Revolutionary Love: Episode 1
by javabeans
You guuuuuuuys, Siwon is back, and he is back better than ever. I couldn’t have asked for a better character for him in his drama comeback, nor could the drama have asked for a better actor to bring to life this errant manchild with no sense of the real world who somehow manages to be endearing rather than infuriating. And Kang So-ra lights it up with her fiery character, which means that I’m ready to dive headlong into this OTP with full commitment. It’s nice to have dramas to look forward to again, isn’t it?
EPISODE 1 RECAP
A chase is on in a crowded marketplace, as a determined-looking young woman chases a middle-aged man through the streets. She gets close to catching him, but can’t help but stop to check on a grandma who gets knocked aside in the melee, giving her target the chance to run away.
Unfortunately for him, he slams straight into a fruit stand, falling down amidst an avalanche of apples. The young woman catches up to him and twists his arm behind his back, demanding her money.
She brandishes a paper in his face—it’s a petition demanding her back wages, and she’s the part-timer he tried to stiff. Seeing that she’s going the full legal route, her boss grimaces in defeat.
With reluctance, he withdraws cash from an ATM, which she claims. She leaves the bank clutching her cash in joy, then realizes she’s running late for her next job at a cafe. As she runs, her voiceover gives us her introduction:
She is BAEK JOON (Kang So-ra), and she’s optimized her place in this rat race that is modern Korea, dubbed “Hell Joseon” by a disillusioned young generation. Part-timing can amount to a full-time job, she reasons, once you’ve got three of them.
After her cafe gig is a construction job. She answers the unasked question of whether it isn’t better to just lock down one stable job, pointing out that an enormous amount of money is required to be able to amass the specs required to land those jobs.
As Joon eats lunch with her fellow construction workers, an ajumma sighs that it’s a waste for Joon, a college graduate, to be running from one part-time gig to another. But the others point out that everybody’s got a college education these days—one ajusshi used to work at a major electronics company and the other worked in stocks. Even that ajumma used to be a rich wife, until her husband’s business went bust.
“Finding a stable job in this Hell Joseon has long been a fantasy,” Joon thinks. “That’s why I’ve chosen the quick and long-lasting path.”
Next is a job serving at a fancy hotel event, an anniversary party for Gangsu Group, run by Chairman Byun. Joon smiles to recognize a friend in the crowd and sidles up to him, offering a drink. He’s KWON JE-HOON (Gong Myung), and he looks tense and uncomfortable as he reminds her he’s on the job.
Hearing that this is yet another part-time job, he asks how long Joon’s going to keep working like this. She quips that unlike him, a full-time employee of Gangsu Group who’s never had to face instability, she has.
She wonders where his boss’s son is, joking that she’d like to see a third-generation chaebol in the flesh. Annoyed at her glib attitude, Je-hoon tells her to focus on her job.
Je-hoon gets a call, and seems more resigned than surprised when his friend starts blubbering loudly from his end on a first-class flight. The friend sobs drunkenly that “Chae-ri,” whom he was supposed to meet in Bali, never showed up. The other passengers grumble in complaint, so the flight attendant commandeers the phone, tells Je-hoon that they’re mid-flight and need to cut the call short, and hangs up.
This is BYUN HYUK (Choi Siwon), and he continues to wail about Chae-ri, then pleads for another drink. The attendant refuses, so Hyuk complains about the bad service and gets up to leave, just as the plane hits turbulence, sending him staggering—landing his hands right on the flight attendant’s chest. Cue horrified screams.
Hyuk is just as shocked as she is, and when she shoves him away, he staggers backward… then staggers forward again when the plane hits more turbulence. He accidentally grabs her in a hug.
Hyuk stumbles with each bout of turbulence, until the co-pilot comes out with a taser and shocks him with it. That sends him slumping into his seat, unconscious.
At the Gangsu Group party, the chairman and his wife are joined by their handsome elder son, BYUN WOO-SUNG (Lee Jae-yoon). When asked where the younger son is, Mom’s smile falters and she says he’s on his way. Woo-sung makes the excuse that his brother caught a cold and can’t make it tonight, and immediately they’re asked if he’s gotten into trouble again. Little bro’s got himself a reputation, ha.
It’s Je-hoon who arrives to clean up Hyuk’s airport situation, looking stone-faced as he regards Hyuk, cuffed and tied to a chair. Hyuk plays for sympathy and pouts that he has a flying phobia, and that he was only clutching the flight attendant as a lifeline.
Je-hoon clenches his fist in aggravation, but carries out his job efficiently, presenting the pilot and flight attendant with an agreement and a box of beverages (aka, a bribe). They don’t look happy about it.
Je-hoon returns to Hyuk snoring away in custody, and kicks him awake. Next thing we know, Je-hoon and Hyuk are running through the hotel lobby toward the company party.
The late arrival doesn’t spare him his father’s wrath, and Chairman Byun goes after his son with a golf club. He chases Hyuk around the suite throwing things at his head, and Hyuk dodges while insisting that he had real reasons. He hides behind his mother (ha), but continues to speak in his defense.
But when Je-hoon hands the chairman the requested baseball bat, it’s Je-hoon whom the chairman orders to turn himself over. Je-hoon complies, presenting himself to take the punishment for not managing Hyuk properly. Dad slams the bat into Je-hoon’s backside several times, hard, and Hyuk finally scrambles to his knees and apologizes. In a surprisingly mature voice, he assumes blame for everything and asks that Dad hit him instead.
Dad tosses the bat away and orders Hyuk to stay out of his sight for the time being. After everyone else leaves, Hyuk asks Je-hoon why his father never once has listened to his explanations. “It seems like he’s getting angry just to get angry,” Hyuk says, adding that his father is the king.
Je-hoon tells Hyuk that before he complains, he should remember that he also enjoys privilege because of that.
Je-hoon limps to his car and drives home, while Joon stays late to finish clean-up duty. Je-hoon catches a glimpse of her at the bus stop and pulls over, but Joon’s bus pulls up just then, and she boards without seeing him.
Je-hoon drives to Joon’s house anyway, arriving before she does. It’s only after he sees her arriving safely at her rooftop room that he heads home.
The next morning, Je-hoon arrives at the office and finds Joon there too, distributing promotional drinks to the staff. She sends him a cheery wave, but his face tightens—he seems to really hate that she works so many part-timers.
Je-hoon pulls her aside to hand her a job application for Gangsu Group, criticizing her current methods. She asks if he thinks her delivery job is beneath her, and says that he may think his work is superior, but she doesn’t want to make her money dangling around a chaebol.
Je-hoon points out that she’s also working for The Man, but she counters that at least she doesn’t go around cleaning up The Man’s son’s messes. She returns the application and tells him she’s uninterested in a full-time position, especially at this company.
Je-hoon meets with a prosecutor sunbae and offers him a drink box of bribe money to wrap up this incident. The prosecutor notes that Je-hoon works hard to clean up the chaebol’s media image and expresses his surprise that Je-hoon went this route rather than pursuing law after being top of his class. Why does he live like this?
Je-hoon clenches his fist, but smiles at his sunbae and says they’re not very different, taking salaries to make a living. Je-hoon notes that it’s hard to refuse orders from above, and calls the drink box “not a bribe, but consolation.” And then it’s his turn to take the upper hand, offering his sunbae a job in the corporate legal department if he ever needs it.
