So I just finished watching another korean drama, Bubblegum. There were only 16 episodes, but I took super long to finish watching it because there was Christmas, New Year, and I'm currently doing my short postings (read : supposedly busy posting) now. I nominated three dramas after watching Boys Over Flowers. The nominees were - Oh My Venus (kdrama), Bubblegum (kdrama), Scarlet Heart (Chinese). I watched the first episode of each, and Bubblegum totally impressed me.
The main plot is about two people who have known each other for most of their life. They lived like siblings, but suddenly they have feelings for each other. The main guy is Park Ri Hwan, and the girl is Haeng Ah. Haeng Ah was adopted by Ri Hwan's mother, but they knew each other before that. Ri Hwan's mother fell in love with Haeng Ah's Father, after separtion with their spouses respectively. There were no scenes or story attributed to them in the drama, about the spouses that left the families (Ri Hwan's father and Haeng Ah's mother).
The conflict of the story is that, Ri Hwan's Mother develops Alzheimers, and she opposes their relationship. Superficially, it is because she feels that Haeng Ah is unable to take care of Ri Hwan when he eventually develops Alzheimers when he is old, because Haeng Ah lacks the protective nature in her. All these while, Ri Hwan was more protective of Haeng Ah. Plus, Haeng Ah doesn't have a family of her own, so she wouldn't have support when things get tough in the future. The underlying reason to why Ri Hwan's mother doesn't really like Haeng Ah is because, she loved Haeng Ah's father, and he promised her that if she could wait a little longer, they could eventually be together. However, he died before that became true. So she sees him in Haeng Ah, and she does not have faith in her.
Things get really tough, and Haeng Ah's best friend also convinces Ri Hwan to break off the relationship because the future seems dark for Haeng Ah. Mind you, all these is based off a 50% chance of Ri Hwan developing Alzheimers. Ri Hwan has his moment, and does the usual "fake break-up" thing. However, Haeng Ah doesn't give up. She promises that she will be more independent - she will learn how to drive, she will get over her hospital phobia (all so that she could be prepared for when Ri Hwan develops the disease). After much assurance from Haeng Ah that she can do this, and she can be there for him, Ri Hwan goes back to her. It also took some perspective renewal moments by their family physician/psychiatrist (I'm not too sure what he is). Ri Hwan's mother's condition worsens, but she has a great family surrounding her. In the subplots, there are two other love stories, that I won't really be discussing, but they were cute nevertheless.
The main thing that I love about this drama is the chemistry between Ri Hwan and Haeng Ah. It almost feels like they are lovers in real life. The way they hold each other and kiss, its too real. I've watched a substantial number of dramas, but I've never seen something like this before, not even in movies of other languages. There are other love stories I enjoyed, but most of the time, it was because of the plot itself, not because I liked the couple. But this drama is completely different. It has set a new standard of love dramas for me. Between them both, Haeng Ah's acting was on point, I really enjoyed it at all moments. Her smile and tears were near perfect, not forgetting that she is a real beauty.
On top of that, there weren't any of those rich guy-poor girl complexes. Both of them have stable jobs, and they fell in love merely by caring for each other, and not having to solve any monetary issues. Parents opposing the relationship was present, however the scenes were not overdone. There weren't any moments where the evil-kdrama-mother hires some hitman to go kill that guy/girl or hire some third party to sabotage the relationship. In fact, I feel that this drama was very realistic and no scene was overly dramatic. Perhaps usually its called "drama" for a reason, but I really liked how normal this story was. The more relatable it is, the better. Over-dramatization can be either funny or just purely annoying.
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| My Favorite Scene |
Basically, the above is my favorite scene in the drama. Actually there were many "moments" of them fighting/loving each other that was totally heart-warming and tear-jerking, but this one was just rewind-worthy. I've never actually watched a love drama and rewind part of it to re-watch it. The screenshot I took doesn't aptly described what happen, because I don't really want to spoil the fun (although most of my posts contains spoilers), but this scene is in episode 8. So if you're watching it, you can anticipate something amazing then.
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| The main characters |
This is the family Ri Hwan's mother had. Besides them trying to be cute, I think this is a really nice picture :) The drama doesn't only focus on the love story. The Alzheimer part of it stressed the importance of having a family to be always there for you. Ri Hwan's mother said,
"...people who wont tire easily and will stick by him even if they do tire out. Those who will be bonded to him even in death. Even if they want to throw him out secretly in the middle of the night; people whose relationship keep them from doing so. Most people call that family, don't they? Wanting to throw away, but not being able to."
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| Final Scene |
"If the bubble pops, then you can just blow another one. The small happiness that you feel when you chew a bubblegum; it's not any different from any other kind of happiness" - Bubblegum 2015
