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Suzy Bae is my favorite Miss A member. Anyway I was totally going to watch this drama for her, and also I know half the cast because they're all ~idols~ (my taste: so classy!) but then everyone on the internet was like "god she's a shit actress" and I didn't really want to deal with whatever issues having IU in a fatsuit was going to be, SO I DIDN'T.
But then I saw this:
Click to viewAnd then was hit with a sudden wave of stanning, WHAT CAN I SAY. And then there was this, and I JUST, how was I supposed to resist any longer? Anyway worth it, her character is like, the brattiest little angerball and WHAT IS GREATER THAN BRATTY LITTLE ANGERBALLS? Not much.
DREAM HIGH IS SOUTH KOREA'S ANSWER TO SHITTY TEEN MUSICAL MOVIES
IT IS EXACTLY AS LAME AS IT SOUNDS
Even though I am sure if you are reading this you are probably already watching this I am going to tell you a story nonetheless!
Suzy, or Hyemi, as we will henceforth refer to her since that is her character's name, is a classical singer! She wants to go to Juilliard.
UNFORTUNATELY HER DAD LOST ALL HIS MONEY, LEFT THE COUNTRY, AND LEFT HER TO BE PURSUED FOREVER BY THIS CREEPER WHO APPARENTLY THINKS THAT STALKING A TEENAGE GIRL TO GET HER TO FIX HER FATHER'S DEBT IS LIKE, cool. It is not cool.
She keeps running into this dude Taec Jin-guk.
He keeps helping her escape creepers and taking her to the underground lair where all the gangster dancers live, and she keeps yelling at him and provoking gangsters and basically being the BIGGEST BRAT IN THE WORLD. When she leaves he gives her shoes, because she lost hers somewhere in the fray of escaping debt collectors and uh, throwing shoes at their heads. She throws the shoe at his head.
Her little sister is clearly the most important person in the world to her, in a no-one-but-Hyesung-matters kind of way. OH AND IT TURNS OUT HER DAD IS IN CANADA (HER MOM IS DEAD), because apparently he thinks he can leech money off their aunt, but in the process of leaving he left his two daughters ALL BY THEMSELVES so, uh, that's awesome.
Anyway nefarious debt collector decides that the only way he can get any return on this money is to take advantage of Hyemi's voice and have her to debut as a popstar, which she will of course accomplish by going to Mirin Arts school, which she has vocally called "trash", because she is a ~classical singer~
I don't totally understand how Jin-guk knows his surrogate big brosef but they are sweet together.
Hyemi has some exquisite womanpain about giving up her Juilliard/classical singing dream for the sake of her sister.
She auditions with her adorbs bff Eunjung Baekhee, but even though they are both awesome the twerpy director is like "SORRY, WE CAN ONLY ACCEPT ONE OF YOU". Baekhee gives an impassioned speech about how they will only go together, you take them both or you reject them both. Hyemi is all "lolololol no, I will fucking go without her, believe me". They reject Hyemi because of an attitude problem, at which point she has a little fit and totally trashes poor Baekhee, and then she resorts to begging, WHICH MADE ME SO SAD, BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T EVEN WANT TO GO TO THIS SCHOOL IN THE FIRST PLACE, SHE WANTS TO GO TO JUILLIARD.
WOOYOUNG, AKA JASON, is the American and he's supposed to be Justin Timberlake suave or something but omg lol forever, THIS SCENE. And his ENGLISH, oh my god. It's so funny because Taecyeon is fluent in English and they're from the same band, THEY COULD HAVE JUST SWAPPED THE ROLES, but Jin-guk is a bigger role and Taec is the real ~actor~, I guess.
Mortified about the audition thing, Hyemi runs up to a random on a motorcycle and insists he ~take her away from this horrible place~. This is a kdrama, so of course it is not a an actual random, but Jin-guk. She tries to back off when she realizes (not sure what he did to piss her off, except exist, but I think everyone manages to piss her off by existing), but he insists. ANYWAY THEN WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CAP IS MY FAVORITE, WHEN SHE TRIES TO HOLD ON WITH HIS SCARF AND ALMOST FALLS OFF THE MOTORCYCLE.
I could use a little less arm-grabbing in this scene, but otherwise it is sweet. And IU's voice is pretty.
UGH NO HERE IS WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THEM, though: there's this sweet like, I don't know, the world is cruel, let's block it out symbolism thing they've got going on, I don't... know. I am probably the only one thinking about symbolism. I am going to stop.
