addicted2dramas
India
I expected a lot of darkness (look at the poster!) and some melodrama in it. The drama does have a dark tone to it but it has comedic relief which makes it less serious than it is. It was mostly focused on finding the killer and the emotions of the three siblings. Although their motive seems like they are capable of big actions but they are all soft and kind inside.
The characterization was really good. All three siblings are equally likable and you can always defend their actions. I ended up feeling sorry for them when they reminisced about the events that changed their lives, and laughed hard whenever they tricked other people. All I can say is these three are a lot smarter and stronger than they seem. My favourite character was Kouichi and I loved Ninomiya Kazunari's performance. He can act quite well. Being a fan of Erika Toda, I liked her here too. I am used to watching her as a nice girl in almost all her dramas but when she played bad here briefly, it was different. This was her best performance till now out of what I have seen. I also liked Nishikido Ryo. He made his character relatable and didn't fade into the shadows like an underdog.
And as for the mystery- I guessed correctly in the beginning itself. But later when they were doubting someone else, I went with the flow. The murder didn't seem random neither the culprit. It was added up well and made sense. Things were strung together pretty neatly. They didn't mess up the plot in anyway. Apart from that, I didn't care about the romance because it failed to touch me. I found those parts boring and repetitive after a while.
The ending wasn't what I expected. The morale of characters made a major role in here. I would have changed two major things if I could, but it's alright since this ending makes it different from other murder stories I have ever come across. A cliche would have ruined the whole thing by making it seem predictable, but I have would have liked it better. I don't know if I completely agree with the current one but it is sensible so it's hard to criticize it.
I think it's a great drama and not too depressing to watch. Everyone should give it a chance and not hesitate.
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I enjoyed hating parts of this drama more than I enjoyed loving them. How ironic, I know! It had me pulling out my hair, screaming and cursing with frustration. I almost wanted to give up watching, and for some reason I couldn't. I was addicted badly to it. The characters were all crazy and nobody is normal in this drama. All their lives suck and every character suffers from deep guilt, abandonment issues, mommy issues, daddy issues and what-not. Plus, it being a melodrama had the tragic makjang also. All this craziness is what makes this drama complete. Perhaps all this seems a bit too much for me since I am not a melodrama loving person. For those who do watch melodramas, I can guess it won't be a big deal at all.
The acting done in this drama is way above than normal ones. The main leads are perfect at playing their roles. This drama does have a lot of crying in it, but some scenes have been done beautifully. Especially Ko Hyun Jung- who I've seen for the first time here was outstanding. She really knows how to pull off emotional scenes with perfection. In fact, I've not been so impressed with an actress in a Korean drama before. Jo In Sung went way overboard at times when he was crying or yelling, but at least his emotions came through to me as a viewer. Plus he's so good to look at. :D I liked the other actors too especially Han Go Eun who always plays her characters well.
As for the overall story- I thought it was good. It does have flaws and boring parts in it but it manages to be decent enough. I suppose I loved the characters most. This one is an entirely character-driven drama. I loved the fact that the characters were messed up and there was no good guy here. All characters were flawed- especially Jung Eun and Eun Sub.
Jung Eun is at first a female who has been closed off and living in a shell for years due to her sad past. Then she meets Eun Ho who helps her open up and they fall in love. She also meets his younger brother- the hot, self-centered and childish Eun Sub who also falls for her. Then you have a complicated story with brothers in love with the same woman. The only question here is who she will go to in the end.
I thought Eun Ho was perfect in the beginning but later on he sort of became redundant to me. I couldn't root for him as much as I did for Eun Sub. I didn't even love Eun Sub entirely. He was too flawed. But I have to say that Jo In Sung suited the role. Eun Sub makes for an interesting literary character who has an unhealthy, all-consuming love for the woman. Not just that, he needy and desperate for love and he shows it time and again. He was unlike other Kdrama guys that I have seen till now who usually remain closed off. Here you have a guy who shows that it isn't easy to close off once you have opened up. Apart from these characters I LOATHED their mother. She drove me crazy. She was beyond INSANE, I tell you! I didn't get why she kept beating up whichever female got close to her son. Crazy, crazy woman!
