True Beauty

I haven't read the Webtoon, so I don't know exactly how different the drama is, but I love this drama! I'm only recently into k dramas, but I feel like I should have started watched them sooner.

As for the story, here's a questionable amount of accidental contact in the beginning. Like, that doesn't happen often in real life. And also how does the FL have flawless, smooth skin with her makeup on? It's not that easy make your skin look smooth with makeup when you have acne/ pimples. I loved the bromance and how the ML and Seojun got back on good terms. I experienced second lead syndrome with Seojun. He handled the news that the ML and FL were dating calmly and didn't try to sabotage them. On the other hand, that is not the case with Kang Soo Jin. She tried to sabotage them and even exposed the FL's secret.

Don't worry, there's character development. Kang Soo Jin's parents divorced at the end of the drama and she got a reality check. The FL's mother was a jerk in the first half of the drama, but after she found out she was bullied, she treated her nicer and supported her dream.

And honestly, the FL isn't ugly. She just needs to take care of her skin.

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Cliche storyline, Nice comedic scenes, Too much emphasis on the wrong things

Contains spoilers.

Got me hooked until the last 2-3 episodes. Looking back, episodes started getting really repetitive - leads are about to become official until some crap happens and they can't get together and that cycle repeats over and over. Then, they drop a second male lead to try and confuse the viewers on who the female lead will end up with even though it's so obvious because the drama gave all the SML's scenes to the ML?

Final episodes were so rushed for no reason?
- Soo Jin's character randomly apologises for her past behaviour just so everyone get can get a happy ending?
-Random 3-year time skip because they couldn't think of anything else to stop the main leads' relationship?
-Su Hoo [Male Lead] becomes stalkerish and obsessive and starts following Ju Kyung [Female Lead] around after seeing her 3 years later expecting her to run to him and say she loves him even though he broke up with her over the phone?
What's with that?
-Seo Jun [Second Male Lead] has been with Ju Kyung for 3 YEARS - he's GRADUATED with her; he's celebrated her BIRTHDAYS with her, he's BEEN THERE for her when Su Hoo was away and you're telling me they are going to make him confess his feelings to the FL to "confuse" the viewers. Of course, he gets rejected because the FL's heart still belongs to the ML even though the SML has done so much for her - more than the ML could ever pull off?
-Seo Jun's ending was so crappy - he was my favourite character for his cocky and charismatic personality, and they use him in Episode 14 and 15 just to cast him off to the side in Episode 16? He's not even there for the wedding and he's sitting in this staircase well crying because of his rejection - tears which are worth 3 years of loving this girl who didn't bat an eye towards him? Crappy. Then the producers try to make up for it by making Ju Kyung apply some lipstick for Seo Jun before he goes onto stage to debut and start his career as an idol? Stupid.
-Gave me too much heartbreak and SML syndrome seeing Seo Jun crying - the SML was one of the things that made me love this drama. We all know he had the spotlight the entire time.
-Hwang In-Yeop [who played Seo Jun] did so well in his acting and brought justice to his character until the producers cast his character off to the side.
-Cha Eun-Woo [whole played Su Hoo] just seemed kind of emotionless throughout the moments with Ju Kyung. I didn't really feel any chemistry between them? The SML x FL were so much better.
-The drama started focusing more on the love triangle - mostly the relationship between the ML + FL - instead of focusing on the actual point of the drama: "You don't need makeup to be accepted - you're beautiful just the way you are."
-However, the comedic scenes were amazing.
-FL's older sister and her relationship with the FL's homeroom teacher was weird but still quite cute and fluffy.
-Side characters added so much to the story.
-The drama did highlight the struggles of teenagers which was nice to see.
-At some points, the drama did focus on the "beauty" part indicating makeup isn't everything.
-Atmosphere of the drama was heartwarming.

Overall, I liked the drama a lot, but I was losing interest which watching the last episodes and, in my opinion, FL would've been better with SML - he deserved a much better ending.

