She Would Never Know

Sunbae

This is one of my favorite kdrama I have ever watched. I love the story plot. Because of this kdrama I fell in love with Won Jin Ah. This is my first time watching a kdrama that Won Jin Ah leads and right now I'm becoming crazy and lying in my bed thinking of Won Jin Ah (HAHAHAHAH so awkward). The love story speaks in a reality where as we grow older we kinda think practically on the things that are around us. This kdrama gives me post-series depression right now I still cannot accept that I have finished watching it I even felt loneliness and emptiness in my heart after watching this.

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You can watch it but you don't need to

It's interesting to see how a makeup company works. The story itself is pretty simple and I think what could have been a great drama ended just being ok. Don't get me wrong I think if you like a really good pretty boy chasing the girl that he likes and protecting her this drama it's made for you. To be honest I really enjoyed the side stories of the ML sisters and their acting than the main couple. It's watchable but doesn't expect great things out of it.

The first drama I watched of both Rowoon and Won Jin Ah. Both have decent acting but I found it hard to connect with both characters.

I can relate to what ML wants and his reasoning and actions and I like how the FL is portrayed on the situation that she's in.
But I felt SML was completely plain and bland, I can't understand his background and story and on top of that, I think it drowns the best acting in the show which is from Lee Joo Bin. I think she nailed that character and how it should be played but when both are in the same scene it was like she was all alone.

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A Beautiful Emotional Drama Ruined by a Rushed Ending

The whole show somewhere slightly got wasted by the ending. I had a lot of expectations, but it disappointed me. FL emotions are deeply handled, but the ML's are not. I didn’t need to complain about what or how much time he pursued her throughout the show because this is the theme of the show. But in the last segment that is totally rushed and very, very bad execution of the show for me. This is where they totally lagged with respect to the novel.

I mean the whole show is about the emotions, how it makes the whole show emotionally heavy, and this exact thing they failed to deliver in the last segment of the drama. Actually I felt a little bit odd about this segment, so I searched about the web novel where this part is definitely handled in a better and more mature, realistic way.

First of all she should have gone to Europe in earlier episodes, not at the ending of the 14th episode. It left very little time for the connection. I am not saying that she should go there or not, it was bound to happen and the breakup also in the show — no complaints here. But whatever happens after that in the drama is totally rushed and abrupt.

After returning, I am sorry I am using this, but the whole pursuing thing by her felt hollow. She doesn't even know what she has to do, so she was just clueless, just watching him here and there. She doesn’t even have the guts to talk to him honestly. And the whole concept of “try to win me back” felt kind of idiotic here. I know this thing is present in the novel itself, but there it was very well handled.
They totally shift the tone here. They didn’t connect them emotionally but in the “seduction” way, which is totally different from the overall emotional theme of the show. This is the main problem here. There are glaring things here, like the whole pursuing thing of what he does in the past she is doing now is totally childish because he did those genuinely, not because he had a mission to win her — it came naturally. And the timing of doing those things also — he pursued for a long amount of time and respected her boundaries.
Here it felt like just because he has done those things in the past she has to do those for the sake of it, and it felt totally childish and somewhere annoying for me. I mean it is not a college drama, they are fully grown mature adults. It doesn't mean that what he has done she has to do the same — they are not the same people. There may be a different way to “win him.” Again here is where the thoughtlessness of her towards him comes into the picture — it shows how little she knows him.
Another example of this is she doesn’t even know why he is reluctant to take her back, and she hasn’t even given that much thought about it. This thing I find most ridiculous and she even didn't understand this by herself — his sister told her that he has the fear that she may leave him again in the future and that is what is holding him back. This was the main part of the show, the whole point of the emotional connection was there and she lags here.
And after that she just said some so-called emotional words and they are back together, HE HE. I am not saying that it was not genuine or from the heart, but as a viewer it doesn’t feel that way to me — they didn’t make it feel earned. Frankly they didn’t have time for that either. It was already the middle of the last episode, so the whole thing is rushed totally. Mainly no emotional connection was established here.

Additionally I can say she didn’t do any extensive sacrifice to win him back, like leaving out an offer or something. But this is a mature drama so I understand that those things are not present — it's okay actually. But this is where the emotional part should come into the picture when the duration is short. Somehow I as a viewer am not sure whether she told those things in the car just to win him back or she genuinely meant them.

