Life may sometimes seem like fiction, but to highschooler Eun Dan-oh (Kim Hye-yoon) her life changes forever when she learns that fiction is her reality. In the imaginative K-drama, Extraordinary You, Dan-oh discovers she is a character in a comic book. And not even the main character at that! The drama explores the concepts of freewill and destiny as Dan-oh, with the help of extra character, Number 13 (Rowoon of The King’s Affection and Destined with You), attempts to overcome the fate set out for her by the writer.
- Series Title: Extraordinary You (Korean: 어쩌다 발견한 하루)
- Starring: Kim Hye-yoon, Rowoon, Lee Jae-wook, Lee Na-eun, Jung Gun-joo, Kim Young-dae, and Lee Tae-ri
- Written by: In Ji-hye and Song Ha-young
- Directed by: Kim Sang-hyeop
- Network: MBC TV
- Where to watch in the US: Viki
- Year Released: 2019
- # of episodes: 32
- KafeNook Rating: 4.4 sips
Extraordinary You — !! Spoilers Ahead!!
The concept of Extraordinary You is an intriguing one – a story within a story where main character, Eun Dan-ho, finds herself as a supporting character in a comic book. But what makes the drama engrossing to watch is how it’s comprised of layers of stories. Thankfully, I’m not talking confusing Inception-like layers, but a thoughtful nesting of stories that define and shape the characters’ lives.
The outermost story of Extraordinary You is about highschooler Dan-ho and her journey to change her fate. Within this story is the high school drama, “Secret”, a comic book featuring a trio of leads and a handful of supporting characters, one of whom is Dan-ho. The world of “Secret” contains scenes from the comic book that take place on the “Stage” and scenes outside of the comic that take place in the “Shadows”. This becomes important to Dan-ho and her quest. In the Shadow of “Secret”, the historical story from the comic book “Trumpet Vine” is introduced through flashback. It’s a previous work by the same author and contains several characters, including Dan-ho from “Secret”, but in different roles. Because “Trumpet Vine” is another comic book, it also contains scenes of Stage and Shadow. Not confusing at all!
Ready to dive in?
An Intro to “Secret”
At first glance, Extraordinary You appears to be a typical high school Kdrama filled with standard cliches and troupes. This is the world of “Secret”, a story reminiscent of Boys Over Flowers. Instead of the F4 (Flower 4), “Secret” has the A3. Poor girl Yeo Joo-da (Lee Na-eun) attends a prestigious high school on a scholarship (think Jan-di). She is pursued by Oh Nam-joo (Kim Young-dae of Moon in the Day), leader of the A3 (Jun-pyo’s counterpart). Second male lead, Lee Do-hwa (Jung Gun-joo) is Joo-da’s “alarm bell”. (Though unlike BOF’s Ji-hoo, Do-hwa plays the violin instead of the guitar.)
Teenager Dan-oh and third member of A3, Baek-kyung, are supporting characters in “Secret.” On Stage, they fulfill their role in helping to move the romance of the leads forward. At the same time, they have scenes involving their own backstories. For Dan-oh, this means dealing with a failing heart and a ten-year crush on Baek-kyung, who is always mean to her. Angst ridden Baek-kyung, suffers through his own tragic backstory of an abusive father and the memory of watching his mother die when he was a boy.
When Dan-oh begins experiencing memory loss as her character moves from one Stage scene to the next, she believes something is wrong with her. Her life turns upside down when she learns her world is the comic book “Secret”. That doesn’t seem so bad, until she realizes her supporting character status.
“Secret” – Living Between Stage and Shadow
Dan-oh wants to be the main character in her life. As she becomes aware of her existence and begins to live more in the Shadow, she chafes at the dreadful backstory given to her by the writer. Seeking answers, she connects with high school cook, Jinmichae (Lee Tae-ri). Nicknamed the Dried Squid Fairy, Jinmichae tells her about the comic they are living in and how the scenes of Stage and Shadow work. On Stage, Dan-oh navigates the confines of her supporting character’s life. In the Shadow, she is free to explore who she is away from her Stage persona. And Dan-ho wonders – can she change her fate?
Dan-oh’s ticket to doing just that comes in the form of extra character Number 13 (Rowoon) – someone included by the author in the background but who doesn’t have a name. (Side note: While Rowoon may have little dialog to begin with, he more than makes up for it with a glorious range of expressions. Longing, painfilled looks. Looks filled with hopefulness and joy. Expressions of agony and sadness. Who needs dialog!) Like Dan-oh, Number 13 has gained consciousness and spends his time in the Shadow searching for answers about his life. As Dan-o learns, this means he can act on Stage and make small changes to the story. She enlists him into helping her and gives him the name “Ha-ru” meaning “day”. Unfortunately, changing fate comes with a price.
The initial cost is Ha-ru disappearing from the comic. His absence makes Dan-oh realize how much she cares for and misses him. When Ha-ru returns, this time as a full supporting character complete with a backstory, Dan-oh is overjoyed to see him. Her joy is short-lived when she learns he doesn’t remember their time together. This is almost more heartbreaking for Dan-oh because the Ha-ru she cares for makes her feel like she is a main character.
Ha-ru eventually regains his self-awareness – and his memories. But as he and Dan-oh continue to try to change her fate, Dan-oh “dies” in the Shadows. When she returns, it’s to her unaware state with no memories of her time with Ha-ru. Now it’s Ha-ru’s time to suffer as he watches and waits, hoping her heart will lead her back to him. In a lovely echo of Dan-oh’s thoughts, Ha-ru says that to him, Dan-oh is his main character.