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Was Great until the Last Two Episodes

True Beauty starts off as a show with a good balance of entertaining and lighthearted highschool angst with a backdrop of mainstream issues faced in school, such as self-image, understanding love, and bullying. I enjoyed how the drama touched on real-world issues in a way that wasn’t hard to stomach. My highschool self would’ve love this drama, and to be honest this drama had the potential to be so much more. However there is a tonal shift that occurs in episode 14 that completely ruined, and changed, my opinion about the drama.

My verdict for the show is that episodes 1-14 were highly enjoyable and had a great balance of drama, angst, and fun, but after episode 14 it goes downhill when the lightheartness of the show disappears and instead is filled with only drama and angst. The characters even shift, which created a bunch of characters who don’t feel true to their, episode 14, prior selves.

For me, the Han Seo Jin after episode 14 was disappointing. I had hoped he would get over his highschool love and move on, but instead you can see that he has not moved on. And it takes until the last episode for him to fully move on. The love triangle after episode 14 becomes uncomfortable to watch and is no longer fun.

I noticed that one overused plot element is that characters in the show only mend their relationships in relation to a an occurrence of a negative accident. What I mean by this is that, when there is conflict that needs a resolution the drama will introduce an illness or trauamtic event. These negative accdients have to happen before the character talk openly, so it never feels like the characters have open communication. For example, Seo Jin and Soo Hoo only talk about their past, once they have the car accident and are forced to share a room-- and I loved this element, however what I didn’t like is when this same element is used to mend Soo Hoo and his father’s relationship. The father having an illness felt very unneccessary. The subsequent move that Soo Hoo makes to America also feels unneeded. It would have been okay if Soo Hoo didn’t break up with Ju Kyung, but the break up was the straw that broke the camels back for this drama. It was very out of place for Soo Hoo’s character. One of my most hated elements of a drama is when long-distance is used as an excuse to break up, instead of having open communication between the two characters.

Soo Hoo is a character who gets closer to people through hardship, so his distance with Ju Kyung, after his move to America, does not make sense to his character, and instead creates anger for the audience wehre we have to suffer an undeed plot element because the writers thought it would be a good idea--and it indeed was not.

My disappointment in the show stems from how much I actually enjoyed it in the first 14 episodes that is why it's so heartbreaking to see the lazy writing the drama takes in the last two episodes.

I would recommend only watching up to episode 14 and skipping the end. The first 14 episodes are filled with fun youthfulness and the struggles of youth, but in a tolerable light-heartend tone that makes it enjoyable for the viewer.

My favourite character is Ju Kyung who stays true to herself throughout the drama. She uses her love for makeup to transform her life, but in a positive manner. At first she is sure that she is unworthy, but her character develops and she releases that makeup is not a clutch but an asset.

Soo Hoo, up until episode 14/15, also has great character development. He becomes more open about his struggles and emotions and begin to rely on Ju Kyung and Seo Jin for help when he is feeling down.

The way Seo Jin is portrayed makes me respect him, he remained in conflict over the ethical nature of his relationship with Ju Kyung, when she was dating his friend Soo Hoo. Initially he wanted to steal her from Soo Hoo, but once he lets go of the resentment and sees Soo Hoo as a friend he ends up growing as a character. Seo Jin’s character is a positive contrast to Soo-Jin, who destroys all her friendships over her crush with Soo Hoo.

I genuinely feel so much frustration over the last two episodes, even though the characters physically age they seem to mentally regress. In an ideal world, the way I would’ve wanted True Beauty to end is with Han Seo Jin, during his highschool times, learning how to grow from the difficulty of his unrequited love and fully moving on. I wanted to see Soo Hoo have a healthy covnersation with his dad, without the need of an illness to force him to have that conversaion. And for Soo Hoo to fully commit emotionally to Ju Kyung, so that the break-up would’ve never happened. My whole love for the show shattered with that breakup by Soo Hoo, and despite the happy ending, it feels soured because of the messy writing for the ending.

If you were also disappointed by the show and need a better drama to watch, you should try Something in The Rain, its much more heavy-hearted but the way the characters deals with their conflicts is very mature and satifsying. Or you could go back to our OG Crash Landing on You for a nice all-round drama.

