I first heard of this series in an article in dramabeans stating how it was a relief for the whole dramaland when Suzy declined the lead role. Even javabeans (or was it girlfriday?) said she agrees how everyone feels like they like Suzy and the original webtoon (where the drama originated from) but they don’t want her to portray the lead. That made me curious why they dislike the idea that I check the series out immediately after I got a copy.
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| Cheese in the Trap (Courtesy of tvN) |
Reading the plot, I was like “Oh, that familiar rich guy x poor girl, campus romance setup.” I’m not a fan of this type of drama but I kind of like the university setting. It was a school drama, after all. That gave me the push to start watching and sail off for adventure.
The drama features Hong Seol, a third year, hardworking college student majoring in marketing. Having reliable friends, Bo Ra and Eun Taek, her university life was quite blissful even though she has to do part time jobs to pay for her tuition. That was until she became the target of one of their seniors, Yoo Jung.
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| Eun Taek, Seol and Bo Ra (left to right) |
She found out that Yoo Jung only pretends to be nice and warm in front of everyone but really has a dark personality. Seol knows he’s aware how she doesn’t like him and thinks of him as kinda weird. She thought that her, being bullied was all because of Yoo Jung, punishing her for knowing his true self. Every unfortunate incident that happens to Seol is somehow related to him.
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| Hong Seol (left) and Yoo Jung (right) |
It comes to the point when she decided to take the semester off. And just when she made up her mind, she got an scholarship after Yoo Jung refused to take it. (Seol, being a diligent student, was the one next in line.) She had no choice but to continue going to school as she doesn’t have the luxury to not take the scholarship. That semester, Yoo Jung suddenly started to hit on her, asking her to dine with him every now and then.
Meanwhile, Seol met and befriended another guy named Baek In Ho, not knowing that he and his sister played a big part in Yoo Jung’s mysterious past.
I kind of know Park Hae Jin from My Love from the Star but I’m not really a fan. I did my homework and learned that Kim Go Eun is a movie actress who made her television debut in Cheese in the Trap. I was actually hesitant to watch this series because I’m not that fond of the two (or rather I don’t know them very well to be a fan). To top it all, I don’t find Kim Go Eun attractive either.
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| Hong Seol and Baek In Ho |
And then there’s Seo Kang Joon playing the second male lead, Baek In Ho. I first saw him in Cunning Single Lady where I didn’t really root for him since I’m not a fan of noona pairing. I thought this drama would be the perfect chance for him to make me experience the second male lead syndrome and ship him to be with the girl. And yeah, he kind of succeeded in that. It’s not that I really hate Yoo Jung but In Ho is just way nicer. Plus, he plays the piano! Hahaha. Well, (spoiler alert!) they both ended up not getting the girl. Yoo Jung really needs to fix his attitude first. Seol can’t love him that blindly.
All in all, the series is nice. I really like the university setting. I’m tired of actors playing high school students who are ten or more years younger than them. Also, I can relate with Seol when she deals with her freeloaders teammates. Seriously, when I was in college, most of the time, I was the only one doing most (if not all) of the work. -_- Another thing, the drama has a cute and feel-good soundtrack. Although Cheese in the Trap is not something I’ll fangirl over and over again, I still recommend it. 🙂
P.S.
I was surprised when I saw Nam Joo Hyuk played a minor role in this drama after starring in Who are You: School 2015. This guy is indeed humble.
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| Nam Joo Hyuk as Kwon Eun Taek |
P.P.S.
Even after I finished watching it, I still couldn’t understand why fans didn’t want Suzy to star in this drama. Enlighten me, please!
