No Gain, No Love (2024)

A very mediocre drama

To be honest, I expected a lot more from this drama and yes, the only reason why was because the last time I saw Shin Min ah in anything was Hometown Cha Cha Cha which is for sure one of my top 5 dramas ever.

I guess the best way to explain how mediocre it is, is by telling you that I really don't care at all about the two main characters. I don't care about them individually and I don't care about them as a couple. The only reason why I'm still watching it is because of the side couple. That's really it.

To me it feels like that they are just trying to do too much instead of doing one thing well. The premise of the female lead getting fake married because she realizes that she's losing out on being single could work great if it were a very lighthearted drama (think Business Proposal), but instead they decided to mix this with serious topics such as abuse, children being abandoned by their parents, the foster care system etc. which just doesn't work.

There are very very few dramas out there that are able to cover tough topics well and still make a drama that is very light & bright at times - and this drama surely isn't one of them.

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This drama will definitely grown on you so...don't come to conclusions just by watching 1st ep..

Directly going into the details........This drama is written in such a modern way, a non offensive way and the way the sibling trio talk about sex like it's nothing is very funny and insightful I should say. At first I only rated it an 8.5 but after watching half the drama my expectations are increasing and I am liking this drama even more.

The plot is quite unique. The first four episodes effectively cover the synopsis on MDL , and I’m eager to see how the story unfolds and how the leads come together.

The portrayal of FL's character, her relationships, and the reasons behind her breakups - all these things are portrayed very well. Even the reasons(for breakups) and justifications give by the FL seem so relatable and you can't find any flaws even if you want to. The office rules portrayed in the drama seem reasonable given the explanations provided. I have no issues with the actors and the acting. Initially, Ji-Uk’s wig and glasses were a bit distracting, but from ep 5 I have no complaints regarding this.

Now coming to SML with whom most people are concerned about.....trust me he is also one of the most likeable characters in this drama. And I feel that he is not as dumb as he seems to be in the drama. At first I felt that his character could have been improvised a little bit and they could have made a competition b/w ML and SML but yeah I totally trust the writers in this and I am more eager to know how their relation unfolds.

Now I am pretty sure that the SECOND LEADS are growing on me so much. I thought it was very cringey when they first met, but after episode 5, I no longer feel that way..............and I am more than looking forward to "The CEO's Menu" their exclusive drama <3 3

Last but not the least, a standing ovation to the production and the writing team and the actors. I definitely (really) needed this kind of k-drama after all these years of watching asian dramas.

Overall, I would like to say that just by watching the first episode if you feel like this drama is not for you or you're not interested in watching the further episodes - I will definitely say you really are missing out on such a wonderful drama.

PS: I don't see any reason why someone shouldn't watch this drama.!!!

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we need more rom coms like this

Viewers comments
"this drama is the definition of cliches done right"
"contains the perfect balance of ROMANCE and COMEDY"
"The best romcom since business proposal"

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This entails the story of a woman who doesn’t take NO for answer. She HATES wasting time and she’s going to find a way to get what she wants. She realises that in order for her to truly achieve her goals and ambitions, she has to be a married woman.

This drama depicts the world of corporate Korea as a place that only hands women benefits and opportunities if they are married to a man. It addresses the misogyny of the workplace while, of course, doing it in a comedic way.

The female lead grabs the first suitable man she can find, who turns out to be the cashier in a convenience store. But, is there more to him?

1. Plot/Storyline: 9/10
The story line had the potential to be an absolute disaster. I mean a fake marriage? This could have gone downhill really fast, especially because it’s a popular trope in the romance world. However, this is where the writers/producers vision really comes to light. They executed this perfectly. From the lines, to the sound effects, each scene was crafted to perfection.

2. Acting Performance: 9.5/10
I honestly thought that the pairing of this ml and fl may have been award. But they have insane chemistry. I think it’s safe to say the male lead was made for romcoms.
The side characters, such as the female leads younger sister also really know how to portray emotional depth. Key emotions such as "betrayal" and "sadness" were expressed almost to perfection.


