Oh! My Assistant

I had a short amount of time the other night (and day, in between making battle maps) so I didn't want to get into a regular length episode. I thought I'd try something I saw a clip of: Oh! My Assistant. It's a BL Korean Drama and the episodes are only around 15 minutes long, so very bite sized, and there are only 8 of them.

Welp. It was a little underwhelming, though I'd had high-ish hopes after the first episode, which was ridiculous but charming. Basically, Seon Ho (Song Seung Hyun) is a writer/artist of a webtoon. For reasons they don't really go into in the show (but probably do in the webtoon this is based on), he makes 19+ webtoons. Because a guy's gotta eat, I suppose. He's been doing that for two years and now he needs an assistant. Also in the last two years or maybe more, he hasn't dated or even had the urge too. All the libido has been sucked right out of him. 

Anyway, he winds up hiring Mu Young (Ko Chan Bin) as his assistant. He has an immediate reaction to his handsome assistant, which surprises him. And Mu Young seems to be trying to be all stoic and straight-faced but you soon see he's already got a crush on Seon Ho (which, turns out, he's had since secondary school days). Complicating things (as always) is Mu Young's longtime friend, who has a fiance, but seems to have suddenly realised that maybe he wants more than friendship.

The first episode was fun in a hijinks sort of way and seemed to be headed in a good direction. There's Seon Ho's confusion about whether or not he's attracted to Mu Young and his awkward puppy-ness. But...over the next few episodes, it basically devolves into the standard ridiculous misunderstanding that literally makes no sense. Mu Young gets it into his head that Seon Ho is dating his editor (played by Seo Min Seo, and one of the bright spots in the show as she was consistently over the top and hilarious) and doesn't want to come in between them EVEN AFTER SEON HO CONFESSES HE LIKES HIM and also after the editor overhears something and is making finger hearts at Mu Young. Like, seriously, how does that not give him a clue? When the supposed girlfriend is all "tee-hee, let me leave you two alone so you have some you time." It makes no sense at all. I mean, he bases his assumption on the barest of facts (she left a makeup bag behind once, for instance). 

That said, I did enjoy the scenes between them when they weren't obsessing over the misunderstanding. When Ko Chan loosened up and smiled, it felt genuine. But most of it he had to play like an unblinking block of wood. I don't think it's particularly the actor's fault. I think it was the writing and direction. Though, seriously, for a 2022 show this one sure does harken back to the days of limp fish kissing.

I did also like that Seon Ho's character was so open minded (as was his editor). He'd never liked a guy before but even in the small flashbacks we got of him, it's obvious that he didn't have an preconceptions against it. He truly is just a "this is the right person for me" kind of guy and once he figures out he's legitimately attracted and likes Mu Young, he's all in. He's a total puppy. 

So, am I glad I watched it? Eh, it was okay. Given the episode length, it really wasn't enough time to develop much, though I do think they could have gone a number of different ways and actually had a reasonable thing keeping them apart rather than a very ridiculous misunderstanding. Would I watch it again? Nah. There's apparently also a movie version but it sounds like it's just all the episodes edited together. 

A little mental health break

I am sick again. It is May and I think I have been sick more than not sick this past six months. The last time, I didn't have a voice for about a month. I don't know if it's a Coventry thing -- too many trees? Pollen? Something else? But I am tired, oh so very, very, very tired of being sick. 

I am honestly, also just generally kind of stressed out. Whether I should be or not is a different question. While I am enjoying the work on the D&D project, I also wish I hadn't taken it on because I really have no idea how to run all the business side of things and the writing part is hard enough. There are a lot of things that are beyond my control but it's come so far that I don't feel like I can quit it or waste the money I've already put into it. And I haven't heard from my agent in over a year--I think he's dropped out and moved to Latin America or something. I have no idea. I hadn't pushed it as I wasn't working on anything I would be sending him anyway, but...still. Have no idea how the last book is doing as I haven't received a statement in over a year. I just emailed my editor and asked for them. 

And I feel weepy. I think it is hormonal, possibly. Maybe menopausal. I don't know. I have a general feeling of dread. Like I just want to have a good cry. But it won't help. 

There's other stuff, some big, some small. But I imagine it's all worse because I just feel awful and tired and I don't sleep well. 

So there's no particular point to this post. Just throwing out a BLAH to the universe. I need to find a really happy show to watch or a good new book or something.

Love is for Suckers

I started Love is for Suckers when it first came out, er, some time ago and it was high on my list because it stars Choi Si Won. I've wanted to see him be the male lead in something ever since She was Pretty because that show left you with some serious Second Lead Syndrome. Also Super Junior is high on my listening list. Anyway, I got distracted by various things and only came back to it this week because I felt like I needed something funnier and lighter to alternate with Tomorrow. Though, eh, I'm not totally sure now that it's gonna be the lighthearted thing I was looking for. Let's start over...

