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My Absolute Value of Romance = This Drama!!
Gosh...just where do I start??Some dramas, you seek them out. Some other dramas find you when you most need them and leave an impression so big, you know you will inadvertently compare every new show you watch with it.
Absolute Value of Romance is definitely the latter for me. Carrying me through two of the heaviest months of my life, this show has been the reason I looked forward to my weekends. It feels bittersweet to finally see it finish but what a journey it has been!
From story to pacing to the performances, theme and OST, everything kept getting better every week, and to maintain not just consistency but to keep getting better and better with every new episode over a 16 episode stretch is not an easy feat. But this drama managed to do that, no excuses, and to me, that feels like witchcraft considering I usually do not watch high school themed shows unless someone is chasing another violently with a box cutter.
And as far as high school themed dramas or any drama for that matter goes, this show has one of the most unique premises I've come across. To feature a high school student who writes BLs for a hobby and is using her teachers as her muses for her new fiction novel featuring men in love with each other takes guts, but then to do that this tastefully is nothing short of brilliance from the makers and cast. To handle a subject like this with lightheartedness could not have been easy because every joke is inevitably walking a thin line between humor and offense. And this drama doesn't slip once. Like I said, witchcraft ✨️
Kim Hyangi as Yeo Euiju is truly the star of the show. She shines in every single moment, her knack for humor and the warmth and sincerity she brings to Euiju is one of the biggest reasons this drama stands out. Truly a phenomenal actress who is bound for greatness!
Cha Hakyeon as Ga U Su made me wish for a teacher like him when I was a student. Not only is he gorgeous, but the passion he brings to his job and the way he respects his students going to any length to see them succeed was super inspiring. The cat and mouse dynamic between Euiju and him are only made more interesting by the natural chemistry between them. The drama excels in showing Ga U Su as the swoonworthy math teacher he is. The maturity, acceptance and respect he shows to his students was attractive enough that I couldn't blame Euiju, an adolescent who was witnessing her first example of what masculine goodness can look like, for eventually falling for him like anyone would have.
But do not be mistaken. This is not a show about a teacher x student romance. In fact, all the teachers in this show exercise very clear boundaries with their students even when the students make their awkward moves. If you've been through adolescence yourself, you'd know that feeling attraction for someone older and more mature and stable than you is a normal part of growing up, so please approach it with an open mind.
There are so many moments that stand out in this show, like the way Euiju sorts garbage in a dumpster truck just to find Ga U Su's glasses she dumped in it before realizing he had a serious eye condition and couldn't function normally without them, or the moment when Ga U Su gives Euiju the best advice he possibly could have in a moment when Euiju's entire life feels like it's crumbling in front of her, or the way Euiju finally makes her confession to Ga U Su in the only language he will understand, and that's math! She writes her feelings in a formula and let's him calculate it haha! He obviously doesn't accept but I couldn't have thought of a better way for that scene to play out. When she said that her absolute value of romance was him, I literally swooned, not because I was cheering for their relationship but merely from a technical confession analysis standpoint. It was a genius creative decision because it completely aligns with the theme of the show: her using her strength in writing to communicate to someone in a language they can understand, which was in this case, math.
All the moments of friendship also stand out. It was so refreshing to see a high school story where the kids weren't violently bullying each other but instead were genuinely supportive. Even misunderstandings were resolved with the innocence of adolescence. The four teachers have their own bond, long term friends who happen to share the same profession and are roommates. Their unconditional support of each other was also a delight to watch every week.
There is so much more that I can say about this show but I think this is one of those dramas that's best experienced for yourself.
At its core, this is a story of friendship, what it means to have good mentorship in your life from caring adults, and the awkwardness and hilarity that naturally come out of a coming of age story about young girls who learn to find confidence and purpose within themselves and each other.
I truly wish viewers who are willing to go into a show woth open mind give this show a chance. I also recommend this for viewers who enjoy absurd comedy, and a whole lot of heart in their dramas.
Thank you to the makers! My Absolute Value of Romance has been your drama these past 8 weeks :")
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Healing & Comforting Kdrama
Even though this show is mainly categorized as a romcom it's actually way more than that.A realistic show about how human beings struggle in life and end up mentally struggling due to that.
Then also how being in a natural carefree relaxing environment like the village shown here with it's sweetest kind villagers can fix you up and take all your troubles away.