I think every person would want to root for the brother that I rooted for. He's the one who suffers like hell and also gets his deserved happy ending. In fact the ending is happy for almost every one. Sort of. That is why this is one of the best melodramas according to me. :)
This drama has an outstanding background score. I also loved the main song which they kept playing in every episode. It was simply perfect.
Since it was so tiring to watch, I will never rewatch it. Ever.
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Firstly, the plot is fictional as well as realistic. It presents you the love between King Sukjong and Jang Hee Bin as epic and legendary irrespective of what happened in reality. It was a controversy in Korea but hell I don't care- I am not a Korean. It presents me a history with all the twists and tropes of a formulaic Kdrama. However whatever it presented was cute, sad and likable. But I have to say I was yelling in some parts because of having seen Dong Yi before (they are related, you see). So separating Dong Yi and Jang Ok Jung is crucial when you watch either of the two.
I loved the romance between Lee Soon and Ok Jung. Both Yoo Ah In and Kim Tae Hee are ridiculously good-looking people and had believable chemistry together. Their romance was for most part cutesy and angst-ridden. It's been a while since I've seen a drama like this one. I also liked the male second lead in it and plan to stalk the guy from now on. :D
There were moments when this drama had me tearing out my hair in frustration or left me plain annoyed. Similarly it left me very high when it had its good parts going. So this drama managed to make me feel a variety of emotions. It is even cheesy at its best in many parts where you just wanna LOL but it is so DAMN entertaining!
For me the drama was an interesting one-time watch. The OST wasn't great but I didn't hate it either. Overall, this drama is good and definitely worth the time.
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I was kind of doubtful whether I would like it or not because this movie is SO highly talked about. I realized my doubts were wrong. Sunny is a great tale of friendship. I love stories which focus on the bond between females rather than just bromance. It was nice to watch a movie dominantly on the power of female friendship.
I know I am not that old yet but it still made me think of my school days. This movies very deeply brings back memories of school, the first crush, friends and mostly- the time of our lives. It was so relatable. A lot of aspects of it were so realistic that I couldn't help but giggle.
I assure you, you will be wanting to have a posse like them by the end and you would want to be with them the same the way they are in the movie. Their love for each other only proves how it doesn't really matter how much time has passed. Friendship really is a forever thing.
I loved the way they handled the ending because it was almost sad but then you're reminded of the awesomeness the females possess and they are dancing till the end anyway. Daebak!
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An overrated drama that's worth a watch
I was eagerly waiting for this drama's subs ever since it came out. I saw some clips posted on Instagram which looked cute and the people couldn't stop raving about it. However I am coming out with a disappointment - maybe my expectations out of this were too high. It was also a struggle watching this drama with very subpar subtitles but I'd like to thank the subber who gave us the subs out of their goodwill.STORY + CHARACTERS:
It's a run of the mill contract marriage story. However the professor and student twist was something new and for once the girl isn't treated badly by the male lead. The leads have decent chemistry and are quite natural with each other, which is hands down the highlight of this drama. The supporting characters were all nice and cute but the spark was missing for me. I cannot pinpoint to what was missing but this drama didn't leave me satisfied by the end. The slow burn between the leads was nice but Yun Shu was a very average character. Her sister was annoying at first and I couldn't care less about her romance with the actor dude. I think I rather preferred the storyline of her best friends. Sadly I am not the biggest fan of the male character either - he was a typical tsundere but albeit a little less likable. For example- he reminded me of the male lead from Intense Love who was far more lovable and cute. Zhang Shinan's character and childhood were cliches. I did appreciate the relationship he (and Yunshu; later) shared with the grandfather.
ACTING:
The biggest issue for me with this drama was the main actress. I understand this is her debut drama and she is very, very pretty but she just fell absolutely flat for me. Miles was alright- he had some cute moments but sadly his character was very cliche. The supporting cast was also just ok- nothing that great as is the case with most C-dramas. Maybe if the casting was better this drama would have been upped in quality as the writer at least tried to make it a bit different.
REWATCH VALUE:
Won't be rewatching this. No parts were that memorable for me. The kisses were sweet and became better towards the end.