The sisters Go have been kicked out of their house and have nowhere to go.
The memory of Jason Timberlake's sweet moves fresh in his mind, Jin-Guk has himself a ~*dance break*~ on the roof.
And then goes to the underground lair and finds the sisters Go sleeping in a car. He stares longingly at the ice princess, and has a flashback to a time when he and Hyemi were still kids, when she was not a total angerball, and when "Christmas Is All Around" could be used as a serious soundtrack choice (lol forever).
In the morning, creeper kidnaps Hyemi, and, in light of her rejection, decides to use her singing another way: by dressing her up as a longue singer, I guess? I legit thought it was a dream sequence, until the shoe throwing started. (I think Hyemi needs to find a new weapon, it's not safe to be running around Seoul shoeless all the time. I was impressed by how quickly she got that super strappy heel of her foot though, dang girl.) Jin-guk totally saw her get kidnapped, although she didn't see him see her get kidnapped, so this bit is intercut with all these shots of him on his motorbike. So when this shot showed up in slo-mo with the INTENSE ELECTRIC GUITAR MUSIC I was like OH GOD ARE YOU SERIOUS, but it is not Jin-guk, it is a teacher from the school! Who Hyemi already had a scene with (it was boring though) where her dad was like "you should go live with this guy!", but he was like "I'm too poor and about to be fired" and she was like "you're responsible for my mom's death" (~mysteric~). Anyway his job now hinges on three ~special recruit~ students, one of which is Hyemi, who I guess was just rejected to be taught a lesson about having a bad attitude. The other two are Jin-guk and a country bumpkin named Samdong. I have no idea how the school knows that Jin-guk can dance or Samdong can sing (although sometimes I get distracted and am too lazy to go back, so, you know. MAYBE I MISSED SOMETHING). Jin-guk was at the auditions, but he didn't audition, he just ran around making mayhem with a fire extinguisher because his friend had the shits and couldn't go on stage yet.
The teacher lives with his sister, who really does not want the sisters Go, so they have loud words. Hyemi eavesdrops and learns that she was ~specially recruited~, restoring her ego. She also hears about the two dudes, snoops around in teacher's bag, and runs off to find Samdong without telling anyone. Since her admission is dependent on his, I guess, idk. Why she doesn't go for Jin-guk instead is mysterious, since even though she doesn't really like him much she could totally easily convince him. But god knows what she thinks she is going to acheive with this masterious Samdong character. But let's not lie, really it's because they have to set up the other side of the love triangle.
This is Samdong in his natural state: making the o____o face at Hyemi. He legit looks like the spawn of several members of SHINee, only cute. Half this episode is Hyemi trying to convince Samdong to come to Seoul/the school with her with her faily aegyo and then getting frustrated and yelling at him. He has country boy issues with his mom and absent father, he doesn't want his mom to know he can sing, I don't even know.
The highlight of this entire trip to country bumpkin land is when Hyemi HAS to sing while she is pooping, I DO NOT EVEN
While Hyemi is trying to hook Samdong with her wiles, teacher is trying to convince Jin-guk (who has been beaten up trying to save Hyemi from creeper when she'd already gotten away, lol his life) to go to Mirin arts academy as well. The highlight of this is the elevator shoe dance break when Jin-guk realizes he really DOES want to follow his dancing dreams, even if it is implausible!!
Hyemi returns to Seoul to find her living situation has changed a little.
Hyemi yells at the teacher for letting him stay there, loudly calling Jin-guk a THUG and a FLASHER, lol ilher
~Meanwhile at Mirin arts school~, Jason Timberlake saves Pilsook from embarrassment over her v. large school uniform. Ugh this was actually really cute.
Baekhee tries to fix things with Hyemi now that she knows about the whole debt thing, but of course Hyemi is a bratty asshole. Because she is Hyemi.
Since everyone hates Hyemi, Jin-guk is like "let's be pretend friends" (because you can't just be like "let's be friends" with Hyemi, she would probably throw a shoe at him) and they have an extended adorbs fake-ipod listening montage (street urchins can't have ipods). But I mean it when I say extended: it was like "OKAY GUYS, they're not even listening to music, you can stop filming them and playing the music now..." It was well-shot though. This drama is funny like that, half the time it's like "lol production values" and the other half it's like "oooooooh nice shot!"
In class the girls (ONLY THE GIRLS) are subjected to a public weigh-in, and told they need to lose weight or they will lose points, ugh. This is of course mostly focused on Pilsook, UGH THE AWKWARD AS HALE DOUBLE CHIN THEY ARE PUTTING ON IU, I CANNOT.