Next, Je-hoon reports about his successful meeting with the prosecutor to Hyuk’s hyung, Woo-sung, who’s also the head of the management support department. He hands over a flash drive containing the only copy of something—evidence the prosecutor handed over.
Woo-sung sighs that he has no idea what’s going on in his brother’s head, and Je-hoon supposes that Hyuk is so emotion-driven that it leads to a lot of mistakes. They both figure that he’ll at least be quiet for a while, now that he’s been mightily scolded over this.
Hyuk is currently brooding it out at a hotel pool, telling himself that there is probably a good reason Chae-ri isn’t reachable and that he ought not obsess over it. But as he soaks underwater, he overhears a girl’s voice nearby, and bursts up swearing he heard Chae-ri.
He races back to the locker room, only to discover he’s lost his locker key. So he waits for someone to look the other way, then swipes their dry clothing and changes into it. Out in the hall, he barely gets a glimpse of a man and woman walking away, the man’s arm slung around her. Hyuk misses their elevator and heads up the stairs, sure that he just saw Chae-ri.
When he arrives on Chae-ri’s floor, a hotel employee is scurrying down the corridor, and he follows. The employee joins a developing situation in a guest’s suite: Chae-ri’s earring has gone missing and she accuses the maid—Joon—of stealing it.
Hyuk follows the loud voice to the open doorway… and sees his beloved Chae-ri in the room with another guy. A montage of memories floods Hyuk’s brain, of showering Chae-ri in luxury gifts and throwing her lavish parties. He stares at her with a crushed expression as he recalls how she’d promised to meet him in Bali.
Chae-ri doesn’t notice him, though, as busy as she is with accusing Joon of theft. Joon defends herself politely but firmly, but Chae-ri’s bratty attitude provokes her into speaking harshly. Chae-ri lunges for Joon and yanks her hair, Joon yanks back, and suddenly they’re locked in a screaming fit.
They’re pulled apart by another employee and Joon ordered to apologize, which makes her indignant. But a higher-level manager (Lee Yoon-ji cameo) arrives and barks that Joon needs to apologize because Chae-ri is the customer. The manager apologizes, but Chae-ri demands an apology from the maid.
Fighting her anger, Joon forces herself to bow deeply… and then grabs the trash bag and empties the contents all over the carpet, flinging trash aside using the excuse of looking for the lost earring. The guests are appalled, but Hyuk watches with growing amusement as Joon stands up to her unfair orders, saying that she did nothing wrong. The manager simply declares that “the customer is king.”
Just then, Chae-ri’s side boyfriend spots Hyuk in the doorway, and he immediately moves to turn his face away. As he steps aside, his bare foot lands on the missing earring and he yelps in pain. He flicks the earring off his foot, and it goes flyyyying through the air before everyone’s eyes.
Joon reacts faster than Chae-ri, and steps on top of the earring, declaring, “King, my foot. Apologies should come from the person who committed the wrong. Apologize. If you apologize, I’ll move my foot.”
Hyuk watches Joon with growing amazement, and breathes, “Daebak.”
Chae-ri bursts into a wailing fit, and the manager sinks to her knees in apology. Joon just warns Chae-ri that she could sue her for false accusations but won’t this time, then storms off in a huff, pushing past Hyuk.
Chae-ri continues to wail until she looks up to see Hyuk standing there. Caught two-timing red-handed, she calls after him, but he just smiles and turns around, walking away. Hyuk’s monologue turns dramatic as his exit walk turns slo-mo, and he recites (from the poem “Empty House” by Ki Hyung-do):
Losing my love, I write
Goodbye, those short nights
Goodbye, those desires that are
mine no longer.
In the lobby, Hyuk comes upon Joon getting reamed by the manager, who says she lacks the basic requirements of an employee. Joon retorts that employees work for money, and shouldn’t have to sell their personalities too. “Money is personality, at least here,” the manager tells her, “because the wages you receive come directly out of the customers’ wallets.”
At that, Hyuk murmurs to himself, “That’s not quite right.” Joon argues that if she has to give up her emotions and her personality to work this job, then the pay is way too low. The manager tells her to quit, then, and Hyuk steps in to argue with that logic.
At the last second, he remembers Je-hoon’s warning to keep a low profile, which prevents him from throwing his name around. Instead, he argues that it’s unjust to make someone who was wrongly accused bow down before her accuser.
Hyuk doesn’t realize that he’s wearing the uniform of a spa employee, but the manager does and decries the hotel’s employee training standards. Joon flings off her maid’s apron, telling the manager to deposit her wages into her account. Ah, I love that look of awe that takes over Hyuk’s face whenever Joon’s being feisty.
Hyuk chimes in with his support, and faced with such insubordination, the manager orders them off the premises. They’re escorted off the grounds, and Joon yells back that this is unlawful termination.
Joon asks if Hyuk is a part-time employee at the spa, and when he says no, she gasps at the thought that they’d treat a full-time employee so shabbily here. Hyuk just wonders what the words “full-timer” and “part-timer” even mean. LOL.
Joon urges Hyuk to report this to the labor board, incensed on his behalf. He asks if that’s really necessary, but Joon taps his shoulder encouragingly and offers a fist-bump in solidarity. She thanks him for fighting with her and calls him comrade, and the silliest, happy little smile spreads across Hyuk’s face.
He asks her name, and she tells him. She asks his in return, and he lights up and tells her it’s Byun Hyuk, which happens to also mean revolution. Joon calls it a good name and says goodbye, and as he watches her walk away, his thoughts take another poetic turn (Kim Choon-soo’s “Flower”):
Before she called my name
I did not make a single move
When she called my name
I, at last, became a flower
The smile blossoms on Hyuk’s face as a sudden shower of flower petals rains down on him and Joon.
When he returns to the hotel, however, he finds his path blocked by a wall of employees. He tries to explain who he is, but they shove him back and tell him condescendingly to go home. He starts to reveal his identity, only to recall Je-hoon’s firm warnings not to, under any circumstances, reveal who he is to anybody.
But Hyuk ignores that and declares that he’s the son of Chairman Byun, expecting immediate contrition. Instead, he’s dragged away forcibly, and the staffers scoff at his claims of being a chaebol and threaten to call the cops. The thought of angering Je-hoon is the only thing that prevents him from pressing further, as he imagines Je-hoon shooting him down with a pair of machine guns.
So for now, Hyuk accepts his defeat and walks away. He wonders what he can do without his phone or wallet, just as he spots Joon sitting at a bus stop. Gah, that smile again.
She greets him as “Comrade,” and then notices the scratch on his nose, which makes her exclaim in outrage again at the hotel’s treatment. He just asks to borrow her phone—but alas, he doesn’t actually know any numbers by heart and can’t make any calls.
When her bus arrives, Hyuk hands over the phone… but doesn’t actually let go of it, sending her a pathetic puppy-dog look. So Joon misses her bus and asks if he’s eaten yet. Aw. He does have a really pitiful air about him.
Je-hoon arrives at the hotel and requests access to Hyuk’s suite, having been unable to get a hold of him. The manager cites rules against that, but Je-hoon identifies himself as a Gangsu Group employee and the guest as the group’s chaebol son, Byun Hyuk. The employees at the counter hear that with dismay, realizing he’d been telling the truth. Gulp.
