I had this marked on my calendar from the moment I heard about it & not disappointed.

I'm a fan of the contract marriage trope mostly coz majority of them go from hate to love, which is my cup of tea. So, when I first heard about this drama, I immediately added it to my "plan to watch" list.

Read a few people's comments that the actress is not that good or the drama is not that good. In my opinion, the 2 episodes I have watched were good. Right now, they are more interesting than "Dr Slump" or "Flex X Cop" for me. The first episode starts out a bit slow but halfway through it and I was hooked. The 2nd episode is real deal. It kept me interested for the entire duration of the episode and now I can't wait to watch what more unfolds.

3rd and 4th Episode: How adorable can the ML be? Both episodes were so fun to watch, from him saying "I'll steal you from my brother, make you fall in love with me, and dump you" to him going "I like you" in period of 2 episodes was so funny. He was also so bothered when he decided to change his approach and set her up on a blind date. She wasn't really that bothered about the blind date, wouldn't have been if the guy hadn't turned out to be pervert.

5th Episode was pretty much the ML saying horrible things about FL. I get the enemies to lovers trope needs some of that in the beginning but the descriptions he uses for FL are not tasteful at all. The FL was pretty hurt when she overheard stuff he said about her but had to pretend that everything was okay. She didn't even receive an apology from him.

6th Episode was ML going out of his way to ignore FL because he finally accepted that he liked the FL. He tries so many different ways to get over her, but remain unsuccessful. While I didn't much like the ML in 5th episode, I couldn't help but laugh some of their shenanigans.

7th Episode was so short. I wanted more of it. Everything was good, I'm on tenterhooks, waiting for the moment when ML finds out why the FL is marrying his brother. I hope he is accepting, but from the promo's it doesn't seem like it. Just finished 8th Episode, wow, now there's only two weeks worth of episode left. I feel like why is this one so short? And yet I can't wait to reach the end. Ai yo, I see the the current dynamics between the two, but the ML still thinks that the FL doesn't know the truth about his brother. He doesn't even know that she is in it for the her personal reasons. Waiting to see how he is going to react once he finds out.

9th ep: As expected, the ML was bound to find out that FL knew about his brother and the fake marriage thing. She should have told him, but the situation is overall shitty. This is the reason, I wasn't excited about them dating each other, at least clear things up first.

10th ep: This was such a good opportunity to have everything out in the open and make things somewhat right for everyone, but no, according to the Kdramaland cliche, the leads need to separate for some amount of time before they can have their happy ending, otherwise the world would fall apart.

11th & 12th: I'm so sad that its over. They break up in 11th, we have a 1 year gap and they get together back in 12th. 12th episode was so damn good. It didn't feel rushed, the ending was a bit weird but acceptable. I do love the scene where he both FL and 2ndFL keep throwing him at each other, you take him, no you take him.

Everyone kept talking about Kim Bum cameo, but I can't get over how gorgeous Lee Soo Hyuk looks as a groom.

Coming to the actors, like many viewers I do think that Moong Sang Min can do better as an actor. He is a treat to watch, but many of scenes seemed a bit awkward and not as emotional as the character deserved. But I just can't see any other actor in the role. Hoping to see more of him in romcoms. Jeon Jong Seo was a perfect fit for her role. I wouldn't mind seeing these two work together again.

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Love the leads, the plot had potential but then turned out pretty senseless.

I have been fan of Zhou Ye since I first saw her act in Scent of time, the story just fit her so well. Her character seemed so tragic and she did such a wonderful job. I have also seen some of Lin Yi's dramas and he is also very good, so their interactions were fun to watch visually.

Initially, I liked the concept where he didn't know that he rejected the girl he was crushing on (online crush). But MLs character seemed pretty idiotic for not putting things together before she came out and admitted it. There were far too many similarities, including her mary sue act that she put on his saying. Even the FL took her sweet time figuring it out. That whole thing was just handled poorly and had me rolling my eyes, would have been better if things hadn't been so obvious.

Coming to the romance part, the ML was just too rude in his rejection. We don't owe anything to a person who likes us but at least the courtesy to not humiliate them. The FL did something very brave in front of all the students knowing that she might be rejected, the least he could have done was gentled his tone a little.

