Jess

Frustratingly fine ?

If you’re like me and you care about emotional intimacy, devotion, being let into the couple’s relationship, and not having to sit through endless cringe before anything meaningful happens — this drama is going to test your patience. Hard. I finished it, but I was annoyed for most of the ride.

LIKES:
-The music is cute and honestly one of the few consistently pleasant things about the show.
-The cast is strong, which is the only reason I didn’t fully rage-quit early on.
-Once they finally get together, the chemistry improves and the drama becomes watchable.
-I did appreciate the more realistic conversations about marriage, pressure, and expectations — in theory.
-The second half is clearly better than the beginning, which made me understand why people like this drama… even though I still don’t love it.

DISLIKES:
-The female lead is written as painfully naive, clingy, and lacking self-respect — not in a cute way, not in a sympathetic way, but in a secondhand-embarrassment way.
There are cute versions of naive characters. She is not that version. She makes me cringe.
-She has no dignity. People clearly don’t want her, don’t choose her, don’t treat her well — and she keeps forcing herself into their lives anyway. The pool auction scene incident made me furious. She chased a man who treated her like trash, got herself arrested, humiliated herself, and still didn’t learn anything from it.
-No self-control, no dignity, no backbone. Just constant bad decisions followed by crying. She gets drunk, causes problems, has zero self-esteem, and somehow the drama wants me to root for this behavior. I couldn’t.
-The early episodes are so slow it felt like a chore. I was bored, irritated, and not emotionally invested at all.
-I disliked almost every character at the start, which made it hard to care where the story was going.
-The barista situation completely turned me off — making out with someone else while acting emotionally invested elsewhere felt gross and careless.
-The tone is way too silly and childish for a drama that wants to talk seriously about marriage.
-I came in expecting devotion and emotional growth, and instead got chaos, immaturity, and nonsense for way too long.
-A big part of my frustration is that this drama was overhyped to me by chatgpt, which made the disappointment worse.
-This is one of those shows where finishing it made me feel relieved, not satisfied.

CONCLUSION:
I didn’t absolutely hate this drama, but I also don’t understand the hype. It has moments, and the second half improves, but the beginning is rough, frustrating, and emotionally empty for far too long. I’m glad I finished it, but I would never randomly start it again.
For me, this is a 6/10 — not awful, not great, and very dependent on mood. If you’re sensitive to cringe, humiliation arcs, and characters with no self-respect, this will probably irritate you more than entertain you.

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So Much Potential, Completely Wasted

If you’re like me and you care about emotional intimacy, devotion, being let into the couple’s relationship, and watching a love story actually be built on screen, this drama will frustrate you endlessly. This drama itself does not properly build the relationship it asks you to root for, and that’s the core problem.

LIKES:
— Hyeri was hilarious, charming, warm, and had zero boundaries in the best way — I completely fell in love with her personality
— The makeup, fashion, cars, and overall modern aesthetic were gorgeous; I missed this kind of polished, contemporary drama so much
— The workplace scenes where the male colleagues actually stepped in to protect her instead of humiliating her were refreshing and well done
— The production value was excellent, and the cast as actors are very strong


DISLIKES:
— The side characters, especially Hyeri and second male lead, were far more emotionally engaging than the main couple which was a problem if they were not the main couple
— I got intense second lead syndrome, which I almost never get, because the second male lead and the version of her he fell in love with had a relationship that felt gentle, mutual, and earned
— I genuinely loved the dynamic between the “poor” hyeri version of her and the boy grieving his brother; their story felt like it deserved its own drama
— The male lead treats the female lead like an object that waits for him to return whenever he feels ready
— He is emotionally closed off to an extreme degree — not “quiet,” not “reserved,” but withholding, even after years together
— He never lets her into his life, his family, or his grief, which is insane after an eight-year relationship
— The female lead becomes anxious, dependent, and emotionally diminished around him in a way that felt uncomfortable and humiliating to watch
— I hated that the person who truly fell in love with the good man was her other personality, not her — that felt cruel
— Each personality should have been given her own story; combining them robbed both of depth and respect
— Watching her live as her sister and slowly erase herself felt like a betrayal, not growth
— I stopped rooting for the main couple entirely because the relationship felt toxic, unbalanced, and emotionally negligent
— The drama lets us get incredibly close to the second personality, then removes her abruptly without dignity, closure, or a goodbye
— The second male lead also never gets closure, which makes everything feel unfinished and cruel
— The drama constantly keeps us at a distance from the main couple — we’re watching from hallways, doorways, or faraway angles, never inside their emotions
— We’re told to root for the main couple without ever being allowed to feel with them
— The male lead repeatedly centers himself, even in situations where he’s clearly hurt her, and never truly acknowledges his damage
— Scenes feel manipulative, like fake-out accidents and emotional gimmicks designed to keep viewers watching instead of earning investment
— It makes no sense that she continues working under extreme stress without intervention, consequences, or realism
— The reunion felt forced, emotionally empty, and completely unearned
— Casting was wrong: the female lead actress is too inherently strong to convincingly play this level of emotional collapse, and the male lead lacks warmth, emotional range, and vulnerability
— By the end, the only people I cared about were the second male lead and second female lead — everyone else lost me
— This drama handles dissociative identity far worse than other dramas that have tackled it with more care and respect

