NO SPOILER Miss detective wants to take the lead. Beware of unrequited lovers from second arc.

The story : Two people who hate each other are forced to get married. And to work together to solves cases.
As they do, they are gradually drawn to one another. Will love or hate win?

Pros:
- Strong clever detective Female Lead.
- Strong clever military Male Lead.
- It is the fist time I have seen a heroine, daughter of a concubine, who is loved by her entire family and not bullied. Not a cliché. Yes (*_*)
- Chemistry is fire and the settings make it even more beautiful to watch.
- Characterisation is outstanding for Male Lead (Ding Yu Xi) who looks very manly as the great Shen Du.
- The inquiry is very good. Complex and involving many people. I try to guess the outcome as it progresses but I have a hard time doing so.
- Comedy is just great between the leads. I hope they had more comedic scenes.
- Cinematography is great.
- Action scenes are worth watching. There are few but when performed, OMG they blew my mind. Especially with Male Lead. I am still in shock (*_*)
- Overall the story is good and entertaining.


Cons:
- The mystery unfolds piece by piece and it can disturb some viewers. But like in Agatha Christies novels, you end-up getting the answer.
- Misunderstandings (who is Male Lead, who is Female Lead, what they do on their own...).
Sometimes they don't communicate enough.
- I don't like childish Female voice dubbing. Guess what ? The Female Lead's best friend has one *sight*
- Female Lead is not perfect, her many flaws could spoil your fun.
- Lots of unrequited lovers from the second arc for almost every cast member. This should be titled "conspiracy in love island" o_O

Overall :
I like the investigation and the romance.
The investigation was very complex, a lot of clues were shown to give hints in order to know who the main antagonist is. So by paying attention to the early episodes you migt be able to decypher who it is.
The bickering romance was enjoyable generally speacking. You have to stand FL's temper sometimes but at the end the love story is beautiful and Shen Du is the bright light in this show. He carries it like the titan atlas who do with the heavens. He is just marvellous. Special mention to Yan Xing who stayed witty till the very end. And that's great for a female lead.
This is a good drama. So I recommend it if you like case solving duo with strong Leads. You might like it.

And the OST is great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLjFuY9p48E

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NO SPOILER - Is it physical attraction or is it real love connection?

Watching this drama I wondered if sexual tension could ignate real love connections ?

The story : Amidst chaotic political struggle of 3 cities, the most beautiful woman of the desert, gets involved with 3 Influencial men.

Well... This drama is not a slowburn romance like I thought. It is more a story about infatuation with a sprinkle of toxic romance in an unstable desert, where a power struggle is happening.
The main characters begin their journey with sexual tension that develop into something else, as the drama progresses. Intimacy is a big topic of the plot. There is a lot of sexual harrassment as well. Especially in the first half of the drama.
Indeed, in this savage desert, the women's sexuality is a bargaining ship. It can be exchanged as a payment or as a reward for victory. Meanwhile, the rapists are glamorized. So I would say that sex is emphasized more than romance in this drama, at least in the first half.
This is why the dare, here, is to transend the physical attraction into real romantic love while fighting the power stuggles in the desert.

Would this be doable? Indeed, it is, if we take psychology in account.
The "shaking bridge effect" is a psychological effect that can fake attractivness.
Because, a dangerous situation can make people mistake their own physiological sensations for love.
So, being in a life or death situation can arouse them and lead them to desire each other.
ML and FL entanglement is believable and very well enacted in my opinion.


Pros :
- FL is a witty and gifted princess.
- ML is a mysterious city lord/ chief BOA (intelligence service) of the desert.
- Chemistry is good between all the couples. Some MLs know how to bed FLs.
- Acting is wonderful. my favs are FL, Hankiz Omar, who is doing a great job as a cold and proud princess, and Alen Fang who is great as a resourceful chief of spies.
- Great cinematography. The setting is gorgeous. The desert scene were filmed in Gobi desert. It is a feast for the eyes.
- The pacing is quick in the beginning.
- Some scenes are very theatrical. Sometimes it was like watching "Ottelo", "Carmen" other times "Romeo and juliet" or "The phantom of the opera".

