I'm still somewhat new to Jdrama's, as I've only been truly seeking them out often to watch for two or three years now. But wrapping my head around the fact that this drama was made in the same year as We Married as a Job (Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu) really throws me for a loop. We Married as a Job is one of my favorite dramas of all time. It's stellarly written and paced with an absolutely charming and sweet and thoughtful romance. And it is so incredibly different from Please Love the Useless Me. We Married as a Job feels modern and current while Please Love the Useless Me feels old-school and a bit dated. And yet, something about Please Love the Useless Me charmed me. Do I think they spent too long on the second male lead love interest when they weren't actually going to end up together? Yes. Did they forget to spend much if any time at all developing a romance between the leads? Yes. Did I find the constant focus on treating virginity as something to be embarrassed of and done away with forthwith and oh no! she has yellow panties! annoying??? Absolutely yes. (Don't get me started about the panties.)

The story is quite flawed and silly. But still...I enjoyed it, lol.

A lot of people are going to call the male lead a jerk, and they're not exactly wrong. He says rude things. But I do think a lot of people misunderstand just what kind of jerk he is. It seemed kind of obvious to me that the intention with his character was for him to come across as rough around the edges (because of his high school days as a Yanki), and he's probably that way with everyone, but it comes from a well-meaning place. Unfortunately, Dean Fujioka just does not look the part of a reformed but still a little rough Yanki, and I don't think his acting really sold that aspect of his character either. But...it's Dean Fujioka, so I kind of have to give him a pass, lol.

An equal number of people are going to dislike the female lead, because she comes across as dumb and too self-sacrificing and too insecure. But I don't need my female leads to be super-smart, I like characters who are self-sacrificial, and I relate to characters that are insecure and struggle with figuring out whether someone is trustworthy or not. She's clearly not wise in who she chooses to trust, but she wants the best for others, and I love that. I connected with her on an emotional level, and that matters to me most in my drama female leads. She also consistently gives it back to the male lead any time he's rude or dismissive, which I liked.

I read in the MDL comments that they cut out all of the romantic bits from the original manga, which is frustrating. The story needed some actual romance between our leads. We get plenty of shots of both of them looking at each other, shots that are obviously intended to convey that they have feelings for each other. They also do nice things for each other throughout the series. But we get way more insight into the female lead's feelings than we do the leads, and apart from the looks and some nice gestures, there is essentially no romance. They also apparently killed off the brother in the drama. I can't fathom why that decision was made, but if I find out it was so they could create the male leads crush on his brother's widow, I'm gonna be irritated. That's probably my least favorite part of the drama.

Given what I read in the comments about the original manga and the way this drama still managed to charm me without it really deserving to, I really want to read the manga now. While I got enjoyment out of the drama, it would be nice to read a version where there's actually some romance.

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This drama shouldn't work. Truthfully, I'm not even sure if it does. It's odd, strange, confusing, sweet, humorous, light-hearted, quirky, illogical, satisfying, perplexing; a real head-scratcher. There are lots of really great messages about life and love and loss and purpose. There are sad events that really pull at your heartstrings and make you feel all the emotions associated with them. The leads are all Intensely likable and precious and wonderful. The dad wins dad of the year for Life.

There is also a lot of odd.

Akiko is like a block of wood 90% of the time with her expressions and mannerisms. Which is 100% intentional but you also never get used to it. They kill Miyuki's father off halfway through the story, which I knew was going to happen because spoilers, but it still was jarring (and devastating) to experience for myself. Once married, Akiko quits her extremely high paying job in order to be a stepmom then instead of going to back to her job after the father dies, she......stays home and does day trading. Then later on starts working at a bakery??? (I really don't understand her career trajectory.) They set up a potential romantic pairing for Akiko in the second half only for them to cut it off at the knees, lol. (And just when I was coming around to it!) Miyuki is like a completely different character as a teen compared to her child version, and it sticks out the entire time, but both versions are extremely likable, so I don't know what to do with that.

