Bri

I absolutely hated this show so let me breakdown why.
-The show had so many plot threads that went nowhere or had such little payoff. There was a lot, but one example is how Da Reum talked about wanting best employee to on the trip for multiple episodes and then we never heard or saw anything about it again.
-I could tell whoever wrote this show is not a kpop fan and just guessed what it was like from looking online. All the saesang behavior aside (which I'll get into later), there were so many moments that my roommate and I knew a fan would not do or react the way they did in the show. We are huge kpop fans and the whole time we were watching, we rarely related to the "fans" in this and not just because of cultural differences. For example: At the reunion concert, the three girl friends would've sat together. It's fine their boyfriends are there too but they would've sat next to each other. Their all-time favorite group and the whole reason they became friends in the first place, has reunited after over ten years...they would've sat together and they would've been way more emotional about it than they were. The whole audience would've been way more emotional about it than they were.
-Going hand in hand with that last one, so much saesang behavior was called normal fan behavior in this show. Why is the fan culture we're showing?!
-We should've gotten way more of DNX. I don't just mean when they are back together and reunited either, i just mean in general they should've been in it more. I literally didn't even know two of the members names until I looked it up. The storyline of them getting really famous, breaking up, and getting back together was far more interesting than anything else happening in the show. We should've seen more of why they ended on such awful terms and what brought them back together, but we didn't. We just got the tiniest little bits and pieces of their story. Even though Chan was a main character, we didn't even see or hear much about what he thought on the group splitting. The few moments we got of DNX was so good.

My very few positives
-The scene with Chan and Da Reum on the couch in episode 11 or 12 where he tells her that he was the one who gave her the necklace, was so beautifully well done. There was so much raw emotion from both of them in that scene. It felt like a different write entirely wrote this scene.
-They did a great job showing the protests and scandals for actors and idols in Korea and how it affects them as well as the fans
-They did a great job showing how bad groups breaking up can be for the idols and fans as well, especially when ending on bad terms
-Seeing the team at Appello grow closer was really nice and fun to see. I loved seeing how they all brainstormed new ideas and worked hard together
-The music was great. I even added a few of the DNX songs to my Spotify
-The sets were cool, especially the Appello office
-The actors all did great for the most part as well

Onto characters
-Chan: I'm starting with him because he's the only one I liked out of the main three and was the most likeable in the whole show. I really wish he was in it more than he was. For being a main lead, we saw him so little. He was such an interesting character and had such depth to him as well as a fun and flirty personality. His storylines were also just better overall. Like I said before, I loved everything with DNX and the idol side of things! I also liked to see his actor side of things, his friendship with the CEO, the budding romance between him and Da Reum, and his history with Cho I. All his just seemed more thought out and exciting. I'm not just saying that because he's one of my favorite actors either. Though I will say, I loved seeing him as an idol.
-Ha Gi: He's got to be one of the worst and most unlikeable leads I've ever seen in a romcom and I've seen so many. He was so boring, had no personality, obsessed with his AI bot (that could be for a sponsor though so idk), and was so delusional. What I mean by delusional is how much he thought that Da Reum was in love with him, even when she thought he was gay, even when she told him straight up she didn't see him as more than a boss, and even before she began to have the slightest feelings for him at all.
-Da Reum: At first, I thought she was pretty funny and thought it was cool to see kpop fangirly as the main lead, but as the show went on it showed more and more that she wasn't a fan but was a saesang. Nothing made me happier than when there was the episode with the protests calling her out her being one. Thought that happiness was very quickly taken away when everyone else she was talking to told her she wasn't and the showed tried to convince us she wasn't by all these people saying the "fan" behavior they've done in the past which was just EVEN MORE SAESANG BEHAVIOR!! Another thing that bothered me about her is that she seemed to never know what she wanted. She would want something until she got it and then she wouldn't want it anymore. It drove me nuts. I will say I loved how driven she was and how great she was at her job. She showed time and time again why she kept being offered new opportunities and I loved that.

-Cho I caused a little drama in the beginning but other than she was such a useless character. We honestly could've had drama even without her. It felt like they wanted her to be a bigger antagonist than she was, but we didn't see her enough for her to be one.
-Jeong Yeon was introduced too late in the show for me to care about her at all. There was nothing wrong with her character really, but she was introduced so late that she didn't really affect anyone at all.
-Seong Uk was barely in the show, but I was still able to guess really early on that he was the mole. I think the show did a decent job misleading on who it was though, even if I did guess it early. I thought it was still crazy he betrayed Ha Gi though since his kids literally call Ha Gi uncle and they're really close outside of work. I did feel bad for the CEO with that.
-Min A and Yeong U were a lot of fun along with some of the other colleges like Mi Yeong. I think they all brought some funny moments to the show.
-Min U was such a catch. I loved him a lot. He brought some good comedy as well was just a good guy all around.
-Mi Mi's character was fine but didn't really stand out at all.
-Seul A was just another saesang in the show. I did like how she helped Roy make his way back to DNX again.

Relationships
-Chan and Da Reum: I really liked their relationship a lot. I knew going into the show that she was ending up with the ceo and was curious how they were going to make her not want the man she's been in love with for 10+ years, and I think they did it in a stupid way to be honest. Not the worst, but it definitely could've been better. He was so sweet to her, constantly asking if she was okay, was opening up to her, and really tried to get to know her. She on the other hand didn't put any effort in at all. I completely understand being upset when he left her at the dinner, but as for the other times they were interrupted, she knew going into this that he was a famous celebrity. I think it would've made more sense with her being upset over it if they were together longer. If we saw they were together longer and every time they're trying to have date, he was ditching her or him not being who she thought he was, then it would've made sense why she ended things, but he left her one time and she ended things. It was so ridiculous. I'll also say I think these two actors had better chemistry together than her and the CEO by a long shot.
-Ha Gi and Da Reum: As you can tell I already didn't like these two as characters and I didn't really like them as a couple either. We only ever saw them at work or work-related events or talking about work. They so rarely talking about things outside of work that it didn't really make sense why they fell for each in the first place, other than that they were constantly around each other in the workplace. We never saw them bond or relate to each other on anything or got really any emotional scenes between them, so the relationship felt so empty to me. Which leads me into my next point about them. They both have the emotional intelligence of a toddler. These people are supposed to be 30+ years old and were acting like little kids. I've seen toddlers more in tune with their feelings and thoughts than these two. Neither of them ever wanted to or knew how to express how they were feeling about anything. Their kissing was some of the worst I've seen in a long time too. You could tell the actress did not want to kiss him. They just had bad chemistry together as actors. Even in interviews I've seen, they didn't seem super comfortable around each other, and she seems to just not like him very much.
-Chan and Ha Gi: Their friendship in the first episode or so was really cute and they had moments throughout the rest of the show that were sweet, but for the most part they kind of were bad friends to each (mainly Ha Gi towards Chan). They didn't really tell each other anything and they're supposed to be best friends...sure. The actors had great chemistry together though. In the interviews they seemed way more into each other than with her.
-Da Reum, Min A, and Yeong U: I loved seeing the friendship between these three a a lot. It was really cute. I was shocked the two ended up together because I thought he was gay the whole time I can't lie.
-Our three girls: They did have some really cute and sweet moments together as friends and I loved that liking the same group is how they became friends to begin with, but a lot of what we saw was just them supporting each others saesang behavior.
-Mi Mi and Min U's relationship was cute for the most part but the playing hard to get was so childish.

Overall, as you can tell, I really hated this show. It was only on for six weeks and those two hours every week really dragged. It's by far the worst thing I've seen Woomin in. I have very few good things to say about this show and absolutely would never recommend this anyone.