Cons:
- The exposition scenes last a lot before the real plot starts.
- Rape culture. Some would say that it takes place in ancient times and they will excuse the multiple men who want to constantly rape the female leads. But I don't agree. This is just annoying to me because it is so repetitive.
- The physical attraction from the start could jeopardize the deep romance. Was it believable? Yes it was and the acting was on point.
- SML and SFL are not complex characters. They are basically like desert Bonnie and Clyde.
- Pacing was a little slow at the beginning but improved after 5 episodes.

Overall:
I was captivated by this drama. This barbaric desert is the worst place to be, especially for a woman like Bei Shuang.
But she is so clever, that she still managed to pursue her goals and it was a bliss to watch her use her wits to outmatch every antagonist.
I had a hard time with the second couple, all their actions was just so annoying or disgusting to me. You'll see what I mean, when you watch the drama. But, I could understand that some people turn like that, in a violent place like this ruthless desert. However, the SFL remains a mystery to me. How can she be a princess and act so wildly and in such a disgusting way. What about the filial piety and the etiquette that every royal should have been tought since childhood? Once again, you will know what I mean as you watch the show. You might went to drop it at some point, because of the second couple but I assure you, this is a great story worth watching.
Even if, at the end I had few doubt about how the antagonists were punished for their misdeeds.
I recommend this drama if you like beautiful epic romance, full of commitments and sacrifices.
Indeed, the fact that it is not a slowburn romance doesn't disturb me. I am a fan of the Lead's love story.

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NO SPOILERS . Is it stockholm syndrom or can love bloom from overcoming hardship together?

The story : On his quest for revenge, Wei Zhao crosses paths with Jiang Ci, who spoils every plans he makes.
However, getting to know each other they are drawn to one another.

First of all, when I saw how Male Lead treated Female Lead, I could not help but wondering if Female Lead suffered from stockholm syndrom ? How can she fall for someone who harmed her like that ?
Then, as the story progressed I understood that those two share a special / unspeakable bond.
They managed to find love and had a great chemistry in the middle of such dire situations. And this, in it-self is a challenge.
ML and FL still brought me with them as I witnessed their slowburn romance, full of attraction, riddles, subtile messages, amorous glares...
So as much as I was shocked by ML at first and also feared for FL's life, I was rooting for Wei Zhao and Jiang Ci's love in the end.

Pros :
- Smart countryside Female Lead .
- Smart high ranking court officer, Male Lead.
- Good action scenes.
- Mortal Enemies to lovers trope. Male Lead's killing spree goes far, as he is aiming at Female Lead and that's surprising.
- Great acting.
- Great revenge quest for the hero whose kingdom's population was slaughtered and enslaved.
- The plot is complex. That's a good thing because it is promising and can surprise the viewer. At times your blood might boil for witnessing injustices. But this is proof of a good story.
- Very emotional topics are dealt with : genocide, slavery, fight for survival, conspiracy, rebellion, human trafficking...
- Sprinkle of romance, which I think is great because the emotional and political story make the romance more endearing.
- Well written script filled with symbolism and duality (every plot point faces its opposite) : slavery/freedom, conceal /show, belitteling/praising... So you can have different level of understanding of the narrative because the writer thinks that you are smart enough to piece them together. I like that.

Cons :
- As the drama aired, I thought is was one of the last performances of Jeremy Tsui as a Second Male Lead before retirement. I was sad ?! And hope to see him again. Good news, he is coming back to acting. My wish was granted, I am very happy. He is such a great actor.
- Sadistic assassin Male Lead who supresses his emotions and live like a machine. That's a Red Flag.
- There are some glitches in the CGI. For example here : they stopped the CGI before finishing the scene (^_^) I laughed so much o_O
Are they saving money on CGI budget ? This is weird to see the raw images with subtitles.
https://postimg.cc/Z0WqXVqy


Overall this is a good show : I laughed, I was afraid, relieved... until the very last minutes. The ending was a climax.

It was the most satisfying ending to me, it did justice to the drama and it was also very realistic. I could always dream of a season 2 with an alternate ending that would have sparked even more conspiracies than this one. But the writers did justice to the story of a hero. And I liked it.