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Would I rewatch? I already have lol

Cheesy? Yes. But when you sign up to watch True Beauty, you already know that you're in for high school drama, and it's definitely the best one I've seen so far. I was in awe that this teenage drama made a 30 something year old get this hooked.

The story is very cute. Many times the female lead in a story like this doesn't have that many qualities to admire and you end up wondering what the big deal is. Jukyung is bubbly, a great friend, driven (but for her own aspirations, not just for the sake of winning) into metal music and horror manga. Lee SuHo and SeoJun were likeable on their own tights, despite portraying flawed teenage boys.

I was happy to see everything tied together nicely at the end, without the drama being drawn out unnecessarily. I looked forward to my Wednesday and Thursday True Beauty watches for some great few months there, and I was sad enough when I had no episodes that I would rewatch what was out. But nothing is worse than a show being ruined for the sake of making more money and keeping it alive for years (I guess that's what's happening with the webtoon).

Some other highlights: great use of music (including intro), superb acting by FL, iconic moments (okey dokey yo, otoke otoke), strong second female leads (including vegan sister).

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A true romcom worth watching

This is a good romcom but it makes a couple of mistakes that keeps it from being truly great. It’s not a bad drama, I enjoyed it, but it could have been so much better. First, it makes the second male lead too perfect. He’s almost irresistible to the audience. Few people can resist the lure of a super hot bad boy that’s manly and tough on the outside but a sweet wounded little puppy on the inside. And then matters are further compounded by not giving him a love interest of his own to turn to for comfort. No, instead we always see him off by himself in some corner crying his eyes out. Their making him so pitiful only fired up his fans. People were firmly on either “team Suho” or “team Seojun.” Any drama that creates a strong second lead syndrome like this should expect mixed reviews with some loving it and others hating it depending on whether or not their crush got the girl. And those negative reviews will only end up hurting viewership and ratings.

The second mistake they made was that the only thing they focused on for 10 straight episodes was the misunderstandings between the main leads and the female leads fear of being seen without makeup. The story just didn’t have enough depth to hold my attention span for that long. It was cute in the beginning but got tiresome after a while. I can see why some may have dropped it. Fortunately around episodes 11-12 it gets better. The story finally gets a villain and bullying and unrequited love are addressed. The side characters become a bit more fleshed out too, often providing comedic relief during the sad and angsty parts.

The one thing that really confused me was why everyone was calling this a love triangle when it clearly never was one. The dramas description only mentions two characters, Joo Gyeong the makeup goddess, and Suho the boy who helps her “find her true beauty.” It even describes these two as “finding love with each other.” So one would have to be a fool not to know who the main leads are and who the girl will end up with. And in the drama the female lead never flirts with or leads on the second male lead. It’s very clear that she only sees him as a good friend. So the whole “love triangle” tag and those who commented about how angry they were when she chose the male lead had me scratching my head. I mean, did you even read the dramas description? Is it a love triangle? No. Is there unrequited love? Yes.

The second male lead having a big fan base might lead you to believe that the main male lead isn’t that good. But nothing could be further from the truth. Not only is he strikingly good looking, but his portrayal of the sad, lonely chaebol that is tortured by the death of his best friend is spot on. Having lost his mother early in life and then having his father neglect him and leave him on his own since middle school has left him emotionally stunted. His character growth is touching. You can’t help but love him. It’s no surprise that he has a huge fan base of his own rooting for his character.

One thing I really liked about this drama is that it continues to be a romcom throughout, never spiraling into a melodrama at the end. It stays true to its genre with lots of great comedy and romance. There is some sadness and angst but it’s never overly sad and the misunderstandings aren’t drawn out for too long. It has more of a light fun hearted feel to it.

