Messy and ill-fitting female lead

It began very interestingly with a view into the intense education demands of the country.
Characters looked different and intriguing too. The teenagers are all lovely and their friendships/ relationships were very refreshing. The female lead's brother was wonderful - very touching to watch him.

It had the tag of romance - which is the only genre I watch - so was looking forward to a different kind of story.

However the zero chemistry romance fizzled, the appeal went flat, the genre decided to embark on its own path.

The female lead was so ill-fitting in her role that it soured the whole drama. She may be considered some kind of hero in her country, but she was the least appealing. Grandmother outfits, greasy hair, bony hands of an older person pretending to be young. If she is considered a great actor then please give her intense roles. Not romcoms where she destroys the sentiment of romance.

Even the nasty mother's club had more appropriate actors.

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Terribly mediocre......

You manage to snag a hot shot ML and then you do what??
Get him a frigid FL along with a terribly boring story line, an overkill of exes obsessing over their previous loves, silly sideline romances...........just pay for a better screenplay writer please!!

There's no story here, no romance - just a mish mash of characters boiled together.

Why would you take an intensely romantic male lead and pair him with an iceberg?
The female lead was either afraid of his stardom, too nervous, or just plain didn't like him. She stood like a wax statue every time he kissed her.
Aaaarrrggg....... What a terrible drama.

I watched it only for the ML - but even he could only do so much to breathe oxygen into a flaggering object.

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Maybe a Masterpiece for the regional audience¿¿..??

Historical dramas could be a lot more meaningful to regional audiences who may have lived through it. However for a global audience looking for pure entertainment this may not have such a deep impact.

Everything was okay for me and I would've given it a 7 or 8, but there was a jarring situation.
Taking the risk of being cursed by the star -obsessed fans of the region, I must say that the lead couple was JARRING.
They were mismatched and uncomfortable with each other, there was no chemistry, in fact there was a certain distance or coolness to the relationship that went against the storyline.

The FL - as brilliant as I've seen her in other dramas- had one singular expression throughout. She looked like a 12 year old obstinate child. That's it. It didn't waver.
All the 3 male leads falling in love with her was a bit ridiculous to watch.

The romantic thread between these 2 totally mismatched and chemistry-less leads just messed up the drama for me.

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What was the point of this drama??

My intent is not to underplay anyone's hard work here.

So purely from a global viewer's perspective, I struggled with this drama.
Could not find a theme, goal or intent here.
Forget looking for romance and chemistry - it was like a cloud that flitted away before you knew it appeared in the sky.

Comedy - what where when??

Story was crafted for a certain demographic of folks who reminisce about Jeju island, the small town mentality and unity and friendships. But haven't we seen this over a dozen times already??

The love triangle was outdated and honestly both leads were too old for their characters - as much as I adore them both.
The bad girl story drags through to the last episode.

I've been waiting for one classic romcom all through 2024 - nothing through April.
And there seems to be a very dim light at the end of the years tunnel 😳

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Zero star for the depressing female lead

I watched 5 episodes in bits and pieces for 2 years - and then completed the rest quickly.
How?
By forwarding every scene with the depressing female lead who has about two sorry expressions throughout and just drags the drama and every other character down with her.

So why not just dump the drama?
Because of all the stellar supporting cast and their interesting melodramas.

The poor ML.- of course his looks are off the charts, but he is so mismatched with the FL that even his noona's have more chemistry with him.

The storyline had some intriguing scenes - all well played by all the other actors.
But sadly too much emphasis on an ill-fitting female lead made this drama disappointing.

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So mediocre

The rating is 5 because this is just an average drama. Nothing great, nothing to hate.
Could it have been stellar? Yes because many people would appreciate sharing tragedies of their own break up and listening to others' stories as well.

FL : 10 stars
This drama is named after her and she delivers. There are some really idiotic scenes - but it looks like the script writer and director demanded it - and she pulled through them. Her eyes are very expressive and I also liked how she gestures with her hands. Nicely dressed and decent make up.

ML : 8 stars
cute but with little to do. He had a very odd role, not nicely defined. Their chemistry was okay but alas - barely any sizzling scenes. Nothing to make your heart stop and flutter.

3 other love stories / couples: 1 star
These were the most irritating part of the drama. The sister was a pain, shrieking little horror. Annoying love story.
The married friend was good, however their romance was one sided, and just went around in circles.
The ceo with the intern was the worst!! Seriously.....we could have done without that couple....... Just edit them off!

Basically I would not have wasted time on this drama, albeit being a romance junkie.

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Not even mediocre

My apologies for rating this 1, but there was no redeeming factor in this drama.
Personally I find taiwanese dramas finer made than Chinese and was really looking forward to seeing the ML again after True Romance.
But this drama takes you on a spin which is boring, mediocre, with barely any romance and lower than zero chemistry.

I only watch romance genre and even through that only prefer romcoms.
So bearing in mind that this review only compares with other dramas in this genre, and after having worthlessly wasted hours on this nonsense, please forgive me T drama team for scaling this drama down.

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Are these toxic fans for real in this country?

This is not the first drama where toxic fans are highlighted. Even in Her Private Life and a couple of other dramas, the toxicity of fans is clearly shown.

As a foreigner who just loves k dramas, it is very disturbing for me to digest and believe this.

