Love Rain – Episode 1 “Scribbles”

Spoiler Alert: This is a recap of one of the episodes of the drama. Do not read if you don’t want us to break the suspense/surprise that comes ahead.

“1 2 3..In just three seconds, I fell in love..”

 

And with that line I fell hook, line and sinker for Love Rain. I swore I would follow Love Rain till the very last. (Ok!! I  confess Jang Keun Suk is hot and so Love Rain was sold to me even before the first scene..heehee) But gotta agree that the director did a very good job with the opening scene of a 20 episode sequel.

The scene opened up to a beautiful setting of university grounds with people loitering in a relaxed and not so harried pace. I can’t help but compare with our modern educational environment where everything is fast paced- classes, students and even the setting is not so scenic. Love Rain clearly depicted the pure and clean setting from 1970s just like the Characters of the drama.

We have three guys the Casanova Lee Dong Wook, the nerdy and funny Kim Chang Mo and our shy and artistic Seo In Ha (My Hero!!! Big Sigh!!). They form the group “Cest La Vie” who get the most attention which is not a surprise considering their looks and charisma.Who can resist In Ha !!! LOL!! We also have Hye Jung a friend of all three boys with not so much friendly feelings towards In Ha *ahem*. Yoon Hee a quiet pretty girl titled “Madonna” of her class because she breaks many hearts LOL! And In Sook who is the innocent airhead who has a crush on anything and everything!

Dong Wook is considered a man with a smooth tongue full of complements for beautiful girls. Though have to say Mr.Lee i surely don’t like your methods. You seem too confident to me! He is a guy who always covets what In ha loves. Hmm!! Do I smell trouble here??

The love of In Ha for Yoon Hee reminds me of all those olden but golden Indian movies. The guy is shy and never reveals his love until it is the final possible moment. And the girl is timid and charming type who never speaks much.

Yoona did a very good job. All she had to do was

• Be a quiet spoken and timid girl
• Have some books with her (Don’t ask me why!! Maybe to create the impression she is a studious girl)
• Never make eye contact until ABSOLUTELY necessary
• Be a romantic at heart

She did all this job perfectly. In Ha draws a portrait of Yoon Hee as she reads which is quite romantic. And then when he finds she has quietly left her reading place which is EXACTLY her style he runs after and slams into her! Nice way to get attention my boy!! Go In ha!!

After a awkward clash our hero finds the thing- Yoon Hee`s Diary. It’s reading time people! Other people`s diary is the best thing to spend your time reading and that is what In Ha does!

But we have gotta give him credit. He did try to return the diary but Yoon Hee spoiled it by worrying over the fact “What if someone reads it?” In Ha is guilty about finding her diary and reading it *kekeke* and so keeps quiet.

(LOL!! This scene is awesome because the girls behind In Ha are totally checking him out and giggling furiously as the shy knight in blue waits for Yoon Hee. Hey I would do that too!! It’s a universal girl thingie)

In Ha begins to learn little things about Yoon Hee from her diary. Her favourite movie, music, flower etc. Such sweet things which make him happy! He is truly in love with her.

Then we have most cute scene of this episode! In Ha tries impressing her with his knack of producing an umbrella when it was raining heavily! My Knight from 1970!!!!!

But all he ends up with after a frantic search is a broken umbrella. My boy that’s what you get for trying to have a cosy moment under one umbrella while there were clearly TWO umbrellas. But it’s not a lost cause as Yoon Hee enjoys his clumsy attempt. They have a romantic stroll in the rain (Omo!! In Ha is all wet!!fans!!) after which our hero asks the girl out! Yes Finally! They decide to go see “Love Story” a favourite of Yoon Hee`s.

In Ha is so happy he runs crazily and draws a portrait of Yoon Hee in an ardour of passion! But we should never have things going so smoothly right? Enter the villain LEE DONG WOOK!!

In this case the villain is not a nasty guy who wants the girl all for himself and plots devious plans but rather an overconfident dude who thinks ALL girls will fall for him. Once upon a time Yoon Hee helped him to dress a wound and he immediately assumes that they were soul mates!! MEN!! Even when Yoon Hee snubs him in a polite manner it doesn’t stop him from pursuing Hye Jung to bring his classmate Yoon Hee out for a group date.

