L dares to choose Confucius over Lee Yoo-young

by tccolb

KBS’s upcoming Dare to Love Me has been busily pushing out promos, with a new poster quickly following the first teaser where we meet our soon-to-be-lovers pair: L (a.k.a. Kim Myung-soo)(Numbers) and Lee Yoo-young (Insider).

I didn’t expect our modern woman Kim Hong-do (Lee Yoo-young) to already be smitten, but there’s no doubt she’s head-over-heels with that dreamy gaze opening the teaser. It’s pretty admirable as well that she doesn’t hide the heart on her sleeve, confessing with a sunny earnestness that, “I like you.”

Hong-do addresses him with familiarity and by name. But our Shin Yoon-bok (L) is a man of grandiose proprieties who may as well have come from the Joseon past. Hong-do is thus taken aback when Yoon-bok’s non-response is a respectfully formal, “I am fine,” as if rejecting a waiter’s offer of napkins.

According to the original webtoon, Yoon-bok once attended an art academy where Hong-do was the instructor and the two are six years apart. But regardless of the contextual details, a teacher is a teacher to our Confucian-bred Yoon-bok, who draws strict boundaries between Hong-do and himself. Still addressing her by a respectful title, he even declares that he wouldn’t dare eat with her at the same table.

Hong-do doesn’t understand all the fuss and wants to at least exchange numbers to keep in touch. But Yoon-bok raises a hand to stop her, once again deflecting, “I am fine.” We wouldn’t have a rom-com, though, if our hero doesn’t eventually eat his words. In the meantime, we watch as our heroine grows frustrated by the teacher-zoning and the final sequence ends with Hong-do’s desperate plea to not be treated with respect.

With production for the webtoon adaptation led by PD Jang Yang-ho and writer Park Yumi, KBS’s Dare to Love Me is slated to premiere on May 13.