#joovin

Hello!

These are just short form notes becuz I might go into depth with these later when I have more time,

BTW- im only focusing on the K-drama becuz the novel is a whole other beast and I'm not prepared

Warning: Suicide / Suicidal thoughts

Yeowoon:

Yeowoon's story in the K-drama follows the very conventional stages of grief in order (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance). His emotions are very clear, and despite his 180-degree personality shift in episode 4, we can still see underlying sadness exuding from the cracks of his soul.

Denial - (Ep 1+2) Yeowoon denies his suicidal mental state, denies help from Myungha, denies anything being wrong with him, denies Myungha's entire existence, denies the possibility of making friends, and denies his track-and-field abilities

Anger - (Ep 2+3) Yeowoon is angry with himself, angry with Myungha, angry with the world, angry at his bullies, angry at being jealous, angry with his life, angry with Sangwon, angry at Myungha's kindness, and angry with the way he feels.

Bargaining - (Ep 4+5+6) Yeowoon bargains with his crush on Myungha, bargains with getting Myungha to the sea, bargains with his father, bargains with confessing to Myungha, bargains on his first kiss, bargains on his first date, bargains on opening a social media.

Depression - (Ep 7+8) Yeowoon feels depressed when feeling like Myungha doesn't love him equally, depressed when Myungha relies on Sangwon and not him, depressed when Myungha breaks up with him, depressed when he's all alone, and he depressed when Myungha disappears.

Acceptance - (Ep 8) Yeowoon accepts his loneliness, accepts Myungha's existence, accepts Myungha's reemergence, accepts his vulnerability, accepts growth, accepts change, accepts who he is as a person, accepts needing Myungha by his side, and accepts that he deserves to be loved.

Myungha:

Myungha's stages of grief is much different to Yeowoon - he goes through these stages in reverse (Acceptance, Depression, Bargaining, Anger, Denial). His story in the K-drama (relating to the stages of grief) is unusual, perhaps due to him already being dead before the first episode even starts. This reverse grief could be seen as either positve or negative; positive in the way that this could symbolise his rebirth, or negative in the way that he is living in a constant state of denial, refusing to accept his death.

Acceptance - (Ep 1) Myungha readily accepts his Senior's bet, accepts the fact he is in a game, accepts being 19, accepts his mission to make Yeowoon happy, accepts his Grandma being alive again, accepts making a new friend, and accepts his time limit.

Depression - (Ep 2+3) Myungha feels depressed when seeing his fondness, depressed when thinking of Yeowoon's mental state, depressed when seeing Yeowoon's self-hatred, depressed when he's pushed away, depressed with his previous actions, depressed when seeing Yeowoon in pain, depressed when needing to make money, depressed when Yeowoon ignores him, and depressed when his fondness decreases.

Bargaining - (Ep 4+5+6) Myungha bargains Yeowoon's emotions, bargains with his old memories, bargains by kissing the bully, bargains with Yeowoon, bargains with going on the trip, bargains with seeing his mother, bargains with his new mission or discovering Yeowoon's problem, bargains with Yeowoon's confession, bargains with going on a date with Yeowoon, bargains with starting a social media for Yeowoon, bargains with the world, bargains with knowing about the stalker, bargains with his mission to chose between Yeowoon and Grandma.

Anger - (Ep 7+8) Myungha is angry with this mission, angry at the world, angry with the game, angry with his loss of days, angry with himself, angry at his confusion, angry at having to keep this a secret, angry at himself for getting sick, angry at himself for being unable to say what he means, angry at not knowing how to love, angry at not knowing what Yeowoon wants, angry at needing to break up with Yeowoon, angry at the world breaking, angry at disappearing, angry at his past, angry at his grandmother's passing, angry with his mother, and angry at his senior.

Denial - (Ep 8) Myungha denies his old wish, denies his old life, denies his senior, denies his true age, denies time, denies the game world's rules, denies his old sadness, denies needing to know what happiness is and denies his death,

Myungha is an extremely complex person - and he actually follows the usual stages in order (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance) but this more so mirrors Yeowoon's emotions - Myungha is an extreme empath.

However there is a third way Myungha follows the Stages of Grief, happening twice - Episode 1-4 in reverse (Acceptance, Depression, Bargaining, Anger, Denial) and from Episodes 5-8 follows the usual order (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance) = this is interesting as it actively splits the show into two - "1-4 Yeowoon's story" and "5-8 Myungha's story"

=========================================

Sorry if the 'Bargaining' sections don't make sense - I don't know how to convey exactly what I mean in written form.

This show always makes me think, and that's one thing I really love about it. Sometimes it hurts me to think, so, being able to focus on this fictional K-drama and the symbolism inside it, makes me extremely happy.

