Shy

Tbh looking at their BTS videos, they actually have quite a nice natural chemistry together. Unfortunately, it's very much underutilised by the writer who have a tendency to 'jump the gun' and wrote their scenes without implementing any proper build up to justify their budding relationship. Even natural chemistry will not able to cover up such a jarring script. But even so, I'm still somewhat enjoying the drama despite my qualms with it. Somehow, I've come to appreciate the littlest of things. The writing may not be great but I like the actors, characters, soundtrack and am intrigued by the overarching plot. Heck, I've even come to appreciate Gong Chan in the recent episodes and he's a character which I find to be lackluster in comparison to the overly complex Soo Jae. Now though, I find him to be a very much needed character that represents hope, kindness and warmth against the dark turmoil of Soo Jae's life. His existence is needed in order for Soo Jae to survive. & I don't mean survival in a physical sense but mentally and emotionally. & I've come to realise and appreciate that. Yes, I may be disappointed by the writing but I'll still be sticking around because somehow I've come to actually care for the characters. & I sincerely wish to witness justice being served and for the characters that deserve their happy ending to receive it at the end.

You see, that's where I think you might have misunderstood about what I meant in my statement. I wasn't comparing his looks to LJK just to defend him. I was insinuating that he reminds people and myself a lot of LJK and thus it wouldn't make sense for him to be supposedly unattractive. Their visuals have a similar vibe and it's attractive in my opinion. But as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and his looks may not be everyone's cup of tea. I disagreed with your argument that it's because people have seen him pre-surgery to justify him not being as good looking because we're talking about his present visuals and most viewers wouldn't know nor care about what he looked like previously. & honestly, he's not exactly a superstar level celebrity whereby everyone knows his business from past, present and future. If we were to use past visuals to justify a person's attractiveness then wouldn't half of the industry be considered as unattractive?
I do want to apologize for my rudeness though because it's frustrating if someone isn't getting my point and is twisting my words to become something negative that is being said against an actor which I equally adore just the same. All I'm saying is that my statement was not to be read literally and is simply a figure of speech to explain why I find HIY attractive and that he has similar features as LJK. It really isn't a bad thing and is a compliment for both and wasn't meant to be an insult for one or the other. So I was caught off-guard by your reply and didn't quite understand how my statement can be seen as something negative.
Anyways, the concept of figure of speech do have the tendency to just go over a person's head if the context behind it wasn't fully understood so I guess I don't fault you for that. It happens, no big deal. No hard feelings here, so let us just move on. Both are great actors who are attractive in their own ways and should be valued more for their talents, skills and personality rather than their outer appearances. I think we both would agree on that. Cheers!

Sigh. Reading comprehension is a thing, you know. It's called figure of speech by comparing one thing to another in a form of irony because I disagreed with what was being presented as him not being good looking when he is just as good looking. It's meant to be a compliment FOR BOTH. My god. How thick can a person be. Have you never complimented anyone before? Have you never said to anyone that they look like a certain person before? No? The only reason I brought up your beloved LJK is because people were saying that they looked alike in the first place! It's a KNOWN fact and it's a compliment for both! Unless you live under a rock. Urgh. Maybe please just read and not be so unnecessarily defensive for your faves next time? It's hella annoying. NOT ONCE have I ever disregarded LJK. In fact, he's one of my favourite actors. You're just being overly condescending and sensitive over something that isn't even a big deal.

PS I have a life. I don't log in to my account on a daily basis and so I could only reply to people when I'm actually logged in for the day.

So true. The writing is imbalanced. Which is why the flow/pacing seems all over the place. Viewers can't help but to sometimes feel disconnected from the story. It's a bit of a shame.

Like I said. Your defensiveness is rather misplaced and your argument has no correlation whatsoever to the point I was trying to make. You were taking my comment out of context seeing it to be something negative for YOUR oppa when it was not even supposed to. Now, move on.

Like I've mentioned before a few weeks ago, this show honestly has an interesting plot but some aspect of the writing is sorta weak? Some of the dialogs and scenes written are kinda weird and out of place sometimes. Especially when it comes to the romance aspect. I don't know if the writing is to be blamed or the directing or even both. All I know is the actors did their best with the material they've been given. My compliments to both Seo Hyunjin and Hwang Inyeop. From what I see, writer definitely excels in writing plot-driven scenarios but severely lacking in writing a character-driven storyline.

Although I do have to say that Ep 9 & 10 got better. It has a better flow. Their romance doesn't feel too out of place. Or maybe I just got used to it. LOL. It's such a shame because it would've been SOOO GOOD if the writer had established a nice build up to their relationship from the beginning and just let it flourish naturally as the episodes progress. It would've done wonders for their chemistry as well. To let it grow onscreen naturally. The only reason why some people don't see the chemistry was because there was no proper build up to their relationship. The writer did not bother to establish that. It was like having two people who were on a blind date and trying to push them together and say 'now kiss' based on their positive feelings on a first conversation. That's what it felt like and that's why some of their scenes just felt so out of place. They had very limited scenes with each other to begin with so when the writer 'forcefully' insert 'romantic' scenes, it felt so off. But I guess I've come to embrace the writer's weakness in writing romance plots and so I'm alright with the romance now and accept it as it is while imagining what could have been. Hahaha.

