You can only pick one: Friends-to-lovers drama

by DB Staff

You can only pick one, and boy the pressure is on. The DB team will answer a new prompt in each post, and you’re invited to do the same in the comments. Ready to play?
 

You can only pick one friends-to-lovers drama

 
missvictrix: My choice for F2L is definitely an oldie: Bottom of the 9th with 2 Outs. Despite still being mystified by the sports metaphor of its title (all I can comprehend is that it means time is running out), I truly loved this story of two old friends falling in love. It’s been ages since I’ve seen it, but the scene where their hands touch and something ~changes~ will forever be engrained on my mind. The drama is old school for sure — and could probably be remade into something a bit fresher (no, drama gods, that’s not a formal request, please don’t remake this drama) — but that’s half the appeal. Also, I just love Su-ae, and she’s especially great here as a struggling writer. [And I’m totally cheating, but my second pick in this category is the mini drama You Drive Me Crazy.]

mistyisles: I think I’d have to say Answer Me 1988. I honestly would have been happy with whichever guy Deok-sun chose, but by the end I couldn’t imagine it any other way and just enjoyed being along for the ride. There was something really special about the way those two understood each other like few others could, and how taking care of each other seemed to come so naturally.

DaebakGrits: Given my extremely vocal love for Hospital Playlist, it should come as no surprise that I pick the friends-to-lovers romance between Ik-joon and Song-hwa. I like this particular pairing because — not only is it an example of an often underrepresented romance between two people in their early 40s — I appreciate how it reflects the reality of life. Sometimes the right person doesn’t always come at the right time, but missed opportunities do not always lead to regrets. Although Ik-joon and Song-hwa didn’t date when they were younger — despite having reciprocating crushes — the drama doesn’t try to make us feel sad over what could have been. Instead, Ik-joon and Song-hwa find themselves both single twenty years later, and with more life experience — and years of friendship — under their belts, they gradually draw closer to one another. The relationship that they have in the present is all the better because of their years of experience as friends, and it’s entirely different than what they would have had if they’d dated when they were younger.

Unit: I don’t even have to think twice: Lee Ik-joon and Chae Song-hwa from Hospital Playlist! From the 99s to the present day, these two were always meant to be together, and for them it was only a question of when, not why. They already had a great rapport within their extended friendship squad, but for me, it was in their quiet moments that their relationship shined best: sharing a meal together, drinking coffee while watching the rain, being by each other’s side to get her biopsy results in S1 and after his accident in S2… Yes, there was a brief period of awkwardness after he confessed to her, but their friendship was strong enough to overcome it. And what I loved the most about them is that they never stopped being “friends” even after entering the lovers stage. They didn’t need to act differently or make any major adjustments to the status quo. They were already comfortable enough in their existing relationship, that the only thing that changed was the label attached to it. That’s why when it comes to the friends-to-lovers trope, Ik-joon and Song-hwa will always be the standard.

Dramaddictally: While I was writing my K-drama Kisses essay, it got me thinking about the short show Because It’s the First Time, which I remember loving for its cast, its messiness, and its friends-to-lovers trope. Park So-dam is one of my absolute favorites and the center of this drama is her having to choose between Min-ho and Kim Min-jae. (I mean, what a problem to have.) They’re all in a group of life-long besties, now in college, that spend their time hanging out on a rooftop, navigating the troubles of money and love. Not only was I utterly unsure of who the female lead would pick, it’s a double whammy with this trope because she’s pushing the boundaries with both friends the whole time. Of course, by ending up with one of her best friends, she risks losing the other friend in the process. These are the stakes — and it’s good enough for me. I love a simple show about real-ish people that can make a happy ending out of everyday problems. Over-the-top prettiness doesn’t hurt either.

alathe: Hospital Playlist, for certain. It takes a lot to convince me with a friends-to-lovers arc. I’m friends-to-lovers skeptical! I need to be persuaded there’s actually passion there! This is why Song-hwa and Ik-joon took me totally by surprise. I didn’t expect to root for them so hard. At first, I didn’t ship it. If Song-hwa truly wanted to be with Ik-joon, surely it would have happened years ago? But Hospital Playlists answered all my questions beautifully. It truly did capture the feeling of a friendship that started out with confused romantic feelings, settled into easygoing companionship, only to explode into passion as all that old longing was reignited. And the best part? It was awkward. It’s hard to let a longstanding friendship evolve into romance — it feels weird at first! There’s so much at stake! Still, their first kiss felt tentative and tender all at once, in a way that made it utterly believable for me. I think the key was, this show was unbelievably good at establishing the closeness of its four protagonists. It felt only natural for the relationship between Song-hwa and Ik-joon to deepen, because they knew and loved each other down to the core.

 
RELATED POSTS

• You can only pick one: Noona romance
• You can only pick one: Idol drama
• You can only pick one: Yoo Yeon-seok drama
• You can only pick one: Ultimate love triangle
• You can only pick one: Lee Bo-young drama
• You can only pick one: Song Joong-ki drama
• You can only pick one: Time-slip drama
• You can only pick one: Park Min-young drama
• You can only pick one: Sports drama
• You can only pick one: Office romance
• You can only pick one: Namgoong Min performance