CONCLUSION:
This drama looked like it should have been incredible. The production, the cast, and the early promise were all there — but the writing and structure completely failed the story. It made me emotionally invest in characters it discarded and asked me to root for a relationship it never properly built.
I didn’t feel moved, healed, or satisfied. I felt frustrated, distant, and honestly upset by how careless the story was with the characters I loved most.
For me, this is a 3/10. Not because it lacked talent — but because it wasted it.

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love in spite of ourselves

I loved the couple. I loved the premise. I loved watching them slowly fall in love. But the pacing, unnecessary characters, and dragged-out middle made this feel like a chore at times.

If you like contract marriage, forced cohabitation, modern royalty, and watching two people slowly fall in love while living together, then you will like this drama — but only if you keep your remote very close and are not afraid to skip. A lot.
This is one of those dramas where the idea is better than the execution. The premise is amazing, the couple is worth it, and when it focuses on them, it’s genuinely beautiful. Unfortunately, it also wastes an unbelievable amount of time on unnecessary characters and side plots that add nothing. I truly believe if this drama were edited down to only the main couple, it would be incredible — and about 8 episodes long.

👍 LIKES
-The premise is so good — modern Korea with a monarchy? I was hooked immediately
-I’m a sucker for contract marriage / forced cohabitation, so I was already invested
-Feels like Boys Over Flowers but better, calmer, and more intentional
-I loved how they start liking each other earlier than expected — it’s subtle but there
-The modernized palace styling and hanbok looks are still beautiful almost 20 years later
-The FL’s cheerful, resilient attitude made her easy to root for at first
-When the drama focuses on just them, watching them fall in love is genuinely satisfying
-The real first kiss(though pretty much towards the end) was amazing — great chemistry, real payoff. wished we'd seen more.
-Episodes 15–22 complete mess, so annoying.
-I enjoyed the journey of them falling in love despite everything

👎 DISLIKES
-One of the slowest paces I’ve ever experienced, and not in a good slow-burn way
-Too much time wasted on high school nonsense when they’re already married
-Immature, annoying side characters that added nothing and were painful to watch
-Episode 9 flirting while married felt like cheating, not cute
-Political plotlines kept coming and going with no clear purpose
-The FL becomes extremely frustrating toward the end — childish, whiny, and illogical
-The overseas separation trope was completely unnecessary and infuriating
-Decisions near the end made no sense, especially who took the blame and who didn’t
-The mom deserved consequences — and it barely felt addressed
-We got way too little time of them actually being together after everything they endured
The ending needed more couple time — even something small would’ve helped

I started skipping early — and by episode 15, I skipped everything that wasn’t the main couple. Honestly? That’s the only reason I finished it happily.
If someone ever edits this drama down to just the couple, I would rewatch it immediately — and probably rate it much higher.

Final rating: 7.5/10
Could’ve been a 9.
Should’ve been shorter.

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good romance killed by dragging

If you like contract marriage, forced living together, office romance, morally good female leads, and intense slow-burn tension that starts off addictive, then you will absolutely be hooked at first by this drama. I was OBSESSED in the beginning. Like, glued-to-my-screen obsessed. This had everything I love on paper… and that’s why it hurt so much when it lost its way.

