Chibi

Suzy also has this concept around her:
'XYZ is as beautiful as Suzy', 'My girlfriend will rip out my eyes if I look at another girl, but it's okay if the girl is Suzy', 'What is your biggest wish Sir? I want to see Suzy with my own eyes, just once'.
The number of times I have heard random variations of these lines from the netz, fans, non-fans etc. is mind-boggling. Her 'beauty' is given analogies of, is also a kind of 'benchmark' in a way. I can't think of any other idol/ actress, whose 'beauty' is spoken of, in the same breath as Suzy.

I think a large part of it has to do with the universality of her appeal. Secondly, I have a niggling suspicion, if you were to take a statistical average and generate a hypothetical model of a female face with ratios and proportions of what Koreans think is pretty/ beautiful as facial features, we would likely arrive at a simulated model, that would largely look a LOT like Suzy (i.e. she has most/ all the features of an 'ideal' 'korean-beauty'.

Thirdly, as somebody who studies human facial aesthetics as a hobby, academic research papers have indicated a profuse liking among humans, for 'average' features (i.e. neither too big & prominent, and neither too insignificant). Humans are also programmed to find highly sexually-dimorphic features, indicative of one's fertility, to be super attractive (i.e. features that we associate with a particular sex; for ex. plump rosy lips, a heart shaped jawline, a slightly rounder forehead with shallow incline, big round eyes, etc for females).... Thus, Suzy's 'average-ness' of features (her universal appeal) is what makes her attractive.

[this has nothing to do with Caucasian or western expectations of 'looks'. To give you an example of 'averageness', look at Asian models of Chinese origin: Ming Xi (previously a VS model, a far more 'average' looking model) versus Tsunaina (a tibetian editorial model, an other-wordly, ethereal kind of beauty); both being extremely beautiful]

Hence, actresses like SYJ, PMY may be more 'striking' than Suzy... but then Suzy is a more 'comfortable', and 'easily achievable' kind of a beauty, and thus, a household name. Sorry, that's just science :3

Finally he didn't 'accidentally sign off his company', and that's a major progress imo. So yeah, he does get a tad more interesting! :)
Also, 'won' the girl..... Dalmi's sense of self-worth wouldn't really appreciate with her being allotted the status of an object... -_-
For folks waiting for a genuine resolution of his psychological disorders, I'd say 'nvm'. For those rooting for Dosan to fill his life with newfound luxuries, which never was his character's one-true motive in life (as we were made to believe).... might consider it a character upgrade :)

You should absolutely check it out!! Incase you are familiar with the concept of popular xianxia c-dramas like Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms, or Ashes of Love, or the recently aired Love & Redemption, plus if you appreciate good artwork, then it's totally worth it.
I also don't have ANY problem with NJH's casting as Habaek (he actually looks the part, and is the best thing about the adaptation). In fact, the Legend of Habaek is rooted in the borrowed legend of the river-god Hebo, from the nature-worshipping Chinese, going as back as Qin dynasty (the first emperor of unified china), thus k-dramaland, which does not have the trend of 'elaborate xianxia-style' productions...should have left it alone. It afterall, has a historical/ fantasy setting.

Yes, you're right... the peach-blossom petal that flew in onto NDS's head in at the very end of ep.1, while the title track ran in the bg... indicated that Dosan's her soulmate.... I wish I got the memo earlier :)

My favourite Manhwa butchered so badly. The artwork was absolutely stunning!! But then again, BoH deserves to be a xianxia adaptation, and k-dramaland should have left it alone.

'the psychological side of the first part of the drama is one of the reasons my expectations were so high. '.... Ditto!

'You can't talk about deep things and then make a toxic relationship go as "true love". ': True-love is the hastily-put band-aid solution, that fixes all problems in drama-world for hopeless romantics!

'....where he didn't have to sacrifice his core values to fit with the other person. ' Perfectly put. He shouldn't need a plus-one to heal him.

'....I wanted her to regret one of her choices and to do business for the right reasons.' The potential!!!

'...I mean, he's successful, handsome and now emotionally available, girls will line up' *claps-madly like a walrus*

Can you believe it, I actually fell for the potential the show had in the first 4 ep, and KEPT hoping till the very end, she will do something wholesome with her life, instead of embodying someone who trivializes the entire start-up culture. Too bad, we never got her UberEats as the final epilogue.
I admit we have all have our own contradictions, as we are limited by our foresight and our abilities. But real humans aren't inconsistent, just like inspirational FLs, and that is where my problem was with her, since the 2nd ep.
And honestly, I feel HJP had nothing really to gain out of her. He's far better off with somebody who's on par with him. Sure, JiDal bickering was fun, but since she wasn't an exceptional FL, HJP deserved somebody far more solid, in their character and their convictions.
Infact since Dalmi's character lost purpose, as she slid down from being the protagonaist, to 'Dosan's Plus-One'.... and since Dosan had a debilitating need to have her, and her validation in his life (which they poorly packaged as 'love').... I am oddly content with them together. Meh people together, better than apart! :3

We all know a IRL Dosan, or HJP, or even an Alex (the characters and struggles they embody). And I feel offended on behalf of all those very *real* people. :/

