My feelings on this show are overall positive, but I still think that there are elements that feel too artificial and the length is a tad too long. I was only able to complete this drama the second time I attempted to watch it. The first time, I dropped it after the first episode because I couldn't handle how outrageous Duk Mi's fangirling was. After a second watch, I still feel it is a little too over-the-top and contributes to an inconsistent feeling. To me, the idea of the story was intriguing, but unfortunately, I don't feel it was executed to a satisfying level.

The show starts by establishing the essential plot element that Duk Mi is a hardcore kpop fangirl - not just a fan, a hardddddddcore fan girl. She's the webmaster of a fan site, has a ridiculous camera/ladder/privacy outfit, and her self-proclaimed, only hobby is following Si An of the fictional White Ocean. It's definitely an intriguing premise, but I personally found it extremely cringeworthy, even beyond just the feeling of secondhand embarrassment. Furthermore, the amount of effort she would have to expend to keep up her activities and fan knowledge in real life, far exceed the time required to form a real, adult career and maintain real, adult responsibilities, so I found it a little too unrealistic. My biggest complaint was how her fangirling personality was shoved to the side once she started a real relationship with Ryan Gold/started to explore their relationship. She suddenly shifted from a "giddy fangirl" personality to just a "reasonable Kpop fan who has a real boyfriend in real life". I couldn't buy this character change either, as up to that point, she had proven herself to be so immersed that she lacked self-restraint in certain situations.

Furthermore, I found some story beats too convenient such that they ended up just feeling super contrived. Eun Gi is Duk Mi's brother, but wait, actually he's not, he was adopted. He loves Duk Mi for real, as in he wants her to be his girlfriend, but wait she doesn't feel the same back, so he's just going to ignore it and go back to being besties-only. Ryan Gold is a foreigner who looks like a Korean and speaks Korean really well. But wait, actually he's secretly childhood friends with Duk Mi and lived with her family for a month when his mom accidentally abandoned him because she got into a serious car accident but ended up recovering. And also, Duk Mi doesn't remember anything because of trauma (and by the way she has a younger brother who died), but wait she suddenly remembers after a short conversation with her father. And Ryan Gold remembers everything too after easily piecing together dreams that he had. Oh and did I mention that Ryan Gold is secretly the brother of Si An?

I could go on, but suffice it to say, I think the artificial-feel of the story is the weakest point of the show. It gets particularly weak near the end, when the main leads have already gotten together already and it's clear the show is just looking for more ways to fabricate more watch time.

In contrast, the production of everything else is what makes me elevate this to a net-positive score. As is usual in a lot of Korean shows, I found the acting to be excellent. The OST was not my cup of tea, but I could definitely sense its high production value. The visuals are gorgeous and speaking towards the actors, as a male viewer, I saw Park Min Young as beautiful as usual, having that stereotypical girly, girl allure. I could tell Kim Jae Wook has that confident, sexy allure as well, for our female fans. Some of the comedy is well done, having that "funny because it's cringy" feel to it. You also grow to enjoy the side characters, even the sort-of-villain-turned ally of Cindy, who even has her own character arc.

Of special note, even though I couldn't totally buy Duk Mi's transformation from only-fan girl to someone else's girlfriend, her relationship with Ryan Gold was surprisingly refreshing in that it had very limited K-melodrama tropes. They respected each other throughout their relationship. Even when they were fighting about things, they sat down and talked about it. There were no ridiculous misunderstandings. The only thing that was contrived was the "amnesia-childhood-friends-relationship". But other than that, it seemed by all accounts a healthy, mature, adult relationship.

Overall, for me, this show was kind of an "OK way to pass the time". I don't hate nor regret that I watched it, but I don't see any elements of this that will make me want to go back and rewatch it.