K-DRAMA FIRST LOOK: “Serendipity’s Embrace”

July 24, 2024
FEATURES/K-DRAMA RECAPS

In a heart-fluttering story about memories and first love, two high school friends reunite again after a decade. Will that encounter bring them closer and make up for the lost time? Or will external factors once again get in the way and tear them apart?

Unlike her passionate younger self, our heroine no longer believes in first love or dating. A harsh breakup gave her a deep scar and caused her to shut down her heart. Will our male lead get to change her mind? Or is this a long shot difficult to achieve?

Bunny S. watches Serendipity’s Embrace on Viu

Opening Week Rating:

Serendipity’s Embrace Opening Week Story

“I have no friends. And I am not interested, either.”

It has been 10 years since our male lead, Kang Hu-young (Chae Jong-hyeop), last visited Korea, having moved to the US after high school for unknown reasons. Hu-young is back on a 10-day business trip and has no plans to extend his visit or meet anyone during his stay.

Well. This is the case until Hu-young runs into a familiar face, Lee Hong-ju (Kim So-hyun), who he claims is a just high school friend. Yet, Hu-young’s fixated gaze on Hong-ju, and how he recognized her at a glance, solidified by a brief flashback from their high school days, suggest we have a backstory here.

As for Hong-ju, she doesn’t seem to remember Hu-young, or is rather doing a good job of pretending not to. The previous flashback hints that Hong-ju seemingly had a crush on Hu-young during their high school days and even asked him out. So, how can she not recognize him now just because of the years passing?

When cornered, Hong-ju admits to recognizing Hu-young but keeps her nonchalant attitude afterward, treating Hu-young like an ordinary classmate she met after many years. Hence, Hu-young was baffled.

“It was a question I have never seen before.”

Taking us back in time to ten years ago, we see Hong-ju and Hu-young’s first meeting as high schoolers in what seemed like a typical case of top student Hu-young and troublemaker Hong-ju falling in love after getting entangled together a few times. However, the reality is much more complicated.

The one with a crush on Hu-young wasn’t Hong-ju but her best friend, Kim Hye-ji (Kim Da-som). And the infamous love letter Hong-ju gave Hu-young wasn’t from her but Hye-ji. Poor Hu-young mistook Hong-ju’s actions for having a crush on him only to get disappointed after learning the truth. Not that it stopped him from having an unrequited love for Hong-ju, though.

Actually, Hu-young could have just rejected Hye-ji on the spot like he always does, but he kept dragging things out so that he could see Hong-ju for longer. This makes me wonder how things would have turned out if Hu-young had been honest with Hong-ju and confessed his feelings to her. By chance, was Hu-young planning to do that but traveling abroad got in the way?

Seeing how absent-minded Hu-young has been since his encounter with Hong-ju, the smile on his face while thinking about her, and how he went along with the welcome party Hye-ji threw just to see Hong-ju, I think it is safe to say he still has feelings or her. Yet the one I am curious about is Hong-ju. Did she like Hu-young yet step back for Hye-ji? Or did she just see him as a friend all along? Given how Hong-ju relentlessly delivered Hye-ji’s letters to Hu-young and plays matchmaker even now, I think the former is more likely to be true.

Another thing I find intriguing is how much Hong-ju has changed over the years. For a person who used to read love novels and believe that first love is special, Hong-ju now deems it a childish thing and thinks of dating as a waste of time, money, and effort. To Hong-ju, first love is like frozen food that shouldn’t be thawed, a metaphor for first love being just a deep-buried memory that Hong-ju doesn’t want to revisit.

Surprisingly, Hong-ju’s first love (and ex-boyfriend) wasn’t Hu-young, but Popular Novel Writer Bang Joon-ho (Yun Ji-on), who might also be Hye-ji’s relative or family friend. Seeing how awkward Hong-ju and Joon-ho are around each other in the present, I guess they didn’t part ways on an amicable note. (Did Joon-ho prioritize travelling abroad over staying with Hong-ju?)

“Just tell her she has to show around your nephew from the US.”

