Kdrama 2020

Backstreet Rookie (Kdrama Review & Summary)

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• Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama, Business, Feisty Female Lead
• Release Date: 12 June 2020
• Origin: South Korea, Based from a webtoon, Convenience Store Saet-byul written by Hwalhwasan, illustrated by Geumsagong
• Kdrama: 16 Episodes

Cast

• Ji Chang-wook as Choi Dae-hyun
• Kim Yoo-jung as Jung Saet-byul
• Han Sun-hwa as Yoo Yeon-joo
• Do Sang-woo as Jo Seung-Jun
• Im Moon-suk as Han Dal-shik
• Kim Sun-young as Kong Bun-hee
• Lee Byung-joon as Choi Yong-pil
• Ahn Sol-bin as Jung Eun-byul
• Seo Ye-hwa as Hwang Geum-bi
• Yoon soo as Cha Eun-joo
• Lee Yoon-hee as Cha Kye-buk
• Woo Hyun as Kwon Eui-choo
• Bae Gi-bung as Gu Kwang-tae
• Lee Ju-ha as Kang Seung-tae
• Kyeon Mi-ri as Kim Hye-ja
• Ho jae hee as Bae Bu-jang
• Ji chan as Kang Song-tae
• Shin Yoon-jung as Kim Jung-ha
• Lee Ju-ha as Woo Hyun-ji
• Kim Min-kyu as Puppy, Jung Saet-byul’s elementary school friend

Quick Precis

A gorgeous girl came to work in Dae Hyun’s convenience store. The same girl, with her girl gang, four years ago had bullied him to buy them cigarettes.

Wow! So excited with this new drama.  I have never seen male and female leads to look so glowing and fresh.

Episode 1

It is hard to find a cuter male and female leads in a drama.

Young Kim Yoo Jung had certainly grown into a goddess.  She is just gorgeous.

And what can we say about Ji Chang Wook?!!!  He is an OPPA.

Anyway, this first episode is cute, sweet, action-packed, hormone-filled and everything else.

Choi Dae Hyun and Jung Saet Byul first met three years ago when they bumped to one another when they were running on the opposite directions.  Though the contact was minimal, sparks flew.  Saet Byul like him at first sight and he noticed a very charming high school girl.

The next time they met was when Dae Hyun had just been dumped by his then-girlfriend.  After drinking a bit he saw three girls looking at him.

He was wary at first but the girls said they wanted him to do them a favour and that was to get them 3 packs of menthol cigarettes.

He did try to dissuade them but in the end he went to the shop.

When he returned, he gave them the bag with something else, not ciggies.

Saet Byul could not help herself.  She flew to the departing figure of Choi Dae Hyun and gave him a light but very memorable kiss.  She then asked for his phone number.

Three years later, poor Choi Dae Hyun is almost singlehandedly running a 24hours convenience store.  So he was forced to hire a part-timer to take over the night duty.

In walked Saet Byul, even more beautiful than before.  And he still remembers her from the school girl that she was three years ago.

She did not mean to give her the job but he fell asleep after having been on duty for three days and three nights.

When he woke up, he saw that Saet Byul had everything under control.

He told her that it doesn’t mean she’s got the job because he still has another interview the next day.

Saet Byul started crying, saying that she felt sorry for the other person because obviously the job is already hers.  Her confidence is charming.

Some monies went missing on the till and Choi Dae Hyun immediately suspected that Saet Byul took them.  He went to her house but actually ended up in a flat doubling as a brothel and the police were raiding.

When Saet Byul found out that he suspected, she was naturally upset and told her sister, who she looked after to study well because people like them usually do not get good breaks.

Choi Dae Hyun found out that his mother took the money for an emergency.  He was so embarrassed for suspecting Saet Byul so he did everything she told him to do.

Their love story is not so straightforward because Choi Dae Hyun has already a girlfriend.  But despite this Saet Byul was confident.  She told Choi Dae Hyun to warn his girlfriend at Saet Byul will get Choi Dae Hyun in the end.

So cute.

Episode 2

Choi Dae Hyun is quite devoted to his girlfriend Jeon-joo and yet he can’t himself being attracted to Saet Byul.

In this episode, Choi Dae Hyun was in trouble with the police once again for selling cigarettes to a minor, a high school student.

The high school student was a regular buyer of biggies.  Choi Dae Hyun did ask for his ID initially but he can’t remember when and he has 300 hours of CCTV to look at.

If they were proven to be selling cigarettes to minors they would be suspended for a couple of months which they can’t really afford as cigarette brings in a third of the revenue for the shop.

They took turn to look at the CCTV and at one point, Choi Dae Hyun had to drop everything as his girlfriend beckoned.

Saet Byul was disappointed at him at first but she took it upon herself to investigate the culprit.

And when Saet Byul showed up in front of the high school student, it was not long before he told her the date and time of when he first bought cigarette at Choi Dae Hyun’s shop.

And they have got their evidence that the boy gave a false ID as well as having shown Choid Dae Hyun a university jacket.

Saet Byul and Choi Dae Hyun almost had a moment at the backroom of the shop while looking at the CCTV but Choi Dae Hyun pulled back but he can’t help being curious whether he was indeed her first and last kiss to date.

Whoa, I love the manga style of this drama.  It is fun, charming, and leaves you smiling.  Very entertaining.

I can’t say it enough that the leads are oozing with chemistry.  Both gorgeous.

3

Episode 4

Yeon Joo was upset about her relationship with Dae Hyun after her mother made it a point that Dae Hyun was nothing compared to them.  He was just a little delivery boy in a small corner shop.

She got so guilty because she did not do anything to correct her mother in front of Dae Hyun.

She went to the ba,r where Seung Jun her in her most vulnerable state.  They ended up having a kiss.

Episode 5

Yeon Joo was feeling guilty about the kiss so she went looking for Dae Hyun. She ended up in his house where she met his mother.

They were chatting over a cup of tea when Dae Hyun turned up and wanted to take Yeon Joo away but it was too late.

Saet-byul had returned which confused and annoyed Yeon Joo.

Dae Hyun and Yeon-joo broke up over a hotpot of Ramyeon.

Yeon -Joo told him that they should find someone more suitable to their individual status in life.

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Episode 10

Dae Hyun was so upset of the break-up and especially the fact that his innocent parents were pulled into the situation and made to feel uncomfortable by having been belittled by Yoo Yeon-Joo’s mother.

He went drinking by the seaside and it was where Seat Byul found him.

She took him home and tuck him in bed.  She spoke to his drunken gorgeous sleeping face telling him that she had been in love with him for 10 long years since she was a little girl when he came to the gym and saved her from a falling suspended punching bag.

She was just about to leave him when he grabbed her wrist asking her not to leave him.

Episode 11

Kim Yoo Jung is such a stunning girl that she looks so radiant.

Anyway, whether she was being used or he was really developing feelings for her, Dae Hyun used Saet Byul to make Yoo Yeon-Joo know that she doesn’t mean anything to him anymore.

Puppy though can see what was happening.  He was in a one-sided love affair with Saet Byul and he was upset that Saet Byul had eyes only for Dae Hyun..

To be fair Dae Hyun felt a little jealous when Saet Byul was laughing and giggling with Puppy.

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