It also addresses friendships, relationships, family troubles, betrayals, worklife balance, and ofcource finding your true love.
The main leads are able to heal each other, fix each other's bad habits and live a happy life together.
Surprisingly all the side characters here were so fun to watch.
My most favorite part was seeing the simple and beautiful village and village life.
Ahn Hyoseop never disappoints with a romcom.
Chae Wonbin it was my first seeing her and my girl is just spectacular and soooo prettyyyyy.
Thankyou to the writers of this drama and to the directors and to everyone involved for this masterpiece ❤️
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Now Aioon is Jealous of Her Own Pregnant Niece?!!?
If Lena & Miu had a daughter = BAM/PafunIf Lookmhee & Sonya had a daughter = OOM/Aioon
Just finished watching FULFILL ep 6 on Netflix & I'm just soooo happy that THAT nuisance of a character, Krit, is now out of the picture. It's too cute though to see Princess Anin's brother (THE LOYAL PIN) and Aokbab's brother (LOVE DESIGN) and wait, is that Khun Rin's dad (DENIED LOVE)!!?🤔
FULFILL ep 7 - Most memorable line: "This is my family now, the family I've always wanted. No matter what happens, I'll take care of everything." Or something to that effect - It's so hard to read subtitles while crying buckets! But THAT was the scene that made me fall in love with Oon all the more❤️❤️❤️
Biggest "I wonder" moment - How on earth was Fun able to do all that running, from the time Nueng's water broke... To that trip to the ICU... In heels! 👠
Best actress: Nueng! So pretty too.
Fearless forecast: FULFILL is so well-written, well-produced, well-acted, and WELL-LOVED, that the next BECWorld project (LingOrm's 3rd series) has pretty big shoes to fill....
NETFLIX made me cry all day and all night! Earlier, I watched a 🇵🇭 movie called UNTIL SHE REMEMBERS and cried. Tonight I watched FULFILL ep 7 and cried. Beautiful, beautiful shows that brought "happy" tears.
COMPLETED WATCHING ALL THE WAY TO EP 8: FULFILL IS A 🏳️🌈 MASTERPIECE. A positive recommendation for every curious soul who wonders how 🏳️🌈 families arebable to flourish in a predominantly straight world.
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The Beautiful Absurdity of Being a Teenager
Absolute Value of Romance is the kind of drama that quietly sneaks up on you and suddenly has you reminiscing about all the silly, embarrassing, and questionable things you did back in high school. It captures that awkward stage of life where every emotion feels bigger than it actually is, every secret feels life altering, and every crush feels like destiny. Watching it often felt like opening an old yearbook and cringing at your younger self, but with a smile on your face.The story follows Yeo Eui Ju, a high school student by day and a BL web novel writer by night. Despite writing numerous novels, none of them have managed to gain much attention. Everything changes when a group of four handsome men moves into a house on her street. Eui Ju watches them on their balcony and, as any highly imaginative teenager might, immediately starts pairing them up in her head. The twist is that these men turn out to be the new teachers at her school: the aloof math prodigy Ga Woo Su, the gentle Korean literature teacher Yun Dong Ju, the warm but clumsy former athlete Jung Gi Jeon, and the mischievous Japanese teacher No Da Ju. At that point, Eui Ju's imagination practically enters overdrive.
Although she initially feels awkward about using her teachers as inspiration, the temptation proves too strong. Soon, she begins writing again, basing her characters directly on the teachers and even lifting some of their dialogue verbatim. It is honestly impressive how far a teenager's imagination can travel with the smallest amount of material. What makes Eui Ju so endearing is how human she feels. Anyone who has spent too much time daydreaming will probably recognize a bit of themselves in her. I certainly did. The only difference is that I was unfortunately not blessed with my own personal F4 of attractive teachers to inspire my fantasies.
To Eui Ju's surprise, her new novel becomes a huge success. Readers flock to it, downloads increase, and comments pour in. Naturally, she keeps writing. Things become even more complicated when Woo Su discovers what she has been doing. Initially confused and slightly weirded out by a genre that is completely foreign to him, he eventually decides to let her continue. As the story progresses, Eui Ju develops feelings for him after several moments where he ends up looking after her.
