More Than Friends

What is annoying about the female lead is that she starts to like the boy because her friends kept insisting that he liked her. Then she confesses to the boy when he is going to the US to study like she is giving him such a gift and gets angry at the boy for not liking her back and she wallows in misery for years keeping in touch. He comes back for a visit and goes to see her and she confesses yet again and then she tells him she can't be friends at all because he has no feelings other than friendship with her and it is his fault she has not had a successful relationship. I found her to be pathetic, very mean and over the top with her anger at him. He was never anything but honest about just wanting her to be a friend. Words hurt and her constant response to him to leave and go away - how could she not know that they would hurt. The fact that she has never tried to empathize with his circumstances which makes me question her affection for him as she has no idea who he is inside. I did appreciate the acting and the characters chemistry with each other.

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Worth the watch despite many negative reviews

This is one of the dramas I binge watched within a few days time. Despite the negative reviews and low ratings I gave this drama a try because I'm a sucker for friends to lovers trope. I got emotionally connected to the drama by the end of the third episode and then it was a compulsive binge watch for me.
What I liked - the flawless complexion of the cast, beautiful ambience, suitable OST, even the costumes of the female lead which made her look elegant and yet simple and sweet. Both ML and SL were so handsome and played their roles well. The friendships among the FL and her besties were quite authentic and the way the various side stories were interwoven kept me invested in their lives as well. One side story was a romcom track by itself and felt cute. The other was too much sadness and the girl was really irritatingly self pitying it felt so frustrating as to why the professor would continue to be in love with her despite how closed off, Secretive and full of pride and selfishness she is. This couple had almost as much storyline as the main couple.
Coming back to the main couple, they had good chemistry at places where they were yet to become a couple. But once they actually became a couple the chemistry felt a bit lacking. I would have expected lot more emotions from the FL for someone who was in love with a person for ten years, and her actual behavior when they became a couple fell short of expectations. The ML is a complete sweetheart once they are a couple and i couldn't understand how such a loving couple who came together after so many years could break up so easily via a phone call. The last 4 episodes were dragged out and full of cliches and yet somehow watchable because by then i had invested interest in all the characters of the show.
Lots of philosophical statements on love and relationships all through. Some relatable and some cliched yet somehow relevant to the tone of the drama.
I also liked that the second ML was good but somehow made not that likeable compared to the ML, so it wasnt really a frustrating love triangle in the real sense and we always know to whom the FL's heart belongs.
What i didnt like
The FL was very open and communicative during the first few episodes about how she felt. But in latter episodes she became closed off and shy in the actual relationship and it felt unnatural. That she would contemplate being the one to initiate a break up felt unreal. The ML has the opposite character development - from zero empathy to becoming a sweetheart over time.
Too many eye rolling cliches in the final few episodes.
Too much Melo for the side characters mom's story - it was just too sad and dragged out.
Overall I would say it was still a good watch for me personally because it got me invested in the lives of all the characters and kept me involved in their world. Yes it was frustrating here and there but then so is real life!

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i’m being generous when i say it’s a 5

the only thing i like about this drama is the face of the male lead and this drama does not do justice to the trope friends to lover like i don’t know it’s like they don’t know each other at all how where they even friends back in high school 😭 i can’t even have second lead syndrome here cause the second lead also starts doing weird stuff istg. a total waste of time. i went into this hoping a nice youth to adult life drama but it basically makes me wanna rip all of my hair out?? like maybe the best couple of this drama was her friend who had a ten year long relationship but even that wasn’t really good

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boring and infuriating

Mind you.. I am at episode 14 and I'm already typing this review in my notes.

This drama started good. The story revolves around a girl who falls in love with a friend in highschool and spend years longing for him even though he is not in love with her.

I liked the initial concept because I wanted to see how they LL handle an unrequited love, but the more I watched the more I started to dislike it.

This girl stays " in love" with this guy for ten years... Ten years. You'd probably think they see each other as friends for ten years but no..oh no.. she falls in love with him when she is 18 and he immediately leaves to study abroad. They then meet again again like 5 years later for a week and then the disappears again.

The ml is insufferable. He is a jerk from the very beginning. Even in highschool he is the typical cold guy. Nobody can stand him and he is full of himself. Ten years later...he is still like that. A jerk, full of himself, a manipulator, selfish there is nothing likeable about him.

These 2 people are in love , because as every cliche drama, they end up together, but they don't know why.
At a certain point of the drama he is still trying to conquer her love while simultaneously admitting he knows nothing about her.
Why are you 2 together?

At some point I liked that the FL was trying to move on , once the jerk realized he loved her all along😒. The plot gives us the perfect guy: the CEO and then transforms him in some kind of stalker.

Half way through the drama the CEO and the ml basically cross any boundary and literally stalk this girl.

From episodes 8 this drama gets so repetitive you cannot avoid skipping big chunks. The same scenes repeat over and over again.

They screenwriter try to give us different prospective on what love is and how it works through the good times and the bad times but I feel they don't succeed especially with certain characters.

