Kelekat

That's literally the only way I've been able to continue watching.

I've really enjoyed pretty much everything else about the drama, for the most part. The acting has been really good I must say, the OST is nice, the production quality and stunts and visual effects have all been great.

The writing has been my issue. The entire secondary love line is a complete fail for me. But I also think the development and revelation of the main storyline is happening too slowly AND I also don't like that there's so much interference in the progression of the romance between the leads. Their feelings were there early, yes, but then too many things kept happening which kept delaying them from finally really opening up and committing to one another and being together. Then as soon as that happens we have the FL's alt running her own interference (*smh*). It's annoying.

I did finally make it all the way to ep 12 though. Feels like it's a darn miracle after the internal battle it's been to push through to this far.

EXACTLY! They forced her to be with the guy who we normally wouldn't actually want her to end up with in any other drama! He's literally everything that usually turns us off of SML's! I'm having such a hard time watching this knowing that they're trying to get us to accept her not ending up with the guy she actually liked and who liked her back. Instead they're forcing him to back down and forcing us to accept that she ends up with this guy who's decided he's the one for her whether she likes it or not. She's even rejected him, multiple times already, yet I'm supposed to accept him eventually getting together with her in the end? I'm having a difficult time even continuing to watch this. I keep getting ready to drop it because that aspect of the story is completely against everything I stand for but then they'll suck me back in with the storyline between the leads.

I'm on ep 8 now and I want to see what happens with the leads but I'm pretty sure I'm about to drop this.

I actually remember enjoying that one too, overall. It definitely is slower and more mellow in general, but still enjoyable.

I totally didn't realize she was in that one! LOL! I think when I watched it I wasn't familiar with her yet, at least not to the point of recognizing her. I can't believe i never realized it in all the time that's passed since though. That's funny!

Sounds like it's time for me to watch that one again. It's been years.

Oh really? I was just throwing that out there. Purely coincidental. I hadn't kept up to speed on any news about her. Well, dang. That's crazy! But it would explain why she might have looked rough.

Okay, cool. Thanks for the heads up!

Same! I literally came on here to say I was dropping it at the end of ep 6.

I'm having a difficult time pushing through this as well. The first few episodes were great. Then they introduced that love triangle amongst the second leads and everything about the way that aspect of the storyline is written goes completely against everything I like, respect and believe.

EDIT: I somehow ended up watching most of ep 7 since there was finally some progress in the main story but now they're introducing all this lack of trust between the leads... I don't know. I'm just not enjoying this anymore. So disappointing since it started off so well for me. Dropped after ep. 7.

It's seriously a struggle continuing to watch this. So far - I'm nearing the end of ep 7 - there's been mediocre development in the actual the main story and the situation with the second leads has genuinely been ruining my mood all damn day long, even with skipping as much of them as I can while still keeping up with the main story.

I sincerely don't understand how I'm supposed to like the SML's approach for pursuing the SFL. I don't. In any other drama he'd be the irritating, annoying guy that we all just want to have go away and can barely tolerate. He's obnoxiously pushy. Even before when it came to the FL he was pushy. He's just pushy in all aspects of everything he does and it's not appealing, at all. I simply cannot root for him. Then, watching how they make the other guy who was so great in the beginning become so pathetic is just another turnoff.

The writing for the interactions and development of the relationships between those 3 characters is VERY poorly done. They're blatantly trying to force us to accept they direction they want to story to go instead of writing it so that we naturally want to support the angle the want to take. That's bad writing.

Watching the SML see how much the first two care about one another but still hoping to come between them doesn't reflect love of the SFL at all. He just decides he's the one for her and, as such, he'll be the one with her in the end. His 'love' isn't enough for him to respect the relationship between those two. If he did he'd have stepped back and let them work through their issues without interfering, including giving them the time they needed to do so. He only cared that he wanted her for himself. It's truly disgusting to me the way they wrote his character to me. Truly.

That second story line is too frustrating to watch at the moment and the main story line is just not enough to make me want to keep going. This should be fun. It's not.

The ML has gotten even better looking here than he was in Mysterious Love I must say...in my opinion of course. His body's more impressive too.

Lost weight! What?! She's always been so TINY! She'd look anorexic and unhealthy if she lost weight. I wonder if she maybe went through a breakup or something that we just don't know about...

