How many times have we watched dramas where the second male lead wishes he had met the female lead first? Or had confessed first? They always lament “if I had met her first or had made my move on her first then she would be with me now. I know I would have made her happy.” Well this drama starts out with that unique idea. The second male lead meets the female lead first then confesses and becomes her boyfriend right before the male lead is about to confess. But does meeting someone first or confessing first really make a difference? Is it all up to chance based on who meets who first or is there more involved? And if you meet the wrong person first and miss out on being with your ideal mate, can you go back and change things? Can it be fixed? I love the journey this drama takes us on as it explores the answers to these questions.

One thing that is important to take note of before you watch this drama is that you will be very confused as to what timeline the female lead is in during her coma if you don’t pay close attention. It switches between present events and past memories frequently. And since it’s all happening in the same college setting, her clothing and appearance is almost identical. The best way to tell the difference is in her appearance. During current events she has much shorter hair and her ponytail barely goes past her shirt collar. But in her memories of her past she has much longer hair and her ponytail trails down the middle of her back. So watch for her hair length. Shorter hair is current events and longer hair is memories of her past.

The storyline for this drama is very unique and interesting. In college the female lead is so focused on competing academically with the male lead that she never thinks of him as anything but a rival. Unfortunately this leads her to being in a long term relationship with the second male lead who is all wrong for her. He’s a nice guy but they don’t have the same goals or dreams in life. She ends up getting sidetracked by him and puts him and his needs above her own. Her grades, academic achievements, and career choices suffer because of it. So the drama starts out in the present time which is 10 years after the female lead met the male lead and the second male lead. She’s still in a relationship with the second male lead but is miserable and her life is a wreck. She’s regretting a lot of her life’s choices and wishes fervently that she could go back and do it all over again. It’s at this time that she is injured and goes into a coma. And during the coma she finds herself back in college. Her wish comes true and she gets to go back and correct all of the mistakes she made in the past.

I like the female leads personality. She’s not a pushover nor is she one of those cheerful happy little airheads either. She’s a very hardworking goal oriented person with very high moral standards. She has a very strong sense of justice and fights intensely for those in need. I like how it’s her life’s goal to make a difference in this world for the poor and the needy. Her biggest problem though is that she got sidetracked by love and made some very poor choices that had a huge negative impact on her life. To make matters worse, she doesn’t correct those mistakes so her life continues to go nowhere. But she finally realizes that it’s never too late to start over. She makes some tough choices but it’s for the best. Seeing her character grow and mature was a joy to watch.

The male lead was unique. He wasn’t some cold domineering CEO like you usually see in office romances which was refreshing. He’s been in love with the female lead for 10 years protecting her and taking care of her the best he can. But his pride and fear of losing her keeps him from ever confessing to her. On the outside he’s proud and confident. Yet on the inside he’s in constant turmoil as he worries over her and deals with his unrequited love. He’s a tortured soul that you can’t help but root for. So when he finally finds the courage to open his heart to her, I was very touched.

I like the the underlying theme this drama had. We often wish we could go back and correct all of our past mistakes. But that’s just a pipe dream, an impossibility. Dwelling on past mistakes that can’t be changed will only bring us down. Wiping the slate clean so to speak and starting over is a really tough choice, especially after investing 10 years into a relationship like in the female leads situation. But starting over romance and career wise was the best choice for her. Many others in the drama had to make similar choices and do what’s right which meant letting everything go and starting over. But in the end it was the best choice they had ever made. We often think it’s too late to start over but its never too late. So don’t dwell on the past but work on making a better future for yourself, even if it means having to wipe the slate clean and start from scratch.

The romance in this drama was pretty good. There were lots of very realistic kisses, hugs, and cuddles. You could also feel the emotional connection the leads had together. The analogy of how the right person is like a puzzle piece that fits perfectly into the right spot in your heart was so true. With the wrong person your life can go downhill really fast. But with the right person things flow so smoothly and you’re so much happier. Choosing the perfect mate for yourself makes a big difference in your overall happiness in life. This wasn’t a spicy drama romance wise but it was very sweet, cute, and endearing.

My only complaints would be that this is advertised as an office romance but two thirds of the drama is spent in a college setting. I felt like I was watching a college romcom, not an office romance, so the title and description are a bit misleading. So for that reason I took off a point. The other issue I had with this drama was the confusing jump from present time to the past. In both situations the female lead is wearing similar clothes and hairstyles and it’s in the same college setting. So I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out where she was, past or present, and what was going on. A drama shouldn’t confuse it’s audience like that. So for this reason I deducted another point.

Overall I’d definitely recommend this drama. It has a very unique setting, it teaches a lesson, the romance is sweet, and the acting is superb. Just be aware that it’s a college romance the majority of the time and keep an eye on the female leads hair so you don’t get confused when she has flashbacks of her memories and you’ll be fine.

Spoilers ahead
(Was it all really just a dream?)

How do we know it was a dream and not a parallel universe or time traveling as some suggest? When the female lead comes out of her coma in episode 23 the title of the episode is “You And I Were In A Dream.” And from then on they consistently refer to it as her dreams. They never say she time traveled or was in a parallel universe. The doctor said it was normal to have very realistic dreams while in a coma. And when the female lead wakes up from her coma, she even says it was nothing but a sweet dream. Then episode 24 is entitled “The Gap Between Dreams and Reality.” She asked the doctor why she had dreams of stuff she had no knowledge of. The doctor said the nerve damage from her fall injured her brain. So while she was in the coma he told her family and friends to remind her of the past. This would help to trigger and activate the damaged neurons in her brain. They most likely told her of things that she didn’t know about or wasn’t aware had happened since they were speaking from their own personal experiences. Then these new tidbits of information were incorporated into her dreams. Which in turn drastically changed the choices she had previously made. Realizing that the male lead had been her protector, not her rival, made her choose him instead. Knowing that the second male lead would choose his career over love made her reject him. All of this helps her to realize that she needs to make some big changes in her life moving forward. Even though she can’t change the bad choices she made in the past she can make better choices for her future. So her comatose dreams were very helpful and helped her to grow as a person.