I'm glad that FL is not a doormat, it was fun to see her try to move on and not cling to someone who had rejected her so brutally. He later on tried to make up for it and I was onboard the make plan but his confession to her only came after she tracked him down when he had disappeared.

The supporting characters are kind of okay. Chen Xin Yi is cutie and I just feel like she could do much better than Jiang Jun Nan, who hadn't really noticed her ever.

I have only completed 20 episodes and I'm not sure, I want to finish the show.

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A fun show to watch

Chen Xing Xu looks fabulous in his role as Qian Heng. The stylist did a good job on both his and Zhang Ruo Nan's outfits. They were both so visually pleasing to watch. Honestly, the entire cast was filled with beautiful people.

As for the show, the plot was pretty cliche. However they tried to make it slow burn and that made it interesting to watch. The ending was satisfying and I was glad to see Cheng Xi and Wu Jun happy together. Wu Jun was such a adorable character to watch. Even when ML and FL were in the room, Wu Jun often stole the show.

While I understand the demands of the character like Cheng Yao, however I have seen Zhang Ruo Nan act better in other dramas. The character was just very agreeable and timid. There is some spark now and then that makes it from becoming boring.

The only part that I didn't much care for was woman who was interested in the ML maligned FL's reputation, and no-one actually suggested to check the camera footage. At the time the ML was away, so when he came back, FL had already resigned and then ML suddenly thought to check camera footage, because none of the other bright lawyer had the same idea. Too unbelievable. Thankfully, they didn't drag that for long and got it over with in around 3 episodes I think.

Apart from that one story arc which was completely unnecessary, the show is fun to watch.

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What a disturbingly normal story.

In the first 10 episodes the FL is barely lifts her head to meet the ML eyes. Instead of feeling any chemistry between the two, I felt worried about her. Everything including their past and present relationship till episode 18 seems like the ML has the upper hand and FL just follows whatever he wants blindly. And so many questionable things happens.

The ML clearly broke up with her, told her he didn't want to see her again. Yes, the FL should have at least asked him why he wanted to, she for first time during their relationship decided to hold back. Her father forced her to move abroad and she had no way to contact ML since he refused to give her his contact details. Its 7 years later, the ML blames her saying that she just left and it felt like she broke up with him. And she apologizes.

Next, when she tells him she is divorced, he lashes out and says what makes her think that he could accept a divorced woman. He then shows up next day asks her to get married. The FL, no questions asked accepts again blindly.

Does the groom seem happy to be married? No!
Does he tell everyone that he is married? No!
His family comes to town and does he invite her to meet them? No!
She has to ask him why they are sneaking around when they are married.

What's more, she seems to have successful career, however he doesn't seem to praise her or even be proud to be her husband.

That's not even the worse:
An incident where the ML forcefully kisses her after he drinks a little, he comes back the next day apologizes for it and the heroine just shrugs its off as if its not a big concern and its acceptable. (And this is not a one off, another incident where he falls on her in jealous rage but stops himself)
Another incident with her fake marriage, another guy who got drunk and almost tried to force his attentions on her.

When the FL's ex-husband shows up threatening their marriage, he then suddenly does a 180 and becomes an husband who's actually interested in his wife. Then he realizes their marriage wasn't a real one and he wants to make it one. The ending was so bizarre because this guy was non-communicative and controlling.

Apart from the story, what was wrong with the show's stylist, I remember only 1 outfit that FL looked great in, it was when she showed up for a meeting with her ex husband. They went out of their way to make the FL look crappy at all turns. That woman was so gorgeous that she managed to make rock the botched pixie cut.

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Avoid watching 32-35 and save yourself some disappointment

Up to episode 32, everything was going fine even with the crazy repetitive tantrums thrown by Qiao Xin. And then Fu Mi Ya enters the picture again, not necessary to the plot at all. What were the writers thinking? So many good dramas' out there spoiled with such poorly written endings. (It is the curse of poor endings with these dramas) At least include something that would make sense, there should be a flow of things.

So, when the Miya shows up yet again the ML completely forgets about the FL. When your friend is sick you sure go take care of them for a while but don't setup house there my dude! What's more the ML did pretty well before ep 32, he seemed like such a poor partner for FL by the end of the show.

