Edited by Kim Won Hee
Translated by Kim Hoyeun
Yeo Jin Goo, who showed an impressive performance in Beyond Evil, met with Moon Ga Young, who showed off her charms in True Beauty, in Link: Eat, Love, Kill (hereinafter as Link). The drama begins when Eun Gye Hoon (Yeo Jin Goo) gets “linked” to No Da Hyun (Moon Ga Young) and starts sharing her feelings. Link, which introduces its genre as fantasy romance mystery, seems to be doing a good job slowly unraveling its charms in the story up to episode 4.
Gye Hoon, who starts feeling the same intense emotions that Da Hyun feels, gradually finds himself caring more and more about her. Despite his blunt words, he keeps looking out for Da Hyun whenever she’s in need or is feeling nervous or anxious. Link puts these two in an adorable and exciting composition, but like Gye Hoon’s line – “Don’t fall in love with me” – their romance keeps getting interrupted. It’s because the only person Gye Hoon was linked to in his life was his twin sister Eun Gye Young who went missing. Having lived 18 years without being linked again, Gye Hoon starts to suspect that Da Hyun might be his missing sister. His suspicion is proved wrong in episode 4, but the drama reveals that Da Hyun had met the Eun siblings in the past, making it impossible to predict where their relationship is heading. This is where it’s shown that Link is not just an ordinary romance but a fantasy romance.
Of course, the mystery is the key part of Link. Starting with “how did Gye Hoon get linked to Da Hyun and not his sister?” it throws various questions at the viewers. From the first episode, things get tangled up. While Da Hyun was struggling with her stalker that attacked her, a man was seen bleeding. Thinking that the man is dead, Da Hyun’s mother Hong Bok Hee (Kim Ji Young) and grandmother Na Chun Ok (Ye Soo Jung) hide the body inside an abandoned refrigerator nearby, but things get worse when Gye Hoon, the owner of the fridge, decides to retrieve it. Da Hyun’s family is anxious to get the corpse out of the fridge, and when Da Hyun finally makes her way inside the store, the body has already disappeared. The question is resolved when it’s revealed that the stalker is still alive, but he was hit by a car after getting out of the fridge, hence new suspicions over his whereabouts.
There are also questions regarding the town that seems to have continued from the past. How Bok Hee and Chun Ok so nonchalantly hid the body and cleaned after themselves casts doubt about their past. Also, is Gye Hoon’s missing sister dead? Who took Gye Young? The recent episode showed that Han Eui Chan (Lee Kyu Hoi), who was roaming around the store, peeing on the streets, was the suspect in the case. Then there is a police officer who’s hostile toward Gye Hoon because he suspects that he knows something, and Lee Eun Jung (Lee Boom), a woman believed to be the stalker’s sister, approaches Da Hyun like she knows nothing. All these suspicious elements may seem to complicate the story, but Link unfolds the story quite simply while maintaining a lively atmosphere.
It’s also impressive that the series meticulously points out the threats that women may encounter in their daily life, all the while keeping that delightful mystery tone. The reason Da Hyun quit her job at a major corporation was because of her boss’s sexual harassment. Da Hyun, who reproached herself for killing a man even if it was out of self-defense, realizes that she’s a victim and a survivor when she hears about a murder by a stalker. Bok Hee and Chun Ok, who had suffered domestic violence in the past, sympathize with Jo Jae Sook (Kim Hyun) who has an abusive husband. The ladies of three generations bicker in a pleasant atmosphere, but how they comfort and embrace each other’s wounds offers small comfort to the viewers.
Link, which drew attention by raising various suspicions up to episode 4, will be unveiling Gye Hoon and Da Hyun’s romance in earnest. I hope that the drama keeps a good balance between fantasy romance and mystery, and I look forward to seeing how the secrets from the past and the changes in Gye Hoon and Da Hyun’s relationship will unfold. � (6/10)
Edited by Kim Won Hee: I am a person who needs more than 24 hours in a day because there are so many things I love. I am amassing various genres in the jewelry box in my heart.
