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I think this series is fine for a one-time watch, but nothing more than that. It wasn’t engaging enough to linger in my mind afterward or make me want to come back to it later. While watching, I had the impression that it had a lot of potential, but that potential was wasted. Many elements of the series felt like filler to me, and even if they weren’t meant to be, the script turned them into such. A lot of potentially interesting topics weren’t developed, and some of the solutions were simply absurd.

Starting with the main culinary storyline, which for most of the series was the most interesting and, in my opinion, the best handled one — toward the end it became full of absurdities. Beginning with the fact that no one at the restaurant knew they had been awarded three stars and only found out from other people or the internet. Then there was the biggest flop, which at the same time had great potential: the cooking battle — how on earth did no one verify the results if it was announced as a win rather than a draw? Why did the guy who was the head of Diamond storm off offended instead of explaining the situation? An absurd situation, topped off by the cherry on the cake: a family breakfast and a mother who suddenly allowed them to run the restaurant, even though she herself hadn’t changed for the better at all. In the end, the restaurant that stole recipes and falsified competition results kept its three stars, and no one tried to do anything about it. The falsification of the results of the first competition was also never explained. I also don’t understand what his mother was planning next. Some new restaurant — but why all these mind games?

As for the main couple — Mo Yeon Ju and Han Beom U — I have very mixed feelings. Individually, I find them interesting characters, especially him. I think he was very well written and acted. It was enjoyable to watch his character development, and you could really see how he changed, began to understand his mistakes, and tried to fix them. The only thing that puzzles me in his case is the storyline about his father, which was either never mentioned or handled so superficially that I don’t even remember it. She was also an interesting character to me. I liked her confidence and feisty personality, although at times I felt it was a bit over the top. However, in her case, the storyline about being abandoned by her parents felt like filler. It had potential and could have been interesting if it had been developed somehow — for example, if she had found her biological parents. When it comes to their relationship, though, my feelings were extremely mixed. Sometimes I liked the chemistry between them, especially from his side. From start to finish, his feelings and chemistry were clearly visible. With her, however, it was inconsistent. This was especially noticeable to me when her ex returned (which was also filler, but more on that later). I had the impression that she smiled more around her ex, was nicer to him, and that the male lead was like a clingy nuisance who was getting in their way. Maybe that’s a misinterpretation, but that’s how it came across to me. What also annoyed me was that the male lead never told her that he wasn’t the one who stole her recipes and that he had tried to prevent it earlier — in fact, he never really told her at all.

Next, I want to expand on the storyline with her ex, which I also consider filler — again, mainly because of the script. First of all, the whole idea of going to Japan with him was stupid. At that point, she was already involved with the male lead; they had been on a date, and she informed him about her departure only by letter. On top of that, she flew there with her ex. She could have gone alone, and she certainly didn’t need to spend all that time with him in Japan — visiting places from the past, shopping together, or cooking together. To me, this shows respect — or rather, a lack of respect — for a new, potential partner. Although this alone wouldn’t yet make it filler. The problem is that after the male lead stopped the merger and they returned to Korea, Le Murir was never mentioned again — not the restaurant, not the chef, not his illness, nothing. The whole topic just vanished into thin air, which is why I consider it filler. On top of that, I really didn’t like how Jeon Min, who harmed the restaurant’s founder’s health by throwing away his medication, faced no consequences whatsoever — on the contrary, he was praised and hugged by him because he supposedly cared so much about Le Murir. In what way? By selling it to a company that would later cause it to go bankrupt? I also still don’t understand why he tried to lure the female lead to Le Murir while simultaneously pushing for a merger that he knew would lead to bankruptcy.

As for other characters, I’ll only mention Jin Myeong Suk and Sin Chun Seung. I liked their conflicts and the way they teased each other. They made me laugh many times, so I consider them a nice addition. Sin Chun Seung’s character development was also interesting, and I’m glad he started doing better, finally proved his worth to his father, and took over the restaurant. The only thing I don’t understand here is the storyline with the actor from “Lovely Jogger.” Did they know each other from school? Maybe I just didn’t catch some of the comedy.

In my opinion, there’s no point in discussing the other characters, as they weren’t interesting enough to really stick in my memory or make me want to write more about them. A few pleasant characters, a few “semi-villains,” and that’s about it.

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Up until the final episode, I considered this series to be great. I wasn’t bored for a single moment, and the entire plot kept me genuinely interested in every next episode. The whole moms’ team was fucking awesome, and it was a real pleasure watching them shut up all the doubters and support each other. The chemistry between the main leads — Ko Da Rim & Kong Ji Hyeok — was AMAZING from the very beginning and clearly palpable for the viewer. On top of that, their relationship itself was very enjoyable to watch. Yes, there were many misunderstandings that could have been solved with honesty, but at no point did I feel their relationship was toxic (a so-called red flag). Maybe with one exception — the pool incident, where in my opinion he crossed a line by “forcing” her to jump into the pool even though she couldn’t swim. Other than that, they were an enormous support for each other and would have risked everything for one another. Their moms were also wonderful, and watching their friendship was a delight — especially how, thanks to her mom, his mom started getting back on her feet and decided to fight for her own happiness.

