Normally, I don’t really endorse straight, cheesy rom-coms. They frustrate me and for the most part I feel nothing when watching. But, a friend who holds a similar sentiment to me recommend it to me. I said to myself, however for the superficial of reasons( the fact that the cast is insanely beautiful), that I would try and watch two episodes at least and see if it was worth it.


At first, I thought the premise was cute and overall the first episode was good. A bit cliche and dramatic but still, good. It went on like that for a bit and I almost dropped it. To be completely honest, I don’t know what kept me going. The shows charm perhaps, or me relating so much to Shin Ha Ri, I have no idea. But I’m glad I did, because the more I watched, the more the show found it’s stride. Let’s break it down.

Acting

-As you read further, you will see my review of the storyline and why it has my lowest rating. The actors were not giving much to work with. It was a perfect execution however. Ahn Hyo Seop and Kim Se Jeong has incredible chemistry. I was literally always on the edge of my seat anytime they were together. Even their calls were amusing and their dynamic playing out on the screen was so refreshing. The acting of the cast was really good in general. It did have its cheesy moments, but I couldn’t help but laugh because I had fallen in love with the cast. And for once, the MCs looked like they were in love. It was utterly convincing that these two had fallen head over heels for themselves. I didn’t find myself straining to see their love and I find that amazing. Kudos to the amazing cast.

Characters
- This is a first, but I found Kang Tae Moo the best written character. He had conviction, he had a perfectly executed back story and the writers didn’t try to erase his painful past by introducing shin ha ri to “take away his pain” and make him forget. I love that Shin Ha Ri encourages him to remember the good things from his past and not try to shy away from it. Shin Ha ri was moderately well written as well, but her character felt a little less convincing. She felt like a worn out trope at times and I found myself exhausted. Nevertheless, her charming demeanour drew me in and amazing acting made her so likeable. I did notice at times that the writers tried to make her seem weak and a damsel in distress, but it didn’t end up working. The beauty of her character as an independent, determined young woman always shone through.

OST
-I don’t really notice things like this so I have nothing to say except that the opening song was so cute ahh!!

Cinematography/Production
- As expected from Korea, this was crisp and clear and didn’t feel cheap. They are the masters of cinematography in the Asian drama market and this lived up to expectations.


Story
- The story was nothing special and was filled with so many overused tropes and plot lines. Love at first sight, rich guy meets poor girl and proposes they date to fool his family, best friend of poor girl falls in love with close friend of rich guy…I could go on and on. It felt like I was watching a wattpad book come to life. There were some inventive plot points here and there: the double deception was interesting and Kang Tae Moo’s backstory felt a bit more believable. But, it still felt overused. And for many people who aren’t as patient as others, this might disinterest them really quickly. The writers might have wanted to stay on the safe side and appease the public with generic plot lines, who knows? Also, I genuinely did not like Young Seo and Sung Hoon’s relationship at first. It felt like an extension of Ha ri and Kang Tae Moo. Everything they did up until the 11th episode( where Young Seo finally meets Sung Hoon’s mother) depended on the main couple. The literal reason they never got together was because of the whole scam situation and the reason they almost broke up was because of Kang Tae Moo. They did find their footing at the end though and finally did things that only involved them and not external forces. Now, in no way is the story bad. The cast’s execution made it so much more bearable and believable so kudos!!

Rewatch Value
-10/10 watch again. I just finished but I can’t stop thinking about my babies??I love them sm it’s insane. You should definitely watch this if you haven’t and I will be watching again the near future once I’ve processed everything.