Kelekat

Okay, ep 13. The way he behaved with that other girl in front of his own girlfriend - super friendly and totally bonding over their common interests while completely excluding the FL, inconsiderately - was the ML's first REAL dick move. Even if the FL was the secure type that would still be too much. Knowing that she's the type to be insecure and not even considering that was too much.

I'm pretty sure most of the commenters on here aren't big J-drama fans. They're judging by C-drama (and K-drama) standards and with those kind of character/role expectations.

In ep 10 the FL and SML both keep making comments about how the ML always plays with her feelings...when? He's never led her on or played with her feelings. He's too conscious of others - girls in particular - to do that. He never led her to think he had feelings for her until he knew he did. Then, he didn't intentionally blow her off, he was put in a fucked up situation thanks to that immature damn Yuri again. They both (and people here on MDL) keep making him (the ML) out to be such a bad guy and the SML such a good guy in comparison. The only real differences I see are that the SML is older and slightly more mature about certain things and the SML's family situation is better and more stable. As individuals though I don't see how the SML is so much better than the ML. The FL grew up with the SML so of course she knows his nice side and of course they're close. She didn't know the ML before this whole situation started and as she got to know him they got close too.

I see comments on here bashing the ML all the time too and praising the SML, but my question is what makes the SML so much better? They ML has been nothing but a nice and standup guy since the beginning. He was blunt but that's good because it means he doesn't lead girls on.

UGH! WHY couldn't the SML just be a good friend to her after that whole Valentine's Day thing happened? WHY did he have to use it as an excuse to continue his pursuit of her? She didn't reject him because of her feelings for the ML. She rejected the SML because she didn't have any romantic feelings toward him at all. So whether he feels he'd be better for her than the ML or not doesn't matter!

Yuri always running to these damn high schoolers whenever she's having one of her hissy fits is really a turnoff. She needs to grow tf up.

This was one of the first asian dramas I watched YEARS ago. It's my first time watching it again since.

I just want to say something. The comparison the SML makes to the FL in ep 6, that his pursuit of her is no different from her pursuit of the ML is a fallacy in many ways:

1) The FL isn't blatantly pursuing the ML. If she had confessed her feelings and he had no feelings for her, he'd have turned her down and she'd already be working on moving on, not trying to force him to like her anyway;
2) The SML's pursuit of the FL is making her uncomfortable. She's blatantly trying to avoid him and he's guilting her into spending time with him. What kind of person does that to get someone to return their feelings? Her liking the ML isn't affecting him negatively or making him uncomfortable in any way;
3) There's a closeness and bond developing between the leads that's fostering the FL's growing feelings for the ML. However, her feelings for the SML are unchanged despite their history. His method of waiting for her to feel the same way while basically forcing her to accept him is in no way romantic. It also is nothing like what the FL is doing with the ML.
4) The ML's feelings for Yuri were clearly a dead end (even though at times I feel like she likes the doting sort of way he is with her...I think the careless ways she interacts with him is part of why it took him so long to get over her). It's obvious that even the SML sees that's not the case with the FL and ML. He's seen sooner than anyone else that the ML may actually reciprocate the FL's feelings, which is why he's trying so hard to get in between them before that happens. He doesn't want the FL to realize that she does actually have a chance with the ML.

I don't like that he's made his pursuit of her all about the dynamic between her and the ML. Even his confession involved conversations about her relationship/feelings for the ML. The feelings between them - the SML and the FL - should be dealt with separately. The fact is, she does not have any romantic feelings for him whatsoever and he knows that. So his plan of waiting is pure crap. The only chance there ever was of anything changing between them was his confessing to her and making her aware of his feelings. Once he did and he saw that her feelings towards him did not become romantic he knew that was the end of it.

I don't see anything about being in love with her showing in her behavior towards her now. [I'm on ep 7.]

I'm glad you took the time to express your viewpoint. I do see where you're coming from and do understand your stance better now too.

This is a situation I feel like I'd need to see for myself and observe what their interactions were like before I'd be able to form my own opinion.

However, I like that you chose to share yours as, without it, the only impression I'd have from reading through all the MDL comments is that he was the typical, obnoxious SML. I wouldn't even bother giving this a chance.

Thanks for sharing!

Yeah. I'm sorry. I don't like the FL.

The only person she confides in about what actually happened at the wedding is the SML? She doesn't even ask the ML why he asked her out there or try to talk to him. No, she goes straight to the SML. Not her mother or her brother. The SML. She literally just got married to the ML.