The worst part was ML was aware of how much the female lead was hurting because he was neglectful and he chose not to rectify it, even though he was quite capable of doing so. She wasn't a priority. Her dreams weren't a priority.

0 rewatch value.

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A reel featuring Yang Zi & Xu Kai got me here. It's is nice but a bit boring.

I usually tend to avoid Xu Kai's dramas not because I think he isn't a good actor but because Ancient Love Poetry did me in. I hated his character in it. But I also loved him in "Falling Into Your Smile" in which his character was so damn sweet, so although I'm a bit vary about his dramas, I still didn't hesitate to watch this one, especially because he has been paired with Yang Zi, the cutest adorable sprite. Now, that I saw them together, the chemistry is good. They are both stunning and can light up the screen for me.

This is going to be a slow burn and I'm going to enjoy it. Like one another review said that they liked FL's bf initially, I had the same thought that he was adorable. Only to have had my eyes opened to the lies. The FL is a pretty independent woman who wants to earn things herself, knowing this the guy still couldn't muster up the courage to fess up. Even if he had to be forgiven because FL is a nice person, he couldn't even say no the blind date when he already had a gf. Damn it, I understand that is hard to untangle from relationships that you have invested years in but the guy doesn't learn. He'll continue to lie about things and they are bound to break up. The bf had very little presence in ep 7 & 8, it was focused mostly on the parents and grandma.

The ML is clearly trying to some business espionage, his goals are still unclear but doesn't seem that far gone to harm people. I don't think he'll be able to harm the lovely grandma or her step granddaughter. So, the whole truth is out in the open and the ML did frame FL, leading to her demotion. This was when she asked for a transfer to a place far from him and he agreed, only to show up in that place again.

The FL's mother is so damn irritating. Why on the earth does she not care about her daughter's happiness, she decided to forgive the guy because she found out that he has money. She is not getting any better even in the newer episodes. I'll be skipping most of the scenes with her in it and continue watching it for the leads.

The FL breaks up with her boyfriend in episode 11 and it is a sad. It was a hard decision for her to make, but they just weren't right and she so clearly brought up all the points that didn't work in their favor. The bf didn't really have anything to say and didn't try hard to get her to change her mind. Thankfully, her mama was a bit understanding about it and not her usual self. Her brother and father are both such green flags. Now, we finally get some scenes with FL and ML focused on each other and they have started with bickering.

Despite the breakup and the dynamics between the family, the drama is pretty light hearted and lacks depth. Not that I mind, I like it well enough. It was just different from most of Yang Zi's dramas that are very emotionally charged. Yang Zi's character has more depth compared to Xu Kai's character, I hope that changes in the future to keep things interesting.

Ep 15 & 16: Wow, the mom wins the mug for the most self centered mom in the world. She pushes her daughter so hard to marry a guy just because his family has money. She is not even willing to think about how he would make her daughter miserable by continuing the same cycle they were stuck in. As a daughter of an Asian mother, Mai Chen Huan's words to her mother were so resonating. You put on put foot out of the line and you get labeled a disobedient daughter who deserves to be cut off. The entire family enables that woman, even her son saying you are not to blame. Come on people, if she hadn't tried to take the bait set by the Jia Liang's family, all this mess wouldn't have happened. She can't just let her daughter be.

Ep 19 & Ep 20: Wasn't expecting that! Will miss the adorable grandma for sure. I initially thought that she would leave the hotel to both Chen Huan and Zhi Ming. It is hard to guess what's going on in Zhi Ming's head, he is probably thinking how to get the hotel without affecting Chen Huan in any way. Here's to hoping they work together instead of fighting against each other.

Ep 21 & 22: So far so good. They are working together and Zhi Ming has pretty much shared everything he planned to do with Chen Huan, let's hope there isn't anything he has left out. I wonder though if he might have to leave the country once they start to get along.

Ep 22 to Ep 30: They got together and things are going smoothly with just a little hitches. The mom is the same, I'm surprised the Yao Zhi Ming gets along with her so well. It is a nice to watch, but even with two such powerful actors it might not have much of rewatch value. Xu Kai's "Falling into your smile" is a much better watch.

