For my fortieth drama, I chose 9 End 2 Outs 9회말 2아웃. Although a lot of new dramas have been released, I could not find one that peaked my interest. Instead, I decided to look for an older drama that I left on the backburner. Also known as Two Outs in the Ninth Inning, this drama came out back in 2007 and features Lee Jung Jin from Love Story in Harvard and Fugitive: Plan B, Park Soo Ae from Athena: Goddess of War and Im Yoon Ah from You Are My Destiny and Cinderella Man. The combination was interesting enough to warrant interest in choosing to watch 9 End 2 Outs.
Hong Nanhee (Park Soo Ae) is an aspiring writer who just turned thirty years old. Nanhee lives at home with her mother and is nagged constantly about Nanhee's failure as a writer and not being married. Byun Hyungtae (Lee Jung Jin) is her best friend, works at an advertising agency. In an effort to get away from troubles at home, Nanhee rents Hyungtae's apartment for some time while he sets off the travel the world. Hyungtae cuts his vacation short and returns home. However, Nanhee refuses to leave, insisting that she has paid her rent already. Hyungtae proposes that they will just live together since Nanhee refuses to let Hyungtae stay at her place. Both Nanhee and Hyungtae are convinced their cohabitation situation would not pose an issue because they have been friends since they were born. 9 End 2 Outs is about Nanhee and Hyungtae growing up and dealing with the struggles of becoming an adult. As Nanhee and Hyungtae comfort each other through their quarter-life crises, their friendship is put to the test when they begin to have feelings for one another.
As I watched 9 End 2 Outs, the drama felt similar to watching an anime. The story can be as being split up into different arcs: Nanhee moving into Hyungtae's apartment, breakup with Jungjoo, Hyungtae starting to date Jisun, Hyungtae and Nanhee's vacation at the resort and Sungah's return. 9 End 2 Outs uses those several smaller plots to subtly build the main love story between Nanhee and Hyungtae. Admittedly, Nanhee's relationship with Jungjoo felt weird to watch. After finishing the drama, I realized it was perfect for this drama. It displayed Nanhee's unwillingness to let go of her carefree youth and provided a lesson for individuals like Jungjoo who wanted to rush to adulthood. Both Nanhee and Hyungtae are characters who aren't that much different from real people. In fact, none of the characters have been spun out into ridiculous, unbelievable people. Both of the protagonists were very likable characters, which was one of the things I liked most about 9 End 2 Outs.
The soundtrack for 9 End 2 Outs doesn't contain too many songs. My favorite would be "Fly Again" sung by Byul. The upbeat tempo fits well with the mood of the drama. "The Right Period for Love 사랑당기기" and "Can't You See 보이나요" are also notable tracks featured in the drama. Although the popularity of many dramas is driven by the soundtracks, I can't really say that is the case for 9 End 2 Outs. It certainly wasn't horrible, but none of the songs left an impression on me the way other songs from other dramas lured me into all night marathons. Luckily, the pure simplicity of the drama and the acting abilities of the two main leads was the main reason I ended up watching 9 End 2 Outs in just a few days.
For a standard Korean romantic comedy drama, 9 End 2 Outs follows a more realistic storyline compared to other dramas I've watched. There isn't any crazy twists like terminal illnesses, fights between wealthy families or entire governments chasing after the main protagonists to drive the story. After watching about forty dramas, I felt that sometimes a drama with a simple story with believable characters was more appealing and had a refreshing feeling. 9 End 2 Outs is one of favorite dramas to watch and one I recommend for those seeking a series without a heavy plot or characters exaggerated to the point where they could only exist in television series and movies.