Anyway, Hong-ju might want nothing to do with her so-called first love. Yet, Hu-young doesn’t share the same sentiment, resolving to pursue Hong-ju, his first love. As luck and K-Drama tropes would have it, Hong-ju happens to live upstairs from Hu-young and has a tight connection with Hu-young’s uncle.

Jumping at this opportunity, Hu-young has his uncle ask Hong-ju for a favor, showing his nephew around Korea, leaving out the minor detail that said nephew is in his late twenties and not a young child like Hong-ju thinks. (Hilariously, having spotted a photo of Hu-young as a kid, Hong-ju mistook him for a girl and even wished to have a daughter who looked like him.)

Going to an amusement park, making a bet over spicy food, and taking photos in hanboks (with Hong-ju dressed as a king and Hu-young as an eunuch) serve as a good opportunity for Hu-young and Hong-ju to bond naturally and get closer. But that sequence would have been more enjoyable if Hong-ju hadn’t thought of making another match-making attempt and calling Hye-ji to join them as soon as she saw Hu-young. (Luckily, the call didn’t go through, and our leads spent the day alone.)

Seeing how Hong-ju is clearly affected by Hu-young’s moves, perhaps there is a window of opportunity for things between them to change going forward. However, our excitement over this little progress gets cut short. A clingy Joon-ho makes a move, roping Hong-ju (who works as an animation producer) into producing his latest work.

Despite knowing that Hong-ju feels uncomfortable around him, Joon-ho keeps pushing for the project, arguing that he kept thinking about Hong-ju all those years and only left to do research for his novel. (That’s rich coming from someone who just ignored Hong-ju’s pleas when she went to see him at the airport and didn’t bother to turn around and talk to her.)

Another surprise in store for us is that Hu-young has been aware all along that Hong-ju’s first love was Joon-ho. Still, the ex-boyfriend thing might be news to him. And it seems like Hu-young has no plans to stay on the sidelines and just watch any longer, grabbing Hong-ju’s hand and leaving with her away from Joon-ho in a heroic gesture.

Serendipity’s Embrace Opening Week Musings

The premiere did a good job introducing the characters and establishing the entangling relationships tying them while also setting up the ground for the inevitable changes that are about to happen to those relationships. Having the high school flashbacks sprinkled through the episodes instead of getting them as a bulk also helps keep things engaging while providing contrast and parallels to the present day.

The twist of having Hong-ju’s first love be Joon-ho and not Hu-young isn’t something I saw coming. And here I thought we were getting another case of first lovers getting reunited.Still, taking that new direction might be for the better, although I find Joon-ho pushy and annoying and Hye-ji’s crush on Hu-young is nothing but childish, especially since the guy never did anything that would imply that he is even remotely interested in her. Did Hye-ji just spend the last 10 years thinking about Hu-young and wishing for his return?

What has me worried, though, is the possibility of Hong-ju and Hye-ji’s friendship turning sour after the latter realizes that Hu-young has been in love with Hong-ju all along. Hong-ju and Hye-ji’s bond (together with their third bestie Kwon Sang-pil (Lee Won-jung)) is one of my favorite aspects of the drama and the last thing I want to see is the two girls fighting over a man. Can’t Hu-young at least tell Hye-ji there is another girl in his heart to put a stop to her pipe dreams and get her to move on already?

Kim So-hyun is shining as usual and Chae Jong-hyeop is killing it with his cuteness and dimples. Cold guys having their steady life turned upside down after meeting their lady love is one trope I won’t get sick of and Chae Jong-hyeop’s performance adds to the sweetness.

All in all, I enjoyed those episodes and am looking forward to watching whatever the drama has in store for our leads. Given the 8-episode count, hopefully, we can expect a tight story without fillers or unnecessary plotlines. Please, keep it up, show.

Photos and Videos: tvN Drama

 

 

 

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Bunny Sonaki

I am Bunny. Just like you, I am smitten with Kdramas and look forward to watching every Kdrama out there, but is that dream ever possible since they keep showering us with new dramas every day? For me, Kdramas are my comfort zone and a warm hug that makes it possible to face up to whatever life throws my way.

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