3. Direction: 8.5/10
Although you can half expect what direction the story line will take most of the time, it depart bore you. It makes you wait in anticipation. And they have a way of throwing in unexpected scenes (eg: the end of episode 6). Like I said, cliches done right.

4. Cinematography/Visuals: 9/10
I love the brightness of this show. It definitely uplifts your mood and it’s a great way to unwind after a long day.

5. Script/Dialogue: 9.5/10
The script flows naturally. Even when they have to say “cringey” things, it doesn’t feel forced or awkward. It’s cute and makes you feel giddy.

6. Character Development: 8/10
The writers managed to show us the dynamic of these three women who are indeed "friends by chance, sisters by choice". They came to know eachother through a foster mom. But, they chose to work hard at loving each other.

7. Pacing: 10/10
Honestly love how straight to the point the storyline is. The confession was at a perfect time and there really is no beating around the bush. They cut the bullshit and didn’t give us unnecessary scenes.

8. Entertainment Value: 9/10
Description:** How entertaining or enjoyable was the overall experience? Did it meet your expectations?

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Favourite moment:
The entirety of episode 6. This is the PEAK of romcom.

More like this:
Business proposal
Strong woman do bong son
Perfect marriage revenge
Marry my husband
What’s wrong with secretary Kim
Her private life
Sh**ting stars

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one of the best dramas of 2024 - highly recommend to binge! ✨

My life-mantra is "life is too short to waste on bad, draggy dramas" - this drama is definitely not one of them.

It has been a while since a drama has been able to balance multiple themes, great acting, story, pacing and entertainment so well in a crisp format of 12 episodes. The closest that comes to my mind would be Business Proposal and I can see many other MDL users citing the same. Breaking it down for anyone still debating to watch it:

❤️ Story:
✦ contract marriage and fake relationships are nothing new, but the writers took a cliche plot & gave it a great re-packaging.
✦ it had every right ingredient in the right amount: comedy, romance, mystery/crime, heavy messages, bromance, chaebol drama
✦ the focus was on main and second leads, but even the supporting characters held their own, blending into the main plots seamlessly

❤️ Acting:
✦ Shin Min-ah [FL] - this the first drama of hers that I was able to complete. She is charming and fierce as her role demands, and vulnerable beneath that tough exterior as we progressed in the drama.

✦ Kim Young Dae [ML] - I'll be honest when I first saw him on Extraordinary You and Penthouse, I thought that he has a great voice and has the acting chops, but he might not be taken seriously and get stereotyped. But am loving the journey this guy has had - while many might still see him as a handsome face - this guy's voice and face is able to deliver such a wide range of emotions, that it seems unbelievable that he had debuted just a few years ago. I have always been a fan and eager to see him on-screen, so I know only good things are on his way.

✦ Lee Sang Yi [SML] - Saw him last in Hometown Cha Cha Cha and My Demon, where I did took note of his acting, but the roles were too small to make an impact. Bloodhound too was a different genre - but this guy is super hilarious, and this drama showed how! His clumsy CEO act, to the serious face, bromance, BL-hints and romance were just too good. I think because of his antics a lot of people were more focused on the ML/SML Bromance and second-couple romance storyline. No wonder we are going to have a spin-off, cause we just can't get enough of Team #BokGyu

❤️ Pace:
This is really a make or break for me while drama-watching. Given I have limited time, I prefer watching dramas that are crisp, on the point and keep me hooked. I am not patient enough to hope that a story will get better and drag myself through episodes. If it is good, it will have my interest from Ep 1, in fact probably the first 5-10 minutes. This drama was of 12 episodes, which already piqued my interest and further it landed a good punch/hook as you'd like to call in every episode, making me want more and wait eagerly for the next episode. This is what I personally prefer - and not a single minute is wasted or is boring. In this aspect this drama is definitely a 9/10 - which is very, very good.

⭐Special Note: Applauding the Crew BTS:
[1] Everyone actor played their characters as if it was them IRL. While I appreciate the individual talent, I think a lot of appreciation should go towards the writing/direction since their work in the background gave the actors the chance and space to deliver their roles so well!

