#behindthechapter

[laurelevermore]

Behind The Chapter

The Brothers Kim, Chapter 48 - Of Stolen Time

[I am too lazy to make a mood board so the chapter preview will have to do.]

Please read chapter 48 of ‘The Brothers Kim’ before reading this post. You can do so on Wattpad, Asianfanfics, Inkitt, Archive of Our Own (AO3), Quotev, Sweek, Tapas, Webnovel and RoyalRoad.

Potential spoilers will be omitted from this post.

The chapter begins where chapter 46 left off.

Following the death of Hyesung, the Kims had gathered to discuss the funeral arrangements as well as something of great import: the return of their exiled brother. 

In this chapter, readers learn a little about how the Kims’ second brother who was exiled. While Minseok attempted to deliver the news peacefully, Junmyeon did not take the news well. 

It is hinted that the reason for the second Kim brother’s banishment was because of something he did not do rather than something he did do. Only Minseok and Junmyeon seem to know what the reason may be while the other Kims did not. 

The latter part of the chapter shifts to Gyuri’s point of view as well as her interaction with the mysterious dark-cloaked traveller. Needless to say, it was an interaction Gyuri did not expect to have.

EXTRA:

This chapter definitely gave me a hard time when writing, mainly because I changed the original plan to incorporate more exciting bits to the story. 

A lot of thought went into how the exiled brother should be introduced especially as his character is still shrouded in mystery. I had to watch and read a couple of books and dramas to inspire me when crafting his character since I did not want him to overlap with any of the existing characters already. 

My biggest inspiration would probably be a mixture of his namesake (whom the second brother is named after) and Go Dongmae from Mr. Sunshine. 

[Side note: Mr. Sunshine is an awesome drama and I highly recommend it for its cinematography and complex plot line.]

If you have seen the poster for the webtoon, you will probably notice how the second brother bears some resemblance to Dongmae. That is because his appearance was largely inspired by him.

I have yet to reveal more of the second brother’s personality which I am very excited about as well as the reasons behind certain physical characteristics.  

A notable mention:

Viy (my editor) mentioned that the second brother’s act of stabbing the earth was symbolic for two reasons:  it suggested his tenacity, like planting one’s roots, as well as his hidden frustration and anger.

The truth is, I did not intend any of the above. At the time of writing, my thought process was that the second brother had a sword in his hand and he had a limp, so using his sword to help him up seemed like a good idea. I did not expect the action to be significant, but I like Viy’s interpretation regardless.  

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[laurelevermore]

Behind The Chapter

The Brothers Kim, Chapter 9 - Something in Common

Please read chapter 9 of ‘The Brothers Kim’ before reading this post. You can do so on Wattpad, Asianfanfics, Inkitt, Archive of Our Own (AO3), Quotev, Sweek, Tapas, Webnovel and RoyalRoad.

Potential spoilers will be omitted from this post.

The chapter begins with Taehyung and Gyuri somewhat bickering about what they were going to do. Hesistant as Gyuri was, she eventually went along with Taehyung’s plan to steal meat buns from an unsuspecting vendor who they had targeted.

Taehyung reveals that the vendor was actually a tenant of the Lees- his relatives- whom he did not get on with.

While Gyuri distracted the vendor, Taehyung would sneak up to the cart and take a few meat buns to bring back to the orphans. The pair executed this plan flawlessly until the vendor eventually caught on as Taehyung tried to get away with his hard-earned money.

Gyuri and Taehyung escaped unscathed although not as conspiciously as they had hoped.

When the pair returned to the orphans, they were greeted with grateful smiles. It was at this moment that Gyuri asked about the Kim family, voicing out her curiousity as to why there were no ladies in the household.

Taehyung explained that his mother and his brothers’ mothers had passed away a long time ago.

EXTRA:

There were a lot of things I wanted to convey in this chapter, particularly the relationship between Taehyung and Gyuri. At this point in the story, Gyuri and Taehyung do not always see eye to eye especially when they have different views, such as morals.

It is when Taehyung reveals something personal about not being able to meet his mother that Gyuri realises that she and Taehyung are somewhat alike. She too never got to meet her mother.

I’ve had feedback from readers that they were surprised to learn that Taehyung is younger than Gyuri in this story. All I can say is that there is a really good reason for that and I am excited to reveal what it is!

