What an adorably sweet first two episodes of Dare to Love Me. There is plenty of fun and awkwardness between our hero and heroine, who could not be more different. But who doesn’t love a good opposites–attract story?
EPISODES 1-2
Our heroine KIM HONG-DO (Lee Yoo-young) is literally being treated and referred to as a maid at Losi Fashion. She works as a designer’s assistant and does not get any respect from her colleagues (nor her boss). She endures because of her boyfriend, saving grace LEE DO-YOUNG (Seo Byuk-joon). Despite it all, Hong-do is very self-aware and knows she has to just grind through it all if she wants to achieve her dream of becoming a top designer. In other words, she’s a heroine who’s easy to root for, and I automatically want better for her. *Come on, girl!*
It’s Do-young’s birthday, so Hong-do gives him a handmade pouch as a gift and offers to take him out for a meal. But he politely declines because he has plans with his mum. Hong-do has already made the reservation, so she decides to take her brother KIM HONG-HAK (Han Gi-chan) instead. When Hong-hak goes outside to take a call, Hong-do hears some familiar voices behind her…
That’s right! The newly-arrived couple is none other than Do-young and her immediate boss LEE HYANG-KI (Kim Shi-hyun), who treats her like a gopher at work. (Hong-do cannot stand this woman and so far neither can I.) After eavesdropping, Hong-do realizes that the two of them have been dating for three months and Do-young never even considered that he and Hong-do were in a relationship. But considering all the literal hiding behind Hyang-ki he does at work, I am pretty certain he knows what he did wrong here.
Do-young dumps Hong-do telling her they were never together — he just pitied her. (Ouch!) He continues to trample all over our heroine, pretty much accusing her of being delusional and saying she’s the “fake” and Hyang-ki is the “real deal.” (Sounds to me like he was just hedging his bets.) This sad state of affairs leaves our heroine to spiral into soju and beer.
After that introduction to our poor heroine, our hero is quite the contrast. SHIN YOON-BOK (L) could not be closer to the true meaning of “hero” if he tried. He is thoughtful, mindful of others, overly and yet adorably polite (to the point of awkwardness — and his extremely formal speech doesn’t help). Yoon-bok seems most comfortable floating around in his hanbok and gat, and is a very nimble fighter (surprisingly). And he never goes anywhere without his trusty gentleman’s fan.
If Yoon-bok seems too pure for this world, that’s because he sort of is? He grew up in Seongsan Village, a national heritage site, where the residents mimic the Joseon era. As such, Yoon-bok is every ounce the upright scholar, believing in the Confucian teachings of a humane and moral society.
Yoon-bok is passionate about keeping the national artifacts safe, and he’s dispatched by his grandfather to find some items that were taken from Seongsan. On his mission, he deftly fights off a room full of gangster types (with his trusty fan). However, the bad guy (known as GAMJJOK) who keeps stealing from little Joseon gets away, and this is the start of Yoon-bok’s artifact-saving mission to Seoul.
Yoon-bok and his trusty sidekick OH YOON-AH (Im Young-joo) leave Seongsan and head to the city to help the police find the counterfeit bad guy stealing their relics. They follow the investigation to a club, where Yoon-bok soon realizes he needs to ditch his formal hanbok to gain access to the club’s VIP area. He calls on his friend for help — who is none other than Hong-hak — and we have a Pretty Woman moment where Yoon-bok is mortified trying on all of these modern clothes. This has me in fits of giggles. He reaches his end-game outfit, though, and manages to get into the club and follow his lead.
As it turns out, the two have an adorable history together. Yoon-bok ran away from Seongsan when he was 17 to become a webtoon writer and joined the academy Hong-do worked at. (That is also how Yoon-bok met her brother, who also has the same dream.)
So, not only was Hong-do once Yoon-bok’s teacher, but she was the first person to tell him not to mind what others think of you. “You are cool enough as you are.” He took those words to heart and they gave him courage. Yoon-bok has never forgotten her since, and I suspect he may have a long- standing crush on our leading lady (but he just hasn’t caught on yet).
