If you’re looking for a small serve of drama that also happens to be fun and different, I’d like to suggest that you give Miss Kim’s Mystery a try.

It’s a blithe mash-up of office drama and heist-like spy-jinks, with a touch of romance thrown in for good measure, and, as long as you keep your analytical lens on a slightly blurry setting, this works out to be a cheerful good time.

Not bad at all, for a little drama special that’s just shy of 1 hour and 4 minutes.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT

Miss Kim (Kim Da Som) is an unassuming contract worker with an air of mystery about her. She clearly likes working alone, but enthusiastic intern Mr. Lee (Kwon Hyuk Soo) keeps hovering around her.

Now who’s spying on whom, and why?

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS / THE VIEWING LENS

Here are a couple of things that I think would be helpful to keep in mind, to maximize your enjoyment of your watch.

1. Suspension of disbelief is a must.

There’s definitely some logic stretching going on here. Just roll with it; it’s all in good fun.

2. A loose grip on narrative details is helpful.

With such a short running time, and quite a few narrative pieces up in the air at any one time, it’s easier to just go with the flow, than try to keep track of all the details.

3. Show has a heist-like sort of vibe,

..and can be a good amount of fun, if you adjust your lens accordingly.

STUFF I LIKED

1. Show feels fresh and different.

I’ve checked out quite a few drama specials now, and this one definitely vibes differently than any other drama special I’ve seen so far.

2. Show’s reveals and twists tend to be fun and unexpected.

That’s quite a feat, for a small little one-hour drama special.

3. Kim Da Som is pretty versatile as our titular Miss. Kim.

We see her pull off very different looks and personas over the course of our story, and I was pretty impressed.

4. Kwon Hyuk Soo is entertaining as Mr. Lee.

Mr. Lee spends a lot of his screen time being earnest &/or confused, and Kwon Hyuk Soo’s reaction faces are pitch perfect. I thought he was an excellent foil for our titular Miss Kim.

THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]

From Show’s 24-minute mark, when Mr. Lee suddenly becomes cognizant of Miss Kim’s beauty, I had an inkling that we might get a romantic turn of events at some point of our story.

Also, there’s the thing where Show hints at this early, by showing us in the title cards, that our title “Miss Kim’s Mystery” is a homonym for “Miss Kim’s Mr. Lee.” Heh. From that moment at minute 24, Mr. Lee is absolutely Miss Kim’s, and it’s quite amusing, really.

I thought it was rather clever of Show, to make Manager Choi (Kim Jin Woo), the very person who’d tasked Mr. Lee with investigating Miss Kim, the industrial spy who’s out to steal company secrets.

Well, maybe that wouldn’t feel fresh to someone who’s watched a lot of these heist -spy type of shows, but it really did take me by a nice amount of surprise. I think Show did a nice job of making things murky enough, that I wasn’t sure who was implicated, and why.

It made me giggle that the prototype pair of shoes turn out to be as amazing as they are, allowing Mr. Lee to walk through a chemical fire unscathed, so that he can save Miss Kim.

And then it was hilarious, that the shoes even enabled him to run like the wind, and catch up to Runaway Industrial Spy Manager Choi.

By this point, everything leans rather farcical, especially with Choi running in slo-mo, and being so tired out that he puts the handcuffs on his own wrists, but it’s all in good fun, and I was perfectly happy to roll with the nonsensical vibe.

I thought it was a fun touch, to have Miss Kim come back to the company using her real identity – as Chairman Yu’s daughter, no less! – to fill Manager Choi’s now-vacated position as head of the Product Development Team.

And then it’s silly-amusing to see that 3 months later, the two of them are secretly dating, and using their spy know-how, to keep their relationship hidden. Pfft. I guess those spy skills aren’t going to waste, at least?

THE FINAL VERDICT:

A light, fun, heist-like romp.

FINAL GRADE: B+

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