How to Love a Mob Princess: Dangermousie's Guide to one of her favorite Korean drama ships, Part 2
I spent 4 hours of my life on this post. OMG.
As continued from Part 1.
When we last left our beleaguered lovers, Young Ran's Daddy's goons caught up with them - that is why you are supposed to go further away than a local beach, geniuses! Young Ran is dragged away, Dong Chul is shown what for (which, seeing how often he gets beaten up, must be such a regular occurence it does not register), Young Ran's Daddy stabs himself for sheer dramatics blahblah. Basically, your average day. And now, another time jump! Wherein Dong Chul fantasizes about Young Ran in his dingy office (he quit the Mob) and Young Ran is faaaar away in Macao, confined to the presence of the richie-rich boyfriend who is a little too fixated on some woman who views him as a tree. Have a pic of DC's memories instead - shouldn't he be fantasizing about her with less clothes on?
She calls him and stalks him on the phone, while informing she is doing peachy and begging to see him. Cue refusals (clearly, he has learned that going against Mob Daddy = not good and will get his whole family wiped) and slumping against walls. I think Dong Chul has very very clean walls.
By Young Ran confined, I mean literally - the loss of such hotness as Dong Chul has confined Young Ran to a mental ward with an epic breakdown. As a straight gal, I can't say I blame her. To come so close to such hotness only to be cruelly dragged away would drive any girl batty. Cue Dong Chul finding out and scenes of delicious epic manpain.
Told you, clean walls!
We are also, of course, back to watching the other sleep thing:
There is also tearful staring:
And manly crying:
In fact, Dong Chul angsts so much he forgets to button his shirt:
Time passes, unimportant things like Dong Chul rejoining the mob to save his singularly troublesome family again happen but let's get to the point! Young Ran is out of the psych ward, and like a bomb with a homing beacon...tracks down Dong Chul!
Did I mention that I kept yelling for them to do it already for about 20 episodes by now? At the rate of ust they had going, I wasn't going to settle for less than porn (not that it was ever going to happen in a kdrama, alas).
I lied. I will settle for this. The couple that knows they can't be hug:
Did I mention that she stays at his house and his tough-as-nails scary Mom likes her (I think she is the only woman Mom ever likes, actually, other than co-wife).
But of course it cannot be and they know it and she marries her richie rich 'boyfriend' - otherwise the disaster would be three times as great courtesy of Mob Daddy - she now knows his family and does not want to endanger them. I wonder if her agreeable boyfriend is agreeable enough to wear a paper bag on head?
Normally, a wedding to others ends the OTP. But not here! The OTP is dyfunctional enough to persevere, resulting in more eye-fucking:
And again! Clearly, Dong Chul, like former President Carter "has sinned in his heart."
See?
Conveniently, her boring husband gets killed but since I couldn't care less about him, have a sexy picture of Dong Chul instead:
Of course, since this is a kdrama, this is not the path to widowed bliss. Young Ran is kidnapped by mobsters! Again! At this rate, she should have a night bag packed up.
Geee, I wonder if he will rescue her? Seeing that not only is he madly in love with her, he is basically this Korean Gangster Jesus?
OMG. He choses her over his family - he must rescue her (oh baby, ep 39 is where it's at. It hasn't been this shippy since 23-26!)
Even as she screams for him not to come as the guys who kidnapped her did it so they could get Dong Chul in their clutches and get revenge. They know his Achilles Heel.
Since Dong Chul has the world's worst luck, he gets shot before the feds rescue them.
And now we get to a smorgasbrod of angst! Whether it's her screaming over his body, leading to her deciding she is bad luck and telling him to leave her alone (he tells her she is the only happiness in his sad life. Hey dude, you are a kdrama hero, what did you expect?)
Or him being told she is preggers with her dead boring husband's kid!
There is more self-sacrificing blahblah:
But let's get to adorableness instead:
How can you not ship them?
When a guy who looks like that says "I will always be with you", I'd be happy for you if you weren't a kdrama heroine.
Mobster Daddy is dying and is finally OK with the two of them - man, that is hardcore. The whole saving his life might have also helped. He also reveals Young Ran was not preggers - she said she was to push Dong Chul away. Why did she think it would work? Dong Chul's little brother begged the girl he loved for the privilege to marry her after he found out she was raped and pregnant with the rapist's kid. (Oh, God, how did I love Dong Wook/Ji Hyun - OMG. I am still bitter about the way they ended and the whole Dong Wook thing in general).
“I will love her more than my own life.” Now, that is the kind of enthusiasm a man likes to see from a future son-in-law.
He informs her that her ploy about baby was not the brightest as whether she was pregnant with another man's child or not would be totally immaterial (told you, runs in the family! I remember how he also begged Ji Hyun to marry his little brother!)
They decide to live happily - *bitter laugh* It's a kdrama, people!
Happiness!