Joon takes Hyuk to eat soondae soup, and is surprised to hear that Hyuk doesn’t even know what this extremely common food is. She identifies the various meat sources, horrifying Hyuk with the idea of eating innards and ears. He watches her eat them with gusto, and muses, “Humans seem like cruel beings.”
Joon asks if he knows how much that suite room costs, and describes the amount as the cost of her monthly rent and food, a sum she has to work a whole month as a maid in order to earn. She says with great indignation that “those kinds” of people flaunt money that they don’t even earn themselves but get from their parents, which only hurts “people like us.”
Hyuk asks what kind of harm they receive, and she replies that it makes them feel deprived, kills their will to live diligently, and lowers their quality of life. Hyuk notes that it’s not a direct harm, and Joon sighs, thinking him naive. She reminds them that “they” caused “us” to be kicked out and warns that he’ll continue to be taken advantage of if he doesn’t watch out.
“For people like us who have nothing, we have to live with our heads on straight, because this is Hell Joseon,” she tells him. Hyuk takes in all these new terms and concepts and tries to decipher what they mean.
After eating, Joon bids him goodbye and offers him cash for bus fare. Just then, Hyuk spots a TV screen playing footage of his in-flight spectacle, and while his face is pixelated, his identity is clear. That can only be bad news, and he asks Joon for a favor.
In light of Hyuk’s debacle going public, reporters swarm Chairman Byun at the office. The chairman barks for Je-hoon to bring Hyuk in immediately.
Je-hoon returns to the hotel suite, which still contains all of Hyuk’s things. An employee finds his clothes in his spa locker, and Hyuk reviews footage from the spa cameras, wondering where Hyuk disappeared to. The manager and front desk clerk fidget nearby, knowing the answer but scared of sharing it. The ladies spot the footage of Hyuk being carried off the grounds, and the manager carefully maneuvers her body in front of that screen.
So Je-hoon is left to scour the grounds on foot, to no avail. By nighttime he still has no clue as to Hyuk’s whereabouts, and takes a call from his father, who is also the chairman’s chauffeur. Ah, that explains a lot. Dad seems excessively devoted to his employer and scolds Je-hoon for not doing his job properly and letting that story leak to the public. Je-hoon can only ask how he could possibly do better.
Then, upon hearing that Hyuk is still unaccounted for, Dad worries about his health, while leaving his son clenching his fist. Je-hoon snaps at his father to worry about himself rather than the young master who’s probably doing just fine, then hangs up.
Je-hoon thinks back to when he was a young boy, watching his father kneel before the chairman’s foot to wipe his dusty shoe with his sleeve. Dad had been happy to do it, but the sight made Young Je-hoon sigh in disappointment. And while Young Hyuk had been quite friendly and treated him like a friend, Young Je-hoon had been much more sober, feeling the differences between them.
He thinks now that he had no idea back then that he’d spend his life looking after Hyuk—a constant headache, but also his life’s elevator that he couldn’t let go of. As Je-hoon walks along the street, he passes by a screen playing Hyuk’s airplane video, which includes a tiny glimpse of his own face as part of the chairman’s entourage. He vows to himself to endure whatever it takes and get his reward.
Hyuk’s mother seeks out a fortuneteller, who assures her that Hyuk is destined for big things. She’s skeptical, given his troublemaking ways, but the fortuneteller says that Einstein and Edison both saw their share of trouble in their youths, but it was all on their way to being great. He says that Hyuk is blessed with all sorts of fortunes, to her great relief.
Hyuk is, at that moment, eating ramyun on Joon’s rooftop with great relish. Hyuk asks for another serving, and Joon happily complies and adds it to his running tab—ha, she’s charging him for room and board, and he promises to pay it all back later.
Joon takes Hyuk’s favor—a place to sleep tonight—to Je-hoon, who refuses flatly to put up this new stranger. Ah, they live in the same building, though Je-hoon’s on a lower floor. Just then, Hyuk’s screams from the rooftop bring them running upstairs, where he screams about a mouse.
Then Hyuk turns around, and his eyes widen to see Je-hoon standing right there. Joon introduces Hyuk as the “comrade” she was describing, who got fired from the hotel because of her, and Hyuk immediately bows low and says, “Nice to meet you!” HAHA.
Je-hoon eyes him in disbelief, and Joon just interprets his unfriendly reception as his usual irritable nature. Hyuk makes furtive motions at his friend to keep quiet, and Joon sighs that if Je-hoon refuses to put up the guest for the night, he’ll have to sleep in her room. Both boys’ eyes widen at that.
Joon offers to split Hyuk’s room and board fees with Je-hoon. She also assures Hyuk that despite appearances, Je-hoon is a kind and thoughtful guy. Hyuk agrees that he looks like it.
Once in Je-hoon’s place, Hyuk explains how he got kicked out without his phone and was unable to call. Je-hoon asks how he ended up here of all places, and Hyuk declares that they must be fated.
Hyuk makes himself right at home, and resists Je-hoon’s urging to “turn himself in” and go home. Hyuk shares how he found Chae-ri cheating on him with his friend and plays up the pity card pretty hard, though we can see it’s just a ploy for sympathy—he seems quite over her, frankly. He asks Je-hoon to let him have just one night of rest.
Je-hoon calls him incorrigible and reminds him that the whole company has been thrown into uproar, while he’s moping about a girlfriend. Hyuk says that it’s his last night, because if he turns himself in tomorrow, he’ll essentially be locked up from then.
Joon looks at her part-time job chart, worrying over the blank spots. She picks up an old picture of herself with her father, and tells him that she quit her job after being abused there. She adds that if she’d poured everything into company loyalty, she would have felt hurt, like her father had. “You understand why I don’t want to be a regular employee, don’t you, Dad?” she asks.
Downstairs, Hyuk asks about Joon, calling her unusual. Je-hoon scoffs at her part-time lifestyle, but Hyuk says she’s cool and calls her his savior and his lamp: “If it weren’t for her today, I might have starved and died on the street. She’s the first to ever treat me kindly.”
He says he wants to pay her back, mentioning the fees he’s racked up so far. Je-hoon grumbles that Joon’s quite a piece of work herself, charging him for food and board. Settling back to sleep, Hyuk sighs that he felt miserable having no money for food, and it hurt his pride and made him feel quite low. “You’re just learning that now?” Je-hoon tosses out.
But then, Hyuk continues that he felt the fool for never once earning an honest dollar on his own. He understands now what Je-hoon meant about him being privileged even to have to vow obedience to his king-like father.
“But Joon didn’t just obey,” Hyuk says, recalling how she’d laughed at the concept of the customer being king and refused to sell herself out. Je-hoon just sighs that she let her temper get the better of her again.
Hyuk bombards Je-hoon with questions about Joon, like how long they’ve known each other and lived in the same building. Je-hoon dismisses the questions, but his mind goes back to earlier times, to when they were at school together.
They’d been university students then, and Joon had confessed that she liked Je-hoon. He’d frozen still, heart pounding, but the words that came out were: “So? What do you want me to do about it?”
Joon, meanwhile, gets angry all over again to recall how Je-hoon had said that people set their value by the work they do. She gripes that Je-hoon is just like that bratty guest at the hotel and the manager who kicked her out. She shouts down toward the floor at Je-hoon, while he lies in bed and replays her confession in his mind, looking wistful.
