I love how the cinematography captures the air and space of the various settings. The best kind breaths life into every shot without overtaking it, it's harmonious in the storytelling with the characters who are at the center of them. The tension and the chemistry between the main characters works really well because beyond just the physical attraction, they are navigating learning about themselves through their interaction with each other. I really love that the women in the series have sexual autonomy and aren't shamed for it nor is it exploitative. Both the women and the men get to be three dimensional people exploring life experiences of young adulthood. I really like how their art major is actually part of the story, they go to class and work on their art projects.

Nabi is pressured into sex by her older boyfriend that is a teacher at an academy and is implied to be a mentor if not her teacher at some point who is also controlling and uses her as his model for an explicit art that depicts her completely exposed in every way during an intimate act with her real name attached to it without her consent or knowledge for any part of it. She finally dumps him when another student clues her in that he's also cheating on her with his other academy students. This is her first relationship and a toxic one that she survived to be more wary. She enters a casual relationship with Jae Eon with eyes open as to his preference of not putting a label on their time together. She is fully aware and she gave it a try with consent. Ultimately she wants wants a relationship that is more concrete. I like that she goes out on a date with the freshman and recognizes while it's the regular feeling she enjoys she doesn't have the spark. It doesn't work out because he immediately chooses the girl he's had a crush on for years. Nabi realizes she's a rebound and it stings. He knew that he was her rebound too though when they went on their movie date and she rejected his kiss by laughing. Her high school bestie has the worst timing of everything, he didn't tell her his feelings because she was already with someone, which could be her creepy older first boyfriend. Maybe if he had confessed earlier, a romantic relationship between them might have had a chance. I like that Nabi comes to life in friendships with people and she has kept that spark despite what she had endured. She is no pushover either, when Seol Ah, one of Jae Eon's ambiguous non girlfriends girlfriends comes to campus to be territorial, Nabi tells her not to cut her hair because Jae Eon likes to do it with the hair tied up, that was spicy.

Jae Eon has always had a distant relationship with women beginning with his own mother who is a successful dancer always on the road. He's effortlessly charming and straightforward, but withholds giving away too much of himself which eventually becomes off putting to them women who were initially attracted to his looks. He's always had an obsession with butterflies, keeping a walkable terrarium of them in his apartment. Both Nabi and especially him are very middle class well off, being able to afford being art students with nice apartments provided to them without the struggle that their female TA has to find affordable living quarters. He first sees Nabi when she's in the agony of public humiliation at the exhibit of her creep ex-boyfriend. By chance he runs into her again at the bar and then at the school that he transferred to from a different major because he's legitimately talented in art. He's by all means attentive to her. He learns that his feelings for her is different that when he's with other people, he can't keep her at a distance, he wants to be with her and wants to put a label on the relationship for her. He's not a perfect guy, his jealously seeing her high school bestie show up near her apartment being the partial reason to lead him to this epiphany. When she's not ready, he does his best to help her to reassemble her final project that was smashed due to a freak accident at school, and tearfully keeps his word to leave her alone. That was a beautifully heart wrenching scene. They run into each other at the final project exhibition long after everyone has left. Jae Eon is there to see their finished work with out bothering her while unknowingly granting her wish to see him again. She acknowledges that there will be pain in their relationship. She doesn't idealize him or their relationship, but she's going to be with him.

While they were the most intense relationship in the show, they are partly mirrored by Bit Na, a free spirited person enjoys friendships with attractive men and casual dating as well who is akin to Jae Eon, so it's ironic that Bit Na was the one initially warning Nabi against him, while Kyu Hyun is like Nabi who wants to be treated as more than just a sex partner. Jae Eon asks Kyu Hyun's perspective to understand more of Nabi's point of view. While it's fair that he deserves to be treated better than just for sex, the show could have done a better job showing that he's not in the right to tamp down the rest of her personality. The relationship of the the TAs were very typical kdrama fare with co-habitation to development of romantic feelings. The lesbian storyline with the best friends to lover relationship would have been great if they had gotten even a measly romantic kiss. I really like that their gender was never in question and their realization was developed organically. They should have gotten that kdrama kiss.