However, the last episode was, in my opinion, tragic on many levels. The idea of his memory loss itself wasn’t bad, but dumping it all into the final episode absolutely was. Because of that, we spent half of the finale watching her pathetic attempts to restore his memory. I find it hard to understand why she didn’t think earlier that a kiss might bring his memory back, considering they had already talked about it once. On top of that, Kang Gyeong Min knew that a kiss was what sparked his friend’s feelings in the first place, so it’s also weird that he didn’t tell her about it. It’s even harder for me to understand why his mother didn’t try to talk to him and explain that Ko Da Rim wasn’t a scammer and that they really were together. He accused everyone else of lying, but he loved and trusted his mother, so he wouldn’t have suspected her.

Then came their one-year separation, during which he still knew nothing — even though he went back to work at the place where they had previously worked together, where a scandal had just happened and which he must have known about. Hell, the media surely published plenty of articles about them dating. Did he seriously think everyone was lying to him? Then there was a random encounter where he suddenly remembered everything, followed by quick music montages of their moments together, half-assed proposals, etc. Overall, the final episode left plot holes, unresolved threads, or storylines that were treated lazily because the creators decided to cram everything into that single episode.

One of those unresolved threads concerned Ko Da Rim. She flew to Jeju Island to find her sister, but instead she met Kong Ji Hyeok, they kissed, and suddenly the sister plot completely disappeared. We don’t know whether she found her or what came out of their conversation — and I consider that storyline quite important. After all, it was because of her sister that the main leads met in the first place, and also because of her that Ko Da Rim looked for a job and ended up working for him.

Now let’s talk about the second main “couple”: Yoo Ha Yeong & Kim Seon U. In the first episode, I was convinced Yoo Ha Yeong would be an annoying character impossible to like, sabotaging the main couple. Turns out — she became one of my favorite characters in the entire series. Very warm and kind, yet persistent and fighting for what she wanted. Her relationship with his son was wonderful and genuinely moving at times (the school performance). Because of that, as the series went on, I felt more and more sorry for her.

I probably differ from many people here, but personally, I didn’t see a happy ending for them — at least not at that time. She completely fell for him, but from his side those feelings were never there. Even the scene where he tended to her wounds while she slept didn’t come from romantic feelings in my opinion — it came from him simply being a good person. So I had no issue with him. From the beginning, he clearly defined where they stood and rejected her instead of giving her false hope. However, I do have a major issue with the scene of their meeting years later, which suggested that “maybe” something could happen. Not the fact that the meeting happened — I don’t deny that after years they could meet again and feelings might develop on his side once he healed from his past love — but personally, I didn’t like that scene. It portrayed her somewhat as a desperate woman approaching him after five years while he was talking to another woman and saying they might be together in the future.

Now let’s move on to the most important antagonists.

I’ll start with the one person I developed a tiny bit of sympathy for — Kong Ji Hye. Did I hate her throughout the entire series? YES. Did I change my mind at the end? NO. BUT that doesn’t change the fact that I understood her in a twisted way and felt sorry for her in some aspects. Since childhood, she carried the label of “the mistress’s daughter.” Her father took her in only to silence his own guilt. She worked hard, but her father was never going to appreciate her anyway. The man she loved constantly manipulated her and treated her like trash. Does that excuse her actions? No. But it makes her more than a one-dimensional villain — she’s someone who never experienced love. In the end, she even turned that piece of shit over to the police, which earned her the only plus point from me out of the whole trio. Maybe I’m naive, but I saw a hidden potential in her to become a good person and hoped someone would help her get there. That didn’t happen — or at least it wasn’t shown. In her case, we also have two unresolved issues: first, what happened to her after she left the company and moved out? Second, she never found out that Yoo Tae Yeong was manipulating her again and actually wanted to use her to buy her father’s company.

The main male lead’s father (he doesn’t deserve to be called a dad) — Kong Chang Ho. There wasn’t a single redeeming quality in this man that could inspire even a shred of sympathy. A man completely blinded by career and money. So much so that he stripped his wife of all happiness and freedom, driving her into depression and anxiety, then blamed her for her condition — and later for fighting back. He treated his children no better. His son was nearly dying in the hospital, and he was worried about his position. He took his daughter in only to appease his guilt. I watched his downfall with great pleasure — losing everything and everyone around him. In the end, he was left alone with nothing — a happy ending.

The final character is Yoo Tae Yeong. No matter how you look at it, he was mentally ill, and I’m honestly surprised he ended up in prison instead of a psychiatric hospital. The actor played him brilliantly — the madness was visible in his eyes from the very beginning. His facial expressions alone showed his manipulative nature. Still, I feel that, just like Kong Ji Hye, he wasn’t evil by nature. His madness was influenced by his father, who also treated his children like shit and constantly belittled him by comparing him to the main lead. Of course, that doesn’t excuse his actions, but it could have added more depth to his character. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed watching his plan fall apart and seeing him end up in prison, where he got beaten by other inmates and completely abandoned by his family — a happy ending.