LIKES
-Strong couple focus early on with very little unnecessary side cast
-A kind, morally grounded FL who knows right from wrong and isn’t greedy or dishonest
-ML who isn’t physically violent, but clearly broken and psychologically complex
-Excellent early pacing that keeps you coming back without feeling annoying
-She regains her agency early (around ep 4), which made me root for her even more
-One of the best push-and-pull dynamics I’ve seen when it worked
-Perfect mix of office romance, contract marriage, and forced cohabitation
-Refreshing take where the FL isn’t lying her way through the marriage
-I loved that the ML chooses not to see certain truths rather than being outright deceived
-This drama had me saying “I don’t want this to end” around episodes 7–12

DISLIKES
-FL was way too naïve with her kidnapper and believed things too easily
-ML was painfully gullible for someone portrayed as powerful and intelligent
-By episode 9, they still weren’t seriously together, which is where fatigue hit
-Episodes 14–16 dragged badly with unnecessary plot detours
-Romance payoff came way too late, after the emotional momentum was already gone
-Almost no genuine intimacy until the very end (in a 20-episode drama!)
-Certain plot devices (👀 cameras 👀) were introduced, then quietly abandoned
-The drama knew how to build tension, but didn’t know how to release it properly

FINAL THOUGHTS
This drama started as a 10/10 for me. I was obsessed. Truly. It felt like everything I love wrapped into one beautifully paced, addictive story. But somewhere in the middle, it forgot why I was watching: the romance.
By the time the couple finally came together for real, I was already emotionally checked out. The happy ending helped, and I did appreciate that justice was served and evil characters were punished, but it couldn’t fully undo the frustration.
Objectively, this is a well-written, well-acted melodrama with a fantastic setup. Subjectively, it didn’t give me enough together-time to satisfy what it promised.
Final Rating: 8/10
I don’t regret watching it — but I do mourn the version of this drama that could have been incredible all the way through.

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Cute romance almost ruined with the dragging

If you like medical dramas with romance, emotional growth, and a strong female lead who slowly comes into her own, then you’ll probably enjoy this drama. I liked this one overall, but I won’t lie — it definitely tested my patience at times. It’s one of those older-format K-dramas where you can feel the episode count, but when it’s good, it’s really good.

LIKES
-I liked the romance overall, especially once it actually settled
-Strong character growth, especially for the female lead
-The emotional moments worked and felt earned
-The acting was solid and their chemistry was so nice.
-I liked seeing the medical world paired with personal healing
When they were together and communicating, it was really nice

DISLIKES
-Why is no onr talking about this man falling for an underaged girl. It was not tastefully done at all. I cam't belive they tried to act like that's okay.
-Too much breaking up and getting back together
-Had to start skipping towards the end. Watching became a chore.
-The push-and-pull went on longer than it needed to. I got frustrated watching them separate when they didn’t need to

FINAL THOUGHTS
I did like this drama, but it’s not one I would rush to rewatch. It’s a good example of an older K-drama style where the romance is there, the emotions are there, but the pacing and repeated conflicts can wear you down. Still, the journey was meaningful, the ending was satisfying, and I don’t regret watching it.
Overall, a good watch if you’re in the mood for a medical romance, just be prepared for some patience-testing moments along the way.
Rating: 7.5/10 (enjoyable, but dragged too long)

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I WANT MORRREE

MORE! is exactly how the drama left me feeling like I wanted way more. I wanted to see them together in the real world after she'd woken up. I absolutely loved the idea of the spinning off. I didn't even know it was a spin-off, when I clicked play on amazon.

I loved all the little Easter eggs that they added in there as somebody who literally just finished binging the no gain No love drama this was amazing. I loved seeing it because I actually prefer this couple together. I wanted to see them for longer getting to see them. This way makes so much more sense, how she acted towards him in the first drama and how quickly she started liking him. I missed them so much, and I'm glad they were back.

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Depressing version of Sparkling watermelon

Because of the name and the posters, I came in expecting about 60% romance and 40% mystery. but got 99% Mystery and 0.001% romance. I was disappointed because I'm here for the romance and not so much the mystery. but I stayed for the plot because they did such a great job.

LIKES
-the dads young character is just chef's kiss
-ost is awesome and I like the costume designs for the throwback themes.
-the suspense is kind of fun
-the redemptive love of family. Thought-provoking.

DISLIKES
-the first few mins were so confusing, I don't know what I was looking at
-FL: Her voice, her acting, her face, everything about her bothers me and then she was also a really annoying, unlikable character for 80% of the drama.
-no romance at all, not even chemistry
-though its themes are similar to sparkling watermelon it's heavier with easy less joy and no romance and less optimism.
-Feels like the author is playing mind games with use the audience and making everyone suspicious with no real reasoning

Overall, if you like mystery and you're like just beginning and you don't care about plot holes than this would be the thing for you.It's just really good with the suspense.And the twist , but if you care about plus then this is probably not for you. But for me because it was so compelling, produced, the actors did such a great job too. OST was amazing.I can't fathom giving it less than an eight out of ten. So it's a solid watch.

