Because of his grandmother's superstitious belief that those closest to her come to harm, Louie has been raised far away from Korea in a beautiful palace in France with servants who cater to his every whim and a bank balance large enough for him to buy any thing that strikes his fancy. His lifestyle suffers a significant reverse when a trip to Korea finds him penniless and with no memory of who he is. He is rescued by a young woman who harvests ginseng for a living and has come to Seoul to find her brother. Their attempt to live and support one another is hampered by her naivete' and Louie's reflexive need to shop.
I started watching this series and enjoyed it a great deal, much of which is because Louie is such a fun and funny character. He's essentially a 25 year old puppy dog who pouts when his demands aren't met, rueful when he causes trouble, easily winded when he runs too fast but so goofily warm-hearted that you can't blame Go Bok Sil for taking him in, feeding him and quickly forgiving him when he overspends their limited funds.
But the second male lead is equally hilarious. Cha-Joong Wan is Go Bok Sil's grumpy boss who falls in love with the oblivious Go Bok Sil. He yells, scolds and complains while doing some of the nicest things for her and even for his rival, Louie. I have to say that every time he grunted in frustration (which was frequent) I had to laugh. But honestly, nearly EVERYONE is funny is this series: Louie's grandmother's right-hand woman who is conversant with the virtues of carrying a baseball bat; Go Bok Sil's volatile neighbor lady and her layabout son; Cha-Joong Wan's interfering parents (particularly his mother). The main villain's beautiful daughter, who you'd think you'd hate because of her attempts to undermine Go Bok Sil, ends up being comically inept. Equally memorable is her kindly spacy mother who keeps unconsciously upending her villainous husband's machinations.
I kept waiting for the series to lose itself in overwrought dramatics and humorless plot twists. Yeah, it gets a little lost narratively speaking towards the end and some of the events that occur are obviously filler to get the series to the requisite 16 episodes. But as a whole, the series is cute, funny and heartwarming.
