Kim Jeong-heon is On Woo-ju’s ex-boyfriend who is still in love with her. In Frankly Speaking, Joo Jong-hyuk plays Kim Jeong-heon.
Kim Jeong-heon is a celebrity entertainer, best known for appearing on variety shows. With his squeaky-clean image, he is known as everyone’s ideal son-in-law.
However, Woo-ju, a variety show writer, keeps her distance from him and refrains from working with him due to their shared history.
Jeong-heon’s feelings for Woo-ju
Jeong-heon and Woo-ju dated when they were both rookies in their respective fields. Back then, they were happy together.
Eventually, Jeong-heon broke Woo-ju’s heart, leading to their breakup. However, Jeong-heon still has feelings for Woo-ju.
Jeong-heon is now a star entertainer, and Woo-ju is a head writer, but they rarely ever work together, as Woo-ju tries to keep her distance.
Unlike Jeong-heon, who keeps looking for a chance to be close to Woo-ju, Woo-ju seems to be completely over him.
When her show gets canceled and she starts working on a new one, Jeong-heon refuses all the offers he gets in the hope of getting the opportunity to work with Woo-ju.
Woo-ju eventually swallows her pride and takes Jeong-heon’s offer to cast him for the success of her new show, despite her reservations about working with him.
Before they start filming, Woo-ju makes it clear that she is only interested in having a professional relationship with him and is unwilling to discuss anything personal.
The past complicates the present
Jeong-heon not only has a history with Woo-ju but also with Ki-baek. Jeong-heon and Ki-baek were friends when they were in school.
Jeong-heon can be a pushover, similar to how Ki-baek used to be before he got electrocuted. He entertains his fans’ demands even when they make him uncomfortable.
However, on the show, Jeong-heon and Ki-baek come across as opposites. While Jeong-heon is the professional, Ki-baek is just an amateur, whose sole purpose is to provoke Jeong-heon.
What complicates matters further is that they both used to like the same girl, Cho-hui, and fought over her in high school. Now, they are appearing on Woo-ju’s variety show alongside Cho-hui.
If that was not enough, Jeong-heon grows insecure about Ki-baek’s relationship with Woo-ju, who also joins the show as a contestant.
As Jeong-heon navigates his relationships with people from his past, it remains to be seen how his star status changes.