OVERALL:
Meh. Like I said - it's cute but terribly missing out on a lot. I think good thing is that there aren't overbearingly annoying second leads. They back off rather quickly. There was also nothing too sad in this drama so it retains its airy atmosphere till the end. Even the ending is full of hope and positivity with the grandfather which I liked.
I can recommend to the people who are looking for something where they wish to turn off their brains and enjoy the romance. Romance is quite alright and the male lead is getting quite popular from what I understand. I'd tell people to give it a try although I'm in the minority who didn't really enjoy this one much. Time to move to the next drama.
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Let's start with the good first. I think this drama has one of the best cast ever. All actors were brilliant at what they did. I couldn't think of any flaw in that department. Lee Seung Gi pulled off his character amazingly well. He completely made me fall in love with him more than ever before. For me he was a big factor in saving this drama from being unbearable. Never have I been so well hooked by an actor's performance in the past (okay, I have but it's been quite long). I consider Han Hyo Joo as one of the best Korean actresses and I loved her once again here too. Her character cried way too much but she did all those scenes wonderfully. There were other actors in the drama too who I've never seen in anything before and they all managed to capture my attention.
This is more of a family drama than anything else. That was both a good and bad thing. Good- because it makes you think a lot and helps you understand human emotions better, bad- because it took too much of time which could have been devoted to romance. I really wish there had been more of romance because the characters were so madly engrossing. Ah, well. Apart from that the antagonists in this drama are my utter favorites. Never have I ever enjoyed hating bad guys in a drama so much before. It was off the wall crazy and idiotic.
The soundtrack isn't the most impressive I've ever heard but it was oddly addicting. I think the last half of the drama fit the songs better. The angst was amazing and matched well with the background music.
Now let's get to the bad part- too much crying, too much of repetitiveness, too mellow and moments which make you pull out your hair. This drama was unnecessarily long. I would say it had a pretty heavy plot but it could have easily been 8 episodes less. Not saying that the last few episodes were bad but the middle ones were too dragging. It started out amazing but after episode 10, things started going downhill. It picked up after a good amount of episodes. I wish Han Hyo Joo had to cry less. I've never seen a female character cry so much before nor have I see a more miserable life of one either. LOL.
A special mention goes to the kid who played the autistic brother. His scenes were done so nicely! BTW the jealousy scenes of this drama are so memorable!!!! I think Lee Seung Gi is at his best in this drama when it came to romantic moments or scenes. His character was an A-grade arrogant jerk in the first half and developed very well in the later half. He was so good by the end that I could hardly remember him being bad at all. The second male lead in this drama was boring according to me. I didn't feel like I could root for him. The female lead was very strong and admirable in spite of her crying. The second female lead played by Moon Chae Won was super annoying. I don't know if it's just the actress or her roles itself- she somehow ends up annoying me all the time.
Anyway, I really enjoyed watching this drama because it was a full blown experience. It had its great and awful moments but it was worth my time. However, I will never rewatch it again except maybe the few romantic scenes.
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This drama is silly and full of nonsense. But it's breezy and very light to watch. It's one of those dramas that you can watch without thinking much and enjoy it. I laughed hard at something every other episode. The first few episodes were absolutely hilarious. I think this drama did a fantastic job of not boring me till the last 4-5 episodes (parts of which you can easily skip). But I found the story and its characters very colourful. Members of both the family and even its secondary characters are all likable. I wasn't annoyed by a single person in it! The main guy- Zhi Shu is a genius with more brains than actual emotions. But we realize as the story goes on that he isn't that bad anyway. I have to say I liked him better than Xiang Qin's character. I tried my hardest to not criticize her actions and thoughts and that was the only way I could end up liking this drama.
As for the cast- I have become a fan of Joe Cheng and Jiro Wang. I was familiar with Ariel Lin but here she is the true star of the show. She made all the cutesy expressions and pouts in the world and still shined. She was way too cute and managed to win me over in the first episode itself. This drama has loads of cuteness in it. And the main leads have amazing chemistry. I was sort of disappointed with lots of times because whenever they were together, I found myself wanting for them to kiss. The last 2 episodes more or less made up for this part. Oh and should I mention one scene which stood out among the rest? This show has one of the best confession-in-the-rain scenes I have ever seen! I can't believe how well it was shot and with great dialogues. And the wait that builds up in the viewer till then makes it all worth it.
