Writing is a mess but good romantic scenes

Wow! So many resemblances with "You are my glory" and "A Romance of the Little Forest." But the drama had its own story and vibes. I gotta say I was really expecting more from this one, but there were some things that bothered me along the way.

- It was little draggy in the beginning. I didn't really understand why the couple took that much time to be together. It's not that they took a long time, but they didn't have any obstacles to their love, so why didn't Xiang Yuan say yes to Xu Yanshi before?
- The writing is not that good. There were some plot points that were poorly explained or could've been better developed. Like Yanshi's family; his father was never present in his life and he holds a grudge bc of that, but they never really talk abt that and Yanshi just gives his little brother away to his father. And no explanation is given as to why he let his brother go that way; Yanshi's mother appearing in the last ep was really weird. His dad raised him all by himself, through many difficulties, Yanshi is always addressed as a poor and alone guy, but then we find out that his mother is alive, well AND rich! And they are in good terms with each other. Then why did he need his professor's help with his brother so he could study?! And the debt with Chen Shan?! Where was his mother during all that?!
- The main couple is good and have chemistry. I really like that they have a lot of skinship and appear natural and intimate together. There are a lot of good kissing scenes and the couple trust each other. But that break up in the 30th ep was unlike them. They should've talked abt their views and opinions on the problem. Both of them had a point but they just didn't talk clearly with each other and just gave up. At least that lasted only one episode.
- Second couple is boring af. They have absolutely no chemistry and doen't even make sense together. Chen Shu is annoying and so it is Gao Leng. I didn't understand why she was so mad at him to the point of breaking up with him, so it was confusing why she came back to him in the end.
- Side characters are a little boring as well. I didn't hate anything or anyone in specific but they were just forgettable. Like I said, the second couple was boring, and the other characters didn't shine or have their story told.
- All the Beidou lecture was too patriotic and just cringey. Maybe for chinese people it made sense but for me, a foreigner, it was just annoying. I also didn't understand most of the talk about navigation systems and all, so I just zoned out on those parts.

That's it. All in all, I enjoyed watching it, first eps are a little draggy but the couple is good. Although the writing is a mess, I think for some people it would be worth for the couple. They really deliver good romance. If I were to rewatch I would skip everything but them. I also think this drama could be 10 eps shorter, it would be faster and it wouldn't waste time with characters and plots we don't really care.

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An enjoyable drama overall

- Couple had chemistry. I liked that they were always supporting each other and not breaking up at last minute just to reconcile in the last episode. I have past traumas with that and it was really good to see a couple staying together through and through. I just wish they had more scenes together that explored that chemistry. I think the show spent too much time on other things instead of delivering romance.

- Why didn't Hae-e and Sunjae get together sooner? They had such a connection. They knew each other secrets. They had everything. Even Jaewoo and Yeongju had a satisfactory ending. And that love triangle they tried to force was the worst. Everytime Geonhu tried make a move I just bawled. It was obvious that she wasn't interested in none of them. But I was expecting to see her falling in love with Sunjae since I think they had more in common. And in the end when he finally confessed to her she asked him to wait until after the exams. Ok, I understand that, but she decided to go out with him only after 2 years had passed! They had a lot of potential in the beginning and I was really disappointed with their ending.

- I think Sunjae and his mother should've had a talk in the end abt how she treats her sons. I know he tried to put his feelings out to her some times, but I think it didn't seem definitive. I just wished they had a final confrontation in which he would explain how he feels and how her actions only hurt him and his brother. And we didn't get to see her reaction to Sunjae's decision to drop school. Also, I remember Sunjae saying that studying medicine was his mother's wish for him. But he never said what was that he actually wanted to do. And I don't know if I lost some info but I don't think it was clear if he was doing medicine with Hae-e and Sua or not. Furthermore, I wished we had more scenes of both brothers together, giving support to each other since Sunjae was suffering from all the pressure Huijae had suffered as well.

- I think Sua's problem should've had a more closed ending. It was a little bit confusing to me how she dealt with her stress symptoms in the end. We didn't get a conversation between her mother amd her abt this. Because she was feeling pressured to get good grades probably cuz' her mother's job, but I didn't feel like her mother was intentionally putting that pressure on her. So I think that if they had talked maybe Sua would feel less pressured.

