Love in Contract (2022)

I don’t know how to define “chemistry”

I didn’t think the chemistry was lacking. If anything, tbh, the entire first half has SO much sexual tension I thought I was going to faint the first time they kissed. Only to realize they had like SEVEN more episodes to go now that both Sang Eun and JiHo had come into their feelings.

I foresaw a lot of noble idiocy and blubbering melodrama but instead tragically they started backtracking on the credibility and character set up the built for Sang Eun by making her bull shitty triangle with HaeJin take center stage. Honestly, it wouldn’t have been a bad story development had they not made Hae Jin into a brat and Sang Eun into a damsel who couldn’t set up proper boundaries, which all things considered is a regression for Sang Eun. I hated how Hae Jin AND her mother did not listen to her nor respect her choices, constantly trying to undermine her work and make sneak attacks at her self worth.

In the end, it was a typical romcom and their romance was no Gong Yoo x Yoon Eun Hye but honestly through the first half, Ji Ho’s introversion, his little puppy eyes, his pining and longing and his cute face made everything 500x hotter. ESPECIALLY because his social status is technically a position of immense power. It was hot, idc.

Maybe that’s just my type but I’m here for wish fulfilment and I ain’t ashamed to say it was fantastic.

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Love it !

God I love it ! The actors are one point! (maybe I'm biased because it's Park Min Young 🙈) I fell in love with Kim Jae Young. It's the first timr that I saw a drama with him in it and damn I'm not disapointed at all! I'll definitly watch more dramas with him in the cast !

I understand why some people don't enjoy this drama, some elements in the story are at first not logical or meh! But everything finaly make sense in the last 3 episodes.

In my opinion it's a really good drama with awesome caracters, good music, and some plot twist that I enjoy! Can't wait for the final !

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Actually pretty good

I actually really enjoyed this drama and here's why:

1. I thought the character development was really nice. In the beginning, they didn't reveal too much about the characters, and as the show went on they slowly started to reveal more and more, especially for Jung Ji Ho and Yoo Mi Ho. In the first episode or so I was like "what is going on is this man going to kill her" like they really had me thinking that lol. Same applies for Yoo Mi Ho, she seemed like the villain in this story but by the end you see that she was trying her best (although she wasn't perfect obviously). Also with the FL and the ML, I know it's a little strange that she "fixed him", but the idea is that they grew as people together, which I think they executed well.

2. I liked the LGBTQ representation. They touched on topics of homophobia in the show, which is actually a real and present issue.

3. I thought that the chemistry between them was there, and I liked that they had already known each other for 5 years at least. A lot of times in Kdrama's they fall in love in like 3 months and I don't care if they have chemistry or whatever, you can't be obsessed with this person after only knowing them for a short time. I liked the FL's relationship with the second lead as well, and also HE'S SO HANDSOME both of the two main male leads are I just had to say that lol. The men in this show were green flags and I loved that, I'm tired of these toxic men not respecting women's boundaries.

4. I thought all the side characters were like-able and funny. They were all very relatable. I especially loved the senior manager and his wife, they were so cute and they supported Jung Ji Ho when no one else did.

This is not to say that there weren't issues with the show, because there definitely were, but for me it wasn't that serious of a show. I didn't have high expectations for it going in, and I just watched it because I wanted to see where it went. I thought it was an enjoyable show overall, just a cute and chill romcom.

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for me the only good parts were these:
jiho's personality. it's so rare to have a shy ml in dramaland. tho they did treat him like a freak, it's like the dude didn't like what "insa" people liked, but was he a psycho? no..
he just didn't like attention, or crowds, or fake social behavior to please other people. he was not "traumitized". sure he had a bad past but not every "social slowness" is a faulty personality
and yes, by now you've guessed it right, it's personal xD I'm shy, socially awkward, and slow with the fun hangs, but I'm not an idiot with a rock head.
as a kid I did say no alot, and in uni I changed it to a "hmm yeah". because I didn't really wanna do it but I also didn't not want to do it

here, especially with the drinking, or the wedding preps at the end, jiho didn't "like it", maybe he is stuck in my no phase but sangeun wasn't really considerate, she wasn't pushing him out of his shell she kept dragging him out then kinda making fun of him, "teaching" him he should "be like other people"..
so I personally didn't think they matched. like again the wedding prep, he was ready to put himself through the struggle cuz she said she wanted a big wedding, and she didn't listen when he said he didn't want it big. then she goes and says she was doing it for him


anyway, atleast with jiho his shyness and lack of social personalty didn't come with low self esteem, doubt, self consciousness and ready to escape
no drama can survive that way so all of those traits went to saguen ;D
I'm glad he always said he'll never misunderstand her and he'll wait for her pov before making a judgment, that's 1000000 lvl male lead behavior~ also he was never shy or reluctant in showing intimacy which is another +A move

gwangnamah was a sweeite, it's nice to have male characters without ulterior or obsessive behavior towards the fl, most fl "brother zoned" end up with a secret 10 year crush
he was a good person, had his own life, worries and dreams, he could easily get a spinoff where he finds happiness, love and acceptance

another point I liked was the past childhood connection, and the ones that did have them ended in divorce or one sided crush which heavily highlights how a person is different from what one projects on them