[2] Character and Plot Development - delivering some heavy messaging well
The writers, directors and other involved - managed to showcase some delicate aspects of the story really well, like: sisterhood, unwanted pregnancy, polygamous relationships, brotherhood, abusive parents, dynamics at foster homes and orphanage. It is very difficult to find that empathy to show these aspects in the right light - as too little, or too much can give a bad experience to the viewers. So really hats off to the makers of the show!

Overall: Highly Recommended to Binge ❤️
One of the best of 2024 in my humble opinion, you'd not regret watching this for sure!

I really cannot point out any bad parts in it - the only one would be that at times I liked the second couple's story more interesting than the main's. And the last episode maybe - it was not as entertaining as the others previously, but that is okay as it was the finale and that is meant to tie all loose ends and give us the happy ending. So no complaints - I give it a 9/10 which in my ranking system is an "Almost Perfect" drama!

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ultimate sweet rom-com shouldn't be missed!!!

this drama is one of the most ever valuable and high level performed rom-com for this year and among all the comedic korean dramas ever seen, it was unexpectedly so good to watch it as I enjoyed every single moment through all the show that I didn't want it to finish so early as it was a successful choosed cast of actors for all the characters in this story were top notch in acting that I am so glad to give it a try being truly worthy to watch and being pleased with the progression of story and the amazing funny scenes that were accomplished in a great and outstanding way with no any boring times and being flawless that I didn't skipped any scenes giving an excitement to stay focusing on the screen!!!

shin min ah was the star of this show and I think she carried the worthiness of the show with her facial expressions that are most suitable for funny roles, it was the first time I watch a drama for this actress and heard that she was so good in previous dramas so wanted to try it as from the poster she seems to have a charisma to make this drama one of royal korean rom-com and really just seeing her from the first scene wearing these socks at the wedding of her ex made her looking so funny that I wanted to know more about this interesting character, though son hae young is a character written on the premises of being calculative and materialistic wanting to benefit from every single chance as she suffered from her mother and that foster home her parents opened for not getting enough care but in the core hae young is the best to protect and loving her foster sisters when she can't give up on gathering them under her care being concerned about every problem facing her two adoptive sisters so the character of hae young is lovely and strong, always being honest and stealing the spotlight through all the show!!!!

I think one of the most funny scenes that shin min ah portrayed was when she attended the wedding of her ex, indifferent for the fact of being his wedding and taking pictures in the foreground besides the groom and brides and donating money as a congratulatory for their wedding was a strong start of the drama showing the firm and amazing funnily personality of hae young in addition how kim ji uk proposed to hae young in the part time market job bringing her a bunch of her jelly packets she liked the most!!!!

kim young dae's character was for the first time the most successful one cause I am used to see him a cold and ruthless person with repellent facial expressions in his two dramas moon in the day and the forbidden marriage that I hated every character he played but I was wondering how he will look in a new unusual role for a rom-com and regarding many watchers praising his role so here was the surprise, alongside shin min ah together they shined as a beautiful and amazing couple in this drama, their chemistry is the most firing and attractive among the noona romance ever seen so I liked all the scenes including these two actors and kim ji uk appeared to be mysterious for hae young but I empathized wity his character being abandoned by his parents and being bornt out of wedlock and raised by his grand mother so son hae young and her mother lee eun ok gave him the real meaning of being among a family even though it was a fake marriage but surprisingly I liked the character of kim ji uk as much of liking son hae young, so the first leads was so outstanding and marvelous adorning the screen while watching them all the time!!!!

han ji hyun portrayed the character of nam jae yeon the lovely and friendly girl, though always being smiling this girl was unfortunately insecure from a hidden and dark part she lived under the aggression of her unjust and evil father and her mother whom abandoned her but I was glad to see the warmth hae young gave to her adoptive sister caring about her and sharing the same house so this strong bond between female leads though shaked sometimes was so good and worthy to watch!!!

lee sang yi portraying bok gyu hyun is an amazing second male lead to mention him importantly as his entered the life of jae yeon in a funny way but he was a healing character for her, falling for her unexpectedly while they started on bad term in their first encounter when he was attacking her novels but the progression of their relationship was so fantastic from enemies to lovers they added more beauty to this rom-com alongside the first leads!!!

