Reviews

This series managed to pack a decent plot in such a short length. I was dubious at first how the face-swapping could be achieved in this scenario, fearing that it would lead to much confusion, but surprisingly it did not. Although I would have liked the reverse happened, with Kay Song portraying Shi Qi and Ke Ying to be Shen Qin, the current casting also worked well in this case. I became more intrigued the more that I watched, especially wanting the ML's to discover the switch. But I was mildly disappointed towards the end when Shi Qi did not get her face back. The plot twist was not nearly as unexpected but it was definitely a good effort.

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A feel-good series with an endearing CL

The story of a girl (FL = Lee Sung Kyung) thrown out of her home with her brother and sister by her father's last wife after his death. She wants revenge, goes to work with the son of the bad wife, ML = Kim Young Kwan. She thought the son was shameless like his mother, but she soon discovers that this is not the case and her business is facing difficulties. She couldn't stop to boss him around and they tend to be attracted to each other.

PROS:
+ A duo of great actors, Lee Sung Kyung and Kim Young Kwan, who bring their characters to life with great talent. This couple is very endearing and shows great chemistry.
+ This is a slow-burn story on the daily life of employees, on family, friendship.
+ OSTs are sweet, pleasant and amplify emotions.
+ Narration is dynamic, without lenght
+ the drama allows us to discover some magnificent landscapes (it makes me want to go to Korea ;)

CONS:
- The character of the mother is detestable, a little excessive, but I suppose parents like that exist in real life.

=> Don't hesitate, it's a touching and comforting drama.

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This is a fantastic romance/revenge miniseries in a historical era setting. The series is fast paced with a well developed plot, great cinematography and choreography, The OST is nice and it complements the drama well. The cast did a great job bringing their characters to life and the leading couple complemented each other very well and had passionate, tender chemistry that got better and better as the drama progressed. Although minidramas have the tendency to show marked jumps from one episode to another, this drama did quite well in trying to maintain the flow within its complicated plot. Overall, the drama is great and entertaining. Enjoy it!

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Forever Beloved

One of my biggest issues when it comes to Asian dramas is pacing. They're either horrifically slow in places or just go way too fast to try to wrap everything up. This is one of the few dramas I've watched that pretty much nailed the pacing. I was never bored and the ending didn't feel rushed. As for likability, well, it took me less than 24 hours to burn through it. I was hooked from the get go. The chemistry between the leads was amazing and their developing relationship was captured so beautifully. The issue of being in a same sex relationship and the effect that might have on others was handled with such care and created a truly heartfelt scene. I also just loved how unfazed everyone was with those relationships, such a change from how things were even a few years ago. The acting is superb. Like I said, the leads' chemistry was smoking, and even the more minor characters are engaging. The secondary relationship was sweet and I enjoyed watching it develop as well. I would highly recommend this drama. It's an easy watch, somewhat cheesy, but very entertaining and one I will certainly be rewatching.

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Save The Dance

This is a short and sweet drama that despite the limited run time still manages to deliver a decent story with relatively well-fleshed out characters. Both leads were interesting and nuanced though I would have liked it if their backgrounds were delved into a little more; there was a lot left unknown or just hinted at. But their chemistry was quite good, more of a slow burn than hot and heavy which I quite liked. The relationship does feel slightly rushed, but I think that's more due to the short run time than anything else. They still make it work. The dance aspect was unique and I really loved how it was actually a key part of the drama and not just a side note. The choreography was well done and quite lovely to watch. The OST was also quite good. I felt it matched the story well. Overall it was an enjoyable interlude from the daily grind. It's not a masterpiece by any means and, again, the short run time limited it in various ways. There are certain aspects I would have liked to see fleshed out more, but even without that, as long as you don't delve too deep and are able to suspend one's disbelief I think you'll find a rather lovely, touching story.

