Something in the Rain

Something in the Rain is a 2018 South Korean television series directed by Ahn Pan-seok and written by Kim Eun. It stars Son Ye-jin and Jung Hae-in. The series marks Son Ye-jin's small screen comeback after a five-year break. It aired on JTBC from March 30 to May 19, 2018, every Friday and Saturday at 23:00 (KST).

It became available for streaming on Netflix in April 2018, and on Disney+ in Japan in February 2022.

Synopsis
The series explores the relationship of two people as they go from being "just acquaintances" to "a genuine couple". Jin-ah (Son Ye-jin) is a district supervisor in her 30s at the coffeehouse franchise Coffee Bay (an actual Korean chain) and Joon-hee (Jung Hae-in) is an animator in his late 20s at video game developer Smilegate Entertainment. When he returns from working abroad, he reconnects with Jin-ah — who also happens to be best friends with Joon-hee's sister since childhood. The episodes give an intimate look into how they fall in love, struggle with their age differences (considered to be taboo in some circles), and find the courage to go public with their relationship to everyone around them.

The series also contains a secondary storyline about the struggles that female employees face in the company where Jin-ah works, as they try to climb the corporate ladder amidst sexual harassment, mistreatment, discrimination, and career sabotage from their male managers – all part of an unspoken culture of sexism considered to be normal among South Korean companies.

Main

 * Son Ye-jin as Yoon Jin-ah, a single woman, age 35, who works as a store supervisor in a coffee franchise. Despite being an easygoing person, she lives a rather hollow life. After being dumped by her boyfriend, she suddenly develops romantic feelings towards her best friend's younger brother Joon-hee.
 * Jung Hae-in as Seo Joon-hee, Kyung-seon's younger brother, age 29, who works as a character animation designer at a video game company. He recently returned to the country after working abroad in the USA for three years. While getting reacquainted with his older sister's best friend Jin-ah, he helps her get out of a few difficult situations and begins to fall in love with her.
 * Jang So-yeon as Seo Kyung-seon, Joon-hee's older sister and Jin-ah's best friend, age 35, who runs a coffee shop under the same franchise where Jin-ah works.

Employees at Coffee Bay

 * Jung Yoo-jin as Kang Se-young, the most popular and ambitious of Jin-ah's colleagues. She requests to supervise Kyung-seon's store because she has a crush on Joon-hee.
 * Joo Min-kyung as Geum Bo-ra, a veteran colleague that Jin-ah can confide in.
 * Lee Joo-young as Lee Ye-eun, Jin-ah's youngest colleague.
 * Jang Won-hyung as Kim Dong-woo
 * Lee Hwa-ryong as Gong Cheol-goo, a deputy chief who manages Jin-ah and other store supervisors. He is unpopular among his female subordinates due to his behavior.
 * Seo Jeong-yeon as Jung Young-in, vice president and marketing director of the coffee franchise.
 * Lee Chang-hoon (actor, born 1980) as Choi Joong-mo, a deputy chief.
 * Park Hyuk-kwon as Nam Ho-gyun, vice president and director of the coffee franchise, whom Gong Cheol-goo reports to.
 * Kim Jong-tae as Jo Kyung-sik, CEO of the coffee franchise.

Yoon Jin-ah's family

 * Wi Ha-joon as Yoon Seung-ho, Jin-ah's younger brother and Joon-hee's best friend.
 * Gil Hae-yeon as Kim Mi-yeon, Jin-ah's mother, who is obsessed with finding Jin-ah a husband from a well-respected family.
 * Oh Man-suk as Yoon Sang-ki, Jin-ah's father.

Others

 * Oh Ryong as Lee Gyu-min, Jin-ah's ex-boyfriend, a lawyer from a well-respected family. He cheated on Jin-ah with a younger woman.
 * Yoon Jong-suk as Kim Seung-chul, Joon-hee's colleague and university friend.

Special appearances

 * Ji Hye-ran as Gyu-min's new girlfriend (Ep. 1)
 * Cho Soo-hyang as Joon-hee's friend (Ep. 6)
 * Oh Hee-joon as Joon-hee's friend
 * Lee Kyu-sung as Joon-hee's friend
 * Kim Chang-wan as Joon-hee's father

Production
In August 2017, it was announced that Ahn Pan-seok was on board to direct Something in the Rain (aka Pretty Sister Who Buys Me Food).

In January 2018, Son Ye-jin joined the production, marking her return to the small screen after a five-year break. Also in the same month, it was reported that Jung Hae-in had joined the cast.

The first script reading was held on January 25, 2018, at the JTBC building in Sangam-dong.

As a result of the drama's commercial success, a three-day vacation to Japan was awarded to the cast and crew, which was scheduled from May 29–31, 2018.

Themes of taboos
The driving narrative within the story centers around South Korean taboos concerning relationships:


 * Dating Taboos: An older female dating a younger male is considered scandalous.
 * Familial Taboos: People who grow up without parents or have no parental figures in their lives are considered "unfit" for marriage.
 * Job Taboos: People should only associate with those of a certain educational background, occupational position, or wealthy class status.
 * Career Taboos: Women are expected to endure sexual harassment without complaint during team dinners to show they value "team unity".
 * Drinking Taboos: It is customary to pour your colleague's glass first before and vice versa. If you pour for yourself, it indicates a fractured relationship.
 * Food Taboos: Usually if an older woman frequently buys a younger male food, it indicates a brother-sister relationship.

Broadcast
JTBC announced that after the first episode's premiere at 22:45 (KST) on Friday, March 30, 2018, the rest of the series would air at 23:00 (KST) on Friday–Saturday.

Original soundtrack
"Stand by Your Man" sung by Carla Bruni, and "Save the Last Dance for Me" by Bruce Willis are played frequently throughout the series.

Reception
The on-screen chemistry between Son and Jung led to their being nicknamed "the next Song-Song couple" (reminiscent of the couple in the 2016 major hit drama series Descendants of the Sun).

Something in the Rain became the most talked-about Korean drama of 2018.

Remake
In February 2022, it was confirmed that Something in the Rain is set for an Indian remake.

On March 3, 2022, it was announced that iQIYI would release a Chinese remake of the series titled The Way Love Should Be, starring Angelababy. The platform also gained the rights to exclusively air the show in China, making it the first South Korean TV show to be approved for streaming in the country since the Korean content ban.