In contrast to this the novel structures this part very well. They establish the emotional connection by using small things like the “lipstick.” She uses the lipstick he gave her to show her devotion in the novel (contrastingly in the drama at first he gifted it to her but she never used it, which is totally left loose here in the drama, but it played a good part in the novel).

Among the office peers in the novel she is totally open and loud that her target is him and she wants to win him back at any cost without thinking about her office status, prioritizing him over her career advancement, which is a major shift in her career-mindful character. But here in the drama she is just going with the flow.

And mostly, the most important one was her return in just 3 years, which is the biggest flip in the character of her in the novel. She deliberately returned for him leaving international career advancement, and this thing played a major role in their reconciliation. But in the drama they just slightly brushed off the things here in the car scene, maybe because of the time constraints.

Another little thing that they didn’t show was the closure with his previous girlfriend. They used it as a wake-up call for him, but they could have shown a proper closure.

Only one character out of them I genuinely liked was Director Lee’s character. That guy is honest by his heart or by his job.

In the end I just want to say that the whole drama runs by the emotions and in the end you didn’t show that, which somewhere ruined the drama for me.

PS — those are my opinions. Feel free to criticize.

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I expected something like "One Spring Night" but alas.

I thought this would have some family drama and that the age-gap between the couple would be the major, but it was just a year so not that big of an issue. The first episode is a bit boring and thing only get interesting at the end of it, which kept me watching.

I came here for Won Jin A and Ro Woon, but I am not a fan of their story. Their respective characters Yun Song A and Chae Hyeon Seung didn't endear me as a couple, because Chae Hyeon Seung put way too much effort for someone who bailed on him even when he was willing to give it a shot. She put herself first so many times, thinking of Chae Hyeon Seung as an afterthought. I am glad for him that they were able to make it work but I think he could have done better.

The real star couple of this story were Chae Ji Seung and Lee Jae Un, however brief their screentime, these two were good to each other.

Speaking of the story, the writers need to stop with the breakup in the final 2 episodes, it is getting old and just makes your characters and story look bad. It doesn't delved into any character development, in fact it takes away from whatever growth they have had so far.

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Worth revisiting for Rowoon and Romance...

"She Would Never Know" is a drama I had to revisit after putting it on hold. I enjoyed watching this when it aired, but the slower pace made it easy to forget about, and more fast-paced and addictive dramas stole my attention. This is ultimately an office romance story with a realistic feel. If you like to have more time to get to know and feel invested in a drama romance, then this pace may be perfect for you. If you like mature and imperfect love stories then this drama has some interesting couples and non-idealistic relationships. If you don't like the leads together, then this drama is pretty much a waste of time since the plot revolves around relationships more than events or particular storylines.

I loved the chemistry between the leads, but they were more cute together than exciting and more real than sexy. Won Jin Ah plays Yoon Song Ah, an ambitious cosmetics marketer with a poker face when it comes to her personal life. She is matched with Rowoon who plays adorable Chae Hyun Seung. He can't hide his crush on his work mentor Song Ah. The alternative title of the show (and apparently webtoon) "Don't Put That Lipstick On" speaks to an office drama that ends up connecting the two leads, but this drama doesn't really rely on love triangles too much. It's more about the dynamics between the characters. From pure love to truly toxic love, the couples throughout this story have a range and the cast plays all aspects of these relationships well. Overall this is a great and believable ensemble cast but there are no major breakout performances besides the Swoon-worthy Rowoon who is charming in every single scene he is in. He was enough to keep me watching, but there are no weak actors in this cast.

The story however is not always as strong as the cast. I think along with the slower pace a lot of the things that happen start to feel repetitive. Some of the surprises in the story are pretty obvious, and some of the ways things are resolved seem a little too neat, especially toward the end. As I started to care about the characters more the pace started to bother me less. Some of the characters are extra frustrating, almost to the point of being nonsensical, but at least there's some character growth that becomes what drives the story. There also aren't too many tropes in this story (besides a major time jump) even though the plot does often seem pretty generic. This drama also isn't a romcom, even if there are a few funny moments, this isn't a very emotional story either, which may be why it falls flat at times.