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a waste of time and energy

what a waste of amazing actors with loads of potential to be used in such a horrible way like this, you are my desire isnt about teenager love instead was it really love? it was teenagers liking the time they spent together and mistaking it for love as it didnt even seem like a romance drama.. the first few eps were honestly everything it was amazing but episode 10 and onwards was when the writing team got lazy. how did we have this amazing actor zhang lurang be wasted of his talents and made to be a main character that is so self centred. every supported him in his dream of running a shop in the memory of his uncle but gave up halfway through to pursue gun firing but was never there for his best man who endured pain on his own. he sold the shop and others took pity on him but what about his “friend” who also made memories there, he was called dramatic. really disappointed with the time i wasted on this drama.

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beautiful series

the series was short but even so it was a really cute and loving one. both of the male leads interactions with each other were cute & at times sexy with the intimate part which made me gasp. the story itself was a interesting one especially with the bipolarness and i loved how they worked through it.

if your looking for a short bl series with a little bit of intimacy then this would definitely be the go to. it’s both sweet, heartwarming and hot all at the same time.

both actor’s really did a good job playing there character, this is the kind of bl’s i love to watch.

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4 POINTS I PICKED UP IN 22 EPISODES

Ning Yuan Zhao (Liu YuNing) is the wise leader of Six Dao Hall Wu State on mission to escort young naive Prince(ss) Yang Ying to enemy kingdom to bring ransom money and to free jailed-king. He took 4 accomplish able men which are Yu Shi San (Alen Fang) is a good friend, handsome and flamboyant. Playboy and easy going personality (very different character from he used to) very attractive, he's crème de la crème. Yuan Lu (Chen You Wei) 18 yo loyal follower of Yuan Zhao, famous with his mechanical device creations. Qian Zhao (Wang Yi Zhe) a trusted guard of the Empress and old friend of Yuan Zhao, his expertise are cooking, medicine & poison. Sun Lang (Li Huan) most trusty guard from Human Division from Six Dao Hall incharge with guards & attendants. A long the way, Yuan Zhao realize that he needs a female preceptor to teach naive Prince(ss) Yang Ying how to navigate politic, manner, deportment so he invites Ren RuYi (Liu Shi Shi) to tag along, the former left envoy of the State of An Zhu Yiwai that has her own reason to agree. The story is the long journey (up to ep 18) they're still in the border Wu State and An State. She finds love, friendship, understanding, & brotherhood.

4 points I pick up from this drama:

FIGHTING CHOREOGRAPHY/MARTIAL ART
It's entertaining. I don't know how the choreographer did, but it's nice to look at to. It might just a show, edit here and there and voila. With hair blowing, robes flying, smile coldly, vivid color, wind blow, artful movement, dramatic background music, yeah we get all the package of perfect visual feast. The choreography is so smooth and artful that like real.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT
As she wants a baby from him, she inserted herself to his personal space, pestering him to do the deeds. Although he refused, he can't barely escape her charm. She tries every trick to get him to sleep with her, coerced him, if that's not a sexual harassment so what is it call (in a nice way). From physical attraction because he's tall and excellent in martial art, she thinks she doesn't need a husband to have a baby with, just his cooperation. After fail persuasion, she then appreciate him more in personal level because he tells his subordinates to respect her and he's most considerate for her well being and happiness. With the advise from Yu Shi San, she changes the method of persuasion, by acting not care.

GOSSIPING MEN
Not only us women infamously known to gossiping, apparently these nothing-to-do men loves to gossip about what's going on with Ning Yuan Zhao & Ren Ru Yi. Giggling, whispering, guessing, talk amongst them, speculate their relationship during long journey to the enemy line, this is what they're filled their time with. Of course, they also has confrontation from ambush. The team work build thru misunderstanding to test their loyalty, character and strength. Since Ru Yi is the only female and a new comer on the group, she's the recipient of unwanted attention or distrust. No one know yet the deal she's making with Yuan Zhao (beside the baby business) which asking Six Dao Hall to investigate the death of her benefactor - the late dowager empress. Yu Shi San is the women's expert where everyone appreciate his expertise in women's need to get his good advise. Ep 6 is touching, Yuan Zhao shows Yang Ying's desperate question; why? Because of the country, the people, the lost, duty, loyalty and the price of privileges. Ep 11 Yuan Zhao proved to be a great leader, gives himself 10 lashes for the mistake his subordinates failing to guard the safety of Prince Yang Ying.

