Ae Ra & Dong Man: They started out strong. Loved the way the progressed. So damn adorable both of them. Coming to the one major conflict they had. When I first watched the drama, I was always upset with Ae Ra. Can you imagine being happy with a partner when you are asked to give up such a big part of who they are? Had Dong Man given up on fighting, he would have resented her and that in itself would have destroyed there relationship. At the time, I was so mad at her that forgot the Doctor's diagnoses and how he said that Dong Man might be unable to hear if he is hit in the same place again.
During my second watch, I could put myself in Ae Ra's shoes. How would I feel if my partner who is at risk of going deaf insists that he continue fighting? She was the one who took care of him, when he thought he had lost his hearing and saw him be miserable. Since something that traumatic happened to him, he was very uncommunicative during the time, as was his right. What's worse is that she was already worried about the fight between him and Tak Soo. So, that definitely put her off the edge.
That doesn't mean she had the right to give him such an ultimatum. Apart from that one aspect, they were good to each other and for each other. I'm glad that they were able to work through it, even though it took Ae Ra some time.

Joo Man & Sol Hee: I see a lot of people going out of their way defending Joo Man for not being able to handle the love & support that many people can only dream of having. That's something I won't praise him for. He wasn't all wrong though. He was rational and tried to tell Sol Hee numerous times that she should look after herself more, but she wasn't listening. But still, they both had such a big communication issue. Even though he was rational, he failed to realize that Sol Hee didn't want to live in a big house. It was something that he decided on his own. She just wanted to be married to him, no matter where they lived. One thing that bothered me about Joo Man is the lack of effort, he could have cared for her the way she did for him, maybe not to the extremes but just a little. If he thought that she was saving up & not getting anything for herself, he could have treated her to things long time ago, way before things went so wrong and he tried to get her that pink dress just because she was an embarrassment to him. The thing with the intern was so ridiculous, he led her on because she reminded him of Sol Hee when she was young. My heart goes out to Sol Hee a bit, had she been with someone like Dong Man, she would have been cherished. What I do not like about her character is that she let too many things slide. She was obsessed with loving Joo Man and he couldn't do anything wrong. She was also willing to overlook things, like when he lied about meeting the intern. They just weren't a right fit for each other. I didn't want them to end up with each other. But sadly they did. Many people would say that this is the way of real relationships, however that's an excuse for not putting enough efforts into your relationship. Not accepting that its possible to beat that low-effort cycle is just as naive as assuming that life is all unicorn and rainbows.

Final note, all actors did a wonderful job portraying their characters.