Standing To Attention
I wasn’t initially sold on Love With Flaws but this comedy is starting to grow on me now. With Kang’s stomach problems put to bed for now and a lot less of the crude humour that dominated the early parts of this show, the focus now turns to the will-they/ won’t they romance between Seo-Yeon and Kang Woo, and is all the stronger for it. We begin in the past with Seo-Yeon and Kang as kids sitting down together eating, while he shows her the different pictures he’s drawn. This brings us back to the present with Kang avoiding eye contact and hurrying away after the middle finger incident.As he heads back and speaks to Dr Kim about the complications surrounding his condition, the Vice Principal is left with an awkward situation to deal with. As night turns to day, Kang is convinced his heart has problems and quickly learns from his doctor that he has a cholesterol issue. Attributing this to the feelings he’s experiencing, he seemingly feels better until he heads back into school again and sees Seo-Yeon. Deciding he needs to de-stress, he takes a me-day and stays at home. With three weeks to go until mid-terms, the Vice Principal rallies the troops and convinces them to work hard while Min-Hyeok sifts through his stash of food to find something to cheer up a stressed Seo-Yeon. After an unenthusiastic meeting with Hyun-Soo regarding his fashion range, they head down and begin partying. While Kang Hee traces ominous noises to a T-Rex toy out in the hallway, back at the club Kang Woo finds himself struggling to fit in and dance despite being surrounded by women. As he heads back to the office and starts sifting through his work, Seo-Yeon looks over her old possessions from school as a montage kicks in. Seo-Jeon bemoans his impossible task of raising his grades up 100 points, and as he heads downstairs he’s shocked by Joo-Hee sitting in the lounge, giving her the cold shoulder. However, she soon changes her tone when Seo-Yeon makes her put out an ad for a prospective tutor to help him. With a slick split-screen shot, Seo Yeon then phones Kang and asks to meet him, going on to question just why he hasn’t been at school. Despite him acting cool and indifferent, off the phone he’s a mess and struggles to concentrate after writing her name down on paper. Given what happened in the past and with her standing him up, he anxiously awaits her arrival. She does turn up at his house though and the two sit opposite one another in what turns out to be a very awkward situation. Meanwhile, Mi-Kyeong confronts Park when he shows up at Kang’s house, convinced that he’s gay and that the two are dating . It’s here that she explains the situation with the gay bar and he plays along, given he doesn’t want anyone to flirt with him. Excusing herself to use the bathroom, Seo Yeon stumbles upon Kang’s collection of clothes and textile work but immediately Kang shuts the door, preventing her from seeing his project. As she heads back, seeing Lee Kang in a whole new light, Mi-Kyeong messages her and reveals the truth about Park and Kang via text. Convinced that Lee Kang is gay, Seo Yeon lets her hair down and spills beer on herself by accident. As she slurps it up, Lee Kang struggles to control himself. She sits right next to him too, prompting him to stand up and tell her she needs to leave. As the episode closes out, Kang and Seo-Yeon stare each other down face to face but she jumps back when he gets an erection. More so in episode 8, Love With Flaws is certainly starting to grow on me. The quirky humour, taboo topics surrounding homosexuality and relationships, as well as the miscommunication between characters all leads to a really funny and cleverly written set of scenarios playing out. While there are moments where the show struggles to maintain its rhythm, the show feels much improved over what we received earlier in the season. It also leaves things wide open from here too and if this changing tone is maintained, Love With Flaws may bow out this year with a funny and wholesome slice of comedy.