What I appreciate most is how carefully the drama handles this dynamic. Despite the premise, the relationship never feels like the type that would have people calling the popo. Instead, it is framed as what it really is: a student's innocent first crush on a teacher. From Woo Su's side, the narrative remains remarkably clear. He treats Eui Ju as a student and nothing more. He never encourages her feelings, never reciprocates, and never crosses any boundaries. There were moments when I found myself wondering whether he genuinely had no clue about her crush or whether he simply chose to redirect everything back into a teacher-student relationship. Either way, the drama never loses sight of where the line should be.
Beyond the romance, the drama shines in how accurately it captures the anxieties of adolescence. There are countless moments of secondhand embarrassment, both from Eui Ju's actions and from how much they reminded me of my own school days. The fear of having a secret exposed, the panic that follows every small mistake, the tendency to overthink every interaction, all of it feels surprisingly authentic. While the story never digs especially deep into its emotional arcs, it gives its characters enough depth to feel relatable. The conflicts remain relatively light, but they still resonate because they stem from experiences many people have lived through themselves.
One of the biggest questions I had while watching was how the drama would handle its ending. Teacher-student romance stories often walk a very delicate line, and I genuinely could not imagine an ending that would feel satisfying. Would they force a romance through with a time skip? Would they leave everything unresolved? Would they take the little sister route? Surprisingly, the ending ended up becoming one of the drama's greatest strengths.
Rather than turning Eui Ju's feelings into some grand, life defining romance, the story treats them as what they are: first love, puppy love, a fleeting crush that eventually becomes a cherished memory. It acknowledges the sincerity of her feelings without pretending they are meant to last forever. Most importantly, the teachers never play into those feelings. They continue treating their students as students, allowing Eui Ju to grow naturally and move forward. The resolution feels realistic, mature, and surprisingly touching. The snow symbolism in the final stretch adds just enough emotional weight to make the ending land beautifully.
In the end, Absolute Value of Romance is a cute, lighthearted coming of age drama filled with high school silliness, wild imaginations, and awkward memories. It delivers plenty of secondhand embarrassment, but it is the affectionate kind that makes you laugh while shaking your head at your younger self. More than anything, it reminds you of those fleeting moments from adolescence that seemed so important at the time. Looking back, they may have been ridiculous, but they were also undeniably precious.
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Can't wait for S2!!
This is really a good drama i must say. I really want s2. There’s Chaos, friendship, love, fun, laugh... Overall it will make you to rewatch. I really enjoyed this drama. I hope there will be S2.otherwise i Won't die in peace.Was this review helpful to you?
Big, big clap-clap clap-clap for Ep. 1!
Let's give a big round of loud applause to CHASING LOVE (done watching Ep 1 on Netflix): No "giant" stars in Chasing Love, but the production value is A+, the writing and directing seem solid, the acting's really good. And Thailand seems to have a veritable factory of beautiful women 🥰🥳P. S. Filos here would appreciate my observations? 😉😅🤣 Or my sense of humor?!!? I'm flabbergasted that there are so many Filipinos in the CHASING LOVE cast! Song's grandma = Amalia Fuentes. The Chatphimuk matriarch = Armida Siguion-Reyna. Song/Nueng = Maja Salvador + Therese Malvar. Piang = Kim Chiu + Rufamae Quinto. Ploy = Lani Mercado. Ple = Cristine Reyes. CEO Chatphimuk = Yayo Aguila + a prettier Jan Marini. Rin = A prettier Serena Dalrymple. Nampraw = A prettier Melai Cantiveros but same energy hahahaha 😅😂🤣😁🥳🇵🇭
What do I like best about CHASING LOVE episode 2? The excellent storytelling! It seems like each of the six main characters have interesting back-stories.... And the way each one is being unwrapped is quite engaging. This series would probably turn out to be a seriously funny rom-com, and THAT'S A GOOD THING🥰😍😘😁🥳❤️❤️❤️🇹🇭
CHASING LOVE EPISODE 4 feels like a hodgepodge of GAP (the meddling grandma arc), ENEMIES WITH BENEFITS (the FWB development), LOVE BEYOND DREAMS (the "tabletop love" feels)… and somehow, inexplicably, it’s all working. I sat down expecting a SongPiang-focused emotional check-in and ended up with a whole three-ring circus of romantic chaos, and honestly? I’m strapped in and applauding.
