The Simple Comfort in I’ll Go to You When the Weather Is Nice

These days it feels like K-Dramas are going to extensive lengths to present even more grandiose stories than before, turning a blind eye to the simpler and more relatable side of life. If you’re looking for an action-packed, high stakes drama, you may want to turn your attention somewhere else. I’ll Go to You When the Weather Is Nice may not be the most intense or dramatic drama you’ve watched, but that is precisely what makes it so great.

I’ll Go to You When the Weather Is Nice is a mellow drama currently only six episodes in, but the mood and tone of the drama has already been set. The story follows protagonists Mok Haewon (Park Minyoung) and Im Eunseob (Seo Kangjoon), former high school classmates and next-door neighbors who went their separate ways when Haewon decided to move from their sleepy rural town to Seoul and pursue a career as a music teacher. The first episode starts with Haewon making her return to their village suddenly, with only a suitcase accompanying her as she returns to her aunt’s house without warning. As we are introduced to her aunt and their particularly cold dynamic, we learn some of the background for Haewon’s decision to leave her job in Seoul, returning to her hometown with no particular plan for the future. While she was off in the big city, Eunseob stayed put and opened up a bookstore in their hometown, which he currently runs.

One of the most notable differences in the drama is the use of background music and deliberate silence. It may not be obvious initially to regular drama watchers, but there’s almost always some form of background music used during every scene, and you don’t really notice it until there’s a silent void left in that place. This becomes apparent almost immediately in the first episode, as the soft and soothing background music that accompanies Eunseob as he drinks his morning coffee dissipates into silence as we’re introduced to Haewon. The deliberate use of softer background music or no background music at all helps to solidify the more realistic point-of-view of this drama.

While out on a quiet, late-night stroll, Haewon runs into Eunseob riding his bicycle. It becomes clear that the two are very familiar with each other when Haewon doesn’t even bother to offer a traditional polite greeting, instead choosing to give a simple informal “hi” before spilling out her thoughts. On the surface, it appears to be a chance meeting, but earlier shots of Eunseob gazing at her as she approaches her family’s house up the street tease the idea that perhaps it’s not just chance that brought him before her this time, or any of the times that follow.

It’s revealed fairly quickly that Eunseob harbors special feelings for Haewon, first introduced when his little sister Hui (Kim Hwanhee) reads some of his writings and teases him about his “Irene,” whom she assumes is his foreign girlfriend. It’s apparent almost immediately that Irene is, in fact, an alias for Haewon, as he wrote down their interaction the previous night. With scenes from the past interwoven within the present storyline, it becomes clear that Eunseob has harbored these feelings for Haewon since high school. His quiet affection for her is beyond endearing and only adds to the overall softness of his character.

Haewon is a character vastly different from the ones we’ve seen Park Minyoung portray in her recent works (think What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim and Her Private Life). Haewon is a soft-spoken, distant girl with an obvious lack of outward expression that is completely reserved; she does not share her feelings. Her unwillingness to face her emotions is highlighted by her aunt in the first episode when she’s accused of ignoring what’s bothering her by focusing on fixing up the house instead. The expressionless look on Park Minyoung’s face in most shots is a very stark contrast to her previous characters, and her ability to portray a character so vastly different than usual highlights her talents as an actress. 

Rather than being the polar opposite of Haewon, like many drama couples often are, Eunseob is equally as subdued and quiet as she is. He is portrayed as a boy-next-door, soft-spoken country boy who admires Haewon from afar, doing his best to be there to support her when possible, even if he isn’t sure how to do so. As the drama progresses, the two grow closer in a very organic and natural way, with very few ridiculous antics that push them together like we see in the normal drama trope. 

That is precisely what makes I’ll Go to You When the Weather Is Nice so charming: it is extremely relatable. As Haewon’s past is revealed, it is easy for the viewer to sympathize with her struggles and understand why she is the way she is. At the same time, the relationship between Haewon and Eunseob begins as simple companionship, and her own affections for him build as they spend time together. Some may say the romance line is rather boring due to the lack of absolute hijinx that most viewers are used to (think along the lines of getting stuck sharing a room together and waking up entangled in each other, that kind of thing). While it may not be as exciting, it’s important to have a realistic relationship built in a drama every now and then, and that’s exactly what this one does.