Seo Hyun-jin’s winter is finally thawing. Warmth slowly begins to seep into a heart that had long been frozen.
In Love Me, Seo Hyun-jin portrays Seo Jun-gyeong, a woman who has confined herself within prolonged loss and loneliness. Pretending she is fine and insisting she is better off alone, the cracks in her carefully maintained life gradually begin to show. As love reenters her life, viewers are closely watching what choice Jun-gyeong will ultimately make.
In Love Me (directed by Jo Young-min, written by Park Eun-young and Park Hee-kwon, produced by SLL and How Pictures), Seo Jun-gyeong is an accomplished obstetrician-gynecologist with an impeccable resume. Beneath that polished exterior, however, lies profound solitude. Seven years earlier, following the accident that claimed her mother Kim Mi-ran (played by Jang Hye-jin), Jun-gyeong withdrew from both her family and the world, trapped in guilt and regret. Believing that avoiding relationships was the only way to avoid pain, she chose isolation.
The emotion that halted her life was regret. Harsh words spoken at what she never imagined would be the final family dinner. The “next time,” which she believed would always come, never arrived. The first to recognize her loss was her neighbor Joo Do-hyun (played by Jang Ryul). Though Jun-gyeong initially tried to flee from his gentle approach, she gradually realized that nothing could be resolved on her own.
After acknowledging the fear-driven denial of love that stemmed from her dread of loneliness, Jun-gyeong chooses love once more. Her relationship with Do-hyun transforms her daily life. A home once empty like a ghost house fills with the scent of food and the warmth of shared living. Two pairs of shoes and two toothbrushes now sit side by side. Through double dates and ordinary days together, Jun-gyeong experiences a happiness so deep she wonders if she is truly allowed to feel this content.
Crisis, however, arrives without warning. Jun-gyeong learns that Do-hyun has a son. Overwhelmed by betrayal, she pushes him away without hearing his explanation. Yet after a brief separation, it is Jun-gyeong who reaches out first. Watching Do-hyun run back to her, she realizes that she loves him far more deeply than she had believed.
Jun-gyeong’s transformation is not merely a romantic progression. It is a narrative of growth in which a woman who remained trapped in solitude due to emotional wounds chooses to live again after loss. Removing the cold mask she once wore for self-protection and embracing even her fears, her choice resonates with striking realism. Seo Hyun-jin completes this delicate emotional arc with remarkable density, conveyed through wavering eyes and fleeting pauses in breath.
Another choice now awaits Jun-gyeong. Do-hyun’s son Daniel (played by Moon Woo-jin) arrives in Korea after 14 years in search of his father. Previews for episodes five and six, airing January 2, capture the tense first meeting between Jun-gyeong and Daniel. Love, once again, is poised to face a new test.
Like warmth blooming at the end of a cold winter, anticipation builds over what kind of love will remain at the conclusion of Seo Jun-gyeong’s journey in Love Me.
Meanwhile, Love Me is based on the Swedish original series of the same name created by Josephine Bornebusch and was also remade in Australia under the title Love Me. The series airs every Friday at 8:50 p.m. on JTBC, with two consecutive episodes broadcast each week.
Reported by News Culture M.J._mj94070777@nc.press
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