O Iubire ca-n Afaceri (2022)

Junk food for the soul

I loved this drama because it took all the tropes that made me fall in love with kdramas to begin with, and enacted them beautifully. With shows that start light hearted and quickly turn to melodramas, it was refreshing to see a drama that didn't hide what it was.
The actors were great, they played their characters well.
The 12 episode format was a refreshing change- no dragged out scenes or stories, and while sometimes it's necessary, on a show that's easy to predict and full of tropes, 16 episodes would have dragged it out.
I do take issue with the last episode, purely because I would've liked the last 20 minutes to have wrapped up each story nicely instead of bringing in a completely new element which gave us unresolved ends, but again, this drama is so faithful to tropes, it's followed the rushed ending for a brilliant drama trope. But I'm not unhappy. We knew where the characters ended-happy. Which is what we all need at the moment. After two years of bad news in the world, I personally enjoyed watching a drama that didn't make me feel depressed watching it. I can't wait to see where these actors pop up in other dramas.

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The perfect medicine to de-stress

I knew that this drama would be the one FOR me as soon as I saw its spoilers and short clips circulating all over social media.
Five minutes into episode one and suddenly your girl was on the hook.

I absolutely love business rom-coms and this was the treat I was looking for. It's a mix of She Was Pretty, What's Wrong With Secretary Kim and The Secret Life of My Secretary, so if you liked any of those shows chances are you will enjoy A Business Proposal.

It is relatively short - only 12 episodes - which makes it a fast watch with no unnecessary typical K-drama cliche tropes like amnesia, a breakup or the whole "we used to know each other when we were children but then something dramatic happened and we lost touch".

I felt like the last few episodes were a little repetitive and dragged out the drama's general narrative. Having both Tae-moo's grandfather and Young-Seo's father disapprove of their children's relationship was a bit too much and got to a point where it was exhausting and boring to continue watching. I would have preferred if instead of dragging that out they would have added more double date scenes where both couples are spending the day together.

The female lead was very lovable. A lot of people said she was cringe-worthy but I found her hilarious, especially when she was pretending to be someone else in front of Tae-moo.

Tae-moo was oftentimes compared to Lee Young-Joon (Park Seo Joon's character in WWWSK) but I do not see the resemblance, mainly because Lee Young-Joon was unbearable, too into his looks and himself while Tae-moo was more down-to-earth.

The friendship dynamics between Tae-moo and Sung-hoon and Ha-ri and Yeong-soo were very well developed and I especially enjoyed the second couple.

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Overrated! Full on make-up with no substance

This drama is just forgetful. I did enjoy some of it but most of the time was a painful experience. Simply because I'm struggling to focus and try to care for the characters; Any character. Having not to fastforward everything is no joke. Cliches done right? Now that is a joke.

The Story
It is nothing new. A handsome, perfect but broken rich-man who falls in love with a normal hardworking girl. The premise is already starting to make me yawn but I still try to give this show a chance. I crave for something, anything to draw me in. Sadly, none. Not even the comedy parts was that fun. The hidden past also not that intriguing. It would have a stronger effect on me if it was explored further but again, none.

The whole setup was so vain; It only has beautiful make-up with no substance. Like I said earlier, it's forgetful. And you know that there is something wrong and pretty messed up when the second couple is outshining the main couple. Don't deny it. Be honest.

Cast
Overall are just pleasing to the eyes. Thats it. With such shallow-no-depth characters, its really hard to judge if there was any acting involve. Convincing? Okay. Forgetful? 100%. Except for the grandfather.

Music
Okay.

No harm to watch it though. Proceed at your own discretion.

As always; Would I watch it again? No.

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All the BEST clichés!

This was an adorable tongue-in-cheek romp through all the best tropes, clichés, and rom-com plots that Korea likes to throw into it's dramas. It never took itself too seriously or too lightly, and paid homage to all it's tropey predecessors with style and class.

I rarely feel this way, but 12 episodes felt WAY too short, and I wished it would just keep going for the usual 16 episodes. Don't get me wrong, the story isn't rushed or cut off, I just wish I had more hours with my favourite Archaeopteryx and his Researcher.