After their present-day encounters, hilarity ensues when Hong-do goes to some extreme lengths to avoid Yoon-bok because of her sheer and unabashed embarrassment. She dances around him at the convenience store, hides among the rubbish, but even when she leaves her apartment he’s there. Mostly he pretends he doesn’t see her, giving her a chance to flee because he knows she’s trying to avoid him. This is very sweet of him, but he doesn’t seem to understand why. Adorable naivety.
If Hong-do thought the humiliation was over, she’s dead wrong. Do-young appears and pretends he is going to apologize like she asked him too. But really he’s there to beg her to quit because she’s making him uncomfortable in the office. The gall of this guy!
Sure, Hong-do might have taken some mini revenge when she made sure Do-young and Hwang-ki’s date turned into an expensive team dinner on Do-young (lol) — but in the grand scheme of revenge, I think you got off pretty lightly there, Do-young! Demanding she quits her job is going a little far.
Just as Do-young gets angry and aggressively grabs Hong-do, our little white knight shows up and puts an end to the acceleration of this little argument. Do-young runs off tail between legs (*applauds*) and our couple are left together once more. Yoon-bok is concerned for her, and rightly so. But Hong-do wants the ground to swallow her whole. She runs off after yelling at him, knowing he always sees her at her lowest point.
Reflecting deeply on the situation, Yoon-bok thinks he has greatly offended “teacher,” as he affectionately calls her, and he is mortified. He goes to her rooftop and waits on bended knees to apologize and ask for forgiveness. Meanwhile, our heroine has been inside thinking she’s been a little too harsh on him, and goes out to find him.
Luckily, our heroine is very good at cutting to the chase. She admits to Yoon-bok that it was her embarrassment that prompted her little outburst, nothing that he had done. Can I just say, I love this exchange, as cute as it is. It’s clear, to the point, and refreshing. Yoon-bok is polite to a fault sometimes (like literally not showing his back to her when walking away, which has him doing some pretty fancy footwork), while she is very “what you see is what you get” and has no qualms about it.
After clearing up the misunderstanding, Hong-do takes Yoon-bok to the only place open (the convenience store) to treat him. I actually heehawed when the camera angle changes and we realize he is sitting at the table behind her. He uses the same words she used to give him courage seven years previously, reminding her to find courage. It is the sweetest thing. (Oh and did I mention he called her a “precious person” to him? *Cough*
Both our heroine and hero find themselves in turmoil at the end of our first two episodes. Hong-do has had her design (the present she gave Do-young) stolen by the deplorable Hyang-ki. And not only that, but she is publicly embarrassed by Do-young not only saying that it wasn’t a present from her, but Hong-do has been stalking him too. He’s obviously trying to get her fired — or better yet make her quit. The little snake!
As for our hero, he saved and hid the hostage he found in the VIP club, and learned from him that whoever is stealing these artifacts has his father’s key to the storage room at Seongsan Village. The last time Yoon-bok saw this key was in his father’s possession, and later the same day his father mysteriously died in a fire. There is definitely something else going on here, and I have every faith in our hero that he will get to the bottom of it.
We end our premiere week on a high note, with Yoon-bok running outside with a brolly after hearing Hong-do is coming home without one. Yoon-bok finds her kneeling in the street picking up the contents of her bag, and he sweetly places the umbrella over her. What a lovely moment. Hong-do looks up and thinks to herself that he is the only person who never walks all over her. It’s just so cute.
I have to admit this drama has delivered for me so far. I love the juxtaposed lead couple and their interactions with each other. Their differences being highlighted makes for some great comedy, and adds a saccharine charm to the show that I just love. Yoon-bok promises to listen to Hong-do’s heart, and I swear mine skipped a beat — I swooned on more than one occasion without a doubt. Even just seeing Yoon-bok in modern-day getup was a little swoonworthy. Or was that just me…?