Kill Me, Heal Me

I watched this as part of my PSJ marathon. Though he's second lead here, I've heard great things about the main, Ji Sung. The other main, Hwang Jung-eum starred with Park Seo-joon in She Was Pretty. Although this was the reason why they had that series together because of their chemistry in this drama. This aired from January to March 2015.

The story revolves around the idea of multiple personality disorder and how Cha Do-hyun (Ji Sung) dealt with it.

Oh Ri-jin (Hwang Jung-eum) is a psychiatrist who was hired to treat Do-hyun and in the process, encountered all his other personalities. Oh Ri-on is Ri-jin's twin bother who was actually a blockbuster fiction writer in secret.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT

The Story
The plot and its reveals deserves a standing ovation. The last twist made my jaw drop and I had to point at the screen and shout in astonishment. It was just awesome!
When I watch something, I usually try to guess the outcome and more often than not, I'm right. But this one, I really did not get it at all that's why I was so surprised! I never expected that curve ball! Though I want to discuss it in detail, I don't want somebody reading this who haven't watched it be disappointed.
It's interesting to note that the writer of this series, Jin Soo-wan, was also the writer of my other favorite drama, Moon Embracing the Sun.

Ji Sung
He was just a revelation. Portraying 5 or 6 different characters one after the other can be difficult but he did so with flair. Other actors would opt for a costume change but in his case, it was not necessary (although I think the director did it to not confuse the viewer). He altered his pitch, his mannerisms and his voice to fit the personality of who he was portraying. I am just at awe of him.
I have a crush on one of the personalities of Cha Do-hyun, Shin Se-gi. He's sort of the "bad boy" personality and he appears whenever Do-hyun experiences violence. I used to wonder why these guys wear make-up but the eyeliners are really growing on me. It makes them look more sexy.

Shin Se Gi Killme Healme GIF from Shinsegi GIFs

The Bromance
The scenes of Ji Sung and PSJ together were just hilarious especially when Oh Ri-on met the other personalities of Cha Do-hyun. They really deserve to win the Best Couple Award!



The OST
There are a lot of ear-worm songs in this drama. One of them, Auditory Hallucination is featured in the clip below:



Park Seo-joon also has a song featured in the series. It's one of my favorites:


Quotable Quotes
I found myself pausing in the middle of an episode because I wanted to take down the lines being uttered by the actors.

"My imagination decides the size of my fear. Fear is something created by oneself, and is the fruit of one's imagination. So now, confront your past. Don't waste your imagination on your past that has already been concluded. Imagination should be left over for the future. For the sake of the future what's going to happen ahead." - Mr. X, Episode 20

- The above is my favorite quote, especially the part on imagination being left for the future. There's no use in dwelling in the past because it's already done and we cannot change it. We should spend more of our energy in preparing for the future.

"There is a dark basement in everyone's hearts. If ignored and is only observed, the darkness becomes thicker. You should muster your courage and go downstairs, then turn on the light. If you're scared when alone, someone can hold your hand." Cha Do-hyun, Episode 20

"No matter how scary the nightmare, it will always end sometimes." Cha Do-hyun, Episode 13

"If it folds in one go, then it's thank you. If you open it up again, then it's lingering attachment. If you open it twice, then it's sadness. If you open it three times, it's pain. After unfolding it over and over again and it becomes ragged, that's how the heart gets ripped. And when ripped, just deal with it until you become numb. That's how it is." - Oh Ri-on (Episode 13)

- It took awhile for me to understand what the above quote meant and when I did, it sounded cool, especially the last part. A broken heart can really be painful and one would tend to wallow in that pain. But however painful it is, you really have to deal with it and later on, it will get better.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE ABOUT IT

Hwang Jung-eum
I cannot unremember her from She Was Pretty and she was again screaming and overacting in the first episode. I had to turn down, again, the volume of my speaker as my ears were hurting. Fortunately, she was more quiet towards the middle and end of the series.