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Overall, I consider the series itself to be very good. Although I think the biggest credit goes to the legal storyline, which in my opinion was the most interesting part. It was mainly because of it that I kept watching the next episodes with curiosity, wanting to know how it would develop further. In my view, it strongly saved my overall perception of the series and made up for the underdeveloped remaining storylines. That said, even here I have a few reservations. For example, Qin Shi never found out that it was because of Lan Xiao Ting that she initially didn’t get promoted to the 11th floor, since Lan Xiao Ting didn’t vote for her — even though they were close at the time and she treated Qin Shi like her own daughter.

Now I’ll move on to the other storylines. The first main couple — Qin Shi & Yang Hua. For most of the series, I liked their dynamic. Two completely different people who started out pretending to be in a relationship, but as feelings developed, they both began to change for the better — or at least that’s how it seemed. She started opening up and noticing life beyond work. He began thinking more seriously about his future. They both started to look genuinely happy. We had a very well-done slow burn here — which then got completely destroyed. Everything started falling apart with the divorce plotline. I did understand his decision, but I couldn’t understand the female lead’s actions: despite having feelings for him, she didn’t try to stop him (even though the show tried to explain it somehow). Later it turned into an even bigger circus of two supposedly “adult” people. He suddenly started pretending he wanted to get back together and leave the country with his ex-girlfriend, didn’t tell the female lead that he was doing it for her, and the cherry on top was that they had no contact for seven months after passing each other at the airport — only for him to randomly start living across from her and for them to fall into each other’s arms.
Overall, all of this wouldn’t have been that bad if it had been spread across more episodes (and there were plenty), but instead we got an emotional rollercoaster crammed into the final episode, which simply didn’t work. Still, aside from those last episodes (especially the finale), their relationship was very pleasant to watch.

Yang Hua also got the short end of the stick. We were given one throwaway line about his new job instead of actually developing that storyline. His legal case from his first job — where he was falsely accused — was never resolved either. That whole plot was completely forgotten, along with the fact that Jason Wang was involved. They supposedly suspected him, but later he was convicted for other things and the topic was entirely dropped.

What’s even more absurd? Despite all this circus, they were still the healthiest couple in the show — because the others were such massive red flags that their endings can honestly be called tragic.

Let’s start with Wu Fei & Tao Jun Hui. Tao Jun Hui is engaged to her from the very beginning, yet keeps chasing Qin Shi, whom he’s still in love with, lying to and straight-up manipulating his girlfriend. As for Wu Fei — she annoyed me the most out of the entire cast. Of course, I sympathize with her for having to be with such a loser, but she wasn’t any better herself. Her boyfriend lied to her and had feelings for his ex, and instead of breaking up with him, she supported him and sabotaged the other woman simply for being his ex. She behaved like a spoiled child — which, frankly, she was, thanks to her rich father. The cherry on top was presenting them as having a happy ending, despite the fact that there was no love between them — only dependence on her side and pathetic attempts to replace an ex on his side.
These two characters also have unresolved storylines. Wu Fei — what happened to her after she left her job? We know nothing, aside from a possible return of that “wonderful,” supposedly mutual love. Tao Jun Hui — what did he do with the evidence of s*xual abuse that he saw in Hai Tao’s possession? He said he would help him deal with it, and then not a single word about it again — just like there was no follow-up on Hai Tao’s fate, even though Tao Jun Hui warned him he could lose his license to practice law.

The last equally “healthy” couple were Ren Mei Mei & Qin Wen Yu. Sure, there were moments when I laughed at the absurdity and exaggeration of their relationship, but that doesn’t change the fact that they were in an extremely unhealthy one — which somehow got a happy ending in the form of a baby. Their entire relationship was built on violence, belittling, cheating, and constant fights, followed by showers of overly sweet, exaggerated affection. There was absolutely no ground for a healthy, happy relationship there without therapy, yet the show tried to convince us that they suddenly changed. And not even because of the child. She eventually left him, and we never even found out under what circumstances she returned or how they reconciled — it was simply skipped straight to a happy relationship and childbirth.

I have mixed feelings about the families of the first couple. Qin Shi’s family, considered by everyone to be the “worst,” was actually the best and the most enjoyable to watch. The oldest brother was definitely the highlight — he seemed the most reasonable and normal out of all of them. As for Yang Hua’s family, I have issues — especially with his mother, who was simply irritating. On one hand, she wants her son to get married and settle down; on the other, she constantly causes problems and interferes in the life of an almost 30-year-old man. There was also an absurdity here: his family thought they had been together only recently, while her family thought it had been two years — and how on earth did that never come up in any conversation between them?

