will this pass for a bj mindy au? or should i wait for another couple that would fit this?

"So, thank you for dropping me off," I said politely while trying to add some enthusiasm into my voice. In fact I was not thankful. I really wished he did not drive me back to my apartment. I had to sit through 20 minutes of awkwardness which seemed to be more stressful than the 15 hours I had just spent in the office, he now knows where I live which I don’t like, I am somehow indebted to him because he had to get out of his usual way even if he must also be dead tired and the thing is, I know I could have gotten home safely on my own. I moved to unlock the door on the passenger seat, but the door still wouldn’t open. I looked back at him, smiling as if to say, “Hey, you are so tired that you forgot to unlock the door, hihihi,” although what I really wanted to say is, “Dude, don’t sleep on me, just let me out so we can both move on to our beds already.”

"I actually feel like I need a cup of coffere," he said with a grin.

"Oh," I said. So he thinks he is being cute. This is a generic plot device for characters to get together in TV shows. Actually, I have imagined myself in a similar situation before several times, running through different scenarios. The scenario that applies to this particular guy is to tell him that sorry, but the only edible thing in my shoebox sized apartment - which I don’t want him to see, is a pint of strawberry flavored yogurt which I am not sharing with him, so I have not an ounce of coffee at all.  “There is a coffee shop on the other side of the building; you can get a cup there." Goodness, do I have to go with him? Does he want me to pay? Seriously, my fare, if he didn’t drive me, would have been cheaper than a cup of coffee.

"That’s great. Should I go around or can I park here?”

“You can leave it here. There really is no suitable parking space on the other side, I think, besides it’s dawn and there is very little traffic. We can just cross through the lobby to the other side.”

So I finally got out of his car, the weight of my laptop and some papers I brought home weighing down my already tired shoulders. My baggages felt twice heavier with the thought that instead of being able to lay them down on my floor in the next 5 minutes, I would have to haul them to the other side of the building. I had to get him through the building, so I have to go with him.

“Let me get that,” he snatched the sling of the laptop bag off of my shoulder, while he also carried his.

I asked my doorman to look after the car outside as we passed by him. We got across the courtyard, re-entered the building and then headed to the coffee shop which staff was already turning chairs on top of tables, apparently getting ready to close down. We resumed our awkward silence through all of this.

"What do you want?" I asked him. "I'll give you a treat since you drove me home."

"I won’t say no to that,” he answered like he had been expecting that the whole time.

We tried to do some small talk while we hung around in front of the counter waiting for our drinks. I got tea in anticipation of a calming well deserved sleep. Just a few more minutes of keeping my eyes open and trying to be coherent, I thought. And then we got our drinks and he headed to the nearest table. Ok, he is planning to stay? Then why didn’t we just put down our heavy stuff earlier? Can’t he just drink and drive at the same time? Will it be okay if I just leave him here? These thoughts were running through my head while he rambled about a topic we were both pretending to be interested about. I had no choice but to take the seat opposite his. We danced along a few more topics after that and I was in a worse state. My tea made me sleepier while he was not sipping his coffee that much at all. Seemed he doesn’t need to because he is livelier now than when we were in his car earlier. I, on the other hand, was effortlessly displaying my sleepiness, which he is conveniently ignoring.

"This place feels stuffy," he told me as our recent topic reached another dead end. "And I think they are about to close up," he gestured around the café.

“Yeah, I think they close at 2 AM." Finally! I can feel my bed on my back already.

“I think we should bring this to pool side.” He suggested, already getting up and pulling at my laptop bag along.

Uhm, I don’t think so. “It’s really late, and I have to go home to my parent’s place early in the morning, which is only a few hours later, so… and if you are not sleepy anymore and can already drive, maybe you should also get some rest already.” I had to make up the going home part just to make my need to get rid of him sound urgent, since just being sleepy seem to be a not good enough reason.

“Oh,” he said, looking like a drowned puppy. It would really have made me feel guilty if I was not so annoyed with him right now.

“But you can stay there, I can tell the doorman to not shoo you away.” I still managed some pretend courtesy, and I added some glee to my voice just to lighten the atmosphere.

“No, no need. I think I should really get going.” He said walking ahead of me.

