With all the new spring releases coming out in kdramaland, I have heard absolutely nothing about I Love Lee Tae Ri or The Chaser. They just got lost in the shuffle. This just makes me curious as to why no one has paid any attention to these programs. Are they really, really terrible? You know that old saying: Curiosity killed the cat/Satisfaction brought it back.
Geum Eun Dong is a middle school student and rising star on the boys' swim team. He takes all the medals he's won and has them melted into a ring. But outside of the jewelers' store he's set upon by a roving gang of nerds. What's the world coming to when Poindexter beats up the hero? In order not to lose the precious ring, Eun Dong swallows it. Does he not realize what he'll have to do to get it back? Apparently he does as later that night we viewers (all 2 of us) get to see the young boy sitting on a chamber pot, straining until he's red in the face. Oh, thank you, Korea. :P
Lee Tae Ri has returned to Korea. She's a member of a wealthy and powerful clan and a president of a museum. She's also considerably older than Eun Dong. She's returned home from Milan with a 200 year-old sundial that is set to be restored. I have a feeling this sun dial will be the magical element in the storyline. At the office, Tae Ri is unhappy to learn that she'll be having to work with Choi Seung Jae. They appear to have a bitter past between them.
Eun Dong's family has betrothed him with Ha Soon Shim, a young girl who is a member of a music act called The Apple Heads. (Don't ask. I'm not the one who came up with the name.) Eun Dong rides Soon Shim on his bike to the museum where her group is set to perform at the live broadcast of the opening ceremonies. Eun Dong is sweet on Soon Shim but he's about to have his little world come crashing down. He overhears Soon Shim talking with Seung Jae. They've had a secret relationship but now the older man is dumping the young girl. Soon Shim goes stomping off into the dark corridors of the museum. Eun Dong tries to follow her. He sees someone standing in front of the sun dial and thinks it is Soon Shim. He runs up to the person and throws his arms around her, asking her not to cry and that he'll protect her. The woman turns around and it turns out to be Tae Ri. (Honestly, she doesn't look a thing like Soon Shim. They're not even wearing similar outfits. How could he not tell this wasn't who he thought it was? Oh well, the writers had to throw them together somehow.)
Tae Ri notices the boy has been crying and asks him what's the matter. Eun Dong explains he's sad because the person he likes doesn't like him back. Tae Ri scoffs at this and gently scolds Eun Dong that he's too young to worried about heartbreak. Eun Dong argues that just because he's fourteen doesn't mean his heart doesn't race when he thinks about the girl he likes.
As the flashy concert begins (because when you think of museums, you think of kpop), an ominous shadow starts to fall over the countryside. On the mysterious sun dial, a piece that represents the sun is glowing. The power goes out and the Stargate sundial begins to rotate. As an automatic security measure, steel bars start to drop around the sun dial, trapping Tae Ri and Eun Dong together. Tae Ri admits she's afraid of the dark and the surprisingly-sensitive-for-a-teenager offers to hold her hand. Now the entire sun dial is glowing, although only Eun Dong sees it.
Then... the lights come back on and the shadow on the world recedes. That was kind of anti-climatic. Choi Seung Jae and his men find the duo and raise the bars to free them. Eun Dong gives a teenage glare at Seung Jae, who wants to fuss and yell over how a kid got into a restricted area. Tae Ri comes to the boy's defense and even gives him her business card, saying if ever he has any trouble in the future to come to her.
Eun Dong goes to his coach to unload his troubles. Coach (who is not much help) pulls up an app on his smart phone where you can make a wish. Since you only rent beer, Coach goes to return it. While he's gone, Eun Dong speaks into the phone that he wishes to protect his love. The app says his wish has been accepted. I am not making this up. The iPhone now grants wishes. Is there nothing Apple can't do? Is Steve Jobs God?
Tae Ri goes to where her beloved grandfather's ashes are stored. She apologizes to him for not coming back to Korea sooner. She asks him if he'll grant her a wish, just one. She would really like a friend.
Eun Dong is set to leave for Australia to train for the season but before he goes he hunts down Soon Shim for a confrontation. She doesn't realize how he really feels about her. He asks her why she agreed to the betrothal but she never really gives an answer. Eun Dong goes to the pool to do some laps and work out his frustrations. There's that sun dial moving again. When Eun Dong emerges from the water, he has now been aged up to an adult, witnessed only by his coach.
No wonder no one is talking about this show. It isn't funny. It isn't cute. It isn't, well, anything. It's just tvN's attempt to jump on the bandwagon of this year's crop of younger men/older women story lines in dramas. The other fad this year is time travel. Now if somehow I Love Lee Tae Ri manages to slip in some time travel as well as cougar love, I will give the show extra points.
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