Let’s end on a positive note. Li Dai was the queen of this series for me. I genuinely fell in love with her feisty personality, her confidence, and the fact that she kept the female lead’s secret, even when they weren’t friends yet. The duo of Qin Shi and Li Dai was my favorite in the entire show. Both had that “bitchy” vibe — in the best possible sense of the word — and together they were a powerhouse. To this day, I regret that we didn’t get more scenes of them working together, because I was really counting on that.

All in all, a surprisingly large number of things bothered me, which doesn’t quite match the high rating I gave this series — but that’s mainly because I had fun watching it and really enjoyed the legal storyline.

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I had a really great time watching this drama. Above all, it’s heavily exaggerated in many aspects, which often made me laugh, but in contrast to that it also tackled more difficult topics such as the female lead’s struggles with self-acceptance, bullying, and unhealthy family relationships. A huge strength of this series is also its cast of characters. Everyone felt different and interesting, which also applies to the couples and potential couples. I watched almost all of them with genuine interest, and in the end I feel a sense of dissatisfaction that some storylines weren’t further developed, because they had enormous potential for spin-offs centered entirely around them.

Starting with the first main couple - Song U Yeon and Nam Gi Jeong. They were complete opposites. She was introverted, withdrawn, and struggled with self-acceptance. He was overly confident, energetic, and didn’t think about the future, living entirely in the moment (his character was strongly exaggerated and made me laugh many times). Through each other, they both began to change for the better. She slowly opened up, gained confidence, and started to accept herself, while he began thinking about another person and about his own future. This is a first-love, high school relationship, and it shows - which isn’t a flaw. They experience their first kiss, holding hands, but also their first conflicts. In reality, they’re both learning how to be in a relationship. However, I did have one issue with them. I understand the female lead. I know how hard it is to deal with self-acceptance issues and how that can affect relationships, BUT I didn’t like that she was portrayed as innocent in these situations. It was always the male lead who apologized and took the blame every time. The same thing happened in the Ahn Ye Rim situation - she didn’t trust him and instead trusted a girl she had seen for the second time in her life, yet the drama still tried to portray her as the victim.

A perfect contrast to them was the second main couple - Koo Seon Ho and Nam Geu Rin. It was clear that they were older, and as a result their relationship felt more mature, though obviously not fully. This also fit well with the fact that they were both in college - for example, their argument stemming from poor communication. Here we had a long-standing friendship and “sudden” feelings that the female lead tried to resist.

For both of these couples, I would have loved to see what happened next. Dramas are rarely continued, but in this case I see huge potential. The first couple, where she goes to college and he develops his acting/modeling career, and the second couple, where she starts working and he goes off to the military. In my head, it all looks very promising.

On top of that, there were two more potential couples, and I really regret that their stories weren’t developed further. Ko Taeng Ja (Black) and Kwon Hyeok (Khaki) - there was a specific vibe between them that I personally found intriguing. And Byeon Tae Seon and Yeom Se Ra - her departure complicated things, and I’m insanely curious how their story unfolded after her return (in my head they’re together, but I would’ve loved to see it on screen).

Now let’s move on to the family aspect. First, the female lead’s brothers. The younger brother - a genius - whom I really grew to like and who, alongside the female lead, was the character I felt the most sympathy for. That’s why I was happy watching his budding friendship with Moon Bong Gu, because he was finally starting to discover that he, too, could be happy. The older brother was less developed, but I’m mentioning him because his character also intrigued me, and I would’ve gladly learned more about his story.

I won’t touch on the father, since he was absent for most of the series - but the MOTHER. This is the second drama I’ve seen where this actress plays a mother, and for the second time I hated her with all my heart. A mother who failed in life and pours her frustration and incompetence onto her children, forcing them to study and denying them any personal interests. Yes, by the end we get her “redemption” and a tearful backstory from years ago, but that didn’t change how I felt. Throughout the entire series, she was the worst kind of mother imaginable, and that can’t be erased with a single scene.

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The drama itself is very enjoyable to watch. The biggest highlight is the relationship of the main couple - Xiang Yuan and Xu Yan Shi - because, in my opinion, it’s what saved this series. I really enjoyed watching their relationship and the rekindling of their love. They were able to communicate with each other, support one another, and be a huge source of strength for each other. At the same time, I appreciated the moment when she set a boundary so that he wouldn’t sacrifice his dreams for her. I do think the brief breakup was unnecessary, but I treated it more as a short-lived conflict, and fortunately it wasn’t blown out of proportion with any serious attempt to enter a marriage with Feng Jun to save the company. They had wonderful chemistry and plenty of tasteful HOT scenes. It was simply easy to root for them from beginning to end.

In contrast, there’s the second main couple - Gao Leng and Chen Shu. I couldn’t root for them at all; in fact, it was quite the opposite - I didn’t want them to end up together. I didn’t feel any love between them, let alone chemistry. It was painful to watch scene after scene where Gao Leng tried so hard for her, while she kept treating him like a kid, completely failing to appreciate him in any way. That said, Gao Leng himself was a wonderful character, and I really wanted him to find happiness and someone who would truly value him, instead of trying to force him to change.