The story switches track multiple times, and every time on purpose, and I don't even know if I can criticize it for it because they clearly had a vision and went for it with all cylinders firing and even in the midst of my confusion, I was feeling all the feelings.

This drama's just an odd experience, and it does it in a way that only a Japanese drama can.

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A lot of web-dramas are pretty throw-away. While often quite cute and fluffy and fun (unless that's not in line with their particular genre, of course), when you analyze their stories objectively, they have no real substance. They try to do too much with their limited screen-time, and what they do end up doing is pretty shallow. That's definitely not the case with Society Obsessed with Love. SOL takes a simple storyline, and instead of over-complicating it with too much superfluous bits and bobs, it commits to simplicity. It's a story about contentment with one's life, even if that life doesn't look like everyone else's, and there's no need to dress that up or overdramatize it.

I would recommend this web-drama to anyone but especially anyone who lives and enjoys the single life, or to those who are maybe feeling a little down about their singleness. You'll definitely enjoy it.

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FUTRE EDIT: I recently re-watched this drama and now feel compelled to come back to my old review and make amendments, as I made some criticisms that I simply don't agree with anymore.

Original Review (now with amendments):
I'm gonna give you one suggestion before you start this drama. Disregard everything about Do Min Ik being a face genius. It's superfluous information that has no bearing on the overall story, and you'll enjoy the drama better if you just ignore it.
EDIT: I completely renounce this suggestion. While there are still some issues with this part of the plot, I don't think him being a face genius at the start is as big of a problem to the story as I once did. I address said issues a little further down in my original review. :FINISH EDIT

As for the rest of this drama, it has an old-school style filled with small, but important, twists on a classic formula. A male lead who's not really a jerk, just starts off a little thoughtless then quickly becomes the cutest puppy you've ever seen (and I mean Quikly). A female lead who's a candy but not, who stands up for herself repeatedly and doesn't let anyone push her around and is very proactive in her own life. The use of disability(ies) in a way that is thoughtful and kind, even if not very accurate (looking at you, face blindness), and that isn't used as a plot device only to be reversed later (ie. not giving characters disabilities only to take them back at the end in order to achieve a 'happy ending').
EDIT: I STAND BY EVERYTHING IN THIS PARAGRAPH. :FINISH EDIT

There's an office plot outside of the romance, but that's gonna be really hit or miss for a lot of people, and probably more of a miss for most. It's not a typical office plot, in my opinion, and I really appreciate where the writers were trying to go with it, but it does have some glaring flaws that keep it from being as compelling as it could have been.
EDIT: I really liked the office plot the second time around. It doesn't go the direction you expect it to (I suspect because one of the actresses playing one of the secretaries central to this plot had to leave the drama due to a family scandal and this required changing the storyline unexpectedly), but I actually like where it ended up going. It's not super high stakes or exciting or intriguing, but it's very realistic and conveys a very strong message. :FINISH EDIT

The two main problems with this drama though are going to be this:

1) Making Do Min Ik a 'face genius' worked against them when they took away his ability to recognize faces, as he should have had no real trouble recognizing the people around him via their voices, mannerisms, way of dress, etc. (as is implied he was very good at when he was a 'face genius'). Yet he can't recognize any of these things about people, and there's no reason given as to why, which makes you strongly question just how much of a 'face genius' he was before. This is why I said to completely disregard this part of the plot as it's unnecessary and you'll enjoy the story more without it.
EDIT: I mostly stand by this. It doesn't make sense that he was so incredibly good at reading people and then when he lost his ability to see faces, he lost everything else as well. At the very least, he should have been able to recognize people's voices. I can recognize my parents' coughs and sighs and sneezes when they're on different aisles of the grocery story. Surely, he could have recognized people's voices. :FINISH EDIT

