Filing for Love

A Promising Start

The impressions of the drama are rather mixed: it begins as a promising and lively rom-com, but in the second half it noticeably loses momentum, shedding its initial spark and slipping into a rather simple, at times dragging melodrama. The plot clearly lacks balance. Instead of keeping the audience in suspense, the writers brought the main leads together way too early. As a result, their romance turned into a predictable routine of hand-holding, kissing, and eating noodles together.

The supporting storylines are rather weak as well: somewhat silly love triangles, a poorly handled redemption arc of a deranged secretary, unnecessary and chaotic appearances of No Gi Juns sisters, as well as a finale where a large-scale corporate conflict is resolved in just five minutes.

Nevertheless, the drama does have its strong sides that prevent it from being a bad project. Its main highlight is the charismatic cast and the convincingly portrayed emotions. The female lead is especially impressive: her resilience, sharp mind, ability to endure pressure, and to stand up to those who try to hurt her truly save the show. At the same time, her dominant role in the relationship creates mixed feelings. She is always the one making decisions and having the final word, which makes No Gi Jun appear like an inexperienced young man by comparison. Some people might like this kind of dynamic, but it made me uncomfortable.

Still, the strong cast, well-developed characters, psychological nuances of relationships, and charming leads make the drama worth watching, even if there is a lingering feeling that its potential was not fully realized.

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He speaks his mind. She's a tough cookie.

A nice adult workplace drama. Nothing too exciting but solid nonetheless. He speaks his mind. She’s a tough cookie. A mature romance between working adults and their coworkers. At first, I didn’t think much of ML's character at the start, he’s arrogant and cocky, but week by week, I gradually came to like him. The actress playing the female lead is always a powerhouse, so there’s nothing to complain about there. Their romance is enjoyable.

Romance aside, the show is a weekly case of a workplace issue that the main couple must investigate in each episode. I felt these were a hit or miss, but nonetheless, they place the main couple in unusual yet entertaining situations.

There’s one character who drove me up a wall, but I suppose they needed someone to give the show a semblance of conflict. Blinded by love I guess.

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I started watching this drama ongoing because I found it funny. And I laughed a lot while watching it.

At the beginning of the drama, the story was simple and funny. Comedy parts were the drama's main strong point.
The casting was really great. I just got crush on Jeon Jae Yeol (Kim Jae Uck) at the first glance. He just had a strong main character aura. Not just him, Park A Jeong also made me doubt how important her character might be. The chemistry between Jeon Jae Yeol and Park A Jeong was really intense. While watching their acting, sometimes I felt that the main couple is the second leads and only there for comedy. Of course, they didn't actually disappoint as main character at all. Shin Hae Sun is such a great actress! She never disappoints me through her acting. Even if the story is a trash, I still could watch her acting. And Gong Myoung is such a cutie pie. The couple looked so cute and soothing.

The drama had such a good writing in the comedy parts. But for some reason I felt that it lacked a strong plot. There wasn't much of character development. The drama showed some of the rash decisions and actions of the characters and realizing it later. But I didn't feel that they actually portrayed the characters' emotion flows properly. I mean I could get why they acted that way but could not empathize them properly. So, in last few episode something felt off to me. I mean even office politics could do better.

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A breath of fresh air amidst boring dramas

It's not the drama of the year, but it's hooked me as if it were. The protagonists go from hating each other to loving each other, office romance, plots of corruption and abuse of power... all this added to very funny moments. It's true that at first I wasn't a big fan of the main couple, I didn't feel they had much chemistry, but in the end I've come to see their point. If you don't want to watch the typical office romance, this is definitely your kdrama.

(If I had to criticize anything, it would be the secondary couple. Girl, you don't have to be a pushover to be liked.)

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subrang ganda

episode 1 palang nakakatawa na subrang ganda ...🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🤣🤣🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

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promising start, lackluster writing

I went into this with basically no expectations and yet I was still kind of let down. It's not all bad, and the beginning definitely had potential to turn into something unique and entertaining, but the drama declines very quickly after the characters are fully introduced.

