Bittersweet with a serving of cringe

I cried a little when I finished the first episode. I liked Aihara (FL). She was such a cutie in Kimi ni Todoke and Kore wa Keihi de Ochimasen. Overall I liked the side characters, even her colleagues although Japanese dramas tend to exaggerate the positivity of a well-managed team at a salaryman's workplace. But it's fiction so we accept it.
And then came the end of episode 8.
*cringes**eyerolls**internal screaming*
I told myself to get over it because I only have 1 more episode. Can't be that bad. I can do this.
I understand why people gave it a 10 but I do think the FL is taking advantage of the ML. The tone was set to be fatherly, at least to me. He had more chemistry with his ex-MR colleague than FL. As someone who is lazy and doesn't do chores well, I am Aihara and I do think that men who are good at cooking, ironing, and sewing are a sexy bunch of MFs but I do think her decision is selfish, childish, and desperate.
I am also against friends that think they're wise. Not everything your friend says is the truth and can apply to your decisions in life.
There are so many things to discover but *sighs* whatever. As a writer, this annoys me the most. When you knew you saw a gem but the cutter stopped short or miscalculated.
Finished episode 9 while checking my Insta and skimming. Ah, but the cute trainee?

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Beware of shallow waters...

From the description of the summary, I was imagining some beautiful scenic views from Seoul to Busan throughout the train journey. I was wrong, like always.

I liked the ML but could not muster the same emotion for the FL. They do have a fairly good amount of chemistry, which was plausible but I was thinking of skipping or giving up the movie multiple times mostly because of her.

Below are the reasons -

1) She's the Team Leader but using a broken laptop and even sharing it with her long term boyfriend? It should have been the office property, no? I get the 'metaphor' but at least make it believable. For a big company like hers, faulty laptops are not something tolerable.

2) She forgot her phone and laptop on the day of the presentation. Shit does happen but I did not see the reason why she was put down as a leader in the first place. She did not make a convincing boss. She was distracted most of her time in the office. Even the contract signed by the athlete was signed by ML's help. She initially lied that she got him for them, never came clean about it but enjoyed the compliments and the benefits of having him under their wings. All she did was run in heels, cried a little, ate a little, drank a little, and slept with ML. Oh, and lied through her teeth about being chic and cool after the break-up.

Her incompetence annoyed me more than anything else.

3) She thought she was better than ML because she had integrity and commitment towards her boyfriend and immediately changed her mind after a foot rub. The reason was so lame. Good guy, genuine smile to a child, bla bla bla. Hell, a serial killer would have mutilated her in the first half an hour. She was lucky this guy is cute, decent, and wanted/liked her. I didn't like how she bragged that she is still 'marketable' and took/stole his photos to quietly brag at her friends that this-cute-guy-wanted-to-sleep-with-me-okay-so-I-still-have-value while affirming that her sex is better because it included true emotion (love?which is a joke, to be honest)

The conversation was revolved on why they can or cannot sleep with each other and it was the shallowest thing ever. Their principles and justifications of why they fucked the way that they do. That was not a deep conversation, just reasons or preference for a delicate theme. It's the same as me arguing with a friend why we like/don't like spicy food. Deep conversations are hopes and dreams and traumas and scars and childhood memories. Things that moved you. Things that break you. None of them came with the price of a condom.

4) Her friends more or less influenced her to be toxic. They didn't even listen attentively to her. All they cared about was gossips and the possibility of her fucking her brains out since she was officially single. I don't understand why would they discuss having a one-night-stand so loud at a coffee shop though. Bragging rights?

5) By the end of the movie I sorely wished her head to be hit by more balls. Maybe she will see some sense.

I was glad I finished it at last. I can see the character arc for ML (he did try not to sleep with her to prove a point lol) but did not see the same thing with FL (stayed in a boring relationship, broke up because of the ONS, in denial with her feeling because she didn't want to get hurt but ended up hurting more people with her lies lol), but love conquers all (even plot holes in the size of Mariana Trench) and lastly, we have the cliche catch-me-before-I-go-running scene.

Why would I expect more from a rom-com?

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