And I want to address this particular issue on people complaining that Zhi Shu was too "cold". I say no- he wasn't cold. The way he acted was to show the contrast between his and Xiang Qin's personalities. Where she is impulsive, he is smart and carefully thinks before acting. But I loved how he keeps smiling to himself whenever Xiang Qin's stalking him or trying to please him. I probably only didn't like his need to be constantly chased. There were times he didn't take enough pity on her but then I understand why he didn't. That's all I can say without spoiling it. Anyway, both characters are too flawed and yet likable.
This drama was a thorough entertainer. It doesn't have melodrama which is probably one of the strongest points. It's more of a family cum romance genre. And I loved the ending even if it was a bit silly. It left me wanting for more so I'd definitely watch the second season. Its rewatch value is decent. I think it's a drama that can be seen again just to remember the good parts.
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You do not need to be a fan of the main actors to decide to watch this drama. Believe me when I say this- they are incredibly talented and will impress you no matter what. This drama has a good plot and that's interesting because it is a mixture of mystery, fantasy and romance.
The biggest strength of the drama lies in the compelling romance and characters you would want to root for. Lee Jun Ki is an absolute sweetheart as the Magistrate in this drama and he made me fall hard for him. Shin Min Ah is a stunning beauty with talent to go with it. She is bubbly and lively in her role as Arang. There was no way in which I couldn't root for these two together.
Then there's an unusual second male lead in the drama too. The main antagonist in this one made me laugh at times because she wasn't a very good actress. That brings me to the Gods who were very entertaining to watch as well.
This drama has one of the best OSTs ever and will keep you listening forever to it. Of course, it suffers from a few flaws and repetitive moments but it will not irritate you. It isn't very fast paced nor is it slow- its got just the right pace to keep one hooked. I didn't like the ending, but I rarely ever expect good endings from Kdramas. Trust my word when I say it will be worth the time!
I recommend this drama highly to watch and also to rewatch.
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It is basically a love triangle between a self-absorbed guy, his schizophrenic friend and a free-spirited girl. I loved the whole idea of it, and unique characterizations. I think I loved Midori the best. Watanabe has to be one of the dullest protagonists I have encountered in a long time. I would gladly call him an indecisive jerk who likes screwing around with the feelings of both girls. I take it that he and Naoko are bound by their mutual feelings of loss, and liked that aspect of their relationship very much. I can't help but say this movie is surprisingly likable and one of the best made by the Japanese (out of the ones I have seen).
With its outstanding camera work this could have easily been a masterpiece. There are scenes which outright take your breath away. I also liked how the relationship between Watanabe and Naoko is shown in every season, providing us with a distraction from their (sometimes boring) relationship in the form of beautiful scenery and settings. It also has very good background score.
Only after I was done watching the movie, its good points crawled into my mind. It was a great story with a good cast and a slow screenplay. There were times I was bored and annoyed while watching this movie, but I reckon the novel must be loads better. I am definitely going to read it.
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For me melodrama definitely has its limits. Innocent Man thankfully didn't cross those limits. It was obviously absurd, but over-analyzing ruins pretty much every drama out there. If you take it as just entertainment, it does a good job of it. Also there is Song Joong Ki to make things easier for the female viewers. The occasional nonsense in the drama only got bearable thanks to a good cast. I believe every one of them put up a good effort and did a good job of their characters.
While I have lots of issues with this drama, I think this might be the best melodrama to exist with a not completely horrible ending. Of course that doesn't make the ending okay in any way because it is actually the weakest part of the whole drama if you ask me. Another thing that got to me was the overuse of amnesia in the plot. It felt like a cheap plot device just to make things dramatic. That is a very big flaw on the writer's part.
Apart from these things, the drama has some very interesting moments to keep a viewer hooked. It has lots of cool revenge and scheming that is enjoyable to watch. But then again- it being a Kdrama things tend to get very repetitive. I suppose I can forgive that bit though.
