We’ve come to a point where the male lead is puppy-like and the second lead is a tsundere, it seems. It used to be is usually the other way around, no? I wonder how it’ll work, though. I mean, when the nice and empathic second leads hardly get the girl, the tsundere ones won’t stand a chance, will they?
…meanwhile, the female lead’s characteristics stay the same. Timid, bashful, and dense. Sigh. Win some, lose some, is it?
Well, that’s the triangle main characters in Eye Love You, a Japanese series starring Korean actor Chae Jong-hyeop. It’s about a mind-reader who’s drawn to someone whose inner voice is unintelligible to her.
It’s the first time* Motomiya Yuri (Nikaido Fumi) isn’t bothered by another’s thoughts she hears — and doesn’t understand. (Is it the first time she meets a non-Japanese? Despite being the president of a chocolate and coffee company who has been interviewed by many media and interacting with different people in the industry, and having a retail store she often visits that’s patronized by all types of customers?) Her ‘peace’ will only last so long until she picks up/learns the language — which she eventually will, i bet? Even before that, she already starts getting curious of the true feelings of her regular food-deliverer-turned-company-intern Yoon Teo (Chae Jong-hyeop) once they get closer, that she’ll look up the Korean words she could catch.
(*For Teo, Yuri is the first customer who replies/responds to his handwritten delivery notes, which thrills him.)
Meanwhile, she is completely oblivious of that of the cofounder who’s been with her since college, Hanaoka Akito (Nakagawa Taishi). It’s kinda hard to believe that she is, given her ‘power’. She may be awkward and closed off, but she doesn’t have a problem with eye contact; moreover, she doesn’t need to make one to read minds, just looking at the eyes will do. Does this mean she never looks into his eyes? But then, the third cofounder Ikemoto Mahiro (Yamashita Mizuki) isn’t aware of it either, so… maybe Hanaoka hides his feelings too well?
This entire college-acquaintances-building-a-business-together-to-realize-the-leading-lady’s-dream shebang reminds me of Unicorn ni Notte, not in a good way, though. In that drama, the guy is also pining for the gal, is businesspartnerzoned due to “no office romance” rule, and the status quo is shaken up by the arrival of the new hire. There’s no such rule here, but alas, the attraction isn’t mutual.
On the other hand, the mind-reading ability reminds me of I Hear Your Voice. I don’t remember if Lee Jong-suk’s character was born with it, but here, Yuri got hers after surviving a drowning incident in her late teens, which unfortunately paralyzed her father (Tatekawa Shiraku). So, it is arguably a gift for her to continue communicating with Dad. And in turn, to navigate her professional life. She could’ve used it for personal life too, which would’ve spared her from “Is he? Is he not?” wondering that she now has regarding Teo, but she’s professedly traumatized by her highschool boyfriend’s reaction to hearing about her power that she decided to never date again. Which discouraged Hanaoka from acting on his interest… and eventually one-upped by the chirpy intern.
Not gonna lie, it pains me to see Taishi as the second lead here, because: he looks damn attractive here (heh), i thought he’s graduated from such roles by now (how many years has it been since Hana Nochi Hare?), and his character felt poorly written for the role (i wasn’t sure of his heart until the third episode, at the point where Yuri has already fallen for Teo).
That said, i’m more upset with Yuri’s denseness — or should i say denial? Teo has shown and given her all the signs that he’s interested: he asks if she likes him, asks her to spend more time with him, tells her to hurry up and like him already, gives her flowers, asks her out to a Valentine’s date, holds her hand, and ties a red ribbon on her ring finger; he’s said “kawaii” and “suki” plenty of times, yet she’s insecure upon overhearing him asking other people if they’ve eaten too and second guessing his feelings since he hasn’t said “saranghae”. Like, come on. Joa and sarang are comparable to suki and aishiteru, respectively, no? that i don’t get her fixation on the latter of the two.
Even when she does hear it — telephatically and verbally — she runs away and ends up turning him down. Just because she finally reads Hanaoka’s mind in the intervening time. Yes, she’s stunned to realize how much she is unaware of her closest person’s heart. But, (if) she’s never into him anyway, in addition to him resigning to this bitter fact, why would she let the inner confession get in the way of her new love life? I don’t get it. Neither do i like this unnecessarily complicated turn.
Is it because we’re only at episode 5?
That it’s too early for them to get together?
Although it has bombed us with Teo’s flirts since the beginning?
I thought Eye Love You would be a typical Japanese workplace romcom where the work stuff precedes the romance, but the loveline has been at the forefront since the first episode that Yuri’s role as the shachou is just a title. Dolce and Chocolat’s business hasn’t been explored either, despite its interesting usage of cacao’s byproducts as its raw material and alleged sustainability factors. It’d be interesting to learn about its sourcing, production, etc.
The story is simple, the chemistry is there, and it’s been a pretty cute watch so far. Despite Teo’s Korean background, there’s barely any language barrier issue since he speaks fluent Japanese. The Japanese subtitles don’t translate each of his Korean inner voice, but his thoughts in the first couple of episodes were basic so i could still get ’em. Thankfully, another RAW version and the English fansubs have them covered; otherwise, i’d be as lost and desperate as Yuri.
Teo has been the one doing all the work (courting-wise) while Yuri has been too passive (not to mention stiff), so i hope it’ll be more two-way going forward. I haven’t finished any of Fumi’s romance/romcom dramas, and this one may break the curse provided that it doesn’t get too ridiculous in the second half. It can definitely do without an ominous character, though.
.BeansSpilled. 