"Do you hear it? this sound, the flowers sound"

This is not a proper review just my first thought now that I finished it and without spoilers.
Just finished it, it didn't take me long to finish this wonderful drama considering how I had to pause it many times for a short moments to heal of the much sadness and furstrating it gave me(especial in part2). I was struggling to find a TOP K-drama recently, to add to my TOP K-dramas list, but I found what I was looking for here.
I always knew how great diverse actor NGM is, he conviced me in a psycho, evil, comedy, romance, melodrama and action roles. But seeing him in melo romance will always be my favorite, because his eyes say a lot that many other actors can't say with their mouths. He deliver his lines to us through his eyes before openning his mouth. His character here will be one of the most perfect ML we ever had.
AEJ, first saw her on HP she was great, but seeing her as a FL here gave her more space to show her talent, very proud of her performance, it's not easy to show that you're a good actress in front of NGM but she did it. YGC character is one of the best well written characters, she wasn't perfect she had many flows especially her actions at the beginning but she had great character developpement and she is a survivor, strong FL that makes hard decisions and bears the consequences.
The plot wasn't perfect, but it was the closest to perfection that I saw for a while now. It made me care, feel furstrated, angry, sad, happy... and that's more than enough. 10/10 For me.

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'Why didn't I know... How great it was... Why didn't I know then?'

My review will be split to 2 parts since there is two types of people will be reading this. Some didn't watch the movie yet so they are reading the reviews to find out if the movie worth there time or not, I'll give them the answer and why from my opinion of course, and the second type has already finished the movie and looking for words to express what they are feeling right now through other people reviews, I hope they'll find here what they're looking for.
This is my second time watching this movie and my first review ever, I always get lazy and don't write a review no matter how good the movie/drama was, but since it's a movie that I rewatched and I feel like I need to express my feelings, so I think I'm obligated to give it justice. Excuse my English it’s not my first language but I’ll try my best.


PART 1: For those who didn't watch the movie yet. Does the movie worth watching? YES OF COURSE!!! Why? Let’s see why:
1-->If you like Kmovies/Kdramas that revolve around the period of Japanese occupation of South Korea then you must watch this movie because it transmits the vibe of that era very well: the costumes, the songs and traditions... BUT even if you don't like it, you will appreciate its beauty, because the movie is not about the war even though it's set in 1943-1945, no sword or gun fighting scenes as we usually see in this type of movies.
2-->If you like musical movies where the characters sing some beautiful songs during it, then watch this movie you’ll be satisfied, especially when you know that the ones who are singing the songs are the real cast and the piano too.
3-->If you like movies that focus more on the woman than the guy, this movie is for you
4-->If you’re bored from watching a weak, pure and innocent protagoniste as the FL who has received injustice from the world and still not doing anything about it but crying, then you came to the right place. Our FL fights back to destroy who destroyed her no matter what the cost is.
5-->If you are a fan of Han Hyo Joo, then you’re not a real fan until you watch this movie. I can say that this is one of her best performances if not the best one so far from all of her works (acting, speaking Japanese, singing and dancing) and this is coming from someone who has seen 6 movies and 4 Dramas of hers.
6--> The main trio cast has worked “together” before in another beautiful movie ‘the beauty inside’.
7-->If you like revenge movies then watch it.
8-->If you want to know more about gisaeng’s life since we only see usually a shallow view of them in historical Kdramas.

Some reasons why you may not like it or that movie is not for you:
1-->If you are looking for a movie that will shock you from beginning till end you may be disappointed, as the plot summary spoils a big part of it already. But that doesn’t take much from the movie (I don’t agree tho that jealousy is what consumed So Yul, it was basically because of a betray from her loved ones).
2-->If you hate sad movies you may find this movie too dark for you (I’m don’t like dark movies myself, I find them heart breaking but I still enjoyed this one a lot)
3-->If you are here to watch a platonic love story with romantic scenes then sorry we don’t do that here.

So over all I highly recommend this movie, so stop wasting time and go start watching NOW and don’t continue reading as from now on, the review will include spoilers and details that you can read after finishing the movie.


