When I first saw the title Summer Vacation, I naturally assumed it was just a typical, refreshing teen drama. Having written essays and reviews on various topics almost every day for over 10 years, I feel that if I had to compare life to seasons, summer vacation is definitely a privilege best suited for youth in their teens and early twenties. Although these days, with longer lifespans, we could probably sneak people in their thirties into that "summer vacation of youth" category!
Still, whenever I hear the words "summer vacation," the radiant vibe unique to that age naturally comes to mind, even without any special events happening. That's why I think the energetic and innocent days from teens to early twenties fit this word perfectly. A bright, refreshing summer feeling and the memories of a first love naturally popped into my head, so I was expecting some sweet romance before I even started watching.
But as soon as I opened the lid on Summer Vacation, I realized my guess was completely off the mark. Since the main characters were high school students, my first impression was strongly tilted toward a sweet romance or a typical coming-of-age story. However, I was completely caught off guard when I saw the main characters on screen, as the leads were none other than actors Cho Yi-hyun and Jinyoung.
It's not necessarily a hard rule, but there's definitely a certain "class" or "tier" for lead roles in the drama industry, right? This is completely different from just how amazingly well an actor can act; it's about their public recognition and the box office success of their previous works. Judging by that cold standard, Cho Yi-hyun has already grown into a top-tier actress capable of leading major network miniseries today. Her previous works as a lead also achieved solid ratings and buzz.
The male lead, Jinyoung, has also successfully pulled off very significant, plot-driving roles in major dramas and movies, even if he hasn't done a ton of solo lead roles. Yet, this drama Summer Vacation isn't airing on major networks; it's currently only available on the OTT platform Wavve, and quietly airing as a Monday-Tuesday drama on the Lifetime channel on TV. Honestly, the fact that these two prominent actors suddenly appeared as leads in a drama with this kind of scheduling felt a bit out of the blue.
Considering the high tier of both actors now, I couldn't imagine this being a project they would readily agree to star in, so I dug around for broadcast information out of curiosity. It turns out this drama wasn't rushed into production this year, but was actually pre-produced and completely filmed between 2022 and 2023. Back then, both Cho Yi-hyun and Jinyoung were on a slightly different trajectory than their current solid lead-level status, so the secret behind this casting instantly made sense to me.
Looking into the actual plot, the female lead Kim Ha-yeon (played by Cho Yi-hyun) suddenly finds herself having to move to an unfamiliar neighborhood due to family circumstances. It's somehow pitiful and sad how she has to hurriedly transfer schools like she's running away, without even being able to say a proper goodbye to her close neighborhood friends. Unfortunately, she coincidentally and dramatically runs into the mysterious male student Jo Yoo-gyeom (played by Jinyoung) in that unfamiliar place, getting swept up in an uncontrollable whirlwind of fate.
To make matters worse, looking at Ha-yeon's family dynamic, her older brother monopolizes all of their parents' expectations and affection, leaving Ha-yeon to feel like a pathetic outcast. In such a chaotic state, before she even had her first day at her new school, she meets Yoo-gyeom. The two of them happen to face a dizzying crisis of being chased by some local thugs, sparking a strange sense of camaraderie and mutual interest.
Caught up in that breathless, chase-and-run atmosphere, or perhaps driven by youthful impulse, the two end up sharing a deep kiss and escalating things way too fast. What's absurd is that Yoo-gyeom just vanishes without even telling Ha-yeon his proper age, but when she goes to school the next day, she finds out he's her desk mate in the same class. Yoo-gyeom, who grew up suffocating in a very strict and stubborn household, was a kid with a precarious inner self who always wanted to escape reality.
Furthermore, there was a crucial reason why Yoo-gyeom couldn't sweetly pretend to know Ha-yeon at school: the existence of his terrifying girlfriend, Sung Sae-ryeong, who happens to be the school's top bully (intensely played by Hong Ye-ji). From Yoo-gyeom's perspective, he desperately wants to break up with his obsessively clinging girlfriend, but he's too scared of her madness to dare say goodbye, forced to maintain this terrible relationship. Eventually, the quick-witted Sae-ryeong finds out that Yoo-gyeom and Ha-yeon are secretly meeting behind her back, leading to a tense, walking-on-thin-ice situation where she fiercely interrogates them.
In that hair-trigger moment, a completely unexpected accident occurs. While Ha-yeon and Sae-ryeong are arguing over Yoo-gyeom, Ha-yeon accidentally pushes Sae-ryeong, causing her to fall to the ground, bleeding profusely. The story, which I thought was a fresh teen drama, instantly transforms into a bloody murder thriller.
The stormy second episode ends with Ha-yeon panicking and running away, mistakenly believing she has killed Sae-ryeong. Looking at the drama's official genre introduction, it shamelessly describes itself as a "youth romance with a mysterious story," but I absolutely cannot fathom what part of this plot is supposed to be romance! The story is developing so unpredictably that I have no idea how the main characters will escape this bloody crisis, which has made my curiosity explode uncontrollably. Honestly, the pacing is so fast and spicy that I need to binge-watch starting from episode 3 right now!
.jpg)
댓글
댓글 쓰기