Favorite Romance

There haven't been a couple that bewitched my mind and soul as much as the pairing between Lee Jang Hyuk and Yoo Gil Chae. 

Far from perfect, Dinner Mate is a riddled with a dragging plot, and exes without boundaries. But what was perfect was the romance that was the center and premise of the show. Kim Hae Kyung and Woo Do Hee met through a series of coincidences when they were at their most vulnerable, sharing meals as strangers and finding comfort through a unique set up as dinner mates.

Not only were their chemistry stunning, the dinner mate set up created a dynamic I don't commonly see among couples in kdramaland. At the start of their relationship, they're awkward but polite like strangers in real life and as coincidences force them to meet each other more often, they become closer until they're force to confront how they want their relationship to be defined as. By stripping away any pretenses to make small talk, all that is left is the important and deep facts about a person.

It's magical seeing them getting closer and closer. Like how they inevitably fall for each other, I  fall myself irrecovably in love with them.

This is truly a show where its main pair does all the heavy lifting: Yoo In-na's titular Yeon Bo-ra and Yoon Hyun-min's Lee Soo-hyuk are just fire.  Bo-ra's flamboyant and cheerful self complements well with Soo-hyuk's mild mannered but . Even from when they started out as enemies, their arguments over . 

While the show focuses on Oh Han Byul and Gong Tae Sung, it was Do Soo Hyuk's and Jo Ki Peum's gradual courtship that won me over. Do Soo Hyuk had an interesting romantic start in the show by initially pursuing Oh Han Byul, a pursuit that, while had its swoon worthy moments, was a little contrived.

I picked up the drama for Kim Seon Ho and the romance between him and Go Won Hee's character, so is it any surprise that I did indeed fall in love for the riches to rags, ex chaebol couple? 

The two characters, Oh Jin Gyu and Lee Ji Yoon, held a lot in common beyond their similar backgrounds. They both were good natured but naive individuals who had it pretty lucky in life before they met the main characters of the drama. I also loved how while Jin Gyu was jaded and downtrodden, Ji Yoon was a resilient and optimistic individual. Their quirkness, weaknesses, and strengths complemented each other well.

And how can I ever forget the moments when Ji Yoon called Jin Gyu her stay at home wife? I love a whimsical and fun gender and class reversal done right, especially with a couple that is packed with sizzling chemistry.