Love Track: When We Were Wired (2025)

An uninspired and tepid tale of high school first love

After finishing his mandatory military service, Ong Seung Wo is now back in the small screen. Seung Wo is one of the idol actors I look out for as his acting skills really shine through in slice-of-life K-dramas.

Love Track: When We Were Wired (Literal Translation: My First Love is Wired Earphones) is Seung Wo's comeback show. This is one of the episodes in a drama special aired over the holidays where each episode runs for half an hour. This has gone viral a bit for its unexpected ending.

In this episode, we have Han Yeong Seo (Han Ji Yeon) who is a diligent student studying for her College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), Korea's universal college entrance exam. Due to her unexpected rebelliousness, she met Ki Hyeon Ha (Ong Seong Wu). They formed an unexpected bond and met again years later as grown-ups.

Seong Wu is such a natural actor. He really suits modern day romance. I really liked his portrayal of a yellow flag in More than Friends. It still surprises me how he can also dance and sing and is part of Wanna One. Talk about being a multifaceted artist.

Ji Yeon's calm and soothing voice is the show's highlight for me. Her subtle expressions made relate to her character, if only for a fraction of second.

Two talented actors but this kdrama special is mediocre. The script does not do justice to what could have been a unique pairing of actors. High school days set in 2010s should have brought out nostalgic feels but it didn't. The only indication that this was a throwback to the past is we our main characters as adults. The theme was supposed to know yourself and your dreams but it didn't stir my emotions quite deftly as it should.

The ending would have been more believable if she was actually looking for him from the get-go. I rewatched the first scene and she actually didn't know that the place was his studio. The ending was a last minute random twist to break our hearts even if I agree with the message that some people in our lives only just pass through to help us grow while some are meant to stay. I'm still not entirely sold on Hyeon Ha because he seems to be only a happy-go-lucky guy but he did bring out the best from Yeong So. However, I still think he could have helped her some other way, aside from taking her fall in the teacher's office.

Anyway, why am I being so harsh on a 30-minute drama special? 😹😹 This is too short to truly stir up emotions and give a memorable story. A high school student a bit stressed out while studying hard for college entrance exam is nothing new. Ji Hyeon and Seong Wu did their best to elevate a lackluster script. Hoping someday they get paired up again in a standard length K-drama with a compelling storyline 🤞🤞

In summary, When We Were Wired's tepid tale of first love undermines Ji Hyeon and Seong Wu's talents. The lines were shallow and uninspired that I often found myself losing attention in a mere half an hour episode. This didn't evoke any emotions and an uncalled-for plot twist was added to make it a bit shocking and memorable. Honestly, I'm more convinced Yeong So's first love is her wired earphones and not Hyeon Ha. Maybe we should have stayed faithful to the title 😌

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Dreams

Short but still complete. There are parts of the story that I wish had been included, but in only 30 minutes, this film manages to present a multi-layered and complete narrative. The main story takes place in the past, but we also see the characters in the present. The central theme is first romance, but there is also a subplot about high school life. The driving force of the story is music and art, but the most important message concerns our life dreams. So, on one level, this is a reminder of our first love, but it is elevated to deliver an important message about life dreams. The act of dreaming is sometimes even more important than the achievement itself.

The actors and the production are very good. Better then in some feature movies. This is, all in all, a nice story — something we have seen before — but it is still refreshing and pure, and I can recommend it to everyone.

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