Flashback to Lee Min-ki and Jung So-min’s Chemistry in ‘Because This Is My First Life’
Lee Min-ki and Jung So-min’s Romantic Moments in Because This Is My First Life
This drama tells a story about a house-poor man and a homeless woman who become housemates in a story that examines the institution of marriage and the problems that young people face today. Lee Min-ki acts as Nam Se-hee, a 38 year old who worked as a quirky computer designer, who has bought an apartment and is in the process of paying off the mortgage. He would rather spend his days with his cat than marrying. However, he is in need of a housemate, as he plans to pay off his mortgage faster.
Jung So-min acts as Yoon Ji-ho, a 30 year old who worked as an assistant screenwriter and who desperately looks for a home to move into. She is under constant pressure trying to appease her family and friends while continuing to pursue her dream of becoming a successful writer.
After ending her three-year crush with the assistant director, Yong-seok. Ji-ho still feels ashamed of herself, because, at the age of 30 years, she still can’t understand satisfaction and love. Se-hee, who sits next to her while she waits for the bus to go home, is a stranger who witnesses her embarrassing moment. He says something strange to comfort her, about cats. Se-hee explains that, unlike humans, cats don’t have a neocortex, and therefore never experience boredom or depression even if their lives are the same every day. He adds, “Cats have neither a future nor a past,” and only humans lock themselves in time.
On the day of their wedding, Ji-ho sits in the separate bridal room to greet and take photos with incoming guests, with Bo-mi as a photographer. Ji-ho’s mom sneaks away to her bridal room. Ji-ho asks what her mom was doing in there, but her mom pretends she got lost on the way to the bathroom. Annoyed, Ji-ho rudely asks why her mother wants Se-hee’s phone number, and Mom shoots back that she has every right to contact him.
Ji-ho harshly adds that she’s doing what her mother wants by having a wedding, so her mom needs to leave Se-hee alone, otherwise, Ji-ho warns, she’ll be angry. Of course, Ji-ho’s words hurt her mom, and her mom says, bitterly, “I wish you could have a daughter like you.” Ji-ho returns to the bridal room, and Bo-mi informs her that her mom was looking for Se-hee’s bag to put something inside. Immediately, Ji-ho tears into Se-hee’s bag, furious with her mom, and Bo-mi rushes over and whispers something into Se-hee’s ear, which makes Se-hee hurry to the bridal room and find Ji-ho sobbing over her mom’s gift to Se-hee. Se-hee looks over and sees an old photo album of Ji-ho’s life, and picks up a note addressed to him from Ji-ho’s mom.
In the letter, Ji-ho’s mom apologizes to Se-hee for her behavior at the dinner with his parents and says that Ji-ho resembles her father at times, and other times, she’s like her friend. Mom adds that Ji-ho is afraid of her father, and has had to give up a lot because of her younger brother. Ji-ho’s mom also stated that, thankfully, Ji-ho is really smart, unlike her, and because of this, she feels relieved because she thought that Ji-ho would not have to live as she did.
At the end of the letter, she asks Se-hee for two favors:
“If Ji-ho says she wants to write in the future, can you let her do that? I will do the house chores if that helps. So if she ever wants to write again in the future, please don’t let her give up on her dream. I don’t want her to live like me. Please do that for her. And… it’s hard for Ji-ho to stop crying when she starts. So, please don’t let her cry alone. Even though you make her cry, just be with her when she’s crying.”
Se-hee looks over at Ji-ho, who still crying and says sweetly, “Is it hard to stop crying? If that’s the case, we should go together. It’s okay to cry. Let’s go together. I’ll be right next to you. I’ll be with you.” She looks up at him as he extends his hand to her as if seeing him in a new light, and thinks to herself, “I thought getting married was going to be simple. This is where we meet our needs. Maybe, it could be where our hearts meet. Something that’s not simply just started.” Then, slowly, Ji-ho takes his hand.
Their wedding went well after that, they took pictures with their family and relatives. When the two of them were asked to take pictures together, they looked very awkward to each other and were not like married couples in general, and, in the end, they spontaneously took a picture with a handshake. Of course, this scene looks very strange, but funny at the same time.
They sit down on the pier as the sun sets, and after they exchange and talk about their favorite poems, Se-hee looks at Ji-ho with a smile. Se-hee says that he now understands why people go to the beach when they feel suffocated, because, “You can meet your heart here.” He continues that there is something he’s wanted to correct. Se-hee tells Ji-ho that the kiss at the bus stop wasn’t a real kiss, it was just a peck.
Of course, Ji-ho gets a bit annoyed when Se-he starts teasing her about her technique, and thinks he’s giving one of his condescending lectures again. She is bad at kissing, and so he says, “This is how you kiss.” He then leans in and kisses her, leaving Ji-ho surprised. He pulls away after a moment to ask if she understands what a kiss is now, or if they need to do it again. She asks for more, and this time they embrace as they kiss. Ji-ho narrates, “Easily broken, the heart that might have been broken, that heart came to me.”
In this scene, Se-hee asks Ji-ho if she would like to sleep together, and she accepts. they’re in the same room, Ji-ho’s room, and sit and talk. After talking about a lot of things, Se-hee suggests that they go to sleep right away, because it’s late, and then comes out briefly to pick up his pillow. when Se-hee takes his pillow, Ji-hoo suddenly gets very nervous, and immediately checks her body odor and also the spritz of her room.
She started talking to herself, but then once Se-hee knocks on her door, she pretends to be asleep. He very sweetly and quietly gets into bed next to her, then asks if she’s sleeping, and Ji-ho automatically responds that she is.
They stare at each other and Se-hee asks if he can hold her. He pulls her close, and he repeats his comment about her smell. Ji-ho is nervous to hear it, but Se-hee straightens out what he means by aroma, that it’s not something about smelling bad.
Se-hee strokes Ji-ho’s hair gently and says that he’s happy that she stopped being a scriptwriter, which catches her off-guard. He says that it was a joke, then he confessed to not being very good at jokes and worried that she was upset after she stares at him wordlessly. Instead of answering, she asks if she can kiss him, and he says, “Yes,” and so they kiss.
Internally, Ji-ho narrates: “Maybe it isn’t love, but it’s all right even if it isn’t. Today’s the first day that he visited my room and that’s enough. ”
At the end of this story, Se-hee and Ji-ho are described as living together again, and Ji-ho resumes her work as a writer.
They watched a movie together in the living room, and in Ji-ho’s narration, she said, “Whether you get married or not, whether you register your marriage or not, whichever you choose, nothing goes that wrong.” Se-hee lays his head on Ji-ho’s lap, but gets up to switch the channel to watch her drama. Turning to her, Se-hee says, “I love you.”
and Ji-ho continues, “What matters is spending time with the person next to you, right at this moment, no matter what.” Turning to Se-hee, Ji-ho tells him back, “I love you, too.” She grabs him, and pulls him into a kiss as the title card for this drama plays on the television screen. and the following, below, is the official poster for the drama ‘Because This is My First Life.’