“Are you sure? If you are feeling sleepy, you can rest first.” I suggested when we exited the store and got near the courtyard.

“Hmmm?” He halted and turned to me. He looked puzzled. “Uhm, I am a bit confused here,” he struggled to say.

“About?”

“Was that an invitation to your place?” I just stared at him. What did he mean? “Coz, I thought you were making me go home already.”

“I was, if you feel like you can already.”

“Okay, I guess I misread.” He turned and walked briskly to re-enter the building.

Did he think what I am thinking right now that he thought? I don’t really want to know so I resumed my slow pace. When I got into the building, I saw him waiting near the main door which led to the outside of my apartment building towards the street where his car was parked. My laptop bag is on the floor.

“So, thanks again.” I said before leaning to pull my laptop bag up.

“Yeah,” he said dismissively.

“Drive safely.” I added. I would normally wait for my visitors to be out of my view before I turn to go, most of the time I would even walk them out, but I just did not feel like it now. Besides, he looked grumpy, I was a bit scared and just wanted to get away quickly. I heard him give a heavy sigh behind me, as if to catch my attention. I unwillingly faced him back.

“Did I totally misread this? Because I am already here, and it’s hard to get this opportunity again, given our out of town schedules and all, and it will be such a waste if we let this night pass without… taking the next step.”

I have a strong hunch that my guess on what he is saying is right. I somehow feel insulted at his insinuation, but flattered at the same time. Okay, this is weird, and if we don’t navigate this carefully, we would be a mess at work. Should I appear indignant and make him feel embarrassed? Should I make a light joke out of it as if I am just cool with it? My head is racing; I would have forgotten I am sleepy if my eyes aren’t drooping. I decided to go with impulse. “I am tired, you are tired, let’s talk about this with clearer minds.” I stepped towards him and gave him a light peck on the cheek. I think I don’t want any of this crap this dawn, but I also don’t want to completely discourage him.

His arm snaked around my waist. “I had coffee, I have energy.” His lips then chased mine.

AU2

normal text still from Saberhagen's Ariadne's Web:

But a silence had fallen over the humans gathered in the great hall. This was not quite the appearance which Alex, at least, had been expecting. The realization forced itself upon them all that the visitor was no greater in stature than humanity – there was of course no reason why he should be – and at the moment he appeared less impressive than many merely mortal men.

The shocking and ugly fact was that Dionysus was fat. Not only fat, bloated, his once-fair skin blotched red and gray. At a closer look, Alex could see that there was gray in the god’s hair and beard, and patches of both had fallen out. There were still remnants of a once considerable beauty in that face, a comeliness now all but erased by the all-too-human ravages of age and dissipation. The cloak of the Twice-Born, which he kept tightly wrapped around his massive body, was stained and frayed.

It could simply be due to the season. It is the time of harvest, when the vines are cut down and burned or left to die. Legends tell that Dionysus died along with his charge, to be reborn again in the next spring. Alex’s father, a devout follower of Dionysus (and his drunken ways) often refer to that interpretation as the ultimate sacrifice: Dionysus going through the pain of death to provide humanity of his precious blood, the wine. Death, Alex can equate with deterioration and this with the graying hair and uneven complexion, but what about the fat? “The fat would symbolize the ripe and succulent grapes, hanging heavily from the vines,” the voice of Alex’s father rang in his ears in defense of the wine god. He knew that whatever news he brings home of Dionysus’ appearance, his father would still worship him, but it would have been more exciting to report of a youthful god, whose beauty rivals that of Apollo and strenght could compete with Ares, not of a bloated apparently sedentary god who looks not much better than the old rich merchant his mother washes clothes for. Alex suddenly wished that King Minos called on to Dionysus on a spring.