Hyuk asks how close the two are, and pesters, “You’re not dating, are you? You’re not, right? There’s no way.” Je-hoon asks why he’s so interested, and Hyuk replies that he thinks Joon likes him. HA, you wish.
Hyuk recounts how well Joon treated him today when she didn’t have to, convinced that she fell for him. Je-hoon shakes his head and tells him to get a good night’s rest so he can turn himself in to his father tomorrow.
“While I’m gone, take good care of her,” Hyuk says, like they’re already an item. He recalls how Joon had fought back when Chae-ri grabbed her hair and flung trash around, though his memory is embellished with extra details this time, as she sends him winks and kisses.
Hyuk says dreamily, “I think I’ve fallen in love with her.” Je-hoon’s brow furrows in dismay, and Hyuk continues, “All the loves I’ve passed through until now have just been rehearsals.”
Upstairs, Joon counts her cash happily, unaware of Hyuk deciding momentously, “I think I’ve finally met the woman I’m fated to meet.”
COMMENTS
Well, that was certainly fast, but I have absolutely no qualms about it—I find Hyuk’s clarity of mind refreshing and appealing. I believe him, too, in feeling that this time is somehow different, somehow much more than everything else he’s felt before, and that he’s fine to embrace that fate openly. Of course, he’s lived a charmed life all this while so it’s not like he’s anticipating a lot of trouble (…muahaha), but it’s really welcome to see him so open to these feelings and developments.
I’m glad this Hyuk character is so appealing right off the bat, and we certainly have a lot to thank Siwon for, because damn if he doesn’t have an irresistible charm about him. I was ready to watch this show regardless, but it makes it that much more enjoyable to see that we’ve got one of those special moments of character-actor synergy, where they suit each other so well that I’m hooked from the start.
At this stage I’m not sure this is necessarily a drama I’ll watch for the plot (although I do think Hyuk’s upcoming fish-out-of-water antics will be hilarious), but I find more than enough in character attachment and couple chemistry to look forward to its developments. After a long drought I feel like we’ve been hit with a wave of rom-coms, all of which I find good in their own ways, and if we’re looking at it glass-half-full, I’d say it’s a good thing to have very distinct styles. Of the currently airing rom-coms, I think perhaps Revolutionary Love is the most obvious, the least subtle, the most conventionally romantically comedic. The Monday-Tuesday romances feel a bit more thoughtful and writerly, but I’m happy to have one be more outright funny and comedy-based, and I actually find all the characters likable in very distinct ways.
I’m happy to realize that Joon isn’t a part-timer out of necessity, necessarily—she may fit the Candy criteria on more than one front, but I think her pursuit of the part-time lifestyle is a key differentiator that puts her in a separate category. At first I thought she insisted to Je-hoon that she was fine not pursuing specs and full-time positions out of a sense of pride or self-denial, like she was doing the best she could with her options. But I was intrigued to hear that she in fact chooses to be a full-time part-timer because of some disaster that befell her father, and her particular distaste of Gangsu Group makes me suspect he was wronged by that company. So rather than having her be a Candy for the sake of being a Candy, we have a heroine who’s acting out a sort of fear of commitment with her career choice—don’t get attached to a job and let it define you, because when that heartless company turns its back on you, you’ll be left with nothing. That’s a sentiment I can definitely understand.
I’m curious about Je-hoon and his contradictory ways, too, though I’ll admit that with him it’s more of an intellectual curiosity. I suppose there must have been a good reason for him to reject Joon’s confession when he clearly is in love with her and has been for ages, but at the moment I’m not feeling all that compelled to make excuses for him and cut him a lot of slack. He created his own current misery, in more ways than one, so I can feel sympathy for him but not necessarily root for him because I feel he’s not confronting his own responsibility in his life choices.
But enough of miseries and disappointments: Tomorrow brings the chaebol-out-of-water hijinks, and I’ll be here with my popcorn.
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Tags: Choi Siwon, featured2, first episodes, Gong Myung, Kang So-ra, Revolutionary Love
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1 banana
October 14, 2017 at 8:59 PM
I think I might have had too high expect ion for this one. Yes I'm enjoying what Siwon brings to his character, but not as much as I'd like. This drama reminds me of Strong Woman Do Bong Soon and it's not in a good way. I feel like everything is just too over-the-top. Hoping it would get better because I was really looking forward to it.
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lan_lan
October 14, 2017 at 9:16 PM
You’ve stated exactly what I was thinking while watching. I actually lost interest by the last twenty minutes and put it off for another day. It’s interesting how out of the new batch of premieres this week I’ve had an opposite reaction. Least anticipated became my top favorites, while most anticipated, like this, ended up disappointing.
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banana
October 14, 2017 at 9:22 PM
Exactly. I wasn't even planning to watch Because This Life Is Our First, but it was so unexpectedly good! This is why I shouldn't know about shows in advance because then I would have high expectations lol.
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bjharm
October 14, 2017 at 9:35 PM
yeah well you have to be a huge fan of his to watch 16 or how many episode of him pulling silly faces, that said the director has to have told him to go over the top with it, maybe he tone it down over the run of the drama.
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tummy
October 15, 2017 at 4:38 AM
Feel the same way...
sort of a run of the mill Cinderella with hidden Prince Charming story. Noisy conversations, some tweaks but fundamentally every character there is a cardboard cutout... bitchy spoilt girlfriend, mean chaebol dad, unreasonable employers, loyal (!) secretary/assistant, rich vs poor... pretty much join the dots.
Overall, it lacks subtlety. Usually I would give a drama 2 to 6 episodes before coming to a firm conclusion but this one has dug itself into a pretty big "meh" hole in episode 1...
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gooroo
October 15, 2017 at 2:26 PM
same here. i wasn't sure what to expect going into it but I got a bit turned off after 20 to 30 minutes into the episode from all the exaggerated and noisy conversations. i hope it gets better but I don't think I'll be watching the 2nd episode.
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alua
October 17, 2017 at 6:26 AM
I am a bit late, but yeah.... I'm not too interested in this after one episode – I kept tuning in and out while watching. It seems overly familiar, too over the top for my liking and I feel like Siwon has played this sort of character before (King of Dramas?) – and I kind of find the spoiled rich and somehow quite stupid chaebol character just boring?
I like Kang Sora well enough (the actress and her character here), but she's not a must-watch if the story doesn't work. Siwon has no particular appeal for me, he's ok but I'd rather see him in a supporting role.
Lack of interest is magnified by this airing on the same day as Because this Life Is Our First, whose tone/vibe is much more my thing...
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Tony
October 16, 2017 at 6:34 AM
Hi ! If I could suggest would you try to watch the first two episodes of #ThePackage. Because it's surprisingly good but getting off guard due to low promotion.
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2 rinny
October 14, 2017 at 9:01 PM
This drama is so well cast. I think if any of the leads were played by other characters, I would not like the show as much as I do! Particularly Siwon's character Hyuk. There is a fine line to the amount of spoiled chaebol attitude I can stand, and Siwon is acting as a master tightrope walker!
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Ek Ladhki Thi
October 14, 2017 at 9:09 PM
I agree. Byun Hyuk reminds me of the chaebol character in Strongest Deliveryman, and while I never warmed up to that character, I feel like my Siwon bias is keeping me from hating Byun Hyuk outright. He's not a bad person, he's just incredibly naive and dumb.
