julwa

I really liked the series. I was very intrigued by the main character, and their relationship in high school was wonderful to me. I also really liked the main heroine, especially her determination. The beating seemed a bit absurd to me, though, because he was thinking a few steps ahead, and that was thoughtless. I cursed the main character’s parents (especially the mother) a lot, because in my opinion, sometimes they went way too far—for example, wanting to decide about their daughter’s relationship when she was already an adult and had her life settled. Not to mention that after she was diagnosed with depression, they still wanted to send her abroad as soon as possible and only thought about that. The character Gao—no character has annoyed me so much in a long time (respect to the actor, though). I couldn’t stand his insecure personality, always looking for problems around him when he himself was the problem. For most of the series, I prayed for him to disappear from the screen—I suffered terribly and what was it all for? Just so that in the end he faced no consequences and built a happy life?

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Overall, I watched this series a long time ago and honestly got a bit scared by the opinions, because back then I really liked it.

It was a show I watched with great pleasure, and I couldn’t wait to start the next episodes and learn more about the characters’ past and future. The relationship between them is very enjoyable, and the chemistry practically jumps off the screen (plus lots of sweet scenes — I’m in love). The characters are very well developed, and I appreciated how the series shows problems faced not only by the main couple. I really liked how childhood trauma can affect adult life. On top of that, the side couples’ storylines were interesting — for me, the best one outside the main couple was definitely Kim Ji-a and Go Gwi-nam. From the very beginning, I was rooting for them to end up together…

SPOILER!!!!
And thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed. Well, maybe just a little, because I would have liked to see a lot more of them on screen after they got together, but I can survive that — the most important thing is that they ended up together in the end. The only thing that really annoyed me was that the male lead initially allowed her to get close to his brother, even though he knew it wasn’t his brother who was kidnapped with her, but him. I figured it was due to his trauma and, as I later learned, also because he pretended in front of his family that he didn’t remember it — but it was still idiotic to me. Not enough to lower my rating, though, because I’m simply in love with this series.

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This is the first historical drama I’ve ever watched, and for the most part, I think it was genuinely excellent - enjoyable, engaging, and easy to get invested in. Almost until the very end, the story was handled really well, so there was never a sense of boredom or the feeling that the drama was dragging. The only exception was the culinary battle arc against the Ming delegation, which could be considered somewhat stretched out. Personally, I enjoyed it, but it definitely slowed down the pacing. It could have been shortened to two episodes, which would have left more time for a stronger ending. Unfortunately, the final twenty minutes were quite disappointing, but I’ll get to that later. Another huge strength was the visual aspect of the drama - the costumes, scenery, and overall atmosphere were beautiful. The food also looked absolutely delicious, although I do think that, over time, watching everyone jump around in delight every time they ate her dishes became slightly repetitive and unnecessary.

Now I need to express my love for the actor who played King Yi Heon - Lee Chae Min. This is the first drama I’ve watched featuring him, and I’m completely captivated by his performance. In my opinion, both his character and his acting were the greatest strengths of this drama.

Moving on to the main couple - Yeon Ji Yeong & King Yi Heon. They were complete opposites, and the fact that they came from entirely different time periods made that contrast even stronger. Their dynamic was wonderful to watch. I loved seeing how she gradually helped him become a better person and show more humanity, and how much influence she had on him. I also loved the way he fought for her. Their chemistry was very good as well, although I do think there was still room for improvement.

It was also fascinating to watch whether she would succeed in changing history and whether that was even possible in the first place. As the story progressed, we were given increasingly strong hints that she had already lived alongside him during the Joseon era, which strongly suggested that she was reliving their story. And this is where one of my biggest issues appears. I felt that the drama never properly explained who she had been in her previous life. We know she was a cook, but how did she end up in that position? Even more importantly, I wanted to know what their original story had looked like. And why was her absent from recorded history? I also struggle to understand why, if she was trying to change the future, she never told him who was going to betray him. She knew exactly who it was.

Speaking of negatives, my second biggest issue was the ending itself - pretty much all of it. Have I seen worse endings? Absolutely. Was this a good ending? Not really. First of all, she suddenly wakes up in the hospital, and we’re never told how much time has passed. Then lookalikes of her chef friends suddenly appear in the restaurant, which honestly makes little to no sense. Later, we see a lookalike of Im Song Jae, and at the same time the male lead shows up. Their reunion left a lot to be desired. He seemed completely cold toward her - I genuinely thought he didn’t remember her - despite the fact that we had just seen how devastated he was by her disappearance. Even stranger, he treats Im Song Jae’s lookalike even more coldly and shows no interest in him whatsoever, even though it’s the counterpart of the secretary whose loss he mourned so deeply in the forest. And things don’t get any better afterward. The drama turns the question of how he arrived in the present into some kind of mystery. Personally, I see that as a slap in the face to viewers. I can’t shake the feeling that the writers wanted a happy ending in the present day but simply couldn’t come up with a logical explanation for how he got there, so they hid it behind vague mystery instead. Even if we assume he traveled through time using a page from the Mangunrok, what guarantee do we have that he won’t suddenly disappear back into the past? There should have been at least one full episode showing his return to the palace, his attempts to get back to the female lead, his arrival in the present, his struggle to adapt to modern life, and a much better-written reunion between them.

