by: rob bernardo
STORY (tragic story -- that is!)
En Xi and Jin Xi grew up believing they were blood siblings in a well-off family in Korea. They both seemed to have it all, with Jin Xi being a talented painter with plenty of girls vying for his affection in high school and with En Xi having the brains and the personality to be popular enough to be elected class representative. En Xi had what you'd call an "adolescent nemesis" in the form of Xin Ai, a girl in her class who had always been evilly jealous of En Xi because she was rich, smart, and popular, and had the protection of handsome older brother Jin Xi. However, an accident that injured En Xi when she was 14 revealed the truth: En Xi and Xin Ai had been accidentally switched at birth. Now the melodrama begins.
After what I believe is the most tragic part of the story (instead of the over-the-top love stuff) where En Xi and Xin Ai are returned to their respective actual families, the romance stuff begins. After around 8 or 9 years, En Xi and Jin Xi encounter each other again and realize that they've developed feelings for each other. However, both repress their feelings knowing their parents would oppose, and also because each has a lover in their life already. Jin Xi is engaged to You Mei whom he met at university, and En Xi had just "accepted" the love offered by Tai Xi.
Tai Xi and You Mei both figure out that En Xi and Jin Xi are not actually blood siblings and are in love. However, each tries to cling onto their lover. Tai Xi, in a noble way. First continually supporting and selflessly loving En Xi. You Mei, in an annoying way. She clings to Jin Xi as if he's the only man left on the planet and forces him to stay with her by threatening to commit suicide and lying about her injured arm. En Xi and Jin Xi finally acknowledge their love and "elope", much to the sorrow of Tai Xi and You Mei and to the vehement opposition of their parents and Xin Ai. However, they decide to not be together and return so that they don't hurt Tai Xi, You Mei, and their parents.
What's an Asian drama without a terminal illness? That's right, En Xi is diagnosed with leukemia and has only months to live. Of course, she hides this from Jin Xi who is just about to leave to immigrate to the US with You Mei. All hell breaks loose when the parents, family, You Mei, and especially Jin Xi find out about En Xi's illness, and Jin Xi rushes to the hospital as En Xi is wheeled into ER yelling "Hsa Ra E, Yun Seyo!" ("I Love You, En Xi!"). Jin Xi then gets back together with En Xi, dumping You Mei in the process when he finds out that she lied to him about her injured arm. Tai Xi looks on sadly, because En Xi does not have that many months to go, since they couldn't find a blood match for her.
So what happens at the end? En Xi dies. Jin Xi is devastated and as he walks on the street after her funeral and is overwhelmed by memories of her, he is run over by a car and is reunited with En Xi.
MAIN CAST
Song Hye Kyo as En Xi-
This
actress is naturally beautiful and elegant. A typical Asian doll look. I also
like that she didn't look like she was anorexic. Sometimes she was bland but
overall gave a really nice portrayal of En Xi. Her look matches the character
perfectly. Her crying was great and the vulnerability she showed through her
portrayal of En Xi is applauded. A pitiful character though, and unrealistically
nice. I think she lacked chemistry with her male lead, Song Seung Hun--even
their adult versions still seemed brother-sister-like. I really liked the child
actress who played teenager En Xi- who was that? She did a fabulous job.
Song Seung Hun as Jin Xi-
Relatively
likeable but not outstanding. I don't think he's handsome either-- sorry to the
fans out there. Like Song Hye Kyo, his crying was really good- the tears seemed
to flow naturally. He dressed pretty nicely too. He has expressive eyes and his
best scenes were the ones when he was alone thinking about En Xi. I also really
liked the child actor who played the teenager version of En Xi- Korean child
actors are great!
Wong Bin as Tai Xi-
D*mn
he is so good-looking. Tall, handsome, great hairstyle. Also my favourite
character in this series (not just because of his looks). He was my favourite
character because he was selfless in his love for En Xi. He took care of her,
supported her, protected her. When she fainted he called Jin Xi knowing that he
may lose her to him. Now that's a man. His performance was one of the best of
the series. His look matches his character- hot-headed but willing to sacrifice
everything for love. I actually liked him with En Xi better than Jin Xi.
PICTURE GALLERIES (janet dacpano! puno yan ng pix ni andrew!)
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