The best of the best

Reply 1988 was the first K-drama I actually got hooked in. Although I never experienced the life before the year 2000s, the drama gave me the nostalgic feeling. Maybe my parents often told me their stories when they were young, that's why there was a sense of familiarity when watching Reply 1988.

The acting/cast was brilliant. Hyeri's acting was honestly the pillar of the show. It's because Song Deok-Sun character can be the craziest girl in town to the most sensitive person in the planet. I also love the fact that she can carry all of that consistently without breaking her original character.

The storyline was perfect, there are nothing to complain. I just wished they can get Kim Jung-Hwan a better ending, or at least make an appearance at the end. People said Kim Jung-Hwan should've died by the plane crash in the original story before they changed it, and the public sort of agreeing that the original ending was better. I disagree.. It would bring an interesting plot, yes, however, it would also break the original genre of this drama, which is comedy. Moreover, I think it would be better for Kim Jung-Hwan to stay alive in the drama, at least better than dying.

All of the characters in the story are likeable, which can be rare in K-dramas. Maybe not at the beginning since I dislike Song Bo-ra so much as a sister. However, the character development of Song Bo-ra is honestly great. The whole scene of her wedding made me cry to the tears.

I watched all the reply series and this one is the best out of the three. Reply 1988 also has the best chemistry between characters and also the actors. I just wish they can create more reply series.. Maybe Y2K ones? like early 2000s?

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A drama that you do not want to miss (2022)

I've been a k-drama die hard fan since 2015, and I took a couple months break. This drama was the one that got me back to the circle. I wanted to watch 2521, but I remember everyone was heartbroken by watching it, so I found an alternative, which is Love All Play, and I don't regret watching it.

Love All Play is a drama that is sweet, and not draggy. The couple is also very cute and straight-forward. The only thing that is kind of off is the FL expressions, which can sometimes come off as a bit flat and miss (?), but other than that, everything's perfect. I feel like the ML's actor will be the next Nam Joo Hyuk, I get the same vibes from him for some reason (idk maybe his character reminds me of ML in Kim Bok Joo)

Overall, this drama should've been hyped more, probably 2521 was so successful and it came out in the same year, and everyone says they're both similar. Plus I don't think this drama is considered a "melodrama" genre. Maybe counts as a rom-com more.. This is the drama for you if you love watching a light-hearted, straightforward drama.

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Interesting Multiple Families and Leads Stories

Firstly, the casts in this drama are unbelievable, all of the main leads in this drama are famous and well known actors/actresses. That is why I love this drama. It is mostly because of the casts were able to portray each characters accurately and they made it interesting and funny. I think Ra Mi-Ran and Cha In-Pyo were the one who stands out the most for me in terms of acting, maybe because they have been in the entertainment industry for so long, and Cha In-Pyo is basically a movie director now.

At first, Cha In-Pyo and Ra Mi-Ran couple story is the one who stands out for me, because their acting is just amazing, and the story are pretty interesting too. However, I lost focus from the middle until the end. Their story just gets too draggy and boring.

The most interesting plot of this drama is Park Joon-Geum, Lee Se-Young, and Hyun Woo story. I can never skip any scenes from them. I think out of all the mother-daughter duo relationship I have watched in K-dramas, this is the funniest, and most interesting one to watch. I also love how Park Joon-Geum (rich mother in law) really adores Hyun Woo (who comes from ordinary background). At first, of course the mother in law were furious because she'd rather chose someone who's upper class, but she caved in because of his sweet, sincere, and innocent personality, and not only that, their story have a comedic elements to it, which adds more fun into their story. Furthermore, I really love Park Joon-Geum acting, she's a really talented actress, and can play all kinds of roles honestly, after watching this drama, and Be My Dream Family, I became a fan of her.

On the other hand, the story of the other couple are not so interesting to be honest, they have less-almost none of comedic sides to them. If you enjoy watching melodrama and family comedy, then you can gladly enjoy all of the couples stories. However, melodrama+comedy are not my cup of tea I'd rather enjoy both genre separately.

