I absolutely love separated lovers/ second chance romances because I feel like you get so much angst, longing, yearning, regret, hate, love, and resentment that you just don’t get with a straight laced love story.

There is just something special about two people completely in tune with each other who life turns into strangers and then, time brings back together.

They don’t know who they are anymore but they know a part of each other nobody else does and when they are together, immediately everything that they were, everything that they lost and everything they could be bubbles up between them.

It’s that bubbling angst pot of love and loss that I NEED to see.

✔️ What comes after love nails all of the above. Hong and Jungo meet in the most natural of ways, they fall in love the most natural of ways and they fall apart in the most natural way.

✔️ The chemistry between the two leads is outstanding and you believe every emotion. From the initial puppy love, to the gradual soul deep connection to the budding frustration to the heartbreaking separation and then, the deep, fathomless longing - these two make every scene believable.

✔️The acting is excellent and I think this might as well be Lee Se Young’s best role. She is such a relatable and lovable character. A girl who left home to reach her dreams in another country only to meet the love of her life. A woman who realises she has to give up her love for her sanity. A human who is flawed and hurt and so she withdraws into herself.

Her portrayal of young innocence, chronic isolation, loneliness, hurt and disappointment are all brilliant.

✔️Holding his own against her is the absolutely gorgeous Sakaguchi Kentaro. This was my first time watching him and I was pleasantly surprised by his expressive eyes and very nuanced acting.

Jungo is closed off and doesn’t know how to show his love. The way Kentaro wears his regret and yearning is genuinely moving.

✔️The skinship in this show is very real and mature. The way they interact makes their love believable and the kisses feel electric.

Ultimately, this show doesn’t really have a plot. It’s a character driven story that captures the entire beginning, middle, end and rebirth of a cross barrier love between two people.

✔️It’s very slow paced and realistic and just the kind of show that you want to watch when the mood hits just right and it’s raining outside.

❌ That said, I do think that the plot tended to run a little bit in circles at times, the pacing was too slow in moments and for me, their young puppy love era was the most lacklustre to watch. Especially, the ending episodes with the random misunderstanding, missed timings and them repeating how lonely the FL was in their relationship a trillion times got a bit draggy. Also, I just feel like this kind of story had excellent potential to be a tragedy or have a bittersweet ending, somewhere where the couple got closure but moved on instead of a reunion because there is so much that has happened, so much that has changed about them that cannot be fixed so easily - but oh well, love wins!

✅ Overall, I had a great time just relaxing and vibing with this drama every Friday. Once a week seemed like the perfect pace for it and it felt artistic, emotive and like a little story book with six tiny chapters that acted as a window to the past, present and future for these two.

Overall, a solid watch.