2) People are tired of dramas where the main conflict is dragged out longer than necessary, and this drama definitely makes you feel like the main conflict is being dragged on longer than necessary and can make you really dislike the female lead even though you clearly aren't meant to. (I never disliked her as the lie itself never upset me to the level it did everyone else, but I definitely felt the frustration many felt over her not ending it sooner than she did.) But once you get past this part of the story, and the writers finally give you an explanation for some things, you do understand why they chose to go this route, and it makes a lot of sense.
EDIT: Again, I mostly stand by this, but I also felt a stronger empathy and understanding for Gal Hee this time around. Truthfully, some of the blame should be on Veronica as well, as her way of punishing Gal Hee for deceiving Do Min Ik...was to make her deceive him some more. She should have been held at least partially responsible for that. And even though the lie goes on overlong, I also think it was consistently well-utilized. There aren't any scenes where I felt like 'This is unnecessary. This harms the drama/the story.' The conflict I experienced was that I understood and appreciated the decisions the writers were making with the lie while also knowing and anticipating and being already heartbroken that Do Min Ik was going to be gutted when he found out. And he was. :FINISH EDIT

What I would have liked to see in this drama:

1) Gal Hee's mom should have been a central character from the beginning. The drama starts off with mom playing a more central role in the early episodes as a sort of voice of wisdom to Gal Hee, but then she sort of disappears for awhile for no explainable reason. She starts popping up again in the second half to have little, private conversations with Gal Hee about things, and it adds So much to the story as you get to see into Gal Hee's mindset and why she does the things she does. The first half would have greatly benefitted from more of this, and I think people's anger at Gal Hee's character would have been cooled by it.
EDIT: I don't know what I was on about. Mom was actually very well-utilized throughout the story, and I don't know why I remembered her only showing up toward the beginning and the second half. I'm also not sure if the story would work as well if mom showed up more often. I liked her a lot, but it probably worked better for her to pop in periodically rather than every, or every other, episode. :FINISH EDIT

2) I don't mind that Do Min Ik couldn't tell that Gal Hee and 'Veronica' were the same person. The explanation we get later on as to why works for me. There just needed to be more insight early on into what was going through Do Min Ik's mind to help us understand why he never recognizes how similar Gal Hee and 'Veronica' are to one another and why he has so much trouble choosing between them. It would have gone a long way to easing the frustration a lot of viewers felt over his not being able to figure it out.
EDIT: I agree. :FINISH EDIT

And that's ultimately where the split is going to be in this drama. Either you're going to be frustrated with Gal Hee for not ending the lie sooner or you're going to be frustrated with Do Min Ik for not recognizing they're same person. But at least for my part, I don't feel like either of these things should deter anyone from watching this drama. I fully admit that my rating for this drama is based purely on my enjoyment of it and not it's flaws. Despite the flaws and some frustration in the middle bit, I thoroughly enjoyed this drama. It's fluffy and lighthearted and not meant to be taken too seriously. The writers know exactly what kind of story they're trying to write, and they don't try to be anything they're not. At the same time, they managed to take an old, tired formula and make it new and refreshing and full of little twists here and there and filled with characters you can't help but fall in love with. (You will love Do Min Ik. You just will.) It also has possibly one of the greatest final scenes in all of dramadom. Literally. That. Was. The. Moment. To. End. The. Drama. On. That last scene….was perfection.
EDIT: My rating for this drama is because this drama is wonderful, and the flaws are not nearly as large as I once thought, and the emotional heart of this story is compelling and strong, and the leads are incredibly sweet together, and I stand by this statement, Dang It. :FINISH EDIT

I highly recommend this. It's too cute not to.
EDIT: HECK YEAH, I DO! :FINISH EDIT

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This is the third version of this story I've seen (don't ask me why I keep watching different versions of this story, cause I honestly can't answer that), and it's definitely not the best version out there (although if we're being honest, every version has major flaws as they are all built around difficult-to-like and sympathize with characters), but this is one of the more light-hearted, fluffy, easy to sit through versions, so it at least has that going for it. If you aren't put off by clingy characters and jerk male leads who don't really ever see the error of their ways, then this drama (and all it's versions) are tailor-made for you.

