The Gist:
Recovering cancer patient Jan Geu Rim (Kim So Hyun) gets a chance to realize
her dream of becoming a singer when she is accepted to an arts school, the same
as her idol Tae Joon (Min Hoo). Things get a little odd when she ends up
rooming with the school’s mystery girl Irene (Sun Woong). Geu Rim quickly
figures out Irene’s mysterious secret – she’s actually a very pretty boy,
taking modeling jobs as a girl until he can make his debut as a dancer. Geu Rim
swears to keep his secret, which is no easy task considering Tae Joon is obliviously
in love with him, which upsets his fan club, and Irene’s fan club. Soon, Geu
Rim finds herself a little less preoccupied with Tae Joon and a little more
interested in the boy hiding in plain sight.
Love:
1.Bite Size
This miniseries is like a little drama snack.
At just three episodes, there’s no extra fluff as each episode hits every plot
point deliberately and there’s no dragging out of lies and intrigue. It was an
adorable story and I could have stood if it was a shorter full length series,
say 11 episodes or so, but sometimes it’s nice to be able to sit down and
finish a story in one sitting. In this sense, it felt more like a fleshed out
movie than a show.
2.Geu Rim
and Hyun Woo
Kim So Hyun
is an actress I’m already impressed with, showing off serious talent at such a
young age (She’s 14!!! OMG. She’s ten years younger than I am.). I loved her in
The Moon that Embraces the Sun and while I didn’t finish I Miss You, her role
left and early impression. Sun Woong is a new face for me, which is not
surprising as he’s only been in 2 shows including this one and he’s 22 (aka WAY
TOO OLD FOR So Hyun, but you won’t think so just watching the show). Either way,
he is a talented dancer and actually shockingly pretty for a guy. The two were
well cast and well matched, playing off each other easily.
3. A New
Kind of Swap
Even if it
didn’t work perfectly, I still liked the new twist on the gender bending usual.
The cross dressing girl to boy is played out (see You’re Beautiful, Hana Kimi,
Nail Shop Paris, etc.), but this is the first time I’ve seen a show playing up
the other side. As uncomfortable as it was for his character, Sun Woong really
embraced it and did it well. Still, seeing him in his Irene getup for the first
time really had me zeroed in on all the reasons I could see he was a guy. Even
though his face is pretty enough for a girl, the broad shoulders were a dead
giveaway, he’s really tall, no hint of an hourglass, Adam’s apple, and let’s
not forget good ole man hands. All that said, not all girl’s fit one type, so
if I didn’t know ahead of time, I’m not sure what I’d think. Either way, it’s a
bold choice and I like it.
Meh:
1.Side
Characters
Ok. How
overly ridiculous was Tae Joon? It successfully paints our Hyun Woo in a much
better light, but I think it was just a spoonful over the top. That’s not even
talking about the fan clubs, whose obsessions were downright stereotypical,
without much character building. I’d say the only bright spot allowed was the
leader of TJ’s fan club, when she gets the chance to swoop in and help Geu Rim,
even after making her life a little bit miserable.
2. Ok. Let’s
think about this for a moment…
Some of the
premise of this story you have to take with a grain of salt. As in, even in the
extreme situation that Irene gets Hyun Woo much needed work, there’s really no
reason for him to go to school as her. I mean, couldn’t he just go as himself
and then change into his garb when he gets to the studio? I’m not sure whose
bright idea that was, but it only served to make it harder for him to come out
as himself when the time came. Also - *spoilers ahead* - why on Earth would he
wait a whole year to tell Geu Rim what was going on? She already knows the
secret, so why not pick up the phone, say I’ve been found out, I’m taking a
break from school, but hey want to catch a movie sometime? It just didn’t make
sense. I’m glad they fixed it up quickly, but it was certainly surprising.
Hate:
1.Lip
Syncing!
If this show
had one major flaw, it was how poorly Geu Rim was lip syncing when she was
supposed to be singing. Her voice was obviously auto-tuned into next year. I’m
willing to forgive this egregious error, since the actress is so good.
So:
So… if you’re
looking for a quick watch of a light romance, this one is perfect. It’s not
overly cheesy, while still being sweet. Something I was still in the mood for
after my Love in Tokyo excursion. It’s a slightly original twist on a usual
storyline that’s just pleasant and fast to watch.
Final Grade:
B+
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