Would I watch this again? Maybe. Some of the best moments are flirting scenes between the leads, and there are a lot of rewatchable flirting moments fueled by Rowoon's cuteness. The other stories were fine to watch once but I wouldn't have any interest in watching them again. Did I mention how cute Rowoon is in this? lol! That explains my 'higher than it probably deserves' rewatch score.

Overall, "She Would Never Know" is a drama for people who like traditional romance but don't want heavy emotions spoiling the mood. If you like a love story with a satisfyingly clear beginning, middle, and end, this drama delivers. All of the character relationships have a statisfying resolution, even if I didn't agree with some of the character's choices. This drama explores how love can empower and break us. Included in that is self-love, and although every story isn't happy, this drama felt inspiring in how it showed the way both good and bad relationships can impact our lives for the better. Binging also helps with this drama's pacing, and although It's far from a favorite, I'm glad I gave this one a second chance.

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Great slice of life romance with realistic character development

I really loved this drama. I dropped it first because of other dramas I wanted to watch first but came back to it and just couldn't stop watching. The writers took their sweet time to reveal the reasons behind the characters actions but the character development and the main loveline felt pretty organic. The side plots were also very thoughtful and depicted various themes regarding relationships. The OST was great too and this is probably the first time where I loved the last two episodes the most out of all the episodes because everything came full circle. IMO Rowoon was great in this. I watched some other of his dramas already but here he can show his whole range . The FL is great too. I loved her in "Rain or shine". Her character is a bit restrained in the beginning but so cute in the end. The couple has great chemistry and you really route for them as the show progresses. I did. I also think that the second couple was really funny.
I think I will rewatch this in the future.
If you like dramas like "Something in the rain", "One spring night", "Navillera" or even "Nevertheless" for their realistic and mature approach you might like this one. The characters start out more flawed than where they end up. All of them. And it is really great to watch.

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A Beautiful Story.

I've always been a fan of older female/younger male kinda dramas. This drama especially made me fall in love with Ro Woon.
It might seem boring at the beginning with the whole work place stuff, and female lead was a bit slow to realize the fault in her relationship which was all a lie. Then came in Ro Woon, his boldness and expression got me through this whole drama, a man that knows what he wants and didn't give up till the end, even when female lead withdrew due to work situation. His feelings didn't waiver. The way he looks at her and wants to be around her really made me fall in love with the drama.
It's a perfect drama when looking for, workplace drama, slow but beautiful romance.

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What to watch when viewing this show.

What to watch when viewing this show because this show can be a gem depending on how you view or it can be a regular watch.

Let's start with the negative first because I have a glowing repose later down.

First I had an issue with the casting. I had an issue with Won Jin Ah. She was like a square peg in a round hole and I felt like she struggled the entire drama. At first it felt as though the leads didn't have great chemistry and it was an off pairing but the further the show went the more her interactions with her co-stars felt more strained. I also didn't like the height difference between the main couple except for the part where she stood up on the bench to hug him. That part was pretty cute, I must admit but outside of that, they looked weird which made all the kiss scenes sitting down. This is one of the reasons I believe that I wasn't sold 100% on the romance of this drama. It felt very one-sided. Ro Woon really made me fall in love with him but not so much Won Jin Ah.

Second issue was Lee Hyo Joo character arc. I'm really over the desperate unrequited suicidal love of the rich girl who can't get everything she wants. As much as I loved the writing of this show, I sighed deeply every time she came on the screen.

The Raving part.

What really makes this show shine is writing. I am officially a fan of Chae Yoon and as far as my research shows this is a debut drama for the writer. I think this is great work for a debut because the lines, the soliloquies had me swooning. Imagine if these lines were relayed with an epic couple chemistry. This would have been a romance for the ages.

The storyline and plot was a basic romance with the mandatory break up and make up, time skip, away trip, crazy parents, etc. But I don't mind this in most cases as long as the drama is done well and in this case it was almost a slam dunk.

There were so many scene stealers with Hyun Seung and what I loved about his character the most is that he always allowed Song Ah to make the choice, set the pace and draw the boundaries and he respected all of her rules, even when he doesn't like them. When she said it makes her the bad person to change her mind I went crazy because it acknowledges that although men can be crass, women can take advantage of a situation as well.

