Korean high-school romance ‘Summertime‘ has a pretty simple friends-to-lovers plot: Yeo Eun Ho and Cha Do Hyeon have known each other since they were babies in diapers and are childhood best friends. However, Do Hyeon is completely obsessed with the cute Eun Ho and wants their friendship to progress into romance. Eun Ho, who’s initially oblivious to his friend’s feelings, isn’t quite convinced that they should mess with what they already have.
Directed by Bae Yun Seo, ‘Summertime’ spans 10 episodes and is based on the novel Summer (하절기) by Iiromill. Debut actor Seong In Ho plays Cha Do Hyeon, a serious, poker-faced model student with the best grades in school, while Kim Do Min portrays his crush Eun Ho, a slacker with average grades and absolutely no idea what he wants to do in the future. Their parents were close friends, but after Do Hyeon loses both of his parents in an accident, Eun Ho’s family pretty much becomes his foster family. So crossing that line from lifelong friends to lovers isn’t exactly straightforward.
The best thing about Summertime? Probably just how ridiculously cute Kim Do Min is as the totally clueless Yeo Eun Ho, whose childhood bestie is hopelessly obsessed with him. Eun Ho looks like the fluffiest dog you’d want to pocket and take home. Kim Do Min also played the high-school version of Kim Yoon-Sik in The Prosecutor’s Proposal, even though he’s only two years younger than the actor playing the adult character. But that’s the thing: Kim Do Min has an incredibly cute, cuddly cat-like personality and feels like he’d fit right into a high-school teen show like XO, Kitty.
Seong In Ho, on the other hand, often feels stiff as Cha Do Hyeon. His poker face works when the character is meant to be serious, which is, well, most of the runtime, but his expressions barely change even when he’s alone with his crush or in more emotionally charged scenes. Instead of giving “handsome, strict class topper,” he occasionally gives off more of a serial-killer/stalker vibe. Some of that is also the script’s fault, because the writing essentially gives Do Hyeon two moods: he’s either horny or mildly angry.
Although, that also means Summertime isn’t simply about longing gazes and social distancing like some other K-dramas with queer protagonists, such as Heesu in Class 2. Once these best friends finally start dating, they actually behave like hormonal teenagers: they go on plenty of dates and make out whenever they get the opportunity.
A small subplot involving transfer student Kwon I Hyeon (Im Young Min) getting close to Eun Ho also sparks some jealousy in the first half of ‘Summertime’. It leads to one of the show’s more memorable confrontations, after Do Hyeon catches the two sharing a cigarette and promptly rats Eun Ho out to his parents. They have a comical and charged argument over it to highlight just how possessive Do Hyeon can be about his childhood best friend.
The storytelling itself needed more work, though, because the writers keep throwing in random angst that doesn’t always make much sense. In the climactic episodes, Eun Ho suddenly becomes insecure and jealous, even though Do Hyeon gives him very little reason to feel that way. If anything, Do Hyeon practically smothers him with attention, so it would’ve been much more believable if Eun Ho had started feeling scared or overwhelmed by the intensity of their relationship instead.
Given that this is clearly a modest-budget production, Summertime is ultimately a decent one-time watch about two high-school best friends navigating the awkward transition from friendship to romance. And if you, like me, sometimes tune into a show or movie simply because one of the leads is cute or gorgeous, well, watch this one for the adorable Kim Do Min.
Rating: 2.5 stars on 5. Watch ‘Summertime’ on iQIYI
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