hotelier

If a guy really, really likes you, he will move heaven and earth to be with you, that is the lesson I learned from this drama circa 2001. One of Bae Yong-jun's earlier projects, BYJ with less "enhancements."

The story revolves around the employees of Seoul Hotel, mainly focusing on the love triangle among Suh Jin-young, Han Tae-jun and outsider Shin Dong-hyuk (Bae). Suh and Han used to be an item before Han left for Nevada after a scandal orchestrated by a female guest who has her sights on him. The hotel was left in the management of President Choi but after his untimely death, his wife sent Jin-young to Nevada to look for Tae-jun. Jin-young met Dong-hyuk in Nevada and he was smitten by her and to his luck she was working in the hotel where he was contracted to do M&A (merger & acquisitions) work for.

In the beginning, Jin-young still liked Tae-jun and I believe Tae-jun liked her too, I'd like to believe until the very end. But Dong-hyuk was very persistent- he knew what he wanted: Jin-young. I was really rooting for Tae-jun and Jin-young so it was annoying for me that Dong-hyuk and Yun-hee (Song Hye-kyo) were in the picture. But eventually, with Dong-hyuk's persistence, he won Jin-young's affection. Throughout the drama Jin-young was actually confused whom to choose: the one she's very comfortable with and can lean on anytime (Han) or the one who looks very lonely and she'd want to erase his pains (Shin). I really believe that Han could have won her over if only he wasn't so passive. Hmph. Team Han pa rin ako.

I always thought their bickering was cute. Yun nga masyado lang siguro naging comfortable sila sa isa't-isa. In other words, they've lost that loving feeling. Haha, cheesy. But really, I wanted them to end up together. But this guy won:

Bae Yong-jun ca. 2001. Mas pogi ;)

How I wish someone would do what Shin Dong-hyuk did for Jin-young for me. Grabe, ang haba ng hair ko siguro nun. Well, anyway... not only did he rescind the contract for the M&A of Seoul Hotel but he used all of his money to save the hotel just because Jin-young asked him to. One of my favorite scenes was when Han asked Shin if he was doing all this because Jin-young begged him to. Shin answered she just asked him. That he would do anything for her, all she had to do was ask. If a guy wants you, nothing can keep him away. If he doesn't want you, nothing can make him stay. Amen.

But you see notwithstanding the fact that Dong-hyuk has done everything and has given his everything for the woman he loves, I still pick Han Tae-jun. I think I like Tae-jun because he is very much a gentleman and until the very end when he took part in surprising Jin-young. I feel he still has feelings for Jin-young. Wag na si Yun-hee, fallback lang siya, epal. Haha.

I was heartbroken when I saw that sad look on his face when Shin Don-hyuk came
back for Jin-young. Ang bagal mo kasi, p're.

Hotelier is a very good drama with a nice story and good actors. Too bad they don't make dramas like they used to. Well, sometimes there are also new, good dramas but mostly rom-coms. Not that I am complaining because I love rom-coms, it's just that once in a while I'd like to watch a good love story/drama such as this one, Winter Sonata or Phoenix/Firebird.