Overall this is a drama which was a mixed bag of feelings for me. There is stuff that I enjoyed and stuff I didn't enjoy as much. It does have a very good cast though. I have to mention that again. Sadly, in the end like almost every other melodrama it leaves no room for rewatch value. In the end, it is a highly forgettable one.
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I just now finished watching Hotel Del Luna and boy oh boy - it was pretty much the same I felt about it ep 5 onwards.
Most of Hong Sister dramas have been a hit or miss for me and this falls closer to miss than hit.
Story/Premise: I was looking forward to it since months ago when IU started teasing about this drama on her Instagram. The premise seemed fun and the first few episodes were solid. Then from ep 5 it started becoming repetitive and the episodic format lost its pull for me. I was more interested in the main characters than the useless subplots introduced every week in an episodic format. Some were good and most were just meh. There are two parts to the drama : the flashbacks and the modern story. The flashback was solid and a winner for me since the beginning to the end. In fact I was way more invested in the flashbacks than the ongoing struggles of our characters.
Acting/Cast: IU was good for me in her role. This is not the best she has done nor the worst. But she is definitely one of the highlights of the entire cast. She carried it strongly with her presence for most part and was a delight to look at. She is so PRETTY. Yeo Jin Goo did nothing for me here and I say this as his big fan of past projects. I feel like he lacked the maturity to play this particular character and it would be better for him to take on lighter and more youthful roles. Then again, most child actors fail to shine once they get older (I might be triggering some of his fans here but just being honest). I felt no chemistry between the leads although individually they weren't the worst. The hotel side characters were all good actors expect PO. He was just cringey and horrible and even a rookie like Mina was better by a step- but who cast this girl? I LOVE the actors in the flashbacks. I see a lot of potential in both who played Chung Myung and Yeon Woo (I am poor with names). I am not familiar with their past works but would love to check out more in the future.
Music: The OST is solid. I would recommend the tracks by Punch (both), Taeyeon (it is lovely), Gummy and Paul Kim. Rest of the songs are good too but these ones stood out to me. I have them on repeat and will continue to for some time.
Final Thoughts: I feel like they had a nice idea that they failed to execute well. Romance with Yeo Jin Goo was a snoozefest for me. The premise was good but it was a weak and lackluster script. Had the writing and casting been better, it would have been one of my favourite dramas. I did enjoy the random references to variety shows and the celebrity cameos. The ending was fine for me and I wouldn't have settled for anything else after the way they set it up all along. I was not happy with how they ended the 'older story' loop because I was enjoying it too much. The last episode was sad but had nice moments. I think the best part was the epilogue. This universe comes to a certain next stage and watch it yourself to check out who they cast for the "sequel". It was a surprise and I can't wait for it. ^_^
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This review may contain spoilers
Started off boring, was good in the middle and went off the rails towards the last 3-4 episodes.This was promised as an upbeat, youth drama. Instead what I was served consisted of some bits of what was promised with a heck lot of makjang. I think this drama was poorly written and executed. This should have remained as a underdog to riches story instead of the unnecessary revenge, crime and what-not being included.
Kim Dami stole the show. But even an actress of her caliber felt like she was struggling towards the end because the direction in which the plot went made no sense. Park Seo Joon had an ugly hairstyle and was mediocre at best throughout the entire drama. Shame, because this drama could have been one of the best roles he would have had. Kwon Nara is okay for me - never does much, but I believe she did the best to her potential.
There were some cool offbeat things about the drama like the youth culture of Itaewon and a diverse cast with issues like LGBTQ+ and racism being addressed. Some characters were great, others were okay. I feel like my time was wasted while I was impatiently waiting for episodes to come out. I won't even categorize this drama as a one-time watch. My recommendation would be to either skip it altogether or do a lot of skip-watching to get through this.
Park Saeroyi reminds of old-time self-sacrificing characters in old Bollywood films. They only live by principles and only want to be the better person in every situation, no matter how unforgiving the other party may be. Romance felt forced and the friendship focus drifted off pretty badly. Not to mention the time jumps made it all the more uninteresting.
