Park Hye Ryun dramas Dream High, I Hear Your Voice, and Pinocchio are some of my all time faves. I haven't finished While You Were Sleeping though because I find Suzy and Lee Jong Suk's chemistry more sibling-like than romantic. I was looking forward to Startup but was not really sure about the casting, which was a foreshadowing of things to come lol.

Startup is not at par with PHR's greatest hits, but it's still a solid, positive, engaging drama about the struggles and perseverance of youth in the technological startup business. Yes, maybe it's bogged down by the controversial love triangle, but well...at least everybody's buzzing about it, and catapulted Kim Seon Ho's dimples to popularity.

I'm the last person to be a fan of messy love triangles, but I think the drama from the start has been obvious that Do San is the end game. It's just that PHR put a twist on the beloved romance trope of mistaken identity through love letters. If she followed the usual trope then Jipyeong is the end game.

I have a Nam Joo Hyuk allergy from Bride of the Water God, he did better here as Do San, though it's not enough to overshadow Jipyeong. Do San seems like a beta hero made from the same cutout as Dream High's beloved Sam Dong, but Kim Soo Hyun knocked that role out of the park with an endearing accent and trademark heartbreaking cries. Sam Dong also had a life- altering sickness there which would have put everybody on his ship, while Do San's troubles about confidence feels like just our everyday troubles. It lacked drama oomph.

I do commend PHR for trying something different from her usual drama that tackles some kind of whodunit mystery crime. Her trademark endearing relationships and good drama mixed with good comedy is still evident. Suzy was a good surprise! She's always her charming self but I'm impressed with how more controlled her acting looks in this drama.

It's just Kim Seon Ho's Han Jipyeong has such a good backstory, with that gruff but secretly selfless role we're all weak for, and on key scenes that mattered he brought his acting game. Honestly he didn't get a lot of screentime, also pretty Kang Han Na. I really wished there were more Mom-Dal Mi-In Jae scenes, but their personal differences were just smoothed out off- screen, suddenly all is well and there was no emotional payoff from their initial fallout. Despite all that drama off-screen, and what- could-have-been's, I'll be on the lookout for PHR's next project, who knows maybe it'll be Jipyeong's own happy ending.