AU

i sometimes find my imagination and emotions running wildly while in the middle of reading, writing or listening to something. if i can, i would pause whatever it is that triggered the fancies, and run some dialogues in my mind. these dialogues would often be lost once i resume my original activity. so what i am doing here now, is trying to capture those moments and push myself a bit to expand on those dialogues.
here is the first result, the trigger being Fred Saberhagen's Ariadne's Web which I just started. The texts in black are originally from the novel, the texts in red are from my expansion (unreviewed again so very raw and with plenty of grammatical mistakes again):

All through hours of darkness there had been a howling of the wind, and perhaps of livelier things than wind, in the chimneys and around the parapets of the sprawling palace in the elder city of Kandak. A scud of low clouds kept driving in from the empty reaches of the Great Sea, across the island kingdom of Corycus. Outside the stone walls of the palace, winter’s offensive from the northland seemed at last about to conquer the territory that had been occupied for several pleasant months by autumn. Inside the palace walls, a frightened king, driven to desperate steps in his efforts to cling to his throne, had spent the night attending to the efforts of his chief magician, a wrinkled and shriveled man named Creon.

For long hours a young soldier called Alex the Half-Nameless had watched them both, the king and Creon, as they went through the recitations of spells, and the blooy sacrifice of animals, all seemingly without producing the least result. The mess of the sacrifice had been cleared away, and king and magician, conferring rogether in low voices, had seemed on the point of abandoning the effort, when suddenly the god they had been trying to summon stood towering over them, bleary –eyed and swaying like drunk.

Dionysus had come into the tower where the callers had been tapping into his divine channels the whole afternoon. His presence brought forth the smell of wine and the woodlands, and the reinforced iron aroma of blood – definitely different from the blood spilled from the sacrificial rites in the room. Intoxication seemed to have also followed him into the small confines, and the participants in the sacrificial rites found lightness creeping to the tops of their heads.

“I had not been enjoying the merry making thrown for my honor by the Sirens of the Aegean. They captured a huge ship for my entertainment, but I had not fully returned their courtesy with a sincere enjoyment, what, by your constant calls. I hope this bother be of something interesting or enriching, otherwise, I might have to take one of you with me as a trident target to appease my hosts for my momentary leaving.”

“Oh gracious, beautiful, youthful god, the brood of Zeus preserved in his thigh from poor Semele’s womb, whose conquests and adventures no other god can claim more excitement and ecstasy, whose glorious and …”

“Enough!” Dionysus interrupted the old sage’s praises. “Your flattery is nothing but the shrieking of swine being roasted alive to my ear compared to the voices of the Sirens from whose entertainment you have snatched me away. Lay your business down and be creative in capturing my curiosity”

“My Lord,” the king stepped forward from Creon’s shadow. “An enemy’s army is coming in from the sea in a fortnight and this castle’s defense is depleted from the last invasion from the neighboring country. Being the former home of your mother, we pray for your protection and blessing to deliver us safely from this bet.”

There was no reaction from the wine-god. It might be that he was waiting for more details about the pending invasion? Or, maybe he is awaiting the promise of the benefit that would be offered to him in exchange of his protection?

“Gracious Lord, our army is weary and our weapons are mostly half torn. Our treasury has nearly run out of gold and our grain warehouses almost empty. But our folk are hard working and trust worthy, and will be in whatever form of assisstance you will require from us to defeat the enemy… and will be at your service and loyalty for the years to come to repay our debt.”

“What stops you from saying the clincher?”

“My god?” The king asks.

“You called me instead of Poseidon even when your enemies are now floating at the sea which he commands. You are very well aware that I do not harbor any fondness for your city, my mother’s soul has not encouraged me to do so in any way. You called me for one reason and one reason only, and you have not mentioned it yet.”

“We do not mean to be presumptuous,” it was Creon who answered.

“By calling me, you have already been… and I am telling you that you are only partially right. The army attacking you hails from Thebes and I … or rather my new bride… have a score to settle with its King. His first expedition out of revenge for the death of his brother, aye…” Dionysus said with his ears angled to the wind, as if the information is coming from whisphers from the sea… it probably is. “But my bride is soft and gentle and has seemed to have forgotten her vindictiveness once she was in the presence of ample food and beautiful gowns once again. I cannot decide if it will be wise to breech the topic with her at this time, although the opportunity to crush Theseus’ first excursion may not come again. I personally do not find pleasure in war, except in the beauty in the display of skill of a seasoned warrior, so unless there is no other offering for me but your people’s slavery in the coming years, I would have to wait for the opinion of my lady, which might take a while, for I find her resolve to be fickle even with small decisios, so I can imagine how long it will take for her to make up her mind with regards to a former lover for whom she had betrayed her father prior.” Dionysus stopped and then suddenly bursted to laughter. “Haha, the daughters of the air chastised me for making you privy to my personal affairs, but what harm can you do? Spread gossip about it? Use it for your personal advantage the same way you think my animosity towards Thebese can work for your favor? You are but mortals, I must remind you, and you should not think yourself to be any match to a god no matter how much you know about him. Oh, and the sirens are singing their call, the final act of entertainment had been ready for a while now, so I must go.”

