Perseverance is what is needed for this drama. Just know that everything works out in the end. This is a drama that you will feel pain through angst and toxicity in the moment; but when you reflect back, you realize that it was just realistic. It takes a lot of work from others and self to turn a toxic bottomless pit into a productive/contributing/positive member of society.
I would have rated "story" higher (maybe a 9 or 9.5) because of its well constructed character development (also the FL and ML are mature but cute...nothing dumb about their love story), but I had to penalize for the internal pain the toxic characters caused me.
And while the story does live up to the "drama" genre, I don't think anything is exaggerated. If anything, maybe just the concentration of toxicity of several characters seems too coincidental.
As a warning, I wouldn't attempt to binge this drama in one go. You might accidentally punch your computer. But if you have patience and appreciate a realistic drama with believable character development, sit back and enjoy in small doses.