I did however dislike the 5 year "eating mate" with 0 attempts at conversation and honestly the whole drama was flat with zero substance, I'd have tbh preferred them preparing for a wedding, looking more at "what people do to please others who think one should do that" while trying to navigate happiness and marriage. I also wanted a scene with a baby to show he's not afraid to show affection and she also adored her baby and stuff life that

anyway, I only started it for a mom watch, and stayed for her + jiho and tbh the last like 40mins were my favorite part of this drama xD

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Endearing lead characters with their cute story but the rest is flat.

1/ STORY:
Young, pretty and multi-talented young woman offers service of contract marriage to men in need of having a wife for a certain period of time renewable. After 13years of activity, she decides to quit but she is soon embroiled in two situations that she has to manage until things "get better".

The first part of the story was interesting as we get to know her background story and how she ended in that line of job. Her past and the remnants of her past made her character endearing and lovable. The ML also has a touching story even if we just learn enough to explain his lack of social skills. SML is annoying. These three try to sort their true feelings and finally make their choice. Then the story doesn't seem to know where to go anymore. It creates new confusions and challenges from a very old situation just to show that these people care for each other. In the end a deus ex machina stunt arrives from the past and saves the day.

2/ CHARACTERS - ACTORS:
- FL : Choi Sang Eun was endearing considering her past since childhood and she still managed to make a living using her talents. She dealt with the sad part of her upbringing by bottling things. Loved that she and the ML gradually opened to each other. PMY was ok in this drama. Better than her previous ones that I dropped. Still sometimes she had to carry the scene and she kind of overdid it. Still like her tho.
- ML: Jung Ji Ho: His lacking and flaws were properly explained and he did improve and developed into a brighter more open guy. First time seeing GKP as lead actor. He did the part.
- SML: Kang Hae Jin : Deluded kid stuck with his infatuation that turned him into a weirdo talking on the phone to an even weirder interlocutor. He is very annoying but finally turns decent guy when he finally knows where his place is.
- SFL: Jung Ji Eun. Not the evil ex. She went from great evil spouse to clingy ex then good lawyer, understanding rival and finally helpful friend.
- The Roommate: Good friend but what a waste of talent and of a character. Very underused and underdeveloped.
- Mme Yoo: weirdly written character who did things very questionable.

3/ OST: Pretty good

4/ Rewatchable Value : Probably will never watch it again

5/ OVERALL: Starts well with weird but endearing characters who try to deal with their own sad past, to fight their own difficulties to give a new direction to their life and make it better. The main couple is especially endearing. Their relationship, how it starts, develops and how they find a way to become a couple is really cute funny at times and nice. They are the best part of this drama. In the end for them, all is not well (contract couple) that ends well (real couple). 7.5 /10.

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Enjoyable and moving

There are series that we watch that we somehow don't expect much from - we don't hear about them on various social media outlets, and not many talk about them (say unlike CLOY and others). I came across this series by accident and thought I might like it. Going in with very low expectations, I did not foresee liking it much. Let alone love it. Yet, love it I did.
The series starts in an unexpected way - characters cannot be deciphered. The plot and storyline are unlike anything we typically see in Korean series. The male lead seems to have a dark and suspicious cloud over him. Yet as episodes go on, the characters reveal themselves in the most unexpected ways - and we get so hooked on their trajectories, growth, and wish for true love to win. When you realise that the crazy business the female lead was running had a very particular and tragic reason - you reach the conclusion that this series is like an onion with many layers to peel.
The chemistry between the leads is wonderful, as is their acting. Some scenes you think you can cut with a knife - and they make you feel like you are drawn into the air they breathe.
This series stands out among the many suffocatingly conservative Korean series out there. We finally meet characters who take their own path, forge their own thoughts, and decide to swim against the current. Very enjoyable and heartfelt.

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A fresh concept with lot of cute moments and angst!

Okay, hear me out first. I loved this show and I feel like I’m a minority view here, lol. But, I just couldn’t find much too hate.