PART 2: For those who has already finished the movie

_STORY 9,5: Not the first time we see a story revolve around friendship, love, jealousy and betray as those words are the topic of many works that we’ve watched in Kdrama land BUT we usually see the story from the point of view of a character like Seo Yeon-Hee, the poor, innocent and talented protagoniste that couldn’t help but falling in love with her best friend’s lover who helped her break free from the gisaeng’s life to have a more meaningful life as a pop singer who sings to the hall country poor and reach ‘heart of Joseon’ and not just to who pay high, and the ML who falls in love with her as a songwriter/producer first and then as a man, and we follow the story of the two as they suffer from obstacles made by people who try to stood in the face of their love and dreams like So-Yool’s character that usually is an evil second FL who feels jealous from her best friend who’s getting everything she ever wanted (singing and love) and tries to ruin their love and life and so we end up sympathizing with the two protagonists and hating the antagoniste. NO NO THAT’S NOT OUR MOVIE, ‘Love, Lies’ gived us an antagoniste FL that we saw the movie by her eyes wish made it special, I couldn’t hate So-Yool for what she felt or did or even blame her, and I definitely couldn’t like or sympathize with the protagonists as they showed no expression of guilt toward So Yool, they only cared about themselves. I guess that’s what I didn’t like about the movie, So-Yool used to be Yeon-Hee’s best friend since they were children but Yeon-Hee still didn’t show any sort of guilt or hesitation when she fell in love with So-Yool’s lover, and the same goes for Yoon-Woo who claimed that his heart only belongs to So-Yool at the beginning, I feel like we needed more from Yeon-Hee’s character at least, plus some scenes felt rushed a little bit I guess that has something to do with the movie time so I think they couldn’t help it. But overall, the story is very well done, I like the fact that So-Yool and Yeon-Hee are two of the last gisaengs in Joseon which give us the chance to know more about Gisaeng, we don’t see that a lot.

_ACTING/CAST 10: All the cast was outstanding and did a great job from the main cast to the support one, I know it’s a good movie when I see Yoo Yeon-Seok in it, same goes for Han Hyo Joo. I only saw Chun Woo-Hee in the beauty inside and I didn’t even remember her until I saw her in the cast, she did a great job and she has a beautiful voice I hope I’ll see more of her in the future. Yoo Yeon-Seok is wonderful as usual, I loved him with the piano too, for Han Hyo Joo as I said before this maybe her best performance, she portrayed So-Yool’s change of character very well from that innocent kind child who started a friendship with a poor girl, then a beautiful woman who dreams of becoming a singer and a wife to the one she loves, and protect her honor as a Gisaeng, to the vengeance version that can sacrifice anything and sell even her body to take back what she believes belongs to her destroying her friend, lover and herself in the process even after more than 40 years she still tortures herself by taking the name of Chun Woo-Hee and her song, I don’t think that what changed her was jealousy because though she saw her friend achieving what she was dreaming of, she kept trying to support her and smile to her but it was the betray that she felt after seeing Woo-Hee and Yoon-Woo together that broke the last hope she had, she wished to be her so badly that she stole her name after all this years. My two favorite scenes of Han Hyo Joo in this movie were that scene when she was trying to sing Heart of Joseon like Woo-Hee while listening to the record and crying, the second is the scene at the end when she finally heard someone praises her song ‘love lies’ and said 'Why didn't I know... How great it was... Why didn't I know then?'.

_Music 10: Beautiful songs and I think what gave them more value is that they were singed by the cast Han Hyo Joo and Chun Woo Hee, I gived it 10 because I listened to ‘Heart of Joseon’ uncounted times.

_Rewatch value 9: This is my second time watching the movie after I forgot a lot of it over the years, I enjoyed it almost like the first time maybe even more.

_ Overall 10: It’s not easy for me to find a Korean movie that match my taste like that. A masterpiece.

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The Kindest Princess, Not the Rebel Princess.

I just finished the drama, and I'm glad I didn't pay attention to the negative comments and gave it a try. It's a solid 9/10. Yes, it had its flaws, but considering the number of episodes, that's expected. It started strong, dipped in the second arc, and then picked up again, which is rare.