Ep 31 to 37: Skipped a lot of scenes, and watched the final episode without subtitles. (Just curious as to how it ended). The ending seems fine but it failed to evoke any feelings out of me. It was not a drama that you can be immersed into.

I'm a teensy bit disappointed with the drama, especially because it has such a good cast. I hope we see them all in better projects in the future, where all of their acting skills would be appreciated.

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I wish more dramas were this riveting! Hate waiting for the new episodes... But I will.

When I first heard about the drama, I liked everything about it. The title, the description, the cast, so, I was looking forward to the drama. I knew that it would hold my interest from the first episode. A lot of spoilers down below, so avoid reading it if you don't like spoilers.

Based on the the 1 episode I have seen, I love it! I can't wait to see how this one unfolds. Its so good to see Kim Soo Hyun be so emotional in his role. Before this, all the characters he has portrayed were so stoic. The drunk scene was so adorable! The distance between the ML and FL just makes me curious as to what caused it? Can it even be bridged?

With what little information we have at hand, I currently don't mind if they get divorced. In fact, one of my most prominent thought throughout the first episode was, "I hope he gets a divorce." He was so damn stressed! I have seen and read countless stories where it is the submissive FL that marries into a family that thinks she is not good for their son. And the son won't even stand up to them or speak for her. Here, while she defends him behind his back, she still lets them talk to him that way as if he owes them.

The FL looks kind of unrecognizable in the wedding scene in the beginning. I kept questioning, was that even Kim Ji Won?

At the end of the episode 2, we could all see how relieved he was when she told him that she only had 3 months to live. We could all hear the gears in his head. So, no need to file for divorce anymore, just endure for 3 months. Just started 2nd episode, which only confirms his feelings. I'm honesty not surprised though, throughout the episode we can see how hard he is trying to control his happiness. One would think, that it is not possible to salvage this at all. So far, the FL seems a bit heartless, so I'm wondering what she can do to convince us that there is more to her.

Episode 3 started out pretty boring, but we do have two interesting developments, our SML (Yoon Eun Seong) might be harboring some serial killer fantasies. I think, Mo Seul Hee [Man Dae's girlfriend], is behind the boar attack. I might definitely be suspecting someone is innocent, but she seems pretty suspicious at this point. At least in this episode we get to see that FL does have some feelings for the ML, my favorite dialogue so far, "You'd be the biggest waste." Never thought this could be said in romantic context with such possessiveness. One thing I find a bit hilarious about the FL is that she is delusional about her illness, arguing with the doctors that she will experience a miracle.

Episode 4 did not disappoint. The FL kind of reminded me of the Lee Young-joon from What's wrong with secretary Kim and Min-Min from Strong Woman, with her over-the-top self-praising shenanigans. It was quite fun to watch. What I liked the most was the ending, it was the first time the ML displayed genuine feelings for the FL (Most of the time he just wants to run away, which actually seems like a good idea for him in this setting) With the memory loss angle, I wonder if the FL is going to be cured and then loose the memory of falling in love with him again and mistreat the guy in future.

Okay. After watching episode 5, I'm sure that she is going to die and make us cry. Since we have only seen the FLs horrible side with a dash of niceness here and there, it was hard to like her in the first 2-3 episodes. But since then, we get to see more and more of her struggles and while not completely a decent character, its easy to identify her coping mechanism. She dealt with everything alone when she should have relied on her partner. Loosing a child can be a terrible blow to the parents, so it is not uncommon that they lived separately since then, relying on their own. I am starting to like the FL somewhat and like the ML, its going to be a bitter ending. Also, can't believe we have such a interesting cameo: Sebastian Roche! I thought my eyes were playing trick on me, so I had to google and it was confirmed!

Ep 6: Damn, she found out. I get that she is hurt, but once I want her to put herself in his shoes and think about all he has been through to take that extreme measure. Also, what the hell is wrong with the Hong family, is everyone crooked, except for the weirdo aunt that I very much enjoy watching. She seems to be the only other person who cares about people in that family!

Ep 7 & 8: Okay, the drams is called queen of tears because it is making us all cry. One thing you have to say about the makers of the show, they gave us such great cameos! First we had Oh Jung Se, then Sebastian Roche, and now Vincenzo. Who are we going to see next? The Vincenzo arc was too short for my liking it just ended abruptly, at least Oh Jung Se got a decent arc. I finally have started liking the FL, more so because she accepted that the reason for divorce was her. Can't believe that we are only halfway through, I just want them to drop all the episodes right now.

