Watched it because I love Jang Ki-yong. No regrets.

I'll admit, I started watching this drama because both the male leads are favorites of mine, and honestly their attractiveness may have inflated my rating a little... also I think the recent reincarnation love triangle plot was fairly unique. Jang Ki-yong's character Kong Ji-cheol was abused in his past life but a good and protective soul, and the FL's kindness lured him to join a book club reading Wuthering Heights at her church where he fell in love with her. I really rooted for this odd couple and found Jang Ki-yong's performance very compelling. When he was reincarnated as a wealthy but also unloved man, it was interesting to see what choices his character could make with more power and influence. I also enjoyed Lee Soo-hyuk who played a detective uncovering the mysterious deaths from the past. The present-time role of Jin Se-yun as a forensic pathologist was also interesting for a FL. Unfortunately the romance just felt all over the place so it couldn't really build to a powerful emotional conclusion.

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Anxiety disorder and erectile dysfunction treated compassionately

This is first and foremost a mental health drama about a male lead struggling with anxiety and erectile dysfunction which lead to depression. It introduces the topic of ED with a cheeky sense of humor (lots of wilting bananas LOL) but it's really refreshing to see this important and taboo subject addressed. It also shows how the pressure to get a "good" job can be really crushing and dispiriting for a young man in modern Korean society. Actor Yoon Shi Yoon does a fantastic job portraying the male lead Do Yong Shik's fear and sadness in such a way that I empathized with him but never thought of him as pathetic. Similar to Yoon Shi Yoon's performance in Psychopath Diary, he humanizes the ML as he goes through difficult mental health challenges. I was especially impressed that this drama demonstrated (in an extreme form) how Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy challenges work in the treatment of anxiety -- basically the idea is to face the situation you're afraid of, without the support or compulsion that you've developed, and to realize that you "survived" the scary situation so you'll be less afraid of it next time. Now, the problem with this drama is that the way they performed ERP challenges is almost traumatic in itself.

It turns out (in typical kdrama fashion) that his urologist is actually his long-lost first love from high school, she's dating his psychologist, and they make a bet about his treatment which launches a host of medically unethical and unprofessional meddling by both of them. They almost become a roadblock to his recovery and the stress they put him through might actually deter a viewer from seeking treatment for anxiety if they thought this is what it would look like! Because of this, the romance that develops felt a little unsatisfying to me, and I think that's the source of some of the low ratings for this series. However for anyone interested in the portrayal of mental health issues in kdramas, I'd consider this title a MUST-WATCH!

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Long but worth it for romance fans

Obviously this is really long at 54 episodes, but there are several romances to keep viewers interested. The main story of the intelligent widower and strong-willed divorcee falling in love (office romance!) and working to combine their five children into one family is interesting on its own, especially their mistakes in figuring out discipline and support for the children in their blended family. But I also really enjoyed the secondary romance with Sung Hoon as the arrogant golfer who pursues the shy teacher. Two other couples provide additional romance to balance out the horrible, interfering, obnoxious in-laws who provide most of the conflict in the drama. For fans of realistic and healthy romance, this is definitely worth one watch!

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Fun dating show drama

I enjoyed the incorporation of dating shows into this drama because I recognized some of the references to "I Am Solo" which made it more fun to watch. Also the FL's career as a variety show producer provided some interesting glimpses behind the scenes of those productions. Several secondary characters who weren't very nice people at the beginning of the show gradually improved, and there was a welcome happy ending for a fat female contestant! Also love Choi Siwon and Lee Da Hee was great, it was interesting to see a genuine friends-to-lovers drama without a needless childhood connection.

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Funny at first, then becomes more sincere and romantic

The beginning of this drama is so cheesy, I almost dropped it. The female lead falls into a romance novel and tries to break up the male lead and the girlfriend written for him in the story. This part was interesting on a "meta" level, playing with the tropes around the sweet, helpless romantic female lead and our aggressive protagonist's attempts to sabotage their relationship and take the ML for herself. But knowing it was a fictional world, her actions were over-the-top and often cringey and ridiculous. However the drama began to change for the better (in my opinion) as her relationship deepened with the ML and become more genuine. I'm not going to give details here because I want this review to remain spoiler-free, but there's a major plot twist between the fictional world and the real world, and it gives both the FL and ML the opportunity to act differently (and with more sincerity) as their relationship progresses. So even if you're a little wary at the beginning, I recommend sticking with this drama, it gets significantly better as it progresses and winds up as a genuinely entertaining and sweet romance.

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