Spooky In Love: For The Lonely (& Dead) Souls

This rom-com k-drama tells the story of Cheon Yeo-ri (Park Eun-bin), a hotel heiress whose ability to see ghosts causes her to live in isolation, and passionate prosecutor Ma Gang-uk (Yang Se-jong), who's scared of ghosts but teams up with Yeo-ri to crack unsolved murders. Their chaotic partnership eventually blossoms into a sweet romance.

As a sucker for Park Eun-bin's work, I felt I was the target audience for this show. Her filmography is so impressive, and she's able to portray a diverse range of characters with so much talent. And while the premise was interesting, if not a little overused in k-drama writing rooms, I found this show to be occasionally lacking. One of the main problems I had was that the chemistry between the leads wasn't as explosive as I envisioned it would be. It seemed awkward at times, not quite having the natural connection which I expected from two seasoned actors. This stemmed from what I believed to be a rushed romance storyline. One minute they were keeping their distance, then the next he was confessing his love to her. It didn't feel fully fleshed out, and I think that overshadowed the watching experience for me.

The other main problem I had with this show was the second male lead, Kang Min-hwan (Ong Seong-wu). His sole existence was to compete with Gang-uk for Yeo-ri's love and eventually cause drama, which would've been entertaining if he didn't derail so spectacularly. It's 2026 and we're still writing male characters who are professional victims? When Yeo-ri ultimately rejected him, he made it his mission to ruin her life. He went after her business, her family, and even her own life, simply because he couldn't handle his own inadequacy. Sorry man, but your insecurities are not her problem or her fault. This scorned second male lead role still exists pretty commonly in k-drama cannon, and I don't think it's going away particularly soon, but Min-hwan is the most recent example of one who was so annoying to watch.

Even after all this complaining, the show wasn't completely hopeless. I enjoyed all of the subplots: giving the deceased closure, the infighting between members of Yeo-ri's wealthy family, and her journey of opening up to the people around her. I think the leads played their characters well, giving them the personality and dimension to exist outside the main romance plotline. And her wardrobe was definitely enviable, but that doesn't mean I'd want to see spirits just to own it.