“But Lord, I have additional offers to sway your decision to our favor.” The King hastened to speak as he sees Dionysus begin to dematerialize.

“You should have laid it out earlier when you still had my attention. I will lay the decision now on Ariadne’s feet. I do hope she reaches her decision before the last tower in your city falls to ashes. I do not know who you should pray to for that, but try The Fates. I hear that somehow they can interfere in this kind of business.” His last words were but a whispher.

The departure of the god seemed to have pulled away all the energy from the room and Creon and the King collapsed on their knees.
“We caught him in a bad time and still he was graceful enough to not have punished us.” Creon observed.

“Will it be possible to get into Ariadne’s graces as well, and fast?” The King asked.
“I now see that we should have pursued that path first after all. First, we need a sniff to find her. Unlike a god, she cannot be summoned.” Creon said, pushing himself up from the floor.

1000 words a day challenge and the excess parts

Reese banged his head on his desk. If he could not sleep, maybe he could knock himself out. He should be resting by now. He will be giving his testimony tomorrow, and he should be relaxed and refreshed and he should definitely have not downed two glasses of scotch. Jobs, reputation, his family’s legacy and the company’s future would be affected by his demeanor and responses, so why couldn’t he just sleep now and be alert and brutal in the courtroom tomorrow. Or, if he is really gonna stay awake, he could run over the points his lawyers had strategized for him, clear his head of all the other preconceptions and rehearse again so that he will be confident and flawless in his delivery. Or, in the least, he could just pep talk himself, calm his thoughts, imagine conquest and claim victory in his mind.

Ok… so now that he had ran these thoughts… in passing, he should not feel that bad anymore, right? And then he could back to what he was really thinking about for most of the night: Mindy Lahiri, aka Chloe Silverado, doctor, curvaceous woman… pop culture, blabbering mouth with an ass that won’t quit and her very bad timing of breaking up with him. Logically, he knows he can reconcile with her later. Maybe after the hearing, maybe after all his scheduled appearances, maybe even after the case itself. The smug part of him feels that he can always pull her away from whomever guy she would be dating the moment his own life has gone back to order. He feels their connection is actually that strong. The problem is that he does not fear she’s gonna be swept away out of his reach. The problem is that he had developed a connection with her at all and that every second away from her feels like a waste of time. He wants to be with her constantly. He had been fighting the urge to go and apologize to her since they fought this afternoon, telling himself that more important things have to be done, and now, nearly midnight, he is without her and still had not done anything important.

Nope, it is not pride that keeps him from apologizing. It is how incredibly out of control this relationship had turned out to be. This one thing which at the beginning he had the upper hand in, one which he felt he had full control of the steering wheel of in contrast to the other aspects of his life that within such a small amount of time had spiraled out of his hand. She was just supposed to be his newest arm-candy, a superior rebound from Jackie, a doctor not anyone can look down on again, but immature enough so that his mother would not want her for marriage, a fun distraction from all the stress in his life.