Highly rewatchable because there is hidden meaning everywhere, you will discover new clues and symbols at every rewatch.
If you like enemies to lovers stories with intelligent leads, this is for you.


The songs of the OST fit the story perfectly : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PngeJrUTSVo

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Goofy Superwoman. I LOVE IT

This drama narrates the story of a female medical doctor who is transported back in times in the body of the ugly and despised Consort Chu. She is married to Prince Chu who hates her to the core and bullies her as much as he can. Will she survive?

Well ...When I stepped foot in this drama, the acting, pacing, setting, accessories... Everything was so over the top and it was so funny that I could not stop watching. At the time, the rating was arround 6.0 and now as I am writing this review, it reached 7.1. and it is going up.

Pros: Female Lead (Amy Sun) is such a great character. I love her in everything she does. She is a great Medical Doctor / Coroner/ Detective.... She is so gifted that she could rule the world if she had to.
On the contrary, Male Lead ( Wang Ting Wu) is oblivious to a lot of things and forced to obey a lot of rules, obstructing him in a lot of ways.
We would say opposites attract? And it is. Those two can't stop bickering, but it is so funny to watch.
The story is so wacky and entertaining that I like it more and more.
The music is good, like in a long drama.
Male Lead has a beautiful character development.
The villainess is very very entertaining.

Cons: The acting of some characters and the logic of the plot are sometimes lacking. For example : How could Female Lead operate a patient without cleaning her hand etc...
But, all this is done in such a comedic way that, it is easily acceptable because the drama is so crazy and funny.

Overall the plot is good and I am enjoying the show.
The cast members are very funny. I have alredy re-watched this show several times. And it always puts a smile on my face. I hope it does the same to you.
I liked the ending.

I recommend it if you like goofy dramas. Then this is for you.

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NO SPOILER "Till the end of the moon" as a low budget drama - I enjoyed it

If you wanted to know what would look like "Till the end of the moon" as a low budget short-length drama ? There you have it. I enjoyed it though.
The story : On the day of her wedding, the immortal Shang You survives the massacre of her entire clan by Si Yuan, the Dark Lord of the Underworld. To seek revenge, Shang You disguises herself as Meng Li and infiltrates the underworld...

The story is narrated on several lifetimes during which the heroine is trying to uncover the mystery of the annihilation of her clan. Even if the plot is simple, I was still interested in knowing the end of the story. Once I recognize the main elements of TTEOTM, I wanted to know exactly what version the cast and crew were going to present.
I was satisfied with what they came up with. It was entertaining, I even cried at a particular moment. And that surprised me. It was nice watching this drama.

Pros :
- I liked that it ressembles so much to "Till the end of the moon". You will recognize, who is Ye Bing Chang, Tan tai Jin, Li Su Su, Xiao Lin, Pian Ran, ADG, Di Mian, Qu Xuan Zi, the Fleeting Life/Bo're Dream ...
- I liked the way Female Lead approaches and seduces Male Lead.
- Liked the way the emotionless ML slowly learns what is love, as Shang You seduces him.
- Good chemistry between the lead.
- Appreciated the acting.
- I liked how the Sect head master is moving. It is like he is dancing. I saw him "pop & lock" like a Hip-Hop dancer. It made me smile.

Cons :
- Simple plot.
- Male Lead is expressionless for a longtime during the first and second arc.
- The CGI goes with the budget. It is not top notch, but I wasn't so disturbed about it.
- Main antagonist is one-dimensionnal.

Overall:
Simple but cute story with Xianxia elements and good chemistry between the lead.
I liked the ending. It would be the ending I would have wanted for TTEOTM. Here I got it and I was happy.
If you like Xianxia love story taking place during several lifetimes with a satisfying ending.
This drama is made for you.

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I Liked this drama. A journey to a happy ending (explained)

A revenge plot with a single inside man.
The drama narrates the story of Prince Jing He (MRJH) whose army was killed alongside 100.000 civilians in the Qinzhou Great arson. In order to take revenge, MRJH decides to train the female assassin, Mei Lin (ML). She will be tasked of the killing of MRJH.

For the readers, who wanted to watch the re-enactement of the novel : bad news. The drama diverges completely from the novel. MRJH does not rape Mei Lin and all the questionnable actions he did in the book wasn't included in the drama. In my opinion, this is a good thing because, this way MRJH is redeemable and can be loved by the viewers and acces a happy ending.

The pros :

- The violent encounter of 2 strong leads:
I liked that the story started with Prince Jing as an anti-hero paired with a strong female assassin. The first 3 episodes were breath taking. And that sadomasochistic scene in the pool was the climax of this encounter.
Because behind all the stabbing and the stranggeling, I could see Prince Jing's attraction for Mei Lin and her relentlessness.
The acting is that good, that LXY and WJY was able to convey two emotions at the same time; wrath and attraction.

- The character development psychologically believable :
I was even more seduced by the drama when I witnessed Prince Jing's development.
From a cold and frightening "master of shadow works " who had to supress his emotions to survive killing attempts.
He is now, slowly openning up his heart to love thanks to Mei Lin.
Love blooms without him knowing it. And that's marvellous and poetic.
From the moment the hidden message of his mother freed him from resentment. He started to open up his heart to love. And this is beautiful.

- The forshadowing of the happy ending during the all show :
I believe in an happy ending. The undying flower is a very important element of the plot. It is showcased in the opening credit several times. More than a symbol of resilience and strength. The leads talk about their next life all the time. More than that, MRJH and ML almost died several times during the show. This was done to prepare the viewers to see their next life via reincarnation. Now that we know that. It is not difficult to see that the last scenes of the drama, tell the viewers that they were reborn and meet again in a different time and space.

- The beautiful visuals :
The aesthetics of the show, it is just gorgeous. The colours, costumes, make-up. Everything is beautiful.

- Great acting and directing :
LXY (MRJH) and WJY (ML) are giving us such great performances. That those characters are alive thanks to their talents. The rest of the cast is great too. And the camera moves are very good.
BWJ (Prince YQ) was excellent. He managed to portray this cunning and tormented character amazingly. The audience either hated him or pitied him.
BC (Crown Prince MRXL) was excellent, at times I couldn't stand the sight of him. So brilliant.

- Flavor of a BL couple Su Muo and Yin Que:
YQ and Su Muo : One of the few times YQ was really patient and loving. I heard some people saying that they had the vibe of a BL couple. I did felt the kindness of each of them toward the other. I felt the genuine love and admiration Su Muo has for YQ. But, Su Muo still lost his life to make sure the love story of his master could leave the dream stage to become a reality. This couple has no status and no real "lovers" feelings. A marriage would be impossible. But the sweetness of their interaction lingers.

- The duality :
There is a duality between : what is seen as the truth on the surface, and what really happens behind closed doors.
MRJH has multiple personalities : "The playboy", "The Master of Shadow Works", and the mischievous MRJH.
All of these personalities are regarded as dark and hard to deal with. Whereas his quest is virteous and he acts for the greater good.
Prince YQ on the contrary is a dignified heir of Xiyan state, best friend of the emperor and benevolent before every one. Whereas, he colludes with CP Murong XuanLie and tries the frame MRJH from the multiple murder of 10 Xiyan beauties.

- Fighting scenes :
Mei Lin is such a badass. All her fighting scenes were amazing. I only regret not seeing more of Luo Mei's martial arts skills during the drama. Generally speaking all the battle was great. They even add CGI sometimes, and that's for the best.

- Yin Que, more of an antagonist than a Second Male Lead :
Yin Que was always cunning and he lied when is vowed to give to Mei Lin the freedom of choice. I spotted his dark personality from the very beginning and I was waiting for him to show his true colours.
He is not an average SML with an unrequited love for the FL.
He is cunning and evil. Moreover, Mei Lin doesn't even have a clue of his obsession for her. He is more of a powerful antagonist to me, who does all is misdeeds without anyone knowing it.

