Zii3

Surprisingly Good

A vertically filmed micro drama (I rate these on their own sliding scale). The screenplay and acting (of the leads) is better than many stories with the same basic plot points (I will refer to these as "plot clones" below). This one had multiple things that exceeded my expectations and thus I've rated it a little higher than I might otherwise; it managed to be more fresh, interesting, and even thoughtful in spots (when compared to other plot clones). I may even rewatch this after some time has passed.

Both leads are good actors (enough so that I'll be looking up their other works) and they have great chemistry, and that's a good enough selling point for many.
What sets this production apart from many plot clones, in my opinion, is that:

General Spoilers below:

- Both lead characters were likeable
- While there was some push-and-pull between the leads (due to misunderstandings from other's lies), there was never any real animosity
- There were a couple of clever/funny/memorable lines.
- The FL was written as a genuine and smart character who was hardworking and had some skills beyond looking pretty.
- The ML starts to admire her quickly, and it actually makes sense, and he looks at her with warmth a lot.
- There are more kisses and intimate scenes than just the one at the beginning (though short they are satisfying).
- There is a wonderfully unique reaction of the FL to an advance made by the ML while he's drunk (I don't want to spoil it by saying more, but you will definitely know when you see it!)
- The screenplay actually shows the leads figuring out and processing all the lies they were each told and some of the emotional impact of that.
- There is satisfying retribution for the main antagonist.
- The SML (childhood friend) remains respectful of the FL and her feelings/choices.
- There's a cute/sweet proposal moment.
- Though not subtle, there are some good messages
- There are likeable and supportive parents or grandparents for the leads.

Now, there IS a reprehensible SFL who is desperate for the ML and does all sorts of shenanigans to get him, but that was expected (it's integral to these plot clones).

The costumes were good and flattering for both leads, and the red wedding dress at the end is gorgeous.

The English subtitles where I found it are sufficient; not great but not the worst I've seen either. The Humor in dialogue still manages to come across. The pronouns are often wrong ("he" instead of "she" for example) but that's a common mistake because, as I understand it, Mandarin doesn't have gender pronouns (just uses "ta" to refer to another person).

Thank you to Jwells who shared in a comment on the main page multiple links for this series on YouTube with English subtitles.

SPECIFIC SPOILERS below on the ending and the very basic plot points that this series shares with other plot clones.

... ... ...

It's a HE with the leads starting the walk down the aisle for their marriage. The actual ceremony is not shown but it's a joyful and sweet ending shot.

Basic plot for this and other clones:
- A drunk/drugged one night stand with a stranger
- FL finds out she works for the ML who is a CEO
- ML doesn't recognize her
- The SFL takes advantage of this and pretends she was the one night stand and makes the ML "take responsibility" by becoming her boyfriend
- The SFL tries to sabotage the FL at work but this only enables the FL to showcase her good qualities
- The FL turns out to be pregnant
- The SFL pretends to be pregnant to force the ML to stay with her
- The ML eventually figures out that the FL was his one night stand and he is the father

There were a few other things that happened with the plot in this version in addition to the basics listed above.

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Thought-provoking exploration of relationship dynamics. Lots of fuzzy feelings.

A wonderfully intriguing exploration of relationship dynamics. Sweet, cute, thought-provoking, and romantic with lots of fuzzy feelings.

The amount of comfortable and very close skinship, cuddling and snuggling, hugging, and petting is maybe the highest of any show I've seen. And it is so cozy, comforting, heart-warming, and satisfying.

I loved how the dynamic between Sumire and Momo managed to be mostly balanced despite growing into codependency. They are both capable people yet they feel better when taking care of someone other than themselves and they feel more grounded when they are needed by somebody else. She needed him just as much as he wanted to be needed by her. Sumire is extremely bad at self-regulating her emotions and Takeshi is really good at helping her with that even though he's 10 years younger. The balance in their emotional maturity made their age gap a total non-issue.

Their master/pet relationship didn't come across as a power-play dynamic to me. There were moments where an imbalance of power would bubble up during arguments (with Sumire being the home owner) but that can happen with any couple.

