Song Ji Hyo and Chen Bolin Have an Adorable First Meeting on "We Are in Love"

This is what we’ve all been waiting for. Song Ji Hyo and Chen Bolin have finally begun their relationship on “We Are in Love”!

Our first introduction to Song-Chen couple finds Song Ji Hyo entering a cafe, where she receives a card that welcomes her to “We Are In Love.” Inside the card, she finds five photos of Chinese male celebrities, one of which will be her virtual boyfriend on the show. Song Ji Hyo says she’s never dated a foreigner before and worries about the cultural differences between them. She hopes her boyfriend is warm and energetic.

Meanwhile, in a hotel room, Chen Bolin receives the same invitation, containing five photos of Korean female celebrities, one of which will be his virtual girlfriend. Bolin hopes his girlfriend is someone who is cheerful, carefree, and kind. It sounds like they’re already compatible.

Next, we see Ji Hyo arriving at a traditional Korean house for their first meeting carrying many gifts. She realizes she’s the first to arrive and starts exploring the room. Meanwhile, Bolin is still on his way. After a while, Ji Hyo realizes she should start practicing some Mandarin phrases, but soon falls asleep while studying.

While Ji Hyo is sleeping, Bolin arrives at the meeting place, also bearing gifts. When he enters, the two realize they are in the same room but separated by a wall. Despite not being able to see each other, they greet each other, and Ji Hyo becomes excited upon hearing Bolin’s voice. She says lately she’s been really attracted to men with nice voices.

The two soon discover a heart-shaped hole in the wall that is separating them, through which they exchange the various gifts that they brought.

Song Ji Hyo first hands over one of her heat pads after Chen Bolin says it’s cold. It hilariously scares Bolin when he sees her hand suddenly reach through the hole. Nevertheless, Bolin is really touched by the gesture.

Bolin hands Ji Hyo an Americano — his favorite coffee. He finds out it’s her favorite as well.

When Ji Hyo asks Chen Bolin about his age and finds out he is 32, she is shocked because that makes her two years older than him. However, Bolin is unfazed and says it’s okay because he is mature.

Bolin then gives Song Ji Hyo a chance to listen to his heartbeat with a stethoscope; he wants her to hear how fast it’s beating. (Bolin’s heart probably wasn’t the only one beating quickly!) Bolin says he wants this gift to be special, since in the future when they meet, they may not feel as nervous.

Next, Bolin then passes over a toy robot named Robi. In a flashback to the previous night, we see Bolin meticulously building the robot. Ji Hyo is amazed at Robi, who follows Bolin’s various voice commands asking it to greet Ji Hyo and do a push up. However, when Bolin asks Robi to do other things like dance, Robi just responds that he is tired.

The two then try to guess who their partner is. Ji Hyo hands Bolin a photo of herself when she was a child. He guesses right away that she is Song Ji Hyo and hands over her current photo.

Song Ji Hyo hands over a photo of Bolin asking if it’s him. She guesses correctly, but Bolin tricks her, and keeps saying that she is wrong. The male celebrity photos she hands over are Li Yi Feng, Wallace Huo, EXO‘s Lay, and Kenji Wu. Feeling confused, Ji Hyo asks for his picture, but Bolin says he doesn’t have one, so she gets annoyed and bites his hand.

When the lights go out, the two are able to see each other’s shadows. Bolin points out that he’s taller than Song Ji Hyo, and they start playing with each other’s shadows.

After playing for a while, they receive a message to go outside to finally meet each other in person. It’s the big reveal that viewers have been anticipating as well! They greet each other nervously and excitedly, with Ji Hyo even hiding behind the door after seeing Bolin.

To break the ice, Bolin asks Ji Hyo if she’s cold and goes back inside to grab his scarf for her. Ji Hyo says she’s actually feeling hot and puts Bolin’s scarf back on him along with her own jacket.

They stand apart awkwardly for a moment, and Bolin slowly starts to walk over. When the wind suddenly swings the door over towards Ji Hyo, Bolin instinctively grabs it, preventing it from hitting her. Bolin mentions that it’s really cold and suggests they go somewhere else. Both hungry, they head off to their next location.

Next episode, first date commence!

COMMENTS

I totally ship this couple! Actually, when I first heard news about Chen Bolin and Song Ji Hyo doing the show, I thought it was quite an unexpected pairing, but in my mind it somehow worked and I really looked forward to watching them on the show. These two already have so much chemistry and a lot in common, despite not physically meeting face-to-face. It was interesting to note that they matched each other’s types that each was looking for. I totally agree with Bolin how it was such an interesting way for them to meet and get to know each other, which was just through their voices, exchanging gifts and playing with their shadows. It was so cute how they used a mix of English, Mandarin and Korean to speak to each other. I would say Bolin’s Korean is better than Ji Hyo’s Mandarin from what I saw of the first episode. Bolin speaking Korean is the cutest thing ever!

I had a lot of favorite scenes in the episodes, definitely when they were exchanging their gifts and realizing how much they have in common like the Americano coffee, candles and pineapple cake. I laughed every time Bolin got scared when Ji Hyo stuck out her hand through the hole to give him something. I can’t believe Ji Hyo bit his hand when she got annoyed. Girl, you hadn’t even officially met him yet! I died laughing because that’s just so her. I like that her image didn’t change from her carefree self in Running Man to a dating show. Of course when they were dancing and playing with their shadows, it was fun to watch and probably one of the most romantic things I’ve seen in a long time. Also, I totally swooned out loud when Bolin stopped the door from hitting Ji Hyo.

I personally don’t find their age difference to be that big of a deal like Ji Hyo does. Bolin is only two years younger and he’s okay with it himself. It’s not like he’s 25 years old with a huge age gap. I watched the entire first episode of “We Are In Love” and I feel like Ji Hyo and Bolin have the best chemistry and compatibility so far, out of all the other couples. Anyway, I’m already looking forward to the next episode and I’m excited to see how their relationship continues to develop on the show.

What do you guys think of the show so far? Do you ship Bolin and Ji Hyo?

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BlackSesame88 is an Asian drama and entertainment addict. She enjoys discussing her favorite dramas, and sharing her knowledge of Asian entertainment. Follow her on Twitter and join her for recaps of the current dramas she’s watching.