Samdong (he came after all!) and I are as one, we both think Hyemi is CRAZY ADORBS.
Creeper calls Jin-guk Hyemi's boyfriend because of that one time he tried to rescue her, Hyemi puts two and two together and is like "oh fuck I was mean to him about that cut on his forehead, wasn't I".
So she struggles haplessly with a small army of umbrellas (WHO HAS THAT MANY, GOD DAMN), trying to set them up so it won't snow on his motorcycle. It is very frustrating and finally she's like "GOD WHY DO PEOPLE EVEN TRY TO DO NICE THINGS THIS IS SO HARD". TOO LATE THOUGH, Jin-guk saw her.
There's this hullaballo over a pendant that Hyemi kind of stole from Baekhee but kind of didn't (let's go with "accidentally stole"). Baekhee (every time I go to type Baekhee I just want to type Becky, what is that) accuses Hyemi of stealing it, Hyemi is like "please". Jin-guk tells her to return the pendant, because he knows she has it. What a dumpkiss though, he was all smiley about having sort of broken through with her (she even said "you don't look like a hooligan... you're probably not one", which is a big deal, I mean it's Hyemi) and then he shoots himself in the foot.
Samdong is like "YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE AND YOU DIDN'T HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION, also why would you do that in front of everyone, did you really not realize that would end in bullying montages", Jin-guk is like "shit I'm stupid".
Hyemi legit takes a megaphone and yells to the whole school, "I REFUSE TO BE BULLIED ANY FURTHER" (.........I love her), and then is like "bitches I'm going to beat Baekhee in the assessments, just you wait".
Pilsook joins the "half-admission class" for some reason (ten bucks said she didn't lose enough weight that week). But her prosthetic double chin is gone and she is suddenly adorbs.
The half-admission class is focusing on this assessment thing, and learning how to inject emotion into song. This is Hyemi's attempt at feeling. Finally everyone is like "it doesn't matter how many octaves you can sing, Hyemi, if you are a robot you will never beat Baekhee!"
So Hyemi demands (assholishly) to know how Pilsook does this whole... feelings... thing. Pilsook says that she's in love with Jason Timberlake, he is so nice and she gives him lollipops and he holds up the door for her. Hyemi is derisive as usual.
Lol I loved this, Jason T. is all "HI. LADY FIRST.", and Hyemi basically takes advantage of his American-ness and tells him it's rude to have his kind of manners. SHE IS RIDICULOUS.
Hyemi is still not talking to Jin-guk (or looking at him, really), but she writes him messages in the bus window.
For their assessment, Hyemi sings a song she used to sing to Jin-guk when they are babies, and wins. It still cracks me up that there are like, backup singers even in this version, considering it's supposed to be karaoke, BUT WHATEVER, SUZY IS GREAT ♥_____♥
This is unacceptable to someone (Baekhee), so she smears Hyemi's locker with blood and attempts murder by falling flowerpot. Samdong to the rescue!
What does this remind you of?
making fun of jyp: always relevant (This scene brought to you by T-ara! lol this show's music choices, they are constantly ~metaing~ by referencing the groups the stars are in. Can't believe they did Miss A twice, but since they did I am SO SURPRISED THEY HAVEN'T USED A 2PM SONG YET.)
Oh my god so she basically is like "STOP INTERFERING WITH MY LIFE, I CAN TAKE CARE OF SHIT" and I was sitting there like "is this real life?!?!? I CAN'T BE WATCHING A KDRAMA" but then of course she tagged that with "because I already owe you too much!"
Hyemi knows Baekhee didn't do the plant pot thing, because only a monster would do that, and she knows Baekhee and Baekee's not a monster. (Baekhee is in the next dressing stall, omg Hyemi is such a twerp, I love her.)
Anyway. Yeaaaah.
I made a wishlist though:
- Hyemi and Baekhee somehow become best friends again, if that is even possible after all of Hyemi's assholery and Baekhee's whole... trying to kill her thing. IU CAN COME TOO.
- Hyemi goes to Juilliard instead of becoming an idol.
- I... don't know, with the whole romance thing. I THINK I LIKE HER BETTER WITH JIN-GUK BUT. BUT.
- IU AND WOOYOUNG, YEAAAAAAAH
- They never stop using the completely terrible OST song that goes "DREAAAAAAAM HIGH", because it is amazing!! And so funny!
- MORE SUZY AND IU SINGING, I THINK