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zgs1994
October 15, 2017 at 5:54 AM
Naive and dumb; so spot on! :D
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3 Ek Ladhki Thi
October 14, 2017 at 9:07 PM
This show is exactly what I needed it to be, and what I expected it to be. Good, fluffy fun. I'm so ready to watch Byun Hyuk's character get developed. I do love how he latched onto Joon because she is his mother bird. And, I also love that he and Joon are actually nice to each other and they get along. Siwon and Kang Sora do have an easygoing chemistry which makes this show and their potential love story much sweeter in my opinion. I wish I could feel some sympathy for Je-hoon, but honestly I don't.
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hannaehh
October 14, 2017 at 9:56 PM
Me too. I also don't feel any sympathy for Je-hoon, maybe because he's the one who choose that kind of life, so it's not really CEO Kang Soo or Hyuk's fault that his life is so pathetic.
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Ek Ladhki Thi
October 15, 2017 at 6:05 AM
I don't think anything is Hyuk's fault. The CEO is a huge asshole but Je-goon does not need to stay in this job where he is being abused this much. This is something you can Sue for. Unless he has a secret motive of why he's staying there. But, I think it's unfair that he wants to blame Hyuk.
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4 elvira
October 14, 2017 at 9:08 PM
How I miss Siwon's expression, big gesture, over the top-ness...
It's a good thing that he's back and hopefully getting the girl now!
[Lookingatchoo, 'She was Pretty', one of my serious cases of second lead syndrome]
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PakalanaPikake
October 15, 2017 at 2:19 AM
Jackson!
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Kimmy
October 15, 2017 at 5:48 AM
Yeah jackson... I have SLS too 😅😅😅
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PakalanaPikake
October 16, 2017 at 6:49 PM
IIRC, SHE WAS PRETTY was one of my first Korean rom-coms -- and definitely my first case of SLS. ;-)
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latebloomer
October 15, 2017 at 7:28 PM
Jackson was the best!
So far, Hyuk is kind of lame in comparison. If we hang in all the way to the end, could he possibly work his way up to being as lovable as Jackson? Watch and hope, or give up now - that's the question.
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5 xiao jingyan
October 14, 2017 at 9:12 PM
When you haven't watch the show and just want to say
"hello, I hope everyone has a good weekend "
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xiao jingyan
October 14, 2017 at 10:27 PM
my random comment
> gong myung has no luck with busses,ckckck
> I've seen that rooftop house multiple times, the master's sun? beautiful gong shim? shopping king Louie? 1% of something? must be more than that . . .
> gong myung needs a bang, he looked better with a bang
> nice and natural PPL
> I am so happy to see chae ri got to her place
> byun hyuk is a poet
> memory is remembered in a convenient way
Idk if I like it or not but I am willing to give it a 2nd try,
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alasecond
October 15, 2017 at 2:42 AM
PPL? where was PPL? no seriously what product/brands did we enconter.. don't make me watch episode again for the answers
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xiao jingyan
October 15, 2017 at 3:44 AM
All the drink and the bribe package money has a clear logo in them. It shots pretty well too so I think that's the PPL. They got a clear shot when they are used as a legit tools in the drama.
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bea
October 15, 2017 at 6:15 AM
i don't think the bribe was PPL though lol. if i was the company who paid for that PPL, i'd be very mad for my logo to be used for bribes haha
xiao jingyan
October 15, 2017 at 9:48 AM
I don't want to go back and watch but when I watched that bribe scene, the letter is power drink and one brand "power shot" with the green logo comes to my mind instantly and make me think if they have that product or it just for parody, nevertheless it worked.
The brand can be okay if it using as the harmless brand for PPL, the drama didn't show how bad the actual product is but show that the name is popular enough that bringing that drink in the box means something good or it is popular enough not to get suspicious.
Like when they advertise the car or high-end bike in a robbery/heist or also for a bribe in movies, people know that the action[bribe/heist/robbery] is bad but it can be unrelated to the product that they use to camouflage that. It also can makes it memorable because people can say "ooh that's the product they use to cover up those things"
6 UmbrellaMan
October 14, 2017 at 9:13 PM
Siwan is charming as ever. His smile 😊. The editing was a bit choppy, but all in all a very enjoyable first episode.
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7 SnarkyJellyfish
October 14, 2017 at 9:19 PM
I liked, but didn't love, this. I think it really helps that Siwon and Kang So-ra are really charming and have a lot of presence onscreen. Agree that the characters are what is going to have me tuning in tomorrow more than the story itself, though I liked the slightly wacky tone and direction as well.
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songsong
October 14, 2017 at 10:00 PM
Yes the chemistry of Siwon and Kang Sora does it for me as well rather than the storyline. Looking forward to seeing them spar it out hahaha.
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SnarkyJellyfish
October 14, 2017 at 10:17 PM
I really wish there had been more of KSR's character, but it's only the first episode, so I'm not going to voice any complaints yet. I just was hoping to see her do more. But she's definitely a badass, and I hope they do her character justice.
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DoubleFault
October 15, 2017 at 3:23 AM
I find it pretty hilarious how Joon addresses Hyuk as "comrade" and how it connects to the title. I can't wait to see Joon's reaction when she finally finds out that Hyuk, who she considers a kindred spirit, is not really a member of the proletariat/working class, but a part of the elite/aristocracy. (Does this make Jehoon a member of the bourgeosie?)
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PakalanaPikake
October 16, 2017 at 6:54 PM
Aha! Byun Hyuk is "Comrade Revolution" -- when he's really closer to what Forbes magazine used to call a "Capitalist Tool"!
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8 anon
October 14, 2017 at 9:24 PM
I know this is a drama and it's normal to be overdramatic but I just could not stand his over the top character. He should be in a mental hospital in real life. Probably I need to wait for a few more episodes.
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9 wakimary
October 14, 2017 at 9:24 PM
Siwon and Kang Sora are back,that onscreen presence! too early for me to decide whether to keep,drop or put on hold.Good Ep.
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10 ⭐ Sera The Ms Temper ⭐
October 14, 2017 at 9:27 PM
Haven't started on this one yet...
But guyysss. does it means @javabeans found a cure for her drama slump finally? Should we happy for her or sad? LOL 😆
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Ek Ladhki Thi
October 14, 2017 at 9:34 PM
Lol, I thought the same thing. I stared at the byline for a few seconds before it registered that the show was being recapped by Javabeans.
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xhuizini
October 15, 2017 at 1:38 AM
I'm happy for her drama slump recovery but at the same time sad to think that I might see less of those hilarious meta articles now that @javabeans is going to be busy. :)
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11 JScoded
October 14, 2017 at 9:30 PM
I love Siwon but this one it's a bit exagerrated character. Too bad I was so looking forward to his comeback.
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12 Chukahae (축하해)
October 14, 2017 at 9:45 PM
That was fast. I just watch it a few hours ago and the recap is already up. 😍
Then I remember javabeans don't need eng subs and writing is second nature to her. 😅
Thanks for the recap javabeans. 💐
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13 sophee
October 14, 2017 at 9:46 PM
It tickles me that it was Siwon who's able to lure Javabeans back into recapping a show. I missed Siwon, and so is Javabean's recaps. Now off to read!
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risa
October 14, 2017 at 10:45 PM
IKR?! My first reaction to seeing this recap was, "You guuuuuuuys, Javabeans is back!" I was getting worried there. Siwon saved the day for Anthony, and it looks like he has for us, too.
