beautiful days is a drama that took me by surprise as i never expected to get so into it. i mean, it's an oldie, a melodrama, i see tags of love triangles and mentions of illness, and it feels like i know what is to come because i have seen such stories before.

and yet, something about this drama felt different. i think it was more related to the characterization and the characters' relationships. okay, there were some unrequited loves, some makjang-y tropes and cliches, but the story was put together in a way where it didn't feel draggy or annoying, and instead i was always excited to watch the next episode.

i actually want to mention both female leads in a separate paragraph. while yonsoo was more of a typical kdrama fl, she stood up for herself when her partner wanted to pull away, fought back at his selfishness, and gave him a whole pep talk of why his decision is not right and he is lying to the both of them. yeah, maybe it could also be seen as clinginess, but i found that as her stepping up for herself and not letting him drag her around and calling him out on his actions. not to mention all the ways she found to help her sister secretly, without dwelling in self pity much. some might find that kind of selflessness annoying, but you have to admit it was beautiful. meanwhile sena seemed like such a unique character for the time. i found her to be a refreshing character. in fact, due to her character growth i started liking her even more. she was fiery, demanding and didn't back down, ever, and yet she wasn't malicious. i was the most worried about how their relationship would progress, because you know, unrequited feelings and all. of course they had a lot of ups and downs, but i loved how they never put any man between them. they're set on their feelings towards their love interests, but they also accepted that the guys have their own feelings. i think it's wonderful how a sisterhood didn't get ruined by a man for once. both of them were one of my favorite parts of this drama.

romance-wise, lee byunghun is probably the sexiest he has ever been here -- with his stares, touches and oozing charisma. maybe i disagreed with some of his ways and actions, but i couldn't dislike his character. obviously ryu shiwon's character couldn't do without clinginess and decision-making in yonsoo's stead, but he remained a positive character even despite his emo boi moments, and i liked how he came around in the end, so all is good.

actually, it turns out that the male leads were switched around (as in, the SML was supposed to be the ML, but the ML was supposed to be the antagonist) -- but it actually makes too much sense when i think back and remember how the story started out. i also want to say thank you to the fans that managed to get the ending changed, because otherwise my rating would have probably not have been this high. :D but the reason why i'm talking about this is that even despite these changes the drama felt fully coherent, and the story progressed well. yeah, i disliked a particular addition to the plot in the last part of it, but luckily it wasn't all made into a forced tragedy that is tiring to watch, even though it was still emotional (then again, why was it necessary anyway?).

i need to take a second to talk about the music as well. it was soooo good. i'm currently listening to the OST album as i am typing this, and still vibing to all the songs. :D it's nice that a drama where the music industry is a background setting actually introduces good music (they had their benefits by casting two professional singers), because sometimes music dramas can't provide any bops.

if you aren't afraid to explor older k-dramas and tend to enjoy good melodramatic love stories, this is definitely a good option to pick up.