I'm liking the FL less and less. Caught in a seriously precarious position she begs the ML to believe in her innocence yet she's doubting his involvement in framing her the whole time??? With all the other stuff that has happened, she didn't have that basic level of trust in the man? Seriously? They don't need to be married. Not at all.

I'm on ep 6 still but I have to say how much I dislike the dynamic between the 3 leads. I hate how it's written. Had the kiss between the FL and SML not happened, especially without the ML seeing it, then I'd have been fine. Since, in that case, the SML would have never fully crossed the line and we could continue to see him as purely being a genuine best friend to the FL, with no ulterior/hidden meaning or emotions behind his actions. It would have made the way he cared for her very pure and commendable.

Instead they've made the ML spineless and pathetic and the FL selfish (for consciously ignoring his feelings for her). We can say the SML's love for the FL is completely unconditional, yes. However, there are things he does that crosses the boundaries of showing proper respect for the leads relationship. At the same time, the leads show that they aren't mature enough to be in a serious relationship with one another since, without the SML's (and sometimes the FL's mother's) intervention, they wouldn't have made it through quite a few of their hurdles. Not on thei r own.

I have a question. You say you thought the SML treated her (the FL) respectfully but did that include respecting her relationship with the ML? Or did he choose to ignore her feelings and treat her with devotion of more than a friend despite knowing she felt differently? Bear in mind I haven't watched this yet.

If it's the latter that's not okay. That's selfish and disrespectful both to her and to her relationship. Had his "devotion" been with the clear intent of always being a very good friend to her and someone she could always lean on if she every needed him, okay. But knowingly wanting more despite already being turned down and pursuing that path anyway is the utmost disrespect.

From the other comments I've seen too though, if she's already had to turn him down once she should know he felt more for her than he should. I'm not understanding why she still maintained a closeness with him after that though. Did he play it off as having let go of his feelings for her and that towards her his behavior was only that of a friend? If so, I can see the FL maybe falling for that at first but if his actions continued to show signs of being more than that of a simple friend, and she continued to allow it then I'd have very little respect for her as well. For 2 reasons. First, because she's showing disrespect to both the ML and to their relationship by allowing it. Second, because by allowing it she's giving the SML hope that she does harbor some feelings towards him that are more than that of just friends, which is why he'd continue on with his behavior. Again, this is pure speculation based on the comments I've read here as I haven't watched this yet.

I'm just trying to get a better understanding so I can decide if I want to watch this. It sounds like the SML is they type I hate the most but I'd also hate to be misled by comments and miss out on something I may actually enjoy. So I'm trying to get a bit more clarification.

Ahhhhhh okay! I kept wondering why people still loved it so much despite all the comments about there being an open ending but now I get it.

I really wish they WOULD make a season 2 then. It sounds like that's exactly what viewers need - especially us romance-lovers.

Exactly!

Oh wow. Okay. I'm genuinely not sure how I feel about that...

It's a true open ending, which I'm not a fan of. I wouldn't want to watch an entire drama to not be certain at the end whether or not our leads end up together. That'll just frustrate and irritate the heck out of me.

I really appreciate the clarification and heads up. It'll help me make a final decision as to whether or not I even want to start this.

Nice! I rated that one high myself too but it's been a while so I don't remember the details. You're making me want to watch it again soon though. LOL! Unfortunately I've been crazy busy lately so I've not been able to enjoy a lot of drama-watching. So sad. *sniff*

Right! I literally agree with every single word you've said here.

I did! I absolutely loved it too.

Ahhhhh okay. I totally get it now. Thanks for explaining!

In fact, I actually think I like the second half MORE than the first this time around. I think that may have been the case my first time watching this too (I don't recall clearly) but somehow in the space of time between then and now my recollection became flawed. I'm soooooooo glad I chose to watch this again, all the way through to the end!!!

Okay, so that girl felt backed into a corner. I still don't agree with her behavior though. Especially after she went to Rui Live. That was her chance to earn her way up properly. She keeps talking about how the FL was lucky to have a boss like the one she did. Well at one point he was her boss too! SHE is the one who threw that all away looking for shortcuts, knowing full well that she didn't actually have the talent to get where she wanted to go. SHE is the one who reached out to that asshole and initiated underhanded and flat out nasty behavior. There was nothing about her being backed into a corner involved in that. So NO I do not excuse her behavior, even though the show tries very hard to get us to.