- Why Hae-e did that with her mother in the end? Why would she want to go to Japan with her biological mother?! That was totally absurd! She didn't like that woman!Hae-e was actually one ofy least favorite characters in the drama, cuz she didn't really have a personality. Like she always had that straight face like she wasn't happy or sad with anything. Maybe the actress doesn't have charisma idk. But I didn't hate her either, so all of this plot with her wanting to go with her bio mother simply destroyed her character for me. And when her bio mother left without her, we couldn't see how she reacted to that. And what about how she made Haengseon and Jaewoo feel? They were hurt by her choice and no apology or conversation whatsoever was showed. It all felt like the writers needed to create some last minute drama for the last episode. It was rushed and badly written. It would've been better if they had stretch the story with the villain instead of ruining her.

- About the OSTs, I loved all of them. But I think they were poorly used. They were played too few and because of that when I listened to them they didn't remind me the scenes, the charaters and the overall vibe of the drama.

Well, that's my review. Although I pointed out only negative aspects of the drama, I think that it was a good series overall. Maybe if they had spent more time showing the main leads together, or if they didn't destroyed the writing with that Hae-e's mother plot in the end, maybe it would've been a better experience. But it was enjoyable anyways and I'd reccomend if you like comedy with some drama.

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ML is so f**king annoying!

I had a bad time watching this drama and so I'm gonna sum up here why I dropped this: ML is so f**king annoying! The way he treats FL as if she's about to break in the face of a small problem, it makes me so mad. And how he thinks that by teasing her and bullying her he is turning her into a strong woman. He says some sexist things too like the financial world is not for her cuz she's a woman and cuz she can't cry. Seriously, she has a condition that makes her go to the hospital everytime she cries. Yeah, I know, it doesn't make any sense! And let's not forget that scene where he praised the male interns' report and totally roasted the other girls'. He's so patronising. I just hated him!

And to complicate things more, the SML who's supposed to be like a villain is so much more interesting than ML. He has a backstory and childhood trauma that made me feel sorry for him, while ML is like this "perfect" guy who never had any regrets or difficulties in life. Maybe that's why ML is who he is. arrogant. spoiled. self-absorbed.

Anyways, I dropped this before the couple get together so maybe smth might've changed later on. But from what I heard their annoying bickering still goes on until the end of the drama and there's a weird time jump. So, glad I dropped in time. But the truth is I should've done it sooner.

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I got tired of nothing actually happening

I liked the leads together, I think they really fit for each other. But it was a little disappointing that when they finally become a couple it lacked emotion and... idk... catarsis is the word maybe. They just talk and that's it. Maybe that's a lot like them and how it should've been anyways, but I missed smth more wow yk. And now that they're a couple I don't see any change in them. They just look like friends that hold hands sometimes. I think as a romance story this drama has failed a little. It lacked, at least in my opinion, those swoony-butterflies-in-the-stomach-romantic moments. Maybe it was just me, maybe it was a chemistry thing, maybe not, I really saw potential in the couple, but they just didn't happen for me. I think they focused too much on the running and translating thing that they forgot that this should be a romance drama above all. Both leads are boring. I think it was a narrative thing, but it had to do with their personalities as well. I didn't hate them, they were just meh.

Yeong-hwa was the highlight of this drama. The best character. He carried the whole thing by himself. He was funny and he might've seemed silly and easy to be laid over by Dan-ah, but when it was too much for him he just walked away. He didn't let her do whatever she wanted with him, which I thought would kinda be their dynamic, but it wasn't and that was good. Way to go man. I actually think they were a better couple than the leads. Both of them are more interesting characters than the leads. Maybe because their relationship has those aspects we are used to see in dramas, which the leads don't. In summary, the second couple was more engaging to watch than the main couple.

Seriously, what was that sort of break up in the 12th ep?! I mean, why would his father getting in the way of their relationship be a problem if he never really gave a damn for what his father thinks?! He broke up with his father way before dating her, right when he decided not to run in that competition. I couldn't bring myself to watch the drama after that. I got tired of nothing actually happening.

The osts are actually good, not so memorable, but the drama isn't as well. The photography is good too. The vibes overall were good It is a beautiful drama apart from its story. Liked the film references. The production work was really good.

Overall, this was purely a median, neutral, wishy-washy drama. It wasn't a bad watch but not good either. I didn't get irritated by anything but it didn't give me the feels yk. It was boring and dull.

