"Someone Noticeable" Episodes 1-3 recap

An (played by Choi Soo-young) is a producer for the JTBC variety show Hidden Singer. Out of the blue, she gets a text from her ex-boyfriend Jin-yeong (played by Shim Hee-seop), that ends rather ominously right when he seems to be on the verge of telling her something important. An and Jin-yeong have been broken up for awhile, so it's not a calamitous emotional event for her. But still, An was close enough to Jin-yeong that his loss hurts, and she begins to obsess over discovering his cell phone password.
Creepy elements notwithstanding, "Someone Noticeable" is fundamentally just sweet nostalgia. The more flashbacks we get of how An and Jin-yeong first meet, and how they start to become a couple, the more infectiously cute these encounters become. From the first meeting to the first date to the first kiss to the first failure, everything they have together is genuinely touching. The chemistry between Choi Soo-young and Shin Hee-seop is palpable. An is assertive and confident, while Jin-yeong is demure, yet the only time they quite feel like themselves is when they are with each other.
Note also how the flashbacks do not come from conscious effort. An's moody emotional state is enough that random tasks she does through the course of a normal day are enough to trigger these powerful memories. It's actions, rather than mementos, that keep Jin-yeong alive in An's head, which is enough to underscore the huge developmental influence Jin-yeong had on the college age So-ah's personality.
The same is almost certainly true vice versa, which is why An's curiousity is so all-consuming. There is no happy ending here. Knowing Jin-yeong's mental state at the time of his departure will not give An closure and peace. All these memories keep reminding her of is the fact that An had a real connection with Jin-yeong, and that she is never going to get that back.
The vantage point we get from "Someone Noticeable" takes place entirely in An's head. and It's telling how An is a woman who doesn't get offended by external circumstances. While she easily brushes off a mean comment about her work attitude, An is badly hurt by sincerely good eavesdropped advice because...the truth of that statement on love just confirms what An was already thinking. That breaking up with Jin-yeong was a mistake that can never be fixed. All she has left now is his phone.
Review by William Schwartz
"Someone Noticeable" is directed by Lim Hyeon-wook, written by Yoon I-na-I, and features Choi Soo-young, Lee Won-geun, Shim Hee-seop and Jeon Hye-jin.

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