the gem that this drama is!

it starts off as a very light-hearted comedy. she is goofy, doesn't have much ambition, plays dumb but actually has a big heart and knows how to use her intellect when she knows she needs it. he, on the other hand, is stoic, driven, focused and absolutely does not want to be in the small town he finds himself at. they keep running into each other -- remember hometown cha-cha-cha with him being everywhere she goes? yeah, city hall did it first. jo guk and mirae had such an amusing dynamic, as she was continuously disrupting his peace and he became more and more entwined with her. if you like bickering couples, this is a must watch. but even more than that, the chemistry was amazing and so palpable i held my breath in some scenes. i loved watching them slowly fall for each other and realizing their feelings. there was a particular scene in episode 12 where after all the bickering, teasing and annoying each other, he encourages her beautifully and they have a moment of realization and my heart was actually fluttering. :')

there is a big "but" with their relationship that might put people off though, it is shown in early episodes but it isn't mentioned in the synopsis so i will just say that it is something you often see in dramas about high profile people wanting to secure their power. i quickly realized that it isn't something emotions are involved in, but i still was unable to understand why it wasn't resolved sooner. it is one of the few complaints i have about this drama.

but, i have to say the male lead's calculating personality was definitely one of the more fascinating aspects of this story, as he was a much more morally grey character than the typical k-drama ml is. seeing his character soften and him start fighting for morals was great though. mirae also had one of the more awesome character growths i have seen in dramaland, because she went from being too passive to fight back to a strong, confident woman who knows how to stand up for what she believes in, even if it meant going against someone dear to her, and i loved seeing that.

as for the politics, people who have followed my posts on feeds for a while will know that it is not my favorite genre, but it did not bother me much here. yeah, maybe i couldn't follow all the titles and understand every part of the hierarchy, but the plot is deeper than you expect at first, so there will be a lot of twists and turns to hold your interest all the way through, i think. you do need to focus to actually understand it though. :D

the final episode was very well-rounded and left me feeling very happy and content, so if you haven't watched this yet, you should definitely try it, especially if you love romance dramas, because believe me, this one will deliver. :)