I'm particularly sensitive to annoying SMLs at the moment as I'm literally in the middle of watching another drama I started last night - Love in Replica - and was enjoying it for the most part, until they introduced a love triangle with the second leads which included a SML who's using every standard annoying SML trope to 'win' the SFL. I'm so turned off by it I'm struggling to even continue watching now and instead find myself on here searching again for something else to watch instead. UGH!

I cannot stand annoying second leads and I'm so tired of constantly having to endure them!

I looked up Love in Contract and nothing in the comments or reviews makes me inclined to want to watch it anymore, but I'll admit I was waiting to see what you said before making a final decision. Now I'm back to being undecided. LOL!

Healer and Secretary Kim and Her Private Life are some tough acts to follow. I definitely get why it would be difficult to give a fair assessment of Love in Contract on its own after watching those first and in such close proximity. All 3 of those dramas are some of my all-time favorites so anything not fully up to par won't fit the bill.

Actually, it sounds like you've had a stellar 2 weeks of watching dramas. I'm jealous! LOL!

I appreciate you for your approach to this conversation. I love that we can agree to disagree amicably. Much respect to you. Sincerely. I love when I get to meet people like you on here. It can be so frustrating communicating on here at times.

Have a wonderful day!

Okay, thanks!

The DNA test results in the beginning don't make sense if the FL is a clone.

This was going so good until the introduction of the love triangle between the second leads and all the screen time they're given. I was truly enjoying it. Now I'm so turned off I don't even want to bother watching the drama anymore. Had they made the development of the relationship between the second leads more natural I wouldn't have been turned off by the love triangle. However, the SML is currently behaving like all the SMLs I HATE in every other romcom, so now I don't even want to bother watching.

I read some more comments below and apparently this story is a novel written by one of the characters in season 1, using some of the other characters from season 1 as characters in this story. So I guess it's a story within a story???

It's more of a culture difference than anything. The simple, 'natural' physical contact you guys are thinking of isn't seen that way over there. For them it's actually pretty awkward.

Shoot in British culture and often in elite Chinese and Korean culture, casual physical contact and intimacy has traditionally been seen as vulgar.

Bear in mind there's also a cultural difference. Like traditional British culture, Asian culture isn't known for being very physically affectionate. On the contrary. Hugs, physical interaction, those are things that a known to be uncommon in many cultures - even amongst family - to the extent where such behavior can be viewed as off-putting and uncomfortable. It's unnatural for them.

With that in mind, if a culture in general views physical intimacy as somewhat taboo, it would make sense that acting roles would be even more sensitive about it (since we're basically talking about physical intimacy between strangers). It's why kisses between actors are seen as such a big deal.

Americans in particular are known for having a hard time understanding this culture difference. If you travel a lot you'll catch on quickly that a lot of what you guys are expecting isn't common in many other places around the world. I didn't grow up in the US but I spent the second half of my life here so I get it. My siblings and parents and I didn't hug and stuff. I love you was written in a card, not said out loud. All of that shit was awkward as hell. It was like that in general as a part of the culture I grew up in. I've gotten used to American standards after living here for so long and my siblings and I all have very 'American' interactions with our own children now but it's funny because, as close as we are (and we are really close), it's still awkward for us to hug one another.

In fact, to be freely open to physical contact like you guys are expecting is literally used an example in many parts of the world when people make comments about someone having become very Westernized or Americanized in their behavior.

I haven't gotten to the part you mention where they show JTC is sick - that sucks - but it don't see that changing my mind about not wanting Tian Sui to end up with Ding Bei Fan. Not at all. Even if she didn't end up with JTC, Ding Bei Fan's pursuit of her ALREADY, from the get-go, are all the things we usually hate seeing a SML do. He completely ignores her feelings and pursues her despite having already been rejected. He decides she'll be with him like she's a thing and not a person with a mind and feelings of her own.

I'm still only on ep 4 and I've actually really enjoyed the drama so far, but this side story is going to be a HUGE problem for me. Huge.

OMG! THIS is the post I was looking for! I'm only on ep 4 now where the love triangle begins and I'm already angry with the way the drama is setting this up to play out! I agree with you COMPLETELY!

I'm only on ep 4 now where that love triangle between the second leads is beginning and I already don't like the way the story is setting this up. I DO NOT want the SFL (the manager) to end up with the SML (the FL's childhood friend). Not with the way he's approaching his pursuit of her.