This was so close to being a 9 out of 10, but the screenplay choices in the last couple episodes let me down in terms of character development and resolution. The ending was still moderately satisfying, the plot just gave into clichés at the end, which was disappointing and a waste of potential (further explained under the "specific spoilers" section at the bottom of my review).

The actors were great, especially Shishon Jun as Momo. He was also completely believable as a professional-level dancer.

FYI: Extra footage!
During the end credits of each episode there is a background video that is repeated and then a smaller box with scenes that change. At first, the small box shows repeated clips from that episode, but when the background video goes from the dog under to bedsheets to the drawer of shirts, the small box starts showing things unseen before! There's no audio, but it shows little snippets of scenes that could have happened to the characters in that episode that are otherwise unshown to the audience. There are some really cute and/or steamy-ish moments between Momo and Sumire that are fun to see as a little bonus.

SPECIFIC SPOILERS BELOW

My critique of the things that disappointed me in the last few episodes. (I had no other notable issues with the otherwise wonderful series.)

... ... ...

HASUMI & FUKUSHIMA:

I felt like saying Hasumi was "weak to seduction", like it was a character trait, was a bit of a cop-out. I think he was weak to being needed, just like every other main character was! And when Hasumi misses Fukushima and realizes how much he wants to be with her, I wish the screenplay had highlighted more than it did. There was repetition around her sexiness and big chest, her good cooking, and being weak, but I think there were more differences between her and Sumire that drew Hasumi in. Not only did Fukushima show vulnerability (often times faked or exaggerated as a seduction ploy), she showed Hasumi a wider range of emotions period! She showed excitement, happiness, eagerness, and desire to be with him. Hasumi could feel secure in her affection and be himself, instead of constantly and nervously trying to navigate the potential minefield of inscrutability that was Sumire. Fukushima allowed Hasumi to feel relaxed in a similar parallel to Momo and Sumire.

SUMIRE & MOMO / TAKESHI:

- I wish Sumire had at least made a decision to hold off on marriage to Hasumi and moving to Seoul, if not breaking up altogether, BEFORE she found out about him and Fukushima.

- The whole point of Takeshi not contacting Sumire first after he leaves is because, as he previously told Fukushima, Sumire doesn't go after what she wants. She may be greatly effected by losing someone yet she won't ever go after them, which is part of why he has never truly left before. So what was really needed was for Sumire to go after Takeshi. Maybe not right way, but to show her calling him first, to visit him first, to finally show her feelings in actions and words while supporting and encouraging him from afar while he pursued his career goals. NOT just WAITING 3 years in stoic silence for him. And while eventually it shows that Sumire has received letters from Takeshi, there's no indication that's she's reciprocated in any way.

- And then after 3 years she actually goes to a performance of his in Japan but leaves flowers without trying to see him! WTF? So in the end Takeshi is the one who, yet again, has to come to her. Sure, she accepts him romantically this time, but her lack in character growth negatively impacted her worthiness of him, in my opinion. So the resolution was far less impactful, meaningful, and satisfying than it easily could have been otherwise. It felt like the writers wanted a specific final scene of them meeting in the rain and sacrificed character integrity while resorting to clichés to make it happen.

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Memorable. Ep 1-4 are very thoughtful & Ep 5-8 are more melodramatic.

General spoilers only. "You can't help if you fall for a boy or a girl, or someone else." About multiple characters who feel different from "normal" in various ways. Characters experience a lot of yearning and pining (a lot of it is romantic in nature though characters also yearn to fit in or to find their place in life too), internal struggles and insecurity, and waivering back & forth.

The two main characters are blood-related siblings, so this is best watched with a non-judgmental approach, otherwise you might want to skip this one. There is also an openly gay secondary character and a tertiary character who loves their step-sibling (not related by blood).

There are great messages explored throughout the screenplay about questioning societal norms, mores, and expectations (especially when it doesn't hurt others- the people who feel like outliers are the ones that are hurt by trying to conform to other's opinions), deciding what's right for one's self, not being passive in one's own life, and more in that vein.