I'd like to say here that I won't be watching any other versions of this drama. But while I might be able to lie to myself and pretend I won't, I can't lie to those of you reading this.

I might watch another version.

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This movie is a Korean teen classic. This movie will also give you whiplash with how quickly it changes genre and tone and story purpose and shoes and socks and the lint filter in the dryer and the sheets on your bed.

And I fully admit to loving and enjoying it for that very reason.

One minute we're in a typical Korean teen movie love triangle. Next minute we're in a teen gangster movie watching an action sequence. Next Next minute an important character is dying and we're in a melo. Next Next Next minute... Do you see where I'm going with this?

There's a whole, long weird bit (and by long I mean most of the movie) where one character has a crush on another character it is inappropriate for them to have a crush on, and I will say it again for the people in the back, It Is Weird.

But I don't even care. It never goes anywhere, the character they have a crush on never has a clue, and then the movie gives you a reason to be really sad for the character with the crush, so you forget about the Weird Crush altogether and just cry instead.

This movie literally goes everywhere a movie could go, and I love it for it.

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I started writing up my review of this drama a few episodes or so from the end, because I had a pretty good idea of what my overall feelings were going to be once I finished. I was disappointed with the lack of development in Bong Sun and Seon Woo's relationship compared to Sun Ae and Seon Woo. There was not an even split, and it made the viewing experience frustrating. (I took a couple of hiatuses because of it.) It's not that I didn't love every moment Sun Ae and Seon Woo were together, because I did. I love Kim Seul Gi to bits, so I'm never going to complain about seeing her more often or about her characters getting lots of delicious character development. I also enjoyed watching possessed Bong Sun chasing after Seon Woo, and thus by proxy, Sun Ae developing a relationship with him. Minus the ghost issue, she would have been a strong contender in the fight for his heart. I just wanted there to be an even playing field for our two girls, and there wasn't. Only one of them was ever going to have better than a snowballs chance of being with Seon Woo, and she wasn't the one whose romance the writers chose to focus on most of the drama.

Then I watched the next to last episode, and my frustration and disappointment didn't seem to matter anymore. Seeing what happened to Sun Ae, how horrifying it all was, experiencing this flood of gut-wrenching emotions in the pit of my stomach. I was so angry and heartbroken for her, that she had to die so young, and by the hands of someone she cared for and trusted. And then the biggest surprise of all (for me at least), discovering there was still some scrap of humanity left in Sung Jae. The entire drama, we were lead to believe that he was just pure evil, that he had been possessed by an evil spirit for so long that there was nothing good left in him. But in those last moments, what we saw was a broken young man fighting against a destiny that was unfair and recognizing the man he had become and maybe not being so happy about it. He wasn't so far gone that there wasn't still room for redemption.

Of course, then I watched the Last episode, and I was back to being disappointed. Finales are hard for even the best of dramas, and Oh My Ghostess (which I do consider to be one of the best of dramas) is no exception. So much of the last episode felt unnecessary, frustrating, a little confusing. I could have done without much of it, to be honest.

Sun Ae's final day was beautiful and moving, each goodbye a perfect send off to the people she loved, but it seemed a little unfair to me that such an important character should get her send-off at the very beginning of the episode and then be completely forgotten about afterward.

And we have to talk about the forced separation of our main couple. I'm not inherently against main couple separations in dramas. But drama writers always utilize them so poorly or just throw them in for no reason other than it's the finale and they need to fill screen time, and it Really felt unnecessary here. Bong Sun and Seon Woo are only just starting to really get to know each other as people and develop a genuine relationship. Do you really think this is the right moment to separate them? It's just not on.

I think the most confusing writing choice though was what the writer did with Sung Jae. It is hard to be sure just how much was the evil spirit and just how much was him, because the drama never made it fully clear, but at some level, whether conscious or not, Sung Jae was inviting the evil spirit into his life. Even with possession as an excuse, there was at least a part of him that wanted to do some of the things he did. I'm probably in the minority here, but I was willing to forgive him and give him an opportunity to atone for his part in all of the terrible things that were done while the demon was in his body. Just...not that way. That wasn't justice Or redemption. It was just...confusing and weird.

Now that I've finished the drama, I still think my initial feelings were correct, that Seon Woo and Bong Sun deserved more relationship development. And I think the finale did the characters and overall story a disservice in many ways. But I'm also really glad I finally sat down and finished it (and pushed through my frustration during the midway portion.) I think this is a good drama, despite its flaws.

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Updated Review January 2023:

I rewatched this drama last year, and it ended up being a pleasant ride down memory lane. Radiant Office has its flaws, there’s no denying it, but there’s also a lot of heart to be had with this story. That reason alone makes Radiant Office worth watching at least once, in my opinion.

My advice is don’t expect this drama to go in quite the same way as most Kdrama’s of it’s time and genre. The office politics are pretty standard fare (and pretty boring, honestly), but everything else about the story kind of goes its own way. A subtle romance without all of the big hallmark moments we typically expect, a delightful main trio of friends who cheer each other on while also making mistakes but always making amends, and this ever-present spirit of perseverance and determination and belief in one’s ability to overcome struggles. But best and most important of all, a determined and principled female lead who when faced with the prospect of her life being cut far too short, chooses to take it as an opportunity to make the best of the days she believes she has left.

And maybe cause a little righteous trouble while she’s at it, lol.

I’ll say here that a lot of people complain about the last three episodes of this drama, and for understandable reasons. There’s some rushing in the finale, and a particular character finds out some very serious and heartbreaking news pretty late in the story, which some felt should have been brought up sooner and handled a little better. But after my rewatch, I have a deeper appreciation for what the writer was doing, and I now think the episodes played out mostly as they should have.

The other big complaint you’ll probably hear is that the romance is too subtle. But while it is subtle in some ways, it’s not really in the way you might think. There’s pretty consistent build up between the leads throughout the drama as they each gradually come to like each other and slowly find themselves forming a relationship. I think a lot of people missed that a relationship was forming between them, because there aren’t any conversations addressing the changes in their relationship until the finale. But in some ways, it’s sort of truer to life, as many relationships happen gradually over time without all of the grand gestures and pointed conversations we’ve come to expect in dramas. My only complaint about the romance is that we deserved a better kiss at the end. He gives her a mild peck, and that is simply not sufficient, lol.

It's interesting to think about this drama now, 6 years later, considering it was written by a contest winner. It seems they never went on to write anything else, and I often wonder what happened to them. Why did they never write anything else? I assume getting into the industry is quite hard and winning a contest wouldn’t necessarily mean they would go on to lead more of their own dramas. In fact, that probably was always unlikely. But I still wonder if the experience at least got their foot in the door, or if this drama was the only time they got to work on anything. Hopefully, Radiant Office was the beginning and not the end of their drama writing career, and maybe someday in the future, we’ll see this writers' work again.

Now wouldn’t that make a great story?

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I don't think it ended as strong as it started (it began to drag a bit in the last quarter, lost the darker edge it started out with, and certain plot points weren't given as much attention as they deserved), but I enjoyed it for what it was and what it aspired to be. Hell Joseon is a real place, and I felt the characters pain each time they tried, failed, then pulled themselves back up to try again. I ended up being more invested in the secondary couple than the main couple (cause they were just too dang cute), but I appreciated the main couple's struggles in their relationship and how they supported each other and held each other up when one was falling apart.

I wouldn't watch it again, but I'm glad I watched it at least once.

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As I get older (about to be 33 soon), I find myself becoming more and more drawn to dramas that tell stories about adult women (ie. women in their late 20's and early to mid 30's). Some of this obviously comes with being older myself and wanting to watch characters my age in relatable situations and circumstances. Some of it is my drama tastes changing and maturing over time. (I still love most of the same genre's and tropes, etc. that I did when I was younger, but my tastes have expanded in some areas and shrunk in some others.) As such, I've been on a bit of a mission the last few years to watch more of these particular types of dramas, and this drama is one of the first of this type that I watched.