Ep 9 & 10: Gotta love Hyun Woo's mom, she treats Hae In so well, which can be readily seen in front of her treatment from her poor excuse of a mother. She even calls him a scumbag, calling him out on his behavior when he found out that Hae In was going to die. The epilogues are so good. I see many people comparing this one to Uncontrollably Fond, but I disagree. Apart from the terminally ill lead there's not a lot in common so far. Hae In is a lot better than Joon Yeong who was abominable to Noh Eul for the majority of their relationship. The bad times between that couple were a lot more with only a handful of good times, that as we can see is not the case with our Royal Couple Of Tears. I like how we get to see little tidbits from their past, the epilogues are always appreciated. Okay, while I'm not a big fan of Eun Seong, it was easy to see his devastation when Hae In sold him out in front of the people. He did deserved it, after all, who told him to threaten the Queen? He found out that the woman he loves is going to die, so the best he could come up with was threatening her? What an idiot.

Ep 11 & 12: Okay so much happens in this episode. Everyone's reaction was as expected when they found out about Hae In's condition. I'm not a fan of her mom's so what she said still doesn't get her off the hook for me. I'm a bit upset about the amnesia trope, it is one trope that I never want to see again. So damn convenient to use but just doesn't make for a good story. Poor Hae In, the tumor is slowly taking away her abilities to recognize people. The last part of ep 11 was so heartbreaking. Glad, there was an epilogue featuring cute Hyun Woo. Ep 12 was a bit slow. I enjoyed the scenes with the leads and skipped most of the other scenes with Eun Seong and his mother. I didn't much like Soo Cheol in the beginning, but he has grown on me. While he may not seem like smartest of the bunch, he is so damn good to Da Hye and their child.

Ep 13: The part about the Baek asking for snow for rehearsal was a bit confusing why was he so excited? The later excitement I get that he found out about being Hae In's first love. That was great scene. With Eun Seong also living for Germany, it is clear that he plans to take advantage of Hae In's memory loss and might claim that he is her husband or boyfriend. We'll find out tomorrow.

Ep 14: Called it! It was such an obvious route to go with the writing. But you do feel for Eun Seong, despite his character traits, in any other drama he might have been the ML who ends up with the FL. Here, his love is just unrequited. Why does the poor bear, Soo Cheol, keeps suffering. I hope he lives happily and stops with all the blunders.

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Did not make any sense at all

The story is like someone said nonsense. They took a good concept and decided to just mess with it. The first episode did not connect with the whole story. There is such a visible inconsistency with the way the ML's character behaves in the first episode and rest of the show.

In the first episode, he is a man, who lets his so called beloved marry a chicken and then forces himself on her on their wedding night. In the rest of the episodes, he seems like a different person, not a great ML but kinda okay. I have seen another drama featuring this Guan Yue (Night of love with you) he did good job in that. However, in TRL something was missing. Also, his makeup was so poorly done. In the last episode, when the FL dies, he walks to her with no grief in his expression at all. But later a tear slips down his cheek. Just so underwhelming.

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I got into the drama thinking it was just a sad ending. But it is a whole toxic mess.

"Are you at an age where you should be crying over some drama character that dies?" -Noh Eul

Yes. We are. But honestly the death wasn't even the saddest part of this drama. It was the relationship between the leads, it was so damn toxic. Had it not been for my curiosity and cast, this drama is far too overhyped.

From the first episode onwards, their relationship was doomed in my eyes.
The guy tripped her, she was limping.
He even stole evidence from her that could spoil his dad's reputation, she then got into an accident.
When he met her again, he left her in the middle of road nowhere where it was snowing and threw some money at her.
He then had the gal to be angry at her for not admitting that they knew each other.
When she rejected him because she had feelings for the other guy, he actually kicked her.
Let's not talk about the way he treated her once they actually got into a relationship.
There's more, he even kissed other woman in front of her, let her be humiliated and contributed to that humliation.

I initially thought the FL would have some kind of backbone and expected more from her, but she number of times allowed him to treat her like shit and then kept going back.

