I have no words to describe this feeling, but Twinkling Watermelon is one of the best things that I happened to watch this year. This and Moving got me out of a horrible drama slump, the kind where you want to watch something so much but you still can't manage to focus on anything.

I recommend Twinkling Watermelon to everyone, it is such a perfect and comforting drama. The cast is simply amazing, Hyun Wook is, at this point, the king of high school roles in 90's youth dramas, it's like this boy was created to play soft but cool high school boys, it suits him so well. But it is beautiful to see how all of these roles are different and how he can give layers and emotions to different characters. He still shows so much variety. Ryeoun is so talented and is such a pleasure to watch always, I love his acting so much. They were so perfect in their roles that I cried and laughed with Yi Chan and Eun Gyeol.

I loved every single character from the Watermelon Sugar members and Ma Joo to Yi Chan's grandma. Cheong Ha made me cry so much but I am so happy for her growth and empowerment. Although the father cannot be forgiven for neglecting her throughout her childhood, I am still so grateful that they managed to fix their relationship thanks to Eun Gyeol and that Cheong Ha now has an additional member of her loving family. No one could have portrayed Cheong Ha the way Shin Eun Soo did and I am so amazed by how strong of an actress she is. I found Eun Yu annoying at the start as I couldn't understand her motives and there were so many parts when she was almost on the verge of ruining everything but after a while, I started to enjoy her and Eun Gyeol's banter and goofiness. It was beautiful how she and Eun Gyeol finally understood that they were not there to change anyone's fate but to help their parents fix some of their