MiHnn

This is surprisingly.... good??? Didn't expect that.

It's realistic because trauma is not overcome in three therapy sessions. He's clearly still unpacking a lot and it's doubtful that his relationship with his mother has been healed. Just one conversation does not change abuse, and a lot of kdramas write it as if it does. (Eg:- Son realises the mother always loved him and forgives her. - This doesn't happen in real life)

And you're right, in rom-coms, the leads should end up together. That is the basic requirement of a rom-com. Therefore, the fact that they didn't end up together means that it solidifies the fact that this is NOT a rom-com.

I would agree with your comment if they were both psychologists. Lawyers are lawyers because they fight for their client based off their knowledge of the law. Lawyers are not taught to have open communication. If anything, it's a profession that avoids it so that the opponent doesn't see your client's weak spots. Open communication leads to compromise and a lawyer will not compromise unless they are forced to by the opposing party. Their main job is not to fix relationships, but to get their client the most they can get, regardless of how the relationship plays out.

The show did a good job in showing that all the miscommunication stemmed from Eun Beom, who was abused as a child and is continued to be abused by his parent even as an adult. He never had a safe space where he could reveal his emotions, so the moment he does reveal how he feels to Ha Ra, he thinks wrongly that she wants to leave him. The lack of sense of self, the lack of self-love and low self esteem is what he needs to overcome, and at the end, he makes the effort by seeking professional help.

It all comes back to his mother.

A lot of viewers started watching this expecting a rom-com and they were disappointed, because, surely if the man and woman don't end up together the story is a waste...?

Actually, this is a story of growth. It's meant to be a snapshot in time. The open ending made sense because we saw the story of two people who cannot move on because they love each other, but they cannot be together due to their respective deal-breakers. And they both have very valid deal-breakers. Expecting one to compromise on it because it's "no big deal" is an immature way to view things.

The big takeaways are that the way parents raise their children impacts how they handle relationships (Eun Beom), divorce does not only affect the people getting divorced, and finally, that life is not predictable. The female lawyer who always wanted marriage and kids ends up with neither while the female lawyer who didn't want any of it, ended up getting both.

I found this drama to be progressive. They handled issues like stealthing and parental financial abuse which are not recognised in almost all Asian countries. And the fact that Eun Beom realised that he suffered trauma and needed to self-heal by going for therapy... Amazing. If you come from an Asian family, you will realise how groundbreaking it is for a man to work on his mental health instead of expecting a woman to fix all his issues.

If you want a rom-com, this drama is not for you. If you want to watch complex relationships and you enjoy the indepth discussion of how lost most adults actually feel, this drama is for you. It's very realistic. And I loved that.

This is a mature drama meant for mature audiences.

This is NOT a rom-com, so anyone who watches romance exclusively, this drama is not for you. It's a melodrama/slice of life regarding relationships. It's about trauma, parental abuse and social expectations.

The vibe is definitely the same.

It might seem harsh, but it's important to remember that an abortion is not fun. Women go through extreme physical, mental and emotional turmoil when they go through an abortion. It's not a decision taken lightly.

On the other hand, having a child is not easy. It's a lifetime commitment. And if you give the child up, because you don't want the child, you're a villain.

In this case, she decided that an abortion is less torture than having a child. That itself speaks volumes regarding how much she did NOT want a child.

We have to understand that there are women out there who would rather die than get pregnant. Just like there are women out there who would rather die than give up a fetus.

Not everyone is meant to be a parent, not everyone has the capacity to be a parent, and not every parent is good at being a parent.

The biggest lie society has successfully told is that parenting is easy. It's not. If done right, it's the hardest thing imaginable.

Which is why no one should be forced to do it. Everyone deserves a choice, and they deserve to feel safe making that choice.

I hope that changes in the future.

There are benefits to being married even though you don't have children, because the government will consider you and your partner as family.

1. That means you get visitation rights in hospitals, prisons and during any emergencies etc.
2. You can be part of each other's insurance plans because you are family.
3. You have the ability to live as a dependent (recognized by law) if you lose your job due to an unforeseen circumstance.
4. You have a right to share the wealth accumulated while the two of you are living together.
5. Things like household chores have a monetary value while married, but not when you're single.
6. Depending on where you live, you can have quite a few financial benefits as well.

She's in the right here. They had an agreement that they will be without children and he decided to break that agreement first by impregnating her against her will. He basically tried to trap her into motherhood. This is equivalent to poking holes in condoms or messing with someone's birth control. Further, stealthing is also considered a type of rape.

Had she told him, he would have fought it (most probably by taking her to court and make the clock run out until she can't safely have an abortion.) She would have been forced to carry the baby to full term... against her will.

You should have two consulting adults to bring a child into this world.

I'm five episodes in and I'm already too invested in this. I can't imagine how I'll feel when I'm done with this show.

Are these "fans" that unhappy in their own lives?

It's not even their business. If someone's life doesn't affect you directly, you have no right to an opinion, honestly.

I honestly loved this rom-com. The maturity and the character growth won me over.

It's more in the lines of... It's better if he teaches no one rather than him teaching someone who is not their child.

They would rather him crash and burn and never teach again rather than teach another child who will benefit from his teaching. They want their child to have the best of the best. It's not a problem if the second best is teaching their child as long as the first best teacher teaches no one. It's proper selfish entitlement.

Sadly, as it is in reality, children must always suffer because of the adults around them.

Tell me about it. I need someone to put all the mums in their place tbh. They annoy me every time they come on screen. The injustice of it all irks me.

I love the way she looks actually. It's a difference in status. The at-home moms who are rich are put together, not a hair out of place. The one working mum who is also rich, is also well dressed. Meanwhile, our FL, who can't afford to hire people to do her housework like the other moms, is disheveled, and throws on whatever because she doesn't have the time and mental capacity to dress up every single day. Her appearance is the last thing she cares about and it comes across well. She doesn't go for regular hair cuts, she doesn't get her nails done, she doesn't care if her clothes match, as long as they are functional. To me, how she looks is exactly how her character should look.

I believe her clothing and make up is on point for her character. She is a working class mom. Kdramas have a tendency of showing the main characters as pretty, even when they cry. So it's refreshing to see her look so raw and realistic.

Since he decided to stop tutoring after he realised he had feelings for the FL, my guess is that he removed himself from a situation where - in his mind - he would have compromised his morals. If he knew she was single, I'm sure he wouldn't have stopped tutoring her niece. I'm guessing that what happened at the end was an impulse.