True Beauty

 Since I'd finished Mismatched (with its depressing cliffhanger ending) and wasn't feeling like I'll Go to You When the Weather is Nice, I thought I'd try something I've been seeing bits of that looked good. Nah, I'm totally lying. Not exactly. Sort of. It's got Cha Eun-woo, so I knew I was gonna watch it: True Beauty.

It's based on a popular webtoon. Now, I don't really love the whole "ugly girl gets a makeover and gets a guy" thing so I probably wouldn't have given it a second look if Cha Eun-woo wasn't in it. I'll be honest. He's an adorable cherub even when he's playing an acerbic guy. But, I gotta say, so far it's quite good, even if the FL is a bit of a contradiction.

So...the story. Im Ju-Kyung (played by Mun Ka-Young or Moon Ga-Young, depending) is the middle child. While her older sister has always been called beautiful (and her young brother is smart), everyone -- including extended family -- has always called her ugly...since she was a baby! Which is a bit much, but hey. It's a combination of things -- bad skin, really bad eyesight + really ugly glasses and, probably most telling, a lack of confidence. But when you've been told you're one thing your whole life, it's kinda understandable. 

She's 18 and in the last part of high school. The kids, especially the Queen of the School, are absolutely horrible to her, calling her dumpling & having her get them snacks, etc. She's got a bit of a crush on a guy who works in the canteen & popular bitch notices & gets involved & then even films the poor girl's rejection so that everyone can see it. And the sad thing is, who knows what the guy might have done if Queen B hadn't gotten involved? He was about the only guy showing any kindness to the poor girl, bonding over music. Realistically, he probably wouldn't have reciprocated her feelings, but he would have at least let her down easy. 

Anyway, it's bad. So bad that Ju-Kyung contemplates suicide. It's there that we meet Eun-woo's character, Lee Soo-ho. He sees her up on the rooftop (likely the place where a friend of his died, that he wasn't able to save?) and body tackles her off the ledge. She'd actually already decided not to jump, however, which is good. He also knocks off her glasses, so she can't see a thing and has no idea who her saviour is and even calls him Ahjussi. They have a bit of a rocky start as he winds up carting her down the stairs & then finding out the elevator wasn't broken after all. She gives him a parting bit of encouragement from the taxi as she leaves.

And that probably would have been the extent of their relationship...except her dad made a spectacularly bad investment & the family is forced to sell their nice flat and move back to their old neighbourhood (they moved "out and up" 8 years before). Ju-Kyung is actually overjoyed. She's got a chance to get away from her bullies and she's determined, via watching a shit-ton of how to apply makeup videos on YouTube, to make the most of it. She's a bit self-absorbed, but also lonely and desperately sad.

So, she shows up to her first day at the new school looking like a brand new person with decent hair and good makeup. People think she's a goddess, but inside she's the same insecure person she's always been and can't quite believe it. When her two new girl friends suggest dumplings, she's all ready to go run and get it for them rather than going with them. And Soo-ho is also at her new school, though she has no idea he's the same person, as she couldn't see him before without her glasses. She just thinks he sounds familiar, but has no idea why. 

Her first thought is he's inhumanely handsome (and so he is) but his caustic personality soon dissuades her from any thoughts of doing anything but avoiding him. He's got some issues. And why he seems to have his very own very nice apartment that he lives alone in, I have no idea.

Anyway, the scenes where she's experiencing friendship with the girls at the new school are a little joy. She can hardly believe it. It's like a kid getting candy for the first time. It's lovely. There's a lot of silly about this show (and physical comedy -- while moving, her face mask goes flying out of their truck and hits Eun-woo right in the face). So even though there's doom/gloom/bullying, there's a lot to balance that out.

At the very end of the episode, she's in her old fav bookstore when Soo-ho appears out of nowhere behind her and gets the book she was reaching for. They fight over it (she not having seen who it is yet) and wind up tripping and falling and, for the second time in one episode, she winds up on the floor in Che Eun-woo's arms. That's when she sees who it is. While she's in her "normal" mode -- no makeup, sweat pants, big huge glasses. 

