In a narrative about reunited lovers, two childhood mates who’re additionally one another’s old flame meet once more after being aside for a few years. Will this mark a brand new starting for his or her story? Or, is it too late to make up for the misplaced time?
To maintain issues attention-grabbing, we even have one other two gamers, every with a crush on one among our leads, together with our heroine’s problematic relationship along with her father.
Bunny S. watches Motel California on Viki
Opening Week Scores: 
Motel California Opening Week Story
“You dream of me each night time, don’t you?”
Our story begins on New 12 months’s Eve only a few hours earlier than we attain the 12 months 2013. It’s a day to have fun with household or mates. But our heroine, Ji Kang-hee (Lee Se-young), is packing as much as take the bus to Seoul. We aren’t given a lot context. However we be taught that Kang-hee’s mom comes from a mixed-race background. So, Kang-hee appears to be like a bit totally different, with coloured eyes, truthful hair, and freckles, making her the topic of the villagers’ gossip.
The villagers are one factor. But there’s additionally the difficulty of Kang-hee having communication issues along with her dad Ji Chun-pil (Choi Min-soo) who can also be the proprietor of our titular Motel California. We are able to see Chun-pil genuinely cares for Kang-hee and needs her to stick with him. However this father-daughter duo doesn’t get alongside properly and their disputes run deep that Kang-hee deems herself a mistake in her father’s life.
Chun-pil isn’t the one one unhappy about Kang-hee’s departure, although. There may be additionally Cheon Yeon-soo (Na In-woo), Kang-hee’s greatest good friend since childhood who has a crush on her and whose emotions appear to be reciprocated by Kang-hee, given how she retains attempting to speak him into becoming a member of her and attending school in Seoul. However irrespective of how a lot Yeon-soo needs to be with Kang-hee, going to Seoul is past his means.
“Can somebody with prejudices actually consider potential with out bias?”
10 years go after Kang-hee and Yeon-soo say their goodbyes. Yeon-soo nonetheless lives of their hometown, working as a veterinarian, and receiving many gives to set him up with a pleasant girl. Nevertheless, he turns them down in favor of this spectacular woman he has in Seoul. In contrast to his previous full-figured physique, Yeon-soo misplaced all this weight and even took off his nerdy glasses. One thing that can come to chew him later since Kang-hee was agency about Yeon-soo not dropping pounds or taking off his glasses. However that may be a story for an additional day.
동글 몸매🙆♂️ + 토실 볼살🩵
강희만을 바라보는 인간 곰돌이 진짜 있음🐻첫사랑 리모델링 로맨스 드라마#모텔캘리포니아
1월 10일(금) 밤 9시 50분 첫 방송🏩#이세영 #나인우#최민수 #김태형 #최희진#mbcdrama #MBC금토드라마 #MBC pic.twitter.com/acFvdgVync— MBC DRAMA (@mbcdrama_pre) December 17, 2024
In the meantime, Kang-hee is now an inside designer. However the factor is: she obtained blacklisted and now works for a nasty boss on a development website. Fortunately, Kang-hee meets somebody who acknowledges her expertise and helps her safe an internship at a significant firm. On her first time there, individuals look down on Kang-hee regardless of her abilities simply because she graduated from an unknown college. Not that Kang-hee lets individuals stroll over her. Placing on her smoky make-up, a.ok.a her fight apparel, Kang-hee reveals them what she is fabricated from.
Assembly her first consumer, Kang-hee makes a superb impression on them and pulls an all-nighter to place a design collectively. However Kang-hee’s boss mocks her design and fires her, calling her an inescapably B-grade designer. That man is unbearable, to say the least. Satisfyingly sufficient, Kang-hee teaches him a lesson earlier than packing her belongings, together with the designs, and leaving.
꼬질해도 귀여워…(♡˙︶˙♡)
고향 떠나 생고생하는 강희’s 서울살이💦첫사랑 리모델링 로맨스 드라마#모텔캘리포니아
1월 10일(금) 밤 9시 50분 첫 방송🏩#이세영 #나인우#최민수 #김태형 #최희진#mbcdrama #MBC금토드라마 #MBC pic.twitter.com/dNy8IyChjT— MBC DRAMA (@mbcdrama_pre) December 19, 2024
“If you happen to eat the primary snow ten instances, you can be along with your old flame.”
At any time when she is down within the dumps, imagining Yeon-soo in entrance of her helps Kang-hee acquire energy to struggle for an additional day. Unbeknownst to her, Yeon-soo heads to Seoul each probability he will get, hoping he may run into Kang-hee. On the day she was assembly the consumer, Yeon-soo got here throughout Kang-hee however missed her earlier than they may meet.
As luck would have it, the outdated mates lastly get to satisfy, however sadly, it’s at Yeon-soo’s grandfather’s funeral. Listening to the information, Kang-hee returns to the city for the primary time since she left. And her go to turns into the speak of the city. Recognizing her, Yeon-soo wraps Kang-hee in a decent hug. However paradoxically, she will’t acknowledge him now that Yeon-soo misplaced weight.