While we’re on the subject of her chef friends, I think they were treated terribly in the end. They played important roles throughout the story, yet by the finale we know absolutely nothing about what happened to them afterward. They never even found out what became of Yeon Ji Yeong and King Yi Heon, both of them simply vanished. I especially feel bad for Seo Gil Geum, whom I absolutely adored. I really wanted to know how her story ended, including the hinted romance with Gong Gil, but instead we got nothing.

On the positive side, the drama featured plenty of political schemes and manipulation, which were genuinely interesting to watch. Among the villains, the acting performance of Kang Mok Ju deserves special praise, and I also appreciated the fact that justice finally caught up with the antagonists in the end. The most satisfying moment was undoubtedly her death at Gong Gil’s hands. There’s also one thing I keep wondering about. At one point, I got the impression that the drama was hinting that Kang Mok Ju had been drugging or poisoning King Yi Heon in some way, which might have been the cause of his attacks. However, the story never returned to that idea.

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In my opinion, this is an excellent drama! One of its biggest strengths is the atmosphere it delivers. After thinking it over, I feel like it makes up for the fact that, for most of the time, nothing particularly major happens — the focus is mainly on the relationship of the main couple, which flows smoothly and pleasantly for the most part, without major obstacles (with one exception) — but while watching, you don’t feel that at all. I never had a moment where I was bored or where an episode felt dragged out. It also makes up, to a large extent, for the fact that many plot points are introduced and then never developed, often simply forgotten. I also have to admit that I love the “bad boy” trope — someone who is tough on the outside but deeply loyal and caring toward those closest to him, especially that one person — and we definitely get that here.

I really enjoyed the pairing of the main couple — Jin Zhao and Jiang Mu — who were complete opposites. He was confident, mysterious, cold, and reserved, while she was chaotic, open, and a bit silly. On top of that, they had amazing chemistry and tension that was insanely palpable through the screen. I also loved his provocative personality, which she gradually started to adopt as well. Around each other, they became better versions of themselves, always wanting to be the best for one another, often putting the other person’s happiness and well-being above their own. Of course, they had their flaws too — for example, Jin Zhao sometimes made decisions for her, assuming he knew what was best.

I also loved many of the side characters and think that some of their stories could have been developed much more. The whole group of guys completely stole my heart — especially San Lai. He was a wonderful character. I loved him on his own, I loved him paired with Jin Zhao, and I loved him paired with Jiang Mu, so I’m really disappointed we didn’t get more of his story. The subplot with his father was introduced as something important and then just… left unfinished. A small personal downside for me is also that we didn’t get his relationship with Na Na, which I was hoping for. And there’s one thing about him that doesn’t sit right with his otherwise amazing character — why did he suggest to Jiang Mu that he could replace Jin Zhao someday if she wanted? Bro? I really hope he didn’t have feelings for her and that it was just a dumb comment — that’s how I choose to interpret it. Don’t ruin my friendship dynamic with lines like that. Another character I loved was Lin Sui — “Drunk.” I’m not even entirely sure why. He had a very specific personality and vibe that I really liked. I also enjoyed his interactions with Jin Zhao and that scene where he was the fifth wheel during their reunion after years.

On top of that, the whole racing storyline and everything related to cars was handled really well. Similarly — although obviously in a more condensed way — his journey back to full physical fitness after the accident was also portrayed well, especially the emotions tied to that process.

That said, there are also a few plotlines (aside from San Lai’s father) that I have some issues with — bigger, smaller, and minor ones.
Major issues:
→ Liang Yan Feng’s character. Out of nowhere, it suddenly turned out that he was “good” and part of the alliance. There was no prior setup for that, and it was never revisited later. On top of that, almost immediately everyone completely forgot that he spiked Jiang Mu’s drink — and he even ended up getting invited to their wedding.
→ Wan Qing — “Snakey” — and her father’s business. I don’t have an issue with her being at the wedding, since from early on she was shown not to be a bad person. My issue is that, first of all, I don’t understand why the subplot where she kidnapped his father even existed, since it was later completely ignored. Second, we never saw how she processed the situation involving her father or what she thought about it. Third, we never really found out what consequences her father and his employees faced — we only know they were arrested.
→ He Zhang. He was also forgotten, and we never found out what consequences he faced or what happened to him afterward. I’m especially disappointed because I was hoping for some development in his hinted relationship with Wan Qing.
→ We never got a deeper explanation of that darker period in Jin Zhao’s life, when he was apparently called “Brandy,” and I think that could have been really interesting.
Minor issues (things I missed, but that didn’t affect the story much):
→ The fighting subplot involving Jin Zhao. In reality, we only got one fight, even though it was implied that he fought regularly — at least that’s how I understood it. So first, I would have liked to see more fights (my “bad side” speaking :D), and second, a better explanation of why he fought and why he suddenly stopped (unless it was explained through the alliance and I just missed it — I had some long breaks while watching).
→ It also occurred to me that Jin Zhao and Jiang Mu told her mom about their relationship, but we never got a scene where they told her dad XD. The poor guy is still living in the dark while they’re off riding a motorcycle to get married.
→ We never learned Jin Zhao’s birthday :( — it was initially presented as a mystery they wanted to uncover, but I guess they just… stopped caring.

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Did I have a great time watching this drama? YES. Would I watch it again? YES. Do I recommend it? YES — but only to people who enjoy turning their brains off and aren’t bothered by flaws. Very often while watching it, I felt like I was watching premium ReelShorts. The acting from everyone (except Dai Gao Zheng) was, at times, overly exaggerated — which may be the script’s fault — but combined with the occasionally over-the-top action, it created exactly that kind of vibe. Personally, it didn’t bother me.