People's complaints about the FL being in her 40s and playing a 15-year-old character are understandable since Zhang Ziyi looks her age. However, she was so great as the princess that I can't imagine anyone else in that role. The character needed to appear mature, graceful, and royal for most of the show, and she did that perfectly. From the way she walks to the way she talks, I believed she was a real princess.

Additionally, I would have complained if they had cast her opposite a young ML who looked like her son, but they actually brought in a fully grown-up cast with a strong and manly ML. The couple created such wonderful chemistry too.

I was absolutely mesmerized by the stunning costumes and the cinematic shots that resembled beautiful paintings. Watching this drama was a visual delight.

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When the evil characters are more interesting than the main ones

- **Story/Plot**: 2/3
1. Synopsis (0.25)✅
2. Initial Impression (2eps) (0.25)✅
3. Genre Adherence (0.25)✅
4. Emotional Engagement (0.25)✅
5. Logic (0.25)❌
6. Plot Coherence (0.25)✅
7. Dialogue (0.25)✅
8. Pacing (0.25)❌
9. Character building/Development (0.25)✅
10. Story Richness (0.25)❌
11. Plot Twists (0.25)❌
12. Messages (0.25)✅

- **CAST/Acting**: 1.75/2
1. Lead Actor Performance (0.25)✅
2. Lead Actress Performance (0.25)✅
3. Main Cast Chemistry (0.25)✅
4. Supporting Actors/Actresses Performance (0.25)✅
5. Casting Precision (0.5)✅
6. Character Transformation (0.25)❌
7. Scene Stealers (0.25)✅

- **Directing/Camerawork**: 1.25/2
1. Camera Movement (0.25)❌
2. Editing (0.25)✅
3. Continuity (0.25)✅
4. Visual Effects (0.25)❌
5. Visual Details (0.25)❌
6. Cinematic Tension (0.25)✅
7. Lighting (0.25)✅
8. Flashback Integration (0.25)✅

- **OST (Original Soundtrack)**: 0.5/1
1. Background OST (0.25✅/0.5)
2. Overall OST (0.25✅/0.5)

- **Style**: 0.5/1
1. Costumes (0.25)✅
2. Set Design (0.25)❌
3. Colors (0.25)❌
4. Poster (0.25)✅

- **Ending**: 1/1
1. Closure (0.25)✅
2. Emotional Impact (0.25)✅
3. Logic (0.25)✅
4. Personal Satisfaction (0.25)✅

Total Rating: 7/10 +0 Bonus
>>>>Final Rating: 7/10

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Alchemy of Souls: The door opening for a new K-drama genre

I've been watching this drama since it started airing till the end, what attracted me to it was the fact that it's a fictional land that looks like a mix of Joseon and ancient china, beeing a new fan of historical C-dramas and a big fan of K-dramas for many years, I was happy to see this mixed style. The fact that it's "fictional" gave it freedom to creat a newlook for the characters, costums, hairstyles... that felt unuasual at first, but I got used to it and ended up loving it.
_Naksu's character was so badass in the first episode, the fighting scene was enough to sell the drama for me, the CGI is so cool too.
_Jang Ok's character is the type that I saw it a lot in animes, starts from the bottum and rises slowly while surprising the people who underestimated him.
_Jung SoMin did a wonderful job portraying different characters, she will be missed in the second season.
_I liked the comedy and romance even though there is an age gab between the two main leads, I didn't feel it at all, JSM looks younger than her age and LJW has a mature look, their chemistery was good.
_The few action scenes were so cool.
_Some character's scenes were not needed (definitely not the CP, he was really needed, one of my favorite supporting characters)
_The drama could have been shorter, it was moving too slow in some parts, the events from the final episode could have happend before that.
_The final episode was so cool and I'm happy about the cliffhanger at the end, how can we wait to December? I hope I'll still have interest in the drama by then, and that we will see more of this type of historical fantasy in K-dramas.

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A love that grows instead of vanishing through the years.