Goo Yeo-Reum (Lee Da-Hee, from The Beauty Inside) works as a PD for TV shows and is pretty unlucky in love. She and Park Jae-Hoon (Choi Si-Won) have been friends for a long time but never connected in that way, mostly due to timing. They have, however, always been each other's rock. When she and her fiancé broke it off, he helped her pick up the pieces. When he had some type of tragedy strike at work (he was a neurosurgeon), she was the one who pulled him out of depression. 

Well, in the beginning of the show, her professional and personal life are both off the rails a bit. The show she is producing isn't successful enough and the star of it, who she has gone on a few dates with, is basically stringing her along for fun. He's a...well, he's a total douche. Yeo-Reum and Jae-Hoon have a teasing kind of friendship and he doesn't take her relationship issue seriously at first -- when she asks him to please show up and pretend he's her date, he does...but as some weird country hick type of thing, embarrassing her even more. Then he actually overhears the asshole, he gets it and returns to try and save the day.

But, eh, all that hijinks is in the beginning. By episode 5-ish (or maybe 6, I'm on one or the other now), things have gone all crazy. The fiancé comes back and immediately asks her to marry him. Even though they haven't seen each other in a long time and even though the best friend pushes Jae-Hoon to step up (because it's obvious there are some feelings there), it looks like Yeo-Reum is gonna go for it. I mean, I feel her. She's tired. She just wants to belong with someone and dude is the only one offering. But she learns a bombshell literally ten minutes before the rush wedding -- the dude has a pregnant sidechick/one night stand. And he knew about it for days and didn't tell her.

She calls off the wedding. And, to be fair, I don't think she totally loved him anymore anyway. She loved the idea of it. But then things are off at work too -- she'd been reassigned as second PD on a reality dating show called Kingdom of Love and one of the contestants that they're about to start filming gets arrested with literally 3 hours before filming starts. The lead PD Kang Chae-Ri basically blackmails her into asking Jae-Hoon to take the spot. And he does. Because he's finally decided to put himself out there.

But, dude, it's literally the day after she calls off her wedding. I mean, I commend him for stepping up BUT she's got a lot going on in her head. Guilt. Worry. Feelings of Inadequacy. Crap work situation. All the things. And while I think even she knows that she's got some feelings for him, it's not the best timing. Girl needs to breathe.

Anyway, also complicating things is that another contestant on the show had been Jae-Hoon's blind date recently (he ultimately turned her down but thought of her as nice) and though she's sort of suggested herself as "just choose me on the show, I know you don't mean it" you know that she's still after him. And she's more conniving then she looks. 

So. There's also whatever sad drama coming that caused Jae-Hoon to quit being a neurosurgeon and be a plastic surgeon instead. I'm guessing he killed someone by accident or inaction. And I worry that his mom is going to be a total bitch -- she hasn't seemed like it so far BUT she's played by the actress Moon Hee-Kyung and she often plans the steamroller chaebol bitch mom. So I totally suspect her even though she hasn't done anything bad yet. 

And, probably my least fav part of this is going to be the whole false construct of the Kingdom of Love filming. I really hate reality tv. 

But. Choi Si-Won. 

Will update after I watch some more, though I do wish it had been as fluffy as all the show posters/ads made it look like it would be. And it's him -- with that grin you think, ah, it can't be too bad.

Tomorrow

Now that I'm done with Summer Strike, I thought I'd go for something totally different. So I started Tomorrow, which has Rowoon and Grim Reapers (sort of). And...I wound up being so busy that it's now days later and I'm actually finished with episode 5. So. Let's get this written up before I'm finished with it. I generally like to have a beginning and then an end wrap up.

Right-o. So, Rowoon plays Choi Jun-Woong, a young dude who's having trouble getting a job. More or less by accident, he has a run in with a team of grim reapers when he's trying to save a guy who wants to jump off a bridge. They aren't normal grim reapers though; they are the Risk Management Team and are supposed to save potential suicide victims. At any rate, he accidentally winds up going off the bridge with the guy and winds up in a coma. 

He's given a choice by the Jade Emperor (played by the inimitable Kim Hae-Sook, which I have seen in many things...but recently-ish in Start Up) to either stay in a coma for 3 YEARS or work for just 6 months for the Jumadeung (Korean version of...I dunno...afterlife?...actually, just asked ChatGPT and it says: In Korean folklore, Jumadeung is a bridge that connects the world of the living to the afterlife. It is believed that when a person dies, their spirit must cross the Jumadeung in order to reach the afterlife. The bridge is said to be guarded by a deity who judges the souls of the deceased and decides whether they are worthy of crossing the bridge or not.).

