I think of fall as the season for melos, and I have a feeling that this show will have no problem in bringing the drama in melodrama. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes is gearing up to premiere next month and the show has recently released some stills and a short teaser that features our leads. The show is being touted as a shocking and fateful mystery melo, and though I wasn’t planning on adding a melo to my drama-watching plate, I just can’t pass up on this cast, led by Seo In-gook (Shopping King Louis), Jung So-min (Because This Life Is Our First), and Park Sung-woong (Life on Mars).
The teaser doesn’t reveal much about the plot but it certainly builds the atmosphere the show is trying to go for: Photos of our three leads are shown burning in flames as a moody piano piece plays in the background. We then cut to individual shots of Kim Mu-young (Seo In-gook), Yoo Jin-kang (Jung So-min), and finally Yoo Jin-gook (Park Sung-woong) as Seo In-gook recites the title of the show.
I’m so used to Seo In-gook playing the nice guy in dramas that I know it’s gonna be a bit of a shock for me to watch him play Kim Mu-young, who is described as a seemingly carefree but dangerous “monster.” A suspect in a murder case, he becomes the focus of Yoo Jin-gook’s investigation, though I’m not sure whether this is before or after he meets the detective’s younger sister, Yoo Jin-kang. Jung So-min’s character is an advertising designer with a heart of gold thanks to her brother’s unwavering love, who derives her own happiness from other people’s joy. Her warm personality masks a pain that she shares with murder suspect Kim Mu-young, which might explain her decision to become a safe haven for the mysterious man.
That decision is sure to cause all sorts of grief for Park Sung-woong’s Jin-gook, whose whole life consists of his job and his younger sister. As a detective, he’s a veteran with sharp instincts who puts a hundred percent into catching whichever culprit he becomes fixated on. That charisma pretty much evaporates as soon as his beloved sister Jin-kang appears, and he turns into a loving fool of a brother who seems a little clumsy and lacking on the outside. Aww, I can tell I’m going to really enjoy Park Sung-woong turning into a massive teddy bear for Jung So-min.
The Smile Has Left Your Eyes will premiere on tvN’s Wednesday-Thursday slot following Familiar Wife on September 26.
