A-N-G-E-L E-Y-E-S.
That’s how one pronounces it in Korean. Honestly this show didn’t come under my radar until episode 190 of Running Man aired with the main cast appearing on the show and I went ‘oh this combination of actors is interesting’ (okieeeee I admit I started watching because of SEUNG RI). I am not a fan of Go Hye Sun and I can’t remember much about Lee Sang Yoon (he has dimples so why not?) I dived in without even reading the synopsis until I was done with episode one I found myself intrigued by the storyline.
The drama started with the innocent teenage years of the 2 leads, Park Dong-joo (played by Kang Na Heul *screams Hyo Shin sunbae!*) and Yoon Soo Wan (played by Nam Ji Hyeon). Their lives were actually already intertwined since young because Dong Joo’s Dad who was an emergency rescue worker, died when he tried to save Soo Wan during a car accident when she was young. Like in 99.9% of Korean dramas, no one knew the connection…yet. Soo Wan survived but became blind and she lost her mother to the accident as well.
Then they grew up…boy met blind girl..boy wooed girl…girl thought he was just pitying her…but boy convinced her it’s love and they danced in a flower field (or rather he pranced up and down a flight of staircase when Soo Wan finally agreed to be his girlfriend..nevertheless it was cute).
The angst began when Dong Joo’s Mom (played by Kim Yeo Jin) got killed in a hit-and-run accident and she donated her corneas to Soo Wan. Gah I couldn’t bear to watch when Mom got knocked down because I LOVE MOM. Coolest mom ever because she was so sweet to Soo Wan despite her handicap and approved the couple to be together. WHY KILL HER?? I am so going to miss Mom.
Anyway, the surgeon who operated on Mom was Soo Wan’s estranged Dad (played by Jung Jin Young). However as he saw Soo Wan was stated as the recipient of Mom’s corneas if she were to pass on, Dad didn’t look as if he was willing to do his best to save Mom at first. Fortunately Mom was ok for about an hour before someone came to kill her off (I DID NOT EXPECT THIS) in her ward for fear she had witnessed who knocked her down. Surgeon Dad went ballistic and that made me wonder ‘did he not try his best to save her?’
And while all these were happening, Dong Joo did not contact Soo Wan (poor gal made like 29 calls and 7 MMS to his phone?) and I am like ‘what kind of boyfriend are you?’ He suddenly remember her after the funeral and listened to her voice mail but by then she’s already being pushed into the operating theatre for the cornea transplant (which I assumed from Mom? was never made clear in the drama).
Soo Wan’s Dad realized Dong Joo’s Mom was the donor and as all loving Dads in Kdramas, he cut off every connection between Soo Wan and Dong Joo by confiscating the letter Dong Joo left at Soo Wan’s bedside and her handphone. Note that SNS and email were impossible 12 years ago.
Dong Joo left for the States to study and to seek treatment for his sick little sister At the end of episode 2, we see a grown up Dong Joo (now played by Lee Sang Yoon) who had returned from the States and looking at his old house in Seoul. Soo Wan (now played by Go Hye Sun) would, of course, have her eyesight restored and became an emergency rescue worker (the irony). Soo Wan wouldn’t know how Dong Joo looks like but she has a whistle which he gave her in the past, promising that he will appear whenever she blows it. Let’s see if that whistle plays a pivotal part in bringing these two together.
After first two episodes, the consensus by most viewers is we would rather watch Kang Na Heul and Nam Ji Hyeon play the grown-up versions because they were so good. Kang Na Heul did amazingly well in his emotion scenes and it broke my heart when he was crying in the bathroom alone, holding onto Mom’s torn bra (with the metal poking out). Weird as it may sound but it showed how much he regretted not showering more concern for her when she was alive. Oh one tiny bit is that Dong Joo doesn’t call his mother ‘Omma’ but ‘Jung Hwa ssi’ instead. It’s because after his Mom said her happiest time in her life was during the dating days with Dad and he used to call her ‘Jung Hwa ssi’. But after his death there’s no one to call her by that so Dong Joo started calling her ‘Jung Hwa ssi’. When Dong Joo cried out ‘Omma!’ in the bathroom, I wanted to cry with him too TT_TT. Nam Ji Hyeon is a fresh face to look at and did a pretty decent job acting as a blind girl, though she does remind me of Kang Sora at some camera angles.
I am staying onboard this as I am curious to see how the mess 12 years ago rolls out and also to solve the mystery who murdered Mom? My no-brainer guess would be a mob boss who had told his lackey to kill off Mom, but am hoping for something more complicated. Finger-crossed as the adult leads take centre-stage starting from this weekend..but for now my eyes will be only be waiting for Seung Ri’s acting debut.
The cat that watches TV 
Dong Joo very much filled the “man in the house” slot when his father was killed. This is shown by all the part time jobs he took, the fact that he calls his mother by the name his father used, him taking care of the laundry, etc. He had to grow up very fast. He also had to be mature beyond his years as his mother was dying in front of him and all throughout the funeral. When he breaks down in tears in the bathroom and cries out to his “mom” instead of “Miss Jung Hwa,” he’s letting himself be a hurting child for a minute and it breaks my heart.
It was awesome that they went on running man or else I would have missed it too. This show started off great. Park Dong Joo is such a keeper. Kang Ha Neul played him well and I can’t wait to see cutie-dimple Lee Sang Yoon as the adult counter part.