Timbone

I am a big Choi Wooshik fan. I only watch dramas after they are completed and this is the first drama in a long while I am watching as it aired.
I can just watch him doing start up for 10 episodes, so I dont mind.

I recommend My Fated Boy a Chinese drama. It is very calming.

Ho Goo's Love is also a great watch. Sadly, it was a MeToo story before MeToo so its unpopular and underrated

NJ is fine as a love rival since the male lead wont consider her real. She is like a different species. Thats how celebrities are to normal people. The friend with cancer and the mom divorce is keeping me interested in Now We Are Breaking Up. I spend 5 mins per episode though lol

The female lead is a complicated mess. As Miss Dali and The Cocky Prince showed orphans/adopted children suffer a stigma.
The story also relies on flashbacks a lot so there is a lot to cover about their high school and college life.
As someone alluded, the grandma could die. NJ's interference is enough for at least 4 episodes lol

I partially agree with @Flashtone
I think the commenters above are just projecting and inventing a love triangle that doesn't exist.
I disagree in that I think NJ will push the leads together lol. Episode 8 preview implied that

I feel he is playing a familiar character.
His character isn't much different from Hoo Goo's Love.
Both are artists, one is just successful and the other a failure lol

I do not disagree. But the female lead is an orphan crushed with family debt. It is pretty hard to grow when you are just trying to survive.
Although I think the growth here is subjective. She has grown from the person who hated her life that was crushed by debt. But the inferiority complex from being an orphan isn't something that is easy to overcome.

Now We Are Breaking Up addresses such issues very well eg
1 How a Mother in law accuses a wife of not contributing anything to the family as a lowly orphan
2 A middle aged housewife asking for a divorce because her husband treats her as a maid and doesn't even know her name( Reminds me of one of my favorite Japanese drama: Motokare)
3 Dali and The Cocky Prince is probably a great example of how orphans/adopted children are discriminated by Korean society

Ho Goo's Love was just bad timing. It was a MeToo drama before MeToo. It was groundbreaking but didnt enjoy any popularity no surprise it took Choi Wooshik 6 years to come back in a lead role in a drama.
If this follows Ho Goo's Love then we will have a very satisfying ending with a more confident female lead. Episode 8 preview seems to imply that

Hahaha it was nice seeing her humanized instead of the usual evil female love rival. Even though the male lead usually cheats on her(the "evil" female villainess) with the female lead lol

Yeah, it is nice to see a female love rival humanized. I was getting frustrated with the fiancee from Now We Are Breaking Up

Hahaha both your comments are fun

I also like how they humanized NJ. Usually the second female lead is portrayed as bad

I really do not like such stories. It feels like propaganda to domesticate women. If it is about a single mum like Papadol then I prefer those although Papadol was a bit too comedic

What is this "shut up money" talk? Hahaha
You forget that the actresses have free will and can negotiate their contract.
I think Squid Game is a perfect example. It was only made because the creator gave 100% of the rights to Netflix.
Now he is a star he will not do the same.
You cannot expect big stars to sign up for sequels when they can get paid better elsewhere.
Given that Squid Game earned 900 million. I assume that the actresses of the original Ode to Joy would ask for at least 10 times what the current actresses will be ok with.

It's just business and it has more to do with the studio than the author.

Although we have authors like Guo Jingming who are powerful enough to produce their own dramas and movies I doubt it is the norm, it is the exception

I recommend that you give this drama a look:

https://kisskh.at/314-the-world-that-they-live-in
It explores the conflicts between a drama producer/director and the screenwriter/author

The author might want to cast a star but the budget will not allow it. Song Hye Kyo's character had to fight with the writer of the story over casting. It was a good watch

I believe I saw it on YouTube but its been years ago. It should not be difficult to locate

Awesome post. I admittedly didn't read it all but I was a bit worried about 500 days of Summer getting mentioned but that movie did make me rethink the graduate as a review of it pointed out. I am hoping this will be a happy ending. I expect it to be.
I have waited 6 years for a new Choi Wooshik drama, I dont want a sad or open ending lol.
Are you interested in writing articles for a blog? Your comment is long enough to make a blog post.

Haha I hope you are enjoying this. Happy Holidays and God bless you

I disagree. I waited 6 years for this. Nothing is stopping me from watching Choi Wooshik's first drama in 6 years

Hahaha reminds me of Love or Spend, it was scheduled for 50 episodes and got extended to 77. I had to wait 2 years after it aired for the subtitles.
I was watching it while it aired, it was horrible lol

By the way, did the show get extended? It was 15 episodes and supposed to be completed on the 3rd now its 18 episodes and to be completed on the 17th.
I wanted to binge watch haha.
I guess to get my Christina Mok fix I will go watch Yong Jiu vegetable store AGAIN

Hahaha. did the show get extended? I thought I could binge watch and I saw it increased to 18 episodes