Short, Slightly No-BS Web Drama

The plot is about students going through puberty and the desires and intense emotions they go through in this stage of their lives (high school). There are three main stories for this: (1) A guy having a masturbation addiction; (2) Two childhood friends & neighbors who know nothing about sex and relationships with the female lead being a conservative and; (3) A chubby female lead battling discrimination from her family, school teachers & batch mates all the while having her go through wanting to experience romantic love & dating despite all the discrimination she goes through.

I think the best story among the three is the 2nd one, cliched but it was executed the best among all. I have issues with the 1st and 3rd one because they have not really addressed the issue as much as I expected. With the 1st story, they focused too much on the addiction but it still somehow tells viewers that "This is taboo; this is TOTALLY NOT OK," when it is a natural part of life. What I admire about this first story though, is the no-BS. They went straight for it. Talking about these things are AGE APPROPRIATE already for high schoolers. For the 3rd one, I am most mad about the fact that it still shows the grown-ups excuse it. It isn't ok, the chubby girl does not always have to pay the price. She is the victim; there should still be an ending where she wins, not where she still has to "tolerate & accept" things to be that way. I hope they explore this better and someone breaks the mold someday.

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Simple, Healing, & Short Drama (Worth the Watch)

This drama follows a short and simple storyline. You meet 3 best friends with one of them as the female lead. These best friends drift apart as they grow older because of many circumstances with one of the reasons to be death. The female lead mourns and heals throughout the 6-episode drama as she finds work, comfort, and family in her new workplace called Finland Papa where there are rules such as eating dinner together as if the employees were one family.

This is one of those dramas which should have added 1 or 2 more episodes for its ending. The pacing is good for me since it does not need more scenes to it and if they did add in more, it would have been boring. Personally, I would have either added one more episode or allotted more scenes and time for the reconciliation part. It made the ending unsatisfactory for me, the way it happened so fast. there should have been more "drama" , crying, and interaction.

Regardless of the feedback I gave, I still think this drama is WORTH THE WATCH, especially on a rainy day, on a weekend, anytime where you feel like you may need to rest and binge. It's sad but it calmed me and the conversation between characters makes you whisper to yourself, "I agree." or "Right?" where it could also heal you as well.

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Rightly Paced Romance Drama and Addictive

I guess you can say that I am a sucker for these types of dramas. I love how she ended up with the right guy. I very much enjoyed this one since I started only with one episode and the next time I watched, I did it in one sitting and finished it all. The format, for me was also paced right. It did not have unnecessary scenes and it fit the 10-episode format. Many dramas right now could follow this format, ahem, Bo Ra! Deborah is one of them (I still like this dramas as well, though).

The storytelling and the pacing are done well since it engages the viewers while maintaining the story and the fast-paced value of it. It does not leave you to stop the drama, you just keep going! I dove into this drama without knowing anything - even the cast but it does not make you regret that. It also just explains everything well. You do not need to keep asking questions. It is very simple yet the way it was woven together, made it interesting to watch.

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I already had prejudice against this drama when it aired in 2021 which is why I have only recently watched it (3 years after) to cure my Lovely Runner heart. Since I was on a K-drama slump, I was scared this will put me in a slump again but I gave it a chance. The first half of episodes, I wanted to drop it since the leads' chemistry didn't seem to fit but as time goes on, they actually had good chemistry! There's nothing much that goes on in the first few EPs, at least nothing much to care about that you can let them play out.

Fortunately, as it progresses, the drama also gets better along with the leads' chemistry. It was all so good and progressing until nearing the end. The ending for the leads was alright, we expect that but I don't like how it ended for the second leads. Sorry but the second lead guy deserved "other things" (cannot mention to avoid spoilers) and the second lead girl deserved better. It was just an abusive relationship.

Still, overall, I adored this drama and I think I should have watched this sooner. It was a hidden gem.