I can't even count how many times I laughed out loud through this series, whether it be the intentionally daytime-TV styled over-dramatic filming of certain scenes or the awkwardness of a Jurassic dinosaur having a contract relationship with a woman acting as two very different people. Another unique feature was the way they paralleled the TV show the grandfather watched along with some situations happening to the main characters. It was an absolutely brilliant way to poke fun at it's own soapy melodramas that arose.

The acting was spot-on, with just the right balance of levity and seriousness, . It's lovely to see how a good script and good direction can make actors turn into unforgettable characters that you'll carry in your drama-loving heart forever. The ML and FL had fantastic chemistry with adorable skinship and the SML and SFL were definite *Couple Goals*. The friendships portrayed between all the characters were also *Friendship Goals*, and their interactions were a huge percentage of the humour.

Overall I suggest this drama to anyone looking for an adorable love story full of humour, parody, levity, sadness, seriousness, friendship, and food.

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Still in the top!

After 580 watched dramas this is still in my top favourites and i think it always will be there.....I'm a big fan of serious CEO and ciderella storys and this is perfectly that.
Already reawatched at least 5 times that i can reacall and always with the same excitement.
Loved everything about this drama <3
Having a lot of funny moments it softens up that seriousness in a really humorous way.
The chemistry of the actors is really good and matches perfectly with the characters.
I really would have loved to see and bee at the filming site when they had to film all the funny moments.

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Amazing Drama with great chemistry

Just loved it. Mainly the main leads chemistry was over the top. Didn't like second lead much as found their chemistry forced and mechanical . Story is cliché but it is so funny and romantic. This is just 12 episodes so I was hoping for 16 episodes atleast. The ending is little rushed but ok

Just loved it. Mainly the main leads chemistry was over the top. Didn't like second lead much as found their chemistry forced and mechanical . Story is cliché but it is so funny and romantic. This is just 12 episodes so I was hoping for 16 episodes atleast. The ending is little rushed but ok

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A light drama but MEH

The beginning episodes of this drama are good, very comedic and interesting. The casting director did a great job at casting Kim Se-jong as Shin Ha-ri, I feel like they are both alike as Shin Hari in drama and Kim Sejong in variety shows. The thing about this drama is how cut-short the drama is from the mid-to-end episodes. See, I read the webtoon of this drama before watching it, and the webtoon story is better than the drama. There are some scenes in the drama that are better than the webtoon, but overall, if I have to choose, I'd choose the webtoon story.

I think the drama is too cheesy to my taste, some people love it though. If this comes out in the 2015s, I'd love this drama, but don't think this drama is revolutionary or anything new. Very light-hearted and easy to watch. 100% would recommend this drama to anyone who loves watching typical romantic comedy hallmark type of genre.

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I adore this and I promise you will too

So this drama was on my watch list while it was still airing but I was watching another airing show at the time so I didn't get around to watching it until it was all out. But the wait was oh so worth it. This drama is so funny and adorable and I love it so much. Both couples are amazing and deserve the hype they are getting. I laughed and swooned, the relationships are super healthy and the friendships are truly beautiful. Both friendships are full of love and respect for one another and I love to see it. This doesn't include the university friends though, they all suck.
For me, both couples are equally amazing but I do like the side couple just a tad bit more. The one sided pining troupe + good chemistry and a healthy relationship = me being very happy. Please watch this drama so more people can ask for a wedding special episode. Hehe. But really, I promise you will like it.

