THOIBI DEVI

YOU HAVE TO WATCH IT TO FEEL IT. Trust me, the emotions you feel watching this drama cannot be replicated by reading any plot synopsis or watching a summary video on youtube. And, I suggest that you dive into it without checking out the spoilers. Now, coming to the review: This was a MASTERPIECE in my opinion. The cinematography was beautiful and takes you back to the 90s and 2000s. The time travel plot was very well done. I thought it would be confusing but it wasn't. However, there was a time in the second half when I had to take a breather because my BRAIN STOPPED BRAINING. Haha! Also, I didn't realise that I completed 12 episodes at one go. The pacing and the plot twists in every episode were so good that an hour long episode felt like 20 minutes (I legit felt the concept of relativity while watching a time travel drama, great!). Tbh, I am not a fan of melodramas because I detest the feeling of gloom after watching them. But, this was different. While, I am not a crier, stray tears did escape more often than I would like to admit. I always thought that in terms of people dying left, right and centre; no drama could compete with Moonlovers - Scarlet Heart Ryeo. But 'A Time Called You' was like hold my maegju. SMH. However, I felt warm seeing the kind of love that was portrayed. It made me feel the butterflies of a first love, the comfort of a mature love, the pain of separation and the overwhelming relief of reunion. The actors did such a wonderful job, the way they portrayed the same characters differently across different timelines. Jeon Yeo-been was exceptional especially how she shifted her personality between the characters. The way she looked at her lover, laughed, walked and talked; all changed with the role and the timeline. Ahn Hyo-seop made my heart skip whenever he was on screen. The character he played was not just a green flag but the greenest banner spanning across timelines. I mean how convincingly he portrayed the character who yearns for his lover across time and space. Kang Hoon proved that even without a lot of lines, one's screen presence can be pretty impactful. Also, the way he emotes with his eyes is at another level altogether. Each of their stories were beautiful and so was the ending (would like to thank the makers for it). The ending made me hopeful and happy but at the same time made my heart ache. Maybe, because of the thought that so many precious memories and relationships that were once made upon various timelines would be loss forever as if they never existed. For once, I felt sad more for the memories that would cease to exist rather than for the people who would never meet. All in all, this was the kind of drama that stays with you long after you finish watching it. I still feel a kind of tug at my heart when I think about it or hear the OST. So, I will definitely revisit it again, whenever A Time Calls Me.

Lately, I wasn't finding any drama which could hold my attention for more than two episodes. So, I was randomly checking out reviews on Google and Viki to find something nice. The reviews of The Secret Romantic Guesthouse seemed promising and I thought to gave it a try. And trust me I don't regret it at all. I finished all 18 episodes in less than 3 days. I loved the premise of the story and especially how they kept the viewers guessing who is who. I mean the person I thought is THAT person is shown not to be THAT person but the OTHER person only to be THAT person in the end.....I know I know, this is confusing but i loved how the writers played with our minds. I loved the FL. This is my first time seeing a drama of Shin Ye-eun and I really liked her performance. She had this happy and comforting aura about her. Now, coming to our flower scholars; the another reason I gave this drama a chance was because of Ryeoun. I saw him in Adult Trainee and was completely smitten by his charisma. I loved his character and how it kept us guessing even until the second half. His deep Voice is OMG. Also, his expressive EYES and SMILE. I replayed so many of his scenes. I am now eagerly waiting for his next drama. What to say about Kang Hoon except that he was just amazing. I mean the range of emotions he can show during certain scenes were crazy good. I mean I was fooled by him...I mean everyone was even in Ihwawon. Haha! Jung Gun-joo was really cute. I mean even I felt like calling him orabeoni because he seemed so calm and composed. I loved how they maintained his character. Or else it could have kinda turned into Moonlovers:SHR. I felt even the villains (except for the crazy eyed king) were grey characters. What they did was wrong but I felt bad for them. I mean I could understand why they did what they did. All in all it was a wonderful watch which leaves me with a bittersweet feeling...like the feeling when you are moving to the next phase of life after leaving school or college...leaving your friends behind. I felt this not only on behalf of the Ihwawon peeps but also for myself. I know I will miss the squads' laughter and banter the most so I will revisit them from time to time in their Secret Romantic Guesthouse.