So of course he takes that deal. In a fair few ways, this reminds me of The Uncanny Counter, except they are trying to save people from taking their own lives rather than hunting down evil.

The rest of the RM team are Kim Hee-Seon playing Koo Ryeon and Yun Ji-On playing Lim Ryung-Gu. I've seen clips of her before (mostly from Angry Mom), though I've not really watched anything she's played a major part in. Same for him -- he's just had some bit parts in things I've watched. They aren't necessarily excited to have Jun-Woong on board. 

He's...well, he's sort of the classic Rowoon character. At least, of the things I've seen him in. He's pretty affable, a bit awkward, kind of a puppy and he always means well. 

The other divisions of the Jumadeung seem to have a serious chip on their shoulder for the RM Team, including Mr. Grim up there in the picture -- he's the head of the team that "escorts" the dead on. So, the classic grim reaper shtick. And Koo Ryeon used to work for him. Lee Soo-Hyuk playing Lim Ryung-Gu. He looks really familiar to me, but the only thing that stood out on the list that I've seen is Hello, Me! and he was a small part in that. Anyway, he plays forbidding well.

The show seems fairly episodic, built around the people they are trying to help, though they split it so that it takes more than one episode to solve any given case. At first, I thought it was going to be more comic than not BUT there's definitely some grim bits. Honestly, if you didn't have someone like Rowoon with the smile and goofiness, the show would be too heavy. Especially when one of their cases is his best friend, who is partly suicidal because Jun-Woong is in a coma.

Anyway, I am enjoying it thus far. There's lots of hints of future tension and I somehow think all the characters are going to be more tied together than it would originally appear; the Jade Emperor has things up her sleeve. However, at the same time, I have to admit that I'm kind of wanting to watch something light to alternate with. Not sure if I will or not. The last thing that I picked that I thought was going to be light and fluffy was Summer Strike and that had w-a-y more angst than I thought it would.

I do also want to give a shout out to Kim Chil-Doo -- born in 1955, he's a worker in the Jumadeung and by heavens, he's got a great face. And, looking at his list of credits, he didn't even start acting until 2020! I don't think he's actually said a single word so far in the show but I frickin' love him. Looks like he started as a rookie model in 2018 after a hard knock life of selling fruit and running a failing restaurant. More power to him. 

Nevertheless

Soooooooo...even though I actually quite liked the acting in this one and the production quality was good and the actors are oh-so-pretty (in the one episode I watched), I am, nevertheless (ha, ha) adding the Korean Drama Nevertheless to my not gonna finish list immediately.

You first meet Yoo Na-Bi (played by Han So-Hee) when she is on her way to her then-boyfriend's art exhibit where she is stunned to find a sculpture of herself -- and titled with her name -- in a very intimate and erotic pose. For the world to see. But, amazingly, that isn't even the final straw that makes her break up with him. She has to discover him cheating first. He's an older authority-ish figure (an established artist, while she's still a student) who is a gaslighting textbook jerk. 

Then we learn that she meets Park Jae-Eon (played by Song Kang, who I watched a bit of in Navillera, though I haven't finished it...have to say that he is multi-talented and apparently has a penchant for butterflies) that very night that she broke up with the asshole. They share an immediate connection but...he seriously gives off a...well, not exactly a player vibe but he's super touchy and charming but in that way that makes you feel like he knows it? She nopes out after hearing him on the phone with what sounds like might be a girlfriend but can't stop thinking about him.

I'm kinda, like, girl, you need to be on your own for a while.

At any rate, he winds up attending her school and they reconnect. And, seriously, he's devastatingly handsome and charming and he seems to be pursuing her but...that feeling of ick is still there. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be feeling that or not, but I definitely was. 

So I was debating watching another one because, though the pace was a bit slow, everything else was good. But I couldn't shake that unsettled feeling of not right. I wanted to tell her to run. So I just did a quick search and apparently, the webtoon it is based on has them NOT ending up with each other though the drama does. And, yes, apparently the drama is all about him being indifferent to romance but falling for her, yadda yadda. The webtoon sounds much darker and abusive and has some kind of love triangle.

Yeah, my gut was right. I am sure they did a lovely job acting in this one. I was really liking the side characters too. But it's just not a story I want to watch. I'm old. I have a low threshold for stupidity, even stupid things that people do in the name of love.

But, I did learn that Na-Bi is butterfly.