Her Private Life;
Or, How Cheekbones Changed SnarkyJellyfish’s Life Forever

Her Private Life was a full circle moment in my drama watching journey. It’s probably my 150th (ish) K-drama (maybe my 200th drama overall) and as I was watching I remembered something about my early drama days. So Beanfriends, gather ‘round and let Snarky tell you a little story.

Once upon a time, there was a stressed out snarky little second year law student who couldn’t watch television shows she once loved because law school ruins things like that. (Also she may have overloaded her schedule that term.) But one fine fall weekend she miraculously had a lull in her work, as she’d actually caught up with her reading and assignments for once and she decided to watch something new.

This snarky little law student had majored in English Lit in her not-so-distant past. Her favorite Shakespeare play was the Bard’s gender-bending romp in the woods, As You Like It. She was fascinated by the role gender played in storytelling, and had loved gender-bent variations of well-worn tales. Thus, when Hulu kept suggesting this odd little Korean television show about a girl disguised as a boy in order to work in a coffee shop she never could quite click the “not interested” button. (Never mind that her legal training screamed “workplace discrimination” at this basic premise. This is why lawyers can’t have nice things.)

So, on this fine fall weekend she decided to hit play on the mysterious Coffee Prince. Sure, the costumes were a bit dated, and the premise was ludicrous, but was it really any sillier than Suits?

Beanfriends. The snarky little law student was enchanted.

Sure, there were many many things to snark at, and she did so gleefully. But, my dear Beanfriends, despite the snark she could not stop watching. She watched all weekend, thinking she could stop after one more episode. She sacrificed an hour (or possibly three) of precious sleep. She nearly missed class one afternoon because she could not stop watching. She went to bed and dreamed about these characters. She replayed the scenes in her head on the subway to class. And in class. And on her way home. Needless to say, she was hooked.

When it ended, six days and 16 episodes later, the snarky little law student knew something had fundamentally shifted in the way she would watch television. She didn’t yet know how it had shifted, but she knew change was afoot. She tried another drama, Boys Over Flowers but dropped it halfway through when she realized she was rooting for the female lead’s abductors to win.

But a few weeks later when the finals schedule posted our snarky law student realized that she would have almost two weeks before her first exam. That meant that, with a proper study schedule in place, she may be able to watch something new in her downtime. Another drama perhaps? She did see an intriguing one with the poodle-haired dude on the Netflix – something about a doctor time traveling? Whatever, she decided to give it a go. She watched it in that period before her first three exams. It kept her attention better than she expected. Plus, the poodle dude looked good with all the different hairstyles here.

Now. There was another week before her last final. That meant she could totally watch something else, right? Right. But what now? Now she started to do a bit of research.

And here, my lovely Beanfriends, is where my full-circle moment comes in.

When the snarky little law student had watched Coffee Prince she had been utterly smitten by the two leads and their romance. But she had fallen in love with the beautiful man who she dubbed “the hot waffle guy”.

I still remember clearly the first time I saw Kim Jae-wook on my screen. I leaned forward in my desk chair and said “Well, hel-lo there, you are very attractive”. I rewound the scene just to see him again in case he would disappear. Who was this beautiful man? That hair. The brooding. The shy little smile.

Those cheekbones.

(Some things never change.)

It was love at first sight. So, when I looked for my fourth drama, I remembered the hot waffle guy. That’s how I found Mary Stayed Out All Night. The end was a mess, but the leads were fantastic. And when it was over, I knew that dramas were now a part of my life for good.

I’ve often said that Jang Geun-suk was my first bias. I was wrong. Kim Jae-wook was. He was the reason I kept watching dramas. If it hadn’t been for him (and his beautiful beautiful cheekbones) I may have succumbed to watching a mediocre season of a show I wasn’t invested in. But because I wanted to see him again on my screen I kept watching. And watching. And it led me to Dramabeans and the best community on the internet.

I kept tabs on him over the years – loving him in Voice and The Guest. But a secret part of me knew I wanted to see him leading a romantic comedy. Those are my bread-and-butter when it comes to drama. So when Her Private Life announced him as the lead, I knew I had to watch. I’m so happy I did. I loved this drama. It reminded me of all the reasons I started watching drama to begin with. It was a story that examined different kinds of relationships, both social and personal. It was a silly but fun. It was populated by characters I loved. I thought about these characters in between episodes, wondering how the story would go.

But most importantly: it had my hot waffle guy with his shy little smiles and his expressive face (with the beautiful cheekbones).

So, thank you, Her Private Life, for reminding me why I’m here, and for reminding me how I stumbled into this beautiful community.