That being said, the comedy was exceptionally good and had me literally laughing out loud. I would rewatch this drama just to relive some of the funny moments. The other great thing about this drama is the romance. The main leads have great chemistry and real kisses. There were at least a half dozen kisses and they were all long kisses too. There’s also piggyback rides, hugs, cuddles, and surprisingly enough, a bed scene. High School/college romcoms don’t usually have that much skinship so I was quite surprised. This drama is worthy of a watch just based on the comedy and romance alone. But be prepared for things to drag a bit in the middle and to have your heartstrings pulled by the second male lead. I did like that the story had a positive message of how true beauty isn’t superficial but it’s really about what’s inside that makes you truly beautiful. It’s not perfect, but definitely worth watching.

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This drama will be most likely disappoint you if you love webtoon. I really like the webtoon, even though the character development was slow, which many did not find likeable.
The growth arc of most characters in the drama was very significant and enjoyable to watch. I love jugyeong’s character arc the best. At times a found the show too cringey to watch, but the humour made it up for the cringe.
I was one of those people who was team seojun even before the drama started. I realised jugyeong doesn’t have any feelings for the 2ML, so I thought it was fine if she did not end up with him. Coming to Suho, I liked their relationship in high school. He left to the US as his father was sick, which was very understandable. But the moment he ghosted jugyeong, I was annoyed. They could have communicated and had closure for their relationship, without both of them suffering. He came back as if nothing happened and they’re back together again.
I wish they gave a happy ending to seojun with a new person or something.
The sidekicks were the best!!! I liked all the side couples, they adorable 🥰. In the end, soo jin was forgiven, which was okay.
The drama was too cliche for me, I would have definitely dropped it if was a normal drama. I just had to complete the drama because it was based on a webtoon I like. I adore the cast, Eun woo did improve his acting and I absolutely love moon ga young.

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Second lead won my vote

I loved this series so so sooo soooooo much. honestly it was so refreshing to see her embracing her beauty, her friends embracing her too. And the men around her seeing her beauty with and without makeup.
Now I have to be honest that I was so split on the last few episodes, which was such a twist. I love Han Seo Jun, I loved him the entire series. There was no "questionable" moments that usually comes when learning about the second male lead that pushes you to root for the male lead. He was sweet, tough, funny, and his love for her was selfless. He fought to protect her, didn't care if he was teased for his constant care and wasn't expecting anything in return for his love.
I honestly had this momentary hope that instead of running to "stop" Su ho, she would walk towards the entrance then stop and race after Seo Jun and find him crying. Embrace him and they can reminisce about how much they grew together over the years. How he was more of a partner to her, supported her and loved her over the years.
Yes, I know Su Ho was set in between a rock and a hard place when they broke up, but their relationship was a high school, first love romance. They didn't really go on proper dates or grow together since it was a constant battle from the get go, that excited rush of the honeymoon period. So to have them instantly get back together just seemed a bit cliche since it was Seo Jun who gave her the care and love, spent years as her friend and built a real foundation together.
Don't get me wrong, I know the heart wants what it wants, sometimes you just don't have those feelings for someone. Su Ho is a great character and I do like their love story but I just rooted for Seo Jun a bit more in this. RaWr.
I also was in tears with his singing the song in the end, his raw emotions. I just wanted him to have a happy ending too.

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I loved the first half of this drama so much - I was laughing so much and I was rooting for the main characters. The the second half happened and I ended up skipping through so many scenes. I finished it and my final verdict: SO DISAPPOINTING.

I am so done with Cha Eun Woo. We can all agree the boy has a face sculpted by the gods but his acting reminds me of someone being forced to act in the school play. I am not convinced and he looks uncomfortable the whole time. I've read reviews that apparently he's improved since his other dramas! Man, I don't even want to know how those go. It's a pity he was pitted against Hwang In Seop, who pulled me in with his yearning gazes, his pain and his sincerity. I was rooting for him and Ju Gyung. Their chemistry was way better, I was glued to the screen for their bits because they're on fire when they're together! I was bored for the scenes with Ju Gyung and Lee Su Hu. Nope. Not convinced.