If you have even an iota of doubt whether to watch this kdrama and are scrolling through the reviews for the same, then just stop and watch it please - BECAUSE this is such a cute drama with the right amount of romance, mystery, comedy and emotions involved. It made me nostalgic about my school & college days. Also, don't go by the bad reviews please because it is mostly since their bias didn't get the girl. I LOVED Han Ji-hyun. She did an amazing work portraying her character. She is not the typical damsel in distress which we usually see in campus dramas. She is so quirky, spirited and upfront about her feelings. You can't help falling in love with her. Bae In-hyuk is BAE! I am glad that he got the character of Jungwoo. This character is love. He is shy and awkward but a romantic and a baby at heart. He studies the stars and cheerleads. While others may say he is slow; I believe he is thoughtful. He just is so calm and cute. Tbh, this is the type of guy who I would want to be with in real life. The other male lead character annoyed me abit. He was shown as being popular amongs girls despite him being a walking RED FLAG! Maybe, that is what we call pretty privilege. However, I could empathise with his character sometimes. Kim Hyun-jin played the role so convincingly that I was screaming "red flag" as well "cutie" at my screen. The mystery story line was good enough. It kept us guessing initially and wasn't that scary. I enjoyed the typical love triangle but what I love the most was the slow burn romance between the OG couple. They showed each other their vulnerabilities which made me connect with their relationship more. I saw comments equating the level of SL syndrome in this drama to that of 'True Beauty'. Even though I was team SuHo, I did love SeoJun and did feel bad for him in the end. However, I didn't feel any SL syndrome in this drama. While I enjoyed the interaction between the second ML and FL, I didn't want them to end up together. Though he was kind to FL, he was quite manipulative. I loved the cheer team shenanigans. The families and their bonding shown was emotional and funny. All in all, I loved this drama. So, thank you so much 'Team Cheer Up'! Also, I would suggest watching the real videos of cheerleading tradition of Yonsei University in Korea because it is really cool.

Coming straight to the point in the beginning itself of this review: WATCH THIS DRAMA if you love romcoms! Watch this for the comic elements! There were so many times when I had to pause the show just to laugh properly. Yoo In-na was adorable and crazy as the FL. I loved her! I had already seen her kdrama 'Touch Your Heart' which is also really amazing. This was the first time I was watching the ML but I equally loved him. I am now planning to watch 'My Holo Love' which I heard is very good. So, this was such a light and feel good drama which portrayed the complexities of human emotions in romantic relationships very well. While the drama did add comic elements to things like cheating, breakup, divorce, etc., but they did it so well while still showing the underlying sorrow and despair that comes with it. The episodes showing the breakup of the FL when she was trying so hard to pull herself up and the way she felt (helpless and forgiving of her BF's cheating and gaslighting) even when she was wronged, felt so real. Also, it showed that a stoic ML who always acts cool and doesn't show his emotions can be suffocating to a partner in a relationship. Usually kdramas hypes these kind of characters but here they showed the flaws as well. The helplessness and the suffocation that a person feels when one is left without love and affections in a relationship was portrayed very nicely. No matter how strong one tries to act, they all feel hurt when their love isn't reciprocated. But, the drama showed that just because we breakup, doesn't mean we should stop giving love a chance. It highlighted that a lot of times relationship fails not because of lack of love rather lack of communication. And they portrayed this without being a heavy drama. It was breezy yet meaningful. So, do give this drama a try as it is such a morale booster. It gives the message that every cloud has a silver lining and that whatever struggle one is going through in life relationship-wise, that 'this too shall pass'.

PLEASE WATCH THIS DRAMA! IT IS SO WORTH WATCHING. [This is the first time I am writing a review for a drama which is still ongoing.] Business Proposal is such a feel good and a happy drama. I can't help but feel warm and mushy while watching it. My face literally hurts from all the smiling and laughing. My verdict - this is definitely going to be among my top favorite dramas. The storyline is clichéd but works great because of such a wonderful cast. I mean I am invested 100% in this drama. There are so many moments and scenes that makes you blush and feel the butterflies. There are times when I am legit kicking under my blanket because the drama makes you feel all the feels. It is rare that FLs grabs my attention like this in kdramas where you have such great and charming MLs. We have mostly heard about mindblowing bromance in kdramas. But the relationship between the FLs is so cute and crazy. I mean no drama has ever potrayed friendships between two FLs like this drama. Tbh, I never thought i would be so excited for Mondays and Tuesdays because of this drama. The cliffhangers are great as it keeps the show super interesting. I usually watch dramas after all their episodes are out. However, I thought I should give a try to an ongoing drama. Well, I sometimes wish I had a time machine so that I could travel to future and binge watch all the episodes at one go; but the anticipation of new episodes every week makes watching this kdrama a worthwhile experience!