A Poem A Day’s story was a slow burn but I find myself happy with the journey and satisfied by its end. The relationships between the characters was low-key, there was never a big *gasp* moment, the good and heartbreaking things built up slowly just like in real life. And the poetry put words to feelings they didn’t dare speak of at times.

I instantly fell in love with Bo-young in particular, flaws and all. She was hardworking and kind, full of emotion, but she needed to learn how to stand up for herself and speak up instead of just accepting the cards life deals her. Each time we saw her getting her hopes up about getting a full time job at the hospital, only to end up as deflated as her when things didn’t work out. And the worst part was the she just took it like that was it. That was her life. But Bo-young’s also had an amazing resilience and optimism, which always made her get back in her feet and push the story forward.

Lee Yoo-bi choose an amazing lady to play and she did it with grace and charisma, in a quiet but strong fashion that makes Bo-young one of my all time favorite leading ladies. She made me feel exactly what Bo-young was feeling and with the same intensity.

Which is why I’m so happy Bo-young not only got the job but also a colleague, friend and lover who truly appreciates who she is and everything she does in Dr. Ye. He noticed everything about her (and everyone) which is why I was a Ye Liner since day one. Dr. Ye Jae-wook was respectful, kind, smart and supportive in a quiet but unyielding way. The kind of person Bo-young really needed by her side when the story started in order to built up her confidence.

And I loved seen his development too. From the quiet, mysterious new perfect doctor at the hospital but a (perhaps) not so perfect personal history, all the way to becoming a dork with heart eyes for only our leading lady. He might have been portrayed many times as perfect through the eyes of others but I don’t actually find him to be perfect since his strong-headed personality was extremely infuriating at times.

Plus, I still think Dr. Ye trying to be low-key about his relationships with Bo-young was one of the cutest things I have seen all year. And the rest of the staff was so freaked out by his sudden attentive behavior. It was the best.

The show was also smart enough to set up Min-ho with all the usual leading man characteristics and behaviors only to throw us off when we realized he was actually the second lead. And it’s exactly all those traits that other shows disguise as “charming” what made him lose the girl in the end. It was a surprise how A Poem A Day called us out on our own acceptance of nasty leading men behavior. How we naturally continue the “pulling pigtails” myth.

It’s not that Min-ho was a bad person, not at all, and through the story he grew to be more attentive, kind and caring towards others. But his teasing of Bo-young was borderline bullying at times, going as far as ridicule her, the things she loved and everything else she did in private and public.

When Bo-young gifted him the poetry book for children I understood that Min-ho still had a long way to go before he could be able to properly love someone, in a way where he could respect and cherish them. In part it’s his family’s fault, they never cared enough to be like that with him and always treated him like second best but there’s a limit to that excuse since he was also a man with his own mind who knew right from wrong.

The Min-ho at the end of the show was a completely different man, going through heartbreak and rejection from the person who could have give him everything he has been looking for in his family is, in my opinion, his biggest regret at the end. Because now he’s aware that he missed a very important chance and person. Now, he can begin to truly appreciate the feelings portrayed through poetry in a way he couldn’t before.

As for the rest of the characters, they were fun, colorful and full of life. Each with their own poem, emotion and troubles. They managed to have their own spotlight and become the lead of the show when the time called for it, and then make way for the next person. I like how they also got their time to shine.

tvN has delivered one of the most beautiful slice of life tv shows I have seen in a long time. Giving light to those unremarkable moments that shape us. I used to wonder who the “you” was in the title, now I think the it was directed to us, the viewers, who look for extraordinary moments on television and perhaps forget to appreciate the small ones that belong to us and only us.