Aramintai

I disagree, it didn't have to be a badly shoehorned romance at all, could have been just friendship. Spy grandma, for example, also had a lot at stake - from her daughter, to her life. ML wasn't really essential to the success of her plot, just another one of her accomplices.
And after it was revealed he's done it not only for dubious romantic reasons (were they even romantic and not simple human compassion?), but also in hopes she'd help him get his revenge as well, I even started disliking his character. His fake cheerful smiles didn't help his image either, the guy's clearly as damaged as FL. You gotta admit - he's dragging her into another revenge plot and it is not a healthy ending. I wrote about it in detail at the end of my spoiler comment.
Also, if they really wanted to sell the romance here, they could have made FL look at least mildly interested in him, but she acted like a stone faced stray cat who only visits human houses for food and shelter, and leaves again on a whim.

No, specifically these were not answered.

The real name tag was stashed by Yeon Jin's mother all those years. It was given to her by the corrupt cop who closed that murder case. FL blackmailed the mother to give her the tag. But then simply used it to mock the both of them and throw a wrench between them by pinning it on Yeon's Jin's clothes - the tag could not be used as evidence since the police obtained it from her much later, after the murder scene was swiped already. The police wouldn't have been able to confirm it was there at the time of murder.

Because she looked way older than her peers from the same school year. And her actress is indeed way older than them, she's just a few years younger than spy grandma actress. Not to mention ML, whose actor's so young, he can almost be her son. A strange choice of cast for the leads, imho.

1. She was not raped, but other bullied girls that came before and after her were. So be prepared.
2. ML got involved with FL through the death of another bullied girl. Her body was stored in the morgue by his doctor father, who was the owner of the hospital, in case there would be a re-investigation of her case. ML learned about that body, about her grieving mother and later about FL, who was from the same school and had the same looking scars. He got interested in her and followed her around through the years. He ends up helping her exact her revenge. They end up together in the end and FL will help him exact revenge on his father's killer.
3. The teacher was a pos, who only cared about his own reputation. He gets his due later and it's truly karmic. All the evil guys will get what they deserve in the end.

Unanswered questions/plot holes (?):
1. What FL's trash of a mother had on school kids mothers to bribe them? Why were they giving her gifts?
2. How spy grandma's husband figured out that the main evil bitch killed somebody and where did he get main bitch mother's phone number? Spy grandma showed him some messages from the main bitch but there wasn't anything about murders there.
3. Who were the goons FL worked with? They were not the same goons who worked for the corrupt cop and racketed money out of her by staging a car incident. Where did they come from?


Afterthoughts about the main plot:
1. I was kinda disappointed how easy it was to dismantle the evil bully "friends" from within. They had the means to quitely kill off FL, but they were so dumb and arrogant, they waited until it was too late without taking her seriously.
There were also some way too convenient things that happened. For example, that dirty cop who decided to betray the main bitch and her mother, all on his own. Or that school teacher who had enough of the evil sleazy teacher and sold him off to FL.
Or classic "fairy tale" like not-so-random meetings with characters FL helped or met in the past, who decided to help her in the present.
I'm not saying it made the plot worse, but I think revenge of that sort is a realy dirty business and FL getting away with her hands clean and conscience clear was not as...I dunno, believable?

2. The main bitch was an exaggerated true psycho without any redeeming qualities. To the very end she couldn't even comprehend what FL wanted from her, what compassion and forgiveness is. So it was easy for FL to exact her revenge on her without guilty feelings, after she confirmed how unhinged she remained through the years.
But then again, if the main bitch actually grew up/matured and realized her past mistakes it would have been much harder for FL and she may have abandonded her revenge altogether. But that wouldn't have made much of a plot.

3. I don't wanna go too much into shoehorned romance, but I wanna say that ML's side revenge plot kinda ruined the ending.
FL deserved to be happy and to find a new purpose in life with a person in her life who's like a healing light. Instead she got herself involved in another revenge story of a character who's as damaged as her, if not more, and there's no ending to it. And the darkening sky as they both entered prison's gate in the end was kinda foretelling.

4. And why ML even read those letters from a psycho? What will be his revenge? He's a doctor, but he wants the psycho killer dead. What will he do? Stage a prisoners fight so that his hands will be clean? Treat him to death? It's kinda even more messed up than FL's revenge, since the psycho's already on death row, waiting for the execution of his sentence. And it is already known that he's an even bigger psycho than the main bully bitch - there's no point in trying to explain to him where he was wrong.
Anyway, I feel like FL and ML wasting the rest of their lives on this sort of trash, by poisoning his already doomed existence until he dies, is just a poison to themselves. Like all psychos, that trash just craves attention and worst punishment for him is oblivion - ML should have just ignored his baiting letters and let him rot in prison until he's executed.

