[mslee's thoughts] Cheese In The Trap - My Kind Of Drama

Cheese in The Trap : The Series That Is A Mixture of Drama, Humor and A Little Bit of that Mystery Surrounding The Lead Male Character...

I confess : I am totally charmed by this webtoon turned tv drama via tvN. The character build up and unfolding of the story hooked me into watching the series. 

It has been four weeks since this webtoon drama started and immediately the story captured my attention. Perhaps it was because I was and still is a sucker for that male character in every romance books I have read that is typically a bit of a snob, silent, not the talkative type, a man who keeps his thoughts to himself with a poker face and with oozing charm that usually never escapes the notice of the heroin in a drama. Then there is this girl, also typical in most romance stories which describes as a bit of clumsy, someone who acts tough but at the same time needs rescuing by the sudden appearance of a knight in shining armor, and of course the best part... not interested at first sight with the leading man in the drama.

Oh..this is a must story to follow! Not to add that the guy is rich and the girl is poor. Common plot, yes. Not new characters, yes. Still, the visuals of the characters and the unfolding of the story is very nice and captivating. Never really read the webtoon even if I found a site where there is a translations but basically I am not a fan of comics or manwha.

The story has it's narrative part and the thoughts of the heroin is something that connects to the viewers with regards to her impression of Yoo Jong, the guy who is her sunbae (senior) in school. He seemed to be what he is for how he acts but the truth is he has always been [I assume]  misunderstood in every action he took particularly those which are associated with her. Even I doubted his sincerity for he is good in hiding his thoughts and his smirks which appears at the unexpected moments makes him sinister and calculating. But then, this does not make me lose my interest in him but rather escalates more as the drama continue. Guess sometimes I love "bad guys" or the aura of being one without necessarily being one.

Hong Seol, the heroin is a struggling collage student who works part time jobs to be able to survive college life in the city. Her family is out of the city and a couple of episodes after showed that they just started a new restaurant business, a noodle place to be precise. Her father has yet to be successful in every business venture that he tried to start, now always mumbling complaints and not satisfied with helping at the restaurant. Hmmm.... kind of irritating character, not the usual loving father who sacrifice himself just to help his children. The mother is the one who has a positive outlook and I think more capable of handling business.

There are other characters in the story that are also interesting. Baek In Ho and Baek In Ha, the siblings who used to be friends with Yoo Jong.

Apparently, these two are orphans and Yoo Jong's father took care of them while they were young. The girl, In Ha is a brat even before she was spoiled to living comfortably off Yoo Jong's wealth. In Ho is described by his piano mentor as strong headed and someone who has a rough personality. His skills in piano is pretty much amazing while In Ha whose interest leans on the art side is not as good if her drawings and paintings are to be appreciated. The messy part is that In Ha and In Ho always bicker which is typical of siblings but when In Ho criticized her drawing in front of Yoo Jong who was then indulging her got her so mad that she decided to stop learning. While In Ho whose past story showed how his hands was messed up by one of the boys he seemed to have bad blood in a fight (while Yoo Jong just stood there watching) was the reason he never played piano again. The back story is still vague and even if In Ho continues to blame Yoo Jong for the aftermath of that squabble, Yoo Jong appeared not one bit sorry or guilty that he was a part of that incident.

One thing I am certain is that Yoo Jong is the kind that walks the right path but if ever he encountered people who did something bad towards him or even to other people, something that he thinks is improper and causes harm, he is not the type to stand back and just let that person go unscathe for what has been done. Yoo Jong would surely got even with the person or make him/her face the consequence of their actions. And this is where the misunderstanding about his real intention begins.

Another pair in the drama is Bora and Eun Taek. Both are friends with Hong Seol. They are a couple that is as cute as how they look. Bora is the noona and Eun Taek is the donsaeng.. A famous relationship in k-drama recently where the girl is a bit older than the guy. These two protect and support Seol. Their friendship is amazing.

