tvN's new Monday-Tuesday drama, Work Tomorrow, has officially set sail, featuring the attractive and fresh casting combination of Park Ji-hyun and Seo In-guk. Although it professes to be a romantic comedy by genre, what truly captures the public's attention is the actors' transformations. In particular, the fact that Park Ji-hyun, who has mainly played cold or weighty characters in numerous works, has returned to the romantic comedy genre after a very long time drew massive attention even before the broadcast. On the other hand, Seo In-guk is an actor so experienced and familiar with this genre that he has earned the modifier "Rom-Com Master" through his signature slyness and delicacy, making the acting synergy and unpredictable chemistry between the two the most important viewing points of this drama.
While the work is wrapped in the exterior of a cheerful romantic comedy, it is highly interesting that as the episodes progress, it takes on the weighty texture of a somewhat traditional and orthodox romance drama. Rather than filling the play solely with bouncy and light comedic elements from start to finish, a serious emotional line that sheds light on the characters' inner selves and scars is strongly laid at its base. Above all, the greatest contributor to completing the unique atmosphere of this work is the use of the lyrical OST. Rather than the lively and upbeat background music commonly heard in general romantic comedies, calm and lyrical melodies that seem to represent the affectionate psychology of the characters are inserted into the main scenes, further doubling the viewers' emotional immersion.
The male lead, Kang Si-woo, played by Seo In-guk, appears as a somewhat cold and rational boss who does not allow an inch of error when it comes to handling work. On the other hand, the female lead, Cha Ji-yoon, played by Park Ji-hyun, is the epitome of an ordinary office worker who has completely adapted to the routine of work life after entering her seventh year, yet is simultaneously bogged down by chronic fatigue and mannerisms. As the drama's title, Work Tomorrow, intuitively suggests, it realistically portrays through the two characters the sad fate of ordinary office workers in South Korea who must go to work with tomorrow's sun no matter how exhausting and humiliating today has been.
The joys and sorrows of these office workers are delicately depicted through realistic episodes that evoke strong empathy from viewers right from the beginning of the play. In particular, a magical method appears that instantly wakes up Cha Ji-yoon, who could hardly get up due to morning sleepiness, and it was not a loud alarm sound but a chilling single phrase from her family: "You have to go to work." Her reflexively getting up at this single phrase was a bittersweet yet pleasant iconic scene that anyone who fights the morning commute war every day would inevitably nod to. At the same time, a scene of overwhelming scale where they travel by helicopter for an urgent business trip to the provinces intersects, visually engraving the fact that the company they belong to is a massive conglomerate of unimaginable scale.
In contrast to the perfectly set appearance within the workplace, the depiction of daily life taking place in a personal space after work acts as a catalyst that maximizes the drama's comedic charm. The sight of Cha Ji-yoon heading to the neighborhood convenience store dragging her exhausted body after work is reality itself. Her appearance, stepping out dragging her slippers in a stretched t-shirt and comfortable attire she had been lounging in at home, with a messy face without even washing up properly let alone wearing makeup, is never unfamiliar. Because it is an outing to the neighborhood convenience store where there is no need to look good for anyone, the drama unreservedly captures on its lens the extremely ordinary and relatable daily life of modern people who can leave their homes in the most defenseless and natural state.
However, the peaceful moment of daily life suddenly turns into a disastrous situation when Cha Ji-yoon, who was recklessly sweeping late-night snacks and daily necessities into the convenience store basket like someone robbing a large supermarket, encounters her boss Kang Si-woo face-to-face right there. She, who had shown a professional appearance boasting seven years of experience at the company, ends up encountering the strict boss she least wants to meet at the worst possible timing when she looks like a mess. Her disheveled hair and haggard bare face were a problem, but what put the finishing touch on this embarrassing encounter was none other than the unidentifiable pants Cha Ji-yoon was wearing as her bottoms. At first glance, she was wearing pants with a bizarre design reminiscent of men's boxer briefs, which were hard to believe were meant to be worn outside.
Those red shorts, which one might wear while kicking the blankets alone at home, made it impossible for anyone to erase the reasonable suspicion of them being 'dad's boxers' due to their bizarre length and color. To make matters worse, what drove the situation to the absolute worst was the innocent shout of a neighborhood kid passing by the convenience store. The kid, holding his mom's hand, pointed at Cha Ji-yoon and shouted loudly, "Mom, that lady is wearing dad's boxers!" plunging the inside of the convenience store into silence. Flustered Cha Ji-yoon snapped and made excuses that they were absolutely not boxers, but the scene where even Kang Si-woo, who witnessed that disastrous and ridiculous situation right before his eyes, avoided her gaze and hurriedly left the convenience store with a somewhat embarrassed look brought explosive laughter to the viewers.
Their unbelievable relationship had actually been showing risky precursors even before this terrible convenience store happening. This is because there is a history of Cha Ji-yoon getting completely intoxicated at a company dinner in the past and making a fatal mistake towards Kang Si-woo. At that time, a dizzying skinship occurred where her lips almost touched Kang Si-woo, who was supporting the staggering her, and this vague yet embarrassing memory remained as a seed of subtle tension between the two. Adding to this, as Cha Ji-yoon's past first love and a free spirit, Jo Ga-eul (played by Choi Kyung-hoon), appears, the relationships between the characters become more three-dimensionally intertwined. Eventually, through the cracks of Cha Ji-yoon, who completely sorts out her relationship with her past lover and goes through a vortex of emotions, her boss Kang Si-woo begins to slowly seep in with his uniquely cold yet affectionate manner, announcing the prelude to a full-fledged romance.
What is interesting is the way Kang Si-woo expresses his feelings and approaches Cha Ji-yoon. He does not thoughtlessly throw a romantic confession like "Let's date" as the male leads of common romance dramas do. Instead, he extends a thoroughly professional and serious scouting offer to work together on the same team while planning an important new project on which his fate depends. For Cha Ji-yoon, who has entered her seventh year of work life and was constantly feeling skepticism about her abilities and position, this moment of having her work capabilities fully recognized and her necessity proven by her boss comes with a greater heart-fluttering excitement and overwhelming thrill than any sweet love confession. This delicate psychological depiction that simultaneously points out career growth and emotional changes at the intersection of work and love delivers deep catharsis to office worker viewers.
The drama Work Tomorrow, based on a solid narrative and highly relatable episodes, is a work worth putting high expectations on just by watching the lovely acting transformation of actress Park Ji-hyun, who has firmly solidified her own acting colors above all else. Because it is based on a popular webtoon of the same name and the tightly-woven story has already been verified up to its conclusion, the fun of watching how the charm of the original work will be varied and expanded through visual media will also be significant. As it has clearly caught the viewers' eyes by recording a brisk viewership rating of 4.8% from the first broadcast, the brilliant development of how they will heal each other's wounds in the fierce space of the workplace and bloom a sweet romance that makes tomorrow's commute something to look forward to is highly anticipated.
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