Cinderella at 2AM is a romantic comedy drama starring Shin Hyun Been and Moon Sang Min as the respective leading couple. Based on Aigome's web novel, Ha Yun Seo discovers her long-term boyfriend Seo Ju Won is a Chaebol and second son of AL Group's Chairwoman.
I've only been able to read translated chapters of the first season prior to watching the drama so unless I speedily learn Korean, I don't know how the remaining chapters in the original novel turn out.
Not believing in fairytales, level-minded, hard working Ha Yun Seo attempts to break up with Ju Won within two months but it proves to be quite the challenge. Ju Won won't let go of Yun Seo and continues to flirt during work and outside of working hours.
The drama consists of 10 episodes where Yun Seo is facing reality and keeping it real with Ju Won, explaining to him many times they have very different lives. Everything was handed to him on a plate since his childhood whilst for Yun Seo she was born into an 'ordinary' life which sadly involved unlovable parents who sought alcohol and took their frustrations brutally on Yun Seo and her younger brother Ji Seok.
While there are plenty of flirty moments by Ju Won, the break up is inevitable and he eventually learns to acknowledge it while working in the same office as Yun Seo. However like with romantic relationships in Kdramas, obstacles pop up and they realise they still care for each other somewhere beneath the surface.
The secondary couple which consists of Ju Won's older brother Si Won (Yoon Park) and his social media / influencer wife Lee Mi Jin (Girls' Day's Park Sojin) is also entertaining. What started as arranged marriage with little communication eventually grows to more. Of course the marriage was solely to join two companies yet somehow the emotions develop and the two genuinely like each other after getting to know one another.
The age gap between the main leads versus the actors is vastly different. In the webtoon there is maybe 3-4 years whilst in real life it's much larger than that. I can see why people may feel iffy, however it appears to be more socially acceptable if a much younger actress is paired with a much older man who could be her father regardless of how unappealing either appears visually.
I think this may be the first drama where I see there is a Noona lead and it is more relatable to me (the only difference with me being I do not have a steady, successful career compared to a large number of leading female protagonists in the Noona category).
I also recently finished reading a webtoon called My Only 1 by EGG Kim which features a Noona romance for a mature audience. While watching Cinderella at 2AM one might notice the age gap/generation gap from the mannerisms however it did not deter the chemistry and interaction between Yun Seo and Ju Won.
The supporting characters are a treat in Cinderella at 2AM. Lee Seong Min is the artist in the triangle who trolls Yun Seo and Ju Won a lot once he appears but he of course has the second male lead syndrome. I found Yun Seo's colleagues funny as well. But I definitely would not want to binge drink to let my emotions out, especially at work. Yun Seo has a good friend circle consisting of Yi Rae and Jae Ha and she plays the parent of Ji Seok since their own parents were just ruthless and too far gone to be of any good.
The Chairwoman Kim Son Ju is not a typical mother in law that you see in Kdramas who tend to bitch and threaten the would-be daughter in law because they are poor or stupid. For the most part she respected Yun Seo for being reasonable and acknowledging the differences in their upbringing.
Ju Won may be seen as clingy and very much in love with one woman but he has his own secrets where he had to give up his own dreams in the past to follow what his Mother suggested in order to succeed in life. I found that reveal rather sad however it was nice to see the family reflect on these early memories.
Despite the occasional frustrations from seeing how the characters behaved with one another while trying to tiptoe around each other and not hurt the other party in each episode, it was almost a relief for me when they managed to officially make amends and everything began to bloom nicely to give Yun Seo that fairytale ending.
Teaser can be seen below.
A good drama always needs a good OST. I enjoyed the songs used in the drama.
Sam Kim - Shining You
Yeonjun - Boyfriend