As for the company-related storyline, I had mixed feelings throughout the series. Sometimes I found it interesting and engaging, and other times I was bored and wished that part could be cut from the episode entirely. The constant obstacles thrown in their way - which were always eventually resolved - became tiring over time. On top of that, one DongHe-related issue was never fully explained. Several “employees” were plotting against the company during its potential downfall, and then they simply didn’t show up at the meeting afterward. What happened to them? It left a noticeable gap. That said, the employees themselves deserve praise - especially those from Velin, mainly from their department (with two exceptions). They were all wonderful. The same goes for Xu Yan Shi’s college friends (with one exception). Among the less obvious standout characters, I’d also highlight Li Yong Biao, whose personality completely won me over - I smiled when he was invited by the employees to celebrate at the end - and Ying Yin Yin. She annoyed me a bit at first, but her silliness also made me laugh, and eventually that was all that remained, so I grew quite fond of her.

Now let’s move on to the segment about annoying characters - and therefore the longest one, even though I’ll still skip some. Let’s start with the worst:
→Feng Jun was the most infuriating of them all. I honestly couldn’t stand seeing his face on screen, I swear. He ran off abroad, practically destroying his friends’ lives in the process, and showed not a shred of concern. Worst of all, by the end of the series he never faced consequences for the crime he committed - the one the male lead was blamed for. Then he comes back and relentlessly pursues the female lead, who has zero interest in him. He cheated in a competition, preventing her from winning, and still thought he was the better choice for her and could give her a better life. An absolute snowman.
→Chairwoman Li Qin and her lover Yang Ping Shan. She, in particular, drove me up the wall. I honestly don’t understand how the female lead’s grandfather managed to stay uninvolved in the company for so many years without noticing her schemes and fraud - but that’s something we’ll never get an answer to. Still, nothing gave me more satisfaction than watching her “clever” plans collapse like a house of cards. Her arrest at the end was the cherry on top.
→Li Chi. This is where my feelings become mixed. On one hand, he did help in the end, but earlier he was plotting against them - something that the characters seemed to conveniently forget. There’s also the issue of the secret photo he took of Chen Shu. Probably because he liked her? Even so, I still find it deeply unsettling and creepy.
→Situ Ming Tian — the FL's grandfather. He made this list simply because I couldn’t understand him. On one hand, he desperately wanted his granddaughter to get married or at least find love. But when she finally did, he suddenly became opposed to it. The supposed connection to her mother doesn’t convince me at all, especially the idea that he didn’t know the male lead was a valuable employee. He was a wealthy man deeply embedded in that world — there’s no way he wouldn’t have heard his name. In my opinion, this plotline was forced in just to create some obstacle to their relationship, and it didn’t make much sense. That said, this did improve later on, and I started to like him more when he became a subtle fan of the male lead, showing it between the lines -for example, by defending him in front of his granddaughter.

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In my opinion, the drama was interesting and very enjoyable to watch. I really liked the focus on botany and animals (especially birds). I’m not usually interested in that kind of thing, nor have I watched any dramas with a similar theme, so it definitely felt fresh and intriguing. I liked how we gradually got to see the male lead’s perception of Yu Mei Ren change over time. The chemistry between the main couple was absolutely wonderful. As the drama went on, I was worried that this chemistry would go to waste - there hadn’t been a single kiss for so long that I started thinking maybe one of the actors had refused to do those scenes. Thankfully, we finally got the kiss scenes, and they were beautiful. I also liked the contrast between the leads - he was calm and composed, while she was more wild and full of life. Over time, though, he learned to embrace a bit of her “craziness,” while she learned to be calmer and listen to others. I was also really happy when, at the end, we saw the main heroine’s brother meet a girl who could become his love interest. Those kinds of details are often skipped, and such characters usually end up alone - so I really appreciated that addition.
Another huge plus for me was the parents. There’s not much to say about the heroine’s parents - they were wonderful, and I watched every scene with them with a smile on my face. But the male lead’s family was a pleasant surprise. Usually, wealthy parents in dramas are portrayed as cold and calculating, caring only about social status or benefits from a relationship. But in this case, his mother turned out to be a genuinely kind person who, instead of opposing their relationship, was actually nice to the female lead and even thanked her.

Now, let’s move on to the secondary couple. I’m a bit conflicted about them. At first, their relationship was interesting to me, but as the story went on, something started to fade. I stopped feeling the same spark between them, and I think the writers lost some of the potential that was there in the beginning. In my opinion, the storyline about the male character losing his leg was unnecessary - it felt forced, as if it was added just to create a reason for their reconciliation.