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14 Too many biases...
October 14, 2017 at 9:52 PM
The "Oh my gawd" in the background always cracks me up!
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songsong
October 14, 2017 at 9:54 PM
yup that's too funny everytime it hear it!
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15 songsong
October 14, 2017 at 9:52 PM
I quite enjoy ep 1 not so much the storyline but the three leads.
They all did a good job for their respective role. Siwon is a natural at funny roles. Kang Sora is in her element as Baek Joon and so easy on the eyes. Gong Myung is doing fine for his non-puppy role for a change haha.
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PakalanaPikake
October 15, 2017 at 2:28 AM
At first I couldn't figure out why Gong Myung looked kind of familiar. Then I realized I'd seen him in HWAJUNG as the princess's bodyguard. He did a good job in the sageuk as I recall. Now he's playing adult supervision to Hyuk... which is more hazardous than mining sulfur at an active Japanese volcano.
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16 hannaehh
October 14, 2017 at 9:54 PM
Oh this drama is cliche at its best, but I love it anyway! I had so much laugh and I already love the chemistry between Hyuk and Joon. Cant wait to watch ep 2!
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17 whateven
October 14, 2017 at 10:01 PM
15 minutes and i already hate Byuk's character. I like Joon tho because of Kang Sora. I might prefer to read recaps next episode and pick this up again when things become bearable.
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18 celine
October 14, 2017 at 10:07 PM
Choi. Siwon. Damn. Love ya man. Cannot wait to watch both episodes back to back. And Sora bb is backkkk
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19 earthna
October 14, 2017 at 10:17 PM
It’s nice to have dramas to look forward to again, isn’t it?
Yes, yes, yes! That drought felt so long, I almost thought I got dried up with it. But finally, this drama appeared!
The show already got me at Siwon (I'm an ELF) and I knew I'm so going to watch this but it surprised me by actually being good. I like how it's a choice that Joon is only working part time jobs. It makes her distinct from other drama leads. Kang So-ra is just amazing at playing her and I never realized how much I missed seeing her on screen.
I kinda like Gong Myung here as long as he doesn't go full blown evil. Please don't! I want to see bromance! It's intriguing though that Joon actually confessed first. Talk about missed timing. This is why you need to grab the opportunity once you see it.
And Siwon, Ma Siwon. You're perfect. I love you.
*shameless promotion* Super Junior will have their comeback after 2 years of hiatus on November 6!
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earthna
October 14, 2017 at 10:26 PM
And aww, Lee Yoonji is just a cameo? I was so excited to see her again.
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Min
October 14, 2017 at 11:06 PM
Hi fellow ELF! I'm just happy to have him back from military service, even as I miss the rest of the boys still serving their country!
This show was on my MUST WATCH list because of Siwon and Kang Sora, so I am also glad that it turned out to be fun. One of the things I loved was that he's another guy who is not afraid of a strong woman, and thinks that her pride and inner strength is Daebak!
yes Ma Siwon is perfect, and I've been feeling the dearth of Shibrows for a while so I am happy that it's back and in full working order!
RANT that has nothing to do with drama but all to do with SJ comeback drama:
Definitely can't wait for their comeback! though I am sad that 2 of our three main singers won't be back and I understand why KangIn was excluded though it makes me sad as I was a great fan of Raccoon. BUT I CANNOT AGREE with the decision that Sungmin also be cut, especially for reasons I CANNOT fathom. I mean is being happy a good reason?? Is having a LIFE a good reason?? I DO NOT, CANNOT, WILL NOT understand some faction of SJ's fans' RIDICULOUSLY JEALOUS anger... It's not like he can be everybody's boyfriend, it's not like he's some virtual doll that was made up for us to obsess over, he is a real human being, yes really cute human that dances and sings for our entertainment but also because it's part of his dream, and maybe just maybe the crazy fans should understand that being an entertainer does not make him their property!!! I don't even want to call the devil fans that called for him to be dropped from the comeback ELFs. gaaah
TL:DR I'm looking forward to the comeback but though I am not happy with the incomplete lineup, I will support the ones who participate in the comeback <3
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songsong
October 15, 2017 at 12:27 AM
Amen to that, I also don't see why Sungmin is excluded too! Damn some of the fans need to grow up! Your oppas need their personal lives too besides entertaining us.
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earthna
October 15, 2017 at 12:51 AM
I'm upset about that at first too but I believe that Sungmin decided to back off for now considering his personality. I'm just happy that he's still with the members and he's not leaving for good (which is the mot important thing for me). Overall, I just try to avoid anything negative and put all my effort (and money) into making this comeback a success.
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20 Chandler
October 14, 2017 at 10:17 PM
"It’s nice to have dramas to look forward to again, isn’t it?" - Definitely! I'm so happy you seem to be coming out of your slump, @javabeans! Thanks so much for the recap!
Admittedly, this is one of the few time-slots that did have me looking forward to it every week and I still miss Live Up to Your Name to bits. This drama hasn't quite filled the void left by that gem yet, but I have a feeling that Siwon and Kang Sora in these endearing roles can do that in no time once their romance begins! Just the fact that the male lead is already so smitten with the heroine is refreshing, so I'm looking forward to how things tangle from here. Also, more poetry (LOL, so random...).
I watched Go Back Couple and Buamdong Revenge Club before this (and, story-wise, these were slightly more engaging for me), so I really needed this recap to help me make sense of some of the things I missed and also pinpoint why I took to the characters so quickly. The dynamic between the leads kind of reminds me of the one between Dan-ah and Jin-gyu at the beginning of Strongest Deliveryman, except with some key differences. Now I'm just hoping the plot will have some interesting turns in store for us, because I'm definitely loving this match-up and I'm ready to go all-in.
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21 sujeongi
October 14, 2017 at 10:55 PM
To me, Byun-hyuk is like an upgraded version of She Was Pretty's Shin-hyuk (ohoh!), much crazier and with deeper character development. (As another fellow beanie pointed out, it has been 2 years since She Was Pretty. *wide eyes* Now where did my 2 years go?!)
That said, I wasn't so sure if I can handle the chaebol-land angst and over-the-top comedy all at once, but the couple chemistry is just right and watching Byun-hyuk's antics (and silly faces) kinda did it for me. I'll probably just fast forward all the chaebol drama to Hyuk and Joon. And that love triangle right from the start? Count me ready for heartaches.
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22 wapz
October 14, 2017 at 10:55 PM
I read this as Yo guys javabeans is back!
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23 Léa
October 14, 2017 at 11:04 PM
I'm seeing "Hell Joseon" pop up in more & more places. Since when has this become a full on Thing
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vongole
October 15, 2017 at 6:42 AM
I so want to find out too!
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amber
October 15, 2017 at 1:53 PM
This has been a thing for quite a while - this video from last year talks about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s4CpxN4Otg
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PakalanaPikake
October 16, 2017 at 7:13 PM
Thanks for the link, amber! That's an interesting man in the street interview.
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24 redfox
October 14, 2017 at 11:14 PM
well, I AM happy Siwon is back, it is some consolation for bleak days, but not sure about the drama. I doi feel lots of sympathy for Hyuk, because it seems all the trouble he gets into is at least half not his fault, and doesnt do much harm to anyuone so why such overreaction? Sensible people would understand the events on the plain were an unlucky moment. I think it is so unfair. It is also quite clear he was born to the wrong place and family. How did his personality even manage to develop so differently from the rest of the chaebol circle? I wonder if there was an influence, that he is different from them.