For some positives... the acting is good. Shin Hae Sun & Gong Myoung fit their roles well, and Kim Jae Uck & Hong Hwa Yeon do a good job with what they were given as well. The ML wasn't your typical lifeless & emotionless ML like so many other dramas, so that was fun. Shin Hae Sun is a great actress, although I feel like I've seen her in this type of aggressive/unapologetic role before so it didn't really feel like anything new. The 2FL was surprisingly a breath of fresh air when it comes to 2FLs for the first part of the series, up until they completely ruin her character in the later part. The 2ML was tolerable for a little bit until the love triangle started and quickly went downhill from there. The side characters were relatively entertaining despite being the cliche office team surrounding the leads that you'll see in so many of these dramas.

When it comes to the story, I wasn't really that invested in the workplace drama going on with the audit team, which is unfortunate considering it takes up quite a bit of the screentime (as expected since it's the main concept). The segmented audit storylines following different employees and their affairs was interesting at times, but got tiring pretty quickly and honestly was frustrating to watch sometimes as someone who despises cheating and misunderstandings. The FL is the typical capable headstrong leader who comes across as cold and arrogant at the start, but slowly opens up throughout the story. I do feel like she didn't really change as much as I expected up until I stopped watching, and really stayed pretty stagnant in terms of attitude and bluntness, except for when she was with the ML. But even the more lighthearted "romantic" scenes with the ML didn't feel as genuine or real to me, most likely because the FL was so unrealistically headstrong for the majority of the show that it was hard to convince myself that she was actually in love. The ML's character was kind of fun, although very frustrating in the first few episodes. I feel like they kind of sidelined him near the end and gave way too much screentime/story to the 2ML & FL, but maybe it would have turned around if I kept watching to the end.

The 2ML started off okay, but as soon as the love triangle started it all went downhill. I was hoping they wouldn't go the love triangle route with him, but of course they had to. A very talented and good looking actor, but his character became progressively more annoying and frustrating to watch as the series progressed. His one-sided love for the FL was overbearing at times, and completely ruined the vibe and caused so much unnecessary drama that could have instead been used to further the relationship between the two leads and create a more convincing love story. I also couldn't really care less about the relationship between the 2ML & 2FL, even though I did like the 2FL for a bit at the start of the series. They didn't get nearly enough meaningful screentime for me to feel invested at all, and often times the two together just brought down the mood.

As for the 2FL, I admit she had a very promising start. She wasn't your typical 2FL, and the unconventional role and ML/2FL dynamic was interesting. Then they completely ruin her character in the later part of the series by turning her into the cliche revenge-focused 2FL who crosses way too many lines for a guy who is so unlikeable for the majority of the story. What happened to the fun, unconventional, friend dynamic at the start? They manage to forcefully "redeem" the 2ML near the end, and yet the writers completely throw the 2FL under the bus and turn her into a villain. I don't know if her character gets better in the last episode since I stopped watching part-way through episode 11, but incredibly disappointing nonetheless.

I just feel like overall the series had so much potential, but the story started to feel more and more cliche as it progressed, and as soon as the love triangle kicked in and the messy corporate plot started to take up more screentime, it just became such a drag to keep watching. So many of the interactions between characters and the dialogue started to feel forced, the comedy bits weren't really landing, and the corporate drama involving the FL & 2ML was frustrating to watch to say the least. Near the end, it felt like the writers were trying so hard to bring a climactic drama-filled final push, but it mostly centered around the FL & 2ML, and at this point the 2ML was so annoying for most of the series I just couldn't bring myself to care about what happened to him. On top of that, switching up the 2FL into a jealous revengeful villain felt like too much of a dramatic transition that wasn't really hinted at enough or developed enough throughout the series.

Maybe some of my frustrations with this drama would have been resolved in the final episode, but I unfortunately couldn't make it that far. Definitely not a terrible show, despite my lengthy essay of complaints! Just very disappointed considering the promising start.

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It's a very middling corporate romance carried by Shin Hye Sun..

The corporate plot is pretty weak, but the 12 episode format makes the usual fare tolerable. I have certainly witnessed far far worse corporate plots in my kdrama history. Also think the basic concept of the show is ridiculous, more specifically the audit team's various investigations feel like they are the virtue police & then the drama romance is about a boss-subordinate relationship in that setting & then everyone is just okay with it, I mean come on. While focusing on the romance itself ignoring all the weird crap, I can say it's decently fun at times, however the chemistry between the leads is really not great. The triangle is not too bad, it's more tolerable than average, though not having one would've been vastly preferred of course.

