Fraud and freedom in Delightfully Deceitful’s teaser

by solstices

tvN’s upcoming drama Delightfully Deceitful has just released its first teaser, giving us a peek into our heroine’s agenda and the man who helps her achieve it. Armed with a sleek revolver and an ominous syringe, I doubt anything can stand in her way.

Chun Woo-hee (Be Melodramatic) stars as the con artist Lee Ro-woom, whose name literally means “beneficial,” as in the drama’s previous title Beneficial Fraud. Like her name, she’s pragmatic and cynical — due to her painful past, she focuses on profits over people.

On the other hand, her empathetic lawyer Han Mu-young is the complete opposite. Played by Kim Dong-wook (King of Pigs), Mu-young has compassion in spades — so much so that he requires regular therapy sessions in order to regulate his emotional boundaries.

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The teaser opens with a dramatic statement — Ro-woom has just been sentenced to 15 years in prison, seemingly for arson. Not if Mu-young can help it, and his skillful defense overturns Ro-woom’s guilty verdict. Walking free with only her pesky probation to keep her on her toes, a glamorously-dressed Ro-woom immediately launches into her grand scam. No tactic is above Ro-woom, and she’s even willing to take advantage of Mu-young’s compassionate nature — but what makes this interesting is that he’s fully aware of her scheming.

Beyond just their contrary personalities, though, they’ll also face a conflict in morals. “Revenge is always just,” Ro-woom declares. She’ll get her vengeance before Mu-young can ever achieve the law reforms he dreams of. However, that’s an appalling notion for Mu-young, who asks in horror if she plans to murder someone in cold blood. Ro-woom’s response? Well, the person in question is still alive. For now.

We don’t see our second leads just yet, but we have Yoon Park (Please Send a Fan Letter) as Ro-woom’s reserved probation officer Go Yo-han — ha, his name literally translates to “silent.” Joining him is Sojin (Bora! Deborah) as Mo Jae-in, Mu-young’s diligent and kind psychiatrist. Filling out the rest of the cast, we also have Lee Yeon (Duty After School) and Hong Seung-beom (The Heavenly Idol).

Directed by Lee Soo-hyun (Shooting Stars, Find Me in Your Memory) with scripts written by Han Woo-joo, Delightfully Deceitful premieres next month on May 29.