Aside from that, there were a few other things that didn’t work for me or felt like flaws:
→ The male lead leaving for a year to the U.S. without even saying goodbye to the heroine was just stupid. On top of that, he didn’t contact her at all during that entire time. Saying that he didn’t do it because she blocked him is a ridiculous excuse. He could’ve done anything to explain himself - written her a letter, asked a mutual friend to talk to her, or called/texted her from someone else’s phone. But he did absolutely nothing.
→ The lack of communication between the main couple. Too many secrets, too many things they didn’t talk about - and when the truth finally came out, they tended to brush it off instead of actually addressing it.
→ The lack of confrontation with Xiao Fang. She was the heroine’s assistant but turned against her because she convinced herself that Mei Ren caused her to get fired (once again, lack of communication). It all ended up feeling like filler material to give Xiao Xue more room for her schemes, but I really wanted to see Xiao Fang’s reaction when she learned the truth.

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Overall, I really enjoyed watching this series. The character development across the board was excellent. It did a great job showing a difficult childhood and how it affected adult life. Another big plus was the main couple’s relationship — once they got together, there were no pointless arguments added just to create “drama” for the sake of the plot.

Of course, I also watched the original — the Chinese version — but I actually preferred the Korean adaptation, for several reasons:
- They got rid of the weird love triangle between the main heroine and the two brothers, which made it much more pleasant to watch. Because of that, the brothers also seemed more bonded — for example, they both knew about his return.
- The main heroine’s best friend didn’t fall for Kim San-ha, which in the Chinese version felt extremely forced. Plus, here she got a happy ending with Kang Hae-joon.
- They didn’t try to convince me that Kim San-ha cured depression and anxiety with herbal medicine — though that’s kind of a weak plus, because in this version his issues were almost completely brushed aside.
- Kim San-ha actually asked Yoon Joo-won about their relationship — something I really missed in the original.

However, I also found a few downsides compared to the Chinese version:
- Kim San-ha’s problems were completely ignored. He went through hell with his mother for ten years, yet he never once brought it up with Yoon Joo-won. She saw the scars on his arms, and later they even slept together — but she somehow didn’t notice his burn marks? I really missed seeing them talk about such a serious topic.
- Kang Hae-joon’s relationship with his biological father was underdeveloped. We know his father abandoned him again after his child was born, but this was barely addressed. The same goes for the accidental death of his mother — it was brought up and then completely dropped.

A minor issue, but I felt sad that Kim San-ha didn’t become a dentist, just because Yoon Joo-won was afraid of going to them :(

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A very pleasant series to watch. It tackles difficult topics like depression and PTSD, but in my opinion, they were handled well. It was wonderful to follow the main characters’ relationship from the very beginning. They met when both had hit rock bottom and gradually became each other’s biggest support during a crisis, despite their earlier “hatred” back in high school. The second couple also stole my heart, and I rooted for them hard. Plus, of course, my favorite — Nam Ba-da. Completely clueless for most of the series, but that’s exactly what won my heart, along with his arguments with his mom. Another big plus is that all the storylines were properly wrapped up. In the end, I wasn’t left with any unanswered questions or plot holes.

However, I did find a few issues that made me lower my rating. Only by one star, though, because I liked the series so much that these didn’t outweigh the positives.
→ The constant alcohol consumption by the main couple. I’m aware that mental health is still a big taboo topic in Korea, but I refuse to believe medicine is that backward. They were both on antidepressants, which absolutely should not be mixed with alcohol — especially that frequently. Not only could they seriously damage their health, but they could also disrupt and prolong the treatment process.
→ The character of Min Gyeong-min. Damn, I think the narrative potential here was huge, and I was disappointed that it was reduced to his death in an accident and later forgiving him. It would have been far more interesting if he had survived and been able to explain his motives in more depth — to show that he truly regretted everything he had done.
→ Infantile behavior. The main couple was theoretically adult (close to thirty?), but in reality their interactions were sometimes extremely sugary and childish. Watching that in real life would honestly make me cringe, but within the series I could at least laugh at it (partly out of second-hand embarrassment, but it still lightened the heavy topics).

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I had a great time watching this series. I really liked how the main characters’ personalities complemented each other. On the surface, the serious Jang Shin-yu clashed with the slightly goofy Lee Hong-jo, and as their love developed, he slowly opened up to the idea that not everything in life has to be taken so seriously. The chemistry between the two of them was amazing, and the kisses were HOT. The supporting characters were also interesting — they didn’t blend into one another but had distinct personalities, ranging from funny for the viewer, to infuriating, to genuinely intriguing. The curse storyline and the spells themselves were also interesting.

One thing worth highlighting because it absolutely cracked me up was how the male lead in some scenes seemed to barely hold back laughter. I don’t know whether it was intentional or if the actor himself just found it funny, but I noticed it, for example, in episode 5, when they were talking on the phone and he heard that she was sitting with some guy.

However, I did find some downsides that made me slightly lower my rating.

1. The characters’ stupidity:
→ The male lead, portrayed as one of the best lawyers, initially believed his girlfriend’s version of events — that the female lead had stolen her boyfriend — even though just seconds earlier he had heard that it was his girlfriend who had apologized to her for the past, not the other way around.

