elibonk

Business Proposal succeeds in creating a story that can leave you happy, excited, sad, confused, and worried all at the same time, yet somehow, when it’s all over, hapiness is what sticks with you. I don’t think that comes from the story being particularly groundbreaking or profound. It comes from the characters. Business Proposal creates a cast of people that are just genuinely fun to spend time with, and I think that’s ultimately the biggest reason the show works as well as it does.

Kim Sejeong does an absolutely amazing job as Shin Ha-ri. I believe you need the perfect person to pull off a character like this, because of Shin Ha-ri’s personality. She’s fun, chaotic, and obviously extremely energetic, but she’s also surprisingly rational and grounded. That combination could very easily become annoying or feel overly exaggerated, but Kim Sejeong makes it feel completely natural. Even when Ha-ri is put into completely ridiculous situations, she still feels like an actual person reacting to them.

Obviously, though, I can’t talk about the characters without talking about the side couple. Young-seo and Sung-hoon are gen the best side couple I’ve ever seen. If they were the main couple of their own drama, I’d probably be calling it one of my favorite romances. Their chemistry is absolutely unmatched, but I think there’s a more specific reason their relationship works so well for me: it feels incredibly natural and physical.

And I don’t just mean physical in a sexual way. You can actually feel that these are two people who want to be around each other. There’s affection in the way they interact, the way they touch each other, the way they react to each other, and just how comfortable they eventually become together. Their relationship feels less like I’m watching two characters who have been designated as the romantic couple and more like I’m watching two people who genuinely fell for each other.

Sung-hoon is also the type of male lead I wish romances would give us more often. One of my biggest problems with romance in general is the overly serious, stoic male lead. Maybe part of that is because I’m a guy, but I’ve never really understood the appeal of the dude who is supposed to seem cool because he’s constantly nonchalant and barely expresses himself. I see a similar problem all the time in romance anime, just in a slightly different form, where the male protagonist is this laid-back, almost blank character who seems deliberately designed so the male audience can easily put themselves in his shoes.

Obviously, that isn’t exactly what Business Proposal is doing with Tae-moo, but I still feel some of that disconnect with him. Ha-ri and Tae-moo are cute together, and I absolutely enjoy their relationship, but their personalities don’t always bounce off each other in a way that feels completely natural to me. Ha-ri is incredibly expressive, energetic, and human, while Tae-moo sometimes feels like he’s occupying the role of the serious, important male lead rather than simply existing as a person.

There are moments where that exterior breaks down and we get to see how caring Tae-moo actually is, and those are usually the moments when I like him the most. I just wish the show gave us more of that. I don’t need the guy in a romance to constantly be stoic, cool, and emotionally untouchable. As a guy, that archetype gets exhausting. Being caring, affectionate, expressive, or vulnerable doesn’t make a male character less attractive or less masculine. If anything, it makes the relationship considerably easier for me to believe.

That’s where Sung-hoon works so much better for me. He feels more natural and openly caring while still being a cool character. Young-seo and Sung-hoon’s personalities actually play off each other, and neither one feels like they have to completely change who they are for the relationship to work. There’s a warmth between them that I sometimes feel is missing from the main couple.

But even with that criticism, I still love Business Proposal, and I think that says a lot about what the show does right. The main romance doesn’t have to carry the entire thing because the show creates an entire cast of people I actually care about. I’m happy watching Ha-ri. I’m happy watching the side couple. I’m happy watching her coworkers. The show can move away from its main relationship and I don’t immediately start waiting for it to cut back.

And I think that gets to what Business Proposal ultimately is for me. You don’t need to come out of it having learned some profound lesson about life. Not every story needs to have some deeper message, and Business Proposal doesn’t need one to justify its existence. You don’t finish it thinking about what the writers were trying to teach you. You finish it remembering how much fun you had with these characters.

Sometimes that’s all a show needs to accomplish. Business Proposal gave me a group of characters I loved spending time with, relationships I genuinely wanted to watch, moments that made me laugh, moments that made me worried, and a romance that, even with its flaws, left me happy.

And I think that’s all that matters.