Nothing is handled lightly, by the story as a whole or by the individual characters. Various concerns about each character's feelings and their situations are explored. There are voice-over thoughts from multiple characters.

This is NOT a spicy story. There is some skinship but not a lot, two light lip presses, and one brief scene near the end that only implies the two lead characters slept together.

Technically I would rate this a 7.5/10 overall, but there were a few things I loved about it, and it engaged my thoughts and emotions enough to be quite memorable so I'm giving it an 8/10.

The first half is well crafted and thoughtful. I would give Ep 1-4 a 9/10. The second half gets more melodramatic in ways that I found excessive at times and I would rate Ep 5-8 a 6/10; the plot starts feeling less realistic and increasingly stretches credulity. A couple of actions or reactions didn't feel quite in line with a character's previous build. Overall I still found it pretty satisfying though; it helped that the show starts at the end before going back in time so I already had an idea of how things were going to work out. That allowed me to mostly shrug off the frusterations in storytelling and character actions as I watched things unfold in the second half.

All of the actors (except the mother) were very well suited for their rolls. Suzuki Jin, Yamashita Mizuki, and Ito Asahi were especially enjoyable to watch and almost immediately got me invested in their characters. The mother, on the other hand, is extra in a way that is not written or acted particularly well. Which makes her even more annoying. Luckily she's not around much.

General Spoilers below.

The number of times people dramatically drop to the ground (in faints or illness) is ridiculous. I could handle one, but after that it breaks credulity.

I loved one of the internal thoughts of a character with unrequited love. The character being daunted by the difficulty and hopeless pain of it was so relatable; "You want to be best friends forever? Then I can't tell you forever."

FYI SIDE NOTE ON SUBTITLES:
I could only find this streaming in the USA on KissAsian (as a last resort) in February 2024. Ep 4-8 all had lagging subtitle issues. It would be fine for about the first 15min of every episode and then the rest would lag behind by multiple sentences.
So I recommend checking if this is going to happen in whatever platform you find it on before starting to avoid frusteration.

Edit: I ended up downloading the video and subtitle files on my computer in order to re-watch it properly.

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Lovely, With Heart-Warming Plot Twist.

The plot twist is easily missed because the translation of a word at the end is ambiguous in English! When the word "couple" is said during a phone call, think of it as "life partner" or "romantic partner". That will clarify the twist. This is based on Stongberry's (the production company) responses to viewer's comments here & on other platforms.

20min. Loved this, only wish there was more, but it ends at a good spot. The 2 leads actually interact like an established couple. It's realistic and so cute/sweet. The arrival of the brother leads to both humorous and emotional moments. The twist at the end made me rewatch the film immediately and I enjoyed it even more!

Yes, the brother is rude and annoying when he arrives, but there IS a reason for this that the shift in perspective at the end explains. (Details under "spoilers" below, but I highly recommend watching the movie first.)

A nice comment from Strongberry on Vimeo said, "Sometimes we argue, but I think trying to understand each other is a true family. This movie wanted to show that kind of family."

Watch the movie first, then, if you still want clarification on why the brother acts as he does, I've shortly explained it then pasted another viewer's comment below that summarizes the situation AND Strongberry's response confirming it:

.........

SPECIFIC SPOILERS

.........

At first, the brother is rude on purpose to test out his brother's partner. At the end, a month has passed and the way all three of them walk up the hill with arms around each other shows they have grown a strong comaraderie, which indicates the brother doesn't stay unlikable.

Comment by estar:
"This was so sweet - especially when u get to the end and u "get" that the mother and brother know all along, and are just checking up on the big-brother's partner to make sure he is an "ok" worthy person. Yeah at the start Yeong Min is a total abrasive brat, that u wanna punch - but "getting" that he's not being a d*ck just to be a d*ck, it was a sweet conclusion to a otherwise fun, well thought out plot."

Response by Strongberry:
"...You have a good grasp of the meaning of this movie. Thank you."

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Psychologically Intriguing. What Voids Can/Can't Be Filled?

Psychologically intriguing and emotionally haunting; a seemingly "happy" ending on the surface but in actuality very precarious as it was hollow. The story lingered in my mind and I really wish there was more of it.