Some other favourite moments: Song Ah saying she could never understand her mom because she is so determined not to become like her. Hyun Seung saying that love can burden the refuser (Episode 8 Hyun Seung soliloquy).

There are so many moments when the writing of this show moved me and I felt the talent of the script. I look forward to more from this writer hopefully with a more compatible cast.

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Sweet Sunbae Noona Romance

There are certain k-dramas that are meant to stay in your heart forever and can be rewatched to the fullest joy again and again. This is one of them for me. The storyline is simple yet so extra for your heart to take. I'm Awestruck with how beautiful and warm this drama is. Anyone who wants to witness the sweet Sunbae noona romance that will stay in your heart forever just can't miss this beautiful drama!. I am head over heels for Rowoon after watching this drama. He has outdone himself in every aspect. The way he portrayed Chae Hyung Seung makes it impossible not to fall in love with him. He is such a treat to watch! I've never felt so attached to the characters in any of the dramas till now. I haven't watched it, I LIVED THIS DRAMA...!!! It is a complete package with just the right amount of everything which makes an excellent romance drama. It was my comfy place for the last few months and now that it's over I don't know how to overcome the hangover and take Chae Hyung Seung out of my mind. DAMN you Rowoon! I wish I could forget the plot and rewatch it so I can experience those ecstatic feelings all over again. This drama is a must-watch! One of the best-underrated k-drama gems. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

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Out of the 16 episodes I wholeheartedly enjoyed 8 episodes. There were also 4 episodes which I really hated & 4 average mildly frustrating ones.
There is not a whole a whole lot of originality here. The only particularly unusual thing is how front loaded the show is with love triangle makjang. In the first 4 episodes all the bad stereotypical triangle things end up happening, like fist fighting, the 3way hand grab and a lot of possessiveness. The second ML is like a bloodhound for quite a while & the ML is not much better up until like ep6. (without Covid boredom I would've just dropped this at ep2-3)
The rest of the drama offers decent romance, but it has the most stereotypical and over-foreshadowed separation plot. (except it's even worse, because it's longer than the usual 2 years tenure) Anyhow the leads had good chemistry and plenty of sweet scenes together, so that was nice.
I can be considered a fan of Won Jin Ah, I don't see why people are bashing her. Her acting was great in this drama, the script, or her ridiculous hair/lipstick combination was not her fault. This is the second time I saw Rowoon in a drama. Based on his performance in Extraordinary You, I thought that he is a typical idol actor with no acting range. His acting may not have blown my mind, but he has improved a lot and largely succeeded at playing a completely different character, good job!

The one thing the production team really succeeded at is setting the mood. The unassuming, but surprisingly tasteful OST probably helped a lot with that too. I like dramas that have a slightly melodramatic mood, without going into an angsty direction. I guess this is one of the main reasons why I managed to somewhat enjoy this objectively bad drama.

I'm fine with gay supporting characters in dramas, but this drama had the blandest, most generic and overtold gay side story I have ever seen. Oh yes, there is one original thing in the drama after all. Song Ah's mother wanting her daughter to die alone is something I have not seen in a drama before, but personally I don't think that story was worth being told.

The office setting had some of the usual cliches, but it was bearable. They did not end up overdoing the workplace scheming/intrigue BS.

I can see why people taking the drama way too seriously wouldn't like the ending, but personally I think it was a well executed happy ending.

Overall 7/10 is probably too high, but against all odds the drama did end up entertaining me quite a bit, so I'll just roll with it.

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Good Enough!

