"unsatisfying" is the most appropriate adjective to describe this show. it honestly feels like the writer came up with the main points of the plot and thought the rest would fall into place without actually figuring out the details. i was initially interested in the premise of this show. you know, childhood friends, enemies-to-lovers, second-chance romance, cohabitation, etc. usually, shared childhood (plus childhood romance plotline) adds depth to a couple's story. but for the writer of this show, that history remains an untapped resource. from the flashbacks we got, it seemed like Lan actually might have cared for Mook as a teen as well. like, the point was supposed to be that he always cared about her but he wasn't aware of his feelings. they explored none of this properly. also, if you're giving your characters some history, you need to remember that they would be carrying said history with them at every point in their life. for instance, Mook was often teased about her appearance by Lan as a kid and she felt unloved and rejected. that doesn't go away once you grow up and become desirable. the adult Mook didn't show any signs of carrying that insecurity around or any sign of having resolved it.

also, more than anything, what was missing from this show was the RIGHT words. it honestly felt like the writer came up with an interesting story yet they had no idea how to properly explore it in WORDS. i don't care how ridiculous the reasoning for some things was. its a lakorn, we get it. but there is really no explanation for some things. like, first, Lan really seemed to just hate Mook and it was clear that ever since he was a kid, he saw Mook as something that was forced onto him by his parents, which was true. he hated her. she also claimed she hated him because she felt hurt by how harshly he rejected her in the past. but, pretty much throughout the whole show, there was no emotional development between the main couple. until the last few episodes, it was all teasing and bickering and fighting. i mean, the narrative structure of the show was so so bad. it felt like the writer didn't know they'd only be getting 15 episodes to tell their story. Lan just kept saying he hated her in every scene, even when we should've started to get some development. at that point, we should've gotten some scenes indicating that his feelings might have changed. or that he actually feels a certain way but isn't aware of it. something, you know? and even though they portrayed Mook as this strong female lead (which she was in many aspects), she was made miserable and pathetic by Lan because she had to "act" like she willingly married Lan. like, at some point, she should have let go of him. staying even when she was gaining nothing and he was still not into her made her look miserable and pathetic. even the house excuse wasn't enough to cover up her pathetic attempts at seeking love from a man who just did not want to give it to her.

i don't know, they just did such a bad job with Lan's character. i actually loved the actor and his performance. one of the main reasons i continued watching the show was because i saw pieces of Thyme from F4 Thailand in Lan. some of his mannerisms and his grumpy attitude reminded me of him. but his hatred was too unwavering for me to be able to imagine love between the main couple. they also tried to do the, oh, he's actually still in love with his first love thing when we had like 5 episodes left, which is just insane to me. so, basically, we only had lustful, hateful, and bickering scenes between the main couple with no emotional development, the main lead was possibly in love with his first love, he even insulted the main female lead at her dad's funeral, and he still went to his first love even after having a moment with Mook. he was actually in bed with her when Mook was out there getting attacked (lol), and we were supposed to root for him? or be satisfied with that finale? it was also so ridiculous how whenever Lan would get close to realizing his feelings for Mook, they would come up with a new excuse as to why he wouldn't confess. very very unoriginal and uninteresting.

i also hated how cowardly Lan was and how his feelings for Mook were obviously never strong enough for him to not care about anything or anyone and just be with Mook. but more so, i HATED how Mook constantly risked her life, saving Lan, only for him to accuse her further every time. if he was a proper man, one time would have been enough to stop him in his tracks and think deeply about why this woman would risk her life to save him. one time should have been enough. lol, but what's even worse is that it actually takes Mook getting STABBED for Lan for his feelings to finally be strong enough for him to want to verbalize them. HAHA.

the pool scene where Mook told Lan that he always looked at her with hatred and contempt but he would sometimes look at her with worry was the closest we ever got to exploring ANYTHING meaningful in this show. these were the scenes that got me excited and made me think the show would be more profound and layered. other than that, i think the main couple actually had pretty good chemistry, which was totally wasted until the last 2-3 episodes. leaving the "cute" moments of the main couple until the very end is insane by the way. they really gave us nothing for a good 12 episodes and then they were being civil and cute and hot at the very end. as i said, so much wasted potential.

anyways, i skipped all the scenes that weren't related to the main couple because they are often irrelevant and boring. even though i did this, i still want to say that Petch was incredibly annoying and i hate how they made her, a MINOR, a couple with the grown ass second male lead. i also don't like how the show was much more rom-com in the beginning and then it turned into a thriller drama for the last few episodes. although i liked Lan way more when was being more serious and thoughtful. i think that's it.