21 minutes long. The script and directing/editing was smartly done and to-the-point. Acting, cinematography, and music supported the storytelling well.

The 11th SungKyu wants a nice home and family so much that he stands in to fill the voids the other family members have. But he is a shell of a person himself, can HIS void be filled? Maybe over time, but we don't get a clear-cut answer, and that's why my thoughts on this short film keep percolating and drive me to dissect it.

It's well done and good for one watch if you're in the right mood for it.

SPECIFIC SPOILERS below!
... ... ...

I can easily understand SungKyu learning how to interact, and puting effort into play-acting, with the mentally fragmented mother (who can't accept that one of her real sons is gone).

I feel sad at his decision to be physically intimate with the brother, SungWoo, though. Sad for both of them because it seemed the result of individual desperation. Maybe they both end up being what the other needs and have a healthy future together, but that seems a fragile hope. More realistically, SungWoo may develop feelings while SungKyu's interest would remain in question; does he really care, or is he trying to fill his own void, or is he just maintaining his place in the family?

And whatever drove SungKyu in that scene, it doesn't seem to have given him much. The next morning, SungWoo feels accepted and is noticeably lighter and happier but the smile that SungKyu returns slides off when he's not being looked at, and his eyes remain vacant throughout. SungKyu said he was "nobody" and seemed to remain empty himself even as he filled in what the other family members needed.

For me, it's really hard to leave the story at that moment because I crave more emotional resolution, so I likely won't re-watch. I am glad I saw it once though.

I found Bearr's MDL review good and insightful too.

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Tongue-In-Cheek Clever-Silly And Romantic.

Lighthearted, fun, sweet, and cute with emotional depth that kind of sneaks up on you.
It's special because while it has many tropes/clichés that are often predictable, they're purposefully taken 1 to 2 steps further in unexpected ways. Because of this, the whole series is very humorous instead of cringworthy. They do it very well. Things are done/acted a little dramatically but earnestly at the same time. I was really impressed with the whole cast.

In real life the type of behavior Noey exhibits towards Thi is full of red flags and could lead to trauma bonding (unpredictable hot/cold, threatening/rewarding, etc). In this fictional tale however, I was able to enjoy the well done tropes of enemies-to-lovers, bully/nerd, and hard to others but soft to the love interest. It takes some time but Noey's character does mature and redeem himself beautifully.

FYI in the last episode keep watching because the epilogue continues through the credits and all the way to the end.

It was a little tricky for me to tell the grades and age difference of the main characters, especially at the beginning. I believe Noey starts the series about 16 yrs old and Thi is 5 years older as a junior in college, so about 21. Noey starting so young in the story works because he's young enough to act as immature as he starts out being.

The age difference was never made weird in this story, which I appreciated. Young people can fall in love too. And as MidwesternLibrarian says on Reddit, "I don't mind their fictional age gap because there is no way Thi is manipulating Noey. Noey is going to do what Noey wants to do." Truer words were never spoken, lol!

General Spoilers below.
There is a good amount of romantic attraction/tension that is tastefully done keeping the age of the characters and actors in mind, two interupted almost-kisses, and a very basic kiss at the end. (Which I was totally fine with, especially since Tar who played Noey would have been 17-18 at the time of filming.)

I loved how the miscommunications in the first few episodes lead them into falling for each other instead of falling out, lol.

There is some medium angst near the end but it is resolved and the ending is satisfying.

I likely won't watch again on my own but it could be fun to see with other people.

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Emotional Platonic Bond, Heartwarming & Heartbreaking.

Not a BL and I feel it's misleading to market it as a romance. There was maybe potential for that but then you learn the angel is around 16 while the adult is in his 30s. It felt more like big and little brother to me. Seemed like a redemption of sorts for Koki's guilt about his own little brother.

Heartwarming and heartbreaking with an ending that is hopeful and really sad at the same time.

General Spoilers below.
It started somber but with some lovely understated humor and then got really heavy. It did get more positive and hopeful but it was heartbreaking at the same time because the angels's wings filling in meant he would leave at some point. The very last couple shots were weird and not satisfying; it seemed to imply an open ending but just left me confused.

