I Extremely ❤ 'Romance Is a Bonus Book'

Romance Is a Bonus Book tells the story of long-time best friends Kang Dan-i (Lee Na-young) and Cha Eun-ho (Lee Jong-suk).  When they were kids, the former saved the latter from being hit by a car, and was the one who got hit instead.  The injuries kept her away from school for a year, but while recuperating in the hospital, the grateful boy would constantly visit her.  From then on, the two have been like big sister and little brother.

At age 37, Dan-i is a down-on-her-luck divorcee.  She used to be a hotshot advertising executive, but she gave her career up to become a full-time housewife.  After the divorce, she is left broke and homeless.  She attempts to return to the workforce but discovers that, despite her impressive resume, the job market is prejudiced against those who have been away for years.

Meanwhile, 32-year-old Eun-ho is a bestselling author, a university professor, a radio host, and the chief editor of Gyeoroo, a thriving publishing company.  Smart, successful, handsome, and kind, he is much admired by the people around him – a bonafide eligible bachelor.

One day, Dan-i discovers an opening for a low position in Gyeoroo.  Desperate for a job, she applies for it despite being overqualified, and submits a watered-down resume to be hired.  Eun-ho is against it at first – since he’s uncomfortable of that fact that the work is demeaning for her – but eventually, after completely realizing her situation, he supports her.

Now working at the same environment, their lives become more intertwined than ever, setting up a favorable opportunity for the close friends to gradually transition into lovers.

Prior to Romance Is a Bonus Book, it had been a full year since I watched my last K-drama series.  This may have played a big part on why I got to extremely love this show.  Since it’s the first K-drama I’ve had after a lengthy break, it feels so refreshing.

Nevertheless, regardless of whether there’s validity in that or not, Romance Is a Bonus Book is truly an absolute pleasure to watch.

It ticks every box in my checklist for what makes a great K-drama experience:

• It’s so delightful that a smile is constantly plastered on my face while I’m watching it.  Sometimes, I giggle like a giddy, little girl.
• It’s so addicting that I find myself binging it until early morning.
• It has a compelling, slow-burn romance.
• The couple isn’t the only engaging characters, but their supporting cast as well, and I get to care about each one’s individual arcs.
• The comedy has me in stitches.
• It at least has one slick, catchy OST (i.e. “Rainbow”).
• After watching the series, I am raring to re-watch the whole thing – or at least many of its best moments (which I did!).
• In the end, I begin wishing that it gets erased in my memory so that I can undergo once again the joy of watching it for the first time.

Seriously, I think Romance Is a Bonus Book has overtaken – or, at the very least, has tied – Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Ju as my second most favorite K-drama of all time (for the record, my all-time favorite is I Hear Your Voice, which also starred Lee Jong-suk).  That’s how much I’ve enjoyed it.

It’s not perfect though.  It has cliches, and has some aspects that I feel are thinly written.  Moreover, the final episodes aren’t as strong as I hoped.  Nevertheless, as a whole, it’s nothing short of terrific.

As a romantic comedy, it’s superb as far as the romance and comedy are concerned.  Meanwhile, many of its dramatic moments are thoughtful and poignant – especially those centered on Kang Dan-i; my heart really broke for her.  On top of these, as a book lover, I appreciate the heartwarming, idealistic look it took on book-making as well as the book-themed metaphors its narrative employed.

Romance Is a Bonus Book is the fourth K-drama I’ve seen that stars Lee Jong-suk (but I won’t be seeing him for a while from now on, since he started his mandatory 2-year military service last month).  Either he’s becoming my favorite K-drama actor or he’s just coincidentally turning up in all these K-drama I’ve found worthwhile.  Anyway, he’s pretty good here once again (although his character is arguably a Mary Sue – a bit too perfect).  In addition, he’s shown that he has a knack for doing noona romance and creating excellent, winning chemistry with his older leading lady.

In I Hear Your Voice, LJS was paired with Lee Bo-young, who is ten years his senior (their characters, however, only have a six-year age gap).  Now, in Romance Is a Bonus Book, he’s paired with Lee Na-young.  His character is 32 years old while hers is 37 years old.  However, in real life, LJS is just 29 years old while LNY is 40 (Wow!  She really looks much younger her age).  LJS has had impeccable chemistry with both, but I feel what he shared with LNY is a bit superior.  This is probably because, for years, LJS has always been fanboying on LNY, considering her his dream girl (read this info in an article somewhere); and thus, working with his crush must have been a real blast for him and his acting was probably accompanied by real-life gushing.

All things considered, the resulting product is this wonderful, endearing rom-com called Romance Is a Bonus Book – which not only ended up getting a spot in my K-drama pantheon, but so far, also happens to be my most favorite TV show of 2019.