Anyways, little emotional rant out the way - I just find it fascinating looking at it through this lens even if it was never intended to, but given all the imagery and mention of Death in the show, its worth analysing.

Thank u for reading

Stay Safe <3

===========================================

| Masterlist |

And Taevin reported he was home and was about to sleep, at almost 3am.

Hey!

I just wanted to ramble on about a story idea I had about this show (when I was half-asleep) - and I wanted to make it angsty. I've always wanted to learn more about Myungha's past.

I put all my thoughts at the end.

TW - SUICIDE/SUICIDAL THOUGHTS

SUMMARY:

In the main timeline, at 29-years-old, Myungha disappears once more! Needing to save him, Yeowoon dimension-hops into Myungha's original timeline (the one he died in). He is tasked with objectives to make Myungha happy.

Yeowoon meets the original 29-Year-Old Myungha.

If Yeowoon completes his checklist of tasks, he can return to his original timeline (with his Myungha), if not, he'll return to his world alone and his Myungha will never return.

PLOT:

I put a lot for the beginning and end as those are the parts I've thought of the most. However, this means the middle is not fully fleshed out (but I do know what I want within, just not exactly how its portrayed)

Beginning:

In the main timeline (at age 29), Yeowoon returns home with flowers to apologise for a trivial argument the previous night - Yeowoon feels bad for the fight.

The apartment is cold and empty - Yeowoon calls for Myungha but he's nowhere to be found. Yeowoon is confused but sits on the couch - it was still early so he assumes Myungha is just running late from work.

Time passes, its been hours. Yeowoon is growing restless.

Yeowoon's eyes catch on his surroundings, and he finds oddities: Myungha is missing from pictures, Myungha's number is no longer in Yeowoon's phone (when he calls, the line is unavailable), and the things Myungha brought for the apartment have disappeared... Yeowoon worries Myungha had left him and indirectly broken up with him.

Yeowoon calls his friends and Grandma to ask if Myungha is crashing at theirs' tonight, but no one knows who Myungha even is - Yeowoon is getting major Deja Vu and panics a little upon realising the similarities to the last time Myungha disappeared (at 19).

Yeowoon immediatly rushes into his bedroom, (Myungha's clothes and marking-books are missing). Panicked, Yeowoon pulls out everything from the wardrobe and under the bed. He is looking for something.

Yeowoon pulls out a box - memrabillia from his past dates with Myungha - its empty... except the Author's Pen. Just like 10 years ago, Yeowoon sits down at the desk, surrounded by his now-messy room - he prays it works like last time. he clicks the pen and writes a message on the table - the message dissolves into the wood.

Yeowoon looks around but nothing happens - he suddenly feels faint and collapses onto his desk -

Yeowoon awakens in a very familiar cafe (Myungha's Mother's cafe) - Yeowoon gets a pop-up notification introducing him to the game and a 'loading cutscene' message.

Here, Yeowoon is forced to bare witness to Myungha's mother rejecting Myungha before running off with another child. Yeowoon wants to interject but can't move till the 'cutscene' is over - Once Myungha's mother leaves and Myungha is left there crying, Yeowoon is given his missions - if he fails he will be sent back to his timeline and his Myungha will never return.

As soon as Yeowoon is able to, he jumps up, rushing over to Myungha...

[Entering Love Supremacy Zone]

Middle:

(in no particular order)

Yeowoon's mission is to obtain 15 items within a certain number of days - all the items are the memorabilia that Yeowoon had inside of his box (where the author's pen was inside) - Yeowoon needs to make these memories with Myungha in this timeline.

Yeowoon is sent to Myungha's original timeline.

Yeowoon tries to explain his situation multiple times but the game forces him to be quiet

Myungha is numb from his past experiences and is uncaring of Yeowoon's presence.

Yeowoon latches onto Myungha just like how Myungha did all those years ago - Yeowoon (neither any of their friends) exist in this world, so Yeowoon manages to convince Myungha to let him stay at his for now.

Yeowoon's first interaction with Myungha in this world mimics their first meeting in Yeowoon's world - (Yeowoon says he knows Myungha's Grandma, they get ice cream ect.)

Myungha's fondness for Yeowoon is constant at 0 but fluctuates constantly with Yeowoon's actions - sometimes negative, sometimes positive.

Yeowoon takes Myungha on 'dates' and they recreate parts of the pass.

Yeowoon gets a cut on his hand (it'll be important later)

Yeowoon uses what he knows about Myungha from his timeline to make this Myungha happy - he learns more about Myungha's past and understands why Myungha acts the way he does.

Myungha still has to go to work, pay his bills and live his life - Yeowoon comes and makes his life a little easier each day. Myungha doesnt trust him but as Yeowoon does more-and-more, Myungha reluctantly allows him Yeowoon to continue acting this way.