What makes this episode genuinely interesting is that it finally stretches its legs beyond the SongPiang narrative. Don’t get me wrong, I adore watching Piang’s quiet, stubborn devotion crash against Song’s walls like a very polite yet raucous rich-kid wave, but giving the other pairings room to breathe turns this into a proper ensemble piece. The PloyPle angle is sprouting right before our eyes — that specific blend of bickering familiarity and unspoken “I would absolutely pine for you if you stopped arguing with me for five seconds” energy. And the MudmeeRin plot twist? I didn’t see it landing that way, and now I’m squinting at every shared glance, rewinding scenes, and whispering “oh, so THAT’S why you flinched.” The show’s stitching multiple types of love together — grudging, secret, tender, and fierce — and it finally feels like a full, messy, beautiful tapestry instead of a single thread.
That said, I need to address the lab coat in the room. Song’s competition for Numero Uno researcher acts like an arrogant rockstar, not a serious scientist! This man struts into the 126 Food Corp facility like he’s headlining a stadium tour, tossing his hair and delivering research findings with the smirk of someone who thinks a microscope is an accessory. Sir, you develop food products, not chart-topping albums. I wouldn’t eat anything his team developed if you paid me in limited-edition merchandise. Haha haha haha haha — the laugh is genuine, but so is the second-hand embarrassment. The audacity is so thick it could be a new flavor prototype, and I’d spit it out immediately. Every time he opens his mouth, I mentally file a complaint with HR. Song, please destroy him with cold, hard data and a gentle, devastating smile. That’s the real rockstar move.
And yet, beneath all the mishmash and the cheeky scientist-roasting, there’s something deeply warm simmering in this episode. It’s the way Mudmee and Rin’s tentative, snarky dance reminds me that love sometimes hides in the spaces where you least expect to be seen. It’s the PloyPle twist cracking open a door I didn’t even know was locked, making my heart ache for a story that was hiding in plain sight. It’s Piang, still holding that tabletop like a relic, still fighting a grandma who thinks she knows best, and Song standing there with her heart in her hands, patient as the sunrise. I’m getting sentimental because, under all the borrowed tropes, Chasing Love is starting to feel like it actually understands that love isn’t just the chase — it’s the stumbling, the cross-referencing, and the accidental discoveries along the way.
So yes, Episode 4 is a little bit of everything, and maybe it shouldn’t work, but it does. It’s cheeky without losing its warmth, messy without losing its heart. I’m fully invested now, not just in who ends up together, but in how each version of love learns to stand up and say its own name out loud. And if that arrogant rockstar researcher gets a tray of beakers dropped near his designer loafers next week, I won’t complain. Just saying.
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Very Cheesy! But overall 'feel good' series
I really liked seeing Fluke in a supporting role a little more developed and mature. Judo, as a supporting cast, was so good... I wish he had more lead roles with, or without, Fluke (preferably with💜).As for the leads, I like both individually, having seen them in separate productions, but together the chemistry wasn't completely there. Granted, final 2 episodes it was better. March is a great actor with the types of roles similar to DG, but his pairing with Koji Mukai didn't click 100% of the time. I've seen Koji-san in many Japanese television productions (mostly crime & serious drama), so I was excited for this. While it was a great weekend binge, I would have preferred something a bit more mature between the leads (prior to the final 2 episodes); we experienced that with Judo/Fluke throughout, but not with Mukai and March.
Story is great! Would have been a great 18+ series as well, but I get it.
Settings were nice and the parents were well casted.
I probably won't watch this again, which is rare for me, but don't regret seeing it. The only miss for this series is the missing chemistry between the leads.
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eye candy
main couple great chemistry; not sure why had to add second. there are quite a number of unnecessary scenes which is a shame. I think this would have been more befitting of being a 20 episode drama.Was this review helpful to you?
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Delusional and fun
Let me start with the most important part: I’m so glad the ending is not problematic and it’s just a one sided crush.This series was way more fun than I was expecting. I knew it would never be a full on BL, but the fanfic scenes were by far the best parts of the story. The overacting, specially from Cha Hakyeon, made me laugh. It was fun to see him going from 0 to 100 when comparing Mr. Ga and Sion. For a second I was worried it could be a time jump to hint that they got together in the futre. It could never work since he’s her high school teacher.
