I Hear Your Voice: 10 Years

by Devina

Damn it. One of the songs, Why Did You Come Now, has been stuck in my head. I’ve been humming it, singing to it, and even recording it on Smule.

Damn it. I actually really liked this series.

Plot

10 years ago, a little kid named Park Soo Ha and his father were on the road when a truck hit them. The truck driver, Min Joon Gook, got out of the truck and started beating the crap out of Soo Ha’s dad, killing him. And when he was about to kill Soo Ha, two teenage girls spotted them and distracted Joon Gook from killing the little boy.

Later on in a trial, judges had no enough evidence to charge Joon Gook guilty and despite Soo Ha’s plead that Joon Gook was the murderer, the committee could not take the words of an eight year old seriously. However, one of the two teenage girls who saved him, Jang Hye Sung, came forward as a witness and put Joon Gook in jail.

Before he was dragged out of the court, Joon Gook strangled Hye Sung and swore to kill her one day. Little Soo Ha comforted Hye Sung later on, telling her, “I will protect you.”

For the next ten years, Soo Ha kept searching for Hye Sung. To her, he believed he owed his life. And he wanted to keep his promise to protect her from Joon Gook. Meanwhile, Hye Sung became a public defender and had changed a lot. She stopped fighting for truth; she just did her job for the pay check. 

When Soo Ha found her again, he was surprised that she was not the girl he had dreamed of for the ten years. He was disappointed that she wasn’t what he had thought; however, when he found out that Joon Gook was released from prison and out to kill Hye Sung, Soo Ha went on to keep his promise to protect the girl who had saved his life.

Of course, as time passed, Soo Ha, who had devoted most of his life crushing on Hye Sung, eventually developed real feelings for her. He started doing everything he could to be close to her, and to protect her. So when he found out that Hye Sung liked her colleague, Attorney Cha, he was heartbroken.

And after Joon Gook killed Hye Sung’s mother and avoided guilty verdict, Soo Ha decided to leave Hye Sung and disappear.

A year later, Soo Ha was found with a different identity. He had amnesia and was the prime suspect to the assumed dead Joon Gook. Hye Sung and Cha took up the case and defended Soo Ha until he was pronounced innocent. Afterwards, Hye Sung decided to cut off ties with Soo Ha. But even without his memory, Soo Ha still fell in love with Hye Sung and tried to get to her despite her telling him not to.

Hye Sung realized that she loved Soo Ha too, but decided against it due to their age gap and other reasons unmentioned. On the other hand, Min Joon Gook was still alive and planning to kill Hye Sung.

Characters

Park Soo Ha

A kid with the ability to read other people’s minds. After his parents died, Soo Ha did not have anyone, and his relatives avoided him due to his ability to read minds. For ten years, he kept searching for Hye Sung, believing that he owed her his life. And when he found her again, he fell in love again with her like he did when he was a kid.

Jang Hye Sung

A cocky public defender who was blunt, straight forward, and always knew what she wanted. When she found out that Soo Ha had the ability to read minds, she decided to ask him to help her out in the court to win cases. Growing up poor, she only had her mother, and when Joon Gook killed her mother, Hye Sung felt like she lost everything. Unfortunately, Joon Gook was released free with the help of Cha, and due to that she ended her relationship with Cha.

Min Joon Gook

After losing his wife, Joon Gook blamed Soo Ha’s father and decided to kill him. However, Hye Sung’s statement at the court put him in jail, and he swore to kill her when he got out. When he was released, he started planning to kill Hye Sung, but he found it hard to do since Soo Ha was always around Hye Sung. So Joon Gook approached Hye Sung’s mother and later on killed her. A year later, his left hand was found at a fishing pond, and he was assumed dead. He actually was hiding, and purposely framed Soo Ha as a murderer.

Attorney Cha

Hye Sung’s colleague and love interest. He was the most noble, honest, and trustworthy being in the entire series universe. Hye Sung fell for him, and they started dating briefly. Their relationship was cut short after Hye Sung’s mother was murdered by Joon Gook, and he was forced to act as Joon Gook’s lawyer. Due to lack of evidence, he helped Joon Gook get out of life sentence, and lost Hye Sung’s trust and love afterwards.

Why the romance worked

Firstly, I know some people aren’t really into the age gap. I was fine with it though. It worked because Soo Ha fell in love with the idea of a heroine when he was a kid. When nobody believed him and his father’s murderer was to be pronounced innocent, Hye Sung saved him. So he grew up alone, unloved, yet he survived with the image of Hye Sung on his mind. In a way, throughout his life, he only had the memory of Hye Sung to protect him from falling apart. So of course, when he saw glimpses of humanity in the ever so fierce Hye Sung, he fell in love with her.

Hye Sung initially fell in love with Cha, someone who was so different from her. He was noble, seriously all rounded good, and he would do anything for her. However, their romance was meant to end the moment Min Joon Gook requested Cha as his defender. By then, it was obvious that there was no way these two could be together. Ever.

And Hye Sung who always kept herself guarded found comfort in Soo Ha who could see past through her walls. Hye Sung was someone who said and thought of different things. She’d say, “I hate this,” when she liked something. Which was why Soo Ha worked for her because he knew exactly what she wanted. He also reminded her of her old self, someone who’d risk everything to fight for the truth, and in a way, he brought out the best of her.

Why it’s great

Of course, it being a Korean drama, this drama got a lot of twists and everything was connected. It’s a good thing by the way. I liked how everything came together neatly and the writers planned it out so well that finding a plot hole was difficult. 

Lee Jong Suk. This is the third time I’ve seen him in a drama. After W, in which I wasn’t that impressed, then Pinocchio in which he impressed me, this drama really showed me what a great actor he really is. This guy owns every character given to him. He’s not attractive to me in a way that a main actor should be; he’s too thin, his face is too small, and overall, he’s just too pretty. But, I believe him every time he’s on screen.

In this series he played as a young man who grew up without his parents. And it showed. The way he expressed sadness, jealousy, anger, and happiness. The way he smiled and cried, and even his eyes were convincing. I was blown away by his acting skills.

Like seriously, I now understand why a lot of series are starring Lee Jong Suk. Why, even though there are better looking actors, he was the chosen one.

9.1/10

I seriously loved this drama. Damn it. I really liked it it’s bothering me. I’m not supposed to like this kind of things, I swear, but then this series really got its own charm. Of course, it has a lot of similarities to Pinocchio, but then, I like this drama a little bit more.

Oh, and this is the song that’s been stuck in my head. Enjoy.