Overall this drama is really worth watching, the story is unique, and the writers did a decent job writing it. I just wish other couples stories weren't too draggy, this drama has 54 episodes, I'd say they can easily make this drama a 32 episodes, focusing on the important, and interesting leads stories.

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A light drama but MEH

The beginning episodes of this drama are good, very comedic and interesting. The casting director did a great job at casting Kim Se-jong as Shin Ha-ri, I feel like they are both alike as Shin Hari in drama and Kim Sejong in variety shows. The thing about this drama is how cut-short the drama is from the mid-to-end episodes. See, I read the webtoon of this drama before watching it, and the webtoon story is better than the drama. There are some scenes in the drama that are better than the webtoon, but overall, if I have to choose, I'd choose the webtoon story.

I think the drama is too cheesy to my taste, some people love it though. If this comes out in the 2015s, I'd love this drama, but don't think this drama is revolutionary or anything new. Very light-hearted and easy to watch. 100% would recommend this drama to anyone who loves watching typical romantic comedy hallmark type of genre.

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Call Me Chihiro portrays the lonely life of a woman named Chihiro. She used to work as a sex-worker, but quit and is now working at a Bento Shop.

Chihiro character is really complex and have many layers. Her character can be interpreted in many different ways, since the movie does not explicitly specify what her character is. However, still, her character is very relatable for a loner like myself.

She's portrayed as a warm-hearted and cheerful woman, who doesn't cover her past as a sex-worker. Though that reason is what makes her look so distant and empty - as people who knows her, don't actually know her nor her real backstory.

As a loner myself, I relate to her very much, as my close friend often describe my character as similar to Chihiro.

Overall, it was a great movie. Ngl, I would like the writers to elaborate more on Chihiro's backstory.

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A drama full of unbearable characters

I don't know what the writers are thinking while making this drama. The only likeable and logical character in this drama is the Female Lead. Let me start off by breaking the characters:

- Male Lead is very unlikeable in the beginning, instead, the Female Lead is the only one that makes sense to me. And yet the writers tried hard to make him appeared as a "saint" too. In the corporate world, especially in the industry where making sales are significant, every employees must be diligent and focused on reaching the target sales in order for the firm to operate. And yet, as the branch manager, ML chose to not lead the employees and chose the line "most important thing is people" bullshit. Yes, in property business, all of the elements need to be considered, including the providing the clients' needs and wants. However, most clients that they faced are too severe, to the point where the firm became the client's personal problem solver.
- Male lead also takes business too personal, which can be very unprofessional at times. For example, when one of the client decided to buy a house for his mistress. This situation led for the firm becoming a punching bag for both the husband, the wife, and the cheater. ML doesn't want to sell the house, but FL is different. She sold the house to the husband&mistress, which led her being slapped by the wife. In the end, ML said the slap is worth it. I have mix feelings about this situation. True, the situation sucks, but property agents are NOT marriage counsellor, nor private investigator. At this point, rather than not liking ML in this situation, I blame more on the writer, who prolong this situation just to make more episodes. Rather than showing us a good drama with the agents buying houses of their dreams, the writers chose to show makjang of a client's family situations, in which the scenes are very off-topic and unrelated to the entire plot line.
- As for other characters in the drama (the FL's mom) - I don't know if these situations are realistically happen in real life, but most of them are pretty relatable for my family sadly. I especially empathized with the FL family situation since my dad is in the similar situation as her. Yes, as much as unrealistic it seems, my dad too, also becomes the black sheep in the family, where he becomes the punching bag to everyone. I especially empathized where FL's mom extort all of her money for the siblings.
- The clients are very unbearable to watch, hence I skipped most of the scenes. I grew up in a Chinese family and surrounding, so it seems pretty realistic to me too. I don't want to judge, but yes, these clients actions happen in real life.

