When I Was The Most Beautiful/ When I Was The Prettiest ( 내가 가장 예뻤을 때) [2020]

[abs-oluteM]

K drama land does it again . If you're looking for a scandalous student-crushing-on-teacher type romance, or some noona love , and more importantly an epic love triangle that involves two brothers , this could just be the drama for you.

 

Second lead syndrome is bound to rear its ugly head , what with the dashing Ha Seok Jin (Seo Jin) playing second fiddle as Ji Soo's older brother and a hot race car driver . Nevertheless, I am excited to see how Ji Soo (Seo Hwan) holds his own as the main protagonist in this MBC drama. Ji Soo's  romantic arc begins in his school days falling for his then homeroom teacher , played by Im Soo Hyang (Oh Ye Jin). Fast forward to the present, Seo Hwan  becomes an architect and Ye Ji becomes a ceramic artist. ( I can just envision a reenacting of Patrick Swayze's iconic romantic pottery scene on Ghost ) Anyway , according to a site I read,  Ye Jin gets caught up in a cruel twist of fate by being entangled in a love triangle with two brothers. ( Though I don't understand how being loved by both Ji Soo and Ha Seok Jin at the same time could be anything but cruel).

 

My excitement stems from the fact that Ha Seok Jin  has not been on the silver screen for over 2 years now in a main role , and this would be Ji Soo's first long overdue lead role on the big networks. Of course it will also be interesting to see Im Soo Hyang , of ID:Gangnam Beauty fame, play the  the central female character, and if she'd be able to create chemistry with both men.  Hwang Seung On (Carry Jung), rounds up the main cast playing HSJ's  jealous former girlfriend  who is a supermodel. Angst on the scale of ten is to be expected. 

-synopsis by @ abs-oluteM - 

Source: My Drama List Asian Wiki Kpopmap

Broadcast station: MBC   MBC drama site

Schedule:  Wednesday & Thursday 21:30 (35 minutes each / 2 episodes per day) beginning August 19, 2020 

Genre: romance. noona romance, drama

First script reading . (more here on MBC)

Links to :

 Info on Cast

Trailers

BTS videos

 

 

 

 

[abs-oluteM]

Cast and crew

Director: Oh Kyung-Hoon
Writer: Jo Hyoun-Kyoung

Main Cast

Im Soo Hyang as Oh Ye Jin
 Ji Soo as Seo Hwan
Ha Seok Jin  as Seo Jin
 Hwa Seung Un as Carrie Jung

 

Additional Cast Members:

Choi Jong-Hwan - Seo Sung-Gon
Park Ji-Young - Kim Yeon-Ja
Joo In-Young - Hong Il-Hwa
Jeon Yu-Lim - Jung Da-Woon
Son Bo-Seung - Baek Jung-Il
Kim Mi-Kyung - Kim Go-Woon
Shin Yi - Oh Ji-Young
Jung Eun-Pyo - Lee Kyeong-Sik
Kim No-Jin - Lee Chan-Hee
Lee Dong-Ha - Ryu Seung-Min
Lee Jae-Yong - Chairman Bang
Kim Tae-Gyeom - Kang Ki-Seok
Jung Wook-Jin - Park Woo-Geun
Kwon Hyuk - Kim Yeon-Cheol
Seo Eun-Woo - Yoon Ji-Yang

Character chart

all images credit : MBC

[abs-oluteM]

Video Links 

TRAILERS

Trailer 1

Spoiler

 

Trailer 2

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Trailer 3

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Trailer 4

Ji Soo...poor boy ..one sided crush

Spoiler

 

HSJ 😄 

...shirtless scene alert 

Press Con highlight reel

 

[Darkarcana]

7 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

K drama land does it again . If you're looking for a scandalous student-crushing-on-teacher type romance, or some noona love

[bluepebbles]

I’m wheezing on the synopsis 

[abs-oluteM]

BTS Videos 🤠

Spoiler

 

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BTS for eps 5 & 6 

Spoiler

 

Posted on 16 August, MBC walks through the drama and its main characters

Spoiler

 

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OST 1

Spoiler

 

 

[abs-oluteM]

My dearest oppa has aged quite a bit...but's ok...still love him

stills credit MBC

Spoiler

Awkward with a capital A ...two brothers in love with the same girl is not gonna end well

Spoiler

No wonder some articles I read says this is gonna be a sad love story...eeek ...obviously the relationship between the brothers  is gonna be tested big time

[abs-oluteM]

Smell the impending tragedy 

Character teasers 

 

[abs-oluteM]

Has subs 

still cuts

 

[joccu__]

this is going to start tomorrow.

