K-DRAMA FIRST LOOK: “Head Over Heels” – kdramadiary

By day, our heroine is a typical student fretting over her grades; by night, she moonlights as a shaman fighting against evil spirits. Juggling her dual roles is tough enough. But when our heroine’s first love is about to face imminent death, she will stop at nothing to save him.

Except, said first love isn’t interested in being on the receiving end of her help. Which might add some more hurdles to our heroine’s already challenging mission. Let the adventures begin!

Bunny S. watches Head Over Heels on Prime Video

Opening Week Ratings:

Head Over Heels Opening Week Story

“I know I am just dreaming an impossible dream.”

Meeting our heroine, Park Seong-ah (Cho Yi-hyun), she is trying to exorcise a vengeful spirit possessing a living man. She performs a ritual all night. Yet the spirit is too stubborn and refuses to leave. Interrupting them, an alarm goes off, signaling it is time to go to school. Helping the spirit cross over is important. But who will take responsibility if Seong-ah fails her midterms and can’t attend college?

Leading a dual life, Seong-ah dons her uniform in the morning and heads to school as a typical high-school student. But at night, she covers her face, puts on her robe, and becomes Fairy Cheon-ji, a talented shaman with people lining up before her door. Aspiring to lead an ordinary life, Seong-ah keeps her double life a secret from everyone except for her best (and only) friend, Pyo Ji-ho (Cha Kang-yoon). She wants to forget about everything, go to college, and experience campus life. But deep down, Seong-ah knows it is a pipe dream.

We don’t get much about Seong-ah’s past, just that she was abandoned as a child because she could see ghosts and was taken in by a powerful shaman who treats her kindly like a daughter. We can tell Seong-ah is hurt, but she acts nonchalant and hides her pain behind a smile, so people won’t pity her or notice her weakness.

One fateful night, a grandmother (cameo by Gil Hae-yoon) brings, or rather drags, her grandson to Seong-ah’s shrine. He has been at death’s door multiple times, so she wants Seong-ah to provide him with some amulets. For someone who cares the most about looks, Seong-ah falls for the handsome guy at first sight. But there is one minor problem. She spots the guy entering the shrine upside down. Which means he is about to die. Precisely, he only has 21 days left to live.

Confirming the guy isn’t only good-looking but also kind-hearted, Seong-ah gives him a pass and vows to save him. Yet she might have to take on evil spirits and risk her life. Not long ago, Seong-ah met another client with a similar predicament. Despite her earnest efforts, the client ended up dead. So, it is understandable Seong-ah’s spirit mother (Kim Mi-kyung) is against this idea and wants Seong-ah to back out.

The next day at school, Seong-ah is absent-minded, thinking of a way to save her first love, only to run into him again as the new transfer student, Bae Gyeon-woo (Choo Young-woo). Being classmates with her first love might sound like hitting a jackpot. But Gyeon-woo is aloof and doesn’t want to associate with anyone.

There is a backstory here, as suggested by how Gyeon-woo watches the school’s archery team train for hours. He used to be a promising archer who won gold in every competition and almost made the national team. But he was kicked out and forced to transfer schools after supposedly starting a fire.

“In terms of danger, you are far more dangerous to me.”

Despite her good intentions, Seong-ah’s efforts to save Gyeon-woo go sideways, and he deems her a meddlesome person who acts crazily. He even refuses to take the amulets Seong-ah (as Fairy Cheon-ji) got for him from another shaman behind her spirit mother’s back, calling her a scam artist like the fraudster shamans he has met before.

Defeating a water ghost, Seong-ah manages to protect Gyeon-woo from drowning to death. But the thing is: she sneaked into the men’s restroom and made a scene, getting her image even worse before him. Still, Gyeon-woo softens up a bit while they do cleaning duty together.

Things happen, and Seong-ah gets herself and Ji-ho invited over to Gyeon-woo’s house for a home-cooked meal. But it is all an excuse, so she can hide as many amulets as she can in the house. Gyeon-woo’s grandmother takes a liking to Seong-ah and recognizes her as Fairy Cheon-ji, yet she keeps it a secret from Gyeon-woo.

“Why act as if it isn’t your business?”