Fighting, Comrade! I am on your side!
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25 bbstl 🧹
October 14, 2017 at 11:20 PM
This first episode feels flat to me and I already dislike Je Hoon, maybe because he's boring? And his collars don't fit properly so it's hard to take him seriously as a big-shot chaebol fixer. Oh well, it's too early for complaints but I did expect more.
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Grapes
October 15, 2017 at 1:17 AM
I didn't notice the collars but I noticed that he wears looks cheap, usually actors in these kind of roles wear more fansy suits, he looks like an ordinary salary man.
And his house interior doesn't fit the outside, it's weird in my opinion to have this fansy room inside this kind of house unless he remodeled it, it looks like its a room in a mantion, i wish they made it less fansy to be more convincing and appealing.
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bbstl 🧹
October 15, 2017 at 9:20 AM
Yes, his suits also don't fit and look cheap. It's strange to have to notice that about a character like this.
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26 NP
October 14, 2017 at 11:30 PM
This kid (Hyuk) gets into trouble every corner he turns lol. Gonna be fun watching him come down and live in normal human world for a while.
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NP
October 14, 2017 at 11:32 PM
Also Joon YOU GO GIRL. Urghh it's so satisfying to see an employee not bending to a "king" customer and calling them out on their bullshit.
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songsong
October 15, 2017 at 12:28 AM
Yeah I live for Baek Joon!
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DoubleFault
October 15, 2017 at 1:22 AM
I'm in love with KSR's take on the competent alpha-girl Baek Joon surviving in 21st Century Hell Joseon. I just had to LOL when I saw the photo of her dad. I was like, is she Choi Ae-ra's long lost sister?
Siwon is adorable as Hyuk. Like KSR, his comedic timing is also spot on. Can't wait to see him navigating the part-timer world with Joon as his Mr. Miyagi. Would love to see more of Joon's sunbaes also at the construction site.
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27 Itenoria
October 14, 2017 at 11:32 PM
Hahahahahaha. I loved this episode. it's the first episode already and we already got treated to Siwon's post military body in a pool scene. Yessssss. Those arms, the way his pec's defined, I am swooning so hard right now. Hehehehehehehe. Joon as our heroine is gold, thanks to Kang So-ra's amazing portrayal of her. Her no-nonsense unwilling to back downness reminds me so much of her character in Ugly Alert (one of my favorite weekend dramas ever!) And is it just me or does Hyuk remind me of Louis? Those goofy smiles and thinking that the heroine hung the moon and the stars? The puppy follow-about and the trying to and failing to figure out how everything works and thus leaning on the heroine support. If we get grubby Si-won, my life will be complete. Hehehehehehehe.
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luckyduc
October 15, 2017 at 6:18 PM
Ugly Alert is one of my top dramas too! Fell in love with Im Ju Hwan and Kang So-Ra. Kang So-Ra does so well playing smart, independent women which we could always use more of in dramaland.
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28 Kreyon
October 14, 2017 at 11:46 PM
It made me smile, and these days - that's all I ask. Glad your goofy sunny self is back Siwon oppa, dramaland could use some giggles.
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29 Grapes
October 14, 2017 at 11:56 PM
I loved the first episode, joon is a candy with strong personality not a pathetic one, i loved how she stood up for herself infront of that brat and beat her up and never kneel down or apologize like we usually see in k drama those scenes ate so ugly. And hyuk falling in love after that, and he thinks she's cool is so adorable, i love it when the male lead falls in love first, hyuk is a cute cheabol.
As for Jae Hoon I don't empathize with him because he choose this road, he was the top of his class, he has the opportunity to be a prosecutor but he wants to keep cleaning after rich kids mess to climb up the leader of success as he thinks it's the way.
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30 Dorotka
October 14, 2017 at 11:56 PM
Haven't watched yet...but, but... Javabeans is baaaaaaack!!!! 😍😍😍
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31 Kudo Ran
October 15, 2017 at 12:25 AM
Welcome back Javabeans :) , I was surprised to see the recap already out before watching the ep. Now I've just watched it , I liked it and laughed a lot (BGM like cats sounds and OMG) , like you said the drama is not the subtle style but I like this type of humor/drama :) . Siwon is back and he's having fun "my friend, mon ami, watashi no tomodachi" 😂 , we've got not a shower scene but a swimming pool scene, omo omo omo 😜. this drama reminds me of Marriage not dating , I loved that drama , its humor and the fact it didn't take itself too seriously, + both are tvN dramas, some BGM was similar to Marriage not dating (the one during the call on the plane between Hyuk and Je Hoon ) . Revolutionary love I'm on board, drama please be good and make me laugh a lot :)
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32 Jpb
October 15, 2017 at 12:39 AM
Ok, I am bingeing on 3 dramas premiering this Saturday, a pretty hectic weekend! With 3 second male leads (somehow I always prefer them) from previous dramas , I am enjoying this slapstick piece albeit the usual rich-to-rags plot in 'Hell Chosun' again, I am giving it a go..
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33 Diraito Teson
October 15, 2017 at 12:40 AM
After watching super show 4( suju are really messy kids) I knew right off the bat that Siwon can do goofy with no problem whatsoever.
And dignity... sigh.. I guguess nobody has seen him after inhaling laghing gas 😂😉😉😂
As for Kang Sora, she is new to me so I'm watching her carefully 😊
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earthna
October 15, 2017 at 12:53 AM
The laughing gas episode was epic. Legendary. It's funny coz Siwon's image has always been the chaebol type but his reality is this goofy character that he plays.
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songsong
October 15, 2017 at 1:55 AM
She is gorgeous as Baek Joon! Love that Joon ahhhh!
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34 growingbeautifully
October 15, 2017 at 1:12 AM
Thanks JB! It's good to see that maybe you're emerging from your slump. 😀
I do like this show. I had no expectations (which probably helps) and I'm delighted to get a show that is totally unabashed about being wacky-silly, that presents itself as a just for laughs rom-com while hinting that it can be more. It gives me an all over feel-good vibe. The sort that says: No need to think too hard, some plot is nice but not necessary, so just be amused and entertained.
This is actually a relief from those shows with more convoluted plots and relationships. Best of all, the chemistry between the 3 leads is fun and promising. So take it away 'Byun Hyuk' Love!
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35 Kimmy
October 15, 2017 at 2:14 AM
OMG this Great... I love this drama, and so much fun. Kang Sora (joon) is mama bird and Choi Siwon (hyuk) is baby bird... I'm curious how Hyuk's character will develop, and it's very interesting that Joon's character chose to part timer job as a lifestyle. I wondered how long she would think like that. I am ready sail with this frama
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Kimmy
October 15, 2017 at 4:38 AM
Drama ☺
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36 PakalanaPikake
October 15, 2017 at 2:16 AM
Thanks, javabeans, for your recap and commentary.
I knew as soon as I saw Park Chul-min in the opening scene that I was in for a treat. He (as the cheapskate manager attempting to cheat Baek Joon out of her back pay), and Lee Han-wi (Je-hoon's chauffeur dad) are two of my favorite veteran actors.
