K-Dramas With Serious Male Lead That Falls In Love After FL?

Try:

• Just Between Lovers - guy falls first but this is a MUST WATCH!!!
• Bride of the Century - definitely this 
• Autumn in my heart - classic with the tragic end
• Cheese in a Trap - open ended, guy shows interest first
• A-Teen - webdrama set in highschool with guy showing interest first
• High Society - sadly the main couple with the reserved ML was boring, the secondary couple was cute 
• Tree of Heaven (Melodrama)  
• Reply 1988
• My ID is Gangnam Beauty
• Others that are long daily/weekend dramas: Golden Pouch, Gloria, Golden Bride

I disagree with Czak regarding High Society.

I feel like the main leads in this drama get a lot of undeserved flack so I want to provide an alternative perspective to the regular complaints of them being boring & having no chemistry. First let me say, your liking of this drama will boil down to taste and what you look for in your leading couple.

For me, the main couple in High Society is far more interesting than the 2nd couple, and I'll tell you exactly why. The 2nd couple is your typical cheesy, cutesy romcom couple ... chæbol guy falls for bubbly poor girl, they bicker, banter & go back and forth until they fall in love & live happily ever after. Sure, their interactions are cute to watch, but they lack substance, that emotional oomphf that reaffirms their bond. You've seen this couple & this somewhat childish dynamic between them a million times before. If you only like this type of romcom - then the 2nd couple will appeal to you more.

The main couple, on the other hand, are a bit more grounded and mature in their process of falling in love. The passion for one another is a calmer burn, rather than a roaring fire. The chemistry IS there - in every casual touch, the way he secretly looks at her, forcing himself not to notice her beauty, her kindness; falling for her anyway, in spite of himself. The way he makes her flustered, shy - when she's not the shy, shrinking violet type at all ... but his essence simply overwhelms her. The way they support and have each other's backs against outside forces  ... in this calm, centering & reassuring manner. It makes me feel like they have this deeper connection & that they are each other's anchor in the eye of the storm. I just loved this dynamic between them because it's so atypical for the genre.

I'd say this couple is for the grown folks who've lived a little life & have moved passed the cutesy stage of romance. They offer a refreshing change of pace from the regular cheesy romcom dynamic that this genre never seems to want to break away from.

@PrettyCarEye

I would agree that in paper the main leads would have been more interesting. And it actually started that they were, but as the story goes they showed little to no chemistry. 

They had some of the most interesting charactersto be plyed but they were not able to play them properly and also failed to convey that connection between them. UEE actually started interesting but she lacked the depth in portrayal that she was able to do Marriage Contract. Sung Joon was would have been interesting also, but dhe stayed  just flat and one dimensional all through out the show.  

Additional shows:

• A poem a day
• snow queen - a little old drama, but Hyunbin was really reserved and broody here
• stars lovers - i liked it but the story was a bit messy
• review notebook of my embarrassing days - KBS drama special
• We married as a job (japanese drama) - kind of the same as because its my first life
• Love O2O (Chinese drama)

@Czak

Again, I respectfully disagree. I saw lots of chemistry, just not the palpable kind we're used to seeing in romcoms of this nature. I thought the actors portrayed their characters well, esp the Sung Joon. In fact, I loved his character here.

You also have to remember that he was playing an ambitious man who wanted to excel in his career, but due to him not being born with a silver spoon in his mouth his journey was a lot harder and that made him a bit reserved and distant (esp from the FL who he perceived as a spoiled little rich girl who just had everything handed to her). When it mattered, he portrayed the appropriate emotions. As for UEE I thought she did fine, I really do. I haven't seen Marriage Contract, but to me High Society was one of her better roles (I've seen her in other stuff and I was mostly just indifferent to her, but in HS I liked her character and how she portrayed her).

The issue I had with the drama was not so much the characters or the actors, but the writing itself. They proposed a few fresh ideas, esp when it comes to the relationship between adult children & their parents, but never really went through with them, which was a disappointment. When it comes to the characters, I was satisfied, and I think that's why one's enjoyment of this drama and this couple will come down to a number of things - taste, life experience, what kind of romantic relationship you enjoy etc. I certainly liked the 2nd couple, but for me they came no where close to the leads.

 Aquamaraqua:

Thanks for the suggestions :)

You're welcome :)!

Added a similar lead I am open to in OP.

Please use spoiler tags if something is a spoiler. Not everyone has seen every drama you have. Thanks.