The Practical Guide to Love: Episodes 1-2
by Unit
After a heartbreak, our leading lady decides it’s more efficient to proactively seek the romance of her dreams rather than wait around for a “destined” love. Cue: ideal-partner checklists, blind dates, and hopefully, hijinks.
EPISODES 1-2
Our show begins with an introduction to its leading lady, LEE EUI-YOUNG (Han Ji-min). She works in the purchasing team of a hotel, she’s great at her job, pretty, has a nice personality, and lives a good life by regular standards — minus the occasional jabs about her singleness. But lest we assume Eui-young is anti-romance, she has a crush on her college hoobae/colleague from the legal team, KANG DO-HYUN (cameo by Shin Jae-ha). They couldn’t date back in college because she was busy with work–study, but she’s available now, and it seems he still likes her. Eui-young’s gym buddy, LIM SEUNG-JOON (Joo Yeon-woo) is unsure about the Do-hyun situation, but Eui-young is confident. After all, she’s Do-hyun’s first love, and that’s the ultimate in K-dramaland.
A vendor inspection visit takes the purchasing team to a tea field outside of Seoul. Do-hyun asks to tag along, and all the signs point to him asking Eui-young out on the trip. After a long day of inspecting the field and sneaking glances at each other, Do-hyun asks to see Eui-young in private. My good sis has probably practiced how to say “yes” in twenty-eleven different languages. But Do-hyun just wants to know if Eui-young can help facilitate his love confession to her team’s intern, SHIM SAE-BYEOK (Kim So-hye). LMAO! I saw it coming, but this was still hilarious. The show then rewinds Do-hyun and Eui-young’s interactions from his POV, and truly, his eyes were on Sae-byeok the whole time. Lol. Better luck next time, Eui-young.
It’s bad enough that Eui-young misunderstood Do-hyun’s intentions, but he goes on to bring up their age difference (she’s a year older) when Eui-young’s work hoobae, JUNG HYUN-MIN (Jung Hye-sung) misreads the situation and tries to play matchmaker. Now all Eui-young can think about is that her best years have passed her by, and she’s now a halmeoni on the dating market. Girl, tea leaves might lose their aroma and flavor as they age, but you know what they say about older berries? And you’re not even old!
Moving on, Seung-joon suggests a blind date to Eui-young after the Do-hyun debacle. Blind dates might not be the most serendipitous of meetings, but it’s the most efficient way to meet serious-minded people on the dating market — except your date pulls a Business Proposal-like switcheroo. Heh. Eui-young eventually agrees to go on a blind date arranged by her hotel’s general manager, EUN JUNG-SUK (Kim Won-hae), and this is how we meet SONG TAE-SEOP (Park Sung-hoon). Tae-seop is polite, the vibe isn’t awkward, and they have a few things in common. The date is going smoothly…until he asks if Eui-young is open to dating with marriage in mind. Excuse me, sir, y’all just met 30 minutes ago! Eui-young is understandably flustered and spills coffee on her dress, and they end up calling it a night.
Eui-young reconsiders her priorities after spotting Tae-seop drive off in an expensive car. She anticipates a follow up date, but it’s all crickets on his end. Eui-young follows Seung-joon’s “don’t text first to avoid looking too eager” advice, but her anxiety grows when she reads the general online consensus that a serious guy would have already scheduled a follow up date. This is why you shouldn’t google your symptoms. Lol. But it turns out Tae-seop’s schedule for the week is packed, and he’ll only be available for a date next week. Tae-seop’s business partner/best friend, LEE EUN-HO (Jo Bok-rae), tells him to at least communicate this information with Eui-young, but Tae-seop puts it off for later.
When “later” arrives, the universe conspires with Tae-seop to ghost Eui-young. He develops a muscle knot that leaves him stranded on the floor of his apartment, unable to reach his phone and send the darned follow up text. *facepalm* A few scenes earlier, Tae-seop’s ex (cameo by Sooyoung) made it clear their relationship ended because she felt lonely. Back then, he was struggling to get his woodworking studio off the ground and he didn’t have much time for her. The studio is now well established, but Tae-seop’s communication skill is still nonexistent. Smh. For someone who seems interested in Eui-young — and wants to settle down and make a family — he has no sense of urgency as regards this potential relationship.