More happiness! Even if it only dying Mob Boss' dream. EoE knows its fanservice.
But not for long, as enemy number 4,381 springs up and they have to go on the run.
Did I mention the whole bit where he is framed for drug dealing and she takes the blame on herself and he springs her from jail? Because consider it mentioned.
There are grave visits to his idolized dead father.“She is someone who is more precious than life to me. Father, you have to love her more than you love me.” “Father, I’m a girl who cannot even tie Dong chul’s shoelaces. But if you say it’s okay, then I will love him with all my heart and my life.”
To put the cherry on top of the sundae of happiness, we get this:
Even though they are fugitives on the run:
They still have time for a honeymoon.
He tells her that the very first time they met in Macao when she sang with a soup ladle, he thought she was the person he had always been waiting for. “Then why did you act like I wasn’t?” “Because you were too pretty.”
His mouth is open. Faints
Frigging finally! Young Ran is proof that perseverance pays off.
The morning after is the sweetest thing ever:
And then he makes an honest woman out of her. While crying from happiness. So am I, Dong Chul, so am I.
Of course, this being EoE, Young Ran is kidnapped *again, LOL*
Dong Chul begs for help from his estranged younger brother, saying he will do anything, the brother (who is a prosecutor) can arrest him but just save Young Ran, but to no avail. Brother arrests him instead and Dong Chul has to break out of jail. Luckily for him, it seems to be a habit.
It is good he will go rescue her as her escape attempt got foiled.
So he goes to rescue her by himself.
She is hanging from the ceiling and he is badly wounded saving her.
He is the one who is asking her if she is OK and telling her he will find her anywhere. *ships*
The situation goes FUBAR despite his younger brother's rescue attempts (long story) and Dong Chul exchanges himself for Young Ran:
But that doesn't stop anything and as the place descends into chaos, Dong Chul takes a bullet for his brother, dying for, and with, the two people he's loved the most.
But fear not, as with any righteous ganster who has to buy it (e.g. The Outsiders), there is a baby left!
Which is, all in all, all one could hope for when you ship mobsters with a penchant for bruises.
Bonus lip-stroking in happier times:
I frelling DARE you not to ship them!
If you need excellent episode recaps (this is where I got most of my caps for this part 2. Other caps in this 2-parter are mine or Luv's from soompi) go to this blog.
And if you want to check out the shippiness, these are the eps to watch: 6-11, 15-16, 18-20, 22-29, 38-40, 45, 48, 50, 52, 54-56 They are not the only ones which have shippiness but they are the shippiest.
As continued from Part 1.
When we last left our beleaguered lovers, Young Ran's Daddy's goons caught up with them - that is why you are supposed to go further away than a local beach, geniuses! Young Ran is dragged away, Dong Chul is shown what for (which, seeing how often he gets beaten up, must be such a regular occurence it does not register), Young Ran's Daddy stabs himself for sheer dramatics blahblah. Basically, your average day. And now, another time jump! Wherein Dong Chul fantasizes about Young Ran in his dingy office (he quit the Mob) and Young Ran is faaaar away in Macao, confined to the presence of the richie-rich boyfriend who is a little too fixated on some woman who views him as a tree. Have a pic of DC's memories instead - shouldn't he be fantasizing about her with less clothes on?
She calls him and stalks him on the phone, while informing she is doing peachy and begging to see him. Cue refusals (clearly, he has learned that going against Mob Daddy = not good and will get his whole family wiped) and slumping against walls. I think Dong Chul has very very clean walls.
By Young Ran confined, I mean literally - the loss of such hotness as Dong Chul has confined Young Ran to a mental ward with an epic breakdown. As a straight gal, I can't say I blame her. To come so close to such hotness only to be cruelly dragged away would drive any girl batty. Cue Dong Chul finding out and scenes of delicious epic manpain.
Told you, clean walls!
We are also, of course, back to watching the other sleep thing:
There is also tearful staring:
And manly crying:
In fact, Dong Chul angsts so much he forgets to button his shirt:
Time passes, unimportant things like Dong Chul rejoining the mob to save his singularly troublesome family again happen but let's get to the point! Young Ran is out of the psych ward, and like a bomb with a homing beacon...tracks down Dong Chul!
Did I mention that I kept yelling for them to do it already for about 20 episodes by now? At the rate of ust they had going, I wasn't going to settle for less than porn (not that it was ever going to happen in a kdrama, alas).
I lied. I will settle for this. The couple that knows they can't be hug:
Did I mention that she stays at his house and his tough-as-nails scary Mom likes her (I think she is the only woman Mom ever likes, actually, other than co-wife).
But of course it cannot be and they know it and she marries her richie rich 'boyfriend' - otherwise the disaster would be three times as great courtesy of Mob Daddy - she now knows his family and does not want to endanger them. I wonder if her agreeable boyfriend is agreeable enough to wear a paper bag on head?
