Romantiek is een bonusboek (2019)

a drama unlike any i've seen

i'm gonna start by saying i never write reviews for anything because it's not my thing, so you can tell this drama moved me to the point of feeling the need to write about it.
first of all, speaking story-wise: i saw a few people complaining that they felt dani's past life as a divorcee and her life as a mother weren't explored enough, and i partially agree, but i chose to see it not as it being something that was excluded from the narrative but instead a choice made to show her story moving forward, and not dwelling too much on the past events. of course that's still part of her, and it shows that her daughter is the most important thing to her, but this story is about her building a new life and i feel like it's meant to inspire women to find their truth and their own charms and talents apart from the things that people use to define them.
so this is not a story about dani the mother, or dani the ex-wife, it's about current dani who decided to live her own life, return to work and meet that inspiration again that fuels her inside. this is made clear on a scene where she tells eunho that she was happy people were calling her by her own name again, because she was being acknowledged as a person. that's what i thought was most beautiful about this drama, and i was SO PLEASED to see that they carried her development until the end without letting the romance part of it outshadow her plot. i've seen countless dramas that do this, and it's the thing that turns me off everytime.
and i liked how they built up eunho's story with writer kang byeongjun too, i feel like this drama successfully balanced a lot of topics without mushing it all together and hoping for the best, it shows that dani has her own life and eunho has his too, and they don't have to make the other one's problems their own, as long as they stay by the other's side to support them through it.
overall, this was such a wholesome and envolving story, it showed a healthy relationship growing without any annoying breakups or angsty fights for the sake of having more story to tell. they had plenty of situations going on that made each episode entertaining and fun, so much that i glued my eyes on the screen and forgot about everything else (and i have ADHD so this says a lot), but without that cheesy overdone format that every romance drama follows (build up of the relationship, they get together for 2 eps, suddenly something happens and they break up until the last two episodes where they somehow solve it and live happily ever after). that's what i enjoyed the most

now i wanna talk about the ML a little. i always knew LJS but hadn't yet watched a drama with him, and i gotta say i was immediately infatuated with him, there's a charm and a grace about this guy that makes him so adorable and dreamy. talking cha eunho wise, AHHH he has become one of my favorite characters. he might be the stereotypical perfect-guy made for viewers to swoon over, but they really hit the jackpot with this one because he's mature, honest, kind, caring, understanding, i just wish he was real ngl. a man like this is very unreal and fictional but i enjoy it because i don't watch dramas to have a glimpse of reality, i watch them to feel warm and fuzzy inside.
when he told dani about his feelings and that it took him long to tell her because she would worry that he might suffer for her, his words really made my heart jump. he delicately told her that loving her never once made him suffer, and she never made him feel pain or frustration. this shows how pure eunho's love for dani is, he saw her so highly that even if they never got involved romantically nothing would change.
he's hardworking, kind to all coworkers despite his high status in the company, even the way he "rejected" haerin was nice and polite, done in a way as to not make her feel embarrassed. he was always honest to his feelings too, that he couldn't get into a serious relationship because he was already in love with someone else.
despite the age difference between him and dani, he was never portrayed as a little boy running after a much wiser and determinated woman, but a well-established and mature guy who deserved to be by her side. this was also partially the portrayal by the two actors, whose chemistry was so genius that the viewer could feel their relationship switching naturally from a noona-dongsaeng dynamic to a man and a woman one. i confess i was scared at first that i would always have that feeling like "ok they love each other but it doesn't feel like THAT, they feel like siblings" but like i said, the actors did a fantastic job together. i think eunho's words perfectly describe it, we don't know the exact point in which the seasons change, but we feel the difference in the air little by little.

about the secondary leads, i love how they both had feelings for the main leads but none of them acted immaturely about it. i feel like in any other kdrama, haerin would be portrayed as the jealous hag who upon discovering the man of her dreams is in love with her coworker/friend, would try to destroy their relationship no matter what. there's even a scene where she tells herself that she likes both of them too much to do anything petty so she accepts the reality and moves on while showing genuine happiness for the two of them.
and on the other side, if this was any other drama, seojun and eunho would continue having a little feud but no, when he was "rejected" by dani he also accepted it like a grown person and didn't bother her again, even after finding out the two were indeed dating. his story was very beautiful, how he kept looking for answers because all he wanted was to be recognized by the father he admired so much. a scene that particularly moved me was when he and eunho went to see writer kang byeongjun. there was such a tenderness and care between the two male characters that's rare to see, how eunho held his hand to comfort him was a genuine display of affection by two men in a drama without it being a gag. what a beautiful scene. also related to seojun, the part where he finds out dani is a mother and a divorcee did a great job at showing that there is still a taboo but also not making a big deal out of it.

the other characters were great too, my only complaint would be the portrayal of director go as a bitter and petty woman who was mad at the world because she never got married or had kids. plus there was very little development on her part until the very last episode where she showed a drastic change and got together with president kim. i wish they had given her character more attention instead of antagonizing her and then giving her a rushed happy ending.

other things i saw people complaining about regarding this drama, plot-wise:
"why did eunho not contact dani after the divorce and didn't help her out with anything?" i think the show made clear that up until then, they weren't contacting each other as much (which is the most realistic thing about the two of them because as an adult i never know what's happening in my friends' lives either) so therefore weren't so present in each other's lives, and also that dani was always the kind of person to keep things a secret from him because she knew he'd worry and go out of his way to help her. i mean she was cleaning his house in secret and living there while making him think she had a house and a stable financial situation after all.
"why did eunho not do anything when director go stole dani's promotional catchphrase?" despite him being a founding member, she was chosen as director of gyeoroo which means she is his superior in a way, and questioning it would make it too obvious that he was close to dani, which at the time would be an uncomfortable situation at their workplace. he questioned her about the marketing credits in the book though, and she gave a response that made sense, so eunho told her she was right but that she didn't have to be rude about it and could've just explained it to dani and the team which i agree. plus i also believe that he takes his workplace very seriously and didn't want his feelings for dani along with his high position to become some kind of advantage to her, because he knows that's not what she wants and that as an adult she's capable of handling her own issues which again, i appreciate so much. despite all his qualities, eunho wasn't portrayed as the prince charming and dani wasn't the damsel in distress, because frankly i've had enough of this kind of dynamic in romance dramas.

the photography is beautiful and the sets used all felt so warm and comfortable that i'm already missing it. this drama really feels like a warm hug and the winter setting makes it even more romantic and lovely. the OST was also great, with songs that had a dash of sweetness and innocence which matched well with the scenarios.

to conclude this very long review which idk if anyone will even read, this has become one of my favorite kdramas for sure and i can imagine myself coming back to it when i need some wholesomeness or when i wanna see lee jongsuk's pretty face again 😙 i started this without expecting anything but it pleasantly surprised me and i think that, just like they said in the show about the books, not everyone will resonate with it and it depends on where you're at mentally when you watch it, but for me it fit perfectly. it's definitely not gonna be for you if you enjoy intense, heart wrenching, angsty romance stories but if you came in looking for a drama that displays a healthy relationship that's easygoing and discomplicated this is the drama for you.
*sighs* now i have to find another drama that suits my taste as much as this one, something tells me it is NOT gonna be easy but 😬😬

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