Overall, the drama is decent, but not to the point where it deserves the title "underrated drama". It's just that I don't understand why the writers purposely prolong these unnecessary plot line, are they trying too hard to reach 53 episodes? I feel like this should've been an office setting drama, but it somehow became a makjang (family themed drama, where the melodrama plot is often exaggerated). I just wished that they removed those unrelated scenes, instead, they could've focused more on the important events, such as the relationship between the Leads. Too bad, if this drama has 32 episodes, focusing on the daily life of a property agents and became a feel good drama, this drama could've been easily became a hit, or at least get higher ratings.

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A collection of stereotypes combined into one drama

Firstly, I wanted to explain why I titled the review as such. After watching the entire series, I felt that the writers wrote the characters based off of gender stereotypes. Female characters portrayed as somebody who acts based on emotions, and Male characters who uses brain. Generally, I do not think much watching dramas like this, but it just came across that way to me, and I can't un-think it.

To explain, most of the female characters were portrayed as weak individuals, who do whatever emotions tell them to do no matter the stake. A great example of this scenario is how they portrayed Gao Zi Tong. I know that she's supposed to be an evil character, but her actions does not make any sense - which brings me to think that the only possible explanation is because of her emotions. Another example is how Zhou Su Ying (ML's sister) chose to act immaturely when she found out FL dates her brother - and have a scandal with her idol.

While all the ladies portrayed that way, the males were portrayed logically. ML has good character, very put together, and smart. The drama writer chose a classic "god-like" ML, where he's an introvert, who acts cold, and all the females are drooling over him.

*To break down the characters throughout the drama:
- My first impression of the FL was rather distasteful. At the beginning of the drama, the FL seems to act bratty and spoiled, despite her age, which is 27 years old. The scene where she asks her manager to fetch her best clothes to seduce ML leaves a bad taste. More example of this behaviour is how FL woke up from anaesthesia, and the first thing she said was if she injured her face. She should've asked if there were people who got hurt by accident, but instead, her narcissistic behaviour popped out. Thus to conclude this FL's behaviour in the beginning of the drama, her character would fit more into the annoying 2nd FL in a love triangle.
Moreover, many tend to downplay how severe careless driving is. Based on the drama, FL drove carelessly, which caused an accident. Many tend to overlook that incident, and the drama turned me off at the beginning. Thus I skipped the accident scene right away.
However, after progressing through the drama, I saw character development thankfully. She became a nice person and also well composed, unlike her character before she met ML. Too bad that the writers made her too forgiving for her own good.

- The first impression of the ML, too, was not good. What irks me is when ML tried to ask FL to leave right after a sasaeng attacked FL. I understand his intention to discharge FL because FL is too immature and disturbs ML's work; however, I feel like ML has no sympathy. It's unmannered to evict someone who was just attacked and not ask them if they were okay first.
After watching the drama, he too had a major character development. I'm not sure if it's a character development or it's his true nature all along, but I'm happy with his character at the mid-to-end episodes when he gets warmer.

The side characters:
- I feel like it's necessary to discuss the CEO, who I think is the biggest villain in the story. I don't get why such CEO still stands and not getting canceled after doing such inexcusable and unprofessional business strategy. Clearly, after Xu Jia Wei confessed his side of the story during his Live, he mentioned that the entire scandal was set up by the CEO, and yet we didn't see the ugly ass in jail.
- As for the second villain in the story, Gao Zi Tong, she's badly written as her entire evil purpose does not make any sense. Sure, her complex and jealousy gets to her, but is it enough to do such stupid things on the internet that could potentially ruin her career altogether?

For the entire story:
I think the story is nothing new or refreshing. It's basically a carbon copy of dramas that existed. I can't say that this drama is a copy of " You Are My Glory" since this novel came out a year before, however, as much as I hate to compare, "You Are My Glory" is the perfect example of "nothing new" drama that have an excellent story writing. However, I am not saying that this drama is the worst of the worst, just average. If you love dramas that feels familiar, maybe this might be enjoyable for you.

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A classic 15 year old teenage cliche drama

I watch this drama because of Wei Zhe Ming and stayed because of him too. Too bad that the script writing is not great, despite having a potential to be a unique rom-com drama.

