This was so much better than I expected it to be! It’s a classic noona romance - not a particularly original story, but very well-executed and avoids the most annoying tropes associated with the genre. There are no prolonged miscommunications, no noble idiocy, no silly breakups. Once the couple is together, they are in it for real, and conflict is navigated with maturity and healthy communication. There is also great female friendship plot, the workplaces are full of kind and well-intentioned people, there is a lovely side romance, and even the second leads are better than usual. The second ML was mildly annoying, but the second FL was very sympathetic and actually had a great redemption arc.

One note on first few episodes - if you are struggling with the FL or worrying about an imbalanced relationship dynamic when the show starts, know that is by design. We begin our story while the FL is in the midst of a self-destructive depressive episode, and the way she treats the ML at first is directly related to that. As soon as she begins to feel better, it becomes clear their affection for each other is quite mutual, and the path opens for her to begin seeing him in a new (adult) light.

Overall I just really enjoyed this more than I expected to, and I wasn’t tempted to fast forward through anything, which is rare for me! Even the original music was good, which is sometimes not the case for plots that involve idols. My only beef is that the best song is for someone reason not included on the OST and it’s pretty inaccessible.