When it comes to the relationship of the main couple — Bu Yan & He Yu Chen — I think one trigger warning is crucial. At one point, the male lead, in a fit of anger, attempts to se*ually assault her. He does come to his senses and nothing happens, but the very fact alone means this is not a show for everyone. There are also forced kisses, and although her later reaction to a similar attempt by another man suggests that she did want them with He Yu Chen, simply watching those scenes may trigger negative emotions for some viewers. For that reason, I would classify their relationship as dark romance, and personally, I liked it. Both of them would burn the world down to protect each other. Their chemistry was amazing, and their love was clearly visible.

Personally, I like the trope of the “bad,” wounded boy who still has a good heart — and that’s exactly who He Yu Chen was. In my opinion, despite his wrongdoings, he was the most interesting and best-written character. I also liked the fighting storyline itself and was glad that, after many years, he legally returned to it. However, I still wonder about the exact reason why they deliberately destroyed his career in the past, because it was never fully explained (or maybe I just forgot?). Another “premium ReelShorts” element appears in the fight scenes. The color of the blood looked so unrealistic that all the wounds seemed like there was no budget for a makeup artist and a child painted them with watercolors. At least later, during the healing process, they looked natural. On top of that, some fight scenes were highly unrealistic — for example, a guy was beating him with brass knuckles, and he ended up with nothing more than minor wounds and scratches.

On the positive side, their children were adorable. I didn’t check whether the illness and its treatment were medically accurate, but I think the storyline was handled well. That said, we never learned how He Yu Chen managed to find bone marrow for his son when no one else had been able to do so for years.

Regarding the storyline involving her father (Bu Hong Hui), I think the theme of his friendship with He Yu Chen’s father and his “involvement” in his death was handled very shallowly. Technically everything was explained, but to me it felt superficial. The coma storyline itself and everything surrounding it was interesting, but again, there were several “premium ReelShorts” flaws. First, her father’s employee knew perfectly well that he planned to break off his daughter’s engagement to Tang Ze — they literally discussed the consequences while signing the share transfer. Yet later, when he talked to her during her father’s coma, he claimed that her father told him nothing beyond the share transfer. Did he suddenly forget? Especially since he wasn’t a bad character. Second, I was genuinely amused by the fact that they talked about her father waking up any moment, and then suddenly we get a two-month time skip, and only then does he wake up. We heard nothing about any complications during that time, so I’m filing this under my category. Third — what happened to his wife? He Yu Chen kicked her out of the house while the man was in a coma, and we never saw her again. The father went to sleep with a wife, woke up without one, and didn’t care at all. XD
A personal complaint from a different category: the male lead was never even slightly angry that she initially accused him of being involved in what happened to her father. She didn’t even apologize after learning the truth — we just moved on. And who was the female lead’s mother, and what happened to her? Maybe it was mentioned and I forgot?

I’ll dedicate the final segment to annoying characters:
-> Tang Ze — my “favorite,” because no one else raised my blood pressure like he did. A disgusting man who clearly had something wrong with his head. I won’t dwell on it — he was just a psycho with connections. What deserves special mention is his ending, straight from the “premium ReelShorts” category: we see him watching the main couple’s wedding from a distance, then we get white text on a black screen informing us about his fate (he went to prison for many years). I found it comical, but apparently there was no budget to show a police/court/prison scene.

-> Chen Wen Li (Xia Chang Yin?) — ironically, she was the only one in whom I saw any genuine goodness, though it didn’t change my opinion of her, because she annoyed me endlessly from start to finish. For contrast, we see her contact the police herself, but we never learn what happens to her afterward.

-> Bu Jing Yang — finally, we know absolutely nothing. He simply vanished into thin air along with his mother.

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I think this series is fine for a one-time watch, but nothing more than that. It wasn’t engaging enough to linger in my mind afterward or make me want to come back to it later. While watching, I had the impression that it had a lot of potential, but that potential was wasted. Many elements of the series felt like filler to me, and even if they weren’t meant to be, the script turned them into such. A lot of potentially interesting topics weren’t developed, and some of the solutions were simply absurd.

Starting with the main culinary storyline, which for most of the series was the most interesting and, in my opinion, the best handled one — toward the end it became full of absurdities. Beginning with the fact that no one at the restaurant knew they had been awarded three stars and only found out from other people or the internet. Then there was the biggest flop, which at the same time had great potential: the cooking battle — how on earth did no one verify the results if it was announced as a win rather than a draw? Why did the guy who was the head of Diamond storm off offended instead of explaining the situation? An absurd situation, topped off by the cherry on the cake: a family breakfast and a mother who suddenly allowed them to run the restaurant, even though she herself hadn’t changed for the better at all. In the end, the restaurant that stole recipes and falsified competition results kept its three stars, and no one tried to do anything about it. The falsification of the results of the first competition was also never explained. I also don’t understand what his mother was planning next. Some new restaurant — but why all these mind games?