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Definitely worth the watch

Just watched this show and OMG I forgot how much I missed a strong and good second lead couple! I loved the main leads, they had good chemistry and their story was good. But the second couple was just perfect. It was about them that I thought after watching every episode. I think maybe one downside of leads is that they took too long to get together. Or rather, the FL took too long to realize she was in love with him and that made me feel a little impatient and more interested in the second leads bc they were already full on dating mode. But in general, both couples are wonderful and this show is absolutely amazing!

It's true that about episode 10-11 things get a little slow. I really expected one of the couples to get married at some point (I'm talking about the second leads), and I don't know how to react to the fact that apparently the leads spent one whole year talking through computer/phone (seriously?! that's why I like the second leads more). Although I love the fact that this show is only 12eps long, I also think that maybe they could go on like 2 episodes more just to wrap things up in a better way. Did his grandpa accept her? If so, I wanted to see that. Youngseo and sunghoon should've got married, they were already such a stable couple with a strong hubby/wifey energy, they deserved their wedding at the end. But regardless of that I don't think it was a bad show just because the ending was not that good, and amazing and perfect. It's a funny, romantic, not over-dramatic, surprising at some moments, well produced and directed series, and it's definitely worth the watch.

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A love letter dedicated to youth

Ah!... I love romance, I love seeing people falling in love. I loved the couples in this drama. But I gotta say, my most favorite thing here was the group. I loved everything in this drama but I simply ADORED their friendship. I wish I had friends like that in my teen years. Damn I wish I had friends like them today!

This drama made me feel so much nostalgia for my school days. But also, it made me feel sad for not having that for myself. A lot of moments I kinda felt were bittersweet because of that. But I think that's good cuz it's meaningful in a way. Actually this drama can be very deep sometimes. Like in the end of ep 10, all of what Zaizai says about grandmas, but especially the part when she says that she misses her grandma but doesn't dare say it to her father cuz he certainly misses his mom too. It was so beautiful! I almost cried. Other moments and quotes I liked are:
- In ep 19 when Gu Ran wrote a letter to Jiang Jia and he says "all life encounters are reencounters after a long time apart" it resonated to me and I felt it;
- At the end of ep 9, Zaizai says "every existence is meaningful to someone" and that everyone is somehow special for somebody;
- In ep 18, the conversation between Guan Fang and his grandma after her surgery. It made me really feel how time passes and one day we'll have to be the ones taking care of our parents.

Second couple is really cute. I liked them just as much as the main couple. Unfortunately they only get together in the penultimate ep so they had practically no screen time together doing couple things. It was sad bc they had a lot of potential and I really liked them.

ML's parents were the worst, I hated them. The way they treated his younger brother Luli better than Lurang and always put all the blame for anything bad related to Luli on Lurang infuriated me. It was so sad seeing Lurang distancing himself from Luli due to that and Luli sad for not being able to have a brother relationship with him. I just wished that when Lurang become an adult he stopped talking to his parents bc they don't deserve him. Fortunately, they resolved their issues and now they can be brothers for real, regardless of what their parents do to Lurang. And the drama kinda forgets all this plot after the brothers reconcile so we don't know if Lurang still goes through this after graduating.

I missed them as a group in the final eps. They chose to focus on the main couple after graduating from school and the side characters were left aside a little. They could've showed more of the leads's friends after graduating. What they were working or anything in specific. Although I loved them as group in school (and I loved it all for real, the best part of everything) they spent too much time working on their time at school that when they became adults it all felt rushed. The drama lost a little of what made it so special. But it was good regardless of that. It was well-rounded and complete the way it was.

OSTs for this drama were really good. Besides there being many, they really set the tone and energy for each scene. I loved their vibes. And the visuals on the overall are stunning. The opening is so sweet with videos of the group filmed with a recorder. It's all so nostalgic it put me in the right vibe for the eps.

So that was it. I super reccomend this drama if you like slice-of-life youth dramas. It had the perfect amount of romance, friendship, a little bit of found family and healing. What I want to say is that I felt so moved watching this. It was a love letter dedicated to the youth.

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Messy writing but beautiful couple

Leads are great together. They have good chemistry, love all of their skinship and cute scenes. I just think it felt a little rushed how they got together too fast. Maybe they could've take a little more time to reconcile and we could get more angst and the drama could focus on why they broke up before they make amends. But regardless of that, they were good. But still I think the actors deserved better than this drama for reasons I will explain below.