- **Story/Plot**: 2.25/3
1. Synopsis (0.25)❌
2. Initial Impression (2eps) (0.25)✅
3. Genre Adherence (0.25)✅
4. Emotional Engagement (0.25)✅
5. Logic (0.25)✅
6. Plot Coherence (0.25)✅
7. Dialogue (0.25)✅
8. Pacing (0.25)❌
9. Character building/Development (0.25)✅
10. Story Richness (0.25)✅
11. Plot Twists (0.25)❌
12. Messages (0.25)✅
- **CAST/Acting**: 1.75/2
1. Lead Actor Performance (0.25)✅
2. Lead Actress Performance (0.25)✅
3. Main Couple Chemistry (0.25)✅
4. Supporting Actors/Actresses Performance (0.25)✅
5. Casting Precision (0.5)✅
6. Character Transformation (0.25)❌
7. Scene Stealers (0.25)✅
- **Directing/Camerawork**: 1.25/2
1. Camera Movement (0.25)✅
2. Editing (0.25)✅
3. Continuity (0.25)✅
4. Lips singing (0.25)❌
5. Visual Details (0.25)✅
6. Cinematic Tension (0.25)❌
7. Lighting (0.25)✅
8. Flashback Integration (0.25)❌
- **OST (Original Soundtrack)**: 0.5/1
1. Opening OST (0.25)❌
2- Ending OST (0.25)❌
3. Background OST (0.25)✅
4. Overall OST (0.25)✅
- **Style**: 0.75/1
1. Costumes (0.25)✅
2. Set Design (0.25)✅
3. Colors (0.25)✅
4. Poster (0.25)❌
- **Ending**: 1/1
1. Closure (0.25)✅
2. Emotional Impact (0.25)✅
3. Logic (0.25)✅
4. Personal Satisfaction (0.25)✅
Total Rating: 7.5/10 +0.25Bonus
>>>>Final Rating: 8/10

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Can a season 2 live up to the first one in a K-drama...? YES IT CAN!!!

Hospital playlist is the first K-Drama that made me wait for a second season for a year, and I was still capable of getting into the mood that it created in S1, ones again as soon as I watched the first ep of S2 as if it never stopped airing. I usually lose interest while waiting for a year.

Why I love this drama and what makes it so unique?
This is one of the few dramas that can make you smile, laugh and cry in the same episode!! And that what it did to me in every single ep this season like it did in S1. No evil characters, no hate, no negative feelings, It can make you live inside it and feels like you are part of it even if you didn't intend to, the episodes are long compared to other K-drama's, because it's 1ep/week, but I felt like they were shorter.

MEDICINE: Between all the medical dramas that I have ever seen, this one is now my TOP1, why? Because it's REALISTIC. While the other Med-Dramas concentrate on making it "spicy" to attract people's attention, and represent doctors as if they are superheros who do all the touches inside the hospital and show their daily life as if it is a daily fight with all kind of rare and dangerious cases with critical surgeries, blood everywhere, dramatic cases with people dying everyday. This drama, and specially in this season, highlighted the job of the whole hospital staff: professors, sheff-residents, residents, internes, nurses, emergency departement, pediatric ICU, security guards...ect, and more than that, this drama gived more space to patients and their accompanists so that you can understand and feel them more, it also gived good medical explication while showing how doctors should explain to their patients what's going on with their bodies.

MUSIC: "Mido and falasol", I'll always remember the hard work the 5 main cast endure to make their band practice scenes look so real, they had to practice on their instruments for a long time just to play songs that don't take more than 3min from each episode. I loved all their performances, thanks to them I have a good playlist that I can play when I miss them:"Hospital playlist".

FRIENDSHIP: I never believed in friendship as something that can bring you happiness, for I'm the type who likes to stay alone, but now I do, if you are lucky enough to find those kind of friends, even one, you should hold on to them and cherish their friendship. I thank the 99's friends for making my heart gets warm just by seeing them together.

ROMANCE: I loved all the couples and shipped them all and felt happy when they got together (though I'm not a big fan of winter garden couple, didn't like their over cute scenes this season), the chemistry was so great and I'm happy that it didn't take more space than it should even though I love romance, I didn't want it to be the only focus in this drama, it's not a rom-com after all so I was satisfied though I wouldn't mind more of it with more episodes.