We thought Kang-hee would keep within the village for a bit, particularly since she was fired from her job. However Kang-hee leaves as abruptly as she confirmed up after getting right into a struggle with a imply man who used to bully her since they have been kids. It’s also price noting that Yeon-soo stepped up for Kang-hee, and punched the imply man, marking his first fistfight ever.
“There’s a man claiming possession of me. I need to get away from that man.”
Awaiting Kang-hee in Seoul is a nice shock, although the method resulting in it was fairly embarrassing. Having acknowledged Kang-hee’s expertise, the consumer from earlier than, Geum Seok-kyeong (Kim Tae-hyeong), selected her design over the one from her nasty boss and in addition employed her to work on one other venture. (The nasty boss begged Kang-hee to return to the corporate, providing her a flowery title, but Kang-hee turned him down and took on the venture as a freelancer. Method to go, lady!)
With issues sorted out at work, Kang-hee can now catch a fortunate break, particularly since she put in an excessive amount of effort and held out for lengthy to get this opportunity. However there’s one minor drawback troubling her. Because it so occurs, each Kang-hee and Chun-pil share the identical birthday, which coincides with Christmas Day. One thing Chun-pil is thrilled about and Kang-hee is exasperated about. Yearly since she left, Chun-pil books a lodge suite for the 2 of them to have fun their joint birthday, a lot to Kang-hee’s dismay.
Kang-hee is sick of it. However Chun-pil gained’t cease till Kang-hee will get a boyfriend. Cue: Kang-hee asking Seok-kyeong (who, unbeknownst to Kang-hee, has a crush on her) to faux to be her boyfriend and assist her shake off that “man” who claims possession of her. Besides, the one ready for Kang-hee within the lodge suite this time isn’t Chun-pil however Yeon-soo, who appears to be like appalled to see Kang-hee with one other man.
As we finish this week, we get a flashback of Yeon-soo in search of Kang-hee throughout Seoul since Chun-pil refused to inform him Kang-hee’s handle. With solely the little piece of intel that Yeon-soo works at a comfort retailer, Yeon-soo visited each comfort retailer on the market till he got here throughout Kang-hee. Nevertheless, Kang-hee was having such a troublesome day that she instructed Yeon-soo to not come see her once more. (That’s not proper!) Because it so occurs, Seok-kyeong was additionally current, although we don’t know but if any of the three bear in mind assembly again then.
Motel California Opening Week Musings
That was a superb begin. Having flashbacks from childhood and highschool days sprinkled all through the episodes makes the story extra participating, conserving us curious whereas additionally giving us attention-grabbing parallels and contrasts to the current day. A 20-year-old Kang-hee was stuffed with ardour when she first got here to Seoul, however the world has been harsh to her. Hopefully, she’s going to shine once more after getting that treasured probability to indicate the world her distinctive designs.
I additionally like how pure-hearted Yeon-soo is, lending a hand to everybody round him, together with strangers. In a fast sequence, we see Yeon-seo assist a stranger safe a shelter for some take a look at canine she managed to free however didn’t know what to do with. No surprise mentioned stranger, Fellow Veterinarian Yoon Nan-woo (Choi Hee-jin), fell for Yeon-seo at first sight and requested round if he had a girlfriend.
It’s evident how Yeon-soo continues to be in love with Kang-hee however lacks the braveness to behave on his emotions. When he lastly mustered up the braveness to make a transfer on Kang-hee, issues ended up getting extra difficult with Seok-kyeong getting into the image and Yeon-soo mistaking him for Kang-hee’s boyfriend.
We are able to see that Kang-hee has emotions for Yeon-soo as properly, given the scene the place she imagined getting married to him and the way shocked she was to see him within the lodge suite. However Kang-hee has at all times prioritized her goals and future over her emotions. So, I’m curious to see how she’s going to react. Will Kang-hee appropriate the misunderstanding? Or, will she go away issues as they stand?
강희X연수 10년 만의 재결합, 그리고 결혼식까지 직행?!👀#모텔캘리포니아
금토 밤 9시 50분 방송🏩#이세영 #나인우#최민수 #김태형 #최희진#mbcdrama #MBC금토드라마 #MBC #MotelCalifornia pic.twitter.com/wPffa7Fcgf— MBC DRAMA (@mbcdrama_pre) January 11, 2025
The story appears to be like promising and there are lots of plotlines to look ahead to, like our leads’ previous, the explanation Kang-hee’s mom left, and Kang-hee’s reconciliation along with her father. To not point out the upcoming love quartet that hopefully gained’t get too messy. Stick with it, present!
Motel California streams on Viki each Friday and Saturday!
Photographs and Movies: MBC Drama
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