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Great Chemistry directed/presented badly

Their chemistry was just off the hook. That first kiss oh my gosh... BUT there was a big problem. The way they edited, and presented the story was just the worst. The transitions from one scene to the other were choppy at best and made no sense. They would just cut conflicts in the middle and go to another scene, especially after leaving us on a cliffhanger in the last episode.
They kept putting touching scenes that would have been important at the moment to be shown as memories later on. But then, at the time, they didn't show us, the viewers, that it had happened and just chopped it to a different scene. So we were left wondering whether the situation was fixed or not.
Things that should have been drawn out like a panic attack the Main Leads we're having would just abruptly cut to them waking up the next day as if nothing happened. Also, not only chopping the scenes but chipping full episodes into these 30-minute chunks just ruined it for me and made it feel tiring.
I generally like when they get over conflicts quickly and don't linger in them, but this drama made conflicts into a joke by making them irrelevant and like they never happened 30 minutes later.

The only reason I gave it a 6.5 and not a 5 or 4 was because they really did show tons of couple time. Tons of times of them being together and loving each other and progressively changing. The end left a smile on their face and I was happy for them. But the director or whoever chose to present this story this way did a horrible job.

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20 episode long some

There's nothing I hate more then anticipating something for 20 episodes and literally get the last 10 minutes to enjoy the fruits of what we waited for. It was hilarious, over the top and just chock full of comedians. the ost was different and fashion w as all over the place.
I really liked the story at first but they just took too long for such little payoff. By episode 15 I could barely stand anymore. the "breakup" before even dating thing has to stop. and the reasons for the conflict made zero sense. im just too frustrated with it to give it a higher rating. this could have been on the level of 1% of something but all it did was make me wanna rematch it instead, since i just git bored with the teasing of a resolution.

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90%Murder 7% longing 3%dating and loving

Based on the poster and synopsis, I was expecting it to be mostly romance, which is usually what I sign up for with K-dramas, served with a side of whatever else, but this was purely a murder mystery with a bit of romance on the side, way later in the game. Their chemistry sometimes felt awkward or forced, even though their longing and love for each other were clearly present, and it's what got us through the waiting. Just to be disappointed once we're there.
They did make up for all the murder stuff, and it left a smile on my face in the end. That's why it wasn't a 6 out of 10, but still, if they'd had a better connection, I think this could have been amazing.
I will say I've never witness such beautiful bortherly and sisterly love before in all the almost 200 kdramas I've watched. There should also be a reward for best mother character ever and then she should be named a saint because this mother was unlike any other that I've ever seen before. I fell for the characters which made it fun to watch and helped me to relate to them more.

So if you're here for a murder mystery, you're in the right place with these horrific villains that really deserve the worst. But if you're a romance lover like me, the beginning might be a drag, and if you love clean, cute love, then stay and you'll have a ton of that later.
I enjoyed it, don't know if I'd watch it again because of the 32-episode format, which made it feel so much longer than it needed to be, but I'm not mad I watched it. It was fun.

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Delightful slice of airport Love with suspense

This was surprisingly amazing to watch and completely bingeable for me. The concept was fresh, the love was through the roof. And it was so generous with a couple of scenes. They were just doing their jobs while silently loving each other. You fall for both characters and the extras as you get to know a bit about everyone. It feels like a cross between a slow-burn office romance and Are You Human Too?

LIKES
-his sweet nature and silent devotion to her are just so cute.
-his performance as a weird cyborg who wants to be normal was awesome.
-The OST was surprisingly so good.
-I'm all the way to episode 5(aka ep 10) in one go and I have not been bored for a second.
-love the slow reveal of their stories and the subplots that came along.
-The subplots never overshadowed their love. from 1 to 10 The balance was beautiful because they did everything together while slowly loving each other and learning lessons
-how forward he was, no games just confessions
-Their chemistry was insane. So good.
-Their love was way deeper than I expected
-There were tons of rewarding romantic scenes, and it made the wait feel worth it.

