ZOMBIE’S DRAMA REVIEW: Cheese in the Trap Episodes 1-2

I finally got the chance to sit down and take a look at look at tvN’s latest drama, Cheese in the Trap, and I have to say, the first two episode were so intriguing I found myself wishing for more by the time they ended. Needless to say, I’m hooked. So here I sit, ready to dive into this drama with all the heart flutterings and swoonings of one who’s been struck by a serious case of HOLY-CRAP-HOW-DID-I-NOT-KNOW-HE-WAS-IN-THIS-DRAMA-itis. (Yeah… I should probably start paying more attention to cast announcements and such, it might save me from looking like a complete idiot… Sometimes… Maybe…)

The premise of this story seems to be pretty standard. Hong Seol (Kim Go Eun) is a hard-working college student who seems to be on the poorer side as she’s had to take time off from school from time to time to earn the money she needs for tuition. We don’t have a lot of background information on her yet: where she came from, what her family situation is like, what her life goals are, etc. What we do know is she’s highly suspicious of her sunbae, Yoo Jung (Park Hae Jin), who’s recently returned to school after serving in the army.

I liked how these two characters met, or were reunited (had they known each other before??? I’m still not 100% clear on that one), at the class dinner. There was a lot of interesting tension between Hong Seol and Yoo Jung during their first meeting and I like how that tension carried on throughout these first two episodes. It’s not like there was a lot of straight-up hating going on but there was a lot of suspicion on Hong Seol’s part and a lot of mystery on Yoo Jung’s part and that just makes for some really interesting chemistry. I spent the entire first episode feeling rather perplexed as I tried to figure out if Yoo Jung was the two-faced, manipulative, snake Hong Seol believed him to be or if he was just a tragic, misunderstood figure trying to express his feelings for the girl he liked.

Things got a little easier to understand in the second episode when Yoo Jung really turned on the charm. All of Hong Seol’s suspicions from the first episode were cleared up, which caused her to drop her guard and slowly accept the awfully sweet attention of Yoo Jung. I won’t deny Mr. Confusing made my heart flutter on more than one occasion as he let his truly sweet side show. At the same time, there were quite a few moments when I thought Hong Seol’s suspicions were well founded. There’s something about Yoo Jung’s smile that makes you feel uneasy. It’s like his smile is the tell-tale sign that he’s upset so when you see it your insides start to quiver because you know he’s going to do something and it’s probably going to be awful but you have no idea what it will be or when he’ll strike. All you know is that his retribution will be swift and awful and it’s something you want to avoid at all costs.

I hate to think that our male lead is capable of such cruelty but there’s definitely something about him that isn’t quite right because people don’t usually quiver in the presence of someone who’s a fluffy cuddle bunny. There’s something about Yoo Jung that puts people on edge, which is why when he tells them to do something, they do it without question. He can use this magic power on teachers and classmates alike but not Hong Seol. Which is probably why he’s attracted to her. She’s the only one who has never been swayed by him, either by his powers of persuasion or his dashing good looks. But I digress. We were discussing Yoo Jung and his less than cuddly qualities which he may not show to many people but he’s definitely given his little brother, Baek In Ho (Seo Kang Joon), *insert fangirl squees here* a good look at them.

I have no idea what the story of this family is but it’s certainly interesting. I’m guessing In Ho and his sister Baek In Ha (Lee Sung Kyung) are either Yoo Jung’s half-siblings or step-siblings and their addition to the family was something Yoo Jung resented for reasons yet unknown. What we do know is there’s a lot of tension between the three of them and In Ho has this fabulous wounded puppy aura around him that makes my heart go out to him in ways I’m sure I’ll regret as this story goes on. We also know Joo Yung has been supporting In Ho and In Ha for several years now but that’s going to stop as soon as Joo Yung graduates and joins his father at the company. *cue mysterious music* What is this mysterious company he speaks of? Who is this father? Is he In Ho and In Ha’s father as well? Who was the guy at the construction site asking that poor jello-legged kid where In Ho was? Was that Daddy Baek? If so, does that mean Joo Yung has a different father? Do these three share the same mother? Where is she? What about the family money? Joo Yung lives like a prince on campus, In Ha seems to be living like a princess in a penthouse and In Ho seems to be living like a bum. Why is that? How are these three actually related? Why is their family so messed up? Are In Ho’s lips really as kissable as they look? Wait. What!?!

Obviously I have a lot of questions I need answered (and maybe a little psychological help as well) but I’m more than happy to wait for these answers. What I’m not so happy about is the major fallout that happened between Yoo Jung and Hong Seol before the end of episode two. I knew that when Yoo Jung told Hong Seol to stop putting other people before herself that habit of Hong Seol’s would come into play in various ways throughout the story but what I wasn’t expecting was for it to drive a wedge between our OTP ten seconds after they finally started warming up to each other. Ugh! It took over a year for Hong Seol to see that Yoo Jung wasn’t the total creep she thought he was and things were just starting to work between them and then Hong Seol had to ruin it by trying to set her friend up with Yoo Jung despite the fact she really didn’t want to do it. Now Yoo Jung is hurt because he believes Hong Seol is just like everyone else, using him for one reason or another and Hong Seol is totally confused because she has no idea what she did wrong. (cue the dramatic eye-roll)

Why female drama leads have to be so clueless when it comes to a guy liking them is beyond me but they are and Hong Seol is no exception. Sure, she may have her early dislike of Yoo Jung blinding her to the truth but that can only last so long. At some point she has to realize he’s been giving her special attention, doesn’t she? I mean how else does she explain that wretched Nam Joo Yeon’s actions? College girls at school don’t steal your term paper and sic a drunk guy on you just for kicks, do they? Doesn’t Hong Seol realize all of her torment at the hands of Joo Yeon is driven by jealousy? Maybe Hong Seol just doesn’t have the capacity to believe anyone would actually like her or she’s just not interested in a relationship at the moment so she can’t believe anyone else would be? I don’t really know but you have to admit, Yoo Jung is making it pretty obvious he likes Hong Seol. Or he did. Until she “betrayed” him. *sigh* Oh the drama of college life! My how I miss it! (Said no one ever.)

I could probably keep rambling on for almost ever but I’ll spare you that torture and wrap things up here. Obviously we’ve only just begun getting to know these characters but they’ve already given us so much to think about, squee over and question, I really can’t wait to see what happens next. But what about you? Were you as intrigued by these first two episodes as I was? Are there any burning questions you’re just dying to ask? Have any theories you’d like to share? You know I always love hearing from you so be sure to let me know what you think in the comments below!