OH, BUT WHAT AN INTERESTING LAUGH YOU HAVE
After a one-night stand that results in a pregnancy, everyone’s overlooked “post-it girl,” Kim Mi Young (Jang Na Ra) gets married to Lee Gun (Jang Hyuk), a chaebol heir. Though they initially are forced into marriage by their families, they grow to love each other. Based on the Taiwanese drama of the same name, the Korean drama reunites Jang Hyuk and Jang Na Ra 12 years after their first drama together.
Perhaps I wasn’t expecting much from this drama. At best, I was hoping it would offer me a bowl of fluffy, romcom goodness but I think it ended up delivering a lot more. Overall, the drama’s plot is pretty banal. I did want to watch the original Taiwanese drama but worried that my interest wouldn’t be sustained over 24 episodes. Thankfully, the Korean remake is a manageable with its 16 episode installments.
When I first saw this drama, I thought Jang Hyuk’s Lee Gun was insane. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cringe at Lee Gun’s eccentric personality. I mean, Gun’s unique laughter alone would turn anyone off. I believe Jang Hyuk, himself, felt the same way. However, if you stick with the drama, Jang Hyuk pulls off Gun’s eccentricities for a number of reasons.
Jang Na Ra’s Kim Mi Young is pretty meek and quiet. If it weren’t for Lee Gun’s over-the-top personality, this OTP would have been easily forgettable in the sea of K-Drama OTPs. Plus, if the drama is going to be predictable and play by the book, it helps to have something else to entertain you for 16 installments. He was that factor and I began to warm up to him in the same way I warmed up to Cha Seung Won’s Dokko Jin. Crazy, but oh-so-entertaining.
Really, Jang Hyuk’s character commands most of this drama. As far as female characters go, she plays a very traditional role in that she supports her husband, stands by her husband and loves him and his family. Her character really doesn’t stand out for me in the first half of the drama.
*SPOILER ALERT AHEAD* But then, everything changes when she loses her baby and finds out about certain divorce papers. She literally hits rock bottom and so she packs up and leaves. This is typical of many K-Dramas, right? She comes back a changed woman and at first, all I saw was the hardened woman who’s been burned by people she thought she could trust.
At KCON, I had discussed what I wanted to see in future roles of women. I wanted to see women in positions of power and even take the lead in the romantic relationships. Why can’t it be the woman that pulls that man in for a passionate kiss without it having to appear comical? Unbeknownst to me, Kim Mi Young became that woman. When she realized that she still loved Lee Gun, after learning all the stuff he’s been doing for her behind the scenes, she breaks open the doors of his press conference, confesses that she loves him and passionately kisses him in front of all the onlookers. You can imagine me just jumping up and yelling, ‘Yes, now that’s what I’m talking about!”
Kim Mi Young takes such a great journey from being pushed around and being a pushover to a strong, confident woman who’s not afraid to ask for what she wants. Sure, she’s still a sweet girl that we saw in the beginning of the drama but it was really nice to see how much her character has grown.
The chemistry between the main leads was really what sold it for me with this drama. Sure, there’s Daniel Pitt’s (Choi Jin Hyuk) long, lost sister storyline combined with both Kang Se Ra (Wang Ji Won) and Daniel Pitt being the second-love leads/obstacle for our main OTP.
I didn’t really care or pay too close attention to these characters, other than ogle Choi Jin Hyuk, because their endings were obvious. The story does need them so that main characters could grow but other than that, they don’t really add much.
It’s really the Jang Hyuk and Ja Na Ra show because without them I don’t think the drama would have done as good of a job selling the emotional rollercoaster that goes with finding out about an unwanted pregnancy, falling in love with the fetus and then losing the baby. The drama does a good job at shifting from emotional scenes to comedic one which are complete with punny repartees. Sure, it’s a predictable story but it’s made so much better by the actors who are in it. Now, if I could only get the sound of Lee Gun’s insane cackling out of head.
Rating
Musings of a Chunkeemonkeeato 
So, I have to be honest… I started watching the first episode of this back way-when, but I didn’t end up getting very far… You said you didn’t know whether to laugh or cringe at the male lead- I was cringing. A lot. Really, it was him that put me off the show so quickly. I didn’t read a whole lot of your review because in case I do ever watch it (?) I didn’t want to see any spoilers- but it seemed you liked it…?
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Yes, I can understand that that type of character might not be everyone’s cup-of-tea. I compared it Cha Seung Won’s Dokko Jin in Greatest Love to give people an idea of what they can expect. However, the plot to this drama is incredibly predictable, as predictable as you could possibly get with a K-Drama. So I found Jang Hyuk’s outrageous-ness to be a breath of fresh air, frankly. Also, Jang Na Ra’s character is very meek so there was a really nice balance there with the leads. Having said that, what I really loved about the drama was the transformation of Kim Mi Young, from a meek nobody to a strong, independent woman. So long story short, I did enjoy this drama. Hope that helps!
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