It started out slowly. He thought he was doing well managing his thoughts when the court case ceased to be the first thing he thought of in mornings. It felt good and relaxing when she’d distract him from business thoughts and force him to grab bacon and pancakes. He thought having breakfast instead of just coffee was what made him happier during the day. Then, she’d pull his head off important meetings with her silly texts, sometimes panic over celebrity alerts, or random neighborhood stories from her patients, but most of the time just endearing messages of how much she misses him and his kisses during the day. He started seeing some red flags when his secretary gave him a knowing smile when he asked her to coordinate with Mindy’s receptionist before approving on evening meetings. He and Mindy had a fight the previous night when he wanted to go out because his meeting got cancelled and it turned out that she actually scheduled a Caesarian operation for the night. He does not know how but she had effectively convinced him that bringing a child into the world is more important than his multi-million making corporate meetings. The red flags got effectively ignored though and he started planning his days around her operations, found himself watching tv shows not on his channel when he misses her, started conversations with his gossip columnists just so he can relate to the things Mindy is saying, and started a mini-war with his mother when he went out of his way and insisted on making more time on news features for a Colin Firth movie over Daniel Craig’s. While seating on ACN’s executive meeting, he suggested taking on a show that recently got cancelled on network (because Mindy cried heaps and heaps of tears over that show). He got ignored, but Leona eyed him suspiciously until dinner.

He was doing all of these just to keep his mind off the case and ratings and competition pressures. He was sure he could switch it all off when he needs to re-channel all his focus again to the company and the litigation at hand. But he couldn’t do it tonight, damn it.

He picked his coat. He can drive up to her place in half an hour, convince her to forgive her in another half, make love to her in another half… no make that an hour, he would still have 4 hours of sleep if he wakes up at 8 and then rush to the hearing at 9. Not bad at all, he had gone to some meetings without even sleeping before. Right, he can do this. He opened his study door and found her standing in his hallway. She looked like she was getting ready to enter his bedroom.

“Reese…” Mindy was stunned to find him in the hallway. She is in a very tight dress… apparently a hot prosecutor costume, complete with a whip stick and glasses. He is sure she has a monologue ready, but as much as it would amuse him to hear it, he just couldn’t wait to take her into his arms immediately. He captured her lips with a lopsided grin and started pushing her back to his bedroom.

“Wait, Reese!” Mindy protested.

“Yeah?” He started unbuttoning her blazer.

“You haven’t properly appreciated my costume, so don’t take it off yet.” Mindy pushed his hands away.

“Okay,” Reese stopped, crossing his arms in front of him waiting for Mindy’s poses.

“Wait, why aren’t you sleeping yet? You’ve got a big day tomorrow.” Mindy asked worriedly.

“So I can appreciate your sexy prosecutor outfit?”

“Gosh, you are so obsessed with me, we need to fix your priorities.”

“We just have to hurry, come on,” Reese began pulling at Mindy again.

He doesn’t know whether it would be helpful or not, but he’d sure have fun conjuring up images of Mindy in costume when he comes to court in the morning.

ok my writing flare is already gone. This piece is a mess. Too many themes running through it. I would probably break this up into chapters. Drabbles on Reese and Mindy. Starting with this break up reconciliation story. Then background (what he loves about Mindy, the practice, etc). Then the first meeting history.

She was not supposed to be “The One.”

He also thought that Leona did not like her (which he found out later on to be incorrect). Leona gave a lot of snorting sounds the night he brought Mindy to the Thanksgiving Party AWN hosted the same day he met Mindy at Carl’s house. Leona was actually the main motivation why he asked Mindy out. The Genoa story had put him in the first real test of his career. He had never experienced this type of public backlash, political pressure, ratings plummet and advertising pull outs before. To top it off, his trophy girlfriend even left him. Not that he cared too much about her, but to be abandoned by someone you did not even like that much just sent his ego reeling in.

 e later found out that the reason for the hostility was because the two had a debate on who is the hotter Brit, Daniel Craig or Colin Firth, in the women’s powder room earlier that night. Suffice to say, Leona actually love Mindy but kept it to herself, probably thinking that her approval would alienate her son’s feelings for the blabbing lady.

She was very effective initally. She was a great verbal sparring partner, not that he had a shortage of that at work, but their fights are over nonsensical and insignificant matters, not anything that could get him barred from political parties or taken to court the next day. Not that she is totally senseless, but because at the core, they both want and valued the same things, there really isn’t anything to seriously fight about.