Everybody in the end had a dream/ purpose, including the 'rational dreamers' like HJP who came from nothing and is a self-made man, and In-Jae (the sister) who came from a privileged background, and yet decided to start all-over from scratch.
Why did the MLs get some questionable motives (by the writers) is beyond me! What's worse, is the MLs purpose of having his OWN business, his OWN thing, and NOT be a 'cog-in-the-wheel' employee flies RIGHT out the door when he sees the offer from Alex, to the point he is blinded and cannot foresee that an acquisition would mean SST would cease to exist, and they would lose their sovereignty and independence. Let's say they are noobs and made a mistake or got duped. WHAT made them stop looking for exit strategies after the 3-year bond period, and why did they not *actively make plans* with Dalmi to restart their own Tech-company, all over again?
Smaller businesses that eventually get engulfed by larger Tech-companies like Google/ Facebook often are backed into such a corner that they cannot retain their independence. Or it was their hidden agenda to impress the big-guns and be assimilated, and thus there is no question of going back. Clearly, if SST-boys were so unhappy and unwilling, WHY couldn't they plan to make a comeback??
Their motivation and purpose was clearly questionable, wonky and bizarre. :/ More than 'irrational dreamers', I would re-label the MLs as 'awfully contradictory'.

Netflix should fire their content-selection team for south-korea!

-Thinking she wants to build a start-up 'because she wants to take the elevator to the top-most floor' but doing it actually because 'she wants to make her sister regret the decision of ditching Dad'.
-Saying she wants an investment for the company, but ends up enthusiastically signing away the company, to be acquired by 2Sto.
-Pulling an all-nighter to discuss a brand new idea never discussed before among themselves (the self-drive car with their algo); instead of revising and re-reading the contract before signing.
-Instead of saving SST, or let's say SST was beyond saving, she should have planned out an effective exit strategy for her team as everybody was unwilling to have SST dissolved for good. She should have made plans to start over SST again after the 3-year hiatus, instead of pushing Dosan towards silicon valley for good, because 'he is an incredibly lucky genius who deserves it all'
-Dreaming of always following Dad's footsteps of being an entrepreneur, but picking AI/ Dosan for Sandbox instead of fulfilling/ realizing Dad's incomplete dream (his food-delivery business)

Dalmi was a bundle of contradictions. I am only happy she didn't turn out to be a player, stringing HJP along the way, and giving him false hopes. :)

I don't think this comment section is going dormant anytime soon. We'll be here to comfort you, should you come back to rant, post-watch! :3
Hwaiting for our Good Boy!! \m/

Well, now that I see you *just* started watching, and think back to Empress Ki, it's a LOT like start-up. The number of similarities are mind-boggling. Casting actors like NJH/ JCW for problematic characters seems like the sure-shot way to have people sympathise with characters dealing with issues; so the writers can laze off, and fuel a love-triangle instead of healing our ML, at the end of the day.
I switched out from Team-TaHwan pretty late, and despite being all out for SML towards the very end, I was enraged on the emperor's behalf, because the writers really did him dirty. :( :(
Hope I give you an idea, what's wrong with our ML here :D

As a KSH simp, I was like, 'heh, HJP's story is tragic, but somehow I want to cheer for this adorable puppy-like Dosan.'
Everybody has different 'breaking-points'...but mine definitely came when he no longer had shaggy hair. Such a shame. :D

The 'falling-off-the-treadmill' was my undoing.... :3
Then I was Team-Dosan, upto ep 4 because he was just so adorable.
And then we all know....what happened :)

As someone who got into it because of fan MV's just like you, the ending/ insta clips aren't nearly enough to explain *why* you'll land in SLS-hell. You have to experience the slow-torture of facepalming atleast 6 times an episodes post ep6. You have to know typical tropes like 'first love', and 'fate', are cheap excuses, and characters are exactly who they have been written out, to be. And while free-wheeling it sometimes is seen as romantic, that isn't nearly enough to support a bunch of kids who *never* seem to have any plan. -_-
See ya!~~

You'd think after ALL those years, he'd get over his issues... but nope! Another one taken down by imposter syndrome :/

16-hours is a solid time-investment, especially for Netflix-shows that keep shoving them in yo' face... you'd expect something better than a colossal waste of time :/
They OUGHT to pick up shows after they finish airing...and THEN review the show (not the script) to make their decision!

The funny thing is, the vocal ones here aren't even exclusively Ji-Dal ship/ endgamers. A LOT of us feel the couple endgame doesn't even matter and some even think Dalmi deserved to end up with Dosan and leave JP the **** alone. :D
However, ALL pissed people here are enraged at the writing/ plot direction. That's universally common among all of us ranting :)

It was problematic, the way Dalmi's initial (quite throughout) motivation to build a start-up was solely to 'prove to her sister she isn't any lesser, all the while trying to make her regret her decision of ditching Dad'.
I think the 'entrepreneur' in the Dad, would be tsk-ing from heaven seeing her questionable motivations.
The first CEO guy she sees, and she wants to randomly quit her job and open a start-up with him.
I am disappointed how since she was shown eventually to have the *skills and potential* and was willing to put in efforts (and not rely solely on luck, though a great part of her success was because of it).... I am disappointed because she had the potential to realize her Dad's unfulfilled dream, but NOPE. I felt super sad she decided to pick AI/ Dosan for her startup stint at Sandbox, and that's where it went downhill for me :/