Would I Want My Brother to Date Her? Romance is a Bonus Book
Is a female character worthy to date someone I care about such as my brother? For this installment of Would I Want My Brother to Date Her? I reflect upon the lead female from the series Romance is a Bonus Book.
Our candidate: Kang Dan Yi, portrayed by Lee Na Young, a woman unable to break back into the working word after a gap being a wife and mother. She decides omitting her education and experience on a job application for a contract position is the only way to get hired. She lands a job at the publishing firm her best male friend works at. Will she realize he carries a torch for her?
Background. Dan Yi’s husband dumped her for another woman and her daughter is out of country at school. Desperate for funds for her daughter’s schooling, Dan Yi elects to hide her previous experience when applying for an hourly position at a publishing firm. She gets the job and is thrilled. The twist is her best male friend works at the publishing firm. Eun Ho (Lee Jong Suk) is an accomplished writer and editor. He’s loved Dan Yi from afar for years (before she got married) but his hesitation and the fact that he’s a younger man worked against him. Dan Yi categorized Eun Ho as a friend and couldn’t see him any other way.
Her pluses:
RESILIENT. Dan Yi suffered through her marriage falling apart only to find out her husband loved and left her for another woman. Left without alimony or child support, Dan Yi struggled to live and pay for her daughter’s schooling. She pounded the pavement and interviewed constantly, only to be rejected because the employment gap was deemed unacceptable to all potential employees. She got creative and falsified an application, secretly lived in Eun Ho’s attic, all to survive and find a path forward.
POSITIVE. Dan Yi took the contract job as an admin was willing all tasks thrown her way, no matter how menial. But she had a positive attitude and was respectful to all. The employees started to rely on her and asked her to do more difficult tasking. Dan Yi met every challenge in a positive manner becoming a valued team member.
Her minuses:
COULDN”T SEE EUN HO AS MORE THAN A FRIEND. Eun Ho had been her friend for so long, it never occurred to Dan Yi to see him as a man and a romantic love interest. Granted, Dan Yi needed time to process being dumped and divorced, which Eun Ho provided. But I wondered many times, what more could Eun Ho do to get Dan Yi to see him in a different light and break out of the friend zone.
NOT MUCH OF A KISSER. Many dramas suffer from lack of passion and this couple had no sizzle. Lee Jong Suk knows how to kiss but the kisses between these two had little heat. Lee Na Young exercised the lip press method of kissing (press lips and stay still) which was unsatisfying. Wouldn’t you have rather seen this kind of kiss between them? Video is cued to my favorite kiss from Pinocchio where Lee Jong Suk does bulk of the work but perpetual lip presser Park Shin Hye participates more than her norm.
Would I Want Her to Date my Brother?
Dan Yi is worthy of my brother’s consideration. She persevered through life’s challenges and found an upside. Her kindness would be welcome in any relationship. 👍
Asian drama fan. I watch and blog dramas on https://kjtamusings.wordpress.com/.
amusings 
Ohh, thanks for reminder of the Pinocchio kiss. I think it was the first decent kissing I had ever seen from Park Shin Hye. I concur I would have liked to have seen Dan Yi 👠👩💼 participate in kissing 💋.
Dan Yi 👠👩💼 was kind hearted and hard working; I don’t mind she was slow to pick up on the romance due to her recent divorce and time needed to heal. Dan Yi 👠👩💼 was a character that I would want my brother to consider dating❣️
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I think it was the first decent kissing I had ever seen from Park Shin Hye.
Agreed. Was it the only decent kiss or were there others?
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Park Hye Shin did a good job kissing 💋 in Doctors. I recall Memories of the Alhambra was decent. Anything is better than her storage room kiss 💋 with Lee Min Ho in Heirs … I’ve heard it aptly described as the constipation kiss 💋. 🤣
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