Drama Review: Flower Boy Next Door Episode 8

Flower Boy Next Door

Episode 8

            It was a total disappointment that the only reason why Dok Mi grabbed Enrique’s arm away from Seo Young, was because she saw Tae Joon coming.  She remembered that Enrique didn’t want to be a hindrance to the relationship of Tae Joon and Seo Young so she didn’t want Tae Joon to misunderstand anything. 



That look is telling me he wasn't just shocked because of what Dok Mi did but also because of how he felt at that moment.



            Jin Rak was really shocked.  He wasn’t expecting Dok Mi to do such a thing.  Enrique was just as surprised if not more, with Dok Mi’s action.  At first he wasn’t aware why she did it but there was something in his eyes that says he liked it.  Later in this episode, he will say that he was touched by what Dok Mi did but I see more than that.  I think it’s more than just being touched. He has feelings for her, in my opinion.  But he is trying to hide it since he knew that Jin Rak has special feelings for Dok Mi for years now.  He probably just doesn’t want to hinder a possible development in his two new friend’s relationship, once again [just like in the case of his hyung and Seo Young]. 



Jin Rak could not believe what he just saw~ Dok Mi ran towards Enrique and grabbed his arm like she didn't want him to be embracing other girls?



            On The other hand, it is hard to tell what exactly Dok Mi feels about Enrique.  There were moments especially in this episode that she seemed jealous of another woman being so closed to Enrique but then it could be just another issue lingering in her head.  The episode is just too short to fit so many events.   Despite that, I still enjoy every moment I spend watching the show.  Every episode lets me see a little bit of the characters’ little secrets.

            Speaking of secrets, Dong Hoon isn’t just hanging out with girls.  Actually, it is safe to say that he isn’t hanging out with girls at night.  He is working as a designated driver for these party girls.  Finally, a portion of his story was revealed.  The way he was looking at the money he got from that last client plus the sigh he freed off his chest, is telling me there is more to him working that hard.  For now, I am satisfied with what little drops of information about him were shown.

            I feel for Jin Rak when he was like pouting when Dok Mi told him that she’s tired.  He wanted to say something to her but when it came to Enrique, she was the one who took the time to talk to Enrique.  He was already on his way up to his apartment but his curiosity as to what the two would be talking about took over him.  He hid behind the big garbage can and then something embarrassingly funny happened to him. 

            There were some serious moments in this episode but the comedy remained.  The balance is intact.  What more could I asked for but the next episode. 

I just love the editor's craziness!

            I thought when Jin Rak was secretly eavesdropping on Dok Mi and Enrique’s conversation sometime in the beginning of this episode was funny.  He did his best not to get caught.  He never thought that his phone will rat on him.  The editor called and that too was hilarious.  The way she talks and what she says are just crazy kind of funny.  She’s just as animated but a funny version of Enrique.  The interaction between her and Jin Rak was comical and they weren’t really even trying.

            Anyways, Dok Mi talked to Enrique about Enrique’s book that she just finished editing.  Apparently, he wanted her to be recognized as a co-author of the book since she edited a significant amount of text in it.  Aside from that she’s supposed to receive 2% of the profit.  She wanted that issue settled that’s why she took the initiative to talk to him.  She called the act, “an act of kindness”.  Enrique defended himself for he wasn’t thinking anything like it.  He thought it was just and reasonable since she made a lot of the sentences he wrote better.  He thought she deserves the recognition.  Regardless of what he said, Dok Mi got her way.

            I say, Enrique probably felt like he was walking on eggshells with her.  He knows what her dream was and he wanted to help in his own ways but so far nothing has worked.  He’s trying his best nevertheless and I think Dok Mi sees that.  Otherwise she wouldn’t have apologized for calling him an “empty shell” nor would she say things like, she can see his honesty. 

            Like I mentioned before, it is not uncommon to find a character in Korean dramas a guy who isn’t aware of his own feelings towards a girl.  For this I decided to come up with a list of proofs that Enrique have fallen for Dok Mi [even if he’s still not aware of it].

·         He is so curious about Dok Mi.  He hasn’t been so curious about someone other than himself before.

·         He grabs every opportunity to have any form of connection with her.  A good example is when he reiterated that since she was the first one to acknowledge their connection that the contract [to not acknowledge each other] is null and void.

·         He looked really sad when Jin Rak told him not to even have curiosities about Dok Mi.  Jin Rak told him that he started that way too.  At first he was curious about her, and then he started worrying about her.  From worrying about her, he started missing her.  Although, he acts like a child when in front of Jin Rak [and Dok Mi], when he’s on his own, he looks more serious.  Something is going on in his head that he’s keeping from people.  After the conversation with Jin Rak, he looked back at him and gave a sigh of relief—that once again, he was able to cover up his real thoughts about Dok Mi and made it sound like he doesn’t care.  But then right after than he remembered Dok Mi grabbing his arm and how he felt then.  If you asked me, I think the childishness is a cover up.

·         When his personal pictures was posted and sent to all the people in his contact list, he was more worried about what Dok Mi would think.  For this reason, he rushed towards Dok Mi’s apartment.  On his way there he was thinking hard of a plausible alibi.  When he got there, none of what he practiced was used.  After Dok Mi gave him back his panda hat, she walked away from him.  Enrique explained to her what exactly happened with his phone even if she’s not really paying attention to him. 

·         He never stops thinking of reasons to approach Dok Mi.  In this episode he also used Tae Joon’s dog, Hippo.  He knew that Dok Mi couldn’t say no to Hippo.  He sent her a text message using Tae Joon’s phone to get her to come out of her safe zone.  And when she did and found out that it was him who sent the text message, he pulled his ace card out.  That brought a smile on Dok Mi’s face. 

            While they were both enjoying petting Hippo, Tae Joon came.  Dok Mi and Tae Joon said their goodbyes.  Then, Seo Young appeared looking really sad.  She said apologized to Tae Joon for she felt that she bugged him too much.  She told them that she’s going back to Spain.  But the surprise was that she wanted Enrique to go back with her.  She showed them the tickets and asked Enrique if he is willing to go back to Spain with her.  Enrique looked at Dok Mi.  Was he waiting for her to say something?  Dok Mi looked at him too.  Was that sadness in her eyes?  We’ll find out next episode.

            I like this episode in a sense that this shows that the two main leads are slowly getting more involved with each other’s business.  And now suddenly it isn’t too bad anymore if one pries on another’s.  Dok Mi was neither as defensive nor as vigilant of him being around her.  And of course, because finally I can see more of that mature Enrique.  It reminds me of him in Me Too, Flower. 

            On The other side of the spectrum, Do Hwi continuously showed her persistence.  I think she knew that Jin Rak has someone else he likes but that didn’t stop her from imposing on him by kissing him.  Unfortunately, it only resulted into herself getting hurt emotionally especially when she sensed that Dok Mi is that person that he likes.  After that incident, Jin Rak started connecting the dots.  Do Hwi called him Oh Jae Won.  She called him that too before.  It slipped her tongue and then she took it back and called him Jin Rak instead.  Now, what I would like to know is, how is she connected to Oh Jae Won?  The show is already on episode 9 next week and I don’t think it is a bad idea if the writer would spill some of those secrets just like what they did about Dong Hoon.

            Anyways, thank you so much for reading my article.  I hope you enjoyed it.  Let me know your thoughts about this episode or my review in the comment section.  J