Sometimes he felt too removed from reality after watching wars and famine his network reports on, too pathetic about caring too much about ratings and running his huge company, his pseudo-philanthropist acquaintances making him feel too worldy, but conversations with Mindy about pop culture and clothes and shoes make him feel a tad bit secured about his priorities. Not because she is shallow, but because she shows him that it is okay to care about worldly and material things if you deserve them and if you do your own share of moving the world forward. Her fondness for gossip does not diminish her being a really good doctor and his hunger for ratings and recognition actually pushes his network to do the best reporting and deliver the best shows it can.

She is also very busy, so she does not cling to him. Many a times, he found himself visiting her in the hospital, or waiting for her at her practice and bonding with her partners Jeremy and Peter, feeling needier of her than he has ever been with his other girlfriends. But it was a fun type of needy, something he enjoyed a lot, because really, how could he seriously need this boisterous woman. He attributed everything to hormones and his mind’s latent need to relax.

He felt suffocated with the current fixtures of executives and lawyers in his life. That got him getting in touch with old best friends who he feels still respected him, who knew who he was at his best. That got him saying yes to a Thanksgiving lunch with Carl Grady, one of his best buds in high school. The last time they saw each other was at Carl’s wedding, and now, he is too surprised to find out that Carl already has an adorable little girl. He was having so much fun catching up with Carl and playing with Riley up until Gwen let it slip that Leona actually promised Carl to match him up with another guest at the party. That got his nose flaring. He did not want any pressure for a single daylight, especially not one about getting married, and Leona just has to ruin everything. He now understood why Gwen kept on coming up to him and Riley bringing a random, single, Wallstreet girl. He could not show his annoyance easily though. He could have punched Carl right away, but he was not particularly close to Gwen, so he did not know how to communicate his disapproval of her matchmaking. So he chatted up each girl they left him with, careful to highlight the big litigation case AWN is facing to make sure each girl left uninterested. There was one girl who seemed drunk and kept on passing him loudly that Gwen never introduced him to. Riley said that the girl is actually Gwen’s bestfriend and was actually single. When he asked about her from Carl, Carl’s forehead creased and told him she is bad news. That got him very interested. He later cornered Mindy after lunch and got her to spill that she recently broke up with her boyfriend when she found out he did not want to be exclusive. She is overtly dramatic and Leona would just find her to be too much of a mess. He was actually disappointed to find out Mindy is a doctor. He thought a more exotic job like a ventriloquist, stand up comedian, aspiring actress or sales girl would make her even less appealing to his mother. He was disappointed again when he picked her up later in the evening and she cleaned up pretty nicely, in an elegant long gown and no hint of intoxication. He was happy though when he sensed that

http://dloveg.tumblr.com/post/87690307143/mindy-bj-au

mindy bj fanfic

gaksital

So Gaksital is awesome, i just dont really like the love stories. I dont buy that shunji and kang to would not share stories about their first loves, that kang to would not recall the face of mok dan, that kang to would love mok dan more than he loves shunji and would betray the latter. I would buy the revenge and patriotism motiff, but for kang to to take away the woman that shunji loves, that would be impossible.

*Also noticed that Kang To has very poor facial recognition ability because he also forgot rie's face, although that could be forgivable since he is not really into her.

Anyway, here is how I would have done the love stories.

- older brother really is the first love of mok dan

- mok dan and kang to's interaction at the start would be the same, only that kang to would have no memory of mok dan at all because it was really his hyung who was with mok dan when they were younger

- kang to would recognize the knife being a family heir loom. He would learn later the story of mok dan's love story with the owner of the knife. He would recognize hyung's first love story which hyung once told in passing.

- mok dan would find the knife the same way in the river when kang to almost drowned and conclude that gaksital is her first love, without knowing that hyung is already dead

- hyung and kang to look alike so much, that should trigger some of mok dan's memory upon realizing that kang to is gaksital and convince her to further fall in love with kang to. Kang to would not be aware of mok dan's love, he thinks that mok dan knew that hyung is gaksital (since they should be teenage lovers and gaksital kept on saving her at the start of the series). It would be latter in the story that kang to becomes aware that mok dan thinks he is the love of her life.

- the scene where kang to got jealous when he realized that shunji is with mok dan in the hospital, replace that with kang to worrying for shunji because shunji is fraternizing with a korean rebel, or i dont know, kang to getting jealous for his hyung?