→ Their biggest moment of stupidity was when they were already together and the psycho was stalking her and had just tried to kill her. They arrive together at his apartment, and he sees the psycho’s car in the garage. Instead of staying with her and calling the police, he decides to go down alone after escorting her upstairs to “check it out” (brilliant intelligence), and she doesn’t behave any better. After all that, she sits alone in the apartment and opens the door when someone rings the bell (even though no one is visible on the monitor), while her boyfriend is desperately trying to call her.

→ Another time, she lures the psycho alone to some cave-like place. That might have been acceptable since she informed others and they were supposed to come, but then instead of stalling for time, she confesses everything to the psycho and runs away XD.

2. Events that are absurd and have no grounding in reality.
To be clear, I understand that this series includes spells, curses, and reincarnation, so it has fantasy elements — but the characters are still human. Here, the female lead sprays the psycho with pepper spray from a very close distance. For the first several or even dozens of minutes, he shouldn’t have been able to open his eyes at all; he could have had corneal damage or optic nerve injury — and yet one second later the guy is running after her through the forest as if nothing happened.

3. Unresolved or underdeveloped storylines that I consider important:
→ The spellbook stated that spells could be cast by her and a person designated by her. Who was that person? Everything pointed to Na Jung-beom, but this was never explained.

→ The character of Na Jung-beom himself. He also cast spells — this was shown in the past and implied to be happening in the present as well. In fact, that’s exactly what he was trying to do when he was captured, yet none of this was explained and it was completely brushed aside.

→ The consequences for Na Jung-beom, Lee Hyeon-seo, Yoon Hak-young, or Yoon Na-yeon. We basically know nothing about what happened to them, even though all of them were significant characters for the overall plot.

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I have mixed feelings after watching this drama.

On one hand, I really enjoyed it - I laughed, cried, and got frustrated along the way. It was an overall pleasant watch, probably because of the music theme, which I personally love.

On the other hand, I’ve been looking for a really good music-themed drama for a while now, and I feel like this one fell a bit short of that title. Mainly for two reasons:

I would describe this drama as something you have to watch with a grain of salt. There are plenty of silly scenes where the adult characters behave like children, and their actions are often exaggerated and unrealistic.

This was the biggest issue for me — the pacing. In the first few episodes, things moved way too fast; we basically learned the entire plot right away. Then the story slowed down, only to suddenly explode in the final episode. Everything was crammed into it, which made each storyline feel shallow. The fate of the guilty characters and those who should have faced consequences (after annoying me the entire show) was glossed over. The main couple’s story felt rushed (not to mention the secondary couple). Kong Jin Gu’s storyline — built up throughout the series, with him pretending to be poor — was left completely undeveloped by the end. Honestly, the stories of all the characters felt watered down, as did the entire band’s development (what even happened to them afterwards — who knows?).

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It was definitely an interesting drama, with a storyline I had never seen before, which made it refreshing for me. The chemistry between the main characters was very good, and Xiao Bao completely stole my heart. On top of that, there were some engaging supporting couples, though one of the relationships wasn’t really explored much. Overall, I had a great time watching, and it never once felt boring—so if I were to rate it purely in terms of entertainment and enjoyment, I’d easily give it a 10/10.

But unfortunately, I also look at things through the lens of how well the storylines are wrapped up, the overall sense of the plot, and the wasted potential—and in that regard, I found a few negatives.

1. The person responsible for the accident involving He Qiao Yan and his family. This storyline could have been developed in a really interesting way, and while watching I even thought of a potentially better twist involving the Lin family—but that never happened. Instead, we suddenly found out about some biggest enemy of the Fe company, who was supposedly such a huge rival, yet had never once been mentioned since the very beginning of the show XD.

2. The Lin family storyline (including the bracelet). We know the bracelet plotline was almost wrapped up, but I still feel like it was lacking a lot. For example, Lin’s parents bribed employees to keep passing on information—but why? What came of it afterward? We never got answers. I was also curious about how the relationship looked later after those employees were taken away, etc. Sadly, we never found out.

3. The Lin Wei storyline. Technically a supporting plot, but still tied to the previous one. It was quite heavily developed for most of the drama, only for us to end up learning nothing about her panic attacks or her relationship with her family in the end.

4.The Yang Ruo Wei family plot. This was also brought up but never properly developed. Why was she so desperate to cut ties? What exactly happened in the past? And how did their relationship look afterward? None of that was answered either.

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I recommend this drama to anyone who wants to watch a comforting and peaceful series. The relationship between the main characters is beautiful and carefree. They are a wonderful support for each other, trust one another completely, and because of that, unnecessary arguments never come between them. The development of their relationship is also amazing—at first, Su Zai Zai seeks contact with him, but soon enough, he wants the same. He slowly begins to open up to her, and she shows him that he, too, is someone special and deserves happiness. What starts as a friendship quickly turns into love, which blossoms in college and continues into adulthood, where their carefree bond and genuine love remain just as visible.