I liked the most among this drama the episode 11 was the turnpoint that made me rating it 10 when I started with 8 then 9.5 but couldn't stand just to give it a complete mark still seeing the amazing acting of han ji hyun when really portraying the role of the girl being afraid from her evil father and screaming in his face and the scene where bok gyu hyun hurried for saving her from the grip of her criminal father and how son hae young though knowing the father of nam jae yeon being the killer of hae young's father, she couldn't gave up on her foster sister cause jae yeon is innocent but their sisterhood was stronger than anything could be happening to shake it!!!

the scene of hae young letting ji uk going in his way for not being restricted in this fake marriage was so painful for both of them but the end shown that no matter it takes long time being separated their true love will make them being together again cause they are needing each other at every moment...

the annoying scenes for me was when hae young discovered that kim ji uk was one of the last forster childs her mother raised him, she threw a tantrum over it as she shouldn't did it when it wasn't his guilt to be abandoned by his parents and the scene of bok gyu hyun wanted to firing kim ji uk from the company just for being his half brother and illegitimate child of his father and how that affected hae young to be fired too and first leads were forced to divorce for her to stay in her position at work but all these events vanished when didn't lasted for a long time as the story was carrying beautiful and magical moments to fix all the problems happened between all characters to bring ultimate sweetness while watching it so it is deserving 10 with merit that shouldn't be missed!!!!

I liked all the support characters especially ahn woo jae who though cheating on son hae young but he was a great character added but his facial expressions were so hilarious and liked the scene how hae young dumped him being so powerful in addition to kwon yi rin who was so lovely and amazing character and cha hui song the adoptive sister of hae young acting so good to portray what is the meaning of real family though not being blood related!!!

episode 12 though was saddening at the start when running the funeral of hae young's mother and being painful moments but it was so impressive to see a relastic acting for hae young whether being funny or sad but as this drama is titled to be a rom-com so the funny side of the story didn't leave it till the last moment of the drama!!! it was so smart after adding grief moments to the story how the funny side was included again to not make a melancholic ambiance in the final so that twist was so greatly done!!!!

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it's just boring. i mean, if you have time for a mindless watch , then go ahead.

Kim Young Dae. i really want to like one of his projects, but most of them bank on the characters telling him "WOW you're so good looking". I gave him a chance in "moon in the day" drama. that one was boring too. the only one i liked from him was "the forbidden marriage".
I'm not sure if he's getting cast in the wrong things, but i need to see something better from him.

I actually think the female lead carried this drama. She was just..more entertaining to watch.

the side characters plots are boring. and provide nothing to the storyline.
the ceo of their company gets involved in a scandal with her sister, but she wants to sue him. idk. then her other sister is polyamorous with this older looking dude. I ended up forgetting to even finish this one lmao.

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My opinion only

I love Shin Min Ah, as well as Kim Young Dae, so I was very excited for this one. I was so disappointed. There were too many storylines going on for 12 episodes, but I'm glad there weren't 16 episodes because it was all I could do to finish this.

What I liked:
The second couple. They were so cute together, as well as in the scenes that they had separately.
Kim Young Dae's character, even with the bad haircuts.

What I didn't care for:
-Hae Yeong (Shin Min Ah's character). I was totally getting narcissist vibes from the character at the beginning, which didn't lessen as the show progressed. She was not nice to the ML throughout. I know some had said that she had a right, because of her mother, but I'm not buying that. Sometimes a character redeems herself. This one didn't, as far as I'm concerned.
-Bad kisses by the leads.
-3FL multiple sexual partners, one of whom wasn't exclusive to her either. The latest catchphrase seems to be polyamorous, but a different word comes to mind. Accidental pregnancy, not knowing who the father is. This whole storyline could have been left out and made the show more cohesive.
-Multiple storylines that went nowhere. What happened to 2ML's mom and dad? They had such a big story at the beginning, and it just fell off. What was the point of the 2ML's secretary? He was just irritating throughout.
-All of the sex chatter by the FL which demonstrates that she's had multiple partners. Personally, that really decreases my enjoyment of a "romance".
-The sex talk, the profanity, the sexual innuendos - for me, this was all very off-putting. I have been watching K-dramas to get away from all this stuff.