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[laurelevermore]

Behind The Chapter

The Brothers Kim, Chapter 8 - Call a Truce

Please read chapter 8 of ‘The Brothers Kim’ before reading this post. You can do so on Wattpad, Asianfanfics, Inkitt, Archive of Our Own (AO3), Quotev, Sweek, Tapas, Webnovel and RoyalRoad.

Potential spoilers will be omitted from this post.

Following the mishap from the previous chapter, Gyuri is found in a daze while sweeping the courtyard. It is mentioned that a couple of days had elapsed since then and the relationship between Gyuri and Taehyung had not improved.

A few moments later, she encounters Taehyung hiding in the bushes and confronts him. Gyuri suggests that they call a truce by ignoring each other’s presence. It was clear that they didn’t get along and all she wanted was to live in Saim in peace while she tried to figure out how to return home.

Taehyung eventually agrees but wants her to do something in exchange.

Later, Gyuri is introduced to a pair of orphans who Taehyung was acquainted with and she soon discovers the reason for his habit of stealing.

EXTRA:

I used to watch Chinese historical dramas like Empresses in the Palace and The Empress of China.

In these dramas, I learned of how women dressed modestly and that simple things such as showing one’s ankles or writsts can be considered as scandalous.

Having Gyuri interpret Taehyung’s remark of ‘stripping’ made me chuckle since the suggestion would seem preposterous to her, especially as she is from a different era.

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[laurelevermore]

Behind The Chapter

The Brothers Kim, Chapter 7 - Afternoon Tea Time

Please read chapter 7 of ‘The Brothers Kim’ before reading this post. You can do so on Wattpad, Asianfanfics, Inkitt, Archive of Our Own (AO3), Quotev, Sweek, Tapas, Webnovel and RoyalRoad.

Potential spoilers will be omitted from this post.

The chapter opens with Gyuri doing the laundry.

Much to her dismay, Gyuri is given the role of a relief maid rather than being assigned to either Namjoon or Taehyung, like what Pho predicted.

A few days had passed since she had wrestled with Taehyung, and as a consequence of her misconduct, the head maid, Madam Zhou, had decided to keep a strict eye on Gyuri.

However, with Pho falling ill, Gyuri is made to serve the Kims at tea- something which Madam Zhou was reluctant to allow. With little choice on the matter, Madam Zhou hesistantly agrees to let Gyuri serve since she deemed poor tea service to the Kims as even worse.

While Gyuri strived to be on her best behaviour, Taehyung, still sore from being wrestled with, had other plans...

EXTRA:

One of the things I find most odd about some historical K-dramas, or any period dramas for that matter, is that whenever someone transmigrates to the past, they are almost always of that ethnic background of the country they are transmigrating to.

As someone who grew up in a muticultural society, this made me wonder, what would happen if someone of a different ethnic background transmigrated?

While writing this chapter I started thinking about how someone, who may be disconnected with their heritage, might act when put in this situation. Knowing very little about their history and being transported to the period in question can be confusing because they are a blend of two identities: their ethnic origin and the nationality they grew up in.

In most cases, schools don’t always teach you of other countries’ histories, so the majority of students have a very ethnocentric view of the world.

In this case, Gyuri doesn’t know much about Saim which led to her comment about how her school did her injustice in that it only provided her information about British history- knowledge which she found useless in Saim.

There are many underlying themes in this story which I will explore as the plot progresses but the theme of identity is definitely a very prominent one.

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Behind The Chapter

The Brothers Kim, Chapter 6 - Chance to Choose

Please read chapter 6 of ‘The Brothers Kim’ before reading this post. You can do so on Wattpad, Asianfanfics, Inkitt, Archive of Our Own (AO3), Quotev, Sweek, Tapas, Webnovel and RoyalRoad.

Potential spoilers will be omitted from this post.

This chapter begins with three maids whispering about Gyuri from afar.

In the maids’ quarters, Gyuri is found stuffing her face with food after regaining consciousness. It turns out that she had fainted from hunger.

After her brief conversation with Madam Zhou and Namjoon, she then meets the rest of her roommates- maids whom she will be sharing a room with.

Here, three new characters are introduced: Mayu, Pho and Kalyani.

It is revealed that the trio each served a Kim as a personal maid, and that they each earned their position in two of the most common ways: being recommended or chosen from a guild of servants (employed formally).

The maids were intrigued to find that Gyuri became a servant of the Kims through reward. Previously, only men had been rewarded by the Kims.

But the main question was: which Kim brother would Gyuri be serving?

EXTRA:

I had fun writing this chapter as more was revealed about Namjoon’s character as well as the three maids.

