Aw, will the second lead get the girl this time? You know I love it when that happens. There’s a potential drama reunion in the works for Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim alums Seo Hyun-jin and Yang Se-jong, who are both considering the leading roles in the new SBS romantic-comedy drama Temperature of Love, along with Kim Jae-wook (Voice), who has signed on for a supporting role.
Romantic Doctor was Yang Se-jong’s acting debut less than a year ago(!), in which he played Yoo Yeon-seok’s uppity rival surgeon who harbored an unrequited love for Seo Hyun-jin. He seemed like a puppy in that drama, but after that and Saimdang, Light’s Diary, he’s since gone on to steal the show as a set of clones in OCN’s sci-fi thriller Duel. He’s so good at playing three different characters in that drama that I actually found myself thinking about a week ago, Oh the evil clone is the better actor… waitaminute…
Temperature of Love is the newest drama from writer Ha Myung-hee of Doctors, High Society, and Warm Words, and it’s an adaptation of her own novel titled Nice Soup Does Not Answer the Phone. The rom-com is about an online friendship that sparks between an aspiring screenwriter and a chef with the handle “Nice Soup.” Seo Hyun-jin has been offered the role of a drama writer who would describe herself as frank and reckless. She’s a practical realist who can’t really lie, and she makes snap judgments and throws herself headlong into things. She’s intelligent and a little odd, and her nickname is “Curiosity Heaven.”
Yang Se-jong is up for the male lead, a chef-owner of a Michelin-star restaurant called Good Soup. He seeks out good-natured people, but he’s very clear about his boundaries, and he hates being controlled by other people or managing others. He’s a competitive person who loves to win and enjoys sports, and though he seems perfect on the outside, his Achilles heel is his mother, who’s left him scarred.
Kim Jae-wook has been cast to play an entertainment agency CEO who likes Yang Se-jong’s cooking and becomes partners with him to open Good Soup. But he’ll also fall for the heroine, and they’ll eventually go from business partners to romantic rivals. Kim Jae-wook is also coming off of a recent OCN thriller (Voice) in which he played a frightening psychopath, so right now I can only think of the potential rivalry between Yang Se-jong’s evil clone and Kim Jae-wook’s evil killer, which would be totally badass but very disturbing in a romantic comedy.
The drama is about people with scars who are adrift, discovering the love inside themselves and love for other people. The four leading characters will bump up against one another’s worldviews and try to convince each other that their way of life is best, and grow along the way. I like the sound of it, but what I like even more is the sound of Seo Hyun-jin back in dramaland as a rom-com heroine, and Yang Se-jong getting a chance to win her heart.
Temperature of Love is slated for a September premiere in the Monday-Tuesday slot following Falsify.