At least the drama had a decent soundtrack.
It wasn't worth my time if not for those few good Itaewon-centered episodes and beautiful city and Namsan Tower views in a lot of scenes. It made me miss Seoul a lot.
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I have to say that's all this drama is about. There's no real story or plot in it apart from their own realization of their feelings. It's only about the two awesome people- Chen You Qing & Li Da Ren's journey till the end. While it may be slow and boring for some, I'd say people in their 20's or 30's can actually relate to a lot in this drama. It has a lot of quotable dialogues and the thoughts of the characters were quite realistic and meaningful. The narrated thoughts of the "mature woman" was such a wonderful concept to appeal to the older viewers. I also have to mention the telephone calls between You Qing & Da Ren. They were perfect and the best parts of the entire drama.
This happens to be the simplest drama that I know of. Things didn't happen in the drama just to make it interesting. The writer seemed to know his characters very well. I especially loved You Qing- she was selfish and at the same time someone you could root for. She was an almost anti-heroine compared to other drama heroines in existence. Li Da Ren was almost perfect to the point he seemed to make this drama seem more like a fairytale. Ironically, he was the most unrealistic thing about this realistic drama. Or so I think. :D
Anyway, I love Ariel Lin and I'm glad she nailed her role. She really put on a spectacular performance, be it acting at times arrogant or being emotional. She was able to convey it all. I think Berlin Chen suited his role but I wish he was able to bring a little more expressions since most of them seemed repetitive. Among the supporting cast I liked Henry in spite of him being the bad guy.
The music of the drama was pretty good too. The only place it is lacking is the inconsistent direction after episode 8 and for being longer than it was necessary. I felt myself very tired during the last few episodes and as much as I was loving it, I couldn't wait for it to end already.
However I am going to remember this drama for a long time. I will watch it again in its entirety once again someday. Maybe. This is very highly recommend.
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I finished it just now so my thoughts and opinions are fresh. I am giving it a 9 even though the last two episodes bored me. I expected a little bit more. Still, because everything ended the way it should have I am quite happy. Mostly I am biased for this drama because I adore Yamapi and Keiko equally and them being together on the show was all that I could ask for. They looked amazing together and their chemistry was very good. Plus, they had the best kissing scenes I have seen in any Jdrama till now.
It has a good story, and even though some parts of it are cliche I liked how they ended things. They weren't afraid of risking a different ending. I have often encountered such stories of cheating and affairs, and they always end the same way. I am happy to see something different here. Almost all the situations and their reactions were realistic. That's probably why this drama stood out.
Apart from that, the sports and music plots are both great in it. I liked a lot of characters and also hated the ones that deserved to be hated. The romance front was flawless in this show. Plus, the friendship between the main characters was also depicted very well. The cast all gave incredible performances- especially Keiko. Yamapi oozed hotness and he had a shirtless scene every other episode. I am so glad I discovered this drama because it had all the elements that I typically love.
So, if you're fond of music, basketball or even romance- this is the drama to be watched. It is not the one to miss out on. I will surely rewatch the parts of my favourite couple.
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While the plot is cliche, it was cute and entertaining. The scenario of contract marriages never fail to amuse me and this was no exception. It also has a 'Sound of Music'-esque vibe to it but not very much. Like I said, it isn't an original story by far. While its sub-plots were boring and flat, the relationship between the Prime Minister, his wife and the children was more than enough to keep me watching.
I am not a big fan of castings when there is a lot of age gap between the lead actors. This time though, I was pleasantly surprised by the natural chemistry between Lee Bum Soo and Yoona. In spite of their difference in ages, they were cute together. I have to give credit to their good acting skills for that. I was happy to see Yoona having improved a lot since Love Rain. I want to see her in more dramas that suit her like this one.
The best parts of the drama were definitely the kids and the romantic moments (never saw so many we-fell-on-each-other scenes before). It's light, fun and amusing till about episode 10 or so. I would suggest skipping some scenes or episodes in between because they don't contribute anything to the plot.
It's OST was rather good and worth listening to till you get bored of it.
Watch this drama when in the mood for some sweet, harmless fun but don't expect a lot from it.
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