It's too heavy and unsatisfying for me to watch more than once but it was well done, and well acted. I'm glad I watched it once as it did have some poignant messages handled in a tactful way.

Trigger warnings for accidental death, suicide, violence, and bullying.

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Epic Friendship More Than Romance

Overall I enjoyed it and I would recommend it, just know you'll be watching for an epic friendship more than a romance. As a story it's an 8, as a romance it's a 6. A good ensemble show.

The sci-fi element was really well thought through and there were no plot holes or threads left hanging. Everything stayed true to the "rules" that were set for this world. There were quite a few moments I laughed outloud and only a couple of spots I fast-forwarded (either because it felt slow or because the messages were repetitive to what I've seen in other shows).

All of the characters were written and acted like real people (no 2-dimensional caricatures), except for maybe the main character Kawai who was borderline a little shallow as a character. Kawi did have some character development but he was often annoying and rarely acted his age (both in how he was written and acted).

Krist and Fluke (Gawin) have best friend vibes but not romantic chemistry. Fluke was believable as a gay character who is somwhat attracted to Kawi and wishes for more, but it never feels truly reciprocated. Krist has difficulty acting attracted, and the writers and director didn't help by making his character freak out and avoid physical affection apart from a few kisses.

Even after they've been together for many years Kawi seems put-off by touching, teasing, and sweet words. This trend in BLs is so unrealistic, annoying, and frustrating to me. It's like disguised homophobia that is supposed to be viewed as "cute". It's not, and it negatively affects my satisfaction with the series.

There are a couple of catchy songs, one of which I added to my playlist.

Great for one watch but I probably won't see it again.

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Cute & Sweet With Earnest & Thoughtful Characters.

Edit Jan 2024: increased my ratings after re-watching with proper subtitles after the international release. These two boys do actually put effort into communicating with each other, and keep trying even though they are interrupted at almost every turn. I think the only thing that didn't interrupt them was an animal, lol.

A simple but very well done childhood friends to lovers story with good acting, soft cinematography, and no unlikable characters. Lots of mutual uncertainty and sweetness. All angst is resolved by the end.

An easy watch with eight 20min episodes. Also known as "I Cannot Reach You".

In the USA, I first watched it in Nov 2023 with fan subtitles, which were obviously awkward but better than nothing. In Dec 2023 it was released internationally and became available on Neflix and I re-watched it. The proper subtitles made a big difference! It noticeably increased my enjoyment and satisfaction with the characters, their bond, and their efforts at navigating their complex feelings with each other. Though I tried to give the dialogue a pass in my initial review because of the circumstances, I have now raised my rating a full star (to 9/10). I will watch again.

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Great Sci-Fi Idea But No Character Growth.

GENERAL SPOILERS below.
What the hell was the point of what they went through? The relationship arc could have been the exact same even if there had been no cyber lover. You could just jump from 7min into the movie to the last scene because the characters are pretty much emotionally and psychologically at the same point regardless of the stuff in-between. "Happy ending" my foot. *They didn't re-learn to love each other, didn't even put any effort into doing so*, but somehow they're back together at the end anyway. Mutually grieving the loss of their happy early days does not equal a good reason to stay together.

I wasn't able to root for any of the characters because they were unlikable without enough reasons/examples to make it understandable why they were that way. I did end up feeling the most pity for Wen, but that didn't translate into liking, and I really couldn't understand the last couple of choices he made for his own sake at the end.

The ideas in the movie are definitely new and intriguing. That's what kept me watching all the way through. Unfortunately, the exploration of themes felt shallow to me. The main characters started, stayed, and ended sadly reminiscing about the beginning of their relationship. They were stuck regretting that their relationship was no longer like that *without actually doing anything or taking any steps to make it better going forward*. Even at the end! Lots of regret but very little shown of their growth (individually or as a couple). That's what frustrated me the most about this story.

The sci-fi stuff does require a lot of suspension of disbelief but they do an okay job world-building their own rules with what's possible.