Again, this is just my personal preference, but considering that I love to binge-watch shows, I could only manage one episode a day and was reluctant to continue thereafter. I just found too much unlikeable about it.

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What every rom-com should inspire to be like, watch and learn people!

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DISCLAIMER:
---> this is all my own opinion
---> im writing this review mostly to remember
why i liked it, but if my review makes you start
watching this, then i hope you enjoy it as much
as i did!
---> writing reviews is not my specialty, so don't
expect a thorough, well thought out and
written review, this was all written in the midst
of my excitement.

Edit: if you find question marks in random places, they were emojis, but for some reason theyre not showing up and are showing up as question marks instead

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I went into this drama wjth no expectations, and it was the most pleasant surprise!

Hae young was such a refreshing fl, a modern, progressive career woman who hates losses. I loved everything about her, she was so cool. Her ambition was so admirable, and i loved that she wasn't 'innocent', the flashbsck scene with her 'battery' ex was hilarious, when she grabbed a bunch of condoms and told him he better last this time, and how she owned sex toys with no shame (not saying that is something to be ashamed about, just that you never really see things like that it kdramas).
Shin min ah truly brought Hae young to life!

Honestly, i am not a fan of Kim dae young AT ALL! Ive watched him in Extraordinary you, Shooting stars, The forbidden marriage, Moon in the day and Perfect family, and ive hated his performance in ALL of them and hated all these dramas except Extraordinary you, because he wasn't the main focus, so i was like "nooo, please not him again" but i gave this a go for our cutie patootie Shin min ah, and omg, he exceeded my expectations. Im still not a fan of him, but i would be lying if i said he didn't impress me in this. Hopefully his future performances will be as enjoyable as this one, maybe then ill slowly start warming up to him?‍♀️

I LOVED their bickering throughout the series, especially when he was working part time in the convenience store, to everyone, he is Angel Ji Uk and Bhudda, but with Hae Young, he was so cheeky and silly, it was so cute and hilarious?
The "what about our baby" fight infront of the convenience store had me laughing my head off?

The drinking scene and Hae young and Ji uk waking up in the same bed and then Ahn jae hyun sliding up out of nowhere was GOLD??i did NOT expect that AT ALL!

The second couple was SO ADORBSSSS!!!!!?At first, i was questioning how they would work because of the whole hate comments situation, and that one comment that she was very upset about, like would she be able to forgive him?? But when everything was resolved, i was like THANK GOD, because i wanted them together SO BADLY!! Ja yeon was such a sweet character, despite everything that happened to her, she has such an optimistic view of life and aims to live her life to the fullest, a truly admirable character, its no a suprise fuck-gyu fell for her!!?

Onto our extremely handsome, lousy CEO, fuck-gyu- can i just say, that name is fuck-ing hilarious??- my demon, anyone?? I loved how heads over heels he was for our lovely Ja yeon, and that proposal scene and all the photos he took were so cute and romantic, what a DREAMY man?? He was like the perfect fairytale man for our adorable scribbling girl?
His existence itself was the most hilarious thing in the world, the scene where he beats up Ja yeons dad using Hae youngs sex toys- PURE COMEDY GOLD???

Other relationships that really interested me, but i wont go into too much was:
the three sisters, Hui seong, Ja yeon and Hae young, though not blood related, they had such a beautiful bond.
Ji uk and his dads secretary were SO FUCKING PERFECT? their convo where Ji uk was like "are you my dad???" and the secretary was like "dude, im infertile...??" was SO FUCKING FUNNY, I WAS ROLLING?? honestly, i wish they were father and son.
Bok gyu and Ji uk, the brothers from another mother but same father (sorry, i had to??) i loved the start of their relationship, and Bok gyu calling Ji uk 'Lucifer', and then unfortunately, the fathers cheating got revealed, and all that mess happened, but afterwards, they mended their relationship, and accepted each other as brothers which was really heartwarming.

