New Kdrama Alert: Marriage without Love (Marriage, Not Dating)

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I don't know what it is about summer, but it makes me want to start a billion romantic comedies. I can't stop! I no sooner finished You Are All Surrounded than I randomly picked up Marriage without Love/Marriage, Not Dating. This is where I draw the line, though! I'm not allowed to start any new dramas until something else ends. I'm falling behind as it is!

I had heard very little about this drama, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because Dramabeans didn't start recapping it until after I started watching. Whatever the case, here's an overview for those of you who, like me, might have missed the memo on this one:

Overview: Marriage without Love stars Yeon Woo Jin (aka the sad murderous guy in Arang and the Magistrate) as Gong Gi Tae, a successful, grumpy plastic surgeon who doesn't want to get married. Han Groo (who it took me a solid three episodes to recognize as the girl from Killer Girl K--maybe because she wasn't dripping with blood?) is Joo Jang Mi, a girl who wants revenge on the guy who broke her heart. Because of some utterly nonsensical reasons, they decide to fake a relationship. Toss in a love hexagon, and you've got the show.

Thoughts so far: Okay, so the plot isn't exactly groundbreaking. In fact, the reasoning for the fake relationship is worse than usual in this one. I get that he wants to keep his house, but seriously. You're a freaking adult. Put on your big boy pants and just say you don't want to get married. 

Even though the entire show is one enormous cliche, I'm enjoying it quite a bit so far. The leads have nice, believable chemistry that makes this the perfect throwaway summer show. Han Groo's character could be my worst nightmare, but the actress is pulling it off with just enough attitude to make me like her. I will say, though, that she needs to grow a backbone and start saying no to people pretty soon here. Otherwise, we may end up with a Personal Taste situation on our hands.

The love hexagon is fun for a light comedy. I mean, the less said about Jung Jin Woon's acting, the better (Let's just say that his face is very pretty and leave it at that), but overall, it's a fluffy show that--so far--seems to understand what people want from a fluffy show. I can appreciate that.

P.S. The cold open on episode 6: Clever undermining of audience expectations, or mean writers playing tricks on the audience?

Where to watch Marriage without Love: