After finishing the Chinese version of this, it's inevitable for me not to think about how unsatisfying this version is. (I won't compare the dramas here as I already did that in my review for the Chinese version.) But, even without watching any other versions, it's been about half a year since I watched this drama & my thoughts about it hasn't changed - it was a waste of my time & I shouldn't have forced myself to watch it just because I'm a fan of Haein's. (Son Ye Jin & the rest of the cast are great actors too, & the only good thing about this drama, but he's the only one who I keep an eye out for his projects & have watched all his drama where he has a main role.) I remember before I watched it seeing praises for it & some even calling it beautiful & that still leaves me puzzled - though I guess viewers like the chemistry & passion of the leads so much they're able to overlook the unpleasantness that occurs in the drama.

The drama was fine up until episode 6 or so when it started to go down a hole it couldn't be saved from. But, to be honest, I was never really able to buy into their relationship for a couple of reasons. For starters, FL would lie about almost everything & keep things from ML, even things that weren't important. She'd get caught in her lie, he'd be upset, & you would think she would learn to be honest but nope, she'd keep lying. Aside from being a liar, she was kind of passive with the way she really didn't stand up for herself (until she did & her actions weren't thought out thoroughly) nor did she give off the feeling that she was on the same page as ML about their relationship. By that, I mean that although she was with him there seemed to be a limit to what she would do to be with him, which is apparent leading up to their breakup & afterwards. (I will say it's ironic that the line, from the song annoyingly used throughout the drama, was "stand by your man" when FL couldn't do that.) As for ML, he was a bit naïve when it came to the nature of their relationship & his possessive & controlling behavior weren't endearing to watch. Aside from the way FL & ML were, the strong & suffocating objections about their relationship coming from FL's horrible mother (who still makes my blood boil, is one of the reasons why I didn't like this drama, & one of the worst characters) were enough reasons to feel as if their relationship wasn't worth the trouble. At the end of the drama, the leads are reunited but nothing about their situation has changed much, especially her mother's views about FL's romantic life, so it's a bad feeling knowing they're about to enter a toxic cycle again. I would've been fine with the leads staying away from each other in the end.

Aside from the romance, the other subplots weren't very enjoyable to watch. In particular, the way the workplace harassment was handled left me bitter. I understand that stuff like that happens all the time but it was glossed over here & almost seemed to give off the message to warn viewers to not even attempt to speak out. Her relationship with her ex was a good example of a toxic & abusive relationship, yet the choices she made relating to him were so frustrating to watch. (&, no, we can't say that it's because she's a powerless victim when it really was just her track record to make bad decisions.) & I guess it was kind of sad to see her friendship with ML's sister fall apart when FL began dating ML, but, with the treatment from FL's mother & FL not standing up for him/them like she should've, it makes sense. Basically, it's as if the writer wanted to make sure all endings weren't satisfactory. I will say that FL's horrible mother makes such an impression that she kind of overshadows everything else & makes you vividly remember her when the drama is mentioned. (Obviously, that's not a good thing.)

Finally, the cinematography & direction was something that I didn't care for. I don't mind the focus on tiny details, especially for symbolic purposes, but that wasn't the case here. You had pointless scenes of things, like the sidewalk, being filmed for seconds or minutes, I'm not sure which it was because it felt long & made me ask when was it going to end. There also would be scenes of the leads together staring at each other in silence that had me thinking okay? It wasn't the lingering type of looks that add angst to the plot too. I think I would've been able to tolerate them if they weren't stretched out for too long losing whatever they were trying to accomplish with that scene. The music didn't help set the mood, if anything it made things worse. I only gave the music a rating of one because I had to, likewise for the rewatch value because I regret making myself watch this & I would never recommend this to anyone. My rating may seem low to some but I can't think of anything positive about this drama, aside from the acting, that made me not regret watching.