I was hoping for S3 and still do, the ending left some opened questions and there are events we wanted to see but we couldn't unfortunetly, BUT it's not an open ending, it's more like what life is, Life doesn't end with a happy or sad ending, life goes on until death comes and put an end to it with it's sorrows and joys.

Thank you HP, thanks to Jung Suk, Yeon Suk, Kyung Ho, Mi Do, Dae Myung, director, screenwriter and the whole crew who helped in creating such a beautiful ride, it made my Thurdays special.

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Chemistry on fire??

My rating according to my new rating scale:
- **Story/Plot**: 2.25/3
1. Synopsis (0.25)✅
2. Initial Impression (2eps) (0.25)✅
3. Genre Adherence (0.25)✅
4. Emotional Engagement (0.25)✅
5. Logic (0.25)❌
6. Plot Coherence (0.25)❌
7. Dialogue (0.25)✅
8. Pacing (0.25)❌
9. Character building/Development (0.25)✅
10. Story Richness (0.25)✅
11. Plot Twists (0.25)✅
12. Messages (0.25)✅
- **CAST/Acting**: 2/2
1. Lead Actor Performance (0.25)✅
2. Lead Actress Performance (0.25)✅
3. Main Cast Chemistry (0.25)✅
4. Supporting Actors/Actresses Performance (0.25)✅
5. Casting Precision (0.5)✅
6. Character Transformation (0.25)✅
7. Scene Stealers (0.25)✅
- **Directing/Camerawork**: 1.25/2
1. Camera Movement (0.25)✅
2. Editing (0.25)❌
3. Continuity (0.25)❌
4. Visual Effects (0.25)❌
5. Visual Details (0.25)✅
6. Cinematic Tension (0.25)✅
7. Lighting (0.25)✅
8. Flashback Integration (0.25)✅
- **OST (Original Soundtrack)**: 0.75/1
1. Opening Song (0.25)✅
2. Ending Song (0.25)✅
3. Background OST (0.25)❌
4. Overall OST (0.25)✅
- **Style**: 0.75/1
1. Costumes (0.25)✅
2. Set Design (0.25)✅
3. Colors (0.25)✅
4. Poster (0.25)❌
- **Ending**: 1/1
1. Closure (0.25)✅
2. Emotional Impact (0.25)✅
3. Logic (0.25)✅
4. Personal Satisfaction (0.25)✅

Total Rating: 8/10 +0.5Bonus
>>>>Final Rating: 8.5/10

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No evil characters, no breakups, no misunderstandings + so much chemistry = The secret recipe

"You are my glory" definitely exceeded my expectations. As someone who is not a big fan of modern C-dramas, this is an absolute exception for me.
If I could split the drama to 2 parts and rate each, I'll give 7.5/10 to the first 20 eps and 9.5/10 for 21-->32, but over all, I give it 9/10.
Like any other drama this one has of course Pros and Cons.
*Cons:
_This drama is a slow burn romance, so yeah it took them a while to get together (I like slow burns so I'm not bothered much with that)
_Too many game scenes in the first 14 eps that can get you bored if you are not interested in theme, but the chemistery makes it worth it (you can still use fast forward button if you feel like it)
_Some deep scenes and conversations about airospace technology and physics that are boring for people who can't understand a word of it (like myself).
_The FL(Dilraba)'s face: too much foundation that her face looks too white like a ghost compared to her neck, what a shame for such a beautiful actress.
_The drama wouldn't need 32 episodes if they haven't wasted a long time in the first 20 episodes.

*Pros:
_Handsome ML and a beautiful FL with so much chemistry that they look like a real couple, what do you need more?
_The gaming scenes make the game look so interesting with deep strategies ( I even started playing League of Legends because of it)
+ it was the first interactions between the ML and FL after many years so it was worth it.
_Though I know nothing about airospace engineering, the scenes looked real and well prepared.
_No evil characters (the ML had an ex GF and the FL had an ex BF but they had no affect on the couple's relationshap)
_No stupid unecessery misunderstandings
_No long breakups (as soon as they get together, nothing separete them)
_Starting from ep21, the drama level up so high, the writing and directing of the rom com scenes of the couple+ their incredable chemistery and their looks were the reason
_Many good kisses and sweet intimate scenes.