DISLIKES (SPOILER ish)
-Around episode 10 (aka19) or so, I started to skip because I was so invested in their love, yet they kept slowing it down to try to show the other uninteresting characters. They also started focusing on the office work WAYYY too much for my liking. I only came for the love. They lost me a bit there because the pacing was a bit weird.
-ending was Sooo rushed. I felt the resolution with the bad guys was too anticlimactic in how they were apprehended and how everything was resolved. Felt like they could have cut it off clean, but didn't due to time constraints, maybe.
-Also, no reveal of his face when he came back? Just his back made it feel a tiny bit incomplete, like they kicked him off set and had a get a body double
- They kept coming together and pulling apart and coming back together. So much back and forth. And no prolonged time, just loving each other and being a real couple. But this is not that kind of drama, so it's okay.
-We didn't really get to see them together like the cherry on top or the bow on the present, like most complete dramas I've watched that go full circle and leave no questions. It was one of the quick 2-second reunions after a long trip ending, which I usually despise, but this one made sense, so I gave it a pass.

Overall, it was a pleasant surprise. Coming into this, ChatGPT said I'd be giving it a 6.5 out of 10. They said the love was too light and the payoff was small. I have to say I completely disagree and absolutely adore this drama. The concept, the actors, the OST, fashion, and production. It was so well done. I only rated it lower because of the rushed ending and the lagging when they started to show too much office stuff I didn't care about when the love story was so good.

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beginning of a drama

I loved the actors in this, and I felt the balance between subplots and the main plot was well done. They even had time to add in second love interests to spike up the conflict but everything went so fast I had no idea it was done till the end. I thought it was just begging we'd get to see them face their world and everything and grow in love, but nope, this was just a bit of a letdown because I thought they were going to go deeper.
My favorite part was when the writers put her through exactly what she put him through. I was laughing but also so sad for her cause I know I would have cried if that happened to me.
Even in the end, we didn't get enough couples together time, and that's why it was so low for me. The rewatch value is higher because it was an enjoyable watch, but everything was resolved too quickly; the end was too quick. She found out too quickly, and it just felt like I just watched an extra-long movie that I thought was going to be a show.
The OST was okay. The fashion was good but nothing I feel I needed to copy or was struck by like they usually are.
Overall this was just a good story with not enough time to developed or not enough time given to the proper issues.

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Love letter about grief

so I enjoyed the fresh take and concept of this drama. the OST was okay, the actors did amazing. The chemistry was insane at the bigginging. I've never seen hand holding scene made more intimate than a kiss, but it happened here.

LIKES:
-the time they spent together getting to fall in love through the whole thing and it wasn't just abrupt. It was a slow process that we got to witness.
-how they made him realistic. It's fresh and new and feels kind of like a depressing slice of life.
-how he just boldly and shamelessly likes her and hugs her and does whatever he wants
-i like how they slowly revealed the story and everything happened unraveled like a little mystery
- I love how devoted she was and how smart they made her. she always realized when he was just being petty.


DISLIKES:
-
-going through 3 episode long breakup without dating? They haven't even dated at all. They gave us 10mins of cuteness to tear it away with 3hrs of heartache over nothing. So annoying.
-im on ep 13 and they're still not getting as much sweet and swoony moments like in the begining.
-the greif part is just taking over the love story
-some of the accident scenes just started feeling way over used in the middle.
-how depressing it is that almost everyone broke up and there were almost no redemption for the second lead couples that were struggling.
-the affair

I started to lose interest because I thought the love story would be more important than the grieving and sadness or the business but in the middle it started to take precisence over the love story and I just got bored for a bit that's why the rewatch value is so low for me.
Overall if it wasn't for the main couples love I wouldn't have watched this because the grieving and the business did not interest me at all. It's a nice deep dive into loss and love and how those things can change you. Gives you hope to fight to see another day.

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comedy with some romantic teasers

I got into this thinking the main charact rs would fall in love and date but I was so wrong. don't get me wrong I did an all nighter to finish it cause it was that fun to watch, but if you're here for the romance just know it's just a buildup and nothing else really.
LIKES
-the main actors did fantastic. I watched mostly for him.
-how funny it was. had me screaming at 5am
-how short they kept it because it wouldn't have made it to 16 eps
-the balance between the main story and the subplots and how we slowly got to know the bandmates
-they OST was Sooo good.

DISLIKES
- SPOILER ISH!! they never actually get together or date (super disappointed at that) that's why the rating so low.
-the band mates' love story was longer than the main leads
-they bandmates' lives too precisence over the main leads towards the end. the end should have been reserved for them to get closer and have a proper epilogue.
-their time together in the end felt like a few seconds.
-hared her character cause she was so flaky and kept hurting him towards the end before the resolution and even afterwards

overall, if you want a good laugh and a tiny itty bit of angsty romance than go for it. if you're here for the main actors also go for it. it was a nice little watch but if you're here for romance you might wanna reconsider SPOILERISH unless you don't mind the whole just being a buildup to a potential relationship some day that you never get to see.

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