The "eonni" character was really something. Even though I get where she comes from emotionally she is just too much.
Ten 10 years of engagement and still treats her boyfriend like an asshole. He is basically a simp willing to accept everything from this girl. He doesn't have a gram of self-esteem.
I know that her situation stems from prejudice and literally discrimination that sometimes happens in Korean society but come on.. you ve been with this guy for ten years and he cannot even come to your house cause you're poorer than him? I still remember the scene when she bought him some nice shoes cause he didn't have any cash.. where was his posh family Back then?
I know that my "western mentality" might be at fault but come on... Leaving someone because of societal circumstances... I'll never get it.
She is too stubborn and while trying to protect him from her suffering she ends up hurting them both.

Episode 15: FL is delusional. In the first part of the drama I was on her side but now she is irrational. The two end up on different sides of the globe and she expects him to glue the phone to his head and call her every second even though he is working , they live in different time zones... I don't know what this girl wants...
She never voices her concerns but ends up always saying stuff like "oh you should known , you should have done that... Bla bla bla".

At this point I'm not even reviewing I'm just ranting . Sorry reader.. this drama is just too dumm.

The men in this drama are all suckers for their girlfriends. That's not a balanced relationship.

Conclusion: don't watch it. Don't waste as much time as I did. It's not worth it.There is nothing new nor exciting.

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Love or hate

Honestly this drama isnt for everyone. I personally think most people watch dramas as an escape, and this drama, for me personally talks about really real and possible situations.

It's honestly a very slice of life kind of drama and to a lot of people, that may be very slow or boring so if you don't like those then this drama definitely isn't for you. It's definately a slow burn kind of drama as well.

Yes, some parts are very exaggerated and some parts may not make complete sense but overal i think this drama touches on different kinds of relationships in life, whether they're bad or good.

I read in the reviews that a lot of people hated the main male lead and wanted her to end up with the second lead, but i personally thought he had one of the best character developements of all the many dramas ive watched. And because of the slow pace of the overall drama, it didn't feel like he just suddenly changed or anythjng like that.

I personally felt that while i did get tired of the main's back and forth near the end, overall it was pretty enjoyable for me. The acting was great and most of the actors and actresses had amazing chemistry with each other.

I think this drama is one that if you do decide to watch it, you should watch it with an open mind and in the mindset of the characters rather than a viewer. That'll make the experience much more enjoyable.

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The FL is the jerk and narcissist - not the ML

Everyone here is criticizing the ML in this drama but I disagree. The FL is the worst character in the drama. I don’t think she ever understood what it takes to build a relationship because everything went according how she felt and her moods. No wonder she had 12 failed relationship. She thought only about herself and her ‘feelings’. She never really cared about how her partners felt. She treated both the ML and the SML like trash. Their weee all disposable to her. She just used all of them if anyone needed therapy in this drama it was the FL. The ML was doing fine because he had a huge learning curve. He may not have consciously loved her I. The beginning but he was always very caring and she was the only one in his thoughts from beginning to end. The FL did not deserve him. I wish they had broken up for good and he had found someone better while she remained alone for life.. Her breaking up with him while he was working abroad was the most pathetic thing I have seen. She left him high and dry. She could have waited or gone to see him instead. She took all the decisions herself and the whole world just revolved around herself. It was just ‘poor me, me , me with her. She never owned up to her faults or mistakes.There that’s my review

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This could be you

This is a very underrated drama bc it's different and probably realistic- at least to me. That's why I'm fangirling all over it. I'm actually rooting for the ML. Why? Yes, he's jerk, a moron, probably unlovable. But when have we been in love with that person too? Are all of our first loves even close to being perfect? Mine was naïve, cranky, a little jerky and a bit of a narcistic like Lee Soo. And I was Woo Yeon in love with him hoping he'll change his mind waiting for him to get me out of the friend zone. It's all happened to us, that's why I absolutely love this story line and the acting is pretty superb. Give it a shot and watch for the story to twist and turn and watch these two eventually find their way back to each other, The music will also make you swoon.

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Hate-watching material

This is one of those dramas with unlikable main characters.

The ML in particular is a special kind of selfish and manipulative piece of shit. The FL also has her issues, but is at least someone you can sympathize with. She at least tries to end their miserable relationship. But he of course won't allow it.

They both need therapy. That people close to either of them fail to recognize and suggest it is dumbfounding.

About halfway in, I skipped to the end, didn't see myself making it through the other half of the episodes. And the writers unfortunately, or expectedly, went for the "romantic" ending, yikes. I think the much better ending would have been for the main characters, especially the ML, to recognize their issues and go separate ways.

If you look for something to hate-watch, go for it.

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Starts decently but gets kinda weird

Started watching it after reading some reviews here, was confusing cus most stuff i saw was either flop or an 8+. After watching most of it i can say i can see the appeal at the beginning but i have to agree with the ones calling it disappointing.

I need to start this by asking everyone here please to stop romanticizing stalking and calling this a beautiful romance. If MC was literally a generic ugly creep of a random kdrama chasing the girl who rejected him as much as this guy did here he'd be top 10 creepy villains, i know kdrama romances do push this kind of things a bit, but I'm genuinely concerned for the love life of whoever gave this a 10 or 8+ for its romance.

That said and without spoiling the plot for whoever who wants to watch it regardless, if you still wanna watch it, be advised, whoever wrote this kdrama has either a stalk kink of some kind or hasn't experienced an actual healthy relationship. If when watching any other kdramas felt weirded out by an mc doing something similar to what I described above I suggest you avoid this one, cus it's that turned to 11.

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