Over a work dinner, Eui-young’s sunbae, JUNG NA-RI (Lee Mi-do) offers to set her up with a guy who has a really great background (but is lacking in the visuals department). On her way home, a tipsy Eui-young runs into Tae-seop — who’s on his way to the airport for a business trip. She tells him about Na-ri’s blind date offer, and asks if she should go on the date. The answer Eui-young — and I — want is a resounding “no,” but Tae-seop respectfully replies that it’s her decision to go or not. Jeez! Of all the times for him to be a gentleman. Eui-young deflates at Tae-seop’s response, but she soon inflates when he says he’ll contact her on return from his business trip.
Eui-young tries to keep the conversation going while Tae-seop is away, but he must not read his messages often. After checking for a reply for the umpteenth time, Eui-young’s phone beeps — but it’s Na-ri’s blind date guy. Eui-young agrees to the date, determined to make the best of her second chance at blind dating. The good news is, the coffee stain on her sole blind date outfit is gone — ironically, thanks to Tae-seop’s stain removal tip. Heh. Speaking of which, Tae-seop finally reads and replies to Eui-young’s message on the day of her second blind date. He asks if she’s available to meet later in the day, but she shuts it down. She already has other plans, you see.
Eui-young’s “other plans” (Lee Ki-taek) arrives late for their date, but she forgives his tardiness because…he’s surprisingly good looking. Lol. Pretty privilege is a thing! Sadly, this privilege doesn’t extend to his jerk-like attitude. Eui-young is about to leave when Tae-seop unexpectedly shows up at the cafe, and she instinctively hides. Eui-young’s dress slightly lifts as she ~literally~ crawls to the exit, and Mr. Pretty Privilege attempts to tug it down for modesty’s sake. But she assumes he’s being a pervert and yells at him — drawing everyone’s attention including Tae-seop’s. Lol. So much for hiding. Eui-young isn’t sure how to introduce Blind Date #1 to Blind Date #2, but #2 catches on and introduces himself as her cousin. I can’t even lie, my distaste for him instantly did a 180° when he swooped in with the noona angle. Yep, I’m that easy.
Afterwards, #2 explains the dress situation to Eui-young and apologizes for startling her. At this point, Eui-young just wants to call it a day, but he surprisingly asks her out for drinks. (And I said yes on her behalf, because smooth privilege is a thing!) It has been established that Eui-young is a cute drunk, but #2 also drops his jerk-y attitude at the bar. The atmosphere is lighter, the mood is quite romantic, and they even move to a third location! There’s an undeniable spark between them, but Eui-young is not too caught up in the moment that she can’t pick up on the subtle vibe that he’s holding back. She surmises that #2 isn’t genuinely into her, and the night ends with a tacit understanding that there will be no follow up date.
Come to find out that #2 was a stand-in! His real name is SHIN JI-SOO, and the original blind date guy paid him to go on the date in order to get Na-ri off his back. Hul! That explains why Ji-soo looks nothing like the guy Na-ri described, and why he acted like a jerk to Eui-young. Lol. Eui-young really had a Business Proposal-like date! But while Ji-soo was under contractual obligations at the café, the subsequent bar and playground dates were of his own volition. He even attempted to get Eui-young’s number from the OG blind date guy, so it’s safe to say he’s interested in her to some extent.
Eui-young, on the other hand, has realized that having a genuine connection with a person trumps their expensive car or good looks. She decides to go all in on the blind date market, and she starts by shopping for new date outfits (preferably in dark colors in case of accidental spills. Lol). The universe — and whoever put her number up for grabs — aligns with Eui-young’s wishes, and the week ends with her phone abuzz with a ton of blind date requests. Hehe.
So far, so good. This drama is off to a promising start. I like Eui-young, and I’m already invested in her journey to find love. But I’ve never been a fan of love triangles, and the trope is inevitable with this drama’s set-up. Sigh. We didn’t learn much about the guys — especially Ji-soo — so it’s too early to hop on a ship. But regardless of whatever happens in the show, I’m hoping the love triangle doesn’t become toxic or annoying. It’s a big ask, considering what’s been happening in dramaland lately. But hey, Show can actually surprise us with a decent second male lead. For once.
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