I'm an advocate for cdramas not having 30 eps or more. It's always a little slow on pace, and this drama was no different. After they get together it's like they went around in circles between his father being an a**hole, their flashbacks together in the past, and chinese police propaganda. Then she gets pregnant and it's all them and their long-distance relationship which felt a little repetitive. It felt like there was no story for real and nothing really happened. I'm usually a fan of these kinda shows where it's more focused on the characters rather than plot, but here it was neither one nor the other. They could've talked other things like why he got into the police (we know it's bc of his deceased stepfather but that is never really portrayed), or her parents' divorce which was done superficially. They could work on this and we would know more abt their characters. The dialogue is the worst. Things are poorly explained, if they happen to be at all. The timeline is a little confusing too. Flashbacks felt sudden and out of nowhere.

ML is annoying. He's too serious, never laughs or softens (sometimes not even with FL) and all characters like to praise him for smth. I mean, it's like he's perfect but not in a good way, more like a robot. And I simply can't forget the time he called FL too innocent and silly (I think those were the words) just cause she's always smiling and in a good mood. It was just patronising. The whole time he acted all macho like he had no weakness at all. FL tried to take some feeling from him but he doesn't loosen.

I also felt there were too many characters and none of them had screen time and space for their stories. It bothered me that:
- We didn't know if Mingyu and Duan Rou got married;
- ML had siblings who never showed up, why say they exist in the first place if they have no part in anything at all;
- That FL's friend who is a doctor had more screen time than he should, there was no need to know his story;
- Mingyu's son was left aside during the drama and it's like his father doesn't care abt him. He just goes from one person to another and must understand everything. He's a kid, he needs security and to be taken care of!!
- We didn't get to see the face of ML's cousin who introduced the leads until the last ep, she was like a ghost, we could only hear her voice, I don't know why;
- Why did ML's parents not divorce?! His father was an abusive father and husband. Even if his father was trying to be better in the end, she still should've divorced. FL's dad cheated on her mother and they got divorced but ML's dad beated on his children (especially ML's sister cuz she's a woman) but that can be forgiven. Ugh!!

Although side stories are usually not that important, they shoud at least be told right. It's like they opened some paths but never took time to finish it. That's just disrespect with the viewers.

All the chinese propaganda was one of the worst things of everything. Cause the couple is really good, I can handle some drama as long as it's abt them. But the show spend some time just showing how SWAT works and it was just boring yn. And sometimes it's played to show how awesome and badass ML is, but I don't really like him, he's too forced.

All in all, it wasn't bad. It was a little boring and the narrative is lost, but the leads form a beautiful couple. If you focus on that maybe it was better than I made it seem. But for me a drama is not just a couple, but also narrative and writing, which here could be way better. Overall rating goes for the couple.

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First half: Amazing - Second half: Crap

I watched this one right after it aired cuz everybody was saying it was one of the best, the couple was cute and so on... They were cute indeed. But only in the first half of the show. From the moment they break up that's when things start to crumble.