“Trumpet Vine”
During his time in the Shadow, Ha-ru has memories of another life where he is the bodyguard for Prince Baek-kyung. In that life, Dan-oh is Prince Baek-kyung’s fiancé, the person he plans to frame for the death of the king so that he can take the throne. This is the historical comic book “Trumpet Vine”, the author’s previous work. Ha-ru remembers becoming self-aware in this older comic and how he fell in love with Dan-oh. In the Shadows of “Trumpet Vine”, he confesses to her and tries to protect her from the prince’s plot. Despite this, he is unable to change his characters actions on Stage when ordered to kill Dan-oh.
Baek-kyung, who is now self-aware in “Secret”, finds the comic book “Trumpet Vine” and is the first to recognize that he, Dan-oh and Ha-ru are reliving their story from that comic. He accuses Ha-ru of being the one to kill Dan-oh and that he will do so again in “Secret” if he doesn’t stop helping her change to her fate. Eventually, they both remember that it’s Prince Baek-kyung who thrust the sword into Dan-oh.
After a lot of self-reflection, Baek-kyung realizes what Dan-oh means to him. He also knows that because he has more scenes on the Stage with her, it’s up to him to find a way to change her story. Though Baek-kyung wants Dan-oh to be with him (and shows what a great boyfriend he can be during some of their final Stage scenes together!), he ends up putting her own happiness before his. His redemption arc is fulfilled when he allows Ha-ru to take his place on Stage to see Dan-oh. This leads to the return of Dan-oh’s self-awareness along with her memories.
Back to the Other Love Triangle in “Secret”
While the love triangle of Dan-oh, Ha-ru and Baek-kyung plays out, the love triangle of the leads from “Secret” starts out in typical fashion. Best friends Nam-joon and Do-hwa vie for sweet, friendly Joo-da. Things change for Do-hwa when he becomes self-aware. Unlike Dan-oh, his personality becomes a more fully flushed out version of his “Secret” character. This makes him one of the best characters in the show and a joy to watch (especially in the scenes in Shadow with friends Dan-oh and Ha-ru). He empathizes with Nam-joon and sees what a great guy Nam-joon is whether on Stage or in the Shadows. He likes Joo-da even more and, with the help of Ha-ru, confesses his feelings to her while in the Shadow.
Things seem to improve for Do-hwa when Joo-da gains consciousness and remembers all the things he has done said to her in the Shadows. Joo-da likes him and wants to spend time with him but she has also realized that she is the female lead in “Secret”. This gives her confidence to call out the way supporting characters treat her and to change her circumstances. But, unlike with Do-hwa with his more fully formed personality, Nam-joon only ever thinks of Joo-da. She likes being the main character in his life and wants to stick by his side. Of course, this doesn’t stop her from offering to date Do-hwa and Nam-joon on alternate days, leaving Sunday to herself!
Random Things I Liked
How Dan-oh runs around the school bumping into the backs of boys to find the character who saved her from the stairs. Then seeing this used as the trigger to restore Dan-ho’s memory when she backs into Ha-ru under the tree.
The way Rowoon’s character, Ha-ru, says “extraordinary you”. It’s adorable!
Dried Squid Fairy! It’s such a funny name. I laughed every time I read it in the subtitles. Jinmichae is a mysterious character throughout much of the show, but his aura of tragedy makes sense once his history from “Trumpet Vine” is revealed. How nice that he and his love are reunited by the end of “Secret”. Maybe the writer isn’t so bad after all?
Dan-oh’s best friend Shin Sae-mi (Kim Jin-in) is a study in contradictions. In her stock role as the main bully to “Secret” lead Joo-da, she isn’t very likable. At the same time, she is such a good friend to Dan-oh. And though she professes to love with Nam-joo, she clearly likes vlogger Ahn Soo-chul (Kim Hyun-mok).
Extraordinary You Ending
By the time the story of “Secret” ends within Extraordinary You, supporting character Ha-ru is gone and Dan-oh’s is heartbroken without him. Several years later (yet another Kdrama troupes!) Dan-oh is in college. People who look like her former classmates are there but with noticeable differences. For instance, the character formerly known as Nam-joo shows questionable fashion sense and is frowned upon by people who revered Nam-joo in high school.
Dan-oh sees a picture of her and Ha-ru from “Secret” sitting on a bench under a tree and remembers her promise to Ha-ru. They will meet when they are 19 and 20. She runs to the tree, hoping to see Ha-ru, only to be disappointed when he isn’t there. As she leaves, he emerges from the back side of the tree and looks at her intently. She turns away, disappointed when he doesn’t seem to know her. Then he says her name. A “portal” appears – the biggest indication that this is yet another comic. In this comic, however, Dan-oh and Ha-ru, are merely extra characters with no specific story by the writer. They are free to live their life in the Shadow as they chose. Nice. They deserve happiness. (For however long the new comic book lasts!)
But — I must admit to some disappointment in the ending. What I kept waiting for in Extraordinary You was to learn the identity of the author. I thought the author might be Ha-ru at first, then Dried Squid Fairly before I landed firmly on Baek Kyung’s suspicious younger brother. (Played by Bae Hyun-sung who is the quirky Chaebol heir in Gaus Electronics.) None of these guesses panned out. Even worse, the identity of the author is never revealed. I felt certain the author had his/her own tragic backstory that drove the storylines for “Secret” and “Trumpet Vine”, and I really wanted to know what it was. Alas. The author will remain a mystery.
Extraordinary You Soundtrack
The soundtrack for Extraordinary You contains several memorable songs including Sondia’s, The Story That has Never Been Told, and two versions of First Love – one sung by Sondia, the other by Epitone. My favorite song of the drama, and the one I added to my Kdrama Favorites playlist, is A Story Never Ending sung by Stray Kids. I especially like this Stray Kids A Story Never Ending video on YouTube posted by MBCkpop as it showcases the different parts of the song that each member sings or raps.