- kang to would be taking care of mok dan because she is hyung's first love,  because she is important to the revolution and also because shunji loves her.

- mok dan would find out that gaksital and kang to are one person and would immediately fall in love with kang to

- kang to would also be hanging around mok dan but only because he thinks she can link him to the rebellion leader

- rie and kang to had earlier interactions in the club. I would put rie's entrance in the story two eps earlier. So they would have playful useless interactions before the kiss. It was kang to's desperate look that evening that made rie decide she was going to pursue him seriously. Thus, i would replace kang to's pining after mok dan with scenes of rie pursuing kang to.

- rie was convinced she could take kang to into the organization and make daddy like him

- all goes down the drain when rie discovers that kang to is gaksital, but she is far too crazy in love already

- shunji would also be very jealous of kang to especially when he confirms he is gaksital. Shunji would also have killed mok dan, but it would be in a celebration for a rebellion victory, not a wedding. In the end scene, before shunji kills himself, kang to would reveal that mok dan is really in love with dead hyung.

- redemption would have come too late for rie, and she could not be with kang to, so she also decides to go her own way. Besides, just like shinju, kang to could not probably fall in love with her because of the evils she had done

- kang to does not really fall in love with anyone. He loves korea and shunji, but shunji cannot be saved anymore, and so he lets the latter die the same way in the series

Damn, I was watching rie and shunji shit, and they are so cute. But no, cannot ship them. But how to retain their kind of relationship with the set up i had laid out? Well, kang to would only be flirting with rie. Rie would be competing against the korean people for kang to's heart. Shunji would be competing against mok dan's idea of her first love. That is the similarity of shunji and rie, they both are competing against ideas/ideals.

It is so sad that the only person who last thanked shinju is a stranger in rie. Stranger because they dont care about each other, in fact they can hardly tolerate each other, he does not even know why he was saving her. His family is dead. He became a monster because he loved mok dan, but in the end, he was the one who killed her. Kang to, who i believe he loved while also hated the most, cannot forgive him. Rie' gratitude is not enough to save him, but his kindness to Rie was enough for her to survive. I remember the earlt ep shinju. He was kindhearted upfront, but you can feel that there was probably something boiling up inside of him. His father does not think highly of him, he was probably feeling guilt for the oppression that his countrymen, the japanese, are doing to the people that he loved, the koreans. He probably felt huge guilt when he thought that he had forsaken his family (brother) for his obliviousness to his family's cause. He felt great shame that he could not let go of his love of the woman connected to his brother's murderer. He was fighting with kang to who is all he had (aside from nanny). When the one person you fancy do not care about you, and when you cannot trust the one person you thought you could always rely on. Hay. I dont know. Shunji's transformation is pretty abrupt, I'll just conclude he just had a mental breakdown that nobody noticed.

As for Rie, I dont understand why she was going to leave bodyguard but she extended an invitation to Shinju in the end. Well, maybe because she thinks that bodyguard is smart and would not do anything stupid. But for shinju, because of her gratitude, she is willing to carry him as a baggage in her new life. That got me wishing that they did not show shunji's gunned down head in the end. Maybe then I could imagine that he ran away and found Rie in the end. They would not be in love still, but they would atone for their sins together. I dont think kang to would ever choose to be with rie, and rie knew that, that is why she had let him go early on. Rie is someone who cares very deeply about her savior. The first time, with Kang To, she was young and naive. She was powerless and all she can think of to repay him was to love him. When they met again, she was powerful but all her powers could not bring him what he wants, liberation. Thus, she meant nothing to him, and her love is useless. She had learned a lot since then. When shinju saved her, she wanted to save him in return. But she was powerless once again. Shinju needed the love of the people he loves, not the gratitude of a stranger. Bodyguard saved her. Now she means everything to this man, but once again, she has nothing to give him, she could not love him back, and from experience, she knows that the best thing to do is push him away. She could no longer take advantage of the comfort he gives her, and the best thing is to set him free. That means she has to suffer alone in starting her new life but it also means bodyguard can start over anew as well. Again, bodyguard is smart, so no need to worry about him. Maybe someday, when Rie is totally gone and cha hoon joo had recovered who is already, maybe or maybe not.