- When the series begins taeyang made up her mind as to stop pitying and punishing herself for what happened between her and taejoon's sister. So she decided to come back to badminton. But when junyoung comes back and taeyang has to face her (and this ends up breaking her relationship with taejoon, and consequently her happiness), I thought that at some point she would realize that she's again punishing herself for smth that she had already done what she could to apologize for it. She had asked for forgiveness and retired, what else did junyoung want from taeyang?! So I thought that taeyang herself would stop all of that, just think about herself, and continue her life with taejoon by her side (since he himself wasn't giving a damn for all this drama). But the writers chose to extend all of this drama and made the couple get back together like in the last minutes of the last episode. Honestly, what was that ending really?! Just for the record, junyoung is the most annoying character and taeyang didn't do anything bad. It was just the people around her that made it look that way. And I understand that his parents not supporting their relationship might be smth that could made her uncomfortable. But she had already did what she could've done for something she wasn't even that much guilty for.
- The series also drags A LOT this drama between taeyang, taejoon and junyoung. It's like after it begins it becomes the only story that's being told for some eps. I think all of it could've been wrapped up faster so that other things could be talked about. Like taejoon's problem with his parents, and taeyang's reunion with her mother and sister. But I also think all that drama around taeyang shouldn't have taken too long bc it wasn't that much big of a deal. Like I said, it wasn't taeyang's fault what happened with junyoung. Yeah, it was taeyang who insisted on junyoung going out, and yeah, taeyang didn't immediately take up the responsability for what happened. But it was a fatality still. So I think it was a bit too much that everybody was blaming taeyang for an accident. Especially junyoung who was taeyang's friend and the only one who was there.
- I think that taejoon's problems with his family should've been addressed. It was clear that his parents cared a little too much for their daughter's feelings and not about how taejoon was feeling. Taejoon loved taeyang, but when his family found out about their relationship of course he was considered a betrayer. And taejoon never really said anything about nothing. He never complains or says how he feels. He just understands everybody. That annoyed me. All of them should've had a talk about this. And in the end it wasn't clear for me if his parents would stop putting difference between their children. And since the drama didn't show that, it's my opinion that his parents will just accept his relationship with taeyang because his sister decided to be okay with that.
- One thing that annoyed me a lot was how whenever taeyang was sad (which after their break up was like most of the time) she would ghost taejoon completely and leave him all worried bout her. Like she even spent WEEKS without talking with him, not saying a word if she was fine or anything. And when she decided to come back to training he acted like nothing had happened and everything was okay. It was so infuriating for me! He was too good for her. I remember a scene of them talking about feeling lonely and I thought that they would grow to be the emotional support of each other. But that wasn't what happened. Taeyang avoided everyone whenever she was sad and he just hid all that he was feeling. At least that's how it felt for me.
- But I admit I liked taeyang and taejoon as a couple in the first half. They were cute, supporting each other in the challenges of their career. Taejoon is just perfect. And taeyang was light and fun. Unfortunately all of this changed at some point.
- I think the only thing I really liked from beginning to end in this drama was yumin. She was my favorite character! Maybe bc she was removed from all the drama. But she's also not complicated. She's just herself. I also liked her relationship with junghwan. Yeah, he took too long to get over his ex. Yes that's super annoying. And yeah I totally get people not liking their relationship. But they were so freaking cute together! And I liked that she put some limits, not going after him and just walking away when she sees he's taking too long to get over. And in the end he went for her. Idk, I just think they were so cute together.

Anyways, for me this was an overrated drama. The beginning was very promising but all went downhill with their break up and taeyang's past coming back. Maybe if the series didn't focus so much on the taeyang/junyoung drama and more on the messages that were trying to be passed on, the side characters dramas and the romance, maybe I would've liked more. And my rating is not lower than this just because the first half was really good.

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They don't overcomplicate things

I don't really know how to write a review without actually listing all that I liked and didn't like in a series. So I'll be very straightfoward with my opinions here.

Things I liked:

- The leads are wonderful. They got chemistry together and they don't complicate things. They talk about everything and trust each other, that's so great. Actually, the show is worth just cuz of them. When they are not on screen I keep waiting for when they will. The episode when ML didn't appear was one of the most boring.
- Really liked the interactions between the leads and Lu Zichen, all three got great chemistry. Lu Zichen is realy funny actually, I could see that from the beginning. He is half shy half silly and it's so fun to watch, and it's precisely this side of him that worked with Xiao Wudi's more serious and smart personality.
- I liked her mother, she's funny and doesn't get on the leads' way. I wish they had put someone for her cuz she deserved to be happy again with someone else.

Things I didn't like:

- The second couple is super boring. I liked them as characters but not as a couple. They have poor construction and I didn't understand why they took so long to be together. Was it because of his father? But he had already cut ties with his father! Was it because of his immaturity? But how would she know he has no maturity to enter in a relationship without trying this with him?! idk, i thought they were too slow!
- I didn't like sisi, Nanxing's bff. She doesn't see how that other guy likes her and keeps ignoring him, sometimes being even rude to him. She only thinks about eating. I think she's annoying and I didn't miss her when she didn't appear anymore in the end.
- I didn't get the logic behind the fairy. First, Wudi appears to make Nanxing's wish come true, and when he does, he comes back to the fictional world where he came from. Then, out of nowhere, when Nanxing needs help, the fairy decides to bring Wudi back to do some mission. But why didn't he give that mission before? Why wait for idk what happens to send Wudi to the real world?! And I think that Nanxing should have tried to appeal to the fairy before. Why did she never thought of going to the fountain and making a wish just like Wudi did on the other side?

