[2023 Year in Review] {Couples} that killed it » Dramabeans

[2023 Year in Review] {Couples} that killed it

by Dramaddictally

2023 was a yr of cutesy, cuddly, can’t-get-enough-kisses {couples}. It was additionally a yr for intense pining that noticed some {couples} repel like same-pole magnets the extra they tried to get close to one another. In each instances, 2023 produced a bunch of memorable romantic duos that may stick with me effectively into the longer term. And the yr wouldn’t be full if I didn’t present some love in honor of my favorites — as a result of if there’s one factor these {couples} know do, it’s present love.

The {couples} on this listing differed in some ways, however in addition they have lots in frequent. High of the listing? Chemistry. Whether or not they have been adorably shut or longingly distant, the house in between these {couples} was crammed with hearth. We watched them sacrifice and help each other, transfer from enemies to pals to lovers, and develop into one another’s best allies. Even when romance didn’t all the time result in the happiest of endings, these {couples} impacted one another’s outlooks on life in main methods. And whereas none was particularly robust within the communication division, they positive didn’t want any assist in the kissing division.

And so, as we kiss 2023 goodbye, let’s additionally reminisce in regards to the {couples} that stomped on our hearts, made us squeal, and turned up the warmth.

Name It Love
Shim Woo-joo and Han Dong-jin

Simply going again via the screencaps of this drama has turned me right into a pile of mush once more. These two have chemistry popping out their eyeballs. And their pained faces breaks my coronary heart throughout.

Woo-joo and Dong-jin are powerful to beat in terms of this yr’s {couples}. The longing, the heartache, the forbidden love — these two get the Feels Award. They spend little or no time truly being a pair, however after all that’s the great thing about it. They’re remoted folks with painful pasts that would assist one another heal, if solely they have been allowed to be collectively. The injustice of all of it had me gripping my coronary heart and grabbing for the tissues.

Past that, the modifications that these two characters undergo to even get to the forbidden love stage make them not possible to not root for. Woo-joo is a gutsy heroine who begins with passionate hate and a want for revenge, which will get funneled into affection for our male lead — with simply as a lot ardour. And Dong-jin, who begins out reserved, jilted, and slump-shouldered, turns into a supply of power as he opens up. Watching the alchemy as they go from chilly encounters to palpable attraction is painful and cathartic within the hurts-so-good sort of manner.

By the point they transfer into the bodily part of their relationship, it’s like getting hit with a fireball. And after they’re lastly compelled aside after that, the implosion is simply as robust. Though I might have preferred to see them happier, each second was price it to observe them heal.

King the Land
Chun Sa-rang and Gu Received

Made for us to like them, Sa-rang and Received delivered the buddy comedy I all the time needed — if the buddies have been additionally bent on kissing at any time when they might. I like these two for his or her simple allure, their flirtatious nature, and their willingness to forego all of the excessive drama within the identify of residing the lives they need. They could be from totally different social strata, however by no means have a chaebol inheritor and a hardworking heroine had it so easy. The answer: let one another be who they’re.

Whereas it’s true that I barbed this present a bit within the weecaps for its lack of battle, ultimately, I preferred the decision for this couple. Our hero will get to maintain his high-luxury life, whereas our heroine achieves her good-life targets as effectively — they usually meet within the center the place it is smart. Reasonably than taking us on an end-driven journey, this drama introduced out the squee-inducing moments in quantity, and I used to be glad to simply experience a pair being glad.

Additionally, let’s simply come out with it, these two know get right down to enterprise. Swimming pools, kitchen counters, bus stops, rooftops, they’re not choosy in terms of kissing and cuddling — and that first kiss underneath the sprinkler system was one for the books. Pleased {couples} who assist one another — and look mighty nice whereas they’re at it? Sure, please!

Destined With You
Lee Hong-jo and Jang Shin-yu

If lovey-dovey had a face it will appear to be this pair. Presumably my favourite couple within the comedy enviornment, I couldn’t get sufficient of Hong-jo and Shin-yu’s lovable chemistry. They’re so clearly fitted to one another that the love spell gag — which has our male lead unabashedly adoring our heroine whereas desirous to “break the spell” — is all of the funnier. She’s charming, he’s goofy, and fated or not, I can’t consider a greater match.

However the drama additionally provides us a double whammy of romance with a previous life storyline that’s as heartbreaking because the present-day story is playful. Not each couple can pull this off (I typically snooze in terms of past-life love strains), however I might comply with these fairly companions anyplace — even into their bloodied previous.

And, please, can we speak in regards to the spice? Not solely did this couple have so many kisses, however they ran the gamut in tone from comical to candy to omo (closet scene anybody?). Their adoration beams via the display screen at each flip, and I couldn’t assist however smile at any time when they smiled at one another. Even when the love spell didn’t work within the story, it definitely labored for me.

My Beautiful Boxer
Lee Kwon-sook and Kim Tae-young

Not like the opposite {couples} on this listing, Kwon-sook and Tae-young are one in all my favorites for all their other-than-romance gestures. These two are an unlikely pair, who begin in suspect circumstances as athlete and agent, with some mendacity, harassing, and pressure-filled desperation thrown in. I do know, it doesn’t sound like a romantic setup. However what I like about these two is the interaction of vulnerability and help that roots their connection — and goes in each instructions.

These characters are powerful — however they’ve additionally had powerful lives. And regardless that she’s a boxing champ, we are able to see our heroine’s vulnerability from the start. The clincher for me is that our hero (or antihero) is in the end probably the most weak: he wants her — in reality, not getting murdered by some shady wheeler-dealers relies on it. When he’s at his lowest level, she teaches him to struggle. And when it comes right down to giving her what she needs and desires within the remaining spherical, he places his life on the road for her.

The chemistry right here is excellent (and the leads are totally plausible of their roles), however greater than a romance, this pair is only a rough-and-tumble, ride-or-die duo that I beloved watching overcome their burdens collectively. The age hole initially put me off, however the heroine is so stable, I consider she will be able to deal with herself simply nice, within the ring or in romance.

The Curiosity of Love
Ahn Soo-young and Ha Sang-soo

This can be a debatable inclusion as a result of this couple was by no means a pair. However the journey to get to that non-coupledom was one in all my favourite tales all yr. The fervour, ache, and frustration that this drama encapsulates is hard to beat — and that has to do with the leads, doing their finest to keep away from damage, however hurting everybody round them within the course of.

Soo-young and Sang-soo are pissed off with their heaps in life, and irritating to observe for his or her all-too-human decision-making expertise. They need higher for themselves, however in addition they need one another. The issue is, being collectively may not be the only option to get them the place they wish to go. So, they’ve a alternative: pursue one another out of curiosity, or pursue a safer path to shifting up on the planet. What follows is a twisty-turny story of convoluted emotions and motivations — one which left an indelible mark on me.

What I like about this couple, as a lot as I wish to strangle them half the time, is that they’re actual. They’re trustworthy of their small advances towards one another, and dishonest (even to themselves) within the methods they transfer aside. They’re defensive, jaded, and terribly afraid, with bravery that solely is available in stops and begins. However after they’re collectively in the identical house, it’s just like the air is sucked out of the room. The will is so intense — however there’s a barrier that they solely hardly ever break, as a result of the social the reason why they shouldn’t be collectively are intense too.

My difficult emotions about this couple are a mirrored image of their difficult emotions for one another. And whereas a number of the different {couples} on this listing have been simpler to get behind, the payoff for this story was price it after I gave up and simply let it carry me — , like a Okay-drama hero and his girl love.

 
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