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High School Drama that shows Societal Complexities

I was hesitant to start this drama when it came out all because it might just be another high school drama. It was not. I finished this one in just 3 days whereas my usual was a week or two for short dramas, sometimes to a month for a full-length (16 episodes, 1 hr 15 min run time). I was shocked that it had several elements and not just youthful elements. It really showed that adults can influence their children and as these children learn from adults, in turn, that's how they are as they grow. Yet, these adults wonder how they could have raised such children. Well?

It was fast-paced and just had the right amount of episodes to fit all the things I needed to see. It does not really offer a good ending but I believe that's just how it could have that "happy ending" in reflection to real-life happenings. Despite having the option to escape things, the powerful, the rich, and those who have more resources and connection ALWAYS find their way out.

I already know that the protagonist will overcome things but getting there, it was thrilling! Just when you think she gets it, she doesn't. The solution was easy to end it all but getting there, as life always is, is complicated, or rather, we always try to complicate things before stopping them. This is also one of the best dramas for me this 2024.

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Cliche but Execution saves the Plot

When Park Hyun-sik is in a drama, it’s almost always the FL is a strong & independent woman. I like that many Kdramas he’s in has some feministic vibe. It may not be perfect, but it does tackle serious problems people in their adult life are facing. It’s just a bit disappointing that this drama seems to hold back on saying or showing more, as if it was censored or scared to cause controversy. Hence, it gets lost in the basket full of RomCom dramas with not much uniqueness.

P.S. Finally a drama with Filipino cameo that does not put them as an "escape" country or something huhu

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Must-watch for K-drama Newbies

I thought this would be long to watch but it didn't feel like it. It was actually enjoyable. I like that it was mostly on cooking even if the title screams romance. It just makes me sad how the second lead always gets bad luck and even at the ending, it was vague for him. He deserves better! I can't say I fully like this drama because the only one who never had a continuous character development is the mom of the female lead. That was frustrating to watch. She learned chores and suddenly at the end, they took back her learnings and made her bossy again. Weird.

While this is not a 5-star or 10-star drama, I think K-drama newbies (even enthusiasts) should be able to watch this one. It's pretty much a balanced drama: romance, comedy, cooking, family, the works! They should make dramas like this again.

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Sacrifice as theme was played beautifully

Kdramas in 2020 never fail to amaze me. I've been holding out this one for long since I heard every episode will make you cry, as for me, make my heart clench. The drama is about a mother who dies before she could meet her baby but years after, she is given a chance to live as human again. Kim Tae-hee played Yu-ri well that every scene is either heart-wrenching or heart-warming. When you go through her journey of being human again - from denial to hate to acceptance - you also become wiser and go through an understanding that life will not always be riding your wave. It is the other way around. You need to live your days as if you were to say goodbyes. You need to accept that what you want does not equate to what is needed. The drama depicts sacrifice in such a wonderful way. I recommend this 100%. Get your tissues ready every episode!

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You Will ALWAYS have to root for SOLJAE; 2014-2016-2020 K-Drama vibes

As I expected, I did not find the antagonist’s story good enough. I really wish there was more to it for it to be more believable because why in each timeline, he is there to somehow target either Im Sol or Sun-jae? I think it could have developed better if they didn't just pull the "because he is just a psycho & kills". Either that or used different antagonists and circumstances in each timeline, but I know that it would probably make this "light drama" heavier than it is.

The usual problem of romance & fantasy K-dramas is really using the fantasy aspect to the plot’s convenience, making the “world-building” unbelievable. By that, I mean the time travelling part can be changed as it goes on and there can be inconsistencies.

Those are the reasons I’m giving this drama a 4-star instead of a full 5. Despite it, I believe I’ve enjoyed it enough to disregard it, because the goal here really is to have THAT kind of ending for these characters. It is cliche; it follows a usual formula and you definitely want these two leads to end up together because, really, THAT IS THE POINT!

Overall, the pacing is ok but it can still be done in at least 10 to 12 episodes. The cast and acting is great. The two female and male leads have an exploding chemistry; the 2nd male lead also has great chemistry with the two which makes the drama have good bromance and love triangle. Lovely Runner woke me up from a drama slump and I miss dramas like this.

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