As for the main couple — Mo Yeon Ju and Han Beom U — I have very mixed feelings. Individually, I find them interesting characters, especially him. I think he was very well written and acted. It was enjoyable to watch his character development, and you could really see how he changed, began to understand his mistakes, and tried to fix them. The only thing that puzzles me in his case is the storyline about his father, which was either never mentioned or handled so superficially that I don’t even remember it. She was also an interesting character to me. I liked her confidence and feisty personality, although at times I felt it was a bit over the top. However, in her case, the storyline about being abandoned by her parents felt like filler. It had potential and could have been interesting if it had been developed somehow — for example, if she had found her biological parents. When it comes to their relationship, though, my feelings were extremely mixed. Sometimes I liked the chemistry between them, especially from his side. From start to finish, his feelings and chemistry were clearly visible. With her, however, it was inconsistent. This was especially noticeable to me when her ex returned (which was also filler, but more on that later). I had the impression that she smiled more around her ex, was nicer to him, and that the male lead was like a clingy nuisance who was getting in their way. Maybe that’s a misinterpretation, but that’s how it came across to me. What also annoyed me was that the male lead never told her that he wasn’t the one who stole her recipes and that he had tried to prevent it earlier — in fact, he never really told her at all.

Next, I want to expand on the storyline with her ex, which I also consider filler — again, mainly because of the script. First of all, the whole idea of going to Japan with him was stupid. At that point, she was already involved with the male lead; they had been on a date, and she informed him about her departure only by letter. On top of that, she flew there with her ex. She could have gone alone, and she certainly didn’t need to spend all that time with him in Japan — visiting places from the past, shopping together, or cooking together. To me, this shows respect — or rather, a lack of respect — for a new, potential partner. Although this alone wouldn’t yet make it filler. The problem is that after the male lead stopped the merger and they returned to Korea, Le Murir was never mentioned again — not the restaurant, not the chef, not his illness, nothing. The whole topic just vanished into thin air, which is why I consider it filler. On top of that, I really didn’t like how Jeon Min, who harmed the restaurant’s founder’s health by throwing away his medication, faced no consequences whatsoever — on the contrary, he was praised and hugged by him because he supposedly cared so much about Le Murir. In what way? By selling it to a company that would later cause it to go bankrupt? I also still don’t understand why he tried to lure the female lead to Le Murir while simultaneously pushing for a merger that he knew would lead to bankruptcy.

As for other characters, I’ll only mention Jin Myeong Suk and Sin Chun Seung. I liked their conflicts and the way they teased each other. They made me laugh many times, so I consider them a nice addition. Sin Chun Seung’s character development was also interesting, and I’m glad he started doing better, finally proved his worth to his father, and took over the restaurant. The only thing I don’t understand here is the storyline with the actor from “Lovely Jogger.” Did they know each other from school? Maybe I just didn’t catch some of the comedy.

In my opinion, there’s no point in discussing the other characters, as they weren’t interesting enough to really stick in my memory or make me want to write more about them. A few pleasant characters, a few “semi-villains,” and that’s about it.

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Up until the final episode, I considered this series to be great. I wasn’t bored for a single moment, and the entire plot kept me genuinely interested in every next episode. The whole moms’ team was fucking awesome, and it was a real pleasure watching them shut up all the doubters and support each other. The chemistry between the main leads — Ko Da Rim & Kong Ji Hyeok — was AMAZING from the very beginning and clearly palpable for the viewer. On top of that, their relationship itself was very enjoyable to watch. Yes, there were many misunderstandings that could have been solved with honesty, but at no point did I feel their relationship was toxic (a so-called red flag). Maybe with one exception — the pool incident, where in my opinion he crossed a line by “forcing” her to jump into the pool even though she couldn’t swim. Other than that, they were an enormous support for each other and would have risked everything for one another. Their moms were also wonderful, and watching their friendship was a delight — especially how, thanks to her mom, his mom started getting back on her feet and decided to fight for her own happiness.

However, the last episode was, in my opinion, tragic on many levels. The idea of his memory loss itself wasn’t bad, but dumping it all into the final episode absolutely was. Because of that, we spent half of the finale watching her pathetic attempts to restore his memory. I find it hard to understand why she didn’t think earlier that a kiss might bring his memory back, considering they had already talked about it once. On top of that, Kang Gyeong Min knew that a kiss was what sparked his friend’s feelings in the first place, so it’s also weird that he didn’t tell her about it. It’s even harder for me to understand why his mother didn’t try to talk to him and explain that Ko Da Rim wasn’t a scammer and that they really were together. He accused everyone else of lying, but he loved and trusted his mother, so he wouldn’t have suspected her.

Then came their one-year separation, during which he still knew nothing — even though he went back to work at the place where they had previously worked together, where a scandal had just happened and which he must have known about. Hell, the media surely published plenty of articles about them dating. Did he seriously think everyone was lying to him? Then there was a random encounter where he suddenly remembered everything, followed by quick music montages of their moments together, half-assed proposals, etc. Overall, the final episode left plot holes, unresolved threads, or storylines that were treated lazily because the creators decided to cram everything into that single episode.

One of those unresolved threads concerned Ko Da Rim. She flew to Jeju Island to find her sister, but instead she met Kong Ji Hyeok, they kissed, and suddenly the sister plot completely disappeared. We don’t know whether she found her or what came out of their conversation — and I consider that storyline quite important. After all, it was because of her sister that the main leads met in the first place, and also because of her that Ko Da Rim looked for a job and ended up working for him.

Now let’s talk about the second main “couple”: Yoo Ha Yeong & Kim Seon U. In the first episode, I was convinced Yoo Ha Yeong would be an annoying character impossible to like, sabotaging the main couple. Turns out — she became one of my favorite characters in the entire series. Very warm and kind, yet persistent and fighting for what she wanted. Her relationship with his son was wonderful and genuinely moving at times (the school performance). Because of that, as the series went on, I felt more and more sorry for her.

