Marshmallow-Chocoholic

@Sher1264 I know what you’re trying to say here by liking the show, however, I don’t think anyone is really doubting your view, here . @Fatooz and @Kdramasana are merely making a constructive point towards the quality of screenwriting not being top-notch and feeling repetitive.

No worries, thank you for reading it :).

@sweetmakopa How interesting. I appreciate that you probably know first hand a lot about how a job in media works, but it is more looking upon the less realistic elements of this storyline here with consideration towards the more " idealistic" version of the characters constantly getting off on free time. Do not get me wrong. This isn’t supposed to be a hyper-realistic show ( and nor does it really bother me), but I think most people here can agree it is fairly laughable when Sheng Sheng gets so much time off work. Yes, it is true Shengsheng’s best friend is her editor and their editor-in-chief is fairly laidback, however, even then there is a limit to constantly running out of the room without explanations ( even if it is " work associated") without later questions or discussions. The thing which perplexed me a little had to be surrounding working with her best friend on the piece, and her friend not even getting a little irked by Shengsheng handing in her work late or seeming as though she isn’t doing enough. I appreciate there was that scene when Shengsheng decides to catch-up with missing work and perhaps the friend saw it as a one-off as she’s done well with the interview, however being her in shoes you would get a little annoyed ( best friend or not), not to feel as though Shengsheng wasn’t doing enough here with the workload being imbalanced . The other apparent thing is that her best friend ( especially as her editor-in-chief) doesn’t really enquire more upon these "other stories "she’s working upon especially as the deadline for their entertainment panel being kept up by the editor is still on the horizon.
In consideration to Jiang Yi, I agree that he does have a surprisingly busy schedule. I can sort of understand how he can get off due to being under the weather, though still for an idol, his ability to get off suddenly from an interview or a photo shoot ( without being micromanaged by his manager, the director or staff) is a tad on the idealistic side as the idol lifestyle is fairly hard to avoid these problems . At the end of the day though , this really is only a C-drama and these problems aren’t supposed to be the height of the show. They only really exist as exposition for the romance factor, so perhaps they can be overlooked.

@Atsushi This isn’t to defend the actions of K-dramas doing this is any way shape or form , however, it is important to acknowledge that there are certain sociocultural factors here also when the term " queerbating" is associated here in the West with K-dramas. Without beating around the bush, South-Korea has had respectfully a turbulent history surround the LGBTQ+ community. It has never been illegal per say ( I.e. to be gay or bisexual ), but it has taken time for a lot of laws to be put forwards against anti-discrimination. Undeniably there has been a lot of progress even in the last decade in South-Korea towards LGBTQ+ rights and positive representations in the media( Secret Garden, and Itaewon Class being prime examples) , however, discrimination and prejudice still exist and especially amongst more mainstream media channels ( such as KBS), this can still be a bit of a taboo subject. In all honesty personally I don’t really have a problem with "bromance" per say in a drama and especially here ( considering that there isn’t anything between the Male leads even in the webcomic), however, I do agree that it is sad we cannot have had a storyline which followed the original events of the webcomic in order to dismiss these stigmas also.

@Problematic I hate to be the one to rain on your parade, but hovering over the rating provides it is actually a lot lower overall.

Regardless of your views, everyone is validated towards forming or sharing their own views here ( so long as it is not subjectively discriminatory). Burying your head in the sand towards anything good about the drama is admittedly just as bad as viewing the show with rose-tinted glasses. I agree that opinions on MDL can be influential to first-time watchers , however, being able to acknowledge that people feel different ways about the show ( even if they’ve dropped it) is just as important . My biggest advice to anyone reading through this war in the comment section and feeling more perturbed by the separate sides ( and coming from someone on the fence), is just to give it a go. You may love it, you may hate it. That’s up to you, not the comment section.

@Architectofnonsence I think what @ zinaaaaaaaaa was trying to point out that because the storyline of the drama deviates from the webcomic, it will not be successful with viewer ratings in South-Korea. Personally, I agree that ( even as someone who liked the original webcomic) it is quite a dynamic show ( even with the changes). ( Although I don’t always maintain viewer ratings point out a " good" or " bad " show- you need not look any further than " Healer" or " Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo" which were absolute flops in Korea, but maintained mainstream success overseas and amongst international drama watchers to epitomise this .) However admittedly I do believe that even if this drama had retained the same storyline as its predecessor, it would be surprising if it gained phenomenal viewer ratings at home due to respective cultural views on the subject matters.

@Atsushi The show isn’t designated to be a BL. In the original webcomic the storyline centralises upon a revelation one of the main characters is part of the LGBTQ+ community, but not in this manner of the two main male leads stereotypically being shipped. Respectfully KBS(the airing channel) is renowned to be pretty conservative and so the storyline in the webcomic and the drama diverge in order to avoid controversy.

