One of the first Kdramas I watched sparingly on PCNE channel was Tomato, starring Kim Heesun, Kim Seok Hun, Kim Jiyoung and Kim Sang Joong. I finally watched this drama in its original Korean language from start to finish.
Aspiring shoe designer, Lee Hani (Kim Heesun) loses her job as a shoe shop assistant in a department store and encounters her old school friend Yoon Sera (Kim Jiyoung) who is the head designer of Terra and has returned from Italy along with her boyfriend Cha Ki Joon (Kim Sang Joong). Hani and Sera both catch up and it all seems to be chummy on the surface, however Sera actually never liked Hani as much. One night, they find a battered and bruised man run in front of Sera's car and Hani calls the ambulance. The man turns out to be Cha Seungjoon (Kim Seok Hun), an attorney and also the son of Haesung Shoes' CEO Song Yeong Sook.
After regaining consciousness, Seungjoon proceeds to find the woman who saved his life and accidentally assumes it is Sera who hesitates in admitting he has mistaken her but eventually plays along in order to take the credit where needed. He also coincidentally rents a room which is part of Hani's flat after her flatmate Yoona runs off with the deposit to fulfil her would-be dream as a star.
Hani decides to enter a design competition at Haesung Shoes which Sera is not impressed with and asks Ki Joon to disqualify her friend since he works as the Head Of Design at Haesung. A stroke of luck by the CEO who sees one of Hani's designs on the table of her design team brings our heroine to take a temporary, unofficial job role into Haesung. Of course it is not smooth sailing as Hani's clumsiness and timekeeping is judged harshly by the staff and the fact the design team are petty bitches (classic office drama/office politics is annoying).
We learn over the course of this drama how far Yoon Sera will go to get things her way, including a win over Hani no matter what - especially when it comes to winning the affections of Seungjoon - and even taking advantage of Hani's naivety. The rivalry thickens past the halfway point of the drama where throughout Hani's tears and fatigue she begins to take a liking to Seungjoon as a good friend and slowly becoming more than that and also learning how much of a snake Sera is.
The drama in general is very predictable with the supposed love triangle and the petty office drama, but the tears were often relatable and I often understood why Hani cried when things went so wrong in the work place, even when she had no idea how much of a scapegoat she is amongst the rivalry between Terra and Haesung. Kim Jiyoung acts so well with the fake, conniving demeanour and portraying Sera's fake kindness to get things her way. It's classic mean girl behaviour right there and I still see it up till now in the workplace, especially with (female) staff who are so fake and nobody else notices it.
Kim Heesun and Kim Seok Hun actually have cute chemistry on screen when they're in their happy moment. Even when there were missed chances of meeting up and I was just pulling my hair out each time this popped up, these two actors just meshed well together as Hani and Seungjoon, showing the eventual relationship develop from angry roommates, a respected friendship and eventually a romantic relationship. I liked the use of the tomato as symbolism where when it was green on the outside it was green inside too...and also as a joke on how even when it is spelt backwards, it is still the same.
Other notable things
- Cha Ki Joon is not a stupid man and knows Sera too well. He loves her very much and sees right through her lies yet is easily swayed by her words of persuasion more than once. However he pulls back when he knows he has done something wrong and I like how he gives Hani a chance to redeem in Haesung.
- Sera's older brother Ho Tae is often put down by his mother and sister for being useless and a slob who spends money endlessly. But when he meets Yoona and sees she wants to become a star he realises he finally found his calling and they bounce off each other in their limited scenes. It's also cute how they both know Seungjoon and Hani look good together and suspect they have feelings for each other without realising it.
- The drama is dated but I appreciate the old look of the late 90s because Hani never used a mobile phone like the richer characters and used pay phones constantly to reach people, along with the landline in her home or work. That was how I used to be before getting my own mobile phone and using it non-stop. How times have changed for technology.
- Flip phones were my favourite too. It's nice to see them in action
- Yo-yos - I was never good with those toys but seeing them here in Tomato makes you remember how nostalgic they can be
- Seeing cassette tapes instead of CDs. I remember those days where I could not afford CD albums with my limited pocket money because they were more expensive