Ep 9 & 10 are also the episodes where we are finally introduced to Gong Chan properly lmao. I swear I felt like I don't know him at all in the first half of the series. Another reason as to why some people are not able to connect with him and find that he's boring. It's because we don't even know him! Neither do Soojae, truth to be told. He felt so much like a background character despite being a male lead. That is another mistake which I felt the writer have made. His internal dilemma when it comes to his identity and the whole mystery about the death of his stepsister should have been brought up and introduced earlier on. So that we could actually get to know his character and establish his position in this story. I felt like I know more about the villains than I know him and that's not how it's supposed to be. He may not be the titular character but he is a main and therefore need his time to shine as well. If not, then he would not be any different than the other supporting characters in here. I don't know what took them so long to finally explore and elaborate his character set-up. But I guess it's never too late. Episode 11 seems promising and I hope, moving forward, his character will have more involvement in the intricate plot and establish his position as not only an unwavering supporter/lover of Oh Soojae but also a fighter for justice alongside her.

Dang. Everything just went all wrong for Gong Chan in the 2nd half of ep 10. Not to be sadistic but I love it. It means we can finally see him in action and see HIY finally having material to showcase his acting which has been hidden by the script. lol. Yay for character development. FINALLY. What took you so long, writer?!?

I just said he looks like Lee Junki. That's all. Who cares what he looks like previously. I don't get the defensiveness on your part. Lol. Most who are watching won't even know what he looked like before nor care enough honestly. There are plenty of actors and actresses out there who had plastic surgery. It's a non-issue. Move on.

Oh boy. Seeing some negative opinions , I just need to say my piece.

In my honest opinion, HIY acting is fine. It’s just the writing of the character itself that is the issue. It’s the standard good boy character template which nothing much can be done, acting-wise. Would be better if the character was written with more complexity like the female character. I think Hwang Inyeop can do complex characters. He’s done it before and does it quite well. The issue is that the female lead character is written with so much complexity thus making her more interesting so, unfortunately, the male lead character just pales in comparison. Therefore, the imbalance that some were seeing. If he was written with a much more colourful personality, it would’ve been better. It would’ve made their interactions with each other much more fun and less awkward. Right now, his character is just the standard cute and kind younger guy whose attention is only on the female lead and that is all. Which, honestly, there's nothing wrong with it! We need to have more good non-toxic characters in dramas. But I believe that the writing for his character would get better in the coming episodes. That small glimpse of him being haughty with that CEO guy, Choi Joowan, gives me hope. It's a different side of him so that should make it more interesting. Hopefully we'll get to see more of that.

Also most of the Knetz negative opinions were superficial and were stemmed from them thinking that he’s not ‘good looking’ enough for a male lead. That’s just ridiculous. It’s the same sh*t they do whenever there’s an actor who is not considered conventionally handsome enough for them. Happens with Ryu Junyeol, Kim Woobin, etc. I think he looks exactly like Lee Junki who is very attractive in my standards. Saying that he’s not attractive is like indirectly saying that Lee Junki is not attractive.

Have not watched ep 4. I'll be keeping it for tomorrow. But it seems that there's good response from K-netz for today's ep. They even find the pacing of the loveline to be quite well done in this ep. Better than the prev 3 eps where it felt so forced and rushed and they found today's scenes for the loveline to be just right and balanced with the other things that are going on. Well thank god finally they are warming up to the romance because having to read their negativity about the romance in every single episode was kinda annoying haha. I shall look forward to it.

Yeah. To be fair, the only way to Soojae's heart as of now is to cross the line. Gong Chan wouldn't have gotten any attention if he wasn't as straightforward (he'll just be one of the other law students for her). The way to get someone with a hard exterior and high emotional barrier to open up is to be present. He gives words of affirmation and attention but he was never really pushy about it, really. He was never selfish about expecting her to reciprocate but more of just wanting to be able to let her know his feelings and that's all there is to it. So Gong Chan actually has a really good strategy going on lol

Haha don't worry. This person's just trolling. Although I'm not sure how it will end, I'm pretty sure it would not include any death of the main characters. It's probably a sort of happy ending . Or if it's going for a sadder ending route, it's gonna be more of an open ending (which would be up to viewer's interpretation) rather than a full-on sad ending.