At this point, Gyuri still acts like Subin in that she speaks as she would if she were back in her own era. It was quite interesting on my part as I had to try and remember what it was like to be fifteen and how teenagers speak.

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Behind The Chapter

The Brothers Kim, Chapter 5- Buckets of Water

Please read chapter 5 of ‘The Brothers Kim’ before reading this post. You can do so on Wattpad, Asianfanfics, Inkitt, Archive of Our Own (AO3), Quotev, Sweek, Tapas, Webnovel and RoyalRoad.

Potential spoilers will be omitted from this post.

The story begins with Gyuri being punished by Madam Zhou.

Gyuri couldn’t understand why she was being punished and Madam Zhou explained that it was because of her poor behaviour towards the young master, Taehyung.

While Gyuri carried out her punishment, Taehyung eventually appears and taunts her, causing Gyuri to chase after him.

The pair engage in a scuffle until they were stopped by Taehyung’s older brother, Junmyeon. Junmyeon, or the third brother, calls for Madam Zhou and Gyuri is once again under the mercy of Madam Zhou’s disciplining methods.

The chapter then transitions to Namjoon’s point of view and how he is mulling over the prospect of war and what the new emperor will be like. While doing so, he suddenly gets distracted by the sound of muttering coming from the courtyard.

It was already night and by squinting his eyes, Namjoon manages to spot the profile of a young woman, carrying four buckets of water on both shoulders.

Later, Namjoon discovers that the maid that was being punished was no other than Gyuri. But before he could ask why she was being disciplined,Gyuri faints in his arms.

EXTRA:

This chapter is meant to demonstrate how life in Saim is very different to how life is back in the 21st century. In this case, Gyuri (Subin) is finding it hard to understand why she is being punished. It is meant to emphasise that even so much as throwing a pillow at one of the Kims is deemed as punishable, although, Gyuri may have gotten away very lightly.

This chapter also serves to introduce more about the world of Saim and the political instability in the nation with the rise of the new emperor. Who is he? And what could he be capable of?

Not to mention that Junmyeon, the third brother, is also introduced. So far, it has been established that Taehyung is not close to this Kim brother at all and that more is to be revealed as to why this is.

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Behind The Chapter

The Brothers Kim, Chapter 4- Household of Kim

Please read chapter 4 of ‘The Brothers Kim’ before reading this post. You can do so on Wattpad, Asianfanfics, Inkitt, Archive of Our Own (AO3), Quotev, Sweek, Tapas, Webnovel and RoyalRoad.

Potential spoilers will be omitted from this post.

In this chapter, Subin is introduced to the Kim household as Gyuri (note that she will be known as Gyuri from now onward). Gyuri meets the eldest of the Kim brothers, Minseok, who was on his way to the palace. From Minseok and Taehyung’s brief conversation, it is revealed that Taehyung consistently snuck out of the household, much to the dismay of his older brother and cousin.

The relationship between Taehyung and Gyuri remains a little rocky since their initial encounter. Their relationship is somewhat reminsicent of playful sibling rivalry (or at least, that was my intention).

It is during her first day at the Kim household that Gyuri met other characters such as Madam Zhou, the head maid, and Mayu, one of the other maids.

During her forced shower, Gyuri discovers that she was no longer in her own body. These are another one of the mysteries of time-slipping: she had transmigrated to another girl’s body, but who was the original owner?

EXTRA:

While writing this chapter, I was reminded of the film, ‘Spirited Away’ by Ghibli Studios. If you are familiar with the film, you would know that the protagonist, Chihiro, had been transported to the spirit world and she had to find a way back home. Her bravery and initial reaction to the situation was what inspired me and influenced Gyuri’s character. How would you react if you were in Gyuri’s situation?

The light-heartedness of the chapter was mostly because I have a background in romance-comedies, in that, it’s my favourite genre and therefore I couldn’t resist adding a little bit of rom-com. The part about her bust size was actually inspired by my sister, who always complained about how inconvenient her bust size was. Nevertheless, I’d be as confused as Madam Zhou if I saw someone complaining about their lack of boobs, haha.

Gyuri has a ditsy quality to her in that she has fantasies about meeting her Prince Charming. When I was a teen, I had classmates who were ALWAYS talking about boys. It was as if there was no other topic to talk about!

This part of her personality represents her child-like innocence which may struggle to survive in the later chapters.

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[laurelevermore]

Behind The Chapter

The Brothers Kim Author’s Notes

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Master list