This is an incredible story. I fell in love with the show.

Warning!!! This review contains spoilers!!

Female lead is a finance reporter who's in a committed relationship with her boyfriend since her college days.
She's confident, hardworking, and very, very good at her job. She's beginning to build a name for herself in the finance circle as a great writer with sharp insights into the industry.
One day he life takes a turn as two things happen one after the other: She gets offered an interview by the Male lead, and she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her.

The Male lead is the heir to a large conglomerate. His family is filthy rich. He shook up the financial world when he left his family's firm to start his own investment company several years ago. He's been making strides ever since, distinguishing himself in his own right. But he's very media shy and doesn't often speak with the press. Put all of these things together and you get a very hungry public. The ML reads an interview that the FL wrote and is suitably impressed. He decides to offer her an interview, which she accepts.

Right after their first meeting , the FL sees her ex-boyfriend with his new girlfriend. She comes to the mistaken belief that the 'home wrecker' is the niece of the ML. Being hurt and angry, she decides to take her revenge by seducing the ML into falling for her.

I must admit that this idea of hers gave me pause. It doesn't seem in character for the FL to either want to seduce anyone, or to take advantage of an innocent person. We see her at work and with her friends and family--she is smart, kind, patient, and highly ethical. She's also not the flirty type--she's very level-headed and somewhat reserved with men. So the idea that she'd approach a man of her own initiative and play with his feelings is extremely out of character for her. I guess its excused by her heartbreak? Remember, she's been with her ex-boyfriend for many years.

The FL initiates a game of cat and mouse with the ML. She comes up with the most ridiculous ways to get his attention-- from faking a sprained ankle to making a big to-do about an earring she'd lost in his car. They also happen to run into each other in work circles and she takes full advantage of each meeting.
The ML is perfectly aware that she has an angle of some sort. He's no one's fool. Yet, he's intrigued by her so he decides to go along, in a "give her enough rope to hang herself" kind of way.

The dialogue between these two is absolutely glorious. She's trying so hard to be a seductress (she isn't one). And he just loves teasing her and getting a rise out of her. Everything they say is sharp, witty, filled with double meanings. As a viewer you can't help but laugh at loud--I know I did. Kudos to the writers (not sure if it's the script writers or manga author who gets the credit, but regardless). I have never, ever come across such hilarity before and I LOVED EACH AND EVEYRY MINUTE.

The parts where the FL goes over-the-type in a high-school-girl way in order to get closer to the ML would be cringy--if it were real. The point is that none of it is. You can see the FL's innocence by the schemes she uses--they are contrivances that teenage girls use. So it's funny to see her gritting her teeth and pushing herself to go through with the inanity. What's even funnier is that the ML sees through her each and every time. He calls her out on it, but never directly. No, he's way to sly for that. And way too witty. So I just sat back and laughed as I watched them trying to best each other. Like I said...absolutely glorious. You can cut the ML's wit with a knife.

Eventually the ML catches real feelings for the FL. And the FL realizes that she's not chasing the ML for revenge anymore--she's actually fallen for him for real.
They both admire the heck out of each other. She admires his financial acumen and his courage in risking branching out on his own. He admires her sharp intellect, looks, and overall personality.

This would be good news, except...

He knows she's hiding something from him so he won't fully commit to a relationship.
She's terrified that if he finds out why she approached him initially then she'll lose him for good. So she also can't fully commit to him.

This shaky ground of "I like you, but won't commit" is the breeding ground for a lot of misunderstandings.
Add in a niece (not the homewrecker) who's hiding her true identity, parents pushing for blind dates, and the unsolicited romantic pursuit from other parties and you get the endless back-and-forth of a relationship that's constantly wobbling this way and that.

He's desperately waiting for her to come clean, knowing in his heart that he'll give her whatever she wants if she'll only confide in him.
She's desperately afraid that she'll lose him, leading her to lie to him in big and small ways because she's insecure in their relationship.

Things are just about to get better, he's just about ready to give in completely even without knowing what she's hiding, when the truth blows up in their faces.
He finds out that she approached him for revenge, and he's devastated.

She's also devastated. In her mind it's over between them, because there's no way he'll forgive her or want to be with her. She sees her betrayal as the definite end of them.
Meanwhile, all he wants is an apology and her reassurance that her feelings are real--that despite her initial reasons, she did actually fall for him in truth.

So he's waiting for her to approach him and make amends while she's convinced that he hates her and wants nothing to do with her. So when she does approach him, and she apologizes, she doesn't explain. She doesn't reassure him that she does actually have true feelings for him. She only apologizes for the wrong she's done, and focuses on work---arranging to shift upcoming interviews between him and her publication to a different reporter, thus terminating any further contact between them.
She approaches him twice. Both times she apologizes. Both times she ends up focusing on work--not because she doesn't want him or doesn't want to reconcile, but because in her mind it's hopeless and she also feels guilty as hell--believing she doesn't deserve his forgiveness. He, of course, has no clue what's going on in her mind. So he's convinced, going off her actions, that all she cares about is work and that she never did like him for real.

They are both so sad and unhappy. It was really heart-breaking to watch. This show portrays two adults having their hearts broken by the one they love , and the way it's shown is very realistic and touching.

Eventually, the niece (I love that girl!!) encourages her uncle, the ML, to approach the FL one more time--having him be the one to reach out, rather than him continuing to wait for her to initiate contact. Once he does, the FL gains the courage to confess to him, telling him that what had started out as an act became real very quickly. She truly does like him. He forgives her immediately and they get back together.
Even at this point, he continues teasing her. He won't tell her outright that he forgives her, won't tell her outright that they're officially a couple. It's endearing to see how she takes all her courage to be with him, determined to win him over 100% so that he does give her the words, the clear commitment. At one point she tells him that she can't believe how fast he's forgiven her, that she's expecting him to take revenge on her and even the score. His response, and the love he gave her, warmed my heart. The ML truly does love her and all he asks of her is that she love him back.

And they lived happily ever after!!

(There are two additional side couples in the show. The niece and the FL's bff, but I don't really have the patience to go into detail. I don't have any issues with how they were portrayed but none of them caught my heart or interest in the way that the main couple did.)

I adore, adore, adore this show!!
The ML is portrayed as the typical "cold" CEO but you can see his smirks, his wit, his devilishness in everything he says and does. This sets him apart from the stereotypical....miles apart. I absolutely love him.

The FL is so funny and smart. Such a breath of fresh air. I've never seen a heroine quite like her in any show before.

There were no skips for me in this show. Every moment was gold, every moment counted. None of it was boring.
I've already seen it twice, so that should answer any questions about the rewatch value :)

Anyway, if I haven't made it clear yet, GO WATCH THIS SHOW!! It's absolutely amazing.

If you've made it to the end of my long ramble, I thank you for reading and wish you happy watching <3