This review may contain spoilers
my god does this drag
I went into this drama really excited — the leads had amazing chemistry, and the clips I saw on TikTok were super cute. Plus, I’ve loved the male lead in other dramas, so I had high hopes. Unfortunately, this ended up being such a frustrating watch, and honestly, I regret sticking with it as long as I did.
The beginning was so good. The main couple’s chemistry was off the charts — she was openly going after him, and he kept gently rebuffing her at first. Then they went to her family’s hostel, and that whole stretch of the show was adorable. Watching him slowly warm up to her as he learned more about her past felt natural and sweet.
Her initial goal for pursuing him was actually to dump him as revenge for something that happened in the past. Back when they were younger, she gave him a love letter, but he stood her up. She later found out he had received a ton of similar letters and never even read hers. It was a misunderstanding, because when she overheard him talking about it years later, he wasn’t even talking about her at all — just a random conversation that she took the wrong way. Honestly, it was kind of a dumb plot point, but the show actually pulled it off well, and it led to some really cute moments between them.
A big chunk of the show takes place at the hostel, so I assumed that when they returned to the university, we’d finally see their romance progress to a mutual acknowledgment of feelings. At that point, they were in a good place, and even his little brother liked her — it felt like the perfect setup for their relationship to grow.
But as soon as he left to do research, all that progress completely disappeared. He didn’t even tell her he was leaving, she got upset and blocked him, and he couldn’t explain himself. Then came several episodes of her being miserable. When he finally came back, she wouldn’t hear him out, and we were stuck in this endless cycle of miscommunication and stubbornness. All that wonderful build-up and romantic tension just evaporated.
I didn’t need them to instantly become a couple, but at least some intentional romance or forward momentum would’ve been nice. Instead, it felt like the writers kept throwing in random obstacles just to keep them apart — and at a certain point, it stopped feeling meaningful and just felt like filler. By the second half of the show, the second couple actually had more screen time and romantic moments than the main couple, which was so irritating.
I’m used to slow-burn romances, especially in K-dramas, where the leads might not officially get together until the very end. But usually, there’s still progress — sweet moments, kisses, dating, actual payoff. Here, it was just endless build-up with no reward. With 35 episodes, this pacing was painful.
Overall:
Acting: Great — both leads and supporting cast did well.
Chemistry: Really strong, especially in the first half.
Plot: Started promising, then got messy and frustrating.
Pacing: Awful, especially after the hostel arc.
This drama had so much potential with a good cast, strong acting, and great early chemistry, but it completely fumbled the execution. If you love extremely slow-burn romances and don’t mind a lot of pointless obstacles, you might enjoy it. But for me, it was a total waste of time — and by the end, I was just fast-forwarding, waiting for a payoff that never really came.
The beginning was so good. The main couple’s chemistry was off the charts — she was openly going after him, and he kept gently rebuffing her at first. Then they went to her family’s hostel, and that whole stretch of the show was adorable. Watching him slowly warm up to her as he learned more about her past felt natural and sweet.
Her initial goal for pursuing him was actually to dump him as revenge for something that happened in the past. Back when they were younger, she gave him a love letter, but he stood her up. She later found out he had received a ton of similar letters and never even read hers. It was a misunderstanding, because when she overheard him talking about it years later, he wasn’t even talking about her at all — just a random conversation that she took the wrong way. Honestly, it was kind of a dumb plot point, but the show actually pulled it off well, and it led to some really cute moments between them.
A big chunk of the show takes place at the hostel, so I assumed that when they returned to the university, we’d finally see their romance progress to a mutual acknowledgment of feelings. At that point, they were in a good place, and even his little brother liked her — it felt like the perfect setup for their relationship to grow.
But as soon as he left to do research, all that progress completely disappeared. He didn’t even tell her he was leaving, she got upset and blocked him, and he couldn’t explain himself. Then came several episodes of her being miserable. When he finally came back, she wouldn’t hear him out, and we were stuck in this endless cycle of miscommunication and stubbornness. All that wonderful build-up and romantic tension just evaporated.
I didn’t need them to instantly become a couple, but at least some intentional romance or forward momentum would’ve been nice. Instead, it felt like the writers kept throwing in random obstacles just to keep them apart — and at a certain point, it stopped feeling meaningful and just felt like filler. By the second half of the show, the second couple actually had more screen time and romantic moments than the main couple, which was so irritating.
I’m used to slow-burn romances, especially in K-dramas, where the leads might not officially get together until the very end. But usually, there’s still progress — sweet moments, kisses, dating, actual payoff. Here, it was just endless build-up with no reward. With 35 episodes, this pacing was painful.
Overall:
Acting: Great — both leads and supporting cast did well.
Chemistry: Really strong, especially in the first half.
Plot: Started promising, then got messy and frustrating.
Pacing: Awful, especially after the hostel arc.
This drama had so much potential with a good cast, strong acting, and great early chemistry, but it completely fumbled the execution. If you love extremely slow-burn romances and don’t mind a lot of pointless obstacles, you might enjoy it. But for me, it was a total waste of time — and by the end, I was just fast-forwarding, waiting for a payoff that never really came.
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