Anyways, despite everything I said here I really liked the show, it was funny and cute. I just think they should have built the second couple better or focused more on the main couple. But besides that, it was a great drama, among the best chinese dramas I watched.

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A treat to audiences who like romance

I absolutely loved the couple. They give butterflies in my stomach! Sizzling chemistry. I loved how Yiyang looks at her. He really has the look of a man in love. Loved how he thinks she's perfect and too much for him when he is Wu Lei. Loved that first awkward-getting-to-know-each-other phase they had. Loved how they felt comfortable with each other almost instantaneously after they start dating. Loved their skinship. Loved how they were super affectionate with each other. All of their scenes together were just pure romance.

Liked the turn the drama had in 15-16~ ep. It was heartbreaking but important for their development. Actually, there is not much of narrative in this drama. It's all basically just the couple, their love for sports and for each other. But that's not bad. It's the highlight of everything. There were no unnecessary dramas and no annoying characters trying to break up the leads. It all went smooth and without big troubles. The side characters are good. Specifically Xiaodong and Jiang Yang. It was so refreshing how Xiaodong, as FL's big brother, was the n°1 fan of the couple. And Jiang Yang too was a really supportive friend. Wished he had more screentime and Xiaodong's story with Linlin had closure. But we can't have everything :(

The production of this drama was superb. Really! Besides shooting in Finland and France, which is huge in itself and they did it beautifully, the games were well portrayed (at least from an outsider's pov) I understood most plays and the direction of them was good. The romance scenes were very well done. It was so delicate and swooning and passionate. Ofc they had good actors doing a good job but they explored them and their chemistry really well with the locations and situations. It could've been cringe and ridiculous some interactions they had, but instead they were cute and lovely together.

If I had to point out smth negative, I would say that the geographical and cultural inaccuracies and vagueness bothered me a little. Not one non-chinese player had a name that made sense with their nationality. Besides, we don't get to know where exactly they are. Where is Hel and Helsin? I assumed it was in Finland bc that's where the drama was shot. But it was confusing how they flew from Finland to France like it was just there. I just think that these details make the overall more real, if explained. But that wasn't big enough to annoy me.

So, anyways, I basically loved it. It was full of what I always like in dramas. The leads go through few difficulties which they work it out together. The drama doesn't feel cliché in how it is written. Good OSTs, good visuals, good acting. It's a treat to audiences who like romance just like me.


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EDIT: ok, so months after watching the drama, and after some reflection, I came to the conclusion that I changed my opinion on some things in the drama. Although I still stand for most of what I said above, I think this drama wasn't as perfect as I made it seem in this review.

I still love the leads' romance. They have amazing chemistry and are great together. However, after they become a couple they have little to no relationship development. They go from flirting as singles to flirting as a couple. But their interactions remain superficial. He doesn't talk with her about his life decisions, his feelings and problems. Even when he talks about his past is because she had to insist on it. And the fact that there's no real plot here makes it worse. Because we don't get to see them evolving as people. There are no hardships. He had to overcome his past with billiards but other than that it's all shallow and not explained. She has no personal story or anything. That would be ok cuz she could be there to support the ML. But he never shares his feelings with her to begin with, so she has no part in his decisions. These are actually some questionable relationship behaviors that he has. He doesn't speak his mind and he wants to provide for her like she needs someone to support her. As a matter of fact, she is portrayed almost like a child or a crystal. She must be taken care of and pampered. She is not that convincing as a fierce and strong billiards player precisely due to that. She seems much too delicate and fragile for the role.

I made it seem in the review above that I didn't really mind that Xiadong's story with Linlin is not closed. Actually I do mind. It's weird to introduce a plot point that won't come back or be given the deserved conclusion. It gets weirder as the drama is 30-eps-long, which means they had a lot of time for developing whatever they want. But wasted it all showing only the couple. The first 15 eps, although personally very enjoyable, could be far shorter as few things really happen. After that, it begins the development of ML's past, which could also be told in fewer episodes. Furthermore, I didn't like the fact that ML has a masters in something AND he owns a billiards place, but he's said to be poor and not being accomplished for his age. In what world do people live in where studying hard and having a business, at the same time, is not something to be proud of?!