TEDIOUS ROMANCE SCENES/CRINGE LOVE
I notice, never fail, we get tension scenes - very critical - fighting - crisis- stressful situation but then the next scenes will be all lovey dovey all about love and sweet promises like come on....get on already!! Never fail! Too much sweetness and expression of love gets me really sick. Nah....too dreary. After the heart break and injuries Ep 12 Yuan Zhao agrees to her baby request but ask her to wait till the mission completes. All flirt, promise, and baby agreement isn't up to my fav....too much distraction and stir up the mission because of jealousy and couple's disagreement, too much PDA in my opinion. She would threaten 'baby is out of the table if you don't do this' and his face blank like 'ehhhh?' The love is too clingy...so cringe stare each other looking into their eyes..like in Jr High first love. I skip most of it. I think this is just fillers to prolong the episodes.

But all casts do great job with their character. Liu Shi Shi is seductive, she doesn't need to be arrogant as cold-bloody killer, she smiles suggestively and touches lightly, she approaches to corner him with dew eyes. Liu Yu Ning being single 30yo veteran leader is pretty fascinated with her attention, only his top mission priorities hanging on his head he manage to scud away the temptation. Alan Fang is great, really funny, the joker in the group, he should do more comedy. Between Liu Yu Ning and Alan Fang character in Long Ballad, I like their social dynamic in here. Decided to drop it, stuck on ep 22, it's great story but I don't care about their love story (on and on so tiring) they should cut down the love portion between Liu Yu Ning and Liu Shi Shi, not too mention love Li TongGuan to Ren RuYi....another on and on about them. Ugh...enough already. I heard the end is disappointment, not making into the end of episodes.

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Another miss from scriptwriters. Pity.

This drama is strictly for teens, and honestly, I lost interest in the thief/princess love story and skipped many parts. The other couple kept me hooked though. However, a lot of things were downright annoying:

- The maid who was always in everyone's business.
- The excessive bullying and physical abuse, be it father/son or son/heroine.
- The slow-paced love story that dragged on unnecessarily.
- Girls admitting their love super late.
- The girl who was supposed to be strong in the first episode turned out to be weak later on.
- The same facial pouting by everyone.
- Inconsistencies that were nauseating.
- The girl was always hungry, which was annoyingly repetitive.
- The supposedly married girl, who was also a supposed princess, could go out freely without any escort or maid.
- And many more such inconsistencies.

The drama did have a few cute moments, and the sound effects were not ridiculous, but that's about it. The chemistry between the actors was fine, and the actors did their best with the script, but none of them stood out to me. Also, they all looked average, and the hairstyle they had was terrible. What's with the same hairstyle for males and females, with that falling hair on the side of their faces? It looked messy, not cute, and it didn't suit any of them.

The drama ended on a happy note for everyone, as expected. However, it's not something I would rewatch.

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I lived for the romance ❤️

i love love love the chemistry between the main couple. Read a comment about Pong's styling being superb here and I couldn't agree more! Never noticed the age gap because of the great acting!

The story was able to capture my attention sans any over-complicated plot twists and blood-boiling villains ☺️

The way Phuket was shown here made me want to go there someday ☺️ Showcasing the different sightsbis definitely a welcome bonus.

Last but definitely not the least, the drama met my personal wish: Happy ending and a wedding ❤️❤️❤️

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?

foi taaaooo reconfortante assistir, eu amo assistir coisas onde me identifico e consigo me sentir acolhida. minhas emoçoes variavam entre feliz e triste em questão de minutos, e pode ser algo pessoal meu, mas depois do episodio 7/8 eu desmorei ate o final ?amei cada detalhe, cada historia e como abordavam até os mínimos detalhes, e surpreendentemente ☝?eu amei os casais, eles sao tao fofos ridiculos eu queria me convidar para fazer parte do relacionamento deles. pode ser (muito) bobo, mas assistir esse kdrama me fez tomar coragem para encarar meus problemas e lutar para seguir em frete, com certeza virou meu kdrama comfort e com certeza irei assistir mais vezes ?