This is the kind of plot that gives me the ick. The romance happened for about a minutes, the most of it was heartbreak for the FL. While the actors had chemistry, in the story, the MLs feeling for the FL just suddenly happened. They didn't have that great of a backstory to begin with.

I came into this drama expecting to be wowed and shed some tears at the end. But I shed more tears of frustrations with the way the entire relationship was handled compared to when he died. Since that's where his story ends, here's to hoping she finally meets a decent man and begins a new life.

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Seemed good for the first 15 episodes & then everything started going downhill (Stay for the acting)

For the first 15-20 episodes you will actually like the Bai Ju, he was somewhat a decent guy. He ensured that Shang Gu got a second chance at life, treated her like a loved one for first half of that second life. Then he disappears for 10,000 years. Yes, the time just randomly speeds up in this show. He splits into two bodies, the good part of him, Qing Mu wins over Hou Chi, the reincarnation of Shang Gu., treats Hou Chi like a goddess that she is. The part of him that was Bai Ju eventually takes over and then treats Hou Chi and their child like shit. "Worst Father Award"

I wanted to stop watching when Qing Mu was taken over by Bai Ju. The last thing the guy said to Bai Ju was "Be nice to Hou Chi" Guess what Bai Ju did? He was cruel, because he wanted to sacrifice himself.
The episodes from then on were just unbearable to watch and there is none of the Bai Ju loved in the first half left.
He begins by denying that he was ever Qing Mu to Hou Chi, who at the time was pregnant with their child.
He then decides to marry the woman he promised he would never looked at because Hou Chi/Shang Gu was the only one for him. He decides to trust that woman more than he ever trusted Hou Chi.
On the day of his marriage, when she confronts him (since they are still married), he divorces her in front of everyone. Not only that, allows her to get physically hurt, lets her father die in front of her, because it would have spoiled his grand plan of sacrificing himself.
He then neglects his child, while doing god knows what while the woman he claims to sacrifice his life for is in coma and now their child is being raised by the uncle (Tian Qi) who would actually have made a better partner for Shang Gu.
But does he cut off the connection completely? No, he tries to steal undeserved moments with them. Just let them go my dude! It was painful to watch.

The worst part of these sacrifices is the lack of trust, but i usually give it a pass because that's how these stories are structured, what I cannot get over is treating your partner cruelly.

Hou Chi died a sad death, betrayed by Bai Ju in all forms.

Edit: I forgot to mention a few things in the review before.

I was so upset for Hou Chi, that I forgot to talk about the environment they created for that child with the kind of choices they made.
Shang Gu once she woke up from her slumber was a good mother for a minute and then she had to go kneel in front of the deity for 500 years so they could have Bai Ju back. So, another 500 years of neglect for the child.
Sure, we can assume everything was hunky-dory once Bai Ju got back, but let's not lie and say they were both good parents for their child's first years of life.

The best part about this drama was the actors, they did such a good job in keeping my interest even though I wanted to give up. I did like the characters, they were pretty complex and not one-dimensional. I just feel sad for the child, makes me even wary of watching "The Last Immortal" but I need a few days to recover from this heartbreak and watch something light before even thinking of watching that.

I also held on till the ending because I wanted all that pain they suffered to lead somewhere and was glad to see that they did have the happy ending most people wanted.

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Mixed feelings about the ending

The main characters in the present get a happy ending but same cannot be said for the characters in the Joseon. The writer should have put much more thought in the story and also tied the past properly. Too many loose ends.

What about her parents who treated her great? Their daughter just died.

What was the point of saving Tae Ha in the past life, he just dies later on. And during the time he lives he has to be stuck with a wife who's in love with his reincarnation and he is completely clueless about the identity of this guy.

The past Tae Ha should have gotten to live a long healthy life. It felt a lot like present Tae Ha stole Past Tae Ha's love, even though I was rooting for the present Tae Ha and Yun Woo to end up together, I can't help but point this out.

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Entertaining Rom-Com with a little bit of mystery and tons of Good Looking People

What a bunch of good looking people in one frame. The story is pretty shaky but it is fun to watch the FL's shenanigans. Someone rightfully said, it is quite similar to the romance of tiger and rose. I started watching this one right after I finished tiger and rose and it gave me the same feel.