There's another lead guy (though Eun-woo is obviously the main romantic lead based on, well, everything so far, including the title sequence) that we haven't met yet, but he looks fun. Like a slightly dangerous guy.

If I had to guess, at some point in the story, there will be danger of her "secret" getting out--after all, she didn't move that far away from her old place. I doubt if we've seen the last of the old crew of bullies. Though I can hope, since that's the way most of these stories go. I'd rather we just got to see her new life instead and see how she deals with things.

And, as a bonus, they episodes are a bit over an hour, so I got in over 70 minutes on the elliptical today.

Edit: Watched episode 2 today (out of the 8 that are currently released on Viki) and, oh man, it's the right tone for what I need right now. I am very tempted to binge watch another one this afternoon while I wait to hear back from my agent on the two book proposals I sent him. 

They've introduced the 2nd male lead now -- the bad boy. Who really isn't all that bad, to be fair, he just has that vibe. Hwang In-yeop is Han Seo-jun, who used to be Soo-ho's best friend. They've got some kind of bad blood between them now (presumably to do with the friend that committed suicide?). I just looked him up and he's apparently also in The Tale of Nokdu, but I've only seen one episode of that. He's got a good voice. And is apparently 29 in real life (the other two leads being 24 and 23). 

I'm not going to go into a play by play. I'll just say that I'm enjoying it, even with the secondary embarrassment (and I totally feel Ju-Kyung when she coughs and gets ramen stuck in her nose; that's happened to me and OMG does it hurt.).

Edit: Up through episode 6 now and having to stop myself from binging the other episodes that are out and translated. Episode 10 is there, but not subbed yet. Totally wanting to binge this one. Why am I liking it so much? Honestly, I'm not sure. There's a lot of cringeworthy secondhand embarrassment for the characters (mostly Ju-Kyung, but also the boys) but also some genuinely touching moments. Moon Ga-Young is particularly good and believable in her part. The plot, honestly, isn't surprising in any way, but I don't mind as the actors are doing such a good job with it. I seriously really really hope they don't ruin this for me in the last half because this is the most I've enjoyed a drama in a while because, so far, there's not really anything that I would re-write. I can't say that for a lot of shows. 

I already adored Cha Eun-Woo and this show isn't changing that at all. But Hwang In-Yeop is holding his own and has a great voice on top of that. One of the funniest scenes might be when he goes dancing into the room in his underwear, not knowing that Ju-Kyung is there. His character arc has been that he starts out just teasing her to get back at Su-ho, but after he figures out how nice she is (she save his sister twice, for one), he starts actually falling for her. Too bad though, he doesn't have a chance. It'll be second lead syndrome for him. I kinda hope he winds up with the kick ass Su jin. Ju-Kyung at this point, thinks of him about like her younger brother.

Also loving that Ju-Kyung has found two girl friends that have been super supportive and lovely, though am a bit worried about that as one of them (Park Yoo Na, who plays Kang Su Jin -- she was also in My ID is Gangnam Beauty) likes Su-ho and they've been friends for a long time. Really hoping they don't turn her from a good friend to an enemy over a boy...especially since she's really kicked ass and Ju-Kyung is also trying to be supportive of her AND she's got an asshole dad that pressures her so badly that she's developed some kind of OCD thing of washing her hands to the point they get chapped. She's 2nd in the school after Su-ho and her dad has literally slapped her for not coming first. I wanna slap him. 

Anyway, that's my biggest worry. Stuff is happening with Ju-Kyung's former bullies from the old school, but I expected that. 

Edit: Aw, man. Have finished through episode 8 and there are only two more episodes out right now and episode 11 won't be out for another 4 days...and translated, eh, sometime after that. I really shouldn't watch shows that aren't fully released. Sigh. Maybe I'll go back to some episodes of When the Weather is Nice while I wait.

Things are progressing on a lot of fronts. As I'm not going to go super in depth, I just want to mention a few things.