- The symbolism and foreshadowing of a married life :
This is role playing time at Jeinbei: MRJH is a lustful playboy and Mei Lin is a lethal "femme fatal".
In this white troubled water pool, after Mei Lin, (very seductress) told Prince Jing that she just wanted him.
The latter pierced her throat with her own hairpin. The same hairpin she wanted to use to assassinate him. Suddenly a drop of blood fell in the water.
Like the virginal blood falls on the « proof of virginity » on the wedding night.
We had there a hint (through this symbol) of the marriage between the two.
MRJH's hint is delicious :
« Bleeding should be on the wedding night in ZhaoJing »
This foreshadowing of their wedding amazed me :)

- Mei Lin Must not die, a promise to her moribund father :
While exfiltrating her from the fire, her father tells « Live, You must live well! »
This represent a promise done to her dying father and we know how important are moribund's last wish for the ones they left behind.
This is why Mei Lin kept repeating it. She respected her dying father's last wish. "She must live".

The con :

- The unfair death of Crown Prince Murong Xuanlie :
His death was too peaceful. CP was a criminal against humanity with more than 100.000 casualties. This is not fair that he died drinking wedding wine with Luo Mei, his wife-to-be. It is even annoying. Easthetically the scene is beautiful, but how annoying it is.
I was so pissed. But like in real life. People with higher mobility don't face the same justice *sigh*
And unfotunately, this is cast-iron truth.
Thinking about it, I think that, this is the message the writers wanted to convey.

- The disgusting romance between the Old Emperor and the Teenaged Consort Yan :
I know that it is historically accurate but I don't want to see it. They at least avoided the kisses and the two were never together in the same frame with longing glares at each other. I am thankful for that. At least they spared us.

- The destruction of a great Female General Luo Mei:
I was first amazed by the righteousness and the strength of Luo Mei. And I had high hopes for her character to bloom in this drama. Unfortunately, even if I understood that beeing rejected by the love of her life demolished her spirit. I was disappointed when I saw her willingly surrender to the so-called love of the main antagonist, the Crown Prince Murong XuanLie. It was almost inconsistent. How could she, out of the blue, fall so deeply in love with that murderer. Mystery o_O

- Not enough sexual tension :
I would have liked the sexual tension and the push and pull to last more that 3 episodes. Although I loved the chemistry of the Leads. The great sadomasochistic start fell short on that aspect. And that's unfortunate.

- Side stories :
The side stories are almost non existing. Too bad, this would add to the quality of the plot. Big guy could have had a story of his own. I would have liked to see his romance.

The ending :
On Episode 1 we saw that, as soon as Mei Lin appears asleeped and her father saves her, she wears the same outfit she wore in the happy ending sequence. We also see the Weibei army and Qinzhoun in fire.
Wich means that it is really their story that begins again in the ending of the show.

The drama ends with a happy ending. After all the hints about rebirth in the credit song, the allusion to their next life during the conversations of MRJH and ML. We see the Lead Couple together when snow starts to fall. And we know that the "Momai Poison" in them can be cured by the ''Snow dragon whisker seed" that blooms only in the snow. Now the snow is falling and the two of them are alive. We did not see anybody dying. This tells me that, they might have send people to harvest the Dragon Flower and cure themself.

Then jump in time. The color palette is yellow-ish. This indicates another reality. MRJH and ML are younger. There is no war in Qinzhou. They meet in a happy time when they are younger. And those who died in the previous paralell world are alive in this world.

This is the next life MRJH and ML spoke about so many time during the drama. They meet and fall in love on the spot. This is the happy ending.
Then the drama announces "The End"

Then jump to 15 years after that snowfall. MRJH is alone. And we understand that ML has died during this period. We don't know when. MRJH dies looking at the red fruit tree and dropping her hair pin. The color palette is blue-ish.

I have the impression they gave viewer a happy ending followed by a sad ending to please everybody. So there is 2 endings.

Overall :

I really liked this drama. I was moved by the endearing relationship of the Leads.
From the violence of a dark encounter to the beauty of love after healing from the past. Moreover, the drama is very satisfaying visually. I recommend this drama if you understand the concept of past life and you want to follow the epic love story of this couple to there next life, this drama is for you.

PS : I know that some viewers felt discouraged by the lack of sadomasochistic and gore scenes in this drama.
But, let's just be honest. Do you really think a S+ drama would feature : BDSM, gore and the sadistic MRJH's actions like the novel did? .... Really

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When the lady is a man. The flavor of a BL drama.