And I have to be honest and say the story left me feeling very disappointed.

Maybe I'm just stupid, but I didn't get the vibe from this drama that it was going to be the type of story that didn't give you a romantic ending. I watched with bated breath to see which suitor our female lead would ultimately choose, knowing in my heart it had to be her co-worker, because they were so clearly right for each other.

And then she chose no one.

I didn't get it. I didn't understand. The female lead had such strong chemistry and compatibility with her co-worker. They were so clearly in it deep for each other. And she had spent the majority of the drama wishing to find someone she could be with. The trajectory was clear.

What compounded my frustration was how uninterested and uninvested in the other female leads stories and love lives I was. I pushed through their parts of the drama, not because I really cared all that much about what happened to them but in dedication to the main couple. And then at the last minute, the female lead decides she wants to be a 'cool single lady' instead of finally find love?

I didn't invest all that time and energy into the drama for an ending like that.

Blegh, I say. Just blegh.

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2023 Review:

I watched this drama for the first time back in 2016 (I think), and while I enjoyed a lot of things about it, I also remembered kind of forcing myself to overlook some aspects of the story. So when I decided to rewatch it recently, I was unsure how things would go.

Guys, the way they made this drama work should not have been possible.

There were absolutely places where I cringed my way through, but then the writers would pull me right back in and make me root for the main couple. The male lead would do something egregious, and I would want to shake him into pieces, then he’d give this heartfelt and meaningful apology, and he would MEAN it. Or the writers would give a really darn good explanation for his behavior that really made you understand him. Or they’d just make him so dang likable and sympathetic. The romance gave me plenty of frustration, but it also worked its way right into the depths of my heart.

One thing that was consistently nice about this drama was seeing the female lead getting so much joy out of her work and working so hard towards her goals. She clearly loves teaching and is very good at it. Then at the end of the drama, when the leads love is tested and she decides to quit her job in order to prove she’s worthy to marry the male lead, he is actually upset by her decision. I was honestly surprised by this reaction, as I assumed he would eventually expect her to quit. But then we find out that he doesn’t want that at all, and it made me very happy.

Granted, them registering their marriage right before she moves to New York in the final episode for an undetermined amount of time (the drama never tells us how long she’s going to be gone) makes no practical sense whatsoever, but this is a drama where you just have to go where the writers are taking you, and by that point, I was on board that train, lol.

I’m sure I’ll watch this again someday in the future, and I’m sure the same moments will make me cringe, and I’m sure the drama will win be back over every single time. I fully understand that there will be other viewers who won’t be able to deal with the male lead in this drama, and I totally get it. But just like Takane won over Junko’s heart, this drama won over mine.

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I love it! I love it! I love it! I WAS PUMPING MY FISTS AT THE END I WAS SO HAPPY!

Oh drama, how I love you. Let me count the ways.

You were fun and engaging. Your characters were bang on fabulous. Your story went in so many unexpected directions.

I love everything about you. (I'm totally glossing over the wooden acting that other reviewers have brought up, because everything else about this little show was so much fun.)

I even don't mind how you made me intensely anxious half the time cause the female lead kept doing things that seemed to be totally screwing everything up, and all I wanted was for her to make better life choices. You made up for it all in the end.

Dramaworld, you are perfection. Will you marry me?

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I love this movie’s sense of humor, especially the video tapes that play a large role in the story (you'll have to watch the movie to know just what I'm talking about). They are this great combination of campy and tongue-in-cheek. If they were real and available for purchase somewhere, I would buy them. Just because they are so hilarious. My biggest complaint with this movie is that some of the logic employed by the lead characters (particularly the male lead) is Stupid. He accuses the female lead of using him even though it was quite clear (at least to me) that she was merely trying to learn how to be more assertive. (Not to mention the male lead was a womanizer who used people all the time. Hello pot. Meet kettle.) But overall, this is a fun, lighthearted film, and I'm glad I gave it a viewing.

(Music is 1 because I don't remember what the music was like.)