I probably differ from many people here, but personally, I didn’t see a happy ending for them — at least not at that time. She completely fell for him, but from his side those feelings were never there. Even the scene where he tended to her wounds while she slept didn’t come from romantic feelings in my opinion — it came from him simply being a good person. So I had no issue with him. From the beginning, he clearly defined where they stood and rejected her instead of giving her false hope. However, I do have a major issue with the scene of their meeting years later, which suggested that “maybe” something could happen. Not the fact that the meeting happened — I don’t deny that after years they could meet again and feelings might develop on his side once he healed from his past love — but personally, I didn’t like that scene. It portrayed her somewhat as a desperate woman approaching him after five years while he was talking to another woman and saying they might be together in the future.

Now let’s move on to the most important antagonists.

I’ll start with the one person I developed a tiny bit of sympathy for — Kong Ji Hye. Did I hate her throughout the entire series? YES. Did I change my mind at the end? NO. BUT that doesn’t change the fact that I understood her in a twisted way and felt sorry for her in some aspects. Since childhood, she carried the label of “the mistress’s daughter.” Her father took her in only to silence his own guilt. She worked hard, but her father was never going to appreciate her anyway. The man she loved constantly manipulated her and treated her like trash. Does that excuse her actions? No. But it makes her more than a one-dimensional villain — she’s someone who never experienced love. In the end, she even turned that piece of shit over to the police, which earned her the only plus point from me out of the whole trio. Maybe I’m naive, but I saw a hidden potential in her to become a good person and hoped someone would help her get there. That didn’t happen — or at least it wasn’t shown. In her case, we also have two unresolved issues: first, what happened to her after she left the company and moved out? Second, she never found out that Yoo Tae Yeong was manipulating her again and actually wanted to use her to buy her father’s company.

The main male lead’s father (he doesn’t deserve to be called a dad) — Kong Chang Ho. There wasn’t a single redeeming quality in this man that could inspire even a shred of sympathy. A man completely blinded by career and money. So much so that he stripped his wife of all happiness and freedom, driving her into depression and anxiety, then blamed her for her condition — and later for fighting back. He treated his children no better. His son was nearly dying in the hospital, and he was worried about his position. He took his daughter in only to appease his guilt. I watched his downfall with great pleasure — losing everything and everyone around him. In the end, he was left alone with nothing — a happy ending.

The final character is Yoo Tae Yeong. No matter how you look at it, he was mentally ill, and I’m honestly surprised he ended up in prison instead of a psychiatric hospital. The actor played him brilliantly — the madness was visible in his eyes from the very beginning. His facial expressions alone showed his manipulative nature. Still, I feel that, just like Kong Ji Hye, he wasn’t evil by nature. His madness was influenced by his father, who also treated his children like shit and constantly belittled him by comparing him to the main lead. Of course, that doesn’t excuse his actions, but it could have added more depth to his character. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed watching his plan fall apart and seeing him end up in prison, where he got beaten by other inmates and completely abandoned by his family — a happy ending.

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I had a really great time watching this drama. Above all, it’s heavily exaggerated in many aspects, which often made me laugh, but in contrast to that it also tackled more difficult topics such as the female lead’s struggles with self-acceptance, bullying, and unhealthy family relationships. A huge strength of this series is also its cast of characters. Everyone felt different and interesting, which also applies to the couples and potential couples. I watched almost all of them with genuine interest, and in the end I feel a sense of dissatisfaction that some storylines weren’t further developed, because they had enormous potential for spin-offs centered entirely around them.

Starting with the first main couple - Song U Yeon and Nam Gi Jeong. They were complete opposites. She was introverted, withdrawn, and struggled with self-acceptance. He was overly confident, energetic, and didn’t think about the future, living entirely in the moment (his character was strongly exaggerated and made me laugh many times). Through each other, they both began to change for the better. She slowly opened up, gained confidence, and started to accept herself, while he began thinking about another person and about his own future. This is a first-love, high school relationship, and it shows - which isn’t a flaw. They experience their first kiss, holding hands, but also their first conflicts. In reality, they’re both learning how to be in a relationship. However, I did have one issue with them. I understand the female lead. I know how hard it is to deal with self-acceptance issues and how that can affect relationships, BUT I didn’t like that she was portrayed as innocent in these situations. It was always the male lead who apologized and took the blame every time. The same thing happened in the Ahn Ye Rim situation - she didn’t trust him and instead trusted a girl she had seen for the second time in her life, yet the drama still tried to portray her as the victim.

A perfect contrast to them was the second main couple - Koo Seon Ho and Nam Geu Rin. It was clear that they were older, and as a result their relationship felt more mature, though obviously not fully. This also fit well with the fact that they were both in college - for example, their argument stemming from poor communication. Here we had a long-standing friendship and “sudden” feelings that the female lead tried to resist.

For both of these couples, I would have loved to see what happened next. Dramas are rarely continued, but in this case I see huge potential. The first couple, where she goes to college and he develops his acting/modeling career, and the second couple, where she starts working and he goes off to the military. In my head, it all looks very promising.

On top of that, there were two more potential couples, and I really regret that their stories weren’t developed further. Ko Taeng Ja (Black) and Kwon Hyeok (Khaki) - there was a specific vibe between them that I personally found intriguing. And Byeon Tae Seon and Yeom Se Ra - her departure complicated things, and I’m insanely curious how their story unfolded after her return (in my head they’re together, but I would’ve loved to see it on screen).