Unluckily, rumors about Gyeon-woo being an arsonist spread like wildfire, and the students shun him, except for Seong-ah and, by extension, Ji-ho. Speaking from her experience, Seong-ah believes the fire must have been caused by a vengeful spirit lurking around Gyeon-woo. But since people can’t see ghosts, Gyeon-woo took all the blame.

As we come to learn, the poor guy felt guilty since bad things kept happening around him and identified himself as the culprit, arguing he caused the fire. He didn’t say he started the fire but that the fire happened because of him. And then his former teammates kept complaining he didn’t get punished despite confessing. So, the coach kicked him out of the team. Now, the coach at Gyeon-woo’s new school wants to get him on board. But as expected, Gyeon-woo turns down the offer, even though he yearns to do archery again.

Speaking of fire, Gyeon-woo gets trapped inside a storage room that catches fire. Spotting the flames, Seong-ah rushes over to his rescue. But she doesn’t have remaining amulets to fight against the fire spirit, and spraying him with salt will only buy them a little time to escape. Worse off, Gyeon-woo seems like he has lost his will to live. In the nick of time, Ji-ho comes with a fire extinguisher and saves the day.

In the aftermath, Gyeon-woo is tasked with writing a report. But Seong-ah stands up for him against the teacher. Why would he write a report when he didn’t start the fire but almost died because of it? However, the teacher claims it is because the students keep complaining, and Gyeon-woo refuses to clarify the rumors. Urging him to stand up for himself, Gyeon-woo snaps at Seong-ah. Thus, hurting her feelings.

A more tragic incident happens when Gyeon-woo’s grandmother visits the shrine, but this time as a ghost. Sadly, she passed away, leaving Gyeon-woo behind. Narrating Gyeon-woo’s story to Seong-ah, the poor guy experienced a string of misfortunes and got into many accidents since he was a child. His parents abandoned him, and the other people either avoided or bullied him. The poor guy tried hard to face everything bravely and not give up until he couldn’t do that anymore.

Worried about her grandson, Gyeon-woo’s grandmother asks Seong-ah to comfort him just this once. Yet Seong-ah promises to stay by his side and be nice to him at all times. Rushing over in her shaman robe, Seong-ah covers her face and heads to the funeral house. Typically, Gyeon-woo tried to send Seong-ah (as Cheon-ji) away. But he can try all he wants. She has made up her mind to save him.

Head Over Heels Opening Week Musings

This is the second time Cho Yi-hyun and Choo Young-woo are working together after co-starring in School 2021. They are nailing their roles, and their chemistry is noticeable. The story is intriguing, and the characters feel fresh and layered. Also, it is a refreshing change to have the girl fall first and pursue the guy who doesn’t want anything to do with her.

With Seong-ah’s charm and persistence, it won’t take long for Gyeon-woo to fall for her, and we are looking forward to Gyeon-woo realizing Seong-ah and Fairy Cheon-ji are the same person. Though we hope she tells him the truth soon, so he won’t feel betrayed. The poor guy was hurt by those closest to him. Thus, it would break his heart if he trusted Seong-ah and then realized she lied to him.

The drama inspired us with how much heart it had. The scene between the grandmother and Seong-ah was a highlight. Sometimes, innocent people face misfortunes. But more than anything, it is the other people’s cruel reactions that hurt the most. The sight of the students avoiding Gyeon-woo, arguing they were scared of him, though they knew nothing about him except rumors, was annoying to watch. Their words cut deeper than knives. Seong-ah had her fair share of being overlooked, too. So, hopefully, those two will become a haven for each other.

Another interesting layer of the drama is the crush Ji-ho has on an entirely oblivious Seong-ah. It is evident he has liked her for years, but she has no clue. With Gyeon-woo entering the picture, things are bound to get complicated, especially after he reciprocates Seong-ah’s feelings. But we wish Ji-ho and Seong-ah could find a way to retain their friendship, as it is indeed precious.

Lastly, there is another key player who hasn’t appeared yet, Choo Ja-hyun‘s character, a fellow shaman who is the entire opposite of Seong-ah. So, we are excited about the showdown between the two shamans. All in all, the drama piqued our interest with its gripping premiere, and we can’t wait to see what it has in store for our young shaman and her cursed first love.

Photos and Videos: tvN Drama

25