So I went with a good amount of bias into this drama. Park Gyu-Young has been my favorite actress for a while now and I'm sure to like basically everything she touches... but I didn't expect to like it this much. I didn't expect this drama to straight up jump into my top 5 of all time and to set the bar for romance dramas on a level, which is almost unreachable.

I'll start with the lesser relevant points:

The setting is great. Dali being an educated art scholar from a prestigious family gives the drama a very sophisticated vibe and sets up a perfect opposition to Moo-Hak being a slightly vulgar, from zero to self-made millionaire CEO of a food company. The fact, that Dali is from a prestigious family also helps greatly, to not fall into the classic "I need to be saved by the rich guy" scheme (even though it kinda turns out that way but mostly due to the story arc and not because of the character), because her social status is actually a lot higher than Moo-Haks. Dali's character, even though being a bit naive, is still written as strong and independent, who has literally been thrown into the worst-case scenario out of the blue, with huge and powerful villains fighting against her, so it's obvious that she needs help here and there but the drama never goes too over-the-top and keeps reminding us, what a strong human being Dali is. The same goes for Moo-Hak. Him having to review his life phisolophy and values during the drama, while also being put in unexpected and dangerous situations makes his character grow an incredible amount.

The sophisticated vibe is very much supported by the beautiful sets and music used in this drama. Especially the OST, a mix of soft english romance songs, which could have been right out of a 1920s folk love album and emotional korean ballads, was very well chosen and really helped consolidate the atmosphere of the show.

The supporting cast is the only nitpick I have. Even though all the characters are really loveable and have their own little story and character development, I didn't really understand why so many actresses and actors decided to overact massively. Maybe they were told to do so, that the main cast shines more but especially compared to the incredible realistic job Park Gyu-Young and Kim Min-Jae were doing, the supporting cast is the only dark spot on the beautiful painting, that is this drama. (Special shout-out to Kwon Yool, who is subtly acting his ass of. How can a person portray so much just through the movement of his eyes??)

But now let's get to the part, which made this drama an all-time classic for me: Romance done right!

K-Drama has this stereotype, of making romance cheesy and over-exaggerated and is often being memed for that. Maybe that's why this love story felt like a harmless tornado of fresh air to me. I have not seen a more natural development of a love relationship in K-Drama ever. After the "no electricity scene" in Episode 1 I already knew that I was witnessing something special. I don't know. It just clicked. The chemistry shot through the roof and showed everybody the cutest romance I've ever seen. From the subtle smiles, the hilarious Kissunderstandings (hehe ;) ), or the expectation defying twists (not so innocent after all). Everything seemed so natural and perfect. The two main leads could have not been cast better. They just fit with their characters and you believe every single line they say and every action they do, especially to and for each other. I enjoyed seeing them happy. I was smiling from ear to ear during each and every romance scene, because it just filled me with so much joy, seeing a cute couple in love with each other, knowing all the hard-ships they have endured and are going through.


What can I say? I am in love with this drama and I probably will be for a good while.