The whole storyline of their friendship as a group of five was also wonderful. Their carefree high school life, the dilemmas connected to university, and later their adult life were all portrayed beautifully. They always stayed together, despite the passing years and separations. On top of that, the relationship between Jiang Jia and Gu Ran was also lovely, and I rooted for them strongly. I was even a little sad that we didn’t get to see more scenes after they became a couple. The only one I truly felt sorry for was Guan Fang, who was the only one in the group not to find happiness, even though he also deserved it (P.S. his grandmother was wonderful).

There weren’t many downsides, although one of them is definitely that the storyline about harassment by the president wasn’t further developed—especially the consequences he faced. Another drawback is that we didn’t get to see Zhang Lu Rang’s parents truly realizing how much harm they had caused their sons (it was only mentioned that they supposedly noticed and changed, but I would have liked to actually see it).

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I wouldn’t say this drama was bad—it was fine, but in my opinion, not much more than that. I didn’t feel like I was watching something exciting that truly captured my heart.

The supporting relationships definitely deserve recognition. They were interesting, and Jiang Zhi Shan completely stole my heart. The main couple was fine as well—especially the female lead, who supported him with all her strength—but I still feel that the whole enemies-to-lovers storyline between them could have been handled much better.

What I disliked the most was that at one point, the female lead’s IQ seemed to drop to the level of a starfish. She knew the male lead was afraid of swimming, and yet she still thought it was a good idea to play videos from his swimming days—despite the fact that this advice came from a girl who had already lied to her once out of jealousy. The female lead even discussed this with her friend beforehand.

Another issue was the breakup, or more specifically, their reconciliation afterward. I genuinely understand that he felt like a burden, but downplaying how terribly he acted made me really angry. It’s not as if she should have immediately run back into his arms, as if feeling like a burden excused his behavior—because it DIDN’T. They should have at least had a much longer and deeper conversation about it.

Other than that, like I said, the drama felt very average to me and didn’t move me, though it wasn’t among the worst either.

As for En Tong, her character was so irritating that for the first time in a long while, I found myself wishing nothing but bad experiences for a female character—karma. And honestly, I was glad we didn’t see her getting a happy ending with anyone. Credit where it’s due though: the actress played the role very well.

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I WHOLEHEARTEDLY RECOMMEND EVERYONE TO WATCH THIS SERIES. The chemistry between the main characters was wonderful, and their relationship developed without major, unnecessary drama. The way the other characters were created was also fantastic — none of them felt bland or forgettable. The plot was engaging enough that I didn’t experience a single moment of boredom, and I absorbed each new episode with genuine interest. There were many plot twists and events I didn’t expect, which is a huge plus — and most importantly, the characters are held accountable for their actions.

For a moment I thought there were no downsides, but after some reflection I did find one. Namely, at least one storyline was left unresolved, and I would really like to see the continuation of the relationship between Gu Xin Er and her father.

spoiler

Yang Hong — I absolutely couldn’t stand that bitch, and I’m glad she didn’t get a happy ending with anyone. I hope she withered away in prison without the support of anyone close to her.

Ling Sheng — I kept telling myself I’d treat him the same way no matter how hard the series tried to redeem him at the end, and that I wouldn’t give in — but I ended up crying during the prison scene with Gu Xin Er, and in the end I understand him a bit. I don’t understand the attempted murder of his brother or that whole scheme, but I do understand that his father shaped him this way, because it’s simply not true that he loved all his sons equally.

Gu Xin Er — I hated her intensely for half of the series, but later she became the character I felt the most sorry for. Girl, find yourself a boyfriend from a family that isn’t completely fucked up.

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I haven’t had such mixed feelings after watching a series in a long time.

Let’s start with the positives. I liked the way the characters were created — especially the female lead, of course. Her development throughout the series and the way she gradually gained confidence were really well done. I also view the show’s message positively: that external appearance doesn’t matter, and what truly counts is who we are on the inside. The male lead, whose personality resembles that of side characters usually rejected by female leads, is also a plus — although in his case we’ll get to the negatives as well. Overall, it was a pleasant series to watch, but I also noticed several major flaws…

First of all, the series is painfully predictable in almost every aspect — though there was one thing that surprised me and counts as a positive: the moment when the female lead broke up and chose herself. Secondly, the male lead — in two specific situations. The first on the rooftop, when she confessed her feelings, and the second by the pool after he didn’t tell her that he actually wasn’t leaving. In those two scenes, he annoyed me more than any other character in the entire series, and I came to the conclusion that he simply didn’t deserve her.

The BIGGEST downside for me, however, was the LACK of kisses and the very small number of scenes where the couples were physically close (and this applies to all the couples). I can understand a lot, but this is a deal-breaker for me. We’re making a romance series where the couples are ADULT university students who don’t kiss even once over several years of a relationship. That might work in a Disney children’s show (although even there they kiss :D), but not in a series that is clearly meant to appeal to older viewers as well.

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