SunOh

To begin with, Lee Soo is one of the best male leads ever written. Fairy tale metaphors, landscapes, discovery of Seoul through teamwork and different jobs (photography and calligraphy), stages of life and love (school, adults), beautiful quotes, timing, coincidences and missed opportunities, family relationships, FL's own issues (in the end it was more about her, but Soo stayed patient and worked on himself, but that never means he has to change his whole personality and I hate when people think that way - he is not bad, and they are also just ignoring the lonely cocoon he's created for himself - what he lacked was self love and the vision he had of relationships was from his divorced parents), complex SFL, great contrast with the SML (simple, kind CEO character, his job had to do with literature), his own backstory and his relationship with FL being sort of a contract, creating new opportunities despite being too late, both halves of the drama divided by a turn of tables, fresh take on tropes, 3rd couple and overall "group of friends" story. The best part was the ML's story because of how real it is. I got insanely attached to him, the way he cared about Woo Yeon (her name literally means destiny) for her dreams and I loved how The Little Mermaid was referenced through him. Ong Seong Wu is also my favorite actor since then, I love the OST titles here and he did a song for his character that's so sentimental, the OSTs were always perfectly placed in the drama. Anyway, Lee Soo was just a kid, nothing nearly as bad as what some people want you to believe.

"I don't take photos of people and myself", this was the beginning of his story. He actually gave me inspiration to take photos on my trip at the time I started watching it, haha. Overall, this drama is a slow-burn character study so it's important to be patient.

The moment I fell in love with this drama was the end of Ep 6, where my disappointment turned into fascination and crying my heart out because of Lee Soo. Afterwards, he really became the star of the drama. What I thought was a ridiculous cliché was just so beautifully done and thought-out. I was literally still on my trip, and I barely slept that night. I also remember I watched his short movie "Seong Wu is Alright" and loved it.

P.S. Ong Seong Wu actually likes photography, so of course he took the role.

Quotes:

"But life is a series of exchanges. No one can control them. The only thing that should have been different is not what happened. It's this feeling that I became aware of far too late."
"A missed opportunity turns into regret. If there are no more opportunities to miss, I will make sure to create them myself."
"In a world of misunderstandings, it's dangerous to make assumptions about others. So you should ask the question yourself. You should hear the answer directly."
"Love must touch someone's inner confidence. Then, love will not be dragged away by the other person, but will draw the other person towards you." - from a book's quote at the end

Lee Soo's father to him: "(When couples break up) A man becomes friends when feelings remain, but a woman becomes friends when they have no feelings left."

When Lee Soo asked his divorced mother to consider getting back together with his dad: "Son, do you know what is the most important thing in a long-term relationship? The memories. Your dad and I had good memories, but we have more painful ones. I have no confidence in overcoming those bad memories."