The story:
I feel like the story lacks so many things. Aside from bad character writing, which I am going to discuss later in the review, the story is just too cheesy where it starts to feel unrealistic. For instance, where there are too many "show-off" confrontations where the character defends the loved ones in the "high-school" drama manner. For example, FL's sister has been a hot-topic gossip in her office, claiming that she became the youngest director and have a celebrity love interest because of her cunning behaviour. The FL's sister love interest quickly confront the gossip ladies, but what should have been a romantic-hero moment, the scene felt somewhat cheesy and goosebumps-worthy.
I also don't love the plot, which is very overused in every romantic-comedy drama - rich man poor woman, cold man warm woman, love triangles, misunderstandings, and contract relationship. I'm not trying to compare Chinese and Korean drama (don't get me wrong, both countries dramas has their own goods and bads) but, based on the similar drama about contract marriages - "Because this is my first life", is a good example of classic romantic-comedy with good story-writing. Though the concept of contract-marriages like both BTIMFL and PAC are not very relevant anymore in the real world, BTIMFL still has realistic touches that can be shown in the characters relationships. Meanwhile, PAC had the potential to become like that, but wasted in the end.

The characters:
- I don't like how the FL character's portrayed in this drama. Sure, she's a very nice person, but too nice to the point where she's too dumb. Yes, she was conned not once, but twice by people using the same tactic. Sure, the drama should only be entertainment purposes, but it's just dumb if you look at it. And the way she backed out when the con-man (her cousin) had the potential to put in jail for 10 years. In the end, she didn't even ask for her money back, and it was almost $400k, which is a huge amount of money. Furthermore, it's the compensation money from her dad too, which plus the consideration of her dad's dream to buy a house, that money should've been somewhat special to her. But yeah, I just don't understand the forgiveness when her cousin literally bled her dry.
- The worst character in the drama has to be FL's best friend Gao Zhi Yi (GZY). I thought drama besties are supposed to be lit, but in this case, she doesn't pass the vibe check. The level of her toxicity, I don't even know where to begin. I just felt bad watching FL's other best friend, Lin Nuo (LN), who's also GZY's ex-boyfriend. In the story, Gao Zhi Yi had a string of failed relationships, where she got problematic men only. The sole reason why GZY and LN broke up is because the bitch got bored. Yes, you heard me right, because she was bored. And at the end, she still has the audacity to beg LN back together, aka hellhole. Sure, I can understand people who cannot get out of toxic relationship, I know how hard it is. But in this case, GZY is just too immature, where she CHOSE to enter toxic relationships because it was rather fun - until she realized LN is good to her and for her.
- And Lawyer Meng Ran too, he clearly knows the FL is married, yet he still pursues her. His reasonings are not sincere too - as it's just plain reasoning: because she's kind, cute, hard-working. I'm sorry, but this is coming from a man who literally said FL's not that pretty in the beginning.

The acting:
- Though I admit, I like Wei Zhe Ming because of his acting and looks from "Unforgettable Love", I feel like the characters he portrayed between "Unforgettable Love" and "Perfect and Casual" are far too similar. I should probably critic on his acting in Unforgettable Love instead because that drama came out later than this drama. But all in all, he did a decent job I'd say.
- I feel like Xu Ruo Han still have to work on her acting skills, but considering this is her television drama debut, I'd say she did a pretty decent job. But to critic her acting skills, her expressions can come out as somewhat awkward and flat in certain situations, mostly when she did a "thinking" , or "talking to yourself" scenes.

To conclude, this drama isn't something new. I have to say, this drama is way too similar to "Because This is My First Life" where they had a contract marriage based out of certain circumstances, and also the love triangle with a married woman. However, considering how the drama is how it is, it can be a decent refresher to watchers who are looking for a break from watching some heavy melodrama. I don't recommend it for watchers who got goosebumps on cheesy cliches though.