Now let’s move on to the family aspect. First, the female lead’s brothers. The younger brother - a genius - whom I really grew to like and who, alongside the female lead, was the character I felt the most sympathy for. That’s why I was happy watching his budding friendship with Moon Bong Gu, because he was finally starting to discover that he, too, could be happy. The older brother was less developed, but I’m mentioning him because his character also intrigued me, and I would’ve gladly learned more about his story.

I won’t touch on the father, since he was absent for most of the series - but the MOTHER. This is the second drama I’ve seen where this actress plays a mother, and for the second time I hated her with all my heart. A mother who failed in life and pours her frustration and incompetence onto her children, forcing them to study and denying them any personal interests. Yes, by the end we get her “redemption” and a tearful backstory from years ago, but that didn’t change how I felt. Throughout the entire series, she was the worst kind of mother imaginable, and that can’t be erased with a single scene.

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The drama itself is very enjoyable to watch. The biggest highlight is the relationship of the main couple - Xiang Yuan and Xu Yan Shi - because, in my opinion, it’s what saved this series. I really enjoyed watching their relationship and the rekindling of their love. They were able to communicate with each other, support one another, and be a huge source of strength for each other. At the same time, I appreciated the moment when she set a boundary so that he wouldn’t sacrifice his dreams for her. I do think the brief breakup was unnecessary, but I treated it more as a short-lived conflict, and fortunately it wasn’t blown out of proportion with any serious attempt to enter a marriage with Feng Jun to save the company. They had wonderful chemistry and plenty of tasteful HOT scenes. It was simply easy to root for them from beginning to end.

In contrast, there’s the second main couple - Gao Leng and Chen Shu. I couldn’t root for them at all; in fact, it was quite the opposite - I didn’t want them to end up together. I didn’t feel any love between them, let alone chemistry. It was painful to watch scene after scene where Gao Leng tried so hard for her, while she kept treating him like a kid, completely failing to appreciate him in any way. That said, Gao Leng himself was a wonderful character, and I really wanted him to find happiness and someone who would truly value him, instead of trying to force him to change.

As for the company-related storyline, I had mixed feelings throughout the series. Sometimes I found it interesting and engaging, and other times I was bored and wished that part could be cut from the episode entirely. The constant obstacles thrown in their way - which were always eventually resolved - became tiring over time. On top of that, one DongHe-related issue was never fully explained. Several “employees” were plotting against the company during its potential downfall, and then they simply didn’t show up at the meeting afterward. What happened to them? It left a noticeable gap. That said, the employees themselves deserve praise - especially those from Velin, mainly from their department (with two exceptions). They were all wonderful. The same goes for Xu Yan Shi’s college friends (with one exception). Among the less obvious standout characters, I’d also highlight Li Yong Biao, whose personality completely won me over - I smiled when he was invited by the employees to celebrate at the end - and Ying Yin Yin. She annoyed me a bit at first, but her silliness also made me laugh, and eventually that was all that remained, so I grew quite fond of her.

Now let’s move on to the segment about annoying characters - and therefore the longest one, even though I’ll still skip some. Let’s start with the worst:
→Feng Jun was the most infuriating of them all. I honestly couldn’t stand seeing his face on screen, I swear. He ran off abroad, practically destroying his friends’ lives in the process, and showed not a shred of concern. Worst of all, by the end of the series he never faced consequences for the crime he committed - the one the male lead was blamed for. Then he comes back and relentlessly pursues the female lead, who has zero interest in him. He cheated in a competition, preventing her from winning, and still thought he was the better choice for her and could give her a better life. An absolute snowman.
→Chairwoman Li Qin and her lover Yang Ping Shan. She, in particular, drove me up the wall. I honestly don’t understand how the female lead’s grandfather managed to stay uninvolved in the company for so many years without noticing her schemes and fraud - but that’s something we’ll never get an answer to. Still, nothing gave me more satisfaction than watching her “clever” plans collapse like a house of cards. Her arrest at the end was the cherry on top.
→Li Chi. This is where my feelings become mixed. On one hand, he did help in the end, but earlier he was plotting against them - something that the characters seemed to conveniently forget. There’s also the issue of the secret photo he took of Chen Shu. Probably because he liked her? Even so, I still find it deeply unsettling and creepy.
→Situ Ming Tian — the FL's grandfather. He made this list simply because I couldn’t understand him. On one hand, he desperately wanted his granddaughter to get married or at least find love. But when she finally did, he suddenly became opposed to it. The supposed connection to her mother doesn’t convince me at all, especially the idea that he didn’t know the male lead was a valuable employee. He was a wealthy man deeply embedded in that world — there’s no way he wouldn’t have heard his name. In my opinion, this plotline was forced in just to create some obstacle to their relationship, and it didn’t make much sense. That said, this did improve later on, and I started to like him more when he became a subtle fan of the male lead, showing it between the lines -for example, by defending him in front of his granddaughter.

