Oh man, these teasers are literally the story of my life right now. Character teasers have just been released for tvN’s upcoming cohabitation drama Because This Life Is Our First, starring Jung So-min (Father Is Strange) and Lee Min-ki (Shoot Me in the Heart), playing two millennials struggling to find their own space amidst the rising costs of urban living.
In the first teaser, Jung So-min goes on the search for an apartment, and she starts out pointing to a high-rise building in a nice neighborhood and gasps at the exorbitant amount. Next she goes to a humbler neighborhood, but it’s still too much above her price range, so she picks a house waaay up in the mountains, but is told that it’s tiny and has no access to public transportation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRMMLH9JCyY
The narrator mockingly says that even a dog house costs 200,000 won these days, and she sighs despondently that her house doesn’t exist in this lifetime. She trudges around until a house rent flyer lands at her feet, and she looks up to see a man in a trench coat walking toward her.
The second teaser features Lee Min-ki as he introduces himself and his house. He confidently begins by saying, “Becoming a house owner in this lifetime—even though the start was humble…” But then a bank teller interrupts him, “Sir, you still have 10 years until you own the living room,” and the chyron above his head says that he so far only owns the entryway. Then he tries to enjoy coffee in his kitchen, but more bank tellers appear reminding him that it’ll be 15 years until he owns the kitchen. He tries to relax in front of his TV, and again bank tellers crowd around him and one whispers the reminder: 10 more years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a65UzspK4fQ
The thought of his ever-present mortgage weighs on his mind, when suddenly a light bulb goes off. He realizes that if he rents out the small front room, he’ll be able to pay back the bank in 13 years instead of 30. He quickly rushes out the door in a trench coat with rent flyers in hand. As he’s pasting up flyers, one falls at Jung So-min’s feet, and he smiles as he walks up to her.
I completely understand their struggles, and it also conveniently provides a good motivator for them to become roommates. I already want to know how their story plays out, partially because I want to see Lee Min-ki and Jung So-min’s cute romantic hijinks, but also because I’m hoping that the drama will share a relatable perspective on housing and the struggles that we all face with it.
tvN’s Monday-Tuesday drama Because This Life Is Our First will begin airing on October 9.