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Not excellent, but certainly not bad either

I feel like this drama is very in-line with Sung Hoon's 2 dramas, which are "My Secret Romance" and "Noble My Love". It feels very 2015 romance cliche to me. Maybe because the three of them involves rich CEO male lead, and poor woman, with ML being playfully teasing FL because he wants to pursue FL?

I don't think this drama is revolutionary and memorable, as I watched this in 2021, and came back watching it in 2023 with forgetting most of the plot. However, aside from not being the best script, Zhao Lu Si's acting skills still as excellent as ever. People kept saying that she acts like that in every drama - but what is wrong with that as long as it fits the character in the drama. I also love Liu Te's appearance in the drama as well.

As for the love story, It can be considered rather a mixture between romantic-comedy and melodrama, as it involves some heavy family & business dramas.
The ending feels unsettling for me. For personal taste, I'd like to see some karma for the bad characters, it's just how I am, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. But they don't show Gu An Xin's step sister, stepmom, dad's endings that I'd prefer. Instead, they only show how the sister is living a somewhat decent life, stepmother woken up from bed in a hospital, or the dad who has dementia and didn't appear in the show's ending. For me, I'd like for the dad to admit to his mistakes and apologize heavily for his terrible actions toward his own daughter AND her mom. After all, her mom's death is totally her dad's and stepmom's fault. But no, they get a somewhat decent ending for cornering someone until she's dead. But that's my issue.

Aside from all, this drama feels very hallmark-y to me. But if it's your drama taste, you might enjoy this drama.

Ps. Is it just me or the main leads can pass as a sibling? they both really look alike. Probably because they have similar face and nose structure? and their eyes shape are kinda similar too!

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It's not my cup of tea, but somehow enjoyed it

I had a very high expectation of this drama for many reasons. Almost everyone gave it a 10/10 reviews and says this drama is very addictive to watch. Plus the plot seems interesting, 2 mature successful individuals who are very hard-working, which they happened to be childhood friends at the same time. The only thing that stopped me from starting this drama is how the Male Lead is Fu Pei from PYHOMS. I'm a big fan of PYHOMS but they portrayed Fu Pei as a toxic person who played FL's heart.

Again, I had a very high expectation of this drama, but left with disappointment. I feel like some parts of the drama don't make any sense. Some of the examples I'm talking about are:
- How the FL did not recognize her own childhood friend. At first I thought she had a memory loss or something happened to her head - because there is no way she did not remember. As they stated, they are childhood friends from grade school, which moments like this are not easy to forget. Plus, as I remembered, the FL remembers every detail of the conversations she had with her childhood friend. Idk if she's stereotyping by thinking her childhood friends used to be on the chubby side, he needs to grow up like that too. Furthermore, unless someone had multiple plastic surgeries, at least, someone can recognize their own childhood friends no? Or if the ML has the same name as her childhood friend, shouldn't the name ring a bell or at least giving a benefit of the doubt? This is the part I don't understand.
- I also don't understand how the ML doesn't give the medical summary of a patient to FL in the beginning. Why chose to hide it? Isn't her work supposed to be protecting hospital's peace and image? or make the ML's life easier by preventing ML's from possible lawsuits in the future? Sure, I know too well, doctor's role and responsibility are very important. I come from a family of doctors, I know that too well. But the FL's role is equally important too as she prevents any future chaos that will happen in the hospital if things are not taken care of immediately. But no, the ML's chose to play around FL to get her attention, which I think is very unprofessional and immature. According to the entire plot/summary, the ML is supposed to be composed, professional, smart neurosurgeon that achieved success from his young age.
- I also don't understand the FL's naivety - where she chose to follow the con-man inner circle to investigate by herself. Especially the part where she went outside the hospital to investigate the conman. Did she not see the security? or why didn't she report to the police about this matter?
- As for Qin Chu too. She liked ML for the longest time, 12 years - that is 4380 days! They met everyday from her school days, basically almost everyday for 12 years long! Didn't she have any bravery to confess? Or if 12 years is not working out for her, shouldn't she take the hint by knowing that the ML considers the relationship completely platonic? As far as I know, having an unrequited love is quite a harsh reality, it completely drains your mentality, but 12 years without a confession? It may happened to someone as I am not saying it is completely impossible, but I've never heard something like that happened where one having an unrequited love for more than 10 years without any confession or bravery involved.
- Xiong Jing Jing (FL's annoying colleague) too - I don't understand why someone like her is hired in the law firm anyway. I understand the concept of Nepo baby, it realistically happens in real life too - where someone got in because of nepotism. Her dad is a very successful lawyer so I guess she got in because of connections too. The part I don't understand is where she tried multiple times to bribe the co-workers/her superiors, and it's the HR representative at that. Law companies are dealing with laws mainly, and they should've known far too well that the act of bribery is something not to be taken lightly. So, as for someone who's still an intern at that who keep attempting to bribe the higher-ups with gifts, and she kept hired and not fired yet? Does the HR not know if Xiong Jing Jing already bribe her way through in the early stages of her career, she might do something like that too in the future?
- (this is totally my taste so) not to mention, Zhou Cheng Cheng's poor choice of clothing ?

