EXTRACURRICULAR
No. of epi : 10
Runtime : 45-72 min
Platform : Netflix | Dramacool
IMDB : 7.8 | MDL : 8.5
MY DREAMS ARE EXPENSIVE : Oh Ji Soo.
Trailer
https://youtu.be/aV_DBz2rKsI
Plot : Male protagonist Ji Soo is the hard-working, ordinary high school student who normally keeps to himself and lives a pretty mundane life.... Except the one thing people around him don't know is that he anonymously works as the head honcho of a prostitution, or as he likes to put it, "protection service" app that pairs buyers with clients.... If the participant (prostitute) is confronted with a dangerous situation, one middle-aged man named Lee Wang Cheol's job is to step up and protect them.... So he ends up doing most of the dirty work, while Jisoo organizes everything behind the scenes.
In the beginning we learn that Ji Soo lives alone. Both his parents abandoned him years earlier, leaving him to fend for himself.... That's why he needs this high paying job and uses the money he makes from this job to pay for all his tuition, fees, and bills.... As viewers watch scenes displaying his work ethics at school while doing his job at the same time all for the sake of achieving his dreams to graduate, we find ourselves admiring his level of conscientiousness and can't help but empathize with him, even though deep down we understand what he is doing is wrong.... At least in my case, I was rooting for him the whole time.... It didn't seem right to not want a good kid like him to succeed in life, so I kept praying that he wouldn't get caught. 🤣🤣
Then a girl named Bae Gyuri a member of the same club Ji Soo is in, comes along and that moment was when everything changed.... She eventually found out about Jisoo's secret part time job by snooping through his stuff.... Eager to escape her constricting life, she told Jisoo that she wanted partnership in his business.... Although Ji Soo was reluctant at first after multiple blackmail threats of exposure and destruction from Gyuri, the two agreed to join forces, becoming partners-in-crime.
Soon after the two got caught up in dangerous situations they never thought they'd be in.... People who were against the app sought out their identities and wanted revenge on them.... Jisoo's plans of staying safe through distancing himself backfires and things turn into a matter of life and death. The two start lying, fleeing, and doing everything they can to save their source of income.... I had to sit and watch as Ji Soo's life started falling apart little by little and the worst part is there was nothing I could do about it😂😂.... I guess the thing that shocked me most was how far he was willing to go to keep his job a secret. Of course if caught, he would get sent to jail but curiously in his mind, not graduating and having a stable career was worse than getting arrested.... The frustration felt as if taking one step forward was two steps back. Every attempt at concealing themselves only made matters worse.
By the end, the character I became extremely attached to was Mr. Lee Wang Cheol.... Him acting as a grandfather figure to Min Hee (2nd FL & prostitute) made my heart ache.... Hats off to Choi Min Soo for his realistic, melancholic portrayal.... You can tell he is wise, really cares for Min Hee and would do anything to protect her despite her protests, That's why I was so affected by his death.
Although I saw it coming I still bawled my eyes out during the final battle scene between him and the karaoke house owner.... The coolest thing about this Mr. Lee, was how tanky he was.... I mean he was able to withstand damage from a mob's attack & getting a f*cking axe in his back, started walking not long after he woke up after being unconscious, went back to fighting a larger mob, suffered repeated punches, kicks and stabs, and still ended up having the strength to beat the shit of psycho karaoke house owner.... What an absolute legend!!!! I respect his commitment and sense of duty to the job.
Ki Tae was the character I didn't know how to feel about at the end.... I detested the way he bullied the kids for no reason, Just seeing his smug face made my blood boil.... However the last few episodes somewhat humanized him as it depicted his heroism.... I think they were supposed to be his redemption episodes since he stood up for Min Hee (his GF).
Acting/Characterisation :
This was a hard watch because I loved Oh Ji Soo and it's impossible not to sympathise with him and root for him.... He was criminal yet you will end up sympathizing with him only because of Kim Dong Hee's acting skills.
Oh Ji Soo have VERY SIMPLE YET EXPENSIVE DREAM : TO LIVE AN ORDINARY LIFE, to get into universivrsity, to get married & have kids. He cant evn afford his simple dream because he have no money in his pocket.
His father is gambler & mother divorces his father & left her only child with gambler father who have no money. After that his father also abandons him.
So to achieve his simple yet expensive dream he starts this illegal business.
Bae Gyuri (main FL) is show stealer, Im just in love with this Sassy, bold character of Park Joo-Hyun's.... I also really loved her entire set up and characterisation.... In saying that I'm sure us as the audience aren't meant to be rooting for her completely, she has her flaws as well as her redeemable qualities. Which has it's own pros and cons.... She is a realistically imperfect character but regardless I love this transition into strong female leads the Kdrama world is having.... She is not your typical FL character from high school kdramas, here she is character who hangs out with thugs from boxing & basketball team.... She is the one character whom evn bully like Kawk Ki-Tae fears so you can imagine how much power she holds in whole school.
She comes from very wealthy family and her future is very well set as her mom wants to make CEO of her own company but Bae Gyuri doesnt want anything from her parents.... She just wants to escape from her parental house as it suffocates her alot, thats why she offers partnership to Oh Jisoo in his business.
Kwak Ki Tae was a surprise he's another character I usually wouldn't be into but I liked him more and more as the episodes went by. Nam Yoon Soo did fantastic job portraying school bully.... Cant wait for his next drama Tomorrow's Webtoon with Kim Saejeong.... Iam glad he finally got ML role after doing many side character roles & second lead roles.
Jung Da-Bin portrayed role Min-Hee a high school student & minor prostitute who steps into prostitution world to make her BF Ki-Tae happy by providing him expensive gifts.... Last i saw her in Live On kdrama , here i can say she definitely improved her acting skills but her character was not that impressive.
All the actors were on point, I'm surprised at how new and young they are.... One actor who surprised me most is Kim Dong Hee as just recently i completed Sky Castle in which he was portraying very geek character named Cha Seo-Jun. In Sky Castle he didnt get very much screen space to showcase his acting skills but here proved that he is here to stay.
Show is set in very realistic version of korea so i will not go into Cinematography & all as its not typical kdrama where makers are putting lot of budget to make it as much as grand they can.
BGM : bgms are very catchy & fits perfectly with each & every other scene.
I loved this OST
https://youtu.be/uD0gR5mLN0U
Overall Ratings : 9/10
Plot : 9/10
Acting : 10/10
Music : 8/10
Rewatch value : 8/10
Edited by IamRaj96 - 3 years ago