Kdrama is full of second leads that melt your heart with their perfect boyfriend behavior. But they rarely get the girl because she usually falls for the guy in need of a personality makeover or a guy circumstances won't let her have. There wouldn't be much tension in a drama plot if she could have the man she wanted and he wanted her. And if there were no evil mother-in-laws or other impediments to their love.
The male second lead tries so hard and rarely gets the girl. Poor Shin Woo in "You're Beautiful," Ji Hoo in "Boys Over Flowers" or Yoon Sang Hyun in "I Hear Your Voice," just to name a few examples.
However in two current dramas, the lines between first and second male lead are a little blurred. And it looks like the nice guy, usually the second lead, may get the girl after all.
In "Empress Ki," Ji Chang Wook as Emperor Ta Hwan would give up his empire and even his life for Seungnyang, played by Ha Ji Won. He does whatever she asks, no matter how risky. The man she loves Wang Yoo, played by Joo Jin Mo, placed the welfare of his kingdom above hers and that may be the reason he loses her. Since Empress Ki was a real person, we know that in the end Ji Chang Wook will at least have Seungnyang's hand in marriage if not her heart.
In the not-so-historical comedy "I Need Romance," Sung Joon does everything that a second lead usually does. He adores Park Se Yeon's character, brings her flowers, washes her dishes, and gives her his coat when she is cold. He has loved her since before he could walk or talk. But she prefers her boss, who she has to convince to treat her nicely. Her boss is your typical emotionally distant k-drama lead. In your typical k-drama romance, he would be the character that the heroine would change and wind up with but it's not a given in this drama . Sung Joon's character is really the first male lead but he's the nicer guy and the better guy for her.
In real life, nice guys do finish first. Women rarely succeed in making a man over into their ideal boyfriend. A relationship is more likely to succeed if the person is already closer to her ideal to start with.
Writer Jung Hyun Jung said she wanted to create a more realistic depiction of love, not a romance that headed straight for happily ever after.
That's part of what makes both of these dramas interesting and fun to watch.
Will the guys who adore the girl have their dreams come true? The odds are in their favor. What do you think?
