Boyfriend on Demand: Episodes 1-2 (First Impressions)
by SailorJumun
Boyfriend on Demand promised silly, lighthearted fun, and boy, does it deliver. We jump into a virtual dating simulation with — count ‘em — 900 character options, who offer all of the glitz and glamour, all of the swoons and butterflies. It’s perfect for the average office worker who’s too busy (or perhaps too wary) for any real-life romance.
Editor’s note: This is a first impressions post only. To chat about the entire drama, visit the Drama Hangout post. Stay tuned for our series review!
EPISODES 1-2
I’m going into Boyfriend on Demand after having recently tried Lovephobia, which had a similar concept. And right off the bat, I’m already vibing with this drama and its high energy more. We’re introduced to our heroine SEO MI-RAE (Jisoo), a webtoon producer who leads a hectic lifestyle. She only has three hours a day of free time and prefers using it to relax with a movie, rather than date.
Mi-rae’s routine is disturbed, however, when a co-worker quits and leaves the company’s top writer PD-less. Mi-rae and her standoffish rival PARK KYUNG-NAM (Seo In-guk) are up to fill the role, but she’s dealt with this writer before and knows how nightmarish they are. She plans to butter up her boss and respectfully decline, but Kyung-nam beats her to it. Oof, rival now updated to enemy status.
With that, Mi-rae is assigned to writer YUN SONG (Gong Min-jung) once again. Mi-rae doesn’t care for Writer Yun’s cheesy romance stories, and she absolutely hates that Writer Yun constantly calls after hours to complain about any online criticism. In fact, it was Writer Yun’s antics that ruined Mi-rae’s love life. When they worked together years prior, Mi-rae was so exhausted that she neglected her boyfriend KIM SE-JOON (Kim Sung-chul).
We learn that Mi-rae pretty much avoids her old social group, since her ex Se-joon was dating, and is now engaged to, one of her friends. She thinks back to when she and Se-joon were together and when he would talk about the future saying “I” instead of “we.” As if he couldn’t picture them ever getting married and having kids. I really feel for Mi-rae here, because it seems like she does want those things. She just wants her career too and doesn’t know how to balance it all.
Back at work, Mi-rae and Writer Yun have a meeting with MIN JUN-YOUNG (Lee Hak-joo), a rep from the tech company DU. Apparently, Writer Yun and DU have been collaborating to include her popular webtoon character Choi Si-woo in their virtual dating simulation. And pffft, Mi-rae coughs in shock when she hears that the program is called “Boyfriend on Demand.” Needless to say, she doesn’t handle cringey things well.
Anyway, Jun-young appreciates Mi-rae’s objective thoughts and asks that she give the program a test drive for one month. Mi-rae is hesitant but accepts upon learning she’ll be paid for her review. So she’s given the equipment — an Alexa-like device and a headset — and she gives it a go. She’s then transported to the Boyfriend on Demand menu interface, where she meets the tutorial “Dating Manager” (ooh, a Snowdrop reunion with Yoo Inna).
The Dating Manager guides Mi-rae to her first dating option — a beautiful, albeit very CGI, beach. Mi-rae notices a man surfing, and when the man is swallowed by a wave, she goes out and saves him. (Uh, what in the Little Mermaid?) When the man looks up at her, she realizes who he is and what storyline is playing out. It’s CHOI SI-WOO (cameo by Lee Soo-hyuk), the “hella sexy” CEO character from Writer Yun’s webtoon. She’s intrigued enough to go along with the story, but Choi Si-woo’s lines are so unbelievably over-the-top that the cringe has her aborting and logging out of the program.
At the webtoon office, the director asks Kyung-nam to move his client’s chapter updates to Friday, the same day as Writer Yun’s. This stirs up some drama, and Mi-rae only gets angrier at Kyung-nam (assuming it was his idea). Mi-rae focuses on trying to boost Writer Yun’s ratings, and she has the epiphany that she can use Boyfriend on Demand to test out story ideas. She logs back in and goes all out on romancing Choi Si-woo — flirting with him at his company, going out on fancy dates, eating extravagant food she can actually taste (damn, gimme that technology). And though it’s strictly “research,” she does get the butterflies every now and then.
The research truly pays off, as Mi-rae helps Writer Yun’s webtoon get the number one spot and praising comments. What’s funny, though, is that when Mi-rae returns to Boyfriend on Demand, it seems more and more like a personal desire. She and Choi Si-woo share a kiss, and she gets a dopamine rush so intense that she’s curling her toes IRL. But when Choi Si-woo starts to slip a ring onto her finger, the program freezes and informs her that she’s reached her fifty-hour limit with this character. GIRL. You spent FIFTY hours on this thing??
Disappointed, Mi-rae writes her product review, with the intention of returning the equipment. But the DU rep Jun-young points out that she still has plenty of hours to explore the other 899 characters; she might as well take advantage of it. Mi-rae isn’t so sure… But later at home, when she’s lounging around watching Single’s Inferno (I mean, that’ll make anyone feel lonely), she’s drawn back to the program.
The Dating Manager offers up a new storyline, and again, Mi-rae isn’t so sure. She doubts anything could beat her experience with Choi Si-woo. The Dating Manager gives Mi-rae a little shove to enter the story, and we’re transported to a cozy college campus in the springtime. Mi-rae is in awe… Even more so when a handsome lad (cameo by Seo Kang-joon) approaches her with a smile. Expectations = exceeded.
Y’all, these cameos are gonna be SO FUN. Lee Soo-hyuk really nailed the dramatic I’ve-been-looking-for-you-in-my-dreams male lead. I was cringing as hard as Mi-rae, but I was also laughing my head off. I can’t wait to see what Seo Kang-joon and these other cliche boyfriends bring to the table. Give me the one-liners, give me the back hugs — I want it all, and in every genre!
I thought the cameos would be the most exciting part of the show, and they definitely are, but I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed everything else. The webtoon office is a colorful and wacky environment, the rivalry between Mi-rae and Kyung-nam is deliciously petty, and there are just enough hints of deeper emotion and heart. It’s quite impressive, actually, that the reality scenes are just as engaging as the virtual ones.
That being said, I’m curious to learn more about Mi-rae’s past and how that’s affected her view of romance. I’m also curious about this mysterious Kyung-nam. We didn’t get much from him in these first two episodes (other than Seo In-guk’s signature dry humor). But I’m sure there’s plenty in store for us. I’m ready to put the headset back on — let’s fucking go.
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