rationalbeings

Ah interesting to know. I think in this sense they could have deviated from the novel, because to me it felt a little too much like lazy writing. Esp because I felt Gao never truly showed remorse for his actions.

Yup I also felt the contrast in his acting abilities compared to the leads made the show a little weaker. 100% agree with you on the lazy writing for his character arc. When he started bleeding I was literally rolling my eyes because I could see he was going to just be forgiven.

Hahaha I can't agree more!

Agreed! We need to leave this trope in the 2015s. No more of this unnecessary angst I say!

Omg thank you! <3 <3

YES! Second this recc and also NO to falling into your smile. Really bad acting by the FL in that couldn't make it past the 2nd episode.

But Falling into you is such a good noona romance!

I would say more than L&P actually. I think the skinship was better there.

Ending spoiler:

I really really hated the fact that they let Lao Gao get away with everything he did. He basically got a happy ending with no consequences. The cancer thing was such a cliched plot device that didn't fit with the refreshing take the rest of the story has. I know they wanted to show how much the ML has matured by being so close to revenge but choosing to forgive, but this was not the way.

Lao Gao literally doesn't feel apologetic - he just felt bad his life has become a paranoid mess. The writers just brushed away the fact that his actions directly and PURPOSEFULLY led to the death of the sister. His response to that was - he was scared of ML's revenge - but in prison he taunted him with that fact. So it made no sense. They first made him into an almost cartoonishly evil villain only to let him get away with everything! I didn't see the point in that. I would have preferred to see him die or end up in prison himself for a long time. Not happily be shopping with Nana. It all felt like the second half of the drama was just a waste of time for the viewers then.

Also I felt the leads could have gotten back together a little earlier. I really hate it when dramas drag out the separation. They clearly were ready to forgive each other and get back together earlier but to fill up episodes it was pushed to the second last episode. It's the exact same mistake that LLAG made and it also downgraded that drama for me. Writers need to learn to write tighter script or work with less episodes instead of just dragging out a separation.

Ngl the direction the writer took in the end kinda ruined the show a bit for me. But still this is an amazing show and worth almost every minute you give it.

Can I just also say I'm so happy there were NO evil female characters in this drama. All the major female characters were just normal girls. No OTT cuteness, no OTT manipulativeness no OTT clumsiness. It was so refreshing to watch - esp since the majority of the drama takes place on a uni campus! Even when the girls fought it was resolved easily and not dragged out for no reason. You know- like normal girls behave! It was so nice to see that.

Every other youth based drama has at least one manipulative SFL but this had none so congratulations to the writer!

I agree with everyone else- one of the best cdramas to come out this year. Though the plot is similar to almost every other cdrama out there - the difference is the execution. From the script, to acting, to direction and production everything was excellent in this. I really enjoyed this and for some reasons it also left me feeling a little heavy in the end. I think you just get attached to the leads a lot watching this.

The standout in the drama for me is ofc the ML. He brought alllll the charisma and charm to this drama. And he made his arrogance be both appealing yet unappealing at different times. Sometimes you could see the charm in his unyielding superiority and at other times you really wanted to smack him.

The FL also was written and acted brilliantly. She's intelligent, cute but not in a clumsy way, and every though she chases the ML you don't feel like she's ever dumbing her self down. Both the leads had such great chemistry together but (or because of that) I do wish we got more of them actually together towards the end.

Supporting cast was good although there were times there was a little bit of overacting from them. OST amazing and fit in so well with the story.

A couple of things I would have changed (read spoiler below if you are interested) which stops me from giving it a perfect score, but overall you can't miss this drama!

Yup and the reports that so many people in the company + ceo gaslit him for years telling him he was a "minus artists" (meaning not profitable)- like LSG is literally one of the biggest names in the Korean entertainment industry and if he's being told he's not profitable and therefore not owed money, other smaller artists must be selling their blood to pay back these companies.

100% I think the government is culpable too. They are the ones who pushed to export the hallyu wave but did nothing to ensure that the people involved are protected by law. Kentertainment is one of the SK's biggest exports but the government does nothing to protect the aritsts - just uses their scandals of dating to distract the public from political scandals of corruption.

Seriously like her apology needs the world's smallest violin to accompany it. And the fact that other managers in the company gaslit him is so gross and evidence of how deep the abuse was in her company. I feel bad for the other artists in her company but she needs to be kicked off. Unfortunately nothing will happen - just like nothing happened to YG despite the biggest scandal (burning sun).

So over these entertainment companies abusing their artists. Just because you help launch them does not mean they owe you their souls. Korea needs much much much stronger labour laws. It's almost a monthly thing to hear about an entertainment company in SK doing this to their artists. Esp since the government itself has invested so much in exporting the hallyu wave they should ensure it comes with stricter labour laws. Slave contracts may not be a thing in the way they were but they still very much exist and have destroyed the lives of so many talents (B1A4 etc).

Companies should be frightened of any investigations in to back pays- that's how strict these laws should be.

Same- I felt he was soft from basically the 3rd episode. The change was way too fast. In contrast the other Thug Oppa had a better character arc in his own storyline of moving from a miserable person because of his past to a better human.

A heartwarming series that will have your eyes tearing up in every other episode. JCW brings all the feels with Dong Il (a veteran so that's no surprise). Although the romance was good and they had great chemistry it is veryyyy minimal in this drama. Sometimes they felt more like friends rather than a couple. There were times my mind couldn't help but compare it to Dr Romantic since there are similarities in the set up although very different executions.

There were times I felt frustrated with the writing though, I thought there was just too much horror and misery in ML's past- I felt they could have toned it down and achieved the same effect. It took too much away from building the interpersonal relationships that is key to a show like this. Towards the end I felt that two different plots were trying to clash together in one story and it didn't sit right with me. I thought Mr Kang was almost not present in the second half- which isn't great for a drama that is so dependent on the mentor-mentee relationship. I also thought the direction was a bit off. There were times the end of episodes didn't give the punch that it should have.

Despite my complaints - this is still a good watch - esp if you are a fan of JCW.

I can totally see how someone else said this could have a second season with different leads/characters. But I'm not sure how high the ratings were for this?

This was ok. I think the pacing was really off for the drama. A lot happens in the last 5-6 eps, with there being a lot of filler eps before that. It's like the writer just figured out the plot as filming. FL's acting was very stilted esp in crying scenes- ML was much better.

An ok watch if you want something quick- but don't have high expectations.

Cute but everyone's acting needs improving. I liked the second cp's story it was a cute development. I wish the leads had more screen time together, but the FL was probably the strongest cast member in this drama. Seen the ML in previous minor roles in bigger dramas. He still needs more training in acting but isn't bad.

Being super short series this didn't have much character development or in-depth exploration so there were things that felt disjointed.

Overall cute and quick watch.

Recs for short series I enjoyed. (FYI a lot of short series end on cliff hangers because they hope for a second season but are still worth the watch!) :

- A Familiar Stranger (100% rec this one)
- The Killer is also Romantic
- Destined to Meet You
- The Dreamlike Seal
- Seal of Love
- The Queen of Attack
- My Fairy Doctor
- My Bossy Wife
- Stick to the Script (this is more slapstick comedy)
- Secretary Bai wants to Resign Everyday
- Affairs of a Drama Queen

I hope this helps!

Right? Why do you need the extra episodes? Doesn't it cost production more money? Like this drama had entire episodes without the main leads present and things that added nothing to the plot.
What was the point apart from wasting the viewers time?