Normally, a wedding to others ends the OTP. But not here! The OTP is dyfunctional enough to persevere, resulting in more eye-fucking:
And again! Clearly, Dong Chul, like former President Carter "has sinned in his heart."
See?
Conveniently, her boring husband gets killed but since I couldn't care less about him, have a sexy picture of Dong Chul instead:
Of course, since this is a kdrama, this is not the path to widowed bliss. Young Ran is kidnapped by mobsters! Again! At this rate, she should have a night bag packed up.
Geee, I wonder if he will rescue her? Seeing that not only is he madly in love with her, he is basically this Korean Gangster Jesus?
OMG. He choses her over his family - he must rescue her (oh baby, ep 39 is where it's at. It hasn't been this shippy since 23-26!)
Even as she screams for him not to come as the guys who kidnapped her did it so they could get Dong Chul in their clutches and get revenge. They know his Achilles Heel.
Since Dong Chul has the world's worst luck, he gets shot before the feds rescue them.
And now we get to a smorgasbrod of angst! Whether it's her screaming over his body, leading to her deciding she is bad luck and telling him to leave her alone (he tells her she is the only happiness in his sad life. Hey dude, you are a kdrama hero, what did you expect?)
Or him being told she is preggers with her dead boring husband's kid!
There is more self-sacrificing blahblah:
But let's get to adorableness instead:
How can you not ship them?
When a guy who looks like that says "I will always be with you", I'd be happy for you if you weren't a kdrama heroine.
Mobster Daddy is dying and is finally OK with the two of them - man, that is hardcore. The whole saving his life might have also helped. He also reveals Young Ran was not preggers - she said she was to push Dong Chul away. Why did she think it would work? Dong Chul's little brother begged the girl he loved for the privilege to marry her after he found out she was raped and pregnant with the rapist's kid. (Oh, God, how did I love Dong Wook/Ji Hyun - OMG. I am still bitter about the way they ended and the whole Dong Wook thing in general).
“I will love her more than my own life.” Now, that is the kind of enthusiasm a man likes to see from a future son-in-law.
He informs her that her ploy about baby was not the brightest as whether she was pregnant with another man's child or not would be totally immaterial (told you, runs in the family! I remember how he also begged Ji Hyun to marry his little brother!)
They decide to live happily - *bitter laugh* It's a kdrama, people!
Happiness!
More happiness! Even if it only dying Mob Boss' dream. EoE knows its fanservice.
But not for long, as enemy number 4,381 springs up and they have to go on the run.
Did I mention the whole bit where he is framed for drug dealing and she takes the blame on herself and he springs her from jail? Because consider it mentioned.
There are grave visits to his idolized dead father.“She is someone who is more precious than life to me. Father, you have to love her more than you love me.” “Father, I’m a girl who cannot even tie Dong chul’s shoelaces. But if you say it’s okay, then I will love him with all my heart and my life.”
To put the cherry on top of the sundae of happiness, we get this:
Even though they are fugitives on the run:
They still have time for a honeymoon.
He tells her that the very first time they met in Macao when she sang with a soup ladle, he thought she was the person he had always been waiting for. “Then why did you act like I wasn’t?” “Because you were too pretty.”
His mouth is open. Faints
Frigging finally! Young Ran is proof that perseverance pays off.
The morning after is the sweetest thing ever:
And then he makes an honest woman out of her. While crying from happiness. So am I, Dong Chul, so am I.
Of course, this being EoE, Young Ran is kidnapped *again, LOL*
Dong Chul begs for help from his estranged younger brother, saying he will do anything, the brother (who is a prosecutor) can arrest him but just save Young Ran, but to no avail. Brother arrests him instead and Dong Chul has to break out of jail. Luckily for him, it seems to be a habit.
It is good he will go rescue her as her escape attempt got foiled.
So he goes to rescue her by himself.
She is hanging from the ceiling and he is badly wounded saving her.
He is the one who is asking her if she is OK and telling her he will find her anywhere. *ships*
The situation goes FUBAR despite his younger brother's rescue attempts (long story) and Dong Chul exchanges himself for Young Ran:
But that doesn't stop anything and as the place descends into chaos, Dong Chul takes a bullet for his brother, dying for, and with, the two people he's loved the most.
But fear not, as with any righteous ganster who has to buy it (e.g. The Outsiders), there is a baby left!
Which is, all in all, all one could hope for when you ship mobsters with a penchant for bruises.
Bonus lip-stroking in happier times:
I frelling DARE you not to ship them!
If you need excellent episode recaps (this is where I got most of my caps for this part 2. Other caps in this 2-parter are mine or Luv's from soompi) go to this blog.
And if you want to check out the shippiness, these are the eps to watch: 6-11, 15-16, 18-20, 22-29, 38-40, 45, 48, 50, 52, 54-56 They are not the only ones which have shippiness but they are the shippiest.