This is basically a drama about first loves vs. new loves so be prepared for far too much time spent on ML/FL’s exes. I would have enjoyed this drama more if we’d had more time watching the sweet and emotionally mature romance between ML/FL rather than watching their annoying (ML’s ex) and psychotic (FL’s ex) exes trying to win these two back. The audacity of these two exes is breathtaking, especially the female ex. So, let’s start with the bad first.

The bad – the exes. ML’s ex is No-uel. I call her the Christmas cupcake since her name looks like ‘Noel’ and she’s got the personality of a cupcake – nauseating sweet and fluffy, a typical ‘damsel in distress’ who thinks men have to roll over and do her bidding because she’s pretty. What ML (Hae-Kyong) ever saw in this woman in beyond me other than the script told his character that he had to love her in the past. She has absolutely no personality or uniqueness that warrants this man’s devotion. She a selfish, spoiled, narcissistic, immature, entitled brat of a woman. All she’s got going for her is her body and her looks. I wouldn’t expect a man of ML’s depth to be in love with such a shallow, superficial character. Her character is totally useless to this whole drama other than ML had to have a ‘first love’ to correspond with FL having a ‘first love’ who comes back out of the blue. It makes absolutely no sense why ML would still be confused about his feelings for this woman because she doesn’t deserve his love. I never once believed that No-uel ever truly loved ML. It was always all about her, and it's still all about her. Now, FL’s ex. Jae-Hyuk is a first-class psycho, but at least, his character is interesting, and I did feel some sympathy for him because of his emotional torment and mental illness. I didn’t doubt his love for FL although it was an obsessive, unhealthy love. The actor, Lee Ji Hoon, does a terrific job portraying this character. Unlike No-uel, Jae-Hyuk was an actual danger to this couple & himself. But around episode 10, I had had enough of these two exes and simply wanted them to GO AWAY, especially No-uel. I didn’t mind Jae-Hyuk sticking around a bit longer since I wanted to know the real reason he left FL and his background with Keanu. Jae-Hyuk mattered to the plot; No-uel didn’t. Way too much time was spent on the exes and the leads’ continuing relationship with them. Honestly, ML shouldn’t have had as much trouble as he did turning the cupcake down flat, considering how she treated him during their relationship (she admits cheating on him). However, I could understand FL’s struggle since Jae-Hyuk treated her well before their break-up.

Now, the good. ML was WONDERFUL! This man is a saint! A true gem! How any woman could treat him like No-uel or even FL (she was always pushing him away; I wanted to shake some sense into her several times) is beyond me. He was perfect…other than being a tad too cautious and reserved. And he was just too nice. He needed to be firmer with No-uel and tell the woman ‘there’s no way in hell I’m getting back together with you so keep your tears and your hands to yourself, especially in front of my new woman.’ Don’t just look uncomfortable – take action and push her hands away, buddy. In this instance, he needed to be more like a Chinese ML who is flat-out rude to the female love rival. Other than his lingering feelings for that cupcake – which was completely illogical in my opinion - he was everything a woman would want – handsome, successful, gentle, understanding, etc. Why FL took so long to see that is purely a contrivance of the script to drag out the drama – a real woman would have pounced on this man and never let go! I do like how his character does become bolder, more willing to display emotion and take risks - the very things cupcake wanted, Do-Hee, without any conscious effort on her part, manages to pull out of him.

I liked FL (Do-Hee) a lot. She had spunk but she was mature, especially in her relationship with ML. They both trusted and respected each other so there wasn’t a lot of jumping to conclusions or misunderstandings. They felt like one of those couples that are just ‘meant to be’ since they managed to stick together despite the clingy exes that circled them like flies. At about episode 10, if I were either of the two leads, I would have gone off on my ex since they were starting to behave like dog poop you can’t get off your shoe. Stop harassing me already! I don’t love you anymore! It was frustrating how it took Do-Hee so long to commit to Hae-Kyong, but I suppose it's reasonable for her to hold back after the two ex-boyfriends she'd had, but it made so sense to me how she felt her past was an obstacle to her relationship with ML. He knew all the ugly bits and still loved her so what's the problem? She played the noble idiot 1-2 times, but at least, it was brief! But, boy, it was heart-breaking for the viewer to watch Hae-Kyong's confusion and misery.

My biggest complaint: the scriptwriter/director really needed to give us more sweet romance between the leads – they were so darn cute together. It was so adorable when they both were imagining romantic scenes with each other. And boy, it was a long wait for their first kiss! Fortunately, as we near the end and the problem of Jae-Hyuk is resolved, we get more cuteness as they settle into their relationship. The final episode is like a sigh of relief after the tension/angst of the proceeding 2-3 episodes.

The supporting cast was good as they are with nearly all K-Dramas. I don’t know how the Koreans do it, but they have a wonderful knack for creating interesting side characters. The side romance between Ah-Yeong and Keanu was cute as well and was well balanced so it didn’t distract from MC’s romance. It was a little odd how Geun knew everybody in the love square individually – what’s the probability of that in real life? He was like a spoke that they all revolved around. I absolutely loved how he finally scolded No-uel for her selfish behavior. My advice to her - look, honey, there are consequences to the decisions you make so now you have to live with them. You can't have back the toy you threw away.

Overall, I enjoyed this drama, although I fast forwarded through most of No-uel because she was just an irritant (although her character does improve once she stops harassing Hae-Kyong). If you can put up with exes that just won’t go away and a slow burn romance that makes you want to shake the leads at times, then watch this drama. The sweet moments between ML/FL are worth it…not to mention Song Seung-heon’s (ML) smile. If they ever made the webtoon/comic ‘The Office Blind Date’ into a drama, I think Song Seung-Heon just might be handsome enough to play the lead role of Kang Tae-Mu. The only reason I marked the re-watch value low is because there's too many scenes with the exes and not enough of the leads being romantic.