Also the supporting cast is really on the boring side. The only interesting character is -the technically second FL- vice president's secretary. I somewhat understand what the production team wanted with her character, sort of using her as a mood setter, but it was just too weird. Normally I'd say her character has gotten sacrificed on the altar of live filming, but this is a pre-produced show, maybe they forgot to tell the writer. Maybe the script had been written alongside the filming, completely negating any benefit of filming a show before airing it.

So why is it a 6.5 instead of 3? Well SHS even on a bad day is still one of the best kdrama actresses there are & oh boy she sure is carrying very hard. (though not as hard as in Angel's Last Mission if I want to be entirely honest)

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Filing for Contradictions.

I’m only on ep 4, but honestly, I’m struggling to understand why this drama is being praised as “well written.” My biggest issue is how incoherent its workplace logic feels.

Going into it, I expected something lighthearted like " What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim " the kind of romcom where you can switch your brain off, enjoy the chemistry, and don’t think too deeply about realism. I hadn’t even read the synopsis, so I genuinely didn’t know what kind of drama this would be. But the moment the story started taking its audit/workplace angle seriously, the contradictions became impossible for me to ignore.

The drama revolves around audits, ethics, workplace misconduct, and conflicts of interest, yet both main couples are built on clear superior/subordinate dynamics. In real workplaces, those relationships are considered sensitive because of the power imbalance and the potential for favoritism, conflicts of interest, unfair evaluations, or pressure tied to hierarchy. In many companies, these relationships must be disclosed to HR, and sometimes they’re not even allowed.

As a result, the premise ends up feeling contradictory. The story wants me to take its professional and ethical themes seriously while casually brushing past the exact kinds of workplace dynamics that would realistically raise concerns. A secretary openly pursuing her superior or a department head developing feelings for a subordinate should logically be treated as ethically complicated within the context of this story, but the drama barely acknowledges it.

What makes it even more frustrating is that the actors are genuinely doing a great job. The performances are solid, and you can tell they’re trying to make the material work. But despite that, I personally don’t feel any real chemistry between the main couple. They come across more like coworkers or friends, so the romance feels forced instead of natural. The progression of the relationship also feels awkwardly written , rushed , and poorly executed, which makes it difficult to get emotionally invested.

That’s why the whole thing feels like wasted potential to me. The cast is capable, but the writing undermines what the drama is trying to accomplish. If the series had fully embraced being a simple unrealistic romcom, I probably could’ve overlooked all of this. But once you build your story around audits, ethics, and professional accountability, it becomes hard to ignore when the main relationships directly contradict the themes the drama itself is pushing.

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Filing Fizzled Strangely as the "Love" Started to Blossom

I really enjoyed this show to start. Loved all the actors in this. Liked that the FL was all business and didn't take crap from anyone. Though I did have to laugh at the ridiculousness of her starting a physical altercation with the HR Director and still keeping her job and in management no less. Lol. Only on "tv." SMH. Both would've likely been fired if this show was more realistic. Still I liked that she wasn't the nicest person in the room, but she would fight for what was right.

I liked her interactions with the ML. Loved that she countered his arrogance and childishness with professionalism and maturity. But I also liked the potential that was between them. So when they finally kissed I felt the fire. However...things started to go down hill from there. After that kiss the ML was suddenly smitten with the FL and became insistent that they pursue a relationship, even though he knew doing such a thing would cause real problems for them, especially for her.

Also, it seemed like he had this savior complex, as evidenced by his past relationship with his ex-girlfriend. So I found myself questioning whether he truly liked the FL or did he see her as someone who needed to be saved and was confusing empathy with love. I think that's when their potential romance started to cool for me. Then the SML is thrown in the mix along with his history with the FL and I couldn't help but start shipping them.

Yes. He was problematic but their history was interesting and they were evenly matched emotionally unlike the ML, who could be extremely immature. I got more than halfway through this series and lost interest because I just could not ship the OTP anymore. Plus the story had some contrived plot twists and started to get boring. I took a break from the show and attempted to pick it back up, but it could no longer hold my interest, so I dropped it.

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