Hwang In Youp and Hyeri Preview Youthful Spark in ENA Rom-Com Dream to You

ENA is setting up its next Monday night romance with a first look at Dream to You, a new drama led by Hwang In Youp and Girl’s Day’s Hyeri. The preview, released ahead of the premiere, introduces the central pair through a school-days moment that mixes awkward conversation, regional humor, and the first hint of a connection that will later shape both of their lives.

The series is described as a romantic comedy about Woo Soo Bin, played by Hwang In Youp, and Joo Yi Jae, played by Hyeri. Soo Bin is introduced as a gifted film director who has returned after accomplishing his ambitions, while Yi Jae is a reporter who has drifted away from her own dream. That contrast gives the drama a familiar but effective hook: two people who once met at the age when the future felt wide open must face what happened to those early hopes once adulthood arrived.

The newly shared first-episode clip goes back to their high school years, beginning with Soo Bin’s transfer to Yi Jae’s school. Rather than opening with a dramatic confession or a polished romantic set piece, the scene leans into a simple question. Yi Jae asks Soo Bin what his dream is, and his answer is unexpectedly uncertain. He says he does not have one, then explains that he is expected to become a doctor because his grandfather and father are doctors and because his father’s hospital is tied to his move.

That exchange immediately sketches out the pressure behind Soo Bin’s calm exterior. He is not presented simply as a confident future success story, but as a student already carrying a family path that may not match his own interests. Yi Jae, by contrast, pushes the conversation with blunt energy, telling him that a person should carry at least one dream in life. The line is playful in the preview, yet it also appears to point toward the drama’s larger question about whether dreams are chosen, inherited, forgotten, or recovered.

A First Meeting Built on Small Misunderstandings

The preview also uses language and tone to build chemistry between the two leads. When Soo Bin calls Yi Jae by her first name, she becomes flustered, partly because she is from Gyeongsang Province and is unused to the softer style of speech she associates with Seoul. She warns him that, where she is from, casually calling someone by only their given name can sound too intimate and make others think there is romantic interest involved.

Soo Bin’s reaction keeps the scene in rom-com territory. Even after hearing her warning, he smiles and calls her Yi Jae again, which only makes her more embarrassed. The moment is small, but it gives the preview its strongest signal: Dream to You is likely to rely on character rhythm rather than only plot mechanics. Their banter suggests a dynamic in which Yi Jae tries to draw boundaries while Soo Bin quietly tests them, not with cruelty, but with a disarming directness.

The clip then turns back to the subject of ambition. When Soo Bin asks Yi Jae about her own dream, she lights up and says she wants to become a film director. That detail is important because the adult Soo Bin is later described as the director who has achieved his dream. The preview therefore plants a bittersweet possibility at the center of the story: Yi Jae’s youthful dream may have helped redirect Soo Bin’s life, even as she eventually became the one who forgot what she wanted.

Why the Setup Matters for the Premiere

For viewers following Hwang In Youp, the role offers another chance to play a character whose reserved surface hides a more complicated inner life. For Hyeri, Yi Jae looks designed around quick reactions, comic timing, and emotional openness, qualities that can make a reunion romance feel more immediate if the adult version of the character carries visible regret beneath the humor. The school preview also gives both actors a clear emotional starting point before the drama moves into its present-day timeline.

ENA has scheduled Dream to You to premiere on July 13 at 10 p.m. KST, with international availability through Viki. That timing places the drama in a competitive summer window, but the released preview positions it less as a high-concept spectacle and more as a character-led romance about missed direction and second chances. The emphasis on early dreams could help the series appeal to viewers who want a softer, reflective rom-com built around personal growth as much as romantic tension.

What remains to be seen is how the drama balances its past and present. If the high school scenes are used only as nostalgic decoration, the premise may feel familiar. If they become the emotional blueprint for why Soo Bin and Yi Jae changed so differently, Dream to You could turn a light first meeting into a more layered story about ambition, memory, and the people who unknowingly change the course of someone else’s life.