Thanks for ID'ing Lee Yoon-ji as the hotel's groveling customer service manager. No wonder she looked familiar -- I saw her very recently in THE KING 2HEARTS, and a year or two ago in EX-GIRLFRIENDS' CLUB and BISCUIT TEACHER AND STAR CANDY.
Siwon is back in rare form. Manseh! I truly enjoy Hyuk as a character, a chaebol heir who isn't an obnoxious ass (at least when he's sober). Hyuk may be clueless and out of touch with the reality that most other people inhabit, but he's not mean-spirited like his father. Dad is a real piece of work, and a hypocrite to boot. His brutalization of Je-hoon for Hyuk's transgressions put the lie to his spiel about love being the basis for his management style or whatever he was blathering about. Gag me with New Age sweetness & light. Harumph!
I get the sense that Hyuk's mom might be wife #2, but I could be wrong. His father had been closer with him when he was little. What has caused a chasm to open up between Hyuk and his father?
Omo, another feisty female lead has popped out of this week's premieres. Baek Joon is my kind of gal. I love her independent streak and her refusal to knuckle under to injustice. And I understand her unwillingness to work for a single company. (I temped as a secretary/word processor operator for the better part of a decade by choice. Aside from wishing to avoid getting embroiled in office politics and hierarchies, I wanted the flexibility to learn new software and systems. I enjoyed the variety, and would have become bored otherwise.)
Je-hoon seems to have sold his soul while grabbing for the brass ring. And what was with his reply to Joon when she told him she liked him back in college? Was he so taken by surprise that he could only put his foot in his mouth? And why had he not pursued a career as a prosecutor after doing so well in law school? Was he unable to pass the bar exam? Since his mother does not seem to be in the picture, might she have gotten ill and required medical care or surgery, and he had to drop out to earn a living and help with her bills?
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37 spazmo
October 15, 2017 at 2:35 AM
it's an absolute JOY to see Siwon back in action! he's so adorable...
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38 alasecond
October 15, 2017 at 2:35 AM
the comedy of believing she is already in love with him is so reminiscent of Boys over flowers..
When, of all things, Jung pyo interprets that kick as Janadi's attempt to initiate skinship with him .. ha ha.. and in the manga (and all adaptations) itself when heroine is supposed to blurt out that she is virgin and our hero is supposed to get all giggly over it thinking it was meant for him :D :D .. lol.. i think i have seen siwon only once before.. when heechul kissed him in some performance (famous video on youtube and result of knowing brothers-heechul videos stalking ).. so this is adorable.. he is such a nice actor.. and my first of kang sora's work too.. the first time i heard her name was when hyun bin's dating news came out..
Cute.. but i just hope story has sthg more to offer.. because right now.. plot wise everything seems mundane
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39 antrefleurs
October 15, 2017 at 2:37 AM
The characters in this show would probably be the main reason why I would continue watching this show. I really liked how Siwon played his character in this drama. He definitely makes the show a lot funnier with his facial expressions and gestures. I also liked Kang Sora's character mainly because of her headstrong character. Looking forward to more episodes. Thank you so much for the recap!
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40 bunny
October 15, 2017 at 3:01 AM
Welcome back, @javabeans! It really is a good day to have you back! :)
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41 frabbycrabsis loves KBS Drama Specials
October 15, 2017 at 4:03 AM
Well, time to start adding to my Siwon face photo collection.
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42 Jolly
October 15, 2017 at 4:44 AM
Enjoyed the first episode. I will wait for it to finish and marathon it. Don't think I can do this one weekly since it feels like there isn't going to be a strong story to it.
Both leads are good. But Gong Myung continues to suck. No idea how or why this guy keeps getting major roles.
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43 klmeri
October 15, 2017 at 6:25 AM
Yaaaaahhh! I've been waiting so long for a drama to bring me out of my drama slump. Of course it would be Siwon that does it. Have to say the batch of dramas this week are fairly entertaining as a whole. I'm glad we have this particular wave of dramas to carry us through the holidays!
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44 kooriyuki
October 15, 2017 at 6:32 AM
Yay javabeans is out of her drama slump!
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45 Sam
October 15, 2017 at 8:12 AM
Siwon's character gives me Louis vibes from 'Shopping King Louis'.
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46 mvl
October 15, 2017 at 9:13 AM
javabean, glad you are recapping again!
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47 dukseonnoona
October 15, 2017 at 9:49 AM
My Siwon is so back with a bang! And Kang So-ra is such a gem. Can’t wait to see more of these two!
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48 pickledplumtree
October 15, 2017 at 11:07 AM
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49 pickledplumtree
October 15, 2017 at 11:15 AM
Javabeans! Welcome back!!!! I don't know why I didn't catch that you wrote this recap at first! I'm so glad that you are enjoying it. Thanks for the speedy recap and the perfect comments!
I wished that I had a kdrama comrade to watch and ramble about this show with in real time, because I had so much of my own commentary as I watched it, and I kept track! :
When the show opened from the chase, multitude of freeze frames, and montage of her various careers, I thought, "Okay, so far I feel like I've already seen this 239472394723 times." But JB I was right there with you, relieved when there was a nod to story about Joon's dad, and thinking that there's some sort of trauma there that keeps her from wanting a "full time job." Because not all full time positions are completely soul crushing (at all times at least!), so that seemed a little too simple to me. When Joon was running around working all those jobs, I wasn't too impressed, but when I saw her use the fact that each job, when not a career, can be easily discarded if the situation is not right, I got it! It made sense then, and I liked her a lot for it! And boy my feelings toward her could really have gone either way when she bowed to Chae Ri...and I am so glad she took the "crazy" route. Loved it!
I noted (I literally jotted it down) that only SiWon could make that airplane scene endearing...and I see it's the same JB used! He is a magical fella. I just love his energy, and I also see myself watching this show for the characters.
The CEO scene actually really bothered me. It was too much with the bat! And then Hyuk of course started talking about his own problems instead of apologizing to Je Hoon. Even though the last time I saw Gong Myung he was playing around with human lives as the God Bi Ryeom...I felt pretty terrible when he was getting batted about! And yet...I don't see myself particularly routing for his character or having second lead syndrome this time (which I'm prone to). Bc as JB said so well, he created his own misery. At least it seems that way so far.
On the contrary, I feel like my broken heart for SiWon's lovable and wonderful Kim Shin Hyuk in She Was Pretty will finally be healed, since so much of his truly unique persona is present in Hyuk's character as well.
I'm excited for the lightness and fun of this one!
Lastly: I really loved when the dude pulled up the tissue from the box to hide behind it in the hotel scene!
And when Hyuk said, "I became a flower!" 😂
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redfox
October 15, 2017 at 2:53 PM
but it seems like there is just one company in their universe so no other full time jobs available anywhere else...
but why does nobody, absolutely not a single character want to work in a museum?
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PakalanaPikake
October 16, 2017 at 7:23 PM
Because it's hell to pay when the T. rex skeletons reanimate and all the little people in the dioramas start running amok. ;-)
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pickledplumtree
October 22, 2017 at 4:06 PM
*rooting
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50 Aidualc
October 15, 2017 at 1:45 PM
I liked the first episode well enough but I don't love the drama yet. It was satisfying to see Joon stand up for herself as it was always painful to watch similar scenes with all the Candy's of dramaworld being humilated at their work and not standing up for themselves. So I'm glad they did a different take on that trope here.
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