So far only seen 20 episodes and all of them were pretty good. The romance is slow burn but when it happens it is very sudden. The ML falls first. The FL is constantly wondering if the ML is going to kill her.

I also like the other couples in the story. Before finishing the drama I wondered how it was going to end, if it was going to have a rushed ending like tiger and rose or more drawn out one like Lost Romance. But in Lost Romance at least the FL & ML knew each other before crashing into novels. In here, the ML is purely fictional so far. So, maybe it might have an open ending like Please Fall into love.

But it was neither, it was more like the ending of the Unique Lady. Screenwriters using this trope need to do better with the endings. Stop with the open endings, there are 36 episodes in total. This needed to be planned better, there were quite a few other arcs that could have been avoided.

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Things to Love: The developing chemistry between the leads & Chen Mai Dong's grandma!

Ep 1 to 3: I wasn't a fan of Zhou Yu Tong, because I have only ever seen her in one drama that was Begin Again, where her acting wasn't all that great. But 3 episodes in and I like her character, this one suits her more and her acting is on point. So far, the ML is pretending to not be interested in her or even remember her from the school days. What's more, he tries to give her a wide berth. So, we don't have much in the name of romance. Right now, I feel more chemistry between the FL and his grandma, they have cool sismance going. The FL's siblings are hilarious.

Ep 4: The ML keeps insisting that he really doesn't seem to like the FL. The FL doesn't deny that she finds him attractive or liked him in the past.

Ep 5: Nothing ML's character does makes sense so far. If he is pretending to not like her or even not remember her he should have done a 180 when he wasn't in her or grandma's company but that wasn't shown properly. Instead, in this episode, we get to see him abruptly reminisce about old memories with FL, as if he never pretended that those memories didn't leave a lasting impression.

Ep 6 to Ep 8: Okay. These three episodes were so much better than the previous two, added a lot more depth to the characters. I liked the FL a little since the beginning but these episode made me really appreciate her character. It is good to see her be independent and not drop everything on the off chance that she would hit it off with a man.

Ep 9 & 10: The FL has moved backed home temporarily, which is still an obstacle between the two. Since none of them have considered moving places to make it work. So, I'm not sure what the ML has in mind when he has decided to pursue her. They'll need to reach a middle ground where that is concerned. But the slow burn between the two has been nice to watch and they did start with better chemistry than some of the dramas that I have watched. Now, as they spend more time together, it is easier to notice the sparks. (I am a bit partial to Li Xian's character, he and Yang Zi have a place in my heart since I have watched Go Go Squid) It will be nice to see how it unfolds.

ep 11 & 12: Wow the ML has some serious mood swings and the FL isn't that far behind him in that area. But they are so damn adorable. What I love the most is the kisses, the look warm and inviting to watch. I can't wait for the next episode to see how her mom reacts to catching them.

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One of Park Seo Joon's best performances. And Kim Da Mi, never disappoints.

Jo Yi Seo was such a complex character that stole the show whenever she was on screen. It was honestly hard to look at anyone else with the kind of energy she brought to the table. There are things that I didn't like about her character, like her first instinct is to always look out for herself and who she values in a way that may harm others. She doesn't care about collateral damage at all. Initially, she is always intolerant of other beliefs and preferences (relatable for all I'm sure), saying cruel things to anyone who doesn't fit the mold. Which is quite surprising, since she is someone who doesn't fit it at all.
What I do like is, she does apologize and her apologies always appear sincere, even though they might be due to the scolding she has received from the ML. But what can you do, when your mother doesn't care about such things and just cheers you on no matter what you do. Even with her sociopathic tendencies, she had a little heart and she needed someone to guide her. While that be one excuse we can use to defend the character, its just that. Her character was fun to watch and kept things interesting.

Out of all the Park Seo Joon's Drama, this happens to be the one that I'm impressed the most with. It is easy to act all goofy, but the emotions he brought to his characters were simply great. His character was also pretty solid and someone who stuck to his beliefs no matter what. Surprisingly, he was one of the characters that was more open to change as well. What he didn't knew, he learned and wasn't ashamed of learning from someone younger that him.

