This review may contain spoilers
a great premise, a good pairing, a slightly disappointing execution.
my review contains four sections —
[1] singing the series’ praises.
[2] episodes seven and eight.
[3] the couples and the love triangle.
[4] my conclusion.
(please be aware the whole review contains minor spoilers about the story and ending.)
[1] singing the series’ praises.
i liked the overall story; it was simple but engaging. having Siyeol start off with his own ulterior motives was interesting, and i think the premise of getting revenge on behalf of a friend (and unrequited love) is great because it jump-starts the main romance in a way that feels character-motivated instead of coincidental or artificial. this has the opportunity to give the characters more agency, more life, and more depth.
the dialogue and acting felt natural most of the time. despite Aejun (Aejoon) being a massive fanboy and having a huge crush on Siyeol, his lines/reactions never felt too cheesy, dramatized, or unrealistic, which i think is a feat. he could’ve easily been a frustratingly exaggerated stereotype, but he remained fairly level-headed and rational during a lot of his interactions with Siyeol, which i think helped balance out the fanboy moments. Aejun’s timid/shy looks and behaviors also felt normal/natural, and often sold a scene for me. overall, the dialogue and acting for both Aejun and Siyeol in particular were major positives, but the whole casts’ acting was good.
i also really loved the way we got to see/hear some of the internal monologue of both the main leads in the first several episodes. not only does this obviously help us get the full story, and not only does it help build up the romance between the two characters, but it’s great to see/hear how Siyeol feels as he gets to know Aejun more and more.
[2] episodes seven and eight.
all of the above being said, though, the seventh and eighth episodes felt anti-climatic to me.
firstly, though i thought the premise and reveal of Siyeol’s ulterior motives was presented well, the resulting consequences once he was found out were lackluster and Aejun’s reaction seemed very mild. his idol crush appeared out of nowhere, started a relationship with him based on lies, and he found out about those lies while also finding out that his crush liked someone else the whole time. i felt like he should’ve been angry and insulted and heartbroken, and i’m assuming he was, but we barely got to see any of that.
secondly, Siyeol’s feelings started off so interesting, with depth and motive, but by this point i found myself displeased with the way his feelings were written. Siyeol’s reaction to being found out didn’t seem strong enough, plus his feelings for Aejun at that point hadn’t been developed enough. i realize that Siyeol thought Aejun had a boyfriend, but even so: having Siyeol earnestly say, in episode seven of a ten-episode series, that he still felt feelings for someone else was… disappointing, to say the least. this made the main pair’s romance fall rather flat for me. i had to agree with what Gyuseong (Kyusung) said to him: “you’re the one who needs to commit to one person.” and i also had to agree with what Juha (Jooha) later said to him: “think about what you did. you deserve to suffer a little.”
thirdly, the (mostly off-screen and mostly unexplained) revelation of Gyuseong’s reason for breaking up with Juha was lacking. while i understand that Gyuseong was trying to protect Juha’s career and public reputation, it seems like they were together for YEARS before the break-up. so, it made little sense that Gyuseong would cut Juha off so suddenly, without telling Juha about what happened at all. maybe if there had been a bigger threat/scandal, then it would’ve made more sense for him to hide it, but the actual threat didn’t seem like an end-of-career time-to-break-up issue to me — especially since the two of them just end up (openly?) together anyway.
all in all, i can’t say the ending was outright bad, because the last two episodes were much better than these two, but the direction this second half went in still left me feeling less than satisfied.
