Plus Nine Boys: Series review

This is my first time doing this. So bear with me.

Plus Nine Boys is a 2014 Korean drama series that just finished airing on the cable network TvN finishing at 14 episodes after getting its length axed possibly due to a mixture of low ratings and plagiarism accusations. I wanted to review it because not only did I like it a lot but because I feel it could have been so much better if it had more episodes to grow into.

Spoilers ahead! I warned you!


THE PREMISE
The show is centered on a family of four men all in their 9th year of their respective decade in ages (9, 19, 29, 39 years old) anchored by Goo Bok-ja (Kim Mi-kyung), who is mom to 3 of the boys and noona to the other. I guess it's a Korean superstition that in the 9th year of each decade before starting the next decade afresh, one will suffer all sorts of misfortunes and heartbreaks. To try to thwart this and especially since her husband passed away before his time, Bok-ja consults and buys talismans from a fortune-teller for all the men in her household:

The eldest of the siblings is 29 year old Kang Jin-gu (Kim Young-kwang), who works at a travel agency and harbors a 2 year crush-slash-blighted-love for co-worker Ma Se-young (Kyung Su-jin). Their adorable bickering friendship wants to be something more but is held back by past hurt and a glaring lack of communication over said hurt that has bred justifiable distrust on the part of Se-young.

The middle boy is Kang Min-gu (Yook Sung-jae of idol boy group BTOB), who at 19 years old is a high school senior who is aiming to gain college admission via judo, but is thwarted by irritable bowel syndrome (aka poopy pants) and then an infatuation in the form of Han Su-ah (Park Chorong of idol girl group A Pink). It's Min-gu's first time being in "love," and boy, is he head over heels, laying it on so thick with the cheese that he eventually makes the jaded and mysterious Su-ah fall for him. However, their relationship has a rocky start and never really settles down eventually drifting apart due to insecurities of each other's feelings and their own self-worth and uncertainties in their futures.

The youngest is almost not worth mentioning, but he's there - 9 year old Kang Dong-gu (Choi Ro-woon) who's a child actor previously extremely successful but now is falling flat on his face relying on his cuteness vs. actual acting chops.

Finally, rounding out the four leading men is 39 year old Gu Kwang-soo (Oh Jung-se) who is still single but is a successful PD for a music show at the start of the series. However, he makes a fatal mistake and gets demoted to a throw-away show after which, by chance, he starts to see his former lover from 10 years ago - Joo Da-in (Yoo Da-in). She now has a 5 year old child, but Kwang-soo finds he still has very strong feelings for her as he never got over their break up, so much so that it was the reason he has remained pitifully single all these years. I found their story the most confusing, least relatable, and thus the most frustrating. So this is all I'll say about them.


FAVORITES
The cute: Jin-gu & Se-young
The 20-something couple definitely takes the cake for having the best and most cute moments. They just made me smile and was the main reason I came back week after week up until the last few episodes when I became more invested in Min-gu & Su-ah more (more on that soon). I think they were a fan favorite because not only did they have great chemistry together, but were also likeable apart. Se-young is sassy and fun, but is also vulnerable and thoughtful of others almost to a fault. She has a more than legitimate reason for distrusting Jin-gu, especially when the latter never apologized. But at the same time, she can't help being charmed by him like everyone else, and so she conscientiously keeps a safe distance both physically and emotionally. I admired her and so felt for her suffering. On the other hand, Jin-gu is your flawed, heart-on-his-sleeves man-boy in love...he made some grave mistakes in the past in the name of immaturity, but once he learned, he never faltered in his feelings and did his fair share of pining from a distance and heartbreak. Their happy ever after ending felt so deserved.

Their story was not unique nor their characters complex, but their simplicity is what made their story work so well, not detracting but making a solid foundation for the sad and sweet moments that both actors did a great job of drawing out. The simplicity also made their cuteness enjoyable, not leaving any bitter aftertaste.

I have a thing for tall, lanky well-dressed men, so it wasn't hard falling for Jin-gu. On top of that, the corners of his lips do this cute upwards turn when he smiles...melt. Riding the same bus as her even after moving to another neighborhood just so he can send her home? Swoon. I think Kim Young-kwang plays this endearing puppy love to a hilt, and it's best embodied in this scene when the two are out eating and drinking at a friend's snack tent, not yet official and still dancing around their feelings. He has this unfiltered look of adoration while The Film's Yeppeo plays in the background (yeppeo, yeppeo, yeppeoooo). Sigh. I'm in love with you in love.