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In my opinion, the drama was interesting and very enjoyable to watch. I really liked the focus on botany and animals (especially birds). I’m not usually interested in that kind of thing, nor have I watched any dramas with a similar theme, so it definitely felt fresh and intriguing. I liked how we gradually got to see the male lead’s perception of Yu Mei Ren change over time. The chemistry between the main couple was absolutely wonderful. As the drama went on, I was worried that this chemistry would go to waste - there hadn’t been a single kiss for so long that I started thinking maybe one of the actors had refused to do those scenes. Thankfully, we finally got the kiss scenes, and they were beautiful. I also liked the contrast between the leads - he was calm and composed, while she was more wild and full of life. Over time, though, he learned to embrace a bit of her “craziness,” while she learned to be calmer and listen to others. I was also really happy when, at the end, we saw the main heroine’s brother meet a girl who could become his love interest. Those kinds of details are often skipped, and such characters usually end up alone - so I really appreciated that addition.
Another huge plus for me was the parents. There’s not much to say about the heroine’s parents - they were wonderful, and I watched every scene with them with a smile on my face. But the male lead’s family was a pleasant surprise. Usually, wealthy parents in dramas are portrayed as cold and calculating, caring only about social status or benefits from a relationship. But in this case, his mother turned out to be a genuinely kind person who, instead of opposing their relationship, was actually nice to the female lead and even thanked her.

Now, let’s move on to the secondary couple. I’m a bit conflicted about them. At first, their relationship was interesting to me, but as the story went on, something started to fade. I stopped feeling the same spark between them, and I think the writers lost some of the potential that was there in the beginning. In my opinion, the storyline about the male character losing his leg was unnecessary - it felt forced, as if it was added just to create a reason for their reconciliation.

Aside from that, there were a few other things that didn’t work for me or felt like flaws:
→ The male lead leaving for a year to the U.S. without even saying goodbye to the heroine was just stupid. On top of that, he didn’t contact her at all during that entire time. Saying that he didn’t do it because she blocked him is a ridiculous excuse. He could’ve done anything to explain himself - written her a letter, asked a mutual friend to talk to her, or called/texted her from someone else’s phone. But he did absolutely nothing.
→ The lack of communication between the main couple. Too many secrets, too many things they didn’t talk about - and when the truth finally came out, they tended to brush it off instead of actually addressing it.
→ The lack of confrontation with Xiao Fang. She was the heroine’s assistant but turned against her because she convinced herself that Mei Ren caused her to get fired (once again, lack of communication). It all ended up feeling like filler material to give Xiao Xue more room for her schemes, but I really wanted to see Xiao Fang’s reaction when she learned the truth.

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Overall, I really enjoyed watching this series. The character development across the board was excellent. It did a great job showing a difficult childhood and how it affected adult life. Another big plus was the main couple’s relationship — once they got together, there were no pointless arguments added just to create “drama” for the sake of the plot.

Of course, I also watched the original — the Chinese version — but I actually preferred the Korean adaptation, for several reasons:
- They got rid of the weird love triangle between the main heroine and the two brothers, which made it much more pleasant to watch. Because of that, the brothers also seemed more bonded — for example, they both knew about his return.
- The main heroine’s best friend didn’t fall for Kim San-ha, which in the Chinese version felt extremely forced. Plus, here she got a happy ending with Kang Hae-joon.
- They didn’t try to convince me that Kim San-ha cured depression and anxiety with herbal medicine — though that’s kind of a weak plus, because in this version his issues were almost completely brushed aside.
- Kim San-ha actually asked Yoon Joo-won about their relationship — something I really missed in the original.

However, I also found a few downsides compared to the Chinese version:
- Kim San-ha’s problems were completely ignored. He went through hell with his mother for ten years, yet he never once brought it up with Yoon Joo-won. She saw the scars on his arms, and later they even slept together — but she somehow didn’t notice his burn marks? I really missed seeing them talk about such a serious topic.
- Kang Hae-joon’s relationship with his biological father was underdeveloped. We know his father abandoned him again after his child was born, but this was barely addressed. The same goes for the accidental death of his mother — it was brought up and then completely dropped.

A minor issue, but I felt sad that Kim San-ha didn’t become a dentist, just because Yoon Joo-won was afraid of going to them :(

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A very pleasant series to watch. It tackles difficult topics like depression and PTSD, but in my opinion, they were handled well. It was wonderful to follow the main characters’ relationship from the very beginning. They met when both had hit rock bottom and gradually became each other’s biggest support during a crisis, despite their earlier “hatred” back in high school. The second couple also stole my heart, and I rooted for them hard. Plus, of course, my favorite — Nam Ba-da. Completely clueless for most of the series, but that’s exactly what won my heart, along with his arguments with his mom. Another big plus is that all the storylines were properly wrapped up. In the end, I wasn’t left with any unanswered questions or plot holes.

However, I did find a few issues that made me lower my rating. Only by one star, though, because I liked the series so much that these didn’t outweigh the positives.
→ The constant alcohol consumption by the main couple. I’m aware that mental health is still a big taboo topic in Korea, but I refuse to believe medicine is that backward. They were both on antidepressants, which absolutely should not be mixed with alcohol — especially that frequently. Not only could they seriously damage their health, but they could also disrupt and prolong the treatment process.
→ The character of Min Gyeong-min. Damn, I think the narrative potential here was huge, and I was disappointed that it was reduced to his death in an accident and later forgiving him. It would have been far more interesting if he had survived and been able to explain his motives in more depth — to show that he truly regretted everything he had done.
→ Infantile behavior. The main couple was theoretically adult (close to thirty?), but in reality their interactions were sometimes extremely sugary and childish. Watching that in real life would honestly make me cringe, but within the series I could at least laugh at it (partly out of second-hand embarrassment, but it still lightened the heavy topics).