And why did they have to villainize Kang Su Jin! I appreciated her character so much at the start and they dragged her through the mud only to give her a pitiful redemption arc at the end. I skipped through all that drama of the school finding out about Ju Gyung's real face etc etc. Honestly maybe I'm just getting too old for high school dramas, but you'd think these kids in school would have better things to do than pore over one student's misfortunes. Also the way they dealt with Ju Gyung's bullies left a lot to be desired. It was funny how they handled it - but the bullying they did merited way more than a comedic handling of the situation. I would have much preferred a very real way of handling those bullies. With words, or with authority - because that fist fight didn't convince me that those girls would be changing anytime soon after it. Disappointing after all the horrible things they did to Ju Gyung and Hye Min.

My favourite character was definitely Im Ju Yeong, Ju Gyung's younger brother. He was so funny and lovable and such a dork! Absolutely amazing work by this actor! I loved Han Seo Jun without a doubt. Ju Gyung was fine but I cringed at her childish way of speaking. I don't know if the actress just speaks like this or if she puts it on for her character but it made me cringe. I hate when teenage girls, let alone adult women put on an aegyo act, or a little girl voice - its so weird and Ju Gyung had it going on real bad. Her sister was so much cooler, I loved her sister and her grapefruit love a lot!

Music was pretty forgettable. Rewatch value not great - I'd say I'll just rewatch the funny parts. The biggest problem with the acting was Cha Eun Woo - so its unfortunate how he was one of the main characters.

I'm highly disappointed. If you had asked me what I'd rate the first half of the drama, I'd have told you 9. Now, after watching it in its entirety, I'm gonna give it a 6.

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I think I need some soap...

To wash my ears after these cheeky dialogues!! AH! I understand cringe and I like rom com, but this was straight out embarrassing! *hides*

It's a fact that I never read the original webtoon when I started watching this drama, but when I met reviews and comments I realized there is something wrong and read first few chapters to get acquainted and I fully realized pain of those who saw the webtoon first. After all it's really hard to watch adaptation after reading the original at any time. You can't help but subconsciously compare the two. I don't mention the fact that when adaptation does not follow the original to a t it also becomes confusing. And I repeat, I read only few chapters!!
And I could tell the difference right away. Even the female lead gave me completely different feeling, not only because webtoon has truly ordinary looking girl (she has average looks, she doesn't manage her body shape and weight), but idol dramas simply won't EVER take a challenge of finding an actress that at least partially would resemble such ordinary girl and with a true make-up (like contact lenses, stickers for double eyelid etc.). Because I'm so sorry FOR HAVING EYES. I look at her beautiful fatures that can't be masked with reddish skin and overdrawn brows . Huh~ Ironic, right? The story about make-up and the rash face looks like that *wink*. The girl to me doesn't look ugly, her body also looks great, but she needs dermatologist. But such idolish dramas don't allow the big contrast. Again let's not forget that original LJG didn't have good face AND body, she worked hard to achieve a beautiful shape, so the starting line here and there are completely different. Mun Ka Young looks amazing btw, very beautiful. Second thing that made me have very different impression is how the story started. Webtoon LJG gave me more free-wheeling feeling, she wanted to blend into her new school, but she never looked as scared? She just found the make-up as her ticket to being more than what she is. Drama LJG knows what a school violence is (sorry everyone, but what they do is not on a bullying level to me, this is violence), so her trauma comes from there. The stakes of the first episode are really high, all the bullying, crying, attempt at s*. It's understandable that she wants to hide herself. But here again is where things are different to me and why I mention original and drama difference of female lead. Because webtoon LJG was SO different, she almost wanted to attract attention to herself and be liked, but since drama LJG kinda wants to blend and the liking from others isn't really important, she's more about doing things she couldn't do prior (like doing the girly stuff with girlfriends). Oh remember that scene where she walks into new school for the first time? So exaggerated, so embarrassing :D

You don't need to be a guru writer to see for yourself, the script was cut and chopped and reassembled A LOT. Why? Because when you cut it like that and reduce its' significance it becomes less needed. Okay, maybe needed, but I still don't understand why you need to include that baseball player (looks bad, his lines were so cringe "strike right into my heart" *rainbow vomit*), or why would you include that playboy (I mean, in webtoon you understand that it's a plan to keep LJG away from LSH, but here... I'm speechless). Anyway, the writer included some really embarrassing lines in the script, my skin crawled a lot.
But still here we are, following this story of 'true beauty'.. or in other words more like a kiddy version of - everyone, bullying is bad, your face is not important, what is important is your heart~ <3 *kiss*

