This drama is about Kang Gun Woo (Kim Myung Min), a 42-year old world-renowned conductor and his relationships with his orchestra members. It also talks about the relationship between him and a 27-year-old Du Ru Mi (Lee Ji Ah), who used to be his concert mistress, and the teacher-student relations between him and a 25-year-old Kang Gun Woo (Jang Geun Suk), who carries a torch for Ru Mi.
In case you're wondering, yes, the two male leads have the same names in the drama. So for convenience sake, I'll refer to the older Gun Woo as Kang Mae (how everyone calls him), and they younger one as just Gun Woo.
Usually in a drama where I am initially neutral with the two male leads, I tend to like the second male lead more. But in this drama, I actually like Kang Mae as well. Well, initially he seemed to be a stuck-up, overbearing, self-centred guy whose bluntness hurts everyone around him, mostly intentionally. Because of this personality, he doesn't get along with others. As the story progresses, though, we can see that he's just an upright person who has a very high standard when it comes to music, and so as not to compromise it, he would say mean things towards players who, by his standard, aren't good enough. His frankness and straightforwardness are just part of his personality. Music saved him when he was young, and has been his rule of life, his sanctuary, his everything, ever since. As a conductor, he's the strictest one can find, but once one gets past the hurtful comments, Kang Mae will definitely make him a better player, at which point that player will truly come to respect Kang Mae. His conducting skill is nothing short of impressive. As a person, he's stiff and he keeps up his cold exterior almost all the time, but actually, he cares. He just doesn't show it, whether it's because he doesn't want to, or he doesn't know how to. Or maybe he just refuses so hard to admit that he has been changed by the people around him. I think I can sympathise with him. And sometimes the things he does are very funny, like conducting someone-who-is-in-labour's breathing LMAO xDD.
A quote by him:
The experience isn't important at all, what matters is real ability.
Even if you fell from the sky or popped from the Earth, you just need real ability.
Kim Myung Min is a good actor; he did an awesome job portraying Kang Mae, even with the poker face I can actually see the emotions stirring beneath. He can make the audience feel for him, and maybe that's the reason why I can't dislike him. He's actually a very friendly person (according to fan accounts), so kudos to him for portraying the mean Kang Mae so well. His conducting is totally awesome too! Kim Myung Min won the Daesang for this role in Korea Drama Festival; he totally deserves it :).
Ru Mi is an easygoing girl who used to work in the office, but later was fired and focused on playing the violin. She's determined and hardworking, sociable and easily liked by everyone. Her cheerfulness and smile make her cute, her optimism and strength even when she meets an obstacle makes her admirable.
Lee Ji Ah is pretty :). She doesn't look like 27 at all, don't you think? (She's actually really 27, though.) Acting-wise, she's able to bring out the emotions well, I think.
Gunwoo used to work as a traffic police. He self-taught himself trumpet and never went to a music school, but he actually is a genius; he can remember and reproduce almost any song after he hears it once. He later found his passion for music and for conducting, quit his job and tried to be a full-time orchestra member, albeit without any qualifications. As a musician, he's really talented and a fast learner. His conducting looked clumsy at first, but it got better =]. As a person, he's a genuine, kind and honest guy who cares for and protects the people he loves. He is humble even though he is talented, and always helps the weaker players. (He's confident about his own style of music, though, so that may come off as arrogance sometimes.) He's just so nice, one can't help but like him. Gun Woo also follows his feelings and he doesn't deny any of them (unlike Kang Mae).
Jang Geuk Suk did a good job, and he got better with each episode. I felt sad for him when he found his love unrequited, especially that one scene where Gun Woo called Ru Mi and told her to take care of Kang Mae. And the scenes where you can see his tears welling up and the intense emotion on his face. And well, he's a cutie xD. I actually think that that slight moustache and long sideburn make him look more mature and cool, which was probably kept because the 21-year-old him looks too boyish to pass off as a 25-year-old. I like his dressing in this drama also; so stylish ^^. I'll continue my spazzing in a separate post, lol xPP.
Gun Woo and Ru Mi first, 'cos they knew each other first ^^. At first they knew each other because Ru Mi was looking for a trumpeter for her orchestra, and he happens to be her landlady's nephew. Initially he refused, but because of her continuous begging, he relented. As the story progresses, they grew close, with Gun Woo helping and sticking up for Ru Mi, and her always encouraging him. They are really cute together; their smiles towards each other are brighter than the sun (okay I'm exaggerating xP) and I can feel the chemistry between them. However, from the beginning it's obvious that Gun Woo loves her more than she likes him, and I feel sad for Gun Woo =(. But even after she left him, he still cares for her. *sigh* They make a good pair of friends too ^^.
^That was really how they smiled at each other, okay, no joke xD.
Kang Mae and Gun Woo actually met each other 10 years ago, where Kang Mae scolded the then-just-a-student Gun Woo and hence causing him to hate classical music. Upon meeting again, they didn't get along but ended up living in the same house, Gun Woo having to take care of all the chores. Later, Kang Mae discovered his talents and after a series of events, took him in as a disciple. Their relationship isn't always smooth as there are a lot of things they can't see eye to eye with as their styles of conducting are too different, but even after Gun Woo found out about Ru Mi's feelings towards Kang Mae, he still deeply respects the latter. If not for Kang Mae, Gun Woo wouldn't know how to conduct properly. Gun Woo cares a lot for for Kang Mae, and vice versa, even though they may seem to hate each others' guts at first glance. I really loved episode 17, where it was clearly shown how much Kang Mae cared for Gun Woo.
Kang Mae and Ru Mi started as a conductor and his concert mistress, and being the one in-charge, Ru Mi was the one who interacted with him the most. Her feelings towards him changed from dislike and fear to respect and admiration, and eventually to love. Kang Mae repressed his feelings towards her at first because he knew how much Gun Woo loves her, but eventually gave in. As a conductor, he has never shown her any bias, but he cares for her, even though I suspect he didn't realise it himself at first. He looks old enough to pass off as her uncle, but I don't dislike this couple, somehow. Maybe it's how much they care for each other, or maybe how Ru Mi managed to make Kang Mae seems more of a human. It's saddening sometimes to see how badly he treats her, but sometimes, it's because he was just afraid of his feelings. He didn't want to love, for love is not everlasting and by loving, he was changing his way of life. He accepted her in the end, I think, for it wasn't clearly stated even in the last episode.
There are actually a lot of interesting characters in this drama and I'm tempted to write about a few more of them, but I'm too lazy lol. Besides, this is getting too long already xP.
The best thing in this drama is actually the music, in my opinion. So many nice songs ^^! The ending is really good, not cheesy like many dramas :). It feels a bit incomplete, though, so there's a lot of room for imagination xP.
So I've got 3 songs from the OST uploaded, My Person by Hwanhee, Can You Hear Me by Taeyeon, and Can You Hear Me part 2 by Geun Suk ^^. The whole soundtrack is really really good, though, full of really nice instrumentals, so just get the whole album xP.
Caps are made by LuV @ soompi :).