I thought the story was okay. It was good enough to keep me entertained and finish the series. It’s not some mind-blowing romance or anything that’ll change your life, but it does the job.That said, there were a few things that didn’t quite click with me. Mainly, the romance — which is supposed to be the main focus — felt like it lacked emotional connection between the leads. I think that might be because of the way the female character was written. I’m not familiar with the actress, this was actually the first drama I’ve seen her in, so I’m basing this on the character itself.She’s more introverted and reserved, and goes through an emotional journey throughout the series. She starts off liking someone else, then moves on and starts falling for the male lead — who, by the way, is already head over heels for her from the very beginning. So I guess she needed to show that emotional disconnect at first. But I think that kind of made her come across as a bit cold, especially since for a big part of the show, she’s rejecting his advances.And honestly, the male lead is super sweet, totally in love with her, doing everything to win her over — maybe even trying too hard sometimes. I wish we’d seen more from her side, more of her falling for him. The ending felt a bit rushed in that sense.But overall, it’s a cute drama. There are some nice moments and a few parts I found really interesting, especially when it comes to the side characters. I really liked the male lead’s family dynamic — he has two sisters, and it’s fun to watch how they interact. The sisters also have their own little storylines, which adds a nice touch.Anyway, I think it’s worth watching.

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Loved the acting of the main leads however, the characters themselves, not so much

All the acting was good. Rowoon as Chae Hyun Seung and Won Jin Ah as Yoon Song Ah were both excellent, given what they had to work with. I liked their chemistry in the brief amount of time that they were actually together. Lots of cute interactions and good kisses. I also loved Park So Yi as Kang Ha Eun, Hyun Seung's young niece. She was precocious without being obnoxious, and I loved their scenes together especially.

Costuming was good, with generally classy outfits worn in the workplace and out and about. I tend to like office romance stories, and it's a bonus when the office workers are tolerable. I would have liked to have worked with these people. Hardworking and supporting of each other.

Here's where my problems came in: Yoon Song Ah has been in a secret relationship with her boss for two years. She finds out (because Chae Hyun Seung sets her up) that her boss is getting married in a couple of months. I'll address the set-up later. So, she's brokenhearted and mad, yet she tells the boyfriend that she wants to end their relationship, not mentioning that she's found out that he's a two-timing slime ball. He is constantly in her face, wanting to get back together, to the point that he should have had a restraining order out against him. You feel sorry for Song because she's supposedly so in love, but then suddenly decides she liked Hyun Seung - I was never able to see the transition. THEN she decides to go work in Europe for five years and they are going to try the long-distance thing. She never has time for him, so she breaks up with him by trampling all over his feelings. THEN she comes back and wants to get back together with him. This woman was so self-absorbed I had a hard time sympathizing with her. Weak woman.

Chae Hyun Seung had his own issues. In the first episode I thought he was so sweet, pining for Song Ah, but when he set her up for her to find out the truth, that really bothered me. Plus, the fact that he sounded like he was threatening her by saying things like, "You'd better show up" and especially when he wiped the lipstick from her lips and told her not to wear it. Once she knew the truth of the deadbeat boyfriend, Hyun Seung kept after her and after her, one minute saying he'd wait for her, and in the next minute wanting to know if she liked him yet. There were times that he was supposed to look like he was protecting her, but I thought his actions were very high-handed.

As for the side couples: I LOVED the storyline for Lee Jae Woon and Chae Ji Seung. He was immediately smitten, and the things he would do to be in her presence were precious.

Lee Jae Shin and Lee Hyo Joo - rat bastard cheating man that is marrying her because he feels he owes his friend a debt? Wants to get up in the world? I don't know and I don't care. But he stayed with her so she wouldn't kill herself? Weak woman.

Kang Woo Hyeon and Chae Yung Seung - You could tell at the outset that he didn't love her in a romantic way. And they stated that he spends ALL his free time with his friend from school. Once they started to address the possibility of him being gay, he blamed everything on the friend. She said she'd stay with him until he figured out who he was. Weak woman. So, she wasted years on this guy, living with him while he tried to find himself. Once he figured out what he wanted and they divorced, all I could think of was the years she wasted. The scenes with their young daughter when she found out they were getting divorced broke my heart.

The storyline with Song Ah and her mother I absolutely hated. Her mother was a complete and total mess and irritated me to pieces. What this storyline just reinforced to me was the Song Ah saw what her father did and so she was never going to make herself vulnerable to a man. That showed why she kept herself slightly apart from men, but on the other hand she seemed to always need to have a man in her life.

I do have to say that I enjoyed the last couple of episodes, though I couldn't quite forgive her for what she put him through. It's very shallow of me to say, but I was able to forgive quite a bit, just because I had the opportunity to watch Rowoon.

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