Aside from all that, the chemistry between the 2 leads are too good to the point where I thought they are dating in real life. I also love the story as it portrays 2 successful individuals who climb through success by their own efforts. Also, I love FL's cousin, he may be my bias in the drama and one of the reasons why I kept going. He's too cute and funny.

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a fun romantic COMEDY drama

Yes, I caps all the "comedy" word in the headline because I couldn't stop laughing while watching the drama. As many people can relate, or someone read my reviews, I lean towards mature character & relationship between leads more. However, the actress Esther Yu, who played the lead character Yu Mei Ren has childlike voice, which creeped me out in the beginning.
But, as I watched the show further, it became heavily comedic, to the point where, I thought Esther is the perfect actress to portray the female lead.

The story definitely has a potential to become one of the best romantic comedy drama, however, due to some lack of story-telling, it wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. I will discuss some of the things that could've been improved. (some of them are more of a rant. So, bear with me :") )
- I feel like the main lead story was abandoned (it's the correct word to describe it). But instead, the screenwriter chose to focus and giving more scenes to the supporting role couple, which I think is the least interesting plot in the drama. I don't really know why the writer chose to support the trashy couple more than the main leads.
- Which brings me to: how this drama could've been a 20 episodes mini-series, or 35 episodes with 20 mins each. I think they can do a 35 episodes with 40 minutes each and focus more on the main lead couple because they don't have enough scenes for me to actually grasp the whole situation between the leads.
- I feel like the main lead couple lacks resolution too. In the story, the FL is pretending to be dumb and uneducated, but turns out, she's an honorary PhD student, who could've been working as a professor, or a scientist. I was waiting for so long for the FL to admit to ML that she is actually smart and educated. I was also looking forward to the ML's reaction to all of the FL's background. I don't know if I accidentally skipped the scene, but I couldn't find the scene. Instead, I was guessing myself all the time on each episodes like: "oh he knows already the FL's situation".
- I know it is a drama and it was supposed to be fun, but I was annoyed watching Jin Xi and Tian Tian couple story. For some reason, Jin Xi pretended he hurt his legs and went around in a wheelchair. In my opinion, the comedy for these scenes are very shallow. Disability is not supposed to be joked around with, especially when the party is pretending to be one. I automatically has the impression of them "mocking" and felt uncomfortable watching the couple's story, which leaves a bad aftertaste, hence I skip most of their scenes.

What I genuinely liked about the drama:
- The chemistry between Male and Female lead is excellent. I became a big fan of Vin Zhang after watching the drama - as I include him in my list as "one of the most good-looking actors in China". I also love both lead's acting too, they portrayed each characters very well. I think they are perfect for the roles.
- I find the Female Lead's behaviour (and yes, as wrong as it is: stalking) really funny, because I think she did it on purpose to push the Male Lead's buttons. --> she played him
- Also love the relationship between FL and ML's little brother, though it was brief (I think it only lasted for 2 or 3 episodes?)
- I love that the 2 leads are equally successful in their own ways and they are very smart and passionate about their jobs too!
- I love that; though the FL is making baby noises, doing cutesy stuffs, she can be scary and put together when needed. There was a scene where the FL confronted Xia Zhi for her bullshit and I was in love.