The timeline is so unrealistic. It took 2 days to "love" a cyber "person" with no real personality of their own; he was like a 1-dimensional puppy. The story jumps around abruptly and simultaneously doesn't give enough build-up to either the past human relationship or the current cyber one.

There are some hot intimate moments and there is kissing and making out. Unfortunately, the intimacy lacked emotional depth, so it felt flat and unsatisfying to me.

The audio track was really low quality. Most of the time it sounds like listening through a phone call or under water, especially whenever Wen played music. It's bearable, but definitely noticeable. It's so bad I'm wondering if it was an issue with where I streamed it from or if it is indeed the original sound? (Found on GagaOOlala Nov 2023).

Other than the idea of the plot and the decent acting, this felt like a waste of time.

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Lead Actors Are Great, The Rest "Sucks".

Vampire BL. A General Spoiler on the ending only. Acting 8.5, Chemistry & kiss 10, Plot & script 3, Cinematography 5, Music 6, Rewatchability 2.
Pointlessly stupid choices by ALL of the characters at least once, and an unnecessarily sad ending. Left me with an incredulous and irritated "WTF, WHY???" feeling. Most of the contrived angst could have been so easily avoidable.

I can't recommend this unless you are a fan of the lead actors (as I am). Watch them in Roomates Of Poongduck 304 instead, which is a fun and better fleshed-out series. Then after that, maybe watch the kiss scene here as an extension of those characters in your mind. It's at the beginning of Episode 8. I would have found that immensely more satisfying than how I felt watching this whole series. I will say Kim Ji Woong's visuals really work well as a vampire though!

The two leads and their magnetic chemistry with each other are the best reason to watch this very short series. Seven 10min episodes and the eighth episode is 20min. It's obvious why they were cast in Roomates Of Poongduck 304 after this. Their kiss is realistic and full of passion and there's even a brief morning-after scene, which is uncommon in Korean BLs.

The story is very generic and the only surprises are how stupid and unrealistic character choices are. There are also an untenable amount of plot holes because the world building is so poorly done.

There's not enough time spent building up the connection between the lead characters to warrant the deep love they have. The "explanation" of the lead vampire's past, which drives all his current decisions, was barely touched on and left a lot of remaining questions. Like, what lead up to him being in that state in the first place? The female friend, and certainly the male vampire "friend", are arguably unnecessary. The time on them would have been better spent focusing on the emotional and relationship arc of the leads.

Also, MJ Koontz's review is absolutely hilarious:
https://kisskh.at/profile/soundinfinite/review/195237

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Naito Shuichiro Makes It Watchable

Cute premise and starts out fairly strong then becomes less interesting for a couple of reasons. You might enjoy this if you're looking for something kind of cute, awkwardly funny, light & easy, and with one really good lead actor.

The most disappointing thing for me was that the sincerity of character attraction felt one-sided by the actors. Naito Shuichiro acted in-crush then in-love so convincingly. You could see the intensity and depth of emotions in his eyes and his face was full of nuanced reactions. Compared to him, Seto Toshiki felt miscast as the main character. He did okay at the beginning with the simplicity of being in awe of his idol and nervous, but his portrayal of deeper emotions fell flat. He became more and more of a disappointment to me as the series went on. (Also his bleached-orange hair didn't suit his timid/self-conscious character and was distracting; poor judgment on someone's part.)

The story itself became more boring as it started to rely on clichés to keep it going. If it wasn't for Naito I probably would have stopped watched sometime during episode 6 (out of 8).

There were more physical interactions to build tension than there were affectionate ones after the characters fell for each other. I might not have felt the lack of physical closeness as much had Seto been able to match the affection and desire Naito showed with his eyes.

I did think the end credits were very clever as they they showed a little bit more of the background scene with every episode.

There were multiple moments of second-hand embarrassment that made me cringe and want to fast-forward, but I am fairly susceptible to that. There were a few non-cringe comedic moments too.

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Heartwarming, realistically grown romance.