Both In ha and Yoon Hee are shocked but try to cover it up and act along. The girls are asked to pick a random object and they will have to go out with the guy who is the owner of that object. My heart is torn to bits when Yoon Hee picks up In Ha`s pencil and we can see his happiness which is short-lived as Dong Wook literally pushes him away and claims the pencil as his own!

In Ha don’t allow him to do that!! Fight for your girl. Nope he doesn’t listen to this concerned fan’s request…Sigh!

In Ha helps his friend by providing little titbits of how to make Yoon Hee happy! He recites all her favourite things which he learnt from her diary. Dong Wook continues to pester him for more tips and so In Ha is irritated by this. Alas he is in a helpless situation!! I feel for you buddy!!

In Ha finally decides to avoid his circle of friends because Yoon Hee is a constant presence which is a heart sore for him. Yoon Hee overhears some of the gossip regarding In Ha`s discomfort during some girl time between In Sook and Hye Jung!

She is confused and further more Hye Jung adds to the fire by confessing her little “secret” of how her friendship with In Ha is not just friendship but something more. She reveals that In ha never draws a portrait of a person until now and Hye Jung wants to be the first and last person whom In Ha will create portraits of. (Girl you dunno the real story!! In Ha has a stack of portraits of the new girl friend of yours who you are confessing to..)

But someone does know the secret! Kim Chang Mo with that awesome voice checked to find some nude portraits of ladies among In Ha`s collection as he himself modelled nude to pay for his gluttony. What does he find? In Ha`s portraits of Yoon Hee which makes him dumbfounded! That scene was hilarious!! Chang Mo you’re so cute and the perfect model!!

Back to Yoon Hee and her troubles. She decides to stop intruding to save some discomfort for In Ha. One rainy evening In Ha corners Yoon Hee and asks her the reason for avoiding meeting them. She revealed it is for his sake. But In Ha refuses to accept her excuse and informs her he is not bothered by her at all. He ends his speech with “I hope that it works out between you and Dong Wook” (sarcasm??!!) Heartbreak both for Yoon Hee and me!

Yoon Hee leaves sadly with the umbrella In Ha gave, (yes this time our hero produced a fully functional one!) while he watches sadly.

He decides to end his yearning for her and decides to change himself in order to accept Yoon Hee as Dong Wook`s girl. He shuts away all those passionate portraits of Yoon Hee and also attempt to close the door on his love for Yoon Hee. Will he succeed?

The first episode of Love Rain is very different from all the K Drama first episodes I have seen. Most shows have a fast paced/funny/thrilling first episode. But here you feel as if you opened a book and started reading from the middle. You can imagine the life before first episode. You can see Yoon Hee growing up. You can feel In Ha a solemn guy who loves art and who never cares for other mundane things like women. You can see Dong Wook with a sad past leading to that over-confidence to make up for the pain. And also Chang Mo who is the clumsy yet attention grabbing sibling in his family.

There were not many dialogues between In Ha and Yoon Hee but as I said 1970 was never a place where you send constant text messages, chat 24/7 etc. It was a time when the unspoken words speak volumes rather than all the chats and messages of today. Jang Keun Suk did justice to that part with exceptional talking using his eyes. Yoona`s role doesn’t require much of her and so I felt she did a fairly good job. Could have been better nevertheless we feel for her.

“Love means never having to say sorry”

This was Yoon Hee`s favourite line from her parents most watched movie Love Story. What does it mean? According to In Ha “Love comes from the heart. So if a person loves another they will know their heart and thus there is no need for sorry!!” A beautiful explanation which Dong Wook unfairly stole and used it as his own! Hasn’t anyone taught you manners Mr.Lee? First you snatch the girl from him and then also his line!!! Poor In Ha!

Episode 1 draws to a close with the following revelations.

In Ha loves Yoon Hee. Yoon Hee likes In Ha but is confused by the weird signals he is sending out. Dong Wook thinks he is in love with Yoon Hee (am still not on your team Casanova). Chang Mo realises the truth that both his friends are falling for the same girl. Will my In ha finally decide to get his girl in the next episode or is it gonna be still more heartbreak? Until next time for Chapter 2!