At first I avoided this drama. I wasn’t crazy about the idea of a female lead that was chubby, unattractive, and going nowhere in her life. It didn’t seem like it would be a fun watch, especially when the female lead is caught in lots of embarrassing situations. And from the previews it looked like the male lead was super fit, attractive, and full of himself. I just didn’t like the dynamics of the situation. But it got so many glowing reviews that I finally broke down and watched it. And boy am I glad I did! It’s nothing like I expected.

Okay yes I felt a lot of second hand embarrassment for the female lead in the beginning. But a lot of it was quite comical and I found myself laughing along. And we needed to see just how low she had gotten to understand how much she truly accomplished. Because her character explodes with growth and you can’t help but root for her. The female lead starts out clumsy and lazy then transforms into this sassy little warrior that gives you all of the feels.

The male lead is super fit and we get to see his shirtless workout routine right away setting the stage for what appears to be a narcissistic hardworking overachiever type of character. But things are not as they appear. He has had a very tough life and was shown no love and little mercy. He has a lot of growth and healing to do too. Seeing him conquer his problems and fight for the life he wants was an absolute pleasure to watch. One thing I liked about him was his concern for the female leads health and safety. He was very much a gentleman. And when he said his ideal woman was a Jiu Jitsu expert because “a woman that can defend herself is sexy,” I had mad respect for him.

The romance was one of the best kdrama romances I’ve seen. Their chemistry just leaped off of the screen. I especially appreciate that the male lead starts falling for the female lead while she’s still chubby. When she lost some weight in her face I loved how obsessed he became with her dimples. When he poked her dimples and asked “what is this?” hovering inches from her face with utter fascination in his voice, you know he’s fallen for her. Then a few days later, her muscles are sore so she decides to go for a massage and he freaks out thinking about some muscular dude massaging her. So he insists she use his massage chair. And of course their first kiss and his bold pursuit of her is while she’s still chubby. The fact that he liked her long before she lost all of her weight made the romance feel less superficial and more genuine to me. Especially when he often emphasized that her health was most important to him, not her weight. I love how they interacted as a couple. His obsession with her dimples is so bad that he calls them his dimples and he melts every time she smiles.

The side characters are all great actors and added so much to the story. I appreciate that they weren’t just used as filler but had interesting stories of their own to tell. They were super funny and tons of fun to watch. I especially loved the relationship the male lead had with his two buddies. This is rare drama that I did not fast forward through any of the side characters storylines.

As with every drama, there were a few things I didn’t like. I really dislike that there was a long period of time where the leads were apart and it’s hard to watch. The reason was understandable and warranted under the circumstances. And the speech the female lead gave giving her undying support to her man was epic. She was trying to fortify him for the difficult road ahead that he chose to traverse alone to spare her and it was so inspiring. Fortunately the separation only lasted one episode and the reunion was most definitely worth waiting for. But I still detest separations and had to deduct half a point for that. I also wasn’t crazy about the final scene in the airport. But it was only one brief little scene so it was okay I guess.

Overall I give this high marks. It has a unique storyline, amazing acting, great chemistry, lots of character growth, it’s fast paced, very funny, and quite touching. This is a true gem I would highly recommend to anyone.