As for other characters:
I never knew who Cha Eun Woo was before watching, I only heard his name and saw few shorts, but you must admit he IS handsome and sounds handsome. It's the type of correct beauty, yet recognizable. And even if his character setting was more of a stone-faced handsome guy, yet when he smiles his eyes shine. He is the first to find about LJG and although they have such a start, he still gets points for treating her well. It's a spoiler, but with their love for each other going strong, I really didn't get why writer forced that break-up, I'm sure both would have waited for each other. I know that the one who loves can let go, but it was awkwardly written and it felt bad to me.. maybe I'm wrong, but in my impression it felt like LSH breaks up and makes up one-sidedly, like where's love in that?
Han Seo Jun's role was pretty okay. But despite his love he really felt like a good friend. And don't start with me on who is better. Both had good and bad sides.
What impressed me the most unlike the above was Kang Soo Jin! WHAT DID THEY DO? Like WHY?! Just to insert a love rival between girls you first write KSJ into this heroic handsome woman, I was totally up for it! But then they turned her into this! Just why? Wouldn't it be okay to keep her good? I mean, LJG's previous bullies could easily play the role of villains till the end and KSL would stay awesome, but I think her character was flushed like that. At least in the webtoon KSJ was a complete snake from the very beginning, she WAS that bad who could use anything to make LJG and LSH not together (you could feel her obsession), but in the drama she was introduced so handsomely and walked away like that (also, she felt plastic when it came to emotional scenes against LSH). I was so surprised they crossed out such a beautiful female friendship they created.. but I suppose they created it just to give a twist. I'm sure writers thought it was cool and they were smart *shakes head*.
Honorable mention: LJG's sister and teacher are cute, okay?
The story was okay, nothing bad, the script and dialogues could be better, characters more consistent. Not a horrible watch, but I must confess at times I struggled watching it.

My struggle was with humor! I'm all for humor, I'm all for healthy cringe. I like rom com. BUT! I think they overstepped sporadically here and there. I honestly didn't need making faces, poop and fart jokes during important emotional scenes and some of the body comedy to keep up. For example, LJG's dad that was hit by a pan with eyes open and tongue out..why? Or her little brother farting on the stairs. A lot of poop jokes btw, noticed? And they're sporadic and not needed imo. E.g. Both sisters talk in bathroom suddenly there's pooping little brother behind. HSJ searches for his brother and finds him in the toilet pooping. At the end LJG is so stressed that she's costipated, it comes as a topic during emotional talk (?_?).
Acting should be acting, even in comedy, the more natural it is, the better, sometimes I felt like seeing too much. Even there were scenes that gave me impression as if actors themselves looked like - do we really need to play it like that? embarrassing. can we go home and hide?
All in all it was like that. Not entirely good and not entirely bad. My respect goes for the topic of external beauty, especially in Korea where it's such a big deal. I think it should be brought up and explored to give a positive example. We should take care of ourselves, love ourselves. World would be a better place if we weren't hung so much on beauty and a person does not deserve bullying and hate for the way they look.
<3

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Enjoyable!

I've seen most of the criticism of this series being who the Jo-Kyung ends up with in the end. Unpopular opinion: I never had a problem with that. It was foreshadowed pretty much from episode one.

My beefs with this show are:
- plot hole from ep one regarding a voicemail left for the mother. It just never comes up again
- I'm not a huge fan of the "actually they knew each other years ago" thing. It pops up in a lot of dramas, but this one used it better than most, I will say. It's still a pet peeve of mine
- Soo-jin was turned into a woman scorned for no reason at all, in my opinion. Why must female friendships involve this type of plot?
- The last episodes were annoying with the time skip and then back and forth with Su-ho in a way that just felt odd to me?