I like how Seol and Yoo Jong started their relationship early in the story. Amidst misunderstanding and doubts they became a couple. A campus couple. Their relationship is a bit awkward most of the times maybe because Yoo Jong exudes that superior aura which makes Seol feel not at ease. Well she continues to call him sunbae and if I am right, they still speak formally with each other most of the times. There is still that barrier in between them but in the latest episode (ep 8)  Yoo Jong kissed her, finally. The awaited moment in every romantic drama has come and the episode did not disappoint me. Ah..the feels!!! Yes, the giddiness was amazingly high and the uncomfortable reaction of Seol before and after the first attempted kiss and finally succumbing to that moment in the second kiss really made me smile widely as I swoon looking at my monitor for this odd couple that has awesome chemistry!

There has been a division in the OTP of the story from the viewers although I assumed that in the webtoon, it is really Yoo Jong and Seol who are the ultimate one true pair. I admit that the chemistry of Seol and In Ho are also on spot and very likeable because whenever they are together, they just click so much which make their relationship comfortable and very good to watch. They are like soul mates who understand each other completely even without words in between. But for me it only shows that Seol is too comfortable with In Ho because there is nothing more to it but pure friendship. I want to assume that without awkwardness in between them, means her heart is not beating erratically in his presence.

I for one is a Yoo Jong supporter which means that I fully like and love all his scenes with Seol. Nice guy or not so nice, I am completely rooting for the both of them to be the ultimate one true pair! Seol makes a complete mess of herself when he is around, making her clumsy and agitated, do funny things and the best part, is when she does not know how to handle the situation in his presence. While Yoo Jong stared at her with that amuse smiles on his face, clearly enjoying her clumsiness. I feel his sincerity when he is with her. Even if he is sometimes thrown off guard by little things such as food coupons which are unfamiliar to him because he is rich, he let Seol do her thing.

What's interesting is that they live in two different worlds. Yoo Jong is the sophisticated one without trying and Seol is the regular girl who of course connects well with the viewers. But isn't this what attracts them both to one another? The story suggests that they are alike in personality that's why they somehow click but I think "opposites attracts"  is more apt to describe what they have and why they feel romantically towards each other.

I know that the bliss in their new found relationship will be cut short because of nuisance characters at the sides. Characters that really annoys me. Young Gon, the used to be stalker of Seol and the copy cat Min Soo who really creeps me out. She looks exactly alike Seol especially when her back faces the screens and other characters such as Bora who thought she was Seol when she gave her a back hug was even flustered at the resemblance in appearance. I dread the moment when her appearance would be misunderstood if she happens to be mistaken by Yoo Jong for Seol. No..no..she is seriously insane and Young Gon is feeding her ego with nonsense stuffs like hating on Seol. Ugh! Why can't the writer make them a pair. They would suit each other pretty well.

I wish I started making short recaps from the beginning... well, was on hiatus from updating my blog since new year.

Now I hope to write more on the development of the drama. With In Ho starting to fix his life with playing piano again, I think more revelations will come about the past involving Yoo Jong. With In Ha, I am not sure where her story will lead but hopefully, she won't be a brat anymore. I just love the part when in one episode In Ho and Yoo Jong sat in a table with Seol and drank. Tipsy from soju, hearing In Ha's name being mentioned, she was suddenly curious if In Ha used to be Yoo Jong's girlfriend. The funny thing was both In Ho and Yoo Jong answered simultaneously "NO" "OF COURSE NOT!"... (well, not sure if I remember correctly the exact words but I think I'm paraphrasing). Anyway, it was really a funny moment and cute because two sort of enemies always disputing against each other finally agree on one thing! As if the thought of In Ha and Yoo Jonng as a pair was unthinkable.

Can't wait to watch the next installment! Actually, I have watched the drama from episode 1 until the last current episode twice while waiting for new episodes. Goes to show how the drama has charmed me. So while waiting, I decided to write some thoughts and by this weekend will spend time watching episodes 7 and 8 one more time.

Until my next thoughts....

-mslee1107-