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Romcom at it's best

I actually binged watched it and I must say I'm not at all disappointed. Yes the story was your typical chiche but still I've seen dramas where a typical cliche couldn't be executed properly. But my god they did an excellent job here. I want to give credits mostly to all the actors. Because of them the show turned out to be this good. I mean there was not a single actor which I could point and tell that person didn't do well (except kim min gyu as I found him a bit stiff and lacking in expressions at first but at the end he also improved). Both the couples were mature and handled things perfectly. The healthy relationship between hari and Young Seo was great. Young Seo's relationship with Hari's parents and how they give their blesing to both the couples were heartwarming. I love the fact that even though the grandpa was trying to seperate Tae Mo and Hari because of his obvious reasons he still wasn't forcefully tearing them apart and his hospital scene with Hari made the fact clear that he really liked her but his pride was stopping him to accept that. There was no love triangle or unnecessary jealousy between the main leads and it was shown how their relation actuaqlly progressed and how they slowly realised their love for eachother rather than making out the next moment like the second couple. Tae Mo wasn't your typical cold male lead but rather a person with a soft heart. He was just a workholic person who was very strict and professional with his work. Female lead wasn't a damsel in dristress either and knew how to fight her own fight. She never needed the ML to help her and another refreshing thing was the consept of the food reasearcher and the CEO of a frozen food company. It was new to me and I loved how they actively used that concept throughout the whole drama. This drama was not the one where the OST's were played often as mostly different kinds of bgm's were used but the songs were good too. I loved how the ML wasn't the one who never apologised for his mistakes. The drama was a all about love and positive vibes therefore an emotional scene never felt like4 dragging. Kang Tae Mo and Shin Ha Ri truly stole my heart as their chemistry was on fire.

Once in a while you really need this type of lighthearted and fluffy shows. And for those who said that there were loose ends, I'll say no their wasn't any. And there were people who speculated a season 2 just because the lead's wedding and the grandpa approving of them wasn't shown. First of all I don't thing there will be any second season beacuse maybe they didn't wanted to end it with a typical wedding but just showing the proposal and second when Hari asked Tae Mo about his grandpa he said that his grandpa told him 'not to come back home untill you(Hari) accept It(ring). So it was basically indirectly saying that he approves of them.

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A true romcom and a delight to watch

* SPOILERS ALERT*

We need more of these romcom in which the characters don't encounter evil monsters absolutely determined to destroy them 24/24 ! It's a real breath of fresh air when one isn't in the mood to watch something heavy and/or too complicated. Indeed, one of the positive aspects of this drama is the lack of unnecessary "drama" (well at least for 90% of the show, I'll talk about ep11/12 later).

Firstly, I think the clichés were handled very well considering the original material is a webtoon, the writers and actors did a wonderful job to make it work. The story is cliché (mega rich CEO falls in love with a hardworking and kind employee) but the outcome was still funny and pleasant to watch (I admit I can't get enough of these kind of stories lol). Talking about the actors, they were amazing !! I think I fell in love with the FL as much as the ML did haha. Their chemistry was here, no doubt about it ! The 2nd couple was pretty cute too but sadly I was a little less invested with them, I don't even know why... The actors were great and their story-line lovely and yet it fell just a little flat for me but I enjoyed watching them nevertheless. The secondary characters were funny for the most part (FL's family, ML's grandpa) but I found the FL's coworkers a little more "cringe" (? is that even the right word ?). Mostly the guy in her team, some of his scenes were a little too much for my liking but overall it was still watchable. Also the OST was AMAZING ! The only music I didn't like was the intro's song, it didn't work for me at all but of course it's not a serious matter.

Now to talk about the downside of this drama... The last two episodes were a complete mishmash of all the clichés that I (and many others) hate. Of course the grandpa is against their relationship, and of course 2FL's dad is also against their relationship ! I'll say ep11 was a little bit better compared to ep12 because it still had (kinda) the funny and wholesome vibes that we had in the beginning. But ep12 was so disappointing. Why did the writers think it was a good idea to reveal a sudden illness in the last 30 minutes of the LAST EPISODE ?? I really thought we were protected against these type of clichés nowadays but alas it was just a stupid and naive hope from my part. Of course the main couple had to part ways because the ML had to leave for the US to find a cure for his grandpa * intense eye roll * during a whole year no less !! And of course the writers wanted to play with the viewer's heart all the way till the end kinda making them doubt if all will end well. I absolutely hate those kind of tricks/endings !! The romance is the main focus of the show (like 80% no joke) but still the writers thought "oh hey you know what's a good ending for this drama ? Why don’t we force the main couple to separate for a year and have them reunited in the last 5min of the last episode ? And we need to make the viewer think that maybe the ML cheated on the FL for a good laugh of course ! Also we can’t show the reconciliation between the FL and the grandpa because it’s not very important actually lol” * intense eye roll intensifies *. At least the main couple was still in contact during their physical separation, I give all my thanks to the writers for this small act of mercy. Besides that I read somewhere that all the deleted scenes put together could add like 4 more episodes and if that’s really the case then I’m real stunned and angry at this choice. I just don’t understand the need to halfheartedly give the viewer a happy ending in the last minutes. The ending is a very important thing in my way of appreciating things and if it’s given to me like a second thought, like it’s not a big part of the story in itself, and also considering the fact that this one is a ROMCOM, then I will be left feeling disappointed and grumpy and that’s why I *only* give this drama an 8,5/10.