To conclude, I think the drama is decent, but definitely has areas for improvements. However, it's not totally unwatchable, as I think it's worth the watch. The comedy between the 2 main leads is the sole reason why I can keep watching the drama.

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Decent, easy and very brief

This is another drama written by Screenwriter Wang Xiong Cheng. Since I am a fan of both of his works "Go Ahead" and "Meet Yourself", I had high expectation of this drama. The leads are also the actors who are well known in the industry and previously worked together in another drama series.

The chemistry between the 2 leads are top notch, I love seeing them act and I'm also very much in love with both lead characters too. The story isn't something new nor innovative, but it definitely deserves a praise. The story is very mature and enjoyable to watch too.

Many people might love the male lead more, but I had a different opinion as I got hooked by the female lead instead. I truly admired and empathized the female lead for her hard-work and dedication to become a doctor and how hard it is dealing with office politics. True, I dislike her character very much at the beginning, as I thought of her being so shallow, quick-judging and immature. But as time goes on, she gets her own character development the best way possible.

(this is more of a sharing of my watching experience)
Sadly, what turned me off so badly while watching the drama is how the viewers see the characters. I watched this drama on Viki where the time comments can be made visible by choice, and I chose to add the comments to further enjoy the watching experience. However, as time goes on, viewers blindly defend the male lead no matter the situation is (when he basically told the harasser who reported it) and always criticized the female lead saying she's stupid. The scene I am talking about is when the female lead chose to apologized to her superior, who at the same time, abused/harassed her and her co-workers in the workplace.
As a victim of harassment myself, I empathized with the female lead a lot. It is very hard to confront the harasser, especially someone who has higher position who did that (like the female lead situation in the story). But, rather than feeling sad or empathizing, people chose to call her stupid for her action or she should've changed where she work. I genuinely think that her action is completely understandable - considering her career, and her main source of income is completely dependent on that.

But aside from all the comments, I think the drama is decent. I usually dislike dramas that have a slow-paced romance, but this drama isn't draggy at all - very relatable, where male lead and female lead build a relationship foundation first by being "friends" who help each other, to being in an official romantic relationship when they were sure that they are in love.
I also love how they portrayed male lead's parents, who aren't a typical rich parents who want their children to marry for wealth, but instead, they want their son to make his own love choices and supports him. I also admire male lead's relationship with his mom.

If you love watching a drama that is very brief, but at the same time, have a slow-paced romance where they build their relationship first - then this drama might be enjoyable for you to watch. In my opinion, I like watching this drama, but it wasn't enough that I want to watch it twice in a row. Maybe in the future when I forgot the plot, I can for sure come back and watch again.

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Story could've been better

I think the storyline has potential, I have never seen a high-school theme Korean drama where the leads learn how to do carpentry in a technical high-school. However, the story itself is nothing new. The conflict between the male leads are similar to True Beauty. Also there has been too many stories about corrupt school officials.

The storyline itself was a little boring but there were moments that were actually exciting. The ending is not great to be honest. I want to see all the evil characters get their own karma, but they did not show it enough. Maybe it's just me being too greedy, but as long as the leads are happy at the end..

The actors did a great job. I especially like the ML and FL quirky and "awkward to each other" acting. They suit each other well. I noticed Kim Yo-han's acting is actually so detailed I was surprised. In K-drama, actors usually have an off expressions on acting awkward, but Kim Yo-han actually carried that expressions really well.

To conclude, the drama story could've improve better, but I think it's a decent drama to watch if you crave high-school themed Korean drama.

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yeon doo & sang min couple save the show

I love blended family theme drama. I honestly love seeing 2 families working together to get closer, which takes time and effort.