Let's pretend the main leads don't exist, making the 3 leads be the Ding Bei Fan, Tian Sui and Jiang Tian Cheng. From the very beginning they showed us the chemistry between Tian Sui (the FL's manager) and Jiang Tian Cheng (the undercover bar owner). Those two clearly had feelings for one another and something between them was developing.

Then they introduce this SML - Ding Bei Fan (the FL's childhood friend), who immediately gets rejected by the FL (the FL in this scenario, aka Tian Sui) but, because he's decided she's the one he's going to be with, he ignores her completely and begins his incessant pursuit. He pulls the typical, obnoxious SML stunts - talking about not giving up on the girl, telling the other guy they should compete fair and square, and forcing ways to get close to her and into her life. Textbook SML behavior.

It's not that I don't like the character otherwise. He's sweet enough. If his way of approaching the girl that's completely turning me off. He's ignoring her feelings towards him and trying to force the issue of her being with him. Such behavior is hideous to me.

The interactions between Jiang Tian Cheng and Tian Sui, on the other hand, are more in line with the behavior of the main leads in any other drama. Their relationship is developing between them slowly but naturally. It's not forced. She definitely is attracted to him too. Even the way he doesn't get caught up in the competition the SML is creating over the girl (at least so far) is more in line with the behavior of the ML who ends up with her in the end.

I can't help continue rooting for them to be together and not see her get with the SML. But the drama is clearly trying to get us to root for the clear SML.

I think I'd be able to get on board with Ding Bei Fan winning over the SFL if they made it more natural. Just like the reason he ended up working with her at first wasn't contrived as a way for him to get close to her. It would have been great if another reason arose for him to continue working with her. Had they showed respectfully stepping back after being properly rejected but then something happened which made it so they still had to interact for work and, over time, became closer to one another, then I could see myself getting on board with their romance. Instead, showing him blatantly ignoring her words and feelings (pure disrespect) and pursuing her relentlessly until she wears down and gives into his feelings will only make me dislike the drama. It's sending a terrible message.

I'm only on ep 4 now where that love triangle between the second leads is beginning and I already don't like the way the story is setting this up. I DO NOT want the SFL (the manager) to end up with the SML (the FL's childhood friend). Not with the way he's approaching his pursuit of her.

Let's pretend the main leads don't exist, making the 3 leads be the Ding Bei Fan, Tian Sui and Jiang Tian Cheng. From the very beginning they showed us the chemistry between Tian Sui (the FL's manager) and Jiang Tian Cheng (the undercover bar owner). Those two clearly had feelings for one another and something between them was developing.

Then they introduce this SML - Ding Bei Fan (the FL's childhood friend), who immediately gets rejected by the FL (the FL in this scenario, aka Tian Sui) but, because he's decided she's the one he's going to be with, he ignores her completely and begins his incessant pursuit. He pulls the typical, obnoxious SML stunts - talking about not giving up on the girl, telling the other guy they should compete fair and square, and forcing ways to get close to her and into her life. Textbook SML behavior.

It's not that I don't like the character otherwise. He's sweet enough. If his way of approaching the girl that's completely turning me off. He's ignoring her feelings towards him and trying to force the issue of her being with him. Such behavior is hideous to me.

The interactions between Jiang Tian Cheng and Tian Sui, on the other hand, are more in line with the behavior of the main leads in any other drama. Their relationship is developing between them slowly but naturally. It's not forced. She definitely is attracted to him too. Even the way he doesn't get caught up in the competition the SML is creating over the girl (at least so far) is more in line with the behavior of the ML who ends up with her in the end.

I can't help continue rooting for them to be together and not see her get with the SML. But the drama is clearly trying to get us to root for the clear SML.

I think I'd be able to get on board with Ding Bei Fan winning over the SFL if they made it more natural. Just like the reason he ended up working with her at first wasn't contrived as a way for him to get close to her. It would have been great if another reason arose for him to continue working with her. Had they showed respectfully stepping back after being properly rejected but then something happened which made it so they still had to interact for work and, over time, became closer to one another, then I could see myself getting on board with their romance. Instead, showing him blatantly ignoring her words and feelings (pure disrespect) and pursuing her relentlessly until she wears down and gives into his feelings will only make me dislike the drama. It's sending a terrible message.