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THIS WILL SNATCH YOUR WIG

Just finished the last few episodes and I NEED MORE!!!!

I need a season 2. Nam Joohyuks comeback from the military is ICONIC. One of his best roles, and best K-Dramas I watched this year. Truly no K-Drama had me quite in this type of grip.

There is only one negative thing i’ve got to say about it, and its that I can’t find the OST or Soundtrack of this show!! The outro they used in ep2 is AMAZING. I NEED THE SONG!!! I tried to shazam it and searched for it but nowhere to be found. So if anyone knows…let me know.

But once again, this was such a good 8 episode drama. Usually the best K-Dramas tend to be 8 episodes, which is so frustrating! I don’t think anything has been confirmed for another season but I truly hope they don’t let this show die.

Gripping storyline, acting and characters. Nam Joohyuk has always been one of my favourite actors so seeing him in this type of role was exhilarating.

Lots of great actors in general. I’m in love!

Please watch it!! You won’t regret!!!

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Still recommended

Both Korean and Thai series have issues, mainly viewers are expected to read the mute male lead's mind in both scripts. Writers in general in this version (Thai) kept that oppressive black-hole (silent-stoic male lead) of the original intact while not skimping on the lighter side stories to soften the main topic. Sadly, they did nullify a perfectly good outcome in favor of the Thai penchant for forgiveness. I seriously wanted to see those original scenes played out in full, with Pong's character as 'apathy's' target. But it wasn't meant to be.

Strictly as a lakorn and under its own production; "VIP" with its seasoned cast follows the original Korean story nearly line for line, while fulfilling that need for the dramatic that some Thai soap operas are well known for. Long awkward moments for emphasis, overly played dramatic music, split screen longing, a second female lead that will not stop crying, a male lead's stare instead of dialogue, and flashbacks a must. Closure going far beyond the original; tying up loose ends in a neat future bow. A life lessons script; that needed to be itself, but didn't quite make it. Loosing the original's final impact in the transition. I blame production. An average series, with a few too many episodes. Still recommended. Watch accordingly.

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Boring

That's my first time ditching a drama 2 episodes from the very end.
The plot revolves around two childhood friends that reconnect in their adulthood.
The female lead is ashamed of how she became and when the male lead tries to meet her after years she asks a friend of hers to meet him instead lying about her true identity.
Our protagonist "undercover" starts working at the childhood friend office and tries to hide her true identity.
The "fake girl ends up catching feeling for the guy she is misleading and that creates some misunderstandings.
That's pretty much it.
Nothing new or innovative.
I don't get why Koreans are so obsessed by their childhood first love of when they were teenagers.
The main lead is an asshole towards our protagonist but she is madly in love with him. He ignores her colleague that loves her and is a much better fit for her.
He is the only highlight of the show.
The side stories are frankly boring.
Nothing particularly intriguing or romantic about this drama.

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Far too many toxic elements in the story

Spoiler heavy. This could have been so much better. Cinematography and technical aspects were good. The mismatched friendship had promise at the beginning and could have been a good start but only to a completely different story. Ai Di's story could have been great if he'd been allowed to stay away and rebuild a better life.
Instead we start with someone barely above the legal age limit but very inexperienced in relationships and an older mafia underling (actors' age gap is 10 years and if the novel made the characters' less it wasn't mentioned in the series) who really should know better. He gives some token resistance on age - enough to show he understands that it is wrong - and then dives in. He doesn't even do that on the risks his criminal family will bring to the kid he repeatedly calls Kiddo.
Add in (fake) amnesia, (not fake) short term memory loss (which they keep saying is temporary but show no signs of that), time jump for prison cause the kid was coerced by the mafia to take the blame for a murder he didn't commit, another young man who gets free from the mafia but is carried back in literally kicking and screaming but it's all fantastic because the man who dicked him around for years finally decided to kiss him.
Seriously? All for an absolute kitchen sink mess of a plot which says EVERYTHING will be forgiven for a first love.
The fandom really will ignore any red flag situation or behaviour if there are cute boys kissing.

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