K-Drama Rewind, Marriage Contract: Lee Seo-jin and Uee’s teary romance puts its broken heart in the right place

You hear the name Marriage Contract and immediately imagine a trope-filled, Mills-and-Boon-esque story: A man and a woman entering a relationship of convenience and — inevitably — falling in love. You wouldn’t be wrong. After all, contract marriages are just one step up from the  ‘fake dating’ trope, and only a half-step behind enemies to lovers.

 But, that’s where the k-drama Contract Marriage proves you wrong, perhaps, just a smidge. It becomes a story of parental love, survival and constantly being pushed to the precipice, and the exhaustion of just trying to take a step back. Lee Seo-jin plays Ji-hun, a snarky, Casanova-like chaebol who is suddenly confronted with the impending death of his biological mother. Desperate to save her, he looks for any possible solution. His father, cold and dismissive, refuses to help — in his eyes, the woman brought her fate upon herself.

Ji-hun’s last hope appears in Uee’s Kang Hye-soo, a struggling single mother diagnosed with a brain tumor. Ji-hun, of course, has no idea about her illness — and for reasons known only to her, Hye-soo keeps it secret. This plot, however, does drag on a little longer than it needs to.

Nevertheless, the two enter into a partnership, putting both their lives and careers at risk, and restrained politeness slowly melts into a friendship, which transforms into love. This element is actually enjoyable to watch: You can see Ji-hun slowly thawing, as he spends time with her daughter, and starts to enjoy the presence rather than actually see it as a contractual obligation. Yet, for the most part, he remains unaware of Hye-soo’s suffering and grief, as she tries to deal with her bitter mother-in-law, and her own illness. Her silent battles, with illness, a bitter mother-in-law, and the crushing fear of leaving her child alone — sometimes tip into the weary 'sick woman' trope, with suffering drawn out to the point of monotony.

 For around several episodes Ji-hun is left in the dark about exactly why Hye-soo is rejecting him; he’s not a fool, he knows that she loves him, despite her cold, brutal dismissals.

But finally, they discover a way to work things out, amid much dynastic chaos, upheavals and pleading. Be warned, this is a 2016 drama; so you’ll get all the old-timey melodrama (which you might even be looking for at this point). However, there are several scenes that actually convey the messiness and trauma of human emotions, that you almost feel like covering your eyes.

In one scene, Hye-soo receives a phone call from her mother-in-law, that leaves her emotional and moved. In her trance, she leaves behind her phone in the bus and tries to track it down. The words by a huffy conductor ‘You should take more care’, is seared into her, and she breaks down into realistic, grieving sobs. This is probably the most painful part of the series, as Hye-soo’s brokenness comes through. A mother, trying to save her own life, as well as her child’s, knowing that she is entering into a rather dangerous partnership. The loneliness comes bearing down on her as in that moment, she feels that she really has done nothing right.

 Marriage Contract isn’t such an easy watch, apart from the foibles of cliched storytelling at points and desire to prolong a plotline. It’s rough around the edges, but the broken heart is at the right place.