[3] the couples and the love triangle.
main couple: Choi Siyeol and Na Aejun were super fun to watch on screen. despite Siyeol’s ulterior motives and his feelings for Juha existing alongside his feelings for Aejun for most of the series, the main pair still managed to have a lovely chemistry with each other throughout the story. their scenes were also so cute and well-acted that it was often easy to forget Siyeol had any ulterior motives at all. this is partially why it was disappointing that Siyeol spent so much of the series thinking that he loved Juha more than Aejun, but at least the last two episodes helped make up for part of that. unfortunately, though, i found it kind of hard to believe Siyeol’s declarations about Aejun being the only person he’s actually loved — not because i think he was being insincere in that moment, but because this wasn’t really what we were shown in the series. (i’ll talk about this more in the love triangle paragraph.) still, it was nice to see the main pair get their happy ending.
side couple: Ji Gyuseong and Yeon Juha worked well as a side couple, despite the poor break-up reasoning. considering the limited time we had with them, and considering their exes-to-lovers storyline, i think their reconciliation developed at a decent pace. i also really enjoyed that you could easily tell what their dynamic as a couple used to be (especially in the last episode, when Juha confronts Gyuseong), and it was nice to see them get their happy ending too. when they’re actually happy together, their chemistry is good.
the love triangle: Siyeol’s feelings for Juha are present for most of this ten-episode romance drama, which is frustrating. the show tries to dismiss this by making it seem like Siyeol’s emotions were rooted in some sort of obsessive guilt rather than real love, but i just don’t buy that. there were a few times when Siyeol genuinely showed care and affection for Juha, and the fact that they have a long history and close relationship is brought up too. plus, the whole premise of the story is that Siyeol cared so much about Juha’s happiness that he wanted to get revenge on Juha’s behalf. AND it’s even revealed that Siyeol bought and now lives in Juha’s old apartment! so yeah, Siyeol’s feelings seemed like love to me, not guilt. you could also say it was infatuation mixed with guilt, maybe, but the point is that i don’t believe it was just guilt alone.
[4] my conclusion.
this was a cute, funny, and well-made series with a really interesting premise. the couples had good chemistry, and even the friendships had good chemistry. if the love triangle issue had been resolved a bit better and/or a bit sooner, i think it would’ve made the happy ending feel like it was truly earned and it would’ve made this series even more enjoyable. even so, the last two episodes really made up for a lot of the disappointment i felt, and i was especially happy to see that Aejun and Juha became friends.
[1] singing the series’ praises.
[2] episodes seven and eight.
[3] the couples and the love triangle.
[4] my conclusion.
(please be aware the whole review contains minor spoilers about the story and ending.)
[1] singing the series’ praises.
i liked the overall story; it was simple but engaging. having Siyeol start off with his own ulterior motives was interesting, and i think the premise of getting revenge on behalf of a friend (and unrequited love) is great because it jump-starts the main romance in a way that feels character-motivated instead of coincidental or artificial. this has the opportunity to give the characters more agency, more life, and more depth.
the dialogue and acting felt natural most of the time. despite Aejun (Aejoon) being a massive fanboy and having a huge crush on Siyeol, his lines/reactions never felt too cheesy, dramatized, or unrealistic, which i think is a feat. he could’ve easily been a frustratingly exaggerated stereotype, but he remained fairly level-headed and rational during a lot of his interactions with Siyeol, which i think helped balance out the fanboy moments. Aejun’s timid/shy looks and behaviors also felt normal/natural, and often sold a scene for me. overall, the dialogue and acting for both Aejun and Siyeol in particular were major positives, but the whole casts’ acting was good.
i also really loved the way we got to see/hear some of the internal monologue of both the main leads in the first several episodes. not only does this obviously help us get the full story, and not only does it help build up the romance between the two characters, but it’s great to see/hear how Siyeol feels as he gets to know Aejun more and more.
