My first dive into a web drama.
One Fine Week / 7 Days of Romance talks about swapping identities for seven days. What would you do if you happen to meet a Kpop idol who looked exactly like you? Lovelyz' Seo Jisoo plays the dual role of two main female leads.
**Small spoilers warning**
Kim Byul is the main dancer of a girl group called Angels and by chance thanks to her manager encounters Jung Daeun a part-time cafe employee and university student. They resemble each other and Byul goes into hiding by swapping lives with Daeun for seven days. Daeun pretends to be Byul and meets another popular idol named Han Jungwoo (MYTEEN's Shin Junseop).
Daeun posing as Kim Byul spends time with Jungwoo while filming a dating show, learning about the luxuries of idol life as well as its darker moments, namely with one of the Angel members Luni (Park Bo Yeon) but also other individuals who are dodgy. She even discovers secrets about Jungwoo himself behind the scenes - namely with a Sasaeng.
The real Byul who has been a performer all her life learns about 'normality' as she works in Daeun's cafe and meets the kind manager Yoo Ji Han and his younger sister Yoo Ari who happens to be a huge fangirl of Angels.
Daeun and Jungwoo develop feelings for each other during their time together but Daeun knows it could never be since she is posing as Byul. At least until they happen to chance upon one another in the finale to start a new chapter (the power of understanding one another and finding each other through a shared special meeting place). Just when I thought oh so what will the next step be and whether Daeun will tell him the truth, I learn in season 2 that yes it seems to be the case.
One Fine Week 2 takes place a year after the events of the first season. The main couple are dating secretly with the public assuming Byul and Jungwoo had split and Jungwoo actually knows Daeun for who she really is. Suddenly Jungwoo ghosts his girlfriend and Daeun is understandably concerned as to why he has not returned her calls or messages for quite a while. She wonders whether to pose as Byul again to find out where he has gone but then coincidentally Byul reaches out to her when she realises she herself going to be in a deeper pickle than the first season.
Kim Byul has been signed to take part on another variety show which focuses on idol housemates and there are cameras everywhere. The cast also happens to have Jungwoo included. The two girls agree to swap roles again one more time for a week so Daeun can try to reach out to her boyfriend.
Daeun packs her bags and meets the other housemates - Seo Dohyun (Lee Ki Taek), Yoo Hwa In (Dal Shabet's Bae Woo Hee), Eden (KNK's Park Seoham) and there is also the reappearance of Luni who left Angels following rumours of bullying Byul and is now a solo artist. Season 2 dives a little further as to why Jungwoo was AWOL and it turns out the situation was not in his control. MS Entertaiment's CEO shows him photos of meeting Daeun in secret. Obviously at this time nobody knows about how she and Byul resemble each other and assume this is Byul. Jungwoo says he'll join the variety show to fix this mistake but has to have his phone taken away. Classic idol management there.
The idol housemates are all put into teams to compose a song together. Jungwoo is with Hwa In though originally he had pulled out Byul's name from the box out by luck (he did not wish to make things more awkward so pretended he pulled Hwa In's name out of the raffle). The other teams are Luni and Eden and Daeun/Byul with Dohyun.
As the teams work together, Hwa In learns something is wrong with Jungwoo. Her friendship with him is well-noted throughout the episodes having previously been in the same company as trainees for years. Seo Dohyun is the type of artist who is straightforward, does what he wants and people rarely argue with him and while he doesn't care whether the star couple are still dating or not he does not hide his fondness for Daeun.
Eden has his own grudge with Jungwoo, despite his own scandal of a hit and run incident that was covered by his agency. His father clearly favours the main leading male and has no care for his own son. Seems that scandal really did not do well for his name. On the surface he is polite but he is rather cunning and will step on anyone to get to the top - his main target being Jungwoo and exposing his relationship with Byul/Daeun. Luni is just as crafty and together with Eden they are the main antagonists in season 2.
Meanwhile with Byul, she encounters a hardcore Angels fanboy Eunseok who manages to get a temporary job at the cafe while Jihan is participating in a photography competition. However Byul actually knows this boy as he is a Sasaeng and can sniff the real Byul out by pointing out her habits. He knows she switched roles with Daeun and insists she come clean and that she should stick to being an idol rather than fake it.
The second season's later episodes show Byul and Daeun's alternative identities slowly being dissolved by other characters and then eventually leading to the discovery of the truth in public eye. Some things are resolved over time however since this is a web drama and the episodes are really short, I noticed how there were little bits that had to be left to our imagination since they were not dealt with in the writing. If there was anything I would have liked I would have preferred perhaps a few more episodes to go into detail on some of the characters. Would longer episodes work for web dramas I wonder? At least they're quicker to watch and binge than the normal 30-60 minute length when it comes to Kdramas.
One Fine Week / 7 Days Of Romance's plot is rather cliche and some of it is predictable with the drama tropes however there are instances where I just sit up from my chair and think, "Oh I did NOT see that coming" which is a bonus to be honest because it made me impatient and keen to watch the next episode. The drama isn't afraid to add in the commonly pointed out dark sides of being an idol with regards to the existence of Sasaeng, dating an idol and the firm control from the manager or company. Naturally like any job, there will be internal conflicts to bring people down (Eden and Luni yes I am looking at you).
Another saving grace of this drama is the acting. I really think Seo Jisoo's portrayal of Jung Daeun and Kim Byul shows she can do different types of personalities. The make-up and styling worked to great effect so you could somehow tell them apart. Shin Junseop managed to show the viewers Han Jungwoo's struggles as an idol, the emotional impact his work brings but also while fighting to keep his relationship with Daeun alive.
I liked Dohyun even though sadly he was the evident second male lead trope who never got the girl. Him helping Daeun and calling out Luni's bad gestures was brilliant as was Hwa In's kindness. She is the type of bestie you need. That's what a real friend is. Help you out when you need it, know when to be harsh or nice at the right time. It was sad to see her hide her unrequited feelings for Jungwoo though because she doesn't want to lose their long-term friendship. She deserves a good SO for sure.
Luni and Eden were typically cartoonish villains with little redeeming qualities. I actually would have liked a bit more background or further resolution to Eden's character. Sure we got a mention of his hit and run scandal and there is the evident anger over seeing his own father dote on Jungwoo. But what else is there, if anything? And what happened after he walked off the stage when revealing Byul and Daeun? Park Seoham was completely different as Eden and I am just so accustomed to him being a bit more of a cute dork. The scene when he just pushed Jungwoo like that in episode 5 caught me off guard a little.
Luni evidently never liked Byul and always found her aloofness to be of arrogance. Luni, I guess you don't understand quiet people. Here's a disturbing note - she reminds me of a snitch at work. Just the actions, the obvious fakeness and trying hard to one-up you...this hit home. In episode 9 when Luni tried to expose Daeun and Byul but Dohyun intervened and Eden refused to help her out by talking to the journalists - I knew that would happen. But then she called his father to tell him what his son was doing and I thought ouch you both had it coming I guess.
The final episode did feel rather rushed and generally bittersweet however again, I would have liked a little more on what happened to everyone, even the Sasaeng Eunseok. I was happy to see Byul and Jihan get together finally because I was rooting for them when the time was right. Also wanted to say the songs featured in both seasons were amazing. I'll be listening to them quite a bit on Spotify.
This web drama has certainly made me think of a very unlikely situation that would never happen to me in a hurry since I barely go out now and a bit of a hermit. What would I do if I ever met another female who looked exactly like me and was an idol? It would be very awkward for sure.
Check out a season 1 teaser below:-