The bittersweet: Min-gu & Su-ah
This couple took a while to warm up to - I think more because of the directing and pacing of their story in relation to the other stories - i.e. their story didn't take up much screen time until the latter half of the series. But once they got going - once the two finally met in person, love declarations thrown and burned and thrown again, and secrets revealed - their story became so much more memorable. While I don't think the cut in episodes affected Jin-gu and Se-young's story much (actually if this series had been any longer, their story would've gotten boring quite frankly), but I think the cut did affect Min-gu and Su-ah's arc. Their plot was just getting to the juicy parts - how do you be a capable boyfriend to a noona with a formidable reputation without your pride getting in the way of your relationship? And how do you do that while picking up the pieces in your own life? The drama did show those moments, but I wanted to see him struggle more and come to realizations on his own without being single-handedly forced by Su-ah like he was in the end. But I guess the fact that he didn't or couldn't without Su-ah's help is proof enough that he could not become Su-ah's namja the way he was, in that moment.

What is most interesting is that this noona-dongsaeng relationship has such a small age gap (2 years), but compared to noona-dongsaeng relationships from other dramas, their difference just seems so glaring and awkward. Their relationship would never have survived outside of their one-on-one dates, which the drama did not fail to show. I think this awkwardness has less to do with age (difference) and more to do with where each of them are in their lives. I don't think the sincerity and earnestness of their feelings were ever the question. I think they just weren't ready for each other yet, which is something that Su-ah painfully realized on her own and like a good noona, translated to Min-gu by letting him go in the end. If I were ever to be in a similar situation, I'd want to do it as cool as Su-ah did. She was definitely my favorite and most admirable female character on this show, probably because she was the only female lead to do just that - lead.

This couple was by far the most relatable. I think most people have had or will have a relationship in their lifetime where there was plenty of chemistry and feelings, but the stars just did not align. One or more involved just wasn't ready. And no matter how hard you kept at it, it just wouldn't work until you separated ways and did some growing up on your own. It's a bittersweet reality, but one that makes you feel like you're living, that yes, you too can bleed. I really wish they played out this couple's final conflict a little bit more...

The heartwarming: The Kang family
I think it was regrettable that the show didn't have more family moments sprinkled in. I didn't realize how much I missed the family moments until the show put in one last tear-inducing one in the last episode: the family plus Se-young watching a documentary type video showing the boys' late dad. Watching Dong-gu burst into tears and just watching all 6 of them on the same couch fussing at each other put a smile on my face. The drama could've done with more of that, and earlier on.

TECHNICALITIES
Acting
Coming into this, I had thought Park Chorong was the sole honorary idol actor of the production, but was surprised to find out that Min-gu was also played by another idol actor of BTOB. I'm surprised they put two idols into the same couple, and I'm even more amazed by how well they did. In retrospect, neither blew me away with their performances, but neither made me cringe and think about how much better the scene would have been in the hands of more skilled actors. Their acting was natural and their chemistry on point. Job well done.

Music
Love love love the music featured throughout this show. Many Korean indie artists were featured including Coffee Boy, The Film, Standing Egg, 10cm, Taru, etc. I love how the show did not stick with 2-3 songs but it felt like each episode had its own unique mix-tape. It was a pleasure to the ears.

Pacing & plot
While I don't think the cut impacted the show overall that much, I would have liked to see more, especially from the Min-gu/Su-ah couple as mentioned above. Even though there wasn't much to be squeezed out plot-wise, I do feel like the strength of the show was in its slice of life style, which was sacrificed the most by the cut. The slice of life directing & editing afforded viewers such a sweet account of pining from Jin-gu and Min-gu in the first half of the series, and I would've liked to see more of their later conflicts carried out in a similar manner.


FINAL THOUGHTS

Each episode closed with voice overs from the boys that showed how their respective relationships were more similar than different. It was a nice touch that reminded viewers they're actually related by blood and also thematically. Speaking of which, I realized while writing this review that the show could be a commentary on what makes a relationship succeed despite some hardships. From the very get-go, it was known that only one of the boys' relationships would have a happy ever after ending, and it was not a surprise when the final scene showed a smiling Se-young in white. Among the three main relationships, Min-gu's was premature, Kwang-soo's overdone, but Jin-gu's was just right - they suffered enough, but not to the point of no return. It was clear that they enjoyed each other's presence too much to let their hurt, pride, or noble idiocy get in the way. This is not to say that the other two relationships were a waste of time (maybe Kwang-soo's...), because Min-gu certainly needed that impetus to grow up finally. Rather, this series showed how a relationship succeeds not in perfection but by drawing on maturity, forgiveness, trust, communication, and plenty of cuteness to boot to overcome even the cursed misfortunes that come with being in the 9th year of a decade.

All in all, this was a sweet and easy to watch drama to snuggle down with as we get into the chillier months of fall. I recommend this with hot chocolate or a bath. Or both. I might've done both. ;)