Shout-out to Cure or fire, who was the one who let me know that Lee Do Hyun and Go Min Si were reuniting for this tiny little mini drama. Before that, I’d had no idea that Lee Do Hyun and Go Min Si were reuniting for anything at all, so this was a welcome bonus.
Sure, fans of Youth Of May who were waiting for this reunion with bated breath, are now crying foul, because instead of a drama special of some sort, of an hour or more, it’s turned out to be an itty-bitty 6-minute beer commercial. Ha. I can see why that would feel deflating. 😝
Honestly, though, I kinda love it, for what it is. 😁
Psst! Link to watch is at the end of the post!
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Jeon Sang Tae (Lee Do Hyun) is a young man who isn’t interested in being with anyone, but he obliges a friend’s request to fill in for him on a blind date, and meets Kim Hwa Ni (Go Min Si).
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS / THE VIEWING LENS
I think there’s really only one thing to keep in mind, while watching this, and that is, this is a beer CF, and not a proper drama special. It’s really short, and as a result, doesn’t have a lot of screen time to play with.
BUT, I think it manages to do a really nice job with the screen time that it does have, teasing out a fun little story, and with many nods to Youth Of May, to boot. I think Youth Of May fans ought to be quite tickled by this one.
OVERALL THOUGHTS [SPOILERS]
Immediately, I get flashbacks to Youth Of May, for how Lee Do Hyun’s character meets Go Min Si’s character at a blind date that he doesn’t really want to be at, and falls in love – after having spotted her from a distance, before the blind date, no less. Tee hee. That’s basically exactly what happens in Youth Of May!
Not only that, Go Min Si’s character orders beer, just like her character did, in Youth Of May, and Lee Do Hyun’s character blithely matches her enjoyment of the beer. HA. I love it. 😆
This little show keeps doing things like that, throughout its run, and even echoes some of the lines from Youth Of May. Also, it doesn’t escape my notice, that the character names echo somewhat, the character names from Youth Of May. It’s all quite cheeky that way, and I lapped it all up, with a delighted grin on my face.
The entire comic tone also feels like a refreshing change, from the last time we saw these two share the screen, where things were a lot more angsty.
This little story feels like a cheeky riff off of a lot of Youth Of May, and yet, at the same time, it also feels like some kind of soothing balm, in a way. I mean, at least in this drama world, our leads eventually manage to be together, whereas in Youth Of May, they had a much more bittersweet ending.
All in all, an extremely worthwhile spend of 6 minutes, I say! 🤩
THE FINAL VERDICT:
A fun little trifle, for what it is – particularly for fans of Youth Of May.
FINAL GRADE: B+