations.

3. Running Man - Admittedly, I'm not all caught up with this show. I've seen a lot of its episodes but not each and every one of them. The last one I saw was the one with the couple race that featured an eclectic handful of celebrity guests like Sayuri, John Park, Jo Jung-chi, and Jung-in. Last week had long-running boyband Shinhwa on the show and I can't wait to see that episode. The Chuseok special that will feature 14 idols is coming up. Big Bang's Seungri, G-Dragon, and Daesung will also be featured in an upcoming episode - ohmygod.

4. We Got Married (Taemin-Naeun Couple) - I can't even handle how precious these two are. They are both adorable and are just as perfect together. It helps that Naeun's a lot shy, so there's more to look forward to in the coming months. I mean, I'm at a point where a quick hug from them results in screams and a lot of OMG's from my end, so you know I'm feeling them.

5. Cool Kiz on the Block (Badminton) - Who would've thought a game of badminton could make me fist pump so hard? When a game is exciting, a heart attack is not a far-fetched occurrence. I mean, the number of deuces in Kang Ho-dong and John Park's game last week left me on the brink of insanity. I was watching with bated breath and so much pent-up energy. And then the episode ends and it leaves you thinking... "That was just badminton." So I guess kudos to the show's editors. They make badminton look badass. So do the hot men on the show.

6. WIN: Who is Next? - This reality show by YGE and Mnet is only on its second episode but the stakes are high and the competition is fierce, so I'm stuck to it like glue. It also helps that the backstories of the trainees makes you care about them and how they fare on the show.

Whew. That's a lot of shows. And if I had more time, there would be a lot more. A whole lot more. I mean, I have yet to see The Gu Family Book, Goddess of Fire Jung-yi, and Two Weeks. And I have a lot of backtracking to do with 1 Night 2 Days and Master Chef Korea Celebrity Edition, seriously. And then you have the shows from years ago that I have yet to see. On my list is He Who Can't Marry. Aigoo.

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