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Great production, wonderful visuals quality

I think when it comes to costumes, sceneries and CGI, this drama has one of the best ever, I really enjoyed the visuals. I can tell that the production team payed a lot of attention for this Xianxia.
Dylan and Esther's costumes are breath taking, especially the details on Dylan's clothes.
I think what I didn't like was the body switch, was kind of unessesary though it was funny sometimes.
And I'm not a big fan of the "cute FL image" in general, too childish for my taste, I liked when she became more mature but the actress delivered her character well in all parts. Dylan is a candy for the eyes, great performance and chemistery from both.

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The Xianxia I felt part of it

This was my first C-Drama I still like to go back and rewatch some scenes of it. 9,5/10
I watched multiple Xianxia dramas since then, but this one still special and my top 1
Beside the fact that the FL and ML had such a great chemistery, what I find it special about this drama is: 1- the visual sceneries, they are just SO mesmerising, it was my first Xianxia and I felt like I was traveling to a new world everytime I start an episode.
2- The thing that I still couldn't find it in any other c-drama is: the character developement, this drama gave so much attention to building the characters, especially Run Yu was wonderfuly made, he didn't just turn to evil out of the blue, everything had a reason and was built step by step which made me hate what he did yet I could pity him in the same time.
Jing Mi developement was well built as well, she was a simple innocent naive yet, a happy girl, and all that was gone after what she went through.
I wasn't very satisfied with the ending, but it was okay, at least not the type of ending I avoid.

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How to feel good and laugh for 16 hours. Old but Gold RomCom

This drama would have been very popular if it was aired in the recent years and got streamed on netflix in the same time.
Anyway it's my confort zone, watched it 8 years ago and when I need a good laugh I just go back to it. I think it's the perfect romcom I've ever watched (and I've watched many). It was so hilarious, the cast is perfect, great chemistery between the Leads, (I wish we could've seen more of Han Groo it's sad that she is not acting anymore), great characters devloppement, great sound effect that made the scenes more funny, that confusing scene in the first of every episode that always kept us wondering what is going to happen in the end of the episode, I really congratulate the director for his wonderful work, and the drama has one of the most perfect endings. I laughed in the first scene in ep1 and laughed in the last scene in ep16, that's how a romcom should be.

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You need to appreciate the people you love before it's too late

I watched this drama 2 years ago and it was exactly what I needed, now I'm rewatching my favorite couple's scenes.
I know that many people were angry with the husband and liked the lawyer more but thank god it wasn't the case for me or else I wouldn't enjoyed this drama at all. The lawyer wasn't perfect either.
In real life, I would never forgive the husband or ever think of giving him another chance but I guess what was different here is Ji Jin Hee's acting, I could see the pain, regret and love for his wife just by looking to his eyes, he is a wonderful actor. Also Hae Gang did so many bad things while they were married, that doesn't mean that he can cheat on her, but he had the right to divorce her, they both were in too much pain that they didn't know how to handle. Anyway, I couldn't resist their chemistery, they are so good together. It was nice to watch even the evil couple of his sister and brother in law

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Unforeseen Romance: A Pleasant Surprise

I initially approached this drama with the expectation of abandoning it if it at the first sign of boredom, hoping only to enjoy Lee Honey's comedy talents that I admired in 'One The Woman'. With no anticipation for romance, given its absence in the MDL tags and my personal disinterest in 'noona romances', I embarked on this viewing experience unsure of what to expect. To my delight, the outcome exceeded my expectations. The narrative unfolded into a heartwarming tale featuring two endearing couples, whose pure romance and undeniable chemistry—despite the noticeable age gap—kept me thoroughly engaged. While the storyline may have had its flaws, it still surpassed many lengthier historical dramas that often fall prey to repetition.

Encountering such high-quality historical comedy is a rarity, I didn't come across any since 'Mr Queen'. Every moment of this drama was a delight, to the extent that I found myself eagerly watching certain scenes even without subtitles.

I rate it 9.5/10—an admittedly subjective rating, but wholly justified by the sheer enjoyment it provided to me. This drama was an unexpected delight and thoroughly worth the watch. Highly recommended.

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