This is a 2019 South Korean romantic comedy drama with 16, 60-73 minute episodes. Also known as Mellow is My Nature.

6/10 is my rating. First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

This is a story centered around three female friend who are roommates and one of their brothers.

Lim Jin joo (Chun Woo hee) is fresh out of a tumultuous seven year relationship when a script she is writing finally catches the attention of an up and coming director. Finding intrigue in his particular brand of sarcasm, Jin joo falls for the Director, Son Beom soo (Ahn Jae hong). Relatively fresh out of a failed 7 year relationship, her feelings for Beom soo ignite while reworking the script for a 16 episodes drama. Having met his match, Beom soo reciprocates her feelings. Since fate has a sense of humor, it turns out her ex boyfriend, Kim Hwan dong (Lee You jin), is the assistant director and she has to work with him in order to get her big break.

Lee Eun jung (Jeon Yeo been) is still grieving the sudden loss of her fiancé, Hong dae (Han joon woo) to cancer. Her grief is so severe that she suffers persistent complex grief disorder and sees and talks to her departed fiancé as if he were still there. Her younger brother, Lee Hyo bong (Yoon Ji on) has continued living with Eun jung after she attempted suicide and her two friends form part of the team that live together and watch over Eun jung. Hong dae invested in a documentary Eun jung directed and she achieved wealth and success as a result of that project.

Hwang Han joo (Han Ji eun) was the school beauty who was conned in love by a man who was not good at committing to anything. She married him after an unexpected pregnancy but they quickly divorced, Now her three close friends and roommates are helping her raise her young son, Hwang In-kook (Seol Woo Hyung). Her role with the marketing and production department is to ensure the production meets the product placement advertisements that were agreed to. She later is promoted to a producer position.

Review

Based on other reviews, some people really liked this or at least enjoyed it. For me it’s one where I’m trying to figure out what people might’ve liked about it. I guess if you really like pure dramas with very little comedy and you want it to be reality based, then you might enjoy this one. I watch dramas to escape reality so I don’t want or need things to happen exactly as they might in reality. Give me the well-developed happy endings that’s what I want. I was interested in the story throughout most of it although there was nothing super exciting or any huge plot twist or anything like that. The characters were interesting and it was a slice of film industry life. Where I really lost interest in it was towards the ending when it became obvious things were not going to end the way I hoped they would. Sort of a soft ending in that things were wrapped up just not completely or well. In my opinion I would not watch it again nor would I highly recommend somebody else watch it. However, if you particularly like any of the actors, they did very well and the script was written well for what it was

Spoilers

Lim Jin joo (Cho Woo hee) was not a very likable character. In the relationship with Kim Hwan dong (Lee You jin) I thought she was wrong in the arguments a majority of the time. It appeared she picked fights with him for no apparent reason. She really wasn’t different with Son Beom soo (Ahn Jae hong) but he didn’t fight back. He more joked her out of it. I think they were trying for her just being a unique personality who could not match well with just anyone. They tried to portray that some some of the roughervaspects of her personality were due to being that element that made her an edgy writer. This was supposed to lead tona determination that the only one that could handle her was another quirky person such as the somewhat edgy Director. I got where the writers were going with it but I just found her very abrasive and not very likable. I still rooted for the romance a little bit which was why the way they never really fully got together was annoying. They were dating, although still having frequent fights, but nothing much else like a solid long term commitment which was not a very satisfying ending.

Lee Eun jung (Jeon Yeo been) was just a sad case the entire time. I hoped the drama would take the turn that she found new love in Kim Ah-rang (Ryu Abell) a fellow director but that never fully happened. There were some hints they might meet up abroad but nothing definite. She was working on her complex grief but was still imagining Hong dae (Han joon woo) enough it was clear she had not fully let go. So there was no resolution to her grief and we did not get to see her happy in a new relationship.

Hwang Han joo (Han ji eun) says she is ready for a romance and there is all this build up between her and her subordinate, Chu Jae hoon (Gong Myung) and it seems headed for romance. But nope. Instead he seems to get back with his crazy ex, Ha yoon (Mi ram) who they portray as the victim in their very tumultuous relationship when everything I saw it looked like she was the aggressor. But that was an overall trend in this film that no matter how wrong the female appeared, she was in the right, and the man was the wrong one. Then, in the end, she is dating some guy she met at a club who we barely knew anything about. Why did I care she had some random romance? I wanted her with her cute assistant who seemed like her other half. Instead he is back with his personality disorder ex and she is with some rando.

Jung Hye-Jung (Baek Ji won), who was Jin joo’s former boss turned rival script writer has this whole flirtation going with Sung In-Jong (Jung Seung gil) and there is even a bit of a love triangle for awhile. So this leads you to expect she will quit being such a horror with her work and get with In jong who seems to mellow her sharp personality. But we do not know what happens as tge writers just drop that story and there is no outcome with all that build up.

There were a couple of side romances that got very little screen time that were cute but not central enough to carry the story. Eun jung’s younger brother, Lee Hyo bong (Yoon Ji on), marries his partner and moves out because his sister is finally well enough he no longer has to be on suicide watch. Probably the cutest romance of the show was between Lee So min (Lee joo bin) and her manager Lee Min joon (Kim Myung joon) as they had been friends and it was obvious he felt more for her. So them realizing their feelings and getting together was heart warming,good friendships can stand in for love,

Overall it felt like the writers wanted to convey a proposal is not necessary for a happy ending, good friendships can stand in for love, and strong independent women do not need a man. A disappointing surprise for me to find in a Korean drama.

#BeMelodramatic #MellowIsMyNature #HanJiEun #JeonYeoBeen #AhnJaeHong #ChunWooHee #HanJoonWoo #YoonJiOn #SeolWooHyung