Finished watching part 2 and I think part 1 was a bit better. The preparation stage was long and tough, but the execution was surprisingly easy - after throwing some spicy s*it into the fan, FL simply had to watch how the toxic bully clique basically destroyed themselves.
FL was bluffing a lot though, her plan was not bulletproof, but she counted on rotten nature of those involved and they did not disappoint.
And way too many convenient events, serendipitous to FL's plan, also helped smooth the execution by a lot.
Still, it was satisfying to watch the main plot unfold, how FL's bullies ruined themselves and got what they deserved.

On the minus side, I'm also of the popular opinion that romance was not necessary here. Those two actors just didn't mesh together, and later reveals about ML and his fixation on FL kinda creeped me out. I'd even go so far as to say it ruined what should have been a catharthic ending with that unfinished side plot about ML's revenge.

Most of the cast did a splending job, especially the actress playing spy/housewife, she has some range, I think her role was way tougher to play than FL.
The main evil bitch was great too - loved to hate her.
Her businessman husband was also awesome, he had a lot of presence even though he was just a side character.
Some bad guys were overacting too much though, especially FL's mother.
FL was ok for playing a deadpan character, but I think a bit younger actress may have been better. ML looked like he was miscast, tbh.

Anyway, a good show overall, definitely one of the best revenge dramas out there. No cringey makjang or extreme violence like in some other revenge dramas out there that made me drop them.

P.S. If some of you are triggered by me not liking some aspects of this drama, plz don't take this as a personal affront, everyone has the right to write their opinions here.

Some afterthoughts in the spoilers below:

Or Mr. and Mrs. Smith?

P.S. True Lies (the movie) was hilarious, btw. Loved it.

True Lies or Mr. and Mrs. Smith?

Yea, the title sounds very random so far. Also, “blooming” can be used as a mild curse word, like "Our F*cking Youth". Maybe it’s a title from the perspective of older evil characters - new generation is ruining their plans! Makses some sense at least...🤔😂

But seriously though, they should have left the old version of the title - "Youth, Climb The Barrier". It makes more sense than the final version. All the leads want to climb over barriers, erected by society rules, that predetermined their roles in life. FL and her servant don't want to be a man's commodity as housewives; CP doesn't want to be ministers' puppet like his father; detective doesn't want a boring desk job fitting for a minister's son.

I've read here in one of the comments that the novel ends with CP going away with FL and not becoming king. Personally, I'm ok with it ending that way in the drama as well. If the youngest brother is actually Song's son, he can have the throne as a retribution. It's not an enviable position in saeguks usually anyway, ML can live even happier and help people without the red tape if he's a free nobleman.

If you mean the servant, who was like a brother to her - I think he was brainwashed, just like that shaman lady. Probably that suspicious peony incense was to blame, hence their hair turned white as a side effect.

I think the queen hates her uncle and she hates that he forced her to marry the king. And I think that her son is not the king's but that Song guy's who clearly was framed for the "uprising".

I'm thinking the guard is from that sacked village, but he also seems genuinely grateful to CP for bringing him in. But he also works for the secret Song organization that sends those arrows to another guy with the wife and does all that shady stuff in the city. That "old" master with bad make-up is probably Song himself. What they're doing is unclear so far with that mysterious mumbo-jumbo. Do they aim to depose the royal family, or want to expose the real villains? Who knows. Main thing is, it's a separate organization from the main bad - the minister. Maybe the queen is in coohots with them.

As for FL seeing the guard at her house - likely it was him, but I don't think he's the one who killed her family. There's something else, today it was revealed they all went to the mountain shrine that suffered a landslide just prior that supper - maybe they ingested something there.

Alternatively, the guard could have a twin brother. But that would be very lame, I doubt it.

There are multiple, actually. The really evil one is not whom you'd think though.

But it was a whole month for characters. It's like ML is a player character in a video game - while he's offline the rest of the npcs are not doing anything, all quests have stopped, everyone's waiting for pc to return and solve their problems.

Some people are so triggered here like it’s a personal offence to them that other people have differing opinions. Pay them no mind, you can voice your opinion here just like anybody else. I’m still finishing watching part 2, but I’m definitely gonna “thrash” it when I do. It’s not perfect and there are things to criticize.

It’s a very bad translation and it’s a synopsis to live action and not to the novel? Anyway, I wrote my opinion above in the spoiler.

ML clearly has feelings for FL, the romance is inevitable. She will stay by his side like she wants, but not as an eunuch. This drama has too many cliches in it’s regurgitated plot to sway away from them at the end. Will he become king? Honestly I don’t really care, he can go live high life somewhere else and be more productive with helping people along with FL. Kings in saeguks always end up being politically impotent. The other brother can become the king to make the prophecy come true, since he most likely is Song.

If you can stomach zombies, try Kingdom. The best saeguk with a twist, hands down. Definitely more entertaining than this 20 episodes snoozefest.
Or, if you like fantasy genre as well, try Alchemy of Souls - simply da best.