I thought I was too old to watch a kdrama with cartoons but the premise of the animation in this show is so witty that I zoomed through two episodes in one sitting.

The chain of events is easy to understand. It goes like this: Yumi is 32-year-old accountant. She was recently appointed to assistant manager because of her dedication to work. She has all the time to focus on her work because she hasn't dated in three years. She's been a bachelorette all this time, because of her trauma from her bad breakup.

But what makes the drama funny is how the events are explained through the perspective of her brain cells. As you can imagine, her brain cells are ready for a change after three years of singlehood.

So when a handsome officemate named Wu Gi asks, out of the blue, where she lives, her normally quiet cells are suddenly energized and clamoring for action. Even Yumi is bewildered with herself when she went in search of Wu Gi to ask him why he was interested to know her address.

Yumi: What's the big deal? Just to ask that right now?
Rational voice: That's right, it's not a big deal. Work is important right now.
Emotional voice: What do you mean? Maybe Wu Gi was sending a signal! Who asks about where someone lives first thing in the morning? This is definitely flirting.
Rational voice: Flirting?
Emotional voice: Yes! Flirting!

At this precise moment, we see her two brain cells. They're presented as an animation.

Her rational voice is called Reason, a male cell, and her emotional voice is called Sensitivity, a female cell. Yes. Yes. I'm aware of the sexism in the story...but I'm to give it a pass for now. 

As the story progresses, more cells arrive in the picture. For example,

the Anxiety Cell who worries about projecting a loser image,
the Hunger Cell who bullies everybody when it demands to be fed, and
a Minion of Cells who are Yumi's # 1 supporters.

There's even a Detective Cell who processes all the data from her encounter with Wu Gi. He informs the other cells that Wu Gi wants to work overtime with her. When his conclusion proves wrong -- Wu Gi actually wants to give Yumi a ride home -- the cells gang up on Detective Cell for his miscalculation.

I wouldn't have laughed if this aggression had been done for real. But since this was animation, I thought the message the Yumi was beating herself up over her mistake came across very well.

Yumi realizes that she's lost her touch. She's lost her touch and her "hunches" or instincts.

Reason: Did I take a break from dating for too long? No, it's because there isn't a love cell. Three years ago, on that day (i.e., the day of the break-up) On the day that Yumi's tears flooded the village. Although rumor has it that the Love Cell was swept away by tears and died, she didn't die. But she has been in a coma for three years. Yumi lost her touch and hunches. Her passion and desire for dating have disappeared too. Maybe Yumi will really grow old by herself….(then Wu Gi reappears)…It was at that moment when Love opened her eyes, after three years.

As it turns out, the comatose Love Cell is Yumi's "prime cell." It's her dominant cell which defines her. Other people may have a prime cell for romance, shopping spree, ambition, nosiness, etc. but she has a love cell.

Reason: Yumi's prime cell was love. It was amazing. It was the only one that control Hunger. It spreads magic that can make the coldest winds warm. Whatever crappy situation it was in, it was able to make happy memories. The cell of all cells. It was the star.

Finally, Love Cell reappears to the rest of the Minion Cells on the day that Yumi goes to the Flower Festival with Wu Gi. Together, they cheer for Yumi.

But Love Cell's stay is short-lived. Yumi suffers another heartbreak, and the cellular village is again flooded by her tears. This time, Love Cell along with True Feelings Cell, are declared lost along with a total of 389,210 cells.

Unknown to them, she's swept away to an island with True Feelings Cell. (Uh-oh! If her True Feelings is missing, does this mean she's going to fake her feelings, then?)

Love Cell determines that it's better if they're exiled since every time they show up, they only make Yumi sad. She said, "It might be better for Yumi to live without love or sincerity."

Meaning, whenever Yumi loved and showed her real feelings, she just got hurt. See that? It sounds cheesier when said without the animation.

And with her love cell missing, Yumi isn't expecting to find love when she goes on the blind date which the handsome Wu Gi set up for her. (The blind date plus Wu Gi's confession that he's gay caused the tsunami of tears.) Nevertheless, she goes because she agreed to.

With the gadget controlling Yumi's facial expressions ruined by the recent flooding (aka heartache), Reason Cell and Sensitivity Cell decide to use a "Reaction" Doll to control Yumi's expressions. They know that Yumi can hardly show up with a glum face, so they force her to put on an act with the socially expected reactions.

Her blind date is a 32-year-old game developer named Goo Wung (GW). Wu Gi had been trying to set him up with Yumi and he agrees to it. To be honest, I suspect that he went along with blind date just to agitate his female officemate. He didn't prepare for the blind date. He certainly didn't dress to impress. He wore ratty t-shirt, gym short, and flip flops.

Remember what I said about meet-cutes?

In romcoms, how the main couples meet for the first time is a good indicator of how the narrative will unfold. The couple may start off on the wrong foot, or keep missing each other like the proverbial ships in the nights, or fall in love at first sight.

Source: GO Into Your Heart

In this drama, it's the "push-pull" scenario again.

As soon as he meets her, he's instantly smitten (or the "pull"). So smitten is he that his brain cells immediately have stopped functioning. His mind is blank. His cellular village is deserted except for his Reasoning Cell. I like how the mist is slowly rolling into the village which means that GW is experiencing mental fog or a clouding of his consciousness. He's confused and doesn't know what to say.

In contrast, Yumi is pushing him away. Collectively, her brain cells gave him the thumbs down.

Reason: Why isn't he saying anything? Is she an idiot?
Sensitivity: What's with his hairstyle? Does he think he's Beethoven?
Anxiety: He has a beard. I hate it a lot.
Fashion: Look at his shorts and flip-flops. Clearly, this man has no manners.
Anxiety: I'm scared of that type of guy. He looks like a bully.
Fashion: But he has a handsome face.
Anxiety: Who cares if he's handsome? He looks the type who doesn't shower. His beard is messy.
Sensitivity: There's nothing more to see. I don't like him.
Reason: Still, let's not make it so obvious, for Wu Gi's sake.

Since Yumi's facial expression is controlled by the Reaction Doll, all her inner thoughts are masked by her over-the-top enthusiastic reactions. GW thinks she's enjoying his company when in truth, she doesn't.

That's the chief reason I enjoyed watching this Kdrama.

As much as I'm fan of Kim Go Eun (Call her ugly, and I'll fight you. Ha!),

Fight Me GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY

the brain cells are stealing the show. You see, the cells act like the voice of the audience. They express the thoughts that are running in our heads as we watch the scenes.

For example, when Yumi and Wu Gi accidentally held hands -- twice in a row! -- the Minion Cells danced in a circle to celebrate. I found this funny because I totally understood their thrill. I too make a big hoopla during an accidental skinship in kdramas, and I keep count of it.

Then, when Yumi ran across the park as if her whole life depended on it, the Minion Cells were chanting, "Love is about winning. Stay strong, Yumi!" I too was rooting for her to reach Wu Gi first, and leave that pesky Ruby behind.

But not only do the cartoon brain cells give me a vicarious experience, they also serve as plot points. The debate about the next course of action among the brain cells pushes the story along and provides the necessary conflict to the plot.

For instance, when Sensitivity Cell decides to stay up beyond bedtime so she can mope, Yumi begins to question her existence and her reason for being. Fortunately, Reasoning Cell comes around to knock Sensitivity Cell out of her maudlin state, so Lullaby Cell can put Yumi to sleep. lol. Essentially, then, Yumi's real struggle is found within herself.

The writer's humorous take on Yumi's thought processes is spot on. I'm definitely looking forward to the writer's interpretation of the ins and outs of dating life as seen from the perspective of brain cells.