Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-ju - ep1: If you hate your food, give it to a dog. If you hate a person...

After finding out that ep14 was preempted last week (which, noooooooooooooooo) I figured I'd re-watch Weightlifting Fairy all the way from the beginning so I could enjoy the feels a second time round - binge watching somehow makes it all the more sweeter! Having said that, this show crept up on me ever so quietly, but is now the highlight of my week. It's not the most perfect show out there, and there are a lot of elements I wish were done better, but damn does it make you feel alive! On paper, it's nothing but youthful romance, but at heart, it's filled with bitter sweet memories of youth. Them Growing Pains, though! The romance started off sweet, and only gets sweeter as the eps go by...it constantly leaves me wanting moaarrr!! First love. *sigh*

Seriously, I never would have listed Nam Joo-hyuk down as being a nuanced actor, but the guy seems to have improved over night! Whilst his acting in Cheese in the Trap and Moon Lovers showed glimmers of potential (we'll forget School 2015 ever happened), his character (Joon-hyung) in Weightlifting Fairy seems tailor made for him - it suits him to a T, and he's doing a pretty damn fine job of it!

The moment Joon-hyung meets his childhood friend/crush whilst saving her from the pool may appear cliched at first, if not cheesy as hell, but the way the scene weaves in a montage of his childhood memories, leading to a light-bulb moment during which his face breaks into a knowing smile was totally awesome, and pretty much sealed the deal for me in terms of getting on-board the chemistry.

It was doubly awesome how they replicated the childhood scene of Bok-ju catching Joon-hyung, only this time with the roles reversed. And damn does Joon-hyung look good playing the hero.

Had his face remained expressionless, then the scene would have lacked the emotional punch it so needed to break away from the typical boy meets girl scenario. Despite the fact that he was annoyed with her only minutes ago (and rightly so) the moment he recognises her as Bok-ju, his smile exudes sheer happiness at having found the girl who was not only his childhood friend, but his hero too.

This episode definitely put a smile on my face!
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Pics/gifs credit: Soompi forum & Dramabeans.