I’m gonna end this review here because I don’t want to ramble too much. On a last good note, I definitively found this drama enjoyable and addictive and I will miss these characters very much. I’m really glad the show received the success it had because it deserved it. I’m also kinda hoping for a bonus episode but it’s not very likely to happen so all that’s left to do now is to listen to the OST in a loop and re-watch my favorites scenes !

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New favourite Drama

I actually started this Drama for Ahn Hyo Seop and Byungchan, but I seriously fell in love with the whole cast. The actors portraying the four main characters are doing an amazing job. Shin Ha Ri especially is so charming that I want to watch more of the Kim Se Jeong's work.

The drama has some classic tropes that have been done a hundred times before-- but they are done so well!! The story really works well and doesn't feel tacky or over the top like other dramas with these tropes might do.
I equally loved both love stories, which doesn't happen too often. I usually tend to either prefer the first or the second couple, but this time I was really intrigued by both and couldn't wait to see how they turned out.

Even though it does touch on some serious topics from time to time, it's mostly a sweet and fun drama that's easy to watch. So if you're looking for something serious or dark, this might not be for you. But for me personally, it was exactly what I was looking for.

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Finally! Another drama I'm rating a full 10/10 after so long!

I don't care what people say about this being full of clichés. GIVE ME ALL THE CLICHÉS IF IT'S EXECUTED AS GREAT AS THIS SHOW AND IF THE CAST IS AS WONDERFUL AS THIS ONE.

I just finished watching A Business Proposal and my heart ahhhh. This is most definitely a comfort show and one I will be rewatching in the future. I love it so much and definitely recommend you watch it. The WHOLE cast did a phenomenal job. They were all perfect for their respective roles and really brought their characters to life. It's rare for me to EQUALLY love ALL the main characters in a show and I did for A Business Proposal. But if I had to choose, I think that Jin Young Seo (played by Seol In Ah) stood out to me the most. Also, Shin Ha Ri (played by Kim Se Jeong) was so charming and such a loveable female lead. Their friendship in the show was so heartwarming. And goodness both Cha Sung Hoon's (played by Kim Min Gue) and Kang Tae Moo's (played by Ahn Hyo Seop) talent flowed out of the screen (and they are gorgeous too!). The two main couples' chemistry were off the charts and what really made me put this on my list of FAVOURITE ROMANCE DRAMAS OF ALL TIME (I'm very picky when it comes to this list so the fact that it's on there says a lot about how good this show is).

As I said before, this is definitely a comfort show which means you can expect this to be safe, light hearted and an overall good time (it's not dramatic and won't give you stress or high blood pressure lol). Not to mention the show was hilarious! The supporting characters made the show all the more fun e.g. Shin Ha Ri's colleagues and family <3. Moreover, the music was marvellous! I will absolutely be listening to the soundtrack in the future because it's that good. I especially loved 'Love, Maybe' by MeloMance, 'Love, Maybe' by Secret Number, 'Fall In Love' by Jihan & Park Soeun of Weeekly, 'Sun Shower' by MOVNING and 'Love, Maybe' by Kim Se Jeong.

In summary, I loved this show so much and really wanted to savour it for as long as I could yet at the same time I wanted to binge watch it. I wish the show would go on forever! I must admit that the last episode, particularly the final scenes, did seem kind of abrupt. Sometimes I think Korean dramas with 16 episodes are too long but in A Business Proposal's case I thought that it should have had 16 episodes instead of only 12 episodes. I'm sad that I finished it now but I'm so glad that I got to watch and experience the show. The stories and the characters will stay with me for a long time.

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