HONESTLY....

Let's be real. This drama wasn't perfect. In fact, it was far from it. But I don't think it deserves to be hated just because it's "mainstream" or "too many people watch it" and my personal favorite, "just because of those dang dimples" . If you didn't like it, or some parts of it, at least state some actual reasons as to WHY. So here's my take on it:

Negatives:
Firstly, that summary really doesn't prepare you for what's in store when you start watching, so I felt kind of deceived. By reading the summary, it makes it seem that Hye Jin is the character we need to watch out for, or focus on but actually it's not. Well, it was based on a movie called "Mr. Hong" which never really occurred to me, so I guess I should have expected that.

Second, there were so many events/conflicts that were introduced, but in the end became so disjointed from the main plot. Some of these had so much potential but they weren't utilized well, and it just pushed back the main plot up to the last 3/4 episodes. They became scattered fragments of a story that were left forgotten, strewn all around the main plot. I've seen this pattern in some dramas before, and I must say I always get disappointed when it happens, ESPECIALLY when the first few episodes were so darn good.

And third, with the same train of thought as the paragraph before this, I felt like we were just fed good moments, fluff, cute bickering, interesting plot and main conflicts, during the first half of the drama, just to make us stay. Just to please us with fanservice and the typical plot lines that makes fans squeal in delight, without actually progressing the story. Just giving us small glimpses every now and then, but it just kept getting pushed back.

Well, these were my reasons as to why I couldn't give it a perfect 10. But still, I do believe that it doesn't deserve anything less than a 7, at the least.

Positives:
Honestly, Hye Jin is probably my favorite FL so far. She was fairly consistent throughout. She showed growth as an individual, but managed to retain her morals, her beliefs, and her personality, despite being in an environment that may have shamed and disliked it at first. She knows what she wants, and she does what she needs to do to get it. She's unapologetic with her taste and her interests, which is so empowering as a woman. Definitely my favorite character (after I-jun of course 😉)

Speaking of I-jun, I honestly LOVED the side characters and the cast!!! They played the characters so well, special shout out to I-jun and Cho Hui!!! Both characters were so well thought out and well played, and even though they didn't have as much screen time as the others, every time they were on screen my eyes were glued to them. So good! The side characters all had their moments to shine, and I really loved learning about them. Though I do admit that their stories took up so much time, which I believe caused the main plot to be pushed to the side. Still, I really do love the chemistry of all the characters.

***this is where the SPOILER is***

Third, I absolutely LOVE the fact that they made Chief Hong a normal human being. I'm glad that they didn't make him some kind of prodigy in engineering or mathematics (w/c was what I was expecting, tbh), or some kind of unexplainably lucky man that suddenly rose to power. As he said, he was just a normal person with a desk job. I love it. I love how realistic that part is. He was just a guy who studied engineering, but got an unrelated job because of a sunbae who helped him out. Honestly, it happens to the most of us, and this is just one tiny detail but IDK man, I really appreciated that.

So okay, this drama isn't perfect at all. It has plot holes, missed opportunities, it overused the leads' chemistry, and it pushed the main plot to the side at some point. But wow it was fun to watch! Sometimes when I have absolutely nothing to do, I remember some cute and funny scenes and I would immediately come back to watch it again. It's gives you a warm feeling and I'm really going to miss that warmth every weekend. La la lalala lalalala~

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