The Romance:
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There were times when it seemed like it would be natural for Park Sae Roy and Oh Soo Ah to end up together, especially with the way he noticed only her even when Yi Seo was in the room and his stubborn insistence that the he liked Soo Ah, despite anything.

But being with Oh Soo Ah wouldn't have helped him achieve the success & revenge that he was so thirsty for. Without Yi Seo, he probably would have had a very hard time and might have taken additional years to achieve those goals. What Oh Soo Ah achieved through her years of patience is just as important. She was just as lonely as Sae Roy, so in a way, it seemed a bit sad that they didn't end up together. Rather than both of them spending their time apart and alone, they could have worked together, helped each other grow but they each made a choice that separated their paths, ultimately leading to different destinations.

Coming to Yi Seo, she was kind of saint when it came to the romantic aspect. She fell first and everything she did was for Sae Roy (Of course that doesn't negate the satisfactions she received from helping him achieve things no one else could). That is my problem with her romance arc. She was one that was more in love with him. It took him so many years to actually realize what he felt for her. While Yi Seo has sociopathic tendencies, she is not a full on sociopath. She has the capability of understanding & empathizing when taught. So, she must have felt the rejection time and again, especially when he chose to go to Soo Ah. Her pursuit of him was sometimes fun to watch and others just sad. The level of patience she showed for someone so young was commendable. But initially, her feelings were somewhat of a burden to Sae Roy. We did see him reject her, but from his face it was so easy to see he was conflicted and confused whenever she expressed her feelings.
Sae Roy needed to much prodding to come to his senses about his feelings for Yi Seo. Had there been a SML wo could have swayed Yi Seo a little, it could have been much more fun to watch. While Jang Geun Soo tried, he just was an adorable character that seemed a little too young for Yi Seo. Yi Seo was simply someone too old for her age. It was only before she was kidnapped when he was on a date with Sooh Ah that we were finally able to have a clear idea of his feelings for her. Even then, it took a kidnapping.

The worst part about this drama is the the final time skip to 4 years later. They just missed showing us the gradual growth not only regarding the romance but also the development of their brand (IC). It was such a missed opportunity. Even thought they had limited episodes to put that all in, they could have shown us bits and pieces of how things unfolded in those 4 years.

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Loved it. The leads are surprisingly gentle and humorous.

The first 7 episodes flew away like a breeze. I do like the dynamics between the 2, but it seems like Shen Li was the only one to catch feelings during Xing Yun while was affectionate didn't seem to be that interested in her. Even when she was gone he lived his life very well, maybe missed her once in a while, but was not deeply moved by her leaving or even the idea of her marrying someone else. Even when he returned to the heavenly realm, he seemed as indifferent so far. Apart from mentioning that Shen Li was interesting he didn't intend to pursue her.

Ep 8 to 16: She finally meets Divine Lord Xing Zi, who denies he knows Xing Yun, hearing which she sheds tears to which the divine lord is unmoved. He then insists on spending time with her. The Poor girl is busy scouting the place while the Divine Lord is taking a leisurely stroll in the garden.

The Divine Lord finally clears up that he didn't intend to spend time with her but it was to clean her miasma that he had to take her along. When she talks about him resembling an old acquaintance. He brushes it off saying its common and that she shouldn't get too attached to things or people. He then follows her to the demon realm and claims he needs to stay for fun and wants to live at her place. He then shows a teeny bit of what you could call jealousy when Shen Li's betrothed shows up. The one that divine lord himself picked.

Gotta love Shen Li, in ep 14, she finally decided to put everything out there and then kindly told him to go fuck himself. What's even wrong with the guy, he can't even sort out his own feelings and continues to mess with her, following her around everywhere just rejecting her left and right and still bombarding her with those mixed signals.

In ep 16, we get too see them work together, Shen Li gets hurts and we actually see Divine lord get mad for the first time. First green signal telling us that he does care for her. It is nice to see him hold her sweetly nursing her back to health.

ep 16 to 39: Wow this was very slow burn, they finally got together in episodes 30-31, while the chemistry between them was great the kisses were not it. Shen Li did a good job with the kisses, can't say the same about the ML.

What I like the most about this drama is that the leads don't betray each other and are loyal. There are never any misunderstanding or other man or woman they have to pretend to love in order to protect each other. So, i'll be putting this on my rewatch list.

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