I honestly don´t know what to think about based on the synopsis.

tragic, love triangle.

 

I´m going to see the first two episodes and the decide if this is drama that I want to watch.

[abs-oluteM]

1 minute ago, joccu__ said:

I´m going to see the first two episodes and the decide if this is drama that I want to watch.

Same here...i am not a fan of the premise...but who knows. Some dramas I feel so hyped about ended up being a disappointment. And shows like this where I am half-hearted about may actually surprise me 😄

[bluepebbles]

Presscon photos 

 

 

[abs-oluteM]

Dang it , how not to have SLS when HSJ removes his shirt like this 😝

Highlight reel

 

More press-con photos

Spoiler

My oppa .. @SilverMoonTea @Ameera

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Pictures credit to MBC

http://www.imbc.com/broad/tv/drama/wheniwasmostbeautiful/index.html

[joccu__]

the hightlight reel looks promising.

[abs-oluteM]

hmm  I am not sure what I really feel about the 1st episode.

 

I think that I always have a soft spot for Ji Soo . He is suited to play  Seo Hwan , a warm and sweet student who falls for his teacher . Part of me feels a little icky about it but I can see this to be something that happens a IRL . However I can't find myself really rooting for the pairing of him and Im Soo Hyang's character Ye Jin , the pretty trainee teacher. Is it because it felt rather forbidden , given that Seo Hwan is still a high-school student?  Or is it because of the visible age gap between the actors ? I know that there will be a time jump, but it may be hard to see past it given Ji Soo's sweet baby face. 

 

It was different when Ha Seok Jin came on screen...perhaps it was my bias , but I felt a different energy in his scenes....and I could sense some tension and chemistry there between him and Ye Jin.  ....how not to have SLS when he looks so good like that , lol!

Spoiler

 

 

Anyhow, the story seems rather sad and tragic as it is . Ye Jin has her own insecurities given the flashbacks of her and her mum. Something bad must have happened . The brothers have a good relationship with each other and with their dad, who I think raised them alone. Dad is handicapped due to an accident that seems related to a hiking/ climbing incident that happened years ago, and to which Seo Jin feels guilty and regretful about. Their parents are divorced, and Mum who seems successful is rather aloof and uninterested in her sons.  Then's there's also Seo Jin clingy ex-girlfriend Seung On who manages his racing team. 

 

The love triangle starts right off the bat. Seo Hwan is clearly infatuated with Ye Jin. And through a series of "fated" incidents , he is always there to save her. Then Seo Jin comes into the picture as well , and meets her in their father's home and pottery shop/studio. He too falls for her and asked his brother if he could date her. My heart breaks for the brothers , knowing that this is going to be the thing that drives them apart. Now of course all this happens in 2013...so I wonder how long the episodes will stay in that time period.

Stills for tonight...now if this is still in 2013 ...ahahah..let's just say this is one scandalous scene between an underage student and teacher .  

OST 1

Spoiler

 

 

[joccu__]

Finally was able to watch the first episodes. I still don't know what to think. The student-teacher thing doesn't suit me. Maybe in the present time it is different.

When seojin came in it was different. He was more suited. 

I going to wait for next week. Maybe then I know better. 

The start was still good. 

