I watched this with my mom and she summarized it best: this kdrama is "mild." I couldn't agree more!

Story:
After putting her foot down at work, the protagonist took a great leap by moving out of town to start her own clinic - which in reality is not easy to do - but her strong will and determination made it look easy. This beginning part of the story happens quickly and starts to feel far away, as the majority of the drama is set in the seaside village. We watch her follow through with her decision as she learns to adjust in the new small town environment. The main lead's appearance often lead to comical interactions, and he plays a strong role as he gradually helps her adjust to his hometown. With time and effort the protagonist grows to appreciate the village and the villagers that she seeks to be a part of. We also get a good understanding of the villagers and their stories as they come to embrace the protagonist as part of their community. The environment is overall painted with seaside hues of blue and sand, often using pale, pastel colours. It really helps with emphasizing the easygoing pace of the drama.

Part of the idealistic, feel-good aspects of this show was how little drama there was in conflicts. If you like intense drama, you won't find it here. The drama level here would be little to just enough, making it not too far from reality. Almost all conflicts were resolved in a peaceful way. What I found most interesting and enjoyable was the way the romantic relationships were handled. The drama shows us that when both sides are willing to communicate clearly, honestly, and want to resolve the issue, it is possible to stay on good terms. It seems simple but is much easier said than done. That's why I was so impressed: it was so satisfying to watch adults maturely handling their relationships, wanting the best for each other without any ill intentions.

Pacing:
This drama is more relaxed than most as it's not very fast-paced or high stakes. There are still tense moments, but nothing to stress over. The beginning half is more action-oriented, and the second half is more relationship-heavy, and perhaps a bit rushed near the end as most dramas do. Overall, this is a very character-driven drama and a lot of character development happens, which I think is hard to find, so it's nice to see.

Instead of slow-paced, maybe the better term is regular-paced as the show does a great job of demonstrating how all things take time, just like real life. This is not to say that the viewer's patience is tested, but that things will work out with effort and timing. This is done successfully by sharing the villagers' stories throughout the show, which I found very well paced. I was on the edge of my seat for most of their backstories, but many of them are tangled with each other so of course we had to wait! Being the protagonist, her growth was consistent over time since she was the main focus. What was kind of disappointing was the male lead, who remained fun and relationship-driven for the most part, until the majority of his backstory is brought into the later half of the drama. When this happened, it felt like the show became indecisive on who to focus on, or maybe I was the one who had trouble focusing. When I said that the second half is relationship-heavy, I meant that at this point most of the character conflicts were further ahead: nearly resolved, or already on the path to improvement . It was a back and forth of the other characters almost at their peak in the show, and then the male lead lagging behind, still in the middle of his conflicts. Perhaps this was intentional, as the drama did make his past to be something like the town secret, mystery, or the greatest conflict in the drama. It would have been a smoother transition if there were more hints of this at the beginning, but we were mainly focused on the protagonist and the other villagers. This left little room for us prepare for the male lead's backstory, so in the end it felt a bit forced. It didn't seem fair since he was the second most important character in the show, but he did not get the growth over time treatment like everyone else.

Additional Observations:
-How the drama may have successfully kept our attention was with the amount of short scenes it had. I noticed this around the halfway mark of the show, where there would be a good interaction and just when it seemed like there would be more, it would suddenly cut to another character. It's as if the drama didn't believe we had the patience to sit for longer scenes. Maybe that's why it felt like a lot happened.
-Something that almost all the characters did was this: when they were asked a question and they didn't want to answer, they would just change the topic, like "the weather is nice today". This didn't only happen in tense scenes, but in casual conversation as well. It was done too much, and was the only type of character interaction I did not enjoy because of how dismissive and rude it was.

Acting:
The characters and their interactions really carried this drama, especially the villagers once we met them. To see the village setting itself would be to see a deserted set, but to have the actors playing their role and feeling at home in the setting really brought it to life. I don't mean to state the obvious but I really mean this. The way the villagers interacted show how they all have good chemistry, and are an example of what a warm and friendly small town would be like. Not that they are realistic or completely accurate, but that the acting was believable and convinced me that I could meet such people in real life. Their backstories were also great at keeping the environment in focus. For a cast of so many side characters, this show was able to keep my interest in all of them.

The protagonist was impressive. I found her unlikeable at first because of how prickly, and hot and cold she was. But as the story progresses, you come to understand that she is a product of her environment when she grew up in the big city. I found her to be the most relatable character, especially with the way she reacted when adjusting to the village. It was adorable to see her rely on the male lead over time, as if she was slowly coming out of hiding behind him to eventually interact with the villagers and eventually depend on them. Once she was in the right mindset, her perseverance became admirable and I began to root for her. It's not flashy but consistent. I would say that the majority of her growth went to watching her cool down and opening up.

The male lead was a little too good to be true, but was still entertaining to watch: an ideal of a carefree, handy, community-oriented small town guy who is good at almost everything. A likeable, adventurous person that you would want to get to know. He is also a product of his environment, which shaped him to be positive, thoughtful, and ready to lend a hand, nearly the opposite of the protagonist. His interactions with the protagonist at the beginning were funny and cute, where he creatively fought back at her hot and cold attitude. I also enjoyed watching the growth of his and the protagonist's relationship over time, because they had space to go from acquaintances to friends before becoming something more. As previously mentioned, his backstory did not have the greatest pacing. So seeing him get more emotional and reactive in the later half of the show felt very sudden. The actor's performance was great and really drew you in! But it's the story's poor handling of his character that made him appear inconsistent.

Music:
I did not pay much attention to the music, but it definitely fit the mood that the drama was going for (relaxing, by the sea, etc) and did well in putting emphasis on the important scenes.

Rewatch Value:
Definitely putting this higher on the list if I ever need something chill, comforting or low commitment since I don't know too many dramas like this. To watch this again would be like visiting old friends. No drama is perfect, but I definitely enjoyed this one!