ONLY WATCH THIS IF YOU LOVE THE VISUALS

I originally highly anticipated watching this drama due to the visuals (Roh Jeong-eui, Lee Chae-min) plus even knowing that it would be a high school drama with revenge played in, something like Elite. I maintained this impression of this drama throughout the first episode, not knowing that frankly it was the best episode, and everything would be going downhill from then. (first three episodes were ok)

Messy plot
The main reason that I despise this drama is because of its messy plot and characters, which left me angry and VERY CONFUSED. The writer was too greedy and wanted to add too many elements to this drama, and in the end, didn’t even manage to execute one perfectly. The main plot of the story revolved around Kang Ha (main lead) avenging the death of his brother who died from a car crash, then for the whole drama, it was hinting that his death was caused by Ri-an indirectly as his friends bullied him. However, the end revealed that his death was caused by the teacher who crashed into him. There, I started to wonder, then why did they blame Ri-an and Jae I for the whole drama, painting them as the antagonists of the show who caused his death????? And to be honest, they weren’t even the one bullying him, they were just onlookers, and I understand that onlookers are at fault too, but are they really the ones to blame???? I really couldn’t understand this part (or could someone explain to me), and I felt that the writer just wanted to tie these two issues together (mystery/ death + bullying), but it was done terribly. Another one of the many things I couldn't understand is why are there so many people blackmailing Jae I and Ri-an with the making-out clip, like why does everyone have the clip including Jae I’s brother who took the clip, principal’s son, and Ri-an’s mother. I don’t even understand what’s wrong with them being together, I mean they are both from wealthy families, and I know they mentioned that their parent’s company are in conflict or whatever, but it’s not like they are transcending the status quo to be together. The story also covers controversial issues such as Jae I’s unintended pregnancy, teacher student in a romantic relationship, but truthfully, it just didn’t work out that well.

Messy characters and relationships
Going into the drama, I was fully prepared to ship Kang Ha and Jae I as their visuals were LIT and they had great chemistry in episode 1. However, after finishing the drama, I couldn’t even tell what their relationship was. Jae I has a fluctuating attitude towards Kang Ha, sometimes acting friendly, then other times acting cold to Kang Ha. For instance, she was acting cold to Kang Ha in the first episode, then suddenly in the second episode, they acted like friends and she even invited him to her room, and let him sleep on her shoulder. I was like what????, she was still acting like she didn’t care about his existence at all, then suddenly they developed this intimate relationship?? Then in episode 3, Jae I becomes cold again, but then in later episodes Jae I confesses to Kang Ha about the death of the scholarship kid (which is like her deepest secret??) and even tells Kang Ha at some point that he is her most trusted person. I really couldn’t comprehend their relationship, and I think it was due to poor writing that failed to depict the development of their connection. Despite all these, I couldn’t resist crying in the scene where Jae I and Ri-an ride the bicycle and eat the strawberry toast. To me, those were moments that belonged to and were dedicated to Kang Ha and Jae I, it was when they started to develop a romantic interest towards each other. But then, Jae I decided to do all these with Ri-an?! This really just shows that Jae I doesn’t even care or had any romantic interest in Kang Ha. That was the scene that hurt me the most.

There were many more poorly written relationships, but here I will talk about Jae I and He Ra. To be honest, I still don’t understand why Jae I was being so mean to He Ra in the first few episodes, it even seemed to me that she was being mean on purpose. She just ordered her friend around like she was her subject (eg. telling her to search the anonymous instagram user). Then Jae I continues to be mean by giving off vibes that she doesn't care whether He Ra likes Ri-ah or not, and even hints that He Ra wouldn’t have a chance. Then, she decides not to help He Ra by not letting their fathers meet. I really didn’t understand why Jae I had to do all these. Then, at last, they become friends again because Jae I asks her father to help He Ra. Like what????? So essentially, their friendship is resolved because of money!!. She didn’t even try to show any personal and nice gestures for her friend, and instead just asks her father whom she despises to help????

Execution → show not tell, the writer did TERRIBLE
The lines were written terribly in this drama. It reached the intention of telling us what characters feel or what happened, but it didn’t SHOW. For example Jae I says “Ri-an is my everything”. Since they suddenly got back together, Jae I just keeps saying or expressing something like that. But frankly, I really couldn’t see that she was still madly in love with him in all the previous episodes. Kang Ha also expresses his love for Jae I later through the lines of the principal's son, but similarly I couldn’t see how and when he fell in love with Jae I. The other even worst part of this drama is that mysteries are not revealed gradually, instead the characters just suddenly know the answers. For example, Jae I just suddenly knows that U Jin and the teacher have a relationship. The murderer of the drama is also just suddenly uncovered, Kang Ha didn’t even take part in investigating the death, and U Jin just decides to hand in the video evidence because of his guilt. The writer did such a terrible job in the mystery part of uncovering the crime. The last few episodes were the worst, as every time the characters met up, they were either saying sorry or asking someone to say sorry, or saying how wrong they were. (especially Jae I, Kang Ha, and Ri-an). They could have just depicted better scenes of them that showcased the character’s relationship.

Huge plot holes that the writer didn’t even bother to fill in
For instance, they didn’t explain why Kang Ha’s brother had the pen with the camera in his pocket. I know that it acted as a great tool for recording the evidence of the teacher crashing into him, but they didn't even explain why Kang Ha’s brother had that pen all along. Secondly, why didn’t they destroy this important evidence, like why would the teacher even leave the pen in the car, she would have immediately destroyed it if she really didn’t want people to find out that she killed someone and also had an inappropriate relationship with her student. This also leads me to ask: so what was Jae I and Kang Ha’s brother actually discussing in the scene where they were talking and Jae I found out his camera pen. Were they talking about the pregnancy? And why was Kang Ha’s brother recording her? (as it seems)

As a side note, I also want to ask what did Jae I’s mother do that made Jae I’ father despise her that much. Her dad keep saying you're becoming the type of woman your mother was, but what did her mother actually do?

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