The plot is simple : a modern womanizer travels back in time to find himself in the body of the 4th young lady of the marquis's mansion. Now what? Evidently the struggle is for him, to find his way back to modern times.

Big problem : this lady has a male thinking voice. So I was confused to see her getting closer and closer to Male Lead. How could a womanizer get seduced by a man just because he traveled back in time and he is kept inside a woman's body? Will they kiss? Will they consummate their marriage? Is it BL?
To me this plot point seems totally unlogical . So I decided to wait until the last episode to get the answer to all those questions.

On another note.
The plot is well written and there is a lot of twists and turns to this story. I never felt bored and I liked to follow the steps of Female Lead, where ever she was going to, in order to complete her tasks.
The entire cast was good and I liked their performances.

Generally speaking I would recommend this drama because it was very entertaining.

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Crazy, Sexy, Cool drama with a good story

I was first attracted by the plot about this emotional counselor who helps wives with their cheating husband.
But the minute a set foot in this drama I was caught.
The drama opens in a sexy way. And the Female Lead and the Male Lead are so seductive.
As a result the chemistry is just top notch to say the least. To be honest, it almost made me fall off my seat several times. And I am not kidding.
The story takes several turns that made me forget that this is a 10 minutes drama. Actually, so much happened that I found myself passionate about this drama. So if you like a good short drama with twist and turns and a touch of sexiness This is for you.

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My delicious margherita pizza.

This drama is like a delicious margherita pizza.
There is so many pizza recipes out there, but the margherita pizza is the basis of them all.
When the ingredients are top quality and the recipe is well executed. You got a delicious margherita pizza that you cannot help but devour.

I have the same feeling about this drama. The story is simple: two former high schoolers reconnect after 10 years. The Male Lead had a big hidden crush on Female Lead. What will happen?

I was more and more drawn to this simple story full of clichés and tropes but the drama is so well executed that none of the tropes nor the clichés seemed annoying or out of places.
I found myself rooting for the Lead's romance at every single moment until the 8th final episode.

So, if you like a well executed classic k-drama rom-com featuring strong-witted leads and good side stories, this drama is for you.

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A feel good goofy rom-com

Imagine that you were afraid of handsome guys, to the point that it makes you sick. Could you live that kind of life?

This is the crazy situation that Female Lead is facing. This could result in a lot of misunderstandings and a lot of funny situations. And it did.

I liked that :
This is a feel good drama .
The female Lead is specifically attracted to ugly guys. That's for a change.
She and her sister are so different in every way. It is fun to watch.
The Male Lead has a hard time seducing her because he is handsome . Evidently, this produces a lot of funny situations.
The supporting cast are cute

I disliked that :
At times, the pace was slowing down a little.
The music is just ok.

If you like a fluffy rom-com with a lot of crazy situations. You might like this drama.

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Best Romantic Espionnage Action Thriller Drama

I approad this drama because I was intrigued by a prince being kidnapped. I Thought it was a romantic drama. In reality, there is a sprinkle of romance but in the end I fell in love with the power struggles and political ploys. So I really enjoyed the drama.

So what this drama is about:
On the first episode I clearly understood : this would not be a fluffy rom-com ( as I thought) but a mystery/ espionnage/ action drama. I could sens that, a deep dark secret organisation was behind all this story.
I was hooked. So, I gave the drama the time to develop the plot.

And OMG, the more the episodes aired, the more I was addicted.
I waited patiently every saturdays and sundays to watch the new episodes as they were airing.
It was a roller coaster ride of emotions as the story developed.
I was totally in love with this drama.

I heard that many people complained about the fact that the romance was almost unexisting.
I don't agree, actress behind the Female Lead ; Yong Ye Ji; said that the text might not be romantic but the actors behaviours on set are. Indeed, they are affectionnate.

But looking back at the way the story developed, personnaly, I liked that the story was more about the palace ploys than the romance.
Because, from my point of view, the suspens set by the schemes spiced up the romance and I was sometimes afraid for the Leads because of it.

So this is a great drama. One of my favourites.

And I dont even speak about the OST, which I am crazy in love with.
Especially the Suho's "love you more gradually ", "100 days of dreams" and of course " love is like the wind".
The later was my lullaby before sleeping for a long time (^__^)

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