Myungha is more mature, more quiet, more untrusting and subdued - he never truly believes or likes Yeowoon - he actively pushes Yeowoon away the entire story. But that only changes when Yeowoon begins to disappear.

Ending:

It's Yeowoon's last week - The final item on Yeowoon's checklist from the game is tickets for Jebudo Land (the theme park) - Yeowoon is clearly hesitant because inorder to get the tickets, he'd need to go all the way to Jebudo island. Yeowoon tries to hide this from Myungha, but Myungha takes notice of the booking page open on Yeowoon's phone,

Myungha, despite heavily repressing himself, secretly buys the tickets for Yeowoon and himself - they go together - Yeowoon really tries to convince Myungha to stay home (as it will surface bad memores) but Myungha is unconvincable and is somewhat excited to go to the theme park (although he doesn't show it)

the boys go, but its clear Yeowoon is nervous as this is his last day - he puts on a brave face for Myungha and they spend a nice day at the theme park - Yeowoon is careful not to touch the tickets. he notices how Myungha is acting more childlike at the theme park than usual (because of how repressed Myungha is in this world)

The boys walk along the bridge as Yeowoon notes the difference in high and low tide - Myungha is surprised by the info and listens to Yeowoon talk. Yeowoon is trying to be normal but he only has 5 minutes left.

Myungha is somewhat enamoured by Yeowoon at this point, though he doesn't know it himself.

Yeowoon waits for the last possible minute and then asks for the tickets - Myungha passes them over. When Yeowoon holds them, the tickets dematerialise, and is added to his checklist - he's completed his task here.

Particles form around Yeowoon as he is being sent back to his own time. Yeowoon quickly explains how this is goodbye. Myungha pauses, and his heart stops—despite his usual apathy, Myungha doesn't want Yeowoon to leave.

Yeowoon worries Myungha might start arguing, fighting etc but Myungha claims its not fair and even begging a tad - Myungha hugs Yeowoon who is slowly dematerialising.

Yeowoon hugs him back but eventually disappears, leaving Myungha standing there a mess.

Back in his timeline - Yeowoon is at the desk, awoken by his Myungha standing over him with his own flowers to apologise for the fight last night. Yeowoon stands up and immediately hugs him tight, Yeowoon takes notices of Myungha's wet hair but it dries almost instantly -

the boys kiss and make up - they then plan a trip to the beach... Yeowoon looks down at his palm and sees the cut from earlier - what he went through was real... but at least everyone is happy, right?

...

...

Back with 29 Myungha from the orginal timeline - he stands at the foot of the ocean floor - everyone has left him - he truly has nothing left. he complains to the sky, asking why Yeowoon was here if he was only here to disappear, why his mother hates him, why his grandmother had to pass away.

he takes a step into the ocean going deeper and deeper - eventually dipping his head below the surface and drowning. At the last moments though, Myungha regrets it... he regrets everything. (ending how Myungha's original 29 year old life did)

....

the story ends with 'someone' telling Myungha he wrote the first chapter of his novel, and its called 'Love Supremacy Zone'

NOTES:

A lot of the chapters will be from Myungha's POV - unlike Yeowoon in the original story, Myungha is more subdued and apathetic to Yeowoon's anticts, he isn't angry... he just doesnt really care anymore.

The items Yeowoon needs to collect are from their past eg - icecream sticks, a medal, a doorknob, a soda-can ect.

the story will focus on Myungha's first life.

Yeowoon, Sangwon, Kyunghoon and Siah dont exist in Myungha's original timeline - grandma does exist, but passed away over 10 years prior.

Yeowoon uses what he already knows about Myungha over the past 10 years to try giving him exactly what he needs

Myungha has alot of empthathy but due to his past, he finds it hard to care about to others.

===========================================

Should i write this as a fanfic? hmm? that is the question - I understand the story I laid out might seem convoluted, but I always wanted to read more about Myungha's past.

Thank u for reading

Stay Safe <3

===========================================

| Masterlist |

Hey! i decided to make this powerpoint on the main characters of LFLS - here it presented in a few short pages

I've seen a alot of people confuse who is who, or what role they play in the story, so I thought I would help by making this - obviously, some characters have a lot more to talk about then others - honestly I could make entire books if I only talked about Myungha and Yeowoon.

all this info is a combination of the Kdrama and the novel - BUT I read the novel with an English fan translation so info might be a tad skewed

here you go <3

here is a list of every character in the series I could find - the names where taken from the credits at the end of the beach scene - but the last 3 that are separated are Novel exclusive characters.

the next thing i want to do is to make an 'iceberg' based on LFLS and its Novel, with the most known info at the top and little known/rumours/theories at the very bottom - its a struggle considering their isn't much outside of the series/book to make points on, but I think I've thought of some

if i missed anything or you have any questions about how I got any of this info feel free to ask

|| Masterlist ||

A cute cinnamon roll, but who exactly is Kyunghoon? And what role does he play in the series/novel?

in the series, Kyunghoon had a number of appearances, but in the novel, after the first volume, (chaps 1-30) Kyunghoon essentially disappears for chapters at a time - and his sister, Ahn Siah, shows more then he does.

