Hometown Cha Cha Cha

So, yeah, I just watched Kim Sun-ho in Start Up where he was the victim of Second Lead Syndrome. And I saw that there was a new show with him in it, as well as Shin Min-ah (who I usually like a lot) called Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha so I thought, hey, what the heck, I'll try it. I'm through episode 4 now.

And, ok, even though it's breaking my rule of not watching a show until it is fully released, I am enjoying it. He's just a joy. But let me start over with the story...

Min-ah plays a Seoulite dentist who winds up quitting her job when she argued with her boss about her boss' practice of overcharging patients. She's very big city, but she winds up visiting Gongjin (a sleepy seaside town) on her dead mother's birthday as she is reminiscing about a holiday they took there when she was young. Then she gets stuck in town when her car breaks down and an outage nearby means her phone isn't working and all ATMs are out. 

This is when she meets Sun-ho, who is the local Everything man (literally -- he does just about every job and is even the town "chief"). She's polished, he's comfortable and cozy. She's never touched a squid & seems to barely tolerate people (even though she's out a job because she stuck her head out to make sure someone wasn't getting scammed), he's friends with all the grannies. 

Long story short, she winds up moving to Gongjin and opening up her own dental clinic. However, she immediately puts her foot in it in episode 2 by alienating everyone in town by being rude and standoffish. This is a bit of a quibble for me...they spent the first episode showing her being pretty nice (standing up for her patients, patiently helping some local kids, etc.) and then in episode 2 she undoes all of that by being sort of purposely socially dense and prickly. This is through the next couple of episodes actually -- she's trying to start a business here, IN A SMALL TOWN, and she does idiotic rude things A LOT. It doesn't really make sense.

Anyway, Dentist Lady spends more and more time with Chief Hong and they're obviously beginning to like each other, even though she (and possibly he) are nowhere near admitting it. Sun-ho is an absolute joy in this one. You totally just want to hug him. And I was thinking, oh, yay, there's not even a love triangle! ...but then I started writing this and went to get an image and...well, looks obvious that there's gonna be one. The other dude in the picture is the manager (?) of an Idol. They've just arrived in town at the end of episode 4. Dentist Lady had previously met the Idol in her clinic in Seoul. So far, from the brief glimpse, Manager Dude seems okay. But I came here for Sun-ho, so of course I'm rooting for him (and given the press photos and the show so far, he's definitely the main lead). 

Also enjoying the side stories with Dentist Lady's best friend (who moved with her and is her hygienist at the clinic) and a local police officer. She's played by Gong Min-Jung, who I've seen in Sweet Munchies, before I gave it up). And the divorced couple, with the wife played by Lee Bong-Ryun, who I just watched in Run On. Both seem to play those Always the Bridesmaid types so it's nice to see them getting a decent storyline of their own.

I'm definitely enjoying it more for the Chief Hong character than Lady Dentist, but overall it's a good show and low on stress. Which is good. Got enough of that in life!

Edit: Finished episode 5 today. I gotta say, they're really drawing it out with the love triangle. At this point, Chief Hong has met the new dude and there was a hint that the guy knew Lady Dentist back when she was in school (and dating someone who really put her down...back then she was far from a fashion plate, which is probably one of the reasons she's got such a hang up about social status/presentation now). But still no sign of him meeting up with her! There's also been a hint of some kind of dark past/sad incident in Chief Hong's life (presumably during the five years after he graduated from uni in Seoul but before he came back home). Still enjoying it overall. 

Edit: The love triangle is kinda in progress now -- though Producer Dude is keeping it a little too close that Lady Dentist has no clue -- she just thinks he's nice to everyone (and, indeed, so far he seems to be just that, so I don't blame her). If he keeps that up, it'll definitely be a bit of Second Lead Syndrome in this one. Chief Hong's tragedy looks to maybe be a wife and child dying tragically, which explains his reluctance. He keeps getting on Lady Dentist about how she can run hot and cold, but, honestly, I think she could say the same thing about him. But, anyway, still enjoying it! But bummed about being caught up!

Edit: Just watched episode 9, which is the one where Hye-jin's dad and step mom show up unexpectedly and Chief Hong sort of pretends to be her boyfriend (because parents overheard the gossip-y lady saying some juicy things). Also got to see some more glimpses of Producer Dude & how he liked Lady Dentist way back when but had bad timing. They're obviously setting him up so that his second in command (An AD?) is his consolation prize and that's all okay. She's nice. Though, like every drama with serious Second Lead Syndrome, he's a really nice guy that actually feels like a good fit for Hye-jin. I mean, I like her and Chief Hong -- but the one thing that he's really got going for him with her as a couple is that he really pulls her out of her comfort zone and challenges her. And that's not a bad thing, but Producer Dude's way isn't a bad thing either. So, yeah, I think this'll be another big SLS drama. It's kind of like She Was Pretty where the second lead guy is, in many ways, a better choice.

Edit. Whoopsie. I finished this awhile ago but I've been so busy on this freelance project (which I should be working on right now) that I haven't updated anything here. So. Quickly. It was good. They killed the grandma character in the end which felt a little unnecessary but it's easy to see why they did it -- they needed an emotional note to end on and that's where it came from. Chief Hong's tragedy was very vanilla, actually -- he had been a financial advisor and a security guard that he'd told NOT to invest too heavily in something instead even borrowed money and invested in something that a guy Chief Hong had referred him to had told him to. And then a big crash. And the guy was desperate, Chief Hong told him to have patience and he'd get back to him, but he didn't call right away and the guy tried to commit suicide but failed. And, on the way to visit the guy in the hospital, Hong and his best guy friend get into a car wreck and the other dude dies, leaving behind a wife and child. So, really, nothing at all that was remotely his fault, though he feels huge guilt. And one of the people working for Producer Dude OF COURSE happens to be the son of the security guard. But, all of that aside, the show itself was good, all the characters were lovable, there was a decent amount of time allocated to all the other stories (which was nice) and everything wrapped up well. 

Weirdly enough, Kim Sun-ho was involved in a huge scandal right after -- which a) shouldn't have been a scandal or news at all but b) looks like it is finally clearing up. His ex-girlfriend claimed that he'd promised to marry her and had *made* her get an abortion. Which, honestly, even if it was true, why in the ever loving hells would you air that laundry? Though now all the Korean sites are leaking text messages and exchanges between the two (more violation of privacy) and she seems like the crazy one. I feel bad for Korean actors and idols. I don't get the fans. I mean, yes, there are things that are "cancellable" offences (looking at you, Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein) but the stuff that most (not all) of the Korean stars seem accused of isn't at that level at all. Most of it is stuff that isn't anyone's business. It's a cultural difference, I guess. 

But, anyway. The show was good. Fluffy. Shiny. Would recommend it. Would I watch it again sometime? Hm, maybe.