Do these toxic fans not have a life of their own?
Why does the entertainment industry and the government allow them to destroy lives like this?
Can there be severe punishment for threatening and spreading falsity?
Why don't they make dramas or documentaries revealing this sickness because it truly is an obsessive disorder.

The k entertainers work and train so hard, give up their privacy, live a tough life albeit with wealth.
We have to let them live and breathe..

What right does a toxic fan have to mess around with their lives?
It's akin to murder - of their soul!

Please k drama producers and directors - create awareness that this is not acceptable.

Even when a negative review is posted on this website,the toxic fans respond with sharp claws.
Jeeeez......get a life of your own!!

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Booorrriiinnnggg

Oh my goodness.....spare yourself some time to breathe and exercise - just skip this downright boring, irritating, annoying, silly, childish drama.
I promise you I try to be very very fair with c- dramas, give them full benefit of the doubt, allow for a lot of nonsense. But most of the c dramas go beyond these limitations.
They are either over dressed or under dressed, women acting like 12-year olds, dressed like them also.
No chemistry. Yes there are intimate scenes but they are lifeless.
The story just drags on....that is if you can even call them stories or just a mish mash of clichéd crap.
The FL is so mediocre......aaargh......

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So refreshing

I was so skeptical about watching another teen drama with mean girls, tiny skirts and rich hunks. It's tiring that there are infinite number of those.
However this turned out to be such a pleasant surprise. Candid, cute, refreshing.
Story one and three especially are so refreshing. Feels good to know that there are smart sensible teenagers even in the cruel world of selfish high schoolers.
And of course story two - what a heart throb that kid Rowoon or however he spells his name- is. The FL is also not bad in that story. Very cute first love story.

Clean production, great music, smartly made - very sharp and appealing drama.

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Sizzling chemistry is the only selling point of this drama

Every time I searched for a modern c drama, this popped up. With a high rating of 8.something, it's worth a try.

But be prepared for girls in tiny, crotch revealing skirts/ shorts. Thank God the squeaky baby voice was discarded.
The villain lady with straight black hair and red lipstick.
The clichéd car accidents
The cringey share holders meetings
The jealous and greedy family of the millionaires

Just be ready to crawl under a blanket with all these silly creatures
BECAUSE
The ML is worth every minute of it.......

He's a dish, carries his role well, underplayed, macho.....Hmmmm mmmmm
The FL does a good job too. She adds the sizzle to their chemistry and does not shy away from the intimate scenes.
Sticks to her role and is kind of underplayed.

Most others need an award for overacting, especially that FL ' s friend.

So yeah, keep your remote close, skip through the rubbish and enjoy the steamy romance.

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Almost made it to 9 stars**

This review is purely based on romance genres.

What an absolute hidden gem this was till ep. 9.
After that it becomes the country's marketing appeal to their 1billion plus population to relish life, slow down, find beauty in your passion and be comfortable in your own skin rather than a designer-chosen animal epidermis.

PROS:
*Delightful bickering and slow burn romance.
What a breath of fresh air to see modern, smart, independent women, dressed not in crotch-revealing skirts and bone breaking stilettoes but comfortable/fashionable attire, speaking in adult tones rather than the squeaky, baby whining sexist tones.
*This lead pair has been around for over 10-years, unfortunately I have not seen them before. They are both excellent actors, great chemistry, sizzling retorts and finally, finally they smooch.
*Can't complain about the hot looks of the ML. His character is wonderful - middle management (not an uptight, irritatingly skinny, 20-something CEO), smart, charming, goofy - the goofiness adds to the allure and reality.
* The female lead is confident, although why they make her say she is not beautiful a few times is boggling.
* The supporting females - except for the sister which we will get to, all the supporting females were excellent. Their characters were very well etched and they portrayed it wonderfully
* Story was great the first half and then there is the zen mantra on how to lead your life better than being dragged by corporate madness
* Production / camera / script - nothing was jarring, which means all is good.

CONS:
* The cousin sister : she consumes almost half the entire show and is portrayed as a selfish, shallow princess. Which is not a problem except that she dominates a show that is not about her at all.
* She has 2 romantic interludes, which are both irritating and have no chemistry, plus she is presumably very beautiful so men are crazy about her. This whole concept did not flow well with the rest of the smart, talented female cast.

I actually enjoyed this modern c-drama, especially since the historical ones put me off and it took me deep digging to find this almost-gem.

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Tepid....as bad as luke warm tea that you don't want to drink.....

First the positives:
Great second couple. Their romance was unique, great chemistry, slow burn, exciting to watch. And the best part - the second ML is absolutely a dish! What a universal good looking guy!!
And the female is very downplayed and wonderful. Toward the end she actually overtakes the FL.....in a very subtle manner. However they are not given enough importance and their story slides away.

The FL character is also very different from the standard 12-year old female with a squeaky baby voice, wearing tiny skirts that barely cover her crotch.
This female lead had a great personality etched out for her and more importantly, she carries off the role with aplomb.

That's it. Those are the only saving grace for this drama.

The negatives::
Such a boring story. N..O..t..h..ING ever happens.
You can easily watch every alternate episode and miss nothing!
If it's a slice of life, then believe me, you'll quit eating pizza slices for a month!
There must be a demographic that watches these insipid, tepid, lifeless dramas.

China has released a few stunning romances in 2023 - and sorry to say, this one needs to be buried away in cans.

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