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In 2008, a Taiwanese drama of Skip Beat! was announced in a press conference in Japan, titled (Chinese: 華麗的挑戰; pinyin: Huá Lì De Tiǎo Zhàn) or Extravagant Challenge in English, starring Ariel Lin as Kyōko, Jerry Yan as Tsuruga Ren, and Joe Cheng as Shō Fuwa. It was to be directed by Niu Cheng Ze (鈕承澤) and produced by Gala Television (GTV). A few days before shooting was due to begin, in January 2009, Lai Cong Bi (賴聰筆), Deputy General Manager of GTV stated that the production has been postponed indefinitely due to factors such as restructure of the joint venture company in Japan and script re-write.

In March 2011, it was announced that the project will resume filming in April 2011 with the leading role of Gong Xi (Kyōko) by Ivy Chen and Choi Siwon and Lee Donghae of Korean boy band Super Junior as Dun He Lian (Tsuruga Ren) and Bu Puo Shang (Shō Fuwa) respectively.

Skip Beat! follows the story of Kyoko Mogami, a sixteen year-old girl who loves her childhood friend, Shotaro Fuwa, but is betrayed by him. Having spent a large part of her childhood at Shotaro's parents' inn, she learned a great deal about hostelry and other such jobs. Shotaro, not wishing to take over his parents' business, moves to Tokyo to pursue a career in music. Sho, as he is called by his fans, asks Kyoko to leave high school and her life in Kyoto Prefecture behind to help him. Upon arrival in Tokyo, Kyoko lives an unreasonably frugal life and works multiple jobs to support Sho, spending nothing on herself and doing whatever she can for Sho, who eventually becomes ranked seventh of the top twenty most popular male celebrities of Japan. One day, she overhears Shotaro complaining about her to his manager, saying that she is a boring and plain girl. He proceeds to sweet-talk and flirt with his manager, in stark contrast to the cold and demanding attitude he usually exhibits towards Kyoko. Kyoko doesn't shed many tears when she learns that Sho wanted her along only to handle housekeeping duties. Instead, her "Pandora's box" opens and she vows vengeance on Sho. As she is carried away by security, Sho mockingly tells her that if she wants revenge, she had better become a bigger star than he is. And so, Kyoko changes her appearance and enters the entertainment industry, facing many challenges along the way. Skip Beat! follows Kyoko's journey to climb the showbiz ladder as she meets interesting people, troublemakers and friends alike, with hopes of getting revenge on Shotaro, as well as regaining the sense of compassion that she had lost when her heart was broken by him. Along the way she meet Tsuruga Ren, who at first hates Kyoko but later comes to love her. As Kyoko cultivates her acting and friendships, she soon discovers a sense of self separate from her initial plans for revenge.

Lee Donghae as Bu Puo Shang

His real name is Shang Jieyong (松太郎^?). He keeps it a secret because he finds it a very old-fashioned and traditional name. He is a typical stuck-up star, and is also very ruthless. Shō had no qualms about tricking Gong Xi into going with him to Tokyo so she could be a free servant for him. He also had even less qualms about being extremely cruel to her when she discovered this. Shang eventually figured out that Gong Xi was in L.M.E., and was surprised to see her transformation. It is also revealed that he has more feelings for her than he originally thought. As Gong Xi once commented, Shang has loved comedy shows on TV since they were both kids.

Ivy Chen as Gong Xi

Instead of staying home and attending High School, Gong Xi travels with her childhood friend Shang to Tokyo to help him while he makes it big as an idol. When she finds out that he only invited her so she could be his maid, her heart and innocence are shattered. More vengeful than depressed, she swears to avenge herself. Shang comments the only way to do this would be to beat him in show business, so that's what she decides to do. She changes her hair style and begins the task of applying to Shang's rival company, L.M.E. While her audition stood out, the president of the company realized that she lacked the key point needed to become an idol: love, as without genuine love for this profession and for the audience, she cannot make it far in this world. However, despite her failure, she had such an interesting and impressionable audition that Gong Xi is given a second chance. The L.M.E. "Love Me" section is thus founded. Lory makes a deal with Kyoko that if she whole-heartedly completes all the jobs given to her as a Love-Me employee to the client's satisfaction (which is determined by how many points they stamp onto her record book), by the end of certain period of time, when she has accumulated enough points, she will be given a grand debut. Thus begins her journey into the show business world.

Choi siwon as Dun He Lian

Lian is, in outward appearances, an extremely nice and polite star. However, he shows his true self whenever he deals with Gong Xi. He was originally unhappy with Gong Xi, because she joined show business for revenge. However, he gradually warms up towards her. Realizing that she isn't just trying to become an actress for revenge, and supports her growth as a budding idol. Although at times teasing, he is in love with Gong Xi. For example, he does not allow himself to be near her alone sometimes, because the urge to hold her is increasing. (when Kyoko falls, after trying to get a pot from the cabinet and, instead of crashing into the chair she was standing on and then the ground, Ren catches her and hugs her despite himself). He quickly recovered so that Gong Xi would not discover his mistake. He also hates Bu Po Shang, because of his ties to Gong Xi. Some of the people closest to him have begun to notice his feelings for Gong Xi, namely, Lian's manager, and the agency's president.

Labels: K-drama