@T47 No, I more than understand how you must be feeling. As far as I can make it out, the webcomic sadly differentiates a lot from the drama as KBS is quite a conservative airing network in South-Korea. (Hence, why they have included So Bin as a main character rather than Yeo Joon’s brother in order to avoid more “ provocative” suggestions between male characters . )A lot of webcomic readers, seem to be pretty split between the actual storyline and this deviation from the source material. Personally, it doesn’t bother me on the grounds that they’ve changed the roles of characters. It is sad that KBS cannot be a little more progressive with certain attitudes and representations with diversity in South-Korean society, however, it is also how they can go about making these changes seem strong in the divergent storyline. It is still early days, but hopefully the show won’t get caught in the loop of cramming in too much about Yeo Joon and So Bin and running out of screen time to focus on the friendship element between the MLs, or vice versa. ( The show focuses too much on So Bin and Yeo Joon in early episodes, then transitions onto the friendship between Seo Hyun and Yeo Joon only to run out of time on focusing upon the romance from the starting storyline.) Well, fingers crossed that they can make this more of a equivocal factor later down the line…

In the webcomic the relationship between Yeo Joon and So Bin is more of a platonic friendship as the central focus of the storyline in the webtoon is undeniably about Seo Hyun and Yeo Joon’s friendship. ( In fact in the webcomic So Bin is only a side character.)Although there is a revelation surrounding Seo Hyun’s sexuality in the webcomic, it doesn’t turn romantic with Yeo Joon. Instead he finds himself in a gradual relationship Yeo Joon’s brother ( who was actually a main character in the webcomic ). I hope that clarifies a little :).

Maybe I’m the only one who feels this way, but there’s something which doesn’t really kindle my passion for the main pairing between Yeo Joon and So Bin. Don’t get me wrong. There’s certainly chemistry between Park Ji Hoon and Kang Min Ah and it is evident to see the direction of the storyline here, but it feels… too enforced? Evidently I know how it is different in the webcomic. However, the show so far seems to be struggling a little with balancing it out more between the romantic and friendship elements of the drama. ( I imagine this will change in later episodes but at the minute it just feels a little too imbalanced for my liking.)

@Pinnypenny I’ll be honest in saying that I wasn’t too sure what to make of the casting choice of Jang Ki Yong as Woo Yeo at first. Don’t get me wrong. He’s a good actor as I certainly do remember him from My Mister and Kill it, but there was something which lacked the zest of life with his performance at first here. However in these later episodes, he has certainly changed my mind- he can convey something quite well-rounded about Woo Yeo’s sagacious and mysterious personality without feeling too enforced. He is certainly quite good :).

No, I agree entirely . I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with product placement popping up in a drama. After all, sponsorships fuel support and money for these dramas. However, excessive product placement in dramas can sometimes make a series almost a parody of itself. ( Especially when we have to have a closeup on a product randomly out of nowhere in a middle of an important scene or conservation. )I must admit though King: Eternal Monarch and Goblin were truly the epitome of cramming in as many sponsorships as possible…

@SH7HYUN No, you’re not the only one who feels this way. I can understand why @schoolseries made the point that the drama will focus on “ bigger issues” and so placing this pairing first gives base to focus upon the “romance” before delving into later issues in the storyline, but it does feel a little enforced considering their distinct personalities . Don’t get me wrong. I can see the direction of the screenwriter’s vision; the studious hard worker falls for the bubbly partygoer and realises there is more to him than meets the eye. I know there is the argument that they’re “ only friends”, however, anyone can put together that the screenwriter is desperately trying to fuel romantic chemistry here without allowing it to build-up more. Although I do believe @schoolseries is right by commenting that they will probably not have a love triangle ( though sadly probably foot for the same reason as the webcomic :().

I know right!? The most surprising thing is when she just runs out of the room in front of her boss and everyone just sort of asks ‘ where are you going?’ and then no one really bothers to enquire afterwards 😅.

The thing which gets me about this drama is just how much free time these people seem to have 😂. Don’t get me wrong. It isn’t meant to be realistic but it does make me seriously laugh as well.

Ah, I apologise about not putting a spoiler tag on. I didn’t think I really revealed too much which hasn’t been said already in plot premises but I do appreciate that some people may not know this.

@morpheus I will not spoil anything in case you do ever read the webcomic ( and depending on the direction of the show ), however, Jae Uhn is supposed to be this way to present a more malicious presentation of the emotional and psychological manipulator. It is one of the things which makes this an intriguing premise. This doesn’t make the actions of Jae Uhn right ( in fact he is fairly conniving and nasty) but it is a surprising alternate and realistic glimpse into certain dysfunctional relationships .In a lot of romance K-dramas, there’s this blind mist which falls over screenwriters with glamorising abuse or ignoring it entirely for the ‘ redeemed knight in shining armour’ . I know it is early days but so long as the drama doesn’t stray too far from the webtoon, I must say that you are in for an interesting ride…

No worries :).

@With You it is on dramacool if you punch in the name into the search engine on the website it will come up with “ So Not Worth It” (2021). :)