At last, that's my opinion. I still like this drama despite all that I said here. I felt great watching it but it's undeniable that it has a lot of flaws that need to be addressed.

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One of the best dramas of the year!

This is one more drama of a CEO falling in love with his subordinate. But, personally, this one hits different for me. I think it's because of 2 reasons. 1) Gu Won. He is so cute. I love him! I like that he's just like other CEOs from dramas but he's much more sweet. Idk what is it but he's like a puppy that must be protected; 2) But also, their relationship grows from friendship to romance. Ik he lets it clear that he's courting her, and they flirt a lot, but they're also really comfortable with each other. And from my experience with dramas that's not common. Usually the couple is awkwardly in love until after some time of dating where they start getting intimate. But here they seem natural together even before dating. Such good chemistry! Besides this, they have A LOT of kissing scenes. I was so surprised by that. And they're good ones. Also, good talking scenes. There's no stupid misunderstandings or lack of trust. They're the whole package.

Before talking about what I think of the narrative, I gotta say that I DO NOT agree with the criticism I've seen so far of his series. I don't understand why, for some people, a good series must have so many obstacles for the leads' love, so many dramas and tears, and so many twists. As a fan of romance, I love a drama that focus on the couple, how they fall on love, what they love in each other and how they work to be together. I mean, it's so satisfying to watch a drama where the couple is happy together and help each other grow as a person and to overcome their traumas and fears. Personally, I think that's real romance. And all my favorite dramas are this way. So if you like romance, don't give a shit for what people are saying of this drama cuz I promise it's worth it.

Moving on, I think the main plot is a good one. It's kinda about how no one is better that the other and every person must be respected regardless of their position or hierarchy level. It made the antagonism between the Gu Won and his sister more important. It wasn't just a fight for money (at least not for Gu Won), it was much more bigger than that. They had different ideals and gave importance to different things. In this sense, Hwa-ran was a good villain. She was bad and I hated her but I liked the fact she never really wins, not even once, during the whole drama. I think it's really funny that in the beginning she was just in control of everything because Gu Won never wanted to have anything to do with the company. But when he put his mind into taking her out of the group, he did it like it was that easy. So, for me, she was a good villain bc she never wins against Gu Won and is only there for his personal growth. And the ending felt real. Like, his family don't end up hating each other, but they don't love each other either like those happy families from commercials. Instead, they just accept defeat and respect each other cause what else to do? So they didn't force anything. It felt relatable how his sister doesn't like him but still goes to his wedding; his mother has unresolved issues with his dad that she put aside so she can be present for her son; and Gu Won has a disagreement with each of them, but he still keeps them in his life.

Another good element in this drama is the comedy. It's really on point. It's been a long time since I laughed this much with an asian drama. And, for me, it's all because I truly like all the characters. That group trip to Thailand was amazing! I love the group, they were super fun together. Actually, all of Gu Won's moments mingling and learning from side characters were really good.

However, I must say that there were some things which I didn't like or that just bothered me:

- One mistake in the series, in my opinion, is how they dealt with the divorce thing. The part that Pyeong-hwa was prejudiced and tried to hide the fact that she's a divorced woman was ok. I understand that. But Da-eul should've divorced as well. Her husband was a complete asshole and she deserved so much more. Why did she need to put up with him? It's like the drama is portraying that even though it's wrong to discriminate people for being divorced, divorce is never the right choice either.
- Something that was missing in the end was Pyeong-hwa's situation at King Air. We don't know if she was ever promoted or if things changed about how the employees are treated there. Like, Da-eul had her "revenge" on her boss, and at least she was the boss at the store. But I think I missed some closure with Pyeong-hwa's situation.
- Why did they showed that annoying girl who worked with Sa-rang kinda falling for Sang-sik if they would never gonna bring that back?! I mean, I wasn't shiping them, she was just a toxic coworker, but it was weird hinting for smth that was gonna be forgotten in the end.

Well, it was very good and fun watch. The problems which I've put above weren't big ones as to get in the way of my enjoyment. This was for me one of the best dramas of the year. I super reccomend if you like drama with comedy and a lot of romance. The OSTs were really good; the story had a good pace as it wasn't rushed nor slow; the acting was good, Yoon-a and especially Jun-ho showed that they have good timing and talent for both comic and dramatic scenes. All the ensemble cast did their job well. It was 10/10 for sure!

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