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I had a great time watching this series. I really liked how the main characters’ personalities complemented each other. On the surface, the serious Jang Shin-yu clashed with the slightly goofy Lee Hong-jo, and as their love developed, he slowly opened up to the idea that not everything in life has to be taken so seriously. The chemistry between the two of them was amazing, and the kisses were HOT. The supporting characters were also interesting — they didn’t blend into one another but had distinct personalities, ranging from funny for the viewer, to infuriating, to genuinely intriguing. The curse storyline and the spells themselves were also interesting.

One thing worth highlighting because it absolutely cracked me up was how the male lead in some scenes seemed to barely hold back laughter. I don’t know whether it was intentional or if the actor himself just found it funny, but I noticed it, for example, in episode 5, when they were talking on the phone and he heard that she was sitting with some guy.

However, I did find some downsides that made me slightly lower my rating.

1. The characters’ stupidity:
→ The male lead, portrayed as one of the best lawyers, initially believed his girlfriend’s version of events — that the female lead had stolen her boyfriend — even though just seconds earlier he had heard that it was his girlfriend who had apologized to her for the past, not the other way around.

→ Their biggest moment of stupidity was when they were already together and the psycho was stalking her and had just tried to kill her. They arrive together at his apartment, and he sees the psycho’s car in the garage. Instead of staying with her and calling the police, he decides to go down alone after escorting her upstairs to “check it out” (brilliant intelligence), and she doesn’t behave any better. After all that, she sits alone in the apartment and opens the door when someone rings the bell (even though no one is visible on the monitor), while her boyfriend is desperately trying to call her.

→ Another time, she lures the psycho alone to some cave-like place. That might have been acceptable since she informed others and they were supposed to come, but then instead of stalling for time, she confesses everything to the psycho and runs away XD.

2. Events that are absurd and have no grounding in reality.
To be clear, I understand that this series includes spells, curses, and reincarnation, so it has fantasy elements — but the characters are still human. Here, the female lead sprays the psycho with pepper spray from a very close distance. For the first several or even dozens of minutes, he shouldn’t have been able to open his eyes at all; he could have had corneal damage or optic nerve injury — and yet one second later the guy is running after her through the forest as if nothing happened.

3. Unresolved or underdeveloped storylines that I consider important:
→ The spellbook stated that spells could be cast by her and a person designated by her. Who was that person? Everything pointed to Na Jung-beom, but this was never explained.

→ The character of Na Jung-beom himself. He also cast spells — this was shown in the past and implied to be happening in the present as well. In fact, that’s exactly what he was trying to do when he was captured, yet none of this was explained and it was completely brushed aside.

→ The consequences for Na Jung-beom, Lee Hyeon-seo, Yoon Hak-young, or Yoon Na-yeon. We basically know nothing about what happened to them, even though all of them were significant characters for the overall plot.

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I have mixed feelings after watching this drama.

On one hand, I really enjoyed it - I laughed, cried, and got frustrated along the way. It was an overall pleasant watch, probably because of the music theme, which I personally love.

On the other hand, I’ve been looking for a really good music-themed drama for a while now, and I feel like this one fell a bit short of that title. Mainly for two reasons:

I would describe this drama as something you have to watch with a grain of salt. There are plenty of silly scenes where the adult characters behave like children, and their actions are often exaggerated and unrealistic.

This was the biggest issue for me — the pacing. In the first few episodes, things moved way too fast; we basically learned the entire plot right away. Then the story slowed down, only to suddenly explode in the final episode. Everything was crammed into it, which made each storyline feel shallow. The fate of the guilty characters and those who should have faced consequences (after annoying me the entire show) was glossed over. The main couple’s story felt rushed (not to mention the secondary couple). Kong Jin Gu’s storyline — built up throughout the series, with him pretending to be poor — was left completely undeveloped by the end. Honestly, the stories of all the characters felt watered down, as did the entire band’s development (what even happened to them afterwards — who knows?).

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It was definitely an interesting drama, with a storyline I had never seen before, which made it refreshing for me. The chemistry between the main characters was very good, and Xiao Bao completely stole my heart. On top of that, there were some engaging supporting couples, though one of the relationships wasn’t really explored much. Overall, I had a great time watching, and it never once felt boring—so if I were to rate it purely in terms of entertainment and enjoyment, I’d easily give it a 10/10.

But unfortunately, I also look at things through the lens of how well the storylines are wrapped up, the overall sense of the plot, and the wasted potential—and in that regard, I found a few negatives.

1. The person responsible for the accident involving He Qiao Yan and his family. This storyline could have been developed in a really interesting way, and while watching I even thought of a potentially better twist involving the Lin family—but that never happened. Instead, we suddenly found out about some biggest enemy of the Fe company, who was supposedly such a huge rival, yet had never once been mentioned since the very beginning of the show XD.

2. The Lin family storyline (including the bracelet). We know the bracelet plotline was almost wrapped up, but I still feel like it was lacking a lot. For example, Lin’s parents bribed employees to keep passing on information—but why? What came of it afterward? We never got answers. I was also curious about how the relationship looked later after those employees were taken away, etc. Sadly, we never found out.

3. The Lin Wei storyline. Technically a supporting plot, but still tied to the previous one. It was quite heavily developed for most of the drama, only for us to end up learning nothing about her panic attacks or her relationship with her family in the end.

4.The Yang Ruo Wei family plot. This was also brought up but never properly developed. Why was she so desperate to cut ties? What exactly happened in the past? And how did their relationship look afterward? None of that was answered either.

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