My goodness, over 50 hours later, I'm genuinely sad to be leaving this sweet drama behind. While it definitely had its flaws, it never quite managed to descend into some of the most bothersome tropes that have driven me away from the majority of daytime dramas. Endless scenes of conniving in-laws or boring secondary characters that contribute less than nothing to the main plot and ridiculously overblown, over-the-top villain plots that exist purely for shock value aren't really present here.

In fact, the melodrama was shockingly low in this drama in general imho. Every time this character found out about that character's secret and I expected it to be the end of the episode freeze frame with a dramatic love ballad blaring, it usually just kind of...happened...instead. And while this could be called anticlimactic, I found it strangely refreshing when things which could have easily been squeezed for the melodrama progressed in a much more natural, realistic way.

The drama has its plateaus, moments where it become redundant and frustrating, but for the most part, it usually left me wanting more. The pace was really fantastic, not necessarily of the overall plot (because, ya know, 100 episodes) but of individual scenes, which kept things moving even when the plot was a bit slow. I could've done without all of the lying/keeping secrets from loved ones "so they won't worry" and I wasn't a fan of some of the development of the secondary romances (sometimes things got a little toxic for me, or I felt that enough attention was not given to developing those relationships individually). But tbh the lead couple probably would've been enough to keep me watching.

The most fire chemistry in the world? No. The most romantic story arc ever? No. But personally, I couldn't care less. Chemistry is good, scenes are adorable, development was paced well, and my favorite thing of all ~ they were a solid, healthy relationship. Mature and pretty realistic. Yes, they had their ups and downs and just one breakup fakeout (sort of) but it actually felt like it made a lot of sense. The most important thing is that, for the most part, we have two people leaning on each other, talking things through, becoming close friends, being honest with each other, staying true to each other, being steady. This couple rarely let me down and it was extremely refreshing to see the writers prioritize a healthy relationship over drama.

I can't conclude this post without mentioning the family relationships. I'm a huge fan of found family stories and that alone made this drama a delight to watch. Another extremely refreshing thing was seeing the platonic relationships get as much (if not more, at times) attention as the romantic ones. Siblings, parents, friends, so many nice dynamics to enjoy besides the couples, and a lot of touching, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes heartwarming moments along the way. (Helped along by the *gorgeous* OST, I must say)

Honorable mentions: As I said, fantastic OST. A few songs will be staying in my music library forever after this drama. And ACTING. I cannot say enough about the acting, it was literally better than some of the 16-episode dramas I've seen. I partly watched this drama for Jin Ki Joo and she did not disappoint me. The rest of the cast was wonderful as well. Many actors I'd seen and loved in other things, and some I'd seen and *not* loved in other things, yet they won me over completely here. They brought their characters to life, nuances were there, tears always seemed so real and heart-wrenching. A+ for the acting. (Hwang Shin Hye, I'm so sorry for believing you weren't an awesome actress after only seeing you in Legend of the Blue Sea, you are awesome and made your character so relatable and likable, I'm so sorry ~ ).

So. The first daytime drama I actually finished! What an accomplishment, woohoo!! And it's not like I've never tried before, LOL. If that doesn't speak for this drama on its own, I don't know what will.