I have actually not seen this concept before even once in a k-drama so that was the first selling point for me. I enjoyed how they handled the concept of a woman's agency to do whatever she wants, in this case make marriages/dating her career. While doing so they very nicely depict the kind of outlook Korean society has on such things where they start evaluating her mental health basis her work, harsh reality women in such situation face. Never have I seen such an evaluation for all the chaebol men who have 3 wives, often the age of their grand daughters, and 2-3 mistresses. Goes to show very beautifully just how patriarchal the Korean society still is. So that was probably one thing I enjoyed the most.

The second thing I absolutely loved was Kang Hae Jin. I can’t recall a character I’ve loved as much as I loved Kang Hae Jin. He's positive, a major green flag, respectful of the FL's wishes and also not vengeful like your usual second leads in most East-Asian dramas. Like, there are 2-3 episodes where he hangs onto her and tries his best, but once its absolutely clear to him who the FL chooses, he does not push her or use cheap tricks to make her his when he has numerous opportunities to do so (through their family, the lawyer who wants to do it, excuse of public image since he's an actor and she's selfless, etc.). The way he looks at her and thinks of her before doing anything has me swooning and I'm definitely looking for my own Kang Hae Jin now, possibly at he main character, lol. :P

I also enjoyed how PMY was her usual cheerful, bubbly and pretty self. They've shown her as this selfless, easygoing and perky woman that although seems impossible but is a dash of energy to this otherwise quite heavy show as we see the ML (and also the second lead) struggling with his personality a lot. The show is not dark in the sense of how we use that genre but like the feelings are so heavy that it feels like a layer of gray coating everything, so, PMY's character brings a dash of light to their everyday lives and conversations. Also just a side note, but she's still so pretty and wears such great clothes , I love it!

Lastly, Jung Ji Ho was a depiction of a real man and the problems one faces in life. My main issue here was that throughout the show nothing has been revealed as to what made him the way he is today. I know there were previous marriage issues but we don't know the issue or what he was feeling. Like, we don't know any relevant background to understand his character more. I enjoyed his blankness but it would've been better to know why he was being so. At first, this ambiguity put me off and I dropped this show for a year. Rewatched it and was able to get over this monotonous aspect thereafter. This might be a dealbreaker for many people.

Other than the leads, my favourite characters were of Gwang Nam and Mi Ho. What stellar acting. The relationship between Gwang Nam and Sang Eun is gold. I love how they support one another and stand up for each other. That is how we describe bond more genuine than even blood bonds. Absolute magic.

In the end, I would definitely recommend watching this show. It's been a really enjoyable and great watch for me.

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I'm not sure how I feel about this show, I feel like it started off better and got worse.

The drama started off being a mix of romance and suspense/mystery and then the suspense element sort of disappears. You start off learning about Choi Sang Eun, who has a really interesting job as a "single life helper" and this one client of hers who she has been seeing for five years now who just might be a serial killer......or is he? There's also hints at a troubled past, like Sang Eun paying off a 13 year old debt. Her backstory is really sad, and I'm glad that you do end up being able to see the full picture of what happened in the past that is hinted at in flashbacks throughout the story.

There are a few big reveals towards the end, like finding out who her real mom is, but I feel like the way they wrapped up everything was disappointing / anti climatic compared to the buildup. Eena Group literally tries to run over Madame Yoo and people break into their home and things seem very serious and it is resolved super easily once Sang Eun steps in. I get that the brother was the "enemy" and with him out of the way things are easier, but it just didn't really make sense to me. And then the chairman of Eena Group turns over on a new leaf and retires and decies to donate everything? What on Earth is happening. Even more ridiculous, the superstar's mom spends years pressuring him and pestering him and then after one conversation with the FL, she decides to let him do what he wants. And all of a sudden, Gwang Nam's family is fine with him being gay because he's going to be a celebrity. I think that was probably the most unrealistic part, because throughout the show, Gwang Nam's character shows the discrimination that LGBTQ people face and repercussions from coming out... and then at the very end, it's like oh well everything is okay since you're going to be a celebrity now. *face palm*

7/7.5 not bad but not a must watch, with an unsatisfying conclusion

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Bland

Dec/Jan 2025
An "Oh dear" from me, I'm afraid. Whilst there were aspects I liked, they were far and few between, as I found the story hard to get into and stick with. So disappointed.
The 2 main themes of the plot were overly contrived and far fetched, with some laughable characters.

Over acting, although not by the main cast members, and a gay character arc that could have been so much more.

I just didn't get, or like it, and the character of Choi Sang-eun really irritated me for the most part. No amount of (hear violin accompaniment) sad background story could change that, unfortunately.

I found the multiple marriages angle ridiculous, especially considering the attitude towards divorce, which is depicted in other dramas and S.Korean culture itself... maybe they were attempting to make a serious point.

Hope others enjoy/ed it, but not one I'll remember or revisit. Bland best sums it up for me.

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