The only tiny downside was that it was SO unfair all the promotions Ahn woo jae was getting, his leeching off of Hse young and the fact that Hae young didn't get her position back and all the credits she deserved.?
I wish they cleared up what happened to him and his wife afterwards, that part was just skipped over.
Also, i HATED Bok gyus and Ji uks father, dirty, cheating bastard?

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The leads got shortchanged

Shin Min Ah absolutely shines as Son Hae Yeong who in the hands of another actor would probably be a very misunderstood character. I love her range from being organically cute without any over acting like in the scene she's munching away on the kimbap with her chair pushed back out view in the car and does her little moo to breaking my heart when she confronts the pain that her parents caused her. Genuine foster parents are very important, but I saw this advice for people considering fostering that it's not a good fit if their children can't handle it well and Hae Yeong who was just a child needed stable homelife that her parents never gave to her. They put their own needs to be saints above their daughter. It also hurt her every time someone who became family would leave her. All she wanted was a stable homelife and to be loved in return, she doesn't even hate the foster kids. She loves the sisters that came back and stayed fiercely. Sadly the show also put the happiness of all the side characters above Hae Yeong.

I loath all the side pairings which also has the worst characters Gyu Hyun and U Jae, both of whom are scumbags who abused Hae Yeong in a professional setting, with Gyu Hyun the creep who both spammed Ja Yeon with hate comments as well as making his secretary do it, demoting Hae Yeong out of spite because she's married to his father's extramarital child and U Jae who dumped her to marry up, creepily stalked her after he's married, and stole her work and keeps failing upward. It's so much worse that the show chickens out and makes it that Gyu Hyun didn't write the worst hate comment, they don't even let his character growth count for anything. He also never rectified what he did to Hae Yeong. He should have given her all the money she wanted for her start-up as compensation. The lip service to the polyamory storyline ends in the most heteronormative way with Hee Sung marrying the one guy and having the child instead of getting an abortion and being the independent person she wanted to be.

I did enjoy Hae Yeong and Ji Uk's romance. He knew who she was, but truly got to know here as they gradually built up their rapport through their interactions at the mini-mart and supporting her schemes. I also like how their first meeting made sense because it's her house that he was staying at and was trying to walk by to avoid her while she was contemplating smoking for the first time and he just so happened to have a lighter which foreshadowed their future as co-schemers turned lovers. He actually looked better with his longer hair, it frames his face very nicely. Ji Uk's story was also swallowed up by the annoying side characters. I would rather see his friendship and brotherly/fatherly relationship develop with that guy that was formerly the Bok family secretary and settle his angst with his birthmother. Hae Yeong and Ji Uk deserved their fantasy ending being happy in love, snuggling with their cat Baby and her with a successful business venture instead of ending on a kiss after reuniting post a long separation.

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Same Contract marriage same illegitimate Son

Nothing new can be found in the story other then people
both leads doing great job
while Side character love line is stealing the show
ML and FL are good to look at but got bored after looking at DE aged shin min ah
CEO and Ja Yeon
i am watching just for them

CEO was doing just fine but his LOSER father has to create some problem by bring his illegitimate son who he claim is deserve to be CEO without even knowing just because he is his sperm out of marriage ?
is it some sort of superpower with all wedlock kids to be talented even in things they never did
ML has been a part time worker now he is a intern
but shitty chairman think he is capable of being a CEO just because he is born out of wedlock from a road side adulteress woman ?

and what was his WIFE reaction cutting plants ? is she adult or a 5 year old child ?
kick that old shit out of windows
from what i got, it seem company is from her fathers side so
how is that whole company shares are given to son in law ?
do she did not hold any stake in her own company and CEO can be kicked as his father wish ?
they are showing a big building but it is a small family own shop ?
if mother hold majority stake in that company then she can kick her husband and his wedlock kid out
why she is being a Idiot ?
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That old bastard has been threatening his son like that and now he will put a kid he had on street at the top of there family business and they are just throwing some plants ?
JUST because wedlock kid is ML its all right

ATLEAST WIFE SHOULD CUT his BALLs
In real life situation CEO would have beaten the shit out of his fathers ass and would have kicked him from windows of real

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