1) I really like how they've managed the changing character relationship between Ju-Kyung and Han Seo-Jun. For her, it was scared --> annoyed --> friend/brother. For him, it was more like annoyed --> wanting to use her to get back at Su-ho, but curious --> genuinely fond, but in a romantic way (and finally wanting to act on it). For her, he's now someone she's comfortable teasing (the whole "roar" thing and getting him to sing when he didn't want to) and also able to cry in front of (which, up until now, would have only been Su-ho). Of course, poor Han Seo-Jun when he realises she's crying over Su-ho.

2) One of the little perfect bits to show why he's second lead and not end game, is in that crying scene actually -- to him, she's the pretty girl. When she cries and he's trying to get her to stop it's kinda perfect that he's all "did I do something? whatever I did I'm sorry" because he's a dude and has no clue, but he does have a sister and mom he loves and then he says something to the effect of "you're ugly when you cry" because he can't imagine her as ugly and wouldn't think of these as words that wound. But this is a girl that doesn't believe she's pretty at all. Even when she has the makeup on, she thinks of it like a mask. She doesn't actually internally think she's beautiful at all. I don't think, as a character, she even clocked the comment, because it's what she thinks. She thinks she is ugly. I'm not explaining this well. Eh, doesn't matter. I know what I mean. And no one else reads this anyway.

3)Also, in episode 8, Su-ho finally manages to confess to her and kisses her. But it's super important that he kisses her when she has no make up on. When she's unmasked. That was such an important choice for the writer/director to make. I have no idea if that's how it happened in the webtoon or not, but bravo.

Of course, the stupid preview thing at the end of the episode already shows us that everything isn't all sweetness and light and solved, but I have such hope that this story will carry on well throughout. I really hope so. 

Edit: Sigh. I'm currently caught up with all released episodes (episode 11 comes out tomorrow, but it'll likely be a couple of days before it is translated. A few bummers, other than the being caught up bit...

a) I follow Cha Eun-Woo on Instagram. So sue me. So I totally got spoiled for the big cliffhanger at the end of episode 10 because he'd posted a picture of himself up in the air above a car. Yeah, he and Han Seo Jun both get hit by a car (though obviously neither one dies)

b) I also inadvertently got spoiled that the ongoing webtoon apparently is quite different wherein some of the scenes that Su-ho has with Ju-Kyung were originally Seo-jun ones. I'm actually not that fussed about this as it sounds like the drama is streamlining a convoluted storyline. That's one of the bad things about some of these ongoing stories. Take Skip Beat, for instance. How many volumes of that do I have? How many are out in Japan? How many freaking YEARS has it been going on with no end in sight? The only thing about it in this case is that, while I was briefly tempted to try out the webtoon, in this case I think I will skip it. I mean, there's already definitely Second Lead Syndrome but I don't really want to read through chapters and chapters of waffling with no end in sight. I very much hope the drama puts an actual ending on it.

c) And Le Big Sigh...they went the route of making Kang Su Jin the bad guy. Bad girl. Whatever. There was literally a hint that this would happen in the second episode, but I was really, really, really hoping the story wouldn't go there. I actually think it's kind of lazy. It's not totally in keeping with her character. It's OLD. And isn't she too smart for this?

But, overall, still really enjoying all of it. Traffic accidents notwithstanding. But if I ever re-watch this one, I'll skip episode 10.

Edit: So, I picked this one back up as a few episodes had built up (and I finished I Order You). So. Su Jin is literally off the deep end crazy bitch. Sigh. But at least Ju-Kyung has finally managed to not run away. Though it looks like from the preview at the end of this episode that Su ho is going to be the one to run away? Which, Oh FFS. So far, I don't feel like that's been in his character. I'm not sure I'm buying it. 

They really, really better end this well. Though I am really enjoying Hwang In-yeop too and FINALLY they gave the mother a freaking clue and she stepped up.

Edit: Hmmmmmmm. All the episodes are out and I figured I'd better finish it before I get spoiled anymore. You can tell this is the big one of the season as I'm running into spoilers ALL OVER THE FREAKING PLACE. Instagram. Twitter. Facebook. So I actually kinda know how it's going to wind up, even though I've got one episode left. 

