News 
So much wasted potential.
They really took an interesting premise and two leads with incredible chemistry, only to squander their potential with all these unnecessary plotlines. It frustrated me so much because, underneath all of that, there was a genuinely great mature romance waiting to happen.
They could’ve easily made this a six-episode drama with 40-minute episodes, which would’ve given them enough room to maintain the slow pacing without padding the story with unnecessary plotlines. The drama could’ve focused entirely on the marriage contract while exploring failed marriages and the business of weddings in the background. The stalker and trunk storylines, in particular, felt completely out of place, and removing them would’ve made the story so much more focused.
I actually loved Jeong-won and his ex-wife’s side of the story. Their relationship explored a lot of complicated and nuanced themes, and I think the drama handled them fairly well without turning either of them into a complete villain. My only complaint is that the ex-wife’s motivations for marrying Jeong-won to In-ji could’ve been explained much more clearly. I still don’t fully understand why she did that.
On the other hand, In-ji’s story felt incredibly messy. They threw so many different problems at her without giving any of them enough time to properly develop. They could’ve focused entirely on the bi ex-fiancé, or, even better, gone in a completely different direction and explored how growing up in a toxic marriage shaped her understanding of relationships, while making her controlling mother an ongoing source of conflict. That could’ve tied her past into her career, her views on marriage, and her relationship with Jeong-won in a much more meaningful way. It would’ve given her character far more emotional depth and made her choices easier to understand. Instead, the bi ex-fiancé and stalker storylines felt disconnected from the rest of her character and never really made much sense to me.
Despite all my complaints, there were still things I really loved. I liked the atmosphere and aesthetic of the drama, and the cinematography was beautiful. And I don’t even need to say this, but Seo Hyun Jin and Gong Yoo were amazing. Their chemistry was what kept me hooked until the very end.
I also really liked the choice they made with the ending. Giving them time to heal separately before leaving their future open-ended felt right for their story. It gave us hope that they could eventually find their way back to each other and have a happy ending without forcing them back together immediately.
They could’ve easily made this a six-episode drama with 40-minute episodes, which would’ve given them enough room to maintain the slow pacing without padding the story with unnecessary plotlines. The drama could’ve focused entirely on the marriage contract while exploring failed marriages and the business of weddings in the background. The stalker and trunk storylines, in particular, felt completely out of place, and removing them would’ve made the story so much more focused.
I actually loved Jeong-won and his ex-wife’s side of the story. Their relationship explored a lot of complicated and nuanced themes, and I think the drama handled them fairly well without turning either of them into a complete villain. My only complaint is that the ex-wife’s motivations for marrying Jeong-won to In-ji could’ve been explained much more clearly. I still don’t fully understand why she did that.
On the other hand, In-ji’s story felt incredibly messy. They threw so many different problems at her without giving any of them enough time to properly develop. They could’ve focused entirely on the bi ex-fiancé, or, even better, gone in a completely different direction and explored how growing up in a toxic marriage shaped her understanding of relationships, while making her controlling mother an ongoing source of conflict. That could’ve tied her past into her career, her views on marriage, and her relationship with Jeong-won in a much more meaningful way. It would’ve given her character far more emotional depth and made her choices easier to understand. Instead, the bi ex-fiancé and stalker storylines felt disconnected from the rest of her character and never really made much sense to me.
Despite all my complaints, there were still things I really loved. I liked the atmosphere and aesthetic of the drama, and the cinematography was beautiful. And I don’t even need to say this, but Seo Hyun Jin and Gong Yoo were amazing. Their chemistry was what kept me hooked until the very end.
I also really liked the choice they made with the ending. Giving them time to heal separately before leaving their future open-ended felt right for their story. It gave us hope that they could eventually find their way back to each other and have a happy ending without forcing them back together immediately.
Was this review helpful to you?
