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Jang Dong-yoon blossoms Like Flowers in Sand

by tccolb

Heading into premiere week for ENA’s upcoming Like Flowers in Sand, in the newest teaser we tumble deeper into our story’s ssireum landscape, where a struggling Jang Dong-yoon (Daily Dose of Sunshine) is unexpectedly reunited with his childhood bestie Lee Joo-myung (Twenty Five Twenty One).

As the camera follows our hero into the arena, a spectator muses that Kim Baek-du (Jang Dong-yoon) looks familiar, soon realizing that he’s the praised ssireum prodigy from way back who used to be on TV. We then learn that Baek-du is the youngest son of a previous champion. But despite showing great talent for the sport, Baek-du’s win count has sadly remained at zero.

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A dejected Baek-du thus declares that he’s retiring and his older brothers are amused to see Baek-du studying English for a civil service exam. But that’s not the only surprising news in town and the gossip mill is fired up because someone moved into the old empty house where Baek-du’s childhood friend Oh Doo-shik used to live.

Enter our tough heroine Oh Yoo-kyung (Lee Joo-myung) – the new ssireum team manager – who clearly knows a thing or two about wrestling, though she tries to play it down. Baek-du can tell right away that she’s Doo-shik, but the rest of the townsfolk are not convinced.

Personally, I’m not liking this thread of Doo-shik being a supposedly ugly child who anyone could recognize and can’t possibly be the pretty Yoo-kyung. Don’t disappoint me like this Lee Joo-seung (Black Knight). Yoo-kyung, on her part, neither confirms nor denies, only arguing the technicality that she never said to Baek-du that she’s Doo-shik.

Adding to the story’s mystery, we’re introduced to charming newcomer Yoon Jong-seok (Our Blooming Youth) and cafe owner Kim Bora (Finland Papa). The latter is suspicious of the former, asking if he’s the person who moved into the old Doo-shik house and why he’s not shocked to hear that a person died drowning in the neighborhood water reservoir.

We then return to more neighborhood gossip as one woman wonders what happened in the past with Doo-shik’s family and why everyone gets so upset whenever Doo-shik’s name is mentioned – everyone other than our hero, anyway.

In the meantime, Yoo-kyung is less than pleased to discover Baek-du’s retirement and gets a little carried away in her ~if~ I was Doo-shik scenario. Similarly, Dad Choi Moo-sung (Han River) worries about Baek-du’s decision, knowing how much time and effort Baek-du spent on the sand. But even with ssireum rival Lee Jae-joon (So Not Worth It) provoking him, Baek-du is too discouraged to bite.

Thankfully, Yoo-kyung tries a different tactic, encouraging Baek-du to live for himself and openly say when there’s something he does or doesn’t want to do. Also confessing that he’s needed by the team and by her, Yoo-kyung’s confidence moves our hero to return to the sandy ring. As the teaser closes, we read in the intermittent text screens that while Baek-du was stuck a young seedling for 20 years, he’s finally about to blossom just in time.

Directed by PD Kim Jin-woo (A Model Family, Suits) with Won Yoo-jung (The Lies Within) penning the scripts, ENA’s Like Flowers in Sand will be launching next week on December 20 and streaming on Netflix.