He is integral for the plot, he starts off the chain of events that gets Myungha his job and social circle... so who exactly is he?

here are some of my interpretations

TW - SUICIDE / SUICIDAL THOUGHTS

1) Opposite of Myungha:

Kyunghoon can be interpreted as a manifestation of the kind of person Myungha wished he was in his first life. While Myungha was rebellious, impulsive, angry, and a poor kid with no parental guidance, Kyunghoon is calm, intelligent, and independent. He might keep to himself, but he has true people who care about him (his sister, his partner, his rich parents). The contrast makes Kyunghoon a character Myungha admires but also envies.

Myungha quickly becomes friends with Kyunghoon, finding his introverted and composed nature something Myungha wants to protect.

However, Myungha sees traces of his own loneliness in Kyunghoon. Despite all the things that Kyunghoon is given, he is bullied mercilessly, and his stuttering is constant, which may hint at something deeper -

Myungha respects and also pities Kyunghoon, perhaps because he sees that even though Kyunghoon has the things Myungha always wanted, he still struggles. OR maybe it's just because Myungha wants to protect Kyunghoon the way no one protected him in his first life.

And despite growing further away as the show/novel go on, Kyunghoon learns to be more confident, stuttering less and able to pursue his dreams of becoming a photographer/filmographer - which he first deemed a hobby, but learned to love more due to Myungha and his other friends.

2) Myungha's Guardian Angel:

if we are under the interpretation that Myungha is truly dead and that this game world is his eternal Afterlife, then Kyunghoon can be seen as a Guardian Angel guiding Myungha through the stages of his death.

Kyunghoon is soft-spoken, watchful and his demeanour aligns with the guardian archetype - someone who doesn't interfere too much but offers enough guidance to help The Lost find their own way around. There are certain situations which Kyunghoon needs Myungha's help with, this could be seen as minor tests, examining Myungha's strength and compassion for others - essentially deeming him worthy of this afterlife.

Kyunghoon could be seen as an angelic force, pushing Myungha onto the path of doing good - to complete his mission and 'win' the game. (Sangwon could be interpreted as the opposite to Kyunghoon - his job to lead Myungha astray)

3) Another Dead Character:

If this is the Afterlife, then it's only natural to assume that Kyunghoon, just like Myungha, Myungha's Grandma and Yeowoon (if Yeowoon is truly a reflection of Myungha, then he may have also choosen to end his life at age 29) is also deceased.

Kyunghoon is shown to have a stutter, is extremely introverted and is bullied mercilessly - this could allude to something deeper under the surface.

Since this afterlife mimics the real world (like how Myungha's mother still abandoned him and Yeowoon's father is abusive), then, the bullies Kyunghoon encounter could be mimicking his past life - perhaps they were a reason for his death.

in the novel it is alluded that Kyunghoon had to be hospitalised because of his bullies, and had to switch schools because of them. this could also explain why everyone (his sister, mother and the teachers) are aware of his mental health and are so protective.

However, by going through this again and meeting Myungha, he grows confidence, learns to socialise and is stripped of his bullies. This could symbolise Kyunghoon gaining closure as he learns to 'live' for himself.

4) NPC:

Considering Myungha is sent into a Video Game, Kyunghoon can be seen as a sort of tutorial character for Myungha. He provides information about the world, about Yeowoon, about jobs, about school and the general mechanics (as the first few missions occur directly in front of / near Kyunghoon).

he is also the first character Myungha sees, and Kyunghoon leads Myungha to Yeowoon. Kyunghoon follows classic NPC behaviour - establishing the world, the characters and guiding the player in the early stages. (Myungha also gets a tutorial reward after encounting Kyunghoon for the first time)

Kyunghoon's less frequent appearance could symbolise the passage of time - Myungha is no longer a lost player; he knows the rules, and so Kyunghoon's presence is not needed.

5) Just a Coincidence:

Or - Myungha meeting Kyunghoon was just a chance encounter... and I'm reading too much into this.

=========================================

Kyunghoon is the biggest Cinnamon Roll - do you have any other theories for who or what Kyunghoon is meant to symbolise?

Thank u for reading

Stay Safe <3

===========================================

| Masterlist |