Love-hate relationships are captivating. Add a past connection, a little misunderstanding, and a short-lived crush, and we are in for a ride.
Our fine-as-hell maths instructor, whose life has only been about work so far, is about to get sucked into a sweet romance with our former athlete, who happens to be the only one who can make food to his liking.
Crash Course in Romance episode 1: Meeting our hero
Our hero, Choi Chi-yeol, is a top maths instructor with looks to die for, over-the-top confidence, and a unique kick signature pose.
Needless to say, loads of parents line up in front of the academy to ensure they enrol their children’s names in his class. Chi-yeol’s nickname is trillion won star since it is the sum of money he earns yearly.
Unfortunately, however much Chi-yeol earns, he seems to enjoy his life less since all he does is work without breaks.
Claiming to prefer a natural approach, Chi-yeol refuses to go on blind dates. His so-called natural approach means that he would rather not meet anyone since, according to him, anything but work seems a waste of time.
To make matters worse, Chi-yeol can’t even sleep well (because of being plagued by a nightmare about an accident we have yet to learn about) and suffers from an eating disorder, where he gets nauseous as soon as he takes a single bite.
Being the equivalent BTS of the private education means having a lot of fan girls. But when an adamant fangirl barges into Chi-yeol’s home with cookies, and they get photographed, when Chi-yeol calls a cab for her while she keeps forcing a hug on him, the situation turns into a scandal with lots of rumours.
And people are now divided between trusting Chi-yeol and badmouthing him. Things are even worse after the student posts a picture of them during class, claiming they are dating.
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Crash Course in Romance episode 1: A hilarious coincidence
For probably the first time in his life, Chi-yeol cancels his class, not because of the scandal, but because he is sick, which should be kept a secret from students and their parents.
At the hospital, he runs into our heroine, Nan Haeng-soon, in the most hilarious way ever. Haeng-soon is a former athlete who opened a side dishes store after quitting handball.
Haeng-soon’s family includes her high school daughter, Nam Hae-yi, her autistic brother, Nam Jae-woo, and her long-time best friend, Kim Young-Joo, who also works with her in the side dishes store.
We learn that Jae-woo has a congenital medical condition, which makes even having a fever fatal to him, so as soon as Jae-woo’s temperature rises, Haeng-soon accompanies him to the hospital and stays by his side all night.
Jae-woo happens to take a unique interest in predators, especially tigers, so when he spots a tiger figure on the back of Chi-yeol’s jacket, Jae-woo can’t help but take a picture of the tiger.
Mistaking the situation for Jae-woo taking a picture of him, Chi-yeol starts yelling at Jae-woo to delete the photos and tries to snatch the phone, which gets Jae-woo scared.
Worried about her brother, Haeng-soon meddles in, telling Chi-yeol to stop and return the phone. Soon after, they both engage in a hilarious chase that ends with Haeng-soon barging into the men’s room before getting kicked out by the security guard.
Having spotted the tiger’s picture, the misunderstanding is cleared for Chi-yeol. But instead of apologizing, he throws the phone for Haeng-soon to catch. The phone’s screen gets broken, and Haeng-soon is now bent on teaching the mobile thief a lesson.
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Crash Course in Romance episode 1: A dive into our heroine’s life
The phone isn’t Haeng-soon’s only current worry since Hae-Yi is acting out of character out of the blue. To the point, she starts yelling at Haeng-soon for not acting like other mothers.
Be it giving her rides when it is raining, helping her with her assignments, and having the same information about her education other mothers have. To my utter shock, Hae-yi calls Haeng-soon aunt, not mother, before she storms out. Is Hae-yi her niece and not daughter, as we are led to believe?
Hae-yi has her reasons for being on edge. She has hit her limits, studying independently without taking any private classes, but she can’t handle it anymore.
Especially with maths, she needs to take after-school classes with a particular instructor, Chi-yeol, to raise her grades.
Hae-yi is reluctant to bring up the topic in front of the hard-working Haeng-soon since she is having it tough taking care of Hae-yi and Jae-woo. But how can Haeng-soon know about the situation if Hae-yi doesn’t tell her?
Luckily, the fight isn’t dragged out. Haeng-soon seeks Hae-yi out, and they have a heart-to-heart where Hae-yi tells Haeng-soon the truth about finding it hard to keep up with her maths studies and wanting to enrol in the private academy.
Haeng-soon listens with patience and understanding, promising to enrol Hae-yi in the next class of Chi-yeol, who, unbeknownst to them, is currently enjoying the side dishes his righthand man, Ji Dong-hee, buys him from Haeng-soon’s store.
All in all, I enjoyed the premiere. The drama got off on the right foot, introducing us to the main characters and setting the groundwork for what is yet to come. Jung Kyoung-Ho is slaying it as Chi-yeol. I had a crush on him since Hospital Playlist, but it is getting even worse that I am seriously considering joining his class like Hae-Yi.
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