sachapz

The ML’s father is an extremely controlling husband (they described his psyche as “pygmalion syndrome”). In an attempt to break her chains/ let out her frustration, the mother has an affair when the ML was around 15 or so years old. One day the father finds out about the affair and decides to take revenge in the worst way possible. He forces the ML to watch through a window while his mother is having intercourse with her partner…and then still while he is watching through the window horrified, the father enters the house and surgically removes the man’s pen*s. The ML had no choice but to watch everything happen.

Being so young, this mentally scars the ML to the point where he believes that sex is equivalent to pain and destruction. This is why he hates sex and cannot “perform”-since he’s haunted by those flashbacks.
At the time he was also too young to realize how controlling his father was so he couldn’t really understand why his “happy” mother chose to betray her family so this too distorts his perception of love and relationships.

To make things worse, the day this happened, he was supposed to meet the FL on their first date. Since he believes that he too could hurt her like how his parents hurt eachother, he disappears from her life until they reunite 10-12 years later.

Back when it was first aired, Yi Fan too got a lot of hate for it too but I guess after they revealed the real depth behind her trauma, some viewers toned down a bit.

Also, given everything that’s been happening, it would be a wonder if Yeorie actually had the time to solve spooky murders while being a full time CEO, part time investigating the art fraud, balancing her disfunctional family, and dating Ma at the same time🙈

TMAI -it’s kind of funny reading OP’s post since most of the time, viewers tend to complain that the ML actors are hogging most of the press glory while FL actresses are being robbed, losing the attention they deserve. In this case he’s being bashed for stepping back 🤦‍♀️

I love how Mariko's emotions were portrayed throughout ep 6. The transition made use of her back story really well.

At first she is flattered and even seriously considers accepting him while being oblivious of the "creepy" factor. Since we know she was alonely kid growing up and also has trust issues with partners since most don't love her for her, the idea that the young, intelligent guy she was already having a crush on has been secretly in love with her for 25 years sounds dreamy. Even better, he's also her "hero" from her youth. But the more time she spends with the real him, the faster reality hits her. Quite curious to see how things will unfold in ep 7.

On the other hand, it was also quite ironic how the two (the MC's closest friends) who inititally recognized the creepy factor behind Sota's love now envies him since they too are now falling in love with eachother.🙈

Ep 6 will give you more insight - there’s a reason why they added the “old pervert”😅

Haha no worries! Thanks for the detailed feedback - I didn’t get a chance to check it out yet 😊

Have a lovely day too!

PS: I just realized the MC in this drama is the same as the MC from The Road to Splendor and it’s my current C-obsession. So your timing is perfect!🤭

Exactly! Zhou already got the Fu family’s blessing from the one person that matters anyway - her mother. She definitely values him as a person and truly appreciates him for him. The father should just do the kingdom a favour by finding an even more isolated place.

No - the ML just has PTSD that’s connected to sex but he is trying to overcome his fears.

The drama is interesting as they deep dive into the psychological aspects related to intimacy and relationships. They also try to keep the story as professional as possible while having it’s own mix of both light hearted and tense moments. Quite a fresh perspective.

However, if you are somebody who is uncomfortable about this topic, it might feel uncomfortable at times.

I thought he was dead for the first 10 or so episodes since nobody even bothered to mention his name during the scandal🤦‍♀️

At this point it's not just Tingyun.

The fact that she still looks lovely but misunderstood Madam Yu's gift is just 🙈🙈🙈🙈

Good one 🤣
Even the disgusting men sniffing after her eventhought they know about Zhou is so on point🙃

That’s true! I feel like after mid 2024, the number of K-romcom dramas that are truly captivating decreased every year. The 12 episode limit further hinders this. I just wish if they could tone down with the million tropes they need to push in every drama - or at least execute them properly 🫠

There have been a few good dramas though during the last few months so there’s at least hope 🤞🙈

Given how she reacted with the final result, Madam Yu might have orchestrated it to test the couple? The objective wasn’t elimination but rather sow a little discord between them/ their image.

Awww thanks 🙈
I just found JYJ's speech interesting. It almost felt like the screenwriter was throwing shade at the "romantic bleeding heart ML" thrope

Now that you mentioned the time difference, that too makes a lot of sense! 🙈

Haha I've always found it amusing how in "modern day" drama land, all communication tech just stop working after they have to move without giving any effort at all🙈

2. Love triangle-
it's not really a love triangle. More like "a ghost from your past" scenario? The FL's Ex from uni years joins their movie with a cameo role and the guy causes a little drama in ep 9 since the MC was trying to keep their relationship a secret at the time to remain professional. It's just one episode so it's not that important. Some found him irritating while others found him funny.

Misunderstandings-
there are several misunderstandings between the couples but they get resolved fairly quickly. The main misunderstanding is connected to the MC's first breakup when they were kids in the initial episodes. The ML's dad is an extremely abusive arrogant perfectionist. In order to protect his mum, the ML harshly ends things with the FL right before an important film school entry exam they were supposed to do together (the father was punishing the mum because he didn't want the ML to be in the movie industry). After the breakup, things go extremely wrong for JYJ. Since the catalyst was their breakup, for years, everybody blamed the ML (they were not aware of the abuse the ML went through).


Relationship + Breakup-
I can't remember the exact episode number now but the MC got together by ep 6-8. They breakup again in ep 12 (for half an episode) due to adifference in their future intentions. The FL is in her 30s and wishes to study abroad since she missed her chance when she was young and also because it was clear that her knowledge was too limited to be a director that can support her team and be their for the ML as an equal. The ML on the other hand is already an award winning director. Since he blames himself for part of the FL's misfortune, he's overprotective to the point where he'd do anything for her- it's almost self destructive. This clash in objectives eventually cause their breakup (but they end in good terms). Long distance was also not an option since she didn't want to fall back to their old codependent habits. After a 2 year time lapse, they meet again after she has found her success. They rekindle their relationship and have their happy ending.

The execution could have been handled better but for 12 episodes it's ok.

If you are familiar with the second couple, you might like their story better since it's more fresh and there is a lot of attention given to their story.

My faith in emperors is pretty shaky so idk, for all we know he could cause problems in the long run once he feels Zhou has too much influence🙈

Ngl I expected more emotion (at least micro facial changes) from him when she gave him that back hug in ep 20. As far as the audience is concerned, that was the first time Xie took the initiative to be that intimate right?🙈

Don't forget social suicide. His perfect image was ruined after the scandal. CEO Ahn and Soo Bin's interviews would have made things worse for him.

Now the world knows that he used to have sleezy affairs (and in their social standards, when actresses are involved it's somehow even worse than a normal affair). They also know he pretty much separated a mother from her child and forced his gilted wife to raise him (Ahn's negligence is a separate matter). The way Ahn spoke about him also heavily implies that he was at the very least an emotionally abusive partner so that too is an extra strike. The divorce is the final blow.

So the father may have escaped jail and we don't really know how things are with WSB, but he is living his personal hell.