sungkyunkwan scandal, if that has crossed your dash enough to reach critical osmosis mass
UHHH, not at all, but I will try my best.
Sungkyunkwan Scandal is a kdrama that is set during… a time period! This provides two things: 1) a surplus of pretty costumes and sets, and 2) the set-up for the plot.
There is A Girl, whose lifelong dream is to become A MAGISTRATE (or some kind of government official anyway, idrk). But because sexism, she can’t go to magistrate school to get her magistrating degree - a problem to which the natural and obvious solution is CROSS-DRESSING HIJINKS.
Would-Be Magistrate Girl has two roommates: Scruffy Brooding Guy, and Nerdy By-the-Book Guy. Scruffy Brooding Guy does not dress like all the other magistrates in training, so I don’t think he even goes to magistrate school. He and Nerdy By-the-Book Guy seem to have some kind of ~thing~ (grudging childhood frenemies?), so he might just be there to keep an eye on Nerdy By-the-Book Guy because Nerdy By-the-Book Guy’s mother was so kind to him when he was a scruffy barefoot child, or something like that.
ANYWAY, the three of them all share living quarters, and sleep on the same mat like little peas in a pod, and frequently end up draped over each other in comedic and sexually-confusing ways. Several characters have gay realisations that may or may not be misguided. In my head, it goes like:
- Someone sees cross-dressing Would-Be Magistrate Girl making moony eyes over one of her roommates/classmates/dreamy teacher/????. Immediately starts rumour that one of the trainee magistrates is gay.
- Nerdy By-the-Book Guy has been experiencing lots of new and confusing feelings about his new roommate, such as, “Gosh, new roommate has very delicate hands," and, “I wonder how he gets his hair to look so soft and touchable," and, “I want to put my mouth on his mouth, is that weird?". He hears the rumour and goes, Oh god, it’s me isn’t it, the gay is me, I AM THE GAY.
- Confesses his realisation to Would-Be Magistrate Girl, who assumes he is in love with his childhood friend. She tells Nerdy By-the-Book Guy that, omg no right yes, she understands completely *SIGNIFICANT LOOK*, which Nerdy By-the-Book Guy obviously 100% misinterprets. Meanwhile, Would-be-Magistrate Girl knows she should keep his secret, but it’s just so sad to see Scruffy Brooding Guy be so gruff and mean to him all the time, now that she knows that Nerdy By-the-Book Guy’s cold demeanour is really just hiding a broken heart OH GOD THE FEELS, so she eventually snaps and tells Scruffy Brooding Guy not to be such a jerk, dammit, don’t you know he’s in love with you.
- Scruffy Brooding Guy immediately has a crisis, because to his deep and lasting internal disgust, he has been resignedly in love with Nerdy By-the-Book Guy for years. His life is a joke. Fuck everything. But now - what? But also - this new kid is weirdly cute even if unattractively earnest and sincere? What is happening.
- ?????????
- Shenanigans ensue. Continue. Whatever.
- Would-Be Magistrate Girl doesn’t understand why her roommates are so fucking weird, or why they can’t get their shit together and talk it out like normal human beings. She just wants to study and follow her dreams and be a good magistrate. Is she the only person who came to this place to learn. God.
