Lee Junho, Won Jin-ah
I adored Junho’s redeemed villain role in Chief Kim, so I’m ecstatic to hear he’s coming back to dramaland this year, and as a lead at that! It doesn’t sound like his role in the upcoming JTBC drama Just Between Lovers will be anything similar to Yul from Chief Kim, but it’ll be nice to see him branch out into different genres, and especially as a romantic lead. Joining him as the female lead is rookie Won Jin-ah, whose credits so far only include small supporting roles in films like Age of Shadows and No Tomorrow.
Just Between Lovers will depict a warm love story between two people who are described as “great” because they are able to withstand the harsh winds that blow in their lives, and are able to appear calm on the surface while doing so. These deeply wounded people will shelter and comfort one another, and through their bleak everyday lives, they will learn that hope comes from people and that love is the only redemption.
Junho will play Lee Kang-doo, a former aspiring soccer player who loses his father in a sudden accident. That same accident breaks his leg, which requires 3 years of rehabilitation and means that his dream of becoming a soccer player is now unattainable. With no parents, skills, or degree to fall back on, Kang-doo goes on to live a hard life in the back alleys. However, he’ll start to slowly change after meeting Ha Moon-soo (Won Jin-ah), who fiercely protects the normalcy in her daily life, all while hiding the pain she carries.
Moon-soo works at an architecture firm, and suffers from survivor’s guilt after getting into an accident that causes her younger sibling’s death. She carries the burden of feeling like she has to live her sibling’s life for them, and presents a smiling facade while also caring for her mother. She will only start to deal with the pain she’s kept suppressed after she meets Kang-doo.
Oof, that sounds like heavy stuff. And I’m sure the writer-director duo for the show will be able to bring the heartbreak: Screenwriter Yoo Bora co-wrote Secret and PD Kim Jin-won’s previous credits include melodrama Nice Guy. But I’m hoping that the tone of Just Between Lovers will skew more towards another of PD Kim’s shows, Wonderful Season, which had a lovely sentimental vibe that counteracted a lot of its melodramatic elements.
Although I liked Junho best in Chief Kim, he’s also put in great performances in other films and dramas, like Memory, Twenty, and Memories of the Sword, so I’m not worried about him pulling off a lead role. On the other hand, I don’t know what to expect with Won Jin-ah, since I haven’t seen her in anything, but it’s heartening to see that she has some bigger supporting roles in A-list Chungmuro projects in the pipeline: Between later this year and 2018, she will appear in Money with Yoo Ji-tae and Ryu Joon-yeol, and Steel Rain with Jung Woo-sung and Kwak Do-won. Here’s to hoping she has a successful drama debut as well!
JTBC’s Just Between Lovers is scheduled to commence filming soon, and is slated to premiere sometime later this year.