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There's one reason why I finished this drama, and two reasons why I thought about quitting.

Hanae is the reason I finished this drama.

If you've read any of my other reviews, then this won't be a surprise, but I like mousy, awkward, shy, weird, inexperienced, insecure, insert similar descriptions here, female leads. They don't have to be all of these things, but any one or more of them will likely pique my interest. Hanae has most of these traits. She's also played by an actress (Ayase Haruka) whose acting I particularly enjoy, and I think she plays the character very well.

Another thing I like, when it is done well, is characters with really over-active imaginations that we get to peek into. (I'm a very much in-my-head sort of person, so I find this relatable as hell, lol.) Hanae is a good example of this sort of character. She did occasionally veer into the melodramatic, but I found her mini-freakouts entertaining and endearing.

I don't think it's unrealistic for someone in their 30's to be so inexperienced, which is a popular complaint about this drama on its MDL page. Nor do I think it is embarrassing to be so inexperienced, although I can relate to characters who feel ashamed or embarrassed about it. I enjoyed the drama's focus on everything around dating and relationships being new and kind of scary to Hanae as well as watching her stumble her way through all of it.

The romance itself starts out enjoyable. The age gap isn't my favorite, and Yuuto is more mature for his age than is believable, but he's a very likable character (that's probably thanks to the actor playing him), so I didn't mind that he behaved in ways that weren't totally realistic for a university student. I don't really remember what made him pursue Hanae, but he's very forthright and firm about his interest, and they are genuinely cute together.

By the end of the drama, however, the romance had become a paint-by-numbers. All of the most interesting things about the two of them as a couple are the warm/fuzzy feelings you get because this good-looking young man likes her, Hanae's freak-outs and navigating her inexperience, and a pretty strong conflict of life goals that is never truly resolved. (I'll talk about that later.) As an actual couple...they're pretty meh.

Surprisingly, this isn't one of the reasons I thought about quitting this drama. Reason number one is the love triangle.

The writers reallllly play with the possibility of Hanae choosing Yuu in the second half of the drama. There's a whole episode or so where she starts to think about how much easier it is for her to communicate with him, how comfortable she is with him to the point of being able to get angry to his face. She even starts to feel attraction toward him. The drama really honed in on how compatible they are for each other to the point that I genuinely wondered if the drama was going to pull a switcheroo and have the two of them end up together instead. It definitely would have made sense for the story. (And I honestly would have liked it, lol.)

Unfortunately, Yuu is never a real character. He seems to be interested in Hanae early on but chooses to give her advice on her relationship with Yuuto. He starts acting like he's going to genuinely compete for her affections and even bucks up to our young male lead before ultimately backing away for no discernible reason. There's a short period where Yuu and Hanae spend a little bonding time together, which is cute if predictable, then there's the whole section where Hanae starts to waver over what to do about her love life (due, in part, because Yuu full-on proposes to her in a very swooooony way).

But he's an unformed character in a gimpy love-triangle in a drama that thought they would throw in a whole plot arch where they show you just how compatible they would be before yanking the possibility away.

Which leads me to the main reason I thought about quitting this drama.

Hanae clearly wants to get married. And not in some distant date in the future but sometime a lot sooner. This is a fair desire, and one I'm prone to wish for the leads if applicable. But when the female lead being with the male lead means the female lead having to put that desire off for several years, that's a reason for the relationship to end. A situation like Hanae and Yuu's might seem doable in the short term, but in the long term, Hanae's likely going to be dealing with a lot of hurt and disappointment, because she won't be getting what she longs for.

Ultimately, the drama quits on its female lead. It takes her through the learning curves of navigating a dating relationship, but doesn't give her the tools at the end to say 'I know what I want, and I'm not going to settle.' I find that unsatisfying.

...

There are so many noona romances out there, including some that have done the themes of this drama better. I would definitely recommend watching those. But if you do like mousy female leads and don't mind noona romances that ignore the stickier aspects of a noona romance, then this drama might be for you.

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