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A Splendid Match - A Splendid Surprise
Can we give Ci Sha and Ren Min an applause? Bc their chemistry was the biggest thing that drew me into this drama and it did not disappoint. How Ci Sha and Ren Min manages to bring their characters to life just amazes me. I'm especially surprised by the male lead actor bc his emotional scenes don't come off as cringey at all. They're so good. And he played this reserved, ruthless character to a T, while retiring the aura of a man who has responsibilities on his shoulder and a family to protect.Ren Min does an amazing job portraying a young teenage girl. She was hesitant to marry her man, but when she did. Oh boy she went all in. Their wedding scene was 🔥
Plot is okay, nothing new we haven't seen. But if nothing else, watch this pair for their chemistry bc it is everything.
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Too Many Unbelievable Story Points
first off, I will say that I enjoyed the acting. I thought the cast was great. And that there was plenty of interest in how money and power often outweighs what is right and good for a patient, especially in today’s medical system. But there were just too many inconsistencies. I can’t believe that a doctor can just bust down walls to go in somewhere. Little annoyances like pilots on medical transports, saying welcome aboard and telling the flight attendant to prepare for takeoff and landing was unrealistic as they don’t have flight attendant on those flights and the pilots are all business. Those kinds of little things just bothered me with this story. I think it could’ve been such a better show without those types of believability mistake mistakes.I just felt like a Hospital with two greedy leaders would’ve had more oversight and that kind of stuff just made the whole story unbelievable.
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Lovely leads, under developed stories
Loved the leads and there is a lot of interesting slots of life in this drama but there is something about this that failed to make it all the way in to my heart. As most of the twists could be smelled at least an episode in advance but I chose the word slots of life or maybe breezes of life as we never really truly get an invitation in to the life and true mindset of our leads making me feel left outside, making it hard tu fully immerse mysel in the story. Maybe they wanted to tell to many stories at once, maybe they felt like a medley of life from dramas past would make this feel refreshing and new... But all I felt was oh okay... so they went with that trope.That said again leads are lovely. And the binge was easy.
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don’t waste your time
I love small town dramas with a lovely village, but unfortunately this drama was unwatchable even with all the good elements.I really don’t know why kdramas have unwatchable FL characters. She was super annoying. I couldn’t understand why she was so obsessed with her mom whom left her, but ignored her dad who was always there for her. She was so unnecessary mean to him.. OH AND THE PARENTS ENDED UP TOGETHER?? biggest bullshit ever wtf😭
Their was also ZERO chemistry with the FL en ML. I wanted to skip all their scenes, they just didn’t click at all.. never had this problem so badly.
The story of the ML, the story of the little girl, the story of the SML.. you know what, every scene that didn’t include the FL was really fun to watch. I loved the town and the cute scenes.
The ending tho.. the weird ass unnecessary plot twist ruined it even more.. What was the writer on while writing this? The cliches were so bad too the whole phone call shit was so corny 😭😭
I needed so much strength to even finish this drama.. I had so much expectations, cause I really do like the trope, but I was really disappointed.
Dramas this year have great tropes only for ruining it somehow???? I would skip this and watch other great summer dramas. I forced myself to endure this shit ass show to write a review for you guys..
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My feel good vibes were fed well with this show!
I’ll keep my review short and sweet.Those cells have my whole heart.
I adore them! So fun and relatable.
They’re dramatic as hell and funny!
Naughty cell needs his own show lol.
Damn. Why did Woong have to get so much better in season 2? If he’d brought this energy he never would have lost Yumi.
Dammit, Babi, I knew you’d disappoint me.
He wasn’t an in-your-face red flag guy, he was actually sweet, caring, loving – but he had form. He started liking Yumi when he was still with his ex-girlfriend – almost like he seeks the greener grass. And that’s what happened here, he had a momentary sway, and ruined everything!
The closure scene between Babi and Yumi was heartfelt. I wish she’d had a similar scene with Woong, because now I’m left wondering is he still pining for her? ☹
Two quotes that made me LOL –
“I’m sick of emergencies. I’m so sick and tired of them!”
“If I can’t have her, neither can he!”
Oh, those melodramatic cells lol.
Yumi, girl, I’m always on your side, rooting you on!
What an excellent show.
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