Let me start by the things I dislike about this drama. (I feel like it's more of a rant than a review so bear with me)

I feel like this drama has the most absurd, most annoying, and most unbearable to watch mother in law in Korean drama history, at least to my knowledge. And yes, I'm talking about Sang Tae's mother Mi Sook. I dislike her so much that I thought about dropping this drama. She's very egoistic, materialistic, two-faced, blabber mouth, and a hypocrite. She knows her son is struggling to move on, and instead of consoling his son or taking him to someone to talk, she just straight up angry and saying harsh words to her son. I get that she's being realistic, but saying harsh words to her wounded son is just cruel and uneducated.
Also, I can't believe that she wants her son to marry a single woman with no children, or even best, with no marriage history. She cannot accept a divorcee with 3 children. Her fricking son is a single father, like what does she expect? She thinks her son is christian grey or something.
Then she ask FL to abandon her own kids in order to marry her son. And as a mother herself, like how can she even think of that? She often says that FL's kids are unacceptable because they're not her son's blood and they have different surnames. Like wtf is this woman thinking? It's not like her son is a chairman of a large corporation, nor she's absolutely rich.

Now let me talk the bright side of this drama, yeon doo and sang min couple, which saves the drama. I feel like I continue this drama because of those two. They're just too cute and I love that the family on both sides are accepting this marriage. I love that it begins with hate and disgust, to actually full on "I can't keep my hands off of you".

Normally, dramas should've left an impression of "It's not enough episode, we need more" or "the episodes is just perfect" but this one, could've been easily be in 32 or less episodes. It's just too draggy. However, if they decided on 54 episodes with 1 hour time frame, they should've included Yeon Doo and Sang Min couple more. Idk maybe bc I only want to see them lovey dovey, instead of draggy mother in law bullshit that nobody wants.

And what is it about trying to gain sympathy for that shitty ex-husband thing? I feel like the writer should not portray the ex-husband as a loving father missing his child. He obviously chose his mistress over his kids, like what is that unnecessary sympathy scenes are for?

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Could've done better, but not totally unwatchable

Let me start by telling how this story is too long for 16 episode. It can be easily finished in 10 or less. There are lots of unnecessary details that makes this drama so boring, at the same time gave me headache.

Firstly lets talk about what I dislike about the characters. (just my opinion)

Hana is just so flaky. I understand that it's hard dealing with toxic relationship and all, believe me, I've had some share of toxic relationship. But in this story, Hana's behaviour is just nonsense. She's the type of person that ignores what her friends are saying until the rock hits her later on, which can be annoying sometimes.

Won on the other hand is a coward. Not only he doesn't admit that he likes Hana, he just has to wait a thousand years to confess. I get that he has to consider the risk of losing a life-time friendship and he has trauma, but c'mon, 17 years of friendship without confession? even many marriage couldn't last that long. What more trust does he want.

Seo Hoo is just straight up narcissistic, egoistic, and so toxic. I like that he's true to his feelings, unlike Won. But c'mon, after he left her on the engagement, basically shamed her because of that, cheats on her, broke her - and after 3 years of silence, the first thing he said was, "I'm sure you missed me?" what a d*ck. And I feel like all he said is very egoistic, like making all the talk about him, not Hana. He should've begged on his knees to take him back and explain what happened 3 years ago. If he really loves her, which I think he doesn't, he should've hold his pride and say wtf happened that day and begged for forgiveness. After all, the one that hurts the most, and embarrassed the most was Hana.

So Eun, I have nothing much to say about her since her character is just uninteresting. She's manipulative, yes. But every third person of the love triangle is always petty and nothing new. She just gets more hate because she's a woman who is chasing after a guy (what I realize in every drama).

What I like about the drama is mostly about the chemistry between 2 best friends. It's nothing new or sophisticated, but it gives me comfort knowing that friendship can last that long. And I like the compatibility between the 2 too.

For the acting, I feel like it's not Ha Ji Won's best work. There are many awkward facial expression, and I feel like her facial expression of sad, angry, and happy is just same. It gave me blank character every time.

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