Another great episode. Honestly, everything is really great except for...the fast-paced romance. I wish it was more of a slow-burn romance. It would've been more fitting for the plot and it would've made the romance even more enjoyable and easier for viewers to digest because we all want to be able to root for their love story.
I actually understood Gong Chan's admiration of Soojae because it made a lot of sense. There's a whole back story behind his feelings and she has been on his mind for years. Soojae, however, I don't quite understand how she gave in so easily. It would've been more lovely to see her growing feelings for Gong Chan over a course of time and maybe making her feel conflicted about it. This is just a bit too sudden for me. Hahaha. But I do like their chemistry tho. There's a lot of potential. It's just the suddenness that makes it feel forced. I would've loved for the chemistry to naturally grow as the story progresses rather than being shoehorned in the early episodes. That's the only complaint I have tbh. Other than that, I find the show to be quite excellent.

Moving on, I think that they are hinting that Choi Joowan has something to do with Gong Chan's sister's death/disappearance. To be fair, I don't think we can even conclude that his sister is really dead because they couldn't even find the body. So this is going to be interesting to see how the show is gonna handle that part of the mystery.

Acting-wise, everyone's excellent. Seo Hyunjin is, of course, great at what she does. No surprises there. I think that Hwang Inyeop is doing good as well although I kinda wish that there is more color to his personality written for him rather than the standard good boy who is a supportive love interest. But then again, it's still too early to determine how his character really is. Excited to see how they're gonna flesh out his character as the story progresses. I do love how we got a glimpse of his haughtiness with Choi Joowan. That attitude. I swear I have the same expression as Soojae at that moment lol. Hwang Inyeop does that so well. More of that, please.

I feel like some people come into this drama with the wrong expectations. I guess some were expecting a cute unproblematic romance? Firstly, if you're expecting this, its definitely not the drama for you 😂 This show is supposed to be a melodrama, pretty much lying under the makjang genre. It is most definitely NOT a romcom (which if it is, then I would definitely understand the ickiness of portraying a student-teacher romance). I'm not sure how they marketed this show but it's pretty obvious to me that its a melodrama romance mixed with crime thriller. The writer's previous drama was a makjang so you need to expect this to be one as well. & for those unfamiliar with makjangs, they're usually stories that's set up to have tragic events as a catalyst for their protagonists to develop their characters and plot and it plays around a lot with taboos. In fact, makjangs are very much known to be taboo-filled storytelling. So the whole student-professor taboo is really well within the expectations of a makjang story which in this case is a melodrama romance. The romance isn't suppose to be cute and sweet. It's supposed to be all high stakes, tragic, somewhat forbidden and angst-filled. So honestly, if you have the right expectations and if melodramas are your jam, this shouldn't surprise you. As someone who enjoys melodrama with angst-filled romance and morally grey characters, I'm most definitely in for the ride.

I feel like some people really conveniently forget that MLFTS has this whole professor-student thing too with Cheon Songyi and Do Minjoon being her professor lol. and people were okay with that....

I wish they styled Hwang Inyeop's hair differently. His eyebrows deserves to be seen. He looks so good when his hair is styled or textured.
I'm just not a fan of the sleek coconut hair in general. lol. That sleek coconut hair just isn't it. But Korea and their ridiculous lookism and standards tho tsk tsk. When he is such a good looking guy.

Based on the trailer, it's giving me a I Can Hear Your Voice sorta vibe but a less inappropriate version. Atleast the male lead here, while still a student, is a college student in his 20s (aka an adult) rather than a full-on teenage high schooler lol. Anyways I'll look forward this.

Posted this on Tumblr but I'll post here as well:

Okay so after watching episode 14, now we know that Hong Dushik and Hong Banjang (Chief Hong) are two completely different people. Chief Hong is a persona that he presented to others to hide the dark parts of himself. While Hong Dushik is the real him which he is desperately trying to hide with a mask.

According to Carl Jung, “the persona is obedience to expectations; it is the mask one wears to convince himself, and others, that he is not an altogether bad person. But one cannot go beyond the persona until he has incorporated into his character those darker character traits, this being the ‘shadow self’.”.

So when I rewatched the first episode and the ending scene where he introduces himself to Hyejin and he introduced himself not as Hong Dushik but as Chief Hong (his persona), it suddenly clicked on me that the scene has an even deeper meaning than just a simple introduction of his character.

There’s definitely a significance as to why Hyejin is still not calling him by his real name. Because she still does not know the real him yet, with emotional scars and all. The real Hong Dushik is still hidden behind a facade he created because of guilt. The only time she said his real name was when they exchanged their ‘I love yous’ because that’s where we can actually see a glimpse of the real Dushik with his vulnerability and sincerity.

Wait! It was about his wife? Omg i didn't realize that :( No wonder that particular song seems to mean a lot to him.

I'm definitely gonna rewatch it. In fact, I've already made plans with my bestie to watch the show during our staycation. hahaha. My best friend isn't much of a k-drama watcher but she ended up watching this and she loved it so much. In fact, she's head over heels for Kim Seonho right now. LOL

Nah this place used to have positive vibes and should remain so. Where did these few salty commenters came from? LOL. Thank god we have sensible people here to shoot those unnecessary comments down.

Anyways show is ending next week and I'm not ready to let go. Watching this show every weekend was my happy pill. They really meant it when they said that this is a healing drama.