(I rate vertical dramas on their own sliding scale). A vertically filmed, 3 hour drama that focused on the romantic development and progression between the two leads (instead of relying on crazy plot devices to propell the story).
It felt more grounded and emotionally/psychologically realistic than most vertical dramas. The leads are fabulous. Great actors and amazing chemistry together. A very sweet, romantic story with a touching, healthy, and balanced relationship between the two.

The leads felt like 3-dimensional characters. The FL is gentle and earnest but with a backbone. The ML is calm and competent but with vulnerabilities. They respect and support each other.

It had a slow burn feel but with many butterfly-inducing moments, and was extremely satisfying as a a romance. The two actors have been in multiple short dramas together and are very comfortable with each other. There are a couple kisses and intimate moments that are gentle and realistic. Their scenes together often had me smiling uncontrollably, yet it never became overly saccharine-sweet.

There is a 3rd wheel for the FL (the SML is her ex boyfriend), but the FL never waivers once she dumps him for cheating.

The two things that didn't quite hit the mark for me: 1) The ending felt rushed and some secondary/tertiary characters had a change of heart without the story showing much of their process. 2) Right near the end there was a little bit of the crazy plot clichés that are typical in most vertical dramas and it felt unnecessary.

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Fun dynamic between leads as a fantasy (yellow flags IRL)

A vertically filmed micro drama (I rate these on their own sliding scale). General spoilers further down. I thoroughly enjoyed this, but it won't appeal to all. I'll definitely watch again.
The writing, acting, and directing presents everything in a slightly humorous way, which lightens things up and makes the interactions and reactions fun. Both lead actors are fantastic. The ML is extremely domineering and occasionally manhandles the FL but is not violent (no slapping, choking, sadism, etc). He does raise his voice and can have an imposing or threatening demeanor, and the FL is afraid of him in a flustered way. To me, both actors did it in a way that wasn't heavy and both had great comedic timing that played into the fantasy of it without making it feel uncomfortably real. There are some sweet moments between them too.

The FL is super clumsy and shy but earnest, cute, and a good worker, and the ML is sometimes exasperated/miffed yet drawn and attracted to her. He does ask her questions and gives her a chance to explain things in different situations before judging her, which is rare! He grows suspicious over time that she is keeping something from him but continues to give her the benefit of the doubt. He steps in to help and/or save her a couple of times.

This story does multiple things slightly differently than expected (in the micro drama genre).
One of them is that the ML continuously chooses to gives the FL the benefit of the doubt (as mentioned above).
Another is that no 3rd wheel wanna-be pretends to be the woman the ML slept with when drugged.
Another is how the FL acts when drugged; not only does she become aggressive with intimacy, she also gets more dominant with a hazy predator look in her eye (their starting scene is the first time I can remember seeing a FL grab a ML's throat in that way). The two leads have great chemistry and seem comfortable with each other (underneath how they act as their characters). There are multiple moments of sexual and/or romantic tension and a couple great, realistic kisses with small to medium movements.

General Spoilers below:

Expansion of synopsis that sets up the story:
The FL works as one of the ML's assistants and the two of them end up drugged and sleeping together one night. The FL wakes up first and sneaks away. She knows the ML hates women who try to seduce him, so she is comedically afraid that he will think this of her and run her out of town if he finds out. The next day the ML tasks the FL and his main male assistant to find the schemer who stayed with him in the hotel. He suspects that it was manipulated by his stepmother. The FL's best friend, who also works at the company, helps her cover up the evidence (surveillance and hotel workers). Over the course of the story the best friend continues to advise the FL to cover up the truth, afraid of retribution. Thus the lies get bigger and the FL gets more and more flustered, especially as she starts to like the ML.

There is also:
Family debt that the FL is trying to pay off, a contract relationship that slowly turns into more, an unexpected pregnancy (that the FL wants to keep), later in the story there's a 3rd wheel for a bit (the ML's girlfriend from the past who comes back to the country), drugging of the FL and attempted rape, and a kidnapping. Still, for a vertical drama, things don't feel overly crazy. The focus remains on the interactions between the leads.

The ending is sweet, ends with a kiss, and is satisfying enough; it's not long, but it didn't feel rushed either.

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