Male Lead Falls First and Chases First

3

1a - fateful childhood meeting made him love her

3

3

ML has loved FL since they were childhood friends but neither recognizes the other right away

1a, 3

This is one of those "falling for you has ruined my life" kind of comedy stories. He falls first and chases first even though it drives him crazy, haha. Very cute drama

between 1* and 1d 

ML falls for FL during a one-night stand in the first episode, he pines for her for three years before they reunite

1a - ML has admired and idolized FL since he was younger

1a, 1b ish (ML's feelings are hard to miss)

1a - ML observed FL and fell for her before they ever met in person

4

ML has a smile that could make a thousand flowers bloom :)

1d, 4

the leads were previously married and divorced, ML never really got over the FL. She pursues him to get his money as revenge for their divorce but he falls for it lol

1a, 3

leads were childhood friends/rivals, he's loved her since then

1d, 2

leads are exes, he never stopped loving her

The kind of love story where chasing her ruins his life and he chases her anyway

1b

ML has loved and admired FL since he was a teen

1a ish

2

3

cw obsessive toxic ML

2, 3

3

1b*

3 - though at first ML pursues FL for selfish reasons, not love

1a (kinda implied - unclear whether the ML is aware of his own feelings from the start)

3

1b - leads had a fateful childhood meeting where they fell in love but FL does not recognize ML while he does recognize her. She knows about his feelings (at least the physical ones) but doesn't reciprocate for a long time

2

love this ML

ML starts off in love with someone else but when he does fall for the FL, he falls first and hard

3

Same goes for all other versions - cw for forced kiss in Meteor Garden, Boys Over Flowers

4

1*b, 3

cw super possessive anti-hero ML

3

ML is tsundere type, takes him a while to pursue actively

1b ish, 2, 3

1b, 2

1*

1*

cw near sociopathic ML

1*

2

1a

1a, 2, 3

FL does not remember/recognize ML though he has loved her since childhood. Even after he loses his memory of her, he's STILL the one pursuing her and not vice versa

2, FL does fall quickly for the SML

2 - love triangle but it's the ML twice

very much 3

1a/1c and 4 kind of

FL confesses her crush to ML in high school but is over it by the time the events of the show begin - he has always reciprocated but she does not know this

3

1a/1b

noona romance, he's had a crush on her for a long time but she didn't reciprocate

3

1*

1a - ML has a crush on her gaming persona

1b

3, very much 3

1d

1

3

cw for toxic possessive ML

1c iirc

they meet as children and fall in love, then they are separated until adulthood - due to social status the FL feels that she can't reciprocate

Falling in love with her genuinely ruins his career and yet he still does it lol. I think it's implied that they fall at the same time but she doesn't realize it until after he's already started pursuing her

2 - fun frenemies relationship between ML and SML

1a - ML has liked the FL since middle school

3

1a (childhood friends plus they have a fateful meeting) 

2

1a, 2

2, 3

3

ML falls first but I think it might be up to interpretation who actively pursues first

1b, kind of 1c

3

cw - obsessive bully ML

1a - FL is ML's first love from high school

2 - love triangle but it's the ML twice

3

3

3

3 - cw for a very toxic ML and forced kiss/assault

1b*, 2, 3

3

2, 3

1a though ML is very tsundere about it

3

cw for toxic ML

cw for toxic ML

1*

His purpose in life is to pursue and he does so, hard

1a - ML fell for the FL very quickly in college

the drama starts with them in their late twenties, so he's already loved her for a long time at that point, but because of the FL's time travel back to college we also get to see him fall in love in real-time

1a, cw for insanely toxic manipulative behavior by ML

1*

Pretty much insta-love for ML because of plot reasons but he also falls first for real and chases her all around campus

He falls first but is the "tsundere" type so it takes him a while to realize what he's feeling

1*, 3

4, after the time skip - FL tries to seduce ML for personal gain

1b 

cw for manipulative stalker ML