 

[NiteWalker]

Wait Jisoo the main lead....they should switch it to HSJ

[abs-oluteM]

No episode last night. MBC cancelled as they were doing live coverage of Typhoon Bavi

 

http://m.koreaherald.com/amp/view.php?ud=20200826000757

 

Spoiler

 

 

On 8/23/2020 at 3:16 AM, NiteWalker said:

Wait Jisoo the main lead....they should switch it to HSJ

That’s what I thought too . Especially after I saw the episodes 

[NiteWalker]

1 minute ago, abs-oluteM said:

That’s what I thought too . Especially after I saw the episodes

i only saw the Trailer and some how I felt HSJ and the girl has more chemistry

 

i guess this when the 2nd lead syndrome will start and fight again lols

[abs-oluteM]

21 minutes ago, NiteWalker said:

i only saw the Trailer and some how I felt HSJ and the girl has more chemistry

 

i guess this when the 2nd lead syndrome will start and fight again lols

Well as you can see there won’t be any wars here since the thread is so quiet . Even on twitter land , there are no heated arguments.  The problem is that right now Ji Soo’s character starts of as a high school kid who crushes on the teacher . So it’s very hard to get behind their romance. 
 

Also my dear oppa Ha Seok Jin has a very strong presence/ charisma every time he appears on screen 

 

———

New stills 

 

[NiteWalker]

54 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

Also my dear oppa Ha Seok Jin has a very strong presence/ charisma every time he appears on screen 

 

yea i can see that

[joccu__]

in drama´s I usually don´t ship anyone bc I would totally ship the wrong people. But in this drama I just don´t see how SH and YJ could be a couple. I get SH puppy love for his teacher. SJ for now looks the perfect match for YJ.

 

 

[abs-oluteM]

3 hours ago, joccu__ said:

in drama´s I usually don´t ship anyone bc I would totally ship the wrong people. But in this drama I just don´t see how SH and YJ could be a couple. I get SH puppy love for his teacher. SJ for now looks the perfect match for YJ.

 

 

Agree with you . It’s a torture for me . SH is a sweet kid but it’s still weird knowing he’s a student. Perhaps things may change with a time jump . I wonder if she’ll end up marrying SJ first , and then they make him a bad guy or that their marriage breaks down , and SH sweeps in then . Shrugs . 
And my heart goes out to Jin . He lives with guilt each day about what happened to their dad 
 

New stills. The tension btwn the brothers are already starting 

 

[abs-oluteM]

Not sure what to do with this drama. I know I’m supposed to see the good in Hwan (which I do )  & how he’s protective of her . But the problem for me at this moment is that he’s just a teenager with a heavy crush on his teacher . It’s not even the age gap that bothers me, it’s that it’s that they are in two different stations in life . The scene where he cups her face or has any skinship with her makes me feel uncomfortable. Maybe it’s meant to provoke & is to be scandalous for the sake of the plot .  Would it be different with a time jump? 
 

I know they are also trying to make Jin the so called bad guy . The player , the selfish one. But  so far he’s also been very considerate of her & i believe there’s attraction both ways . Oh well , I know I am setting myself for disappointment for him to be the end game. 
 

stills for tonight 

BTS stills . I think that wedding scene is Hwan’s dream 

 

Spoiler

 

 

[stroppyse]

On 8/27/2020 at 5:19 AM, abs-oluteM said:

Agree with you . It’s a torture for me . SH is a sweet kid but it’s still weird knowing he’s a student. Perhaps things may change with a time jump . I wonder if she’ll end up marrying SJ first , and then they make him a bad guy or that their marriage breaks down , and SH sweeps in then . Shrugs . 

 

Wait. SJ and SH are brothers, right? So, this would be a big no no!

 

This drama just seems so angsty! To be honest, I want to watch it, mostly because of Ji Soo, who I ALWAYS enjoy watching, but I'm not sure that I can get behind what is supposed to be the pairing of SH with the FL. As @abs-oluteM and others have said, SH and FL are in two very different places in their lives. Plus if SJ and FL have feelings for each other anyway, then it doesn't make sense. Unless, SJ dies before their relationship can progress, and SH is there for her or something. Though, even that's kind of ick to expect that the FL will transfer her feelings from one brother to another.

 

As for HSJ, it's good that they have a compelling, charismatic actor playing second lead in order to make the triangle more believable, but perhaps they cast too well? I guess the jerkiest thing that SJ does is move on the woman that his little brother has a crush on? Still, if it's true love for SJ and the FL, despite SJ's playboy ways, it seems harsh to rip them apart. Just saying.