yeah. actually when i re-watched this, i thought i was just gonna re-watch this in time pass and only skip to the scenes that made my heart flutter, but i can't stop pressing ep. 1 so there i was. and once i began, i kinda had the determination that i was gonna give it my full undivided attention and really try my best not to compare it to the Japanese version at least once, so i did. and it handsomely paid off.

i don't remember when i first watched this, but it was on TV. so i had some scenes i have not seen then (because we don't have a recorder, we still don't), so i think especially in the second half when the drama was showing how Jan Di-Ji Hoo's chemistry was building and deeply intensifying, i didn't catch that.

another theory i am throwing here is that Yoon Ji Hoo's beauty is something i had a hard time coming to terms with, back then. he's somewhere in the middle of being pretty and manly, and i didn't know what to make of that (i have not seen the works of similar actors to him then, the one i can name now is Lee Jong Suk).

they have the kind of beauty/gorgeousness that you can only appreciate once you watch more of them. in my (toxic) culture, pretty boys like this are very easily mocked by other guys to be effeminate, which obviously they are not. THEY ARE MANLY, AND PRETTY PERIODT.

i almost wanted to score this drama a 10 just like the Japanese version that i have always loved so much, but the ending ruined it for me. it ruined it then, and it still ruined it now.

i think they really rushed through the ending. i find the proposal scene very lackluster, and i also didn't really like the high school graduation prom party scene compared to the Japanese version - it's the finale anyway, i have some liberty to be more harsh here. it really just doesn't give off much impact. but i really do love the fact that both she and Ji Hoo went to attend medical school together to forge a new path for themselves. i find that really wholesome.

also, the one thing that irked me the most is how they totally omitted that Tsukushi saved a man from suicide who later on became the key to helping to turn around Domyouji's company from financial crisis (which became the ultimatum for how his mother can finally accept her). there's nothing about that here, only the fact that we see how Jun Pyo's father finally became awake after the long comma, but they don't even give us a scene of them interacting after he woke up. shame.

i feel sad that with Ji Hoo's quiet personality, it's probably hard for him to find a girl as great as Jan Di as his life partner. but with his newfound profession as a medical doctor, maybe he'll meet someone who's as normal and warm-hearted as Jan Di in the future. i really hope that!

i definitely think that the F4 is the best in the Korean version. but i still love Domyouji Tsukasa more, his character comes across more sharp/crisp and a lot more charismatic than Jun Pyo, maybe because of the lead actor really. i have no comparison for the lead actresses, i think they are both phenomenal in their own ways.

finally, i love how well-balanced this drama is. you get to see the luxurious life of the ultra-rich F4, but also how normal and basic the life of the FL. i find the harmony very seamless and absolutely well fckin done.

i actually revised the score this time from 8.0 to 9.5. KUDOS!