Anyway, I enjoyed this show. I've watched it twice all the way through and I've laughed out loud both times. It's fun, it's cute, the vibe is entertaining and light throughout the majority of the show. I love the music. The acting is great and Moon Ga-Young is so charming and adorable! Perfectly cast! Definitely a recommend, especially if you're new to k-dramas.

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A decent drama, but not for everyone

I was a fan of the webtoon in its early days. Back then, all I desperately wanted was for the webtoon to become a drama. Eventually, I drifted from the webtoon (partly because I didn't like where the story was heading). But I kept my eyes and ears open for any news regarding the drama. After a year and half of waiting, my dreams finally seemed to be coming true. Cha Eun Woo was playing Lee Suho, and I couldn't be happier! But now that I have finished this drama, I have conflicting thoughts.

Story-wise, I liked the message behind the show, throwing light on the 'pretty privilege' that goes unreviewed even in today's society. I liked the comedy in the show. In the beginning, it's a bit overboard, to the point where instead of laughing you are just cringing and/or feel like dying because of second-hand embarrassment. But after a few episodes, it is laugh-out-loud funny. Also, I feel like the story had a lot of unutilised potentials. The writers wasted too much time on the main couple's romance. They could've easily used that time for the development of certain characters. I don't know why they kept pushing the love triangle even up until the last episode. Inevitably, the ending was a bit rushed. It felt underwhelming. But the writers' handling of heavy topics and comedic elements is commendable, and I don't have any complaints regarding that aspect. Some heavy topics in this show can trigger some audiences. I have mentioned them at the end of this review since might be considered as mild spoilers.

Lim Ju Kyung was cliche makeover kdrama female lead. She was the usual pitiful, weak female lead with almost no likeable trait. Lee Suho too was the cliche, too-perfect-to-be-true, wealthy, cold male lead. Even Han Seojun's character was of the typical second male lead; the bad boy who's soft on the inside. Still, I might've liked him more than I want to admit. I assure you by the end of the drama you will fall for SJ real hard. Kang Soo Jin was a well-written and complex character, for a change and I enjoyed her quite a bit. The side characters were quite refreshing and made the show much more fun for me. They made the show much more bearable for me. Ju Kyung, thankfully developed as a character by the end of the show and I am pleasantly surprised!

As a now die-hard Seojun fan, I want to take a moment to appreciate the man. He deserves the whole wide world. I cannot tell you the numerous times I have had to pause the show to scream about how precious Seojun is and the fact that I won't be able to meet a guy like him. And the okey-dokey dance. Holy~! I see that scene every time I close my eyes and I am so not complaining. I have nothing more to say. I gonna stop now, or I will just burst into an unintelligible blabber about my love for Han Seo Jun.

I feel like I was not as invested in the main couple's romance as I was in Hee Kyung and Grapefruit's romance. Maybe it's because of my clear bias towards HSJ, or maybe it was because I LOVED their chemistry!! Hee Kyung and Grapefruit were the opposite of the cliche couple in a kdrama. Their romance was food for my soul. I enjoyed it so much! I also thoroughly enjoyed the Go Woon and Ju Young's little romance. The Lim family was quite an entertaining mess. I like how all the characters developed through the show; how they all became more sensitive towards each other and how they always had each others' back through thick and thin.

Moon Ka Young's acting was top-notch *chef's kiss*. She played JY perfectly. Cha Eun Woo is particularly chosen for roles like Suho's, and he plays them pretty well. This drama was the first time I had seen Hwang In Yeop act, and I was pleasantly surprised. Park Yoona did an amazing job playing Kang Soo Jin. She made me love and loathe her character just right, which I think is one of the qualities of a good actress.

The music was pretty decent. HIY's vocals gave me life, and so I will die for them if I have to. The other songs weren't particularly memorable.

Overall, the drama was different from the webtoon but still predictable. It is not a drama everyone can enjoy. Don't expect too much from this drama and you will enjoy it! I was a bit disappointed because I kept my expectations too high, but it might be different for you.



*Trigger warnings for suicide, bullying.*

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