Lover's Resolution
In the dramas I've watched, I always look for the happy ending of the main leads. Though this one ended with them together, I was looking for something else--like if they're getting married or what. I'm too old to still believe in "...they got married and lived happily ever after." but I'm still a child at heart.

RATING
I give this a rating of five tissue boxes. Definitely one of my favorites! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Watched: July 22-28, 2018

She Was Pretty

Continuing on with my PSJ marathon, I chose to watch this next. Of course, starring Park Seo-joon, Hwang Jung-eum, Go Joon-hee and Choi Si-won. This drama premiered September 2015 and ran until November same year.

PSJ's younger character, Ji Sung-joon, used to be unattractive and was bullied around by other kids, while his friend, Kim Hye-jin played by Jwang Jung-eum, was very pretty and popular among their peers. When Ji Sung-joon moved to the US with his father, they lost track of each other.

When Sung-joon returned to Korea for a work assignment, he found a way to contact Hye-jin and scheduled to meet with her. When she saw how good-looking her childhood friend turned out to be, she asked her bestfriend, Min Ha-ri (Go Joon-hee), to pretend to be her.

As fate would have it, she got a job in the same publication that Sung-joon works and after seeing her, he belittled her appearance and even mistreated her because of her ineptitude. However, Hye-jin was befriended by a senior editor, Kim Shin-hyuk (Choi Si-won) who eventually fell in love with her even before her physical make-over.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT

Park Seo-joon
Yes, it's a given that PSJ is one of the reasons why I like this series and why I watched it. However, unlike his previous dramas, I initially did not like his character here. He was very rude to the girl and was rather curt and abrasive.

Funny Park Seo Joon GIF from Funny GIFs

He did however mellow down throughout the series and like his other dramas, was again blessed with a topless and shower scene.

I couldn't resist NOT taking a screen cap.

Choi Si-won
When I started watching this, I had no idea that Si-won was part of the famous Korean boy band, Super Junior. One of my friends just told me when I was almost halfway through the series. Even if I only started watching K Dramas this year, I've heard of Super Junior since 2012. That's why I laughed when they mentioned this in their conversation.

It was because of Si-won that I experienced for the first time, the Second Lead Syndrome. Though I love PSJ, I really wanted Si-won to get the girl here. He worked hard to get her and even fell in love with Jackson (that's what he called the character of Hye-jin) even before her beauty transformation. I cried more for him that PSJ. Hmph.

I also found his character very entertaining and amusing. It's one of the reasons why I was rooting for him more. Found this clip from Youtube showing his hilarious moments in the series.




The Bromance

The gif says it all. Even if they're after the same girl, Si-won still manages to give him hell. Hehe.

Siwon She Was Pretty GIF from Siwon GIFs

The Blowout
When the truths began to unfold, I liked it that the expected blowout between the bestfriends did not happen. If it was a typical drama (like what we have here locally), there would've been a lot of shouting, hair-pulling and slapping. But their confrontation happened with a quiet grace and the understanding of a real best friend. It was really touching and heartwarming to watch. I'm not sure though, if that could happen in real life.

The Cameos
I did a lot of finger pointing when I rewatched Episode 9 again and saw cameos of some of my other oppas--Park Hyung-sik and Lee Joon-gi! Apparently, the footage was taken from the Seoul Drama Awards red carpet. Nevertheless, it was a little thrill to see them suddenly appear in the middle of the episode.


WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT IT

The Female Lead Character
She was really over the top here. I can't believe that a human being can be that clumsy. Moreover, she was so loud that whenever she screeches, my ears would hurt that I would bring the volume down. I'm not sure if the character was written that way or if the actress portraying her chose to play her that way.

The Lies and Deception
There were too many lies and deceptions happening in the first part of the story that it was painful to watch. I actually skipped most part of an episode because of Ha-ri's lying and Hye-jin's inability to say who she really was.

RATING

Rating this two tissue boxes as it's not one of my favorites. Still giving it a two because of PSJ.

Edit: 8/4/21 Changing the rating to three tissue boxes because PSJ and CSW

Watched: July 8-10, 2018