[2] episodes seven and eight.
all of the above being said, though, the seventh and eighth episodes felt anti-climatic to me.
firstly, though i thought the premise and reveal of Siyeol’s ulterior motives was presented well, the resulting consequences once he was found out were lackluster and Aejun’s reaction seemed very mild. his idol crush appeared out of nowhere, started a relationship with him based on lies, and he found out about those lies while also finding out that his crush liked someone else the whole time. i felt like he should’ve been angry and insulted and heartbroken, and i’m assuming he was, but we barely got to see any of that.
secondly, Siyeol’s feelings started off so interesting, with depth and motive, but by this point i found myself displeased with the way his feelings were written. Siyeol’s reaction to being found out didn’t seem strong enough, plus his feelings for Aejun at that point hadn’t been developed enough. i realize that Siyeol thought Aejun had a boyfriend, but even so: having Siyeol earnestly say, in episode seven of a ten-episode series, that he still felt feelings for someone else was… disappointing, to say the least. this made the main pair’s romance fall rather flat for me. i had to agree with what Gyuseong (Kyusung) said to him: “you’re the one who needs to commit to one person.” and i also had to agree with what Juha (Jooha) later said to him: “think about what you did. you deserve to suffer a little.”
thirdly, the (mostly off-screen and mostly unexplained) revelation of Gyuseong’s reason for breaking up with Juha was lacking. while i understand that Gyuseong was trying to protect Juha’s career and public reputation, it seems like they were together for YEARS before the break-up. so, it made little sense that Gyuseong would cut Juha off so suddenly, without telling Juha about what happened at all. maybe if there had been a bigger threat/scandal, then it would’ve made more sense for him to hide it, but the actual threat didn’t seem like an end-of-career time-to-break-up issue to me — especially since the two of them just end up (openly?) together anyway.
all in all, i can’t say the ending was outright bad, because the last two episodes were much better than these two, but the direction this second half went in still left me feeling less than satisfied.
[3] the couples and the love triangle.
main couple: Choi Siyeol and Na Aejun were super fun to watch on screen. despite Siyeol’s ulterior motives and his feelings for Juha existing alongside his feelings for Aejun for most of the series, the main pair still managed to have a lovely chemistry with each other throughout the story. their scenes were also so cute and well-acted that it was often easy to forget Siyeol had any ulterior motives at all. this is partially why it was disappointing that Siyeol spent so much of the series thinking that he loved Juha more than Aejun, but at least the last two episodes helped make up for part of that. unfortunately, though, i found it kind of hard to believe Siyeol’s declarations about Aejun being the only person he’s actually loved — not because i think he was being insincere in that moment, but because this wasn’t really what we were shown in the series. (i’ll talk about this more in the love triangle paragraph.) still, it was nice to see the main pair get their happy ending.
side couple: Ji Gyuseong and Yeon Juha worked well as a side couple, despite the poor break-up reasoning. considering the limited time we had with them, and considering their exes-to-lovers storyline, i think their reconciliation developed at a decent pace. i also really enjoyed that you could easily tell what their dynamic as a couple used to be (especially in the last episode, when Juha confronts Gyuseong), and it was nice to see them get their happy ending too. when they’re actually happy together, their chemistry is good.
the love triangle: Siyeol’s feelings for Juha are present for most of this ten-episode romance drama, which is frustrating. the show tries to dismiss this by making it seem like Siyeol’s emotions were rooted in some sort of obsessive guilt rather than real love, but i just don’t buy that. there were a few times when Siyeol genuinely showed care and affection for Juha, and the fact that they have a long history and close relationship is brought up too. plus, the whole premise of the story is that Siyeol cared so much about Juha’s happiness that he wanted to get revenge on Juha’s behalf. AND it’s even revealed that Siyeol bought and now lives in Juha’s old apartment! so yeah, Siyeol’s feelings seemed like love to me, not guilt. you could also say it was infatuation mixed with guilt, maybe, but the point is that i don’t believe it was just guilt alone.
[4] my conclusion.
this was a cute, funny, and well-made series with a really interesting premise. the couples had good chemistry, and even the friendships had good chemistry. if the love triangle issue had been resolved a bit better and/or a bit sooner, i think it would’ve made the happy ending feel like it was truly earned and it would’ve made this series even more enjoyable. even so, the last two episodes really made up for a lot of the disappointment i felt, and i was especially happy to see that Aejun and Juha became friends.
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