How to Buy a Friend: Episode 1 - Existential Crisis on Aisle 3 with a Side of Fistfight
Let's face it, making friends in high school is a competitive sport. You've got the popular crowd who radiate sunshine and effortless cool, the brainiacs who speak fluent Pythagoras, and then there's...well, there's us mere mortals. Enter Park Chan-Hong, our protagonist and resident wallflower. This poor guy blends into the background like a chameleon wearing camo.
Meanwhile, Across the Cafeteria A Fistfight is Brewing
On the other side of the lunchroom, we have Heo Don-Hyuk, the school's resident bad boy. Don-Hyuk is basically a walking rumor mill, shrouded in mystery and sporting a permanent scowl that could curdle milk. Things get interesting (read: chaotic) when a bully decides to pick on Chan-Hong. Just when you think things are about to go south for our friend Chan-Hong, BAM! Don-Hyuk swoops in like a knight in slightly tarnished armor and lays the smackdown on the bully.
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The Unexpected Transaction: Poems for Protection
Here's where things get weird. Turns out, Don-Hyuk isn't just a brooding bad boy with a mean right hook. He also possesses an uncanny ability to sniff out good poetry. Yes, you read that right. After witnessing Don-Hyuk single-handedly scatter the bully brigade, Chan-Hong, still slightly dazed, mumbles a poem he just wrote. Don-Hyuk, with the emotional range of a teaspoon, suddenly looks interested.
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The "Friendship Contract" is Born (Emphasis on the Air Quotes)
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Thus begins the most unusual barter system ever seen in the hallowed halls of academia. Don-Hyuk, desperate for Chan-Hong's literary genius to help him decipher a cryptic poem (because apparently, even bad boys have secrets!), offers Chan-Hong a proposition he can't refuse: his feared reputation as protection in exchange for poem deciphering services.
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Episode 1: Cliffhanger City, Population Us
The episode ends with Chan-Hong, still reeling from the day's events, tied to a chair in a creepy abandoned warehouse. Don-Hyuk, looking slightly worse for wear, is sprawled on the floor next to him.
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**So, did Don-Hyuk sell his soul for a poem? Did Chan-Hong just stumble into a bad action movie? **
Tune in next week to find out, folks! In the meantime, grab some popcorn, this K-drama is about to get wild.
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