So, the good news is that Su ho didn't run off because of some jealousy or something stupid. No, literally, they have the cutest date in the world (at the beach) and then find out that his dad has gone into surgery because of some kind of aneurysm and Su ho has to jet off to the US to be with his dad. They had only recently even started talking again. So off he goes. At least it was for a good reason. And at first everything is okay & they're doing the long distance thing, but then dear old dad has a bad relapse and goes into a coma (?) and Su ho has to stay. It's been months by this point and he suddenly gets stupid. Even though Ju-kyung tells him she's happy to wait, he wants to break up. 

She hangs on for a while texting him but finally gives up. Fast forward to two years after he had to leave (and hey, I'll give him the "yes, you had a good reason to go" but no, I don't agree with the ghosting AT FREAKING ALL). It's been at least a year since she heard from him. Meanwhile, she's graduated and is working as a trainee makeup person. Seo-jun is about to debut as an Idol and they're still good friends but Seo-jun, the King of Bad Timing, has still not confessed. You can see why he didn't in the beginning -- she was pining for Su ho. But he really should have done SOMETHING, like, 6 months before because as soon as he FINALLY says something, that's the day Su ho is back in town and coincidentally runs into Ju-kyung. 

So, I know she's gonna wind up with Su ho from all of the random Internet memes, but I gotta say that this kinda pisses me off. Su ho gets back and obviously has been missing her as the first place he goes is to witness the new snow at the Tower (what other Kdrama was that in? Legend of the Blue Sea?) and that's where he runs into Ju-kyung. Because she's thinking about him, prompted, in part, by trying to sort out what she's thinking about Seo-jun after his confession and their first sort-of date (he asked her to not answer right away and to give him 3 dates). The only thing that works for her winding up with Su ho and not Seo-jun is that her reaction upon Seo-jun's confession is just confusion. She's obviously never thought of him that way and is surprised. She *shouldn't* be that surprised, but let's face it, Ju-kyung is not the sharpest tool in the shed and she's thought of him like a brother ever since she figured out he wasn't actually a hoodlum. 

So. Yeah. They really did do Seo-jun wrong on this one. And, while I'd loved Su-ho up until this point, WTH is he thinking just appearing out of nowhere and expecting to have her just jump into his arms again? At least she hasn't done that, but what it all means is that it's gonna be poor Seo-jun through the ringer when he'd finally had a glimmer of hope. And, truthfully, if Su ho hadn't suddenly appeared, who knows what Ju-kyung would have done? She'd been ghosted for a year and hadn't even SEEN him in two years. Maybe Seo-jun's confession would have jolted her into thinking of him as a man instead of a brother. I mean, hey, it's Hwang In-Yeop and let's be honest -- he's totally perfect in this role and very swoonworthy so she'd have to be both blind and a complete idiot to not at least TRY...if Su ho hadn't come back. Because she is very much not over him.

So, eh. I'll see how I feel after watching the final episode tomorrow, but I am a bit bummed. 

Edit: Okay, finished it. It ended well enough, but they really did put poor Seo-jun through a lot. This might actually surpass She was Pretty for the drama with the biggest Second Lead Syndrome. Seo-jun never had a chance with her AND he's the best friend Su-ho has AND he even forced the issue to get them back together. Poor dude.

So. Am I glad I watched it? Yeah, definitely. It was good. I'm a little disappointed in the end, but that's partly just because of the dreaded "forced separation" thing because it is pretty much my most hated trope ever. I mean, I also hate some other ones (like crazy chaebol stuff and evil parents), but this is probably my worst one. And SO FREAKING MANY dramas use it. It feels so lazy. 

I really enjoyed all of the actors in this one, including the side stories (Teacher Han and Ju-Kyung's older sister especially--they were hilarious). I'm always a fan of Cha Eun-woo, but now I've got to add Moon Ga-Young and Hwang In-Yeop to my list of favs. There was a great blend of humour and I gotta say that the pacing was really good. Though after all the spoilers I've seen about the original webtoon, I am definitely NOT gonna open that convoluted can of worms. 

Would I watch it again? Hmmm, very possibly. Goodness knows I'll watch that clip of Hwang In-Yeop dancing every time it comes up. SO FUNNY.