I’ve always had a soft spot for Nam Joo Hyuk even when he was getting slammed for being unqualified to be the male lead or even getting cast in new dramas. He was never that bad for me, bad meaning sucking the air out of a drama and making me cringe, and his limitations were of the inexperienced kind where I felt he didn’t know yet how to really show nuance in acting. Who Are You: School 2015 was both his big break and big pummeling, in part due to Yook Sung Jae stealing all the thunder as the second male lead and having more chemistry with Kim So Hyun.

But with his supporting role in Cheese in the Trap it worked so much better for him, which makes me even more excited that he’s going to be 13th Prince in the upcoming K-version of Bu Bu Jing Xin (Bobogyungsim: Ryeo). Ensembles are great for improving and the role of 13th Prince has tons of scenes with male lead Lee Jun Ki‘s 4th Prince and is besties with IU‘s leading lady, all the more fuel to further Nam Joo Hyuk’s potential. Hopefully he validates the casting for this role and looks as fantastic onscreen as he did in the first drama still and here in the latest Harper’s Bazaar pictorial, all boy-next-door appeal magnified.