8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2022 South Korean romantic comedy series with 16, 60 minute, episodes.

I will provide a synopsis first then review.

Synopsis
Goo Yeo-reum (Lee Da-hee) is a struggling production director for the reality section of a production company. She is aware of her biological ticking away and is anxious for success in love and her career. Park Jae-Hoon (Cho Si-won) has been Yeo-ream’s close friend for many years and is the first person she thinks of when encountering life’s difficulties. Jae-Hoon once had a promising medical career but past tragedy has him now doing plastic surgery in a clinic. He is cynical about love and spends most of his time with Yeo-reum. When the two wind up working a reality show together will the feelings they long held for each other surface?

Review
Friends turned lovers is one of my favorite tropes. This was very good for that particular slice of romantic drama. Si-won is always a great male lead because he has that bon next door charm. I liked their friendship a lot particularly when, later in the show, you learn why he is so devoted to her. Their group of friends were all very kind to each other and to others as well so it made you want to see them succeed in love and life.

Spoilers* When the ex boyfriend comes back I did a lot of face palm to forehead reactions. So this guy does not tell you of his plans to leave the country and thinks you can just leave your job and join him but does not have the respect for your relationship to consult you first. then when you react as most people would when something messed up like that is sprung on you he leaves you at a rest stop. He did come back you find out later but still his first reaction was to leave her when she was crying. And this was after he asked her to marry him so this was her fiancé. He comes back a few years later, declares he is not over her and asks her again to marry him. And our foolish lead girl, biological clock ticking and parents eager to get her married, says yes. She was so lucky she found out he got another woman pregnant and called it off. It would have been a life time of misery with someone who has so little regard for your input.

Then our lead guy finally confesses his feelings to her albeit a little soon after the cancelled wedding and she cruelly turns him down. The way she did it was out of character for her and was not the way I think you would treat such a close friend. I was happy he gave her the cold shoulder she deserved it.

The 2nd girl was annoying in her pursuit of him. I have noticed in some South Korean dramas that there is this general expectation if someone likes you then you have some kind of romantic obligation toward them. I think people are responsible for their own feelings you cannot make someone love you. She was very pushy that way but not just that she played guilt trips on him. I thought he was as kind to her about her feelings for him as he could be. She knew she was stepping in the middle of a friendship verging on something more.

I did not like the way our lead girl let the other director push her around and I thought she was finally going to tell her off. But she never did. Not in any forceful or meaningful way anyway. I also wanted the head Director to tell the other program director that he had our lead girl work the project with her because she took things too far and the lead girl was there to balance her out. There was no acknowledgement of the many times our lead girl saved the show. In the end it does not show the lead girl returning to her job and having some of those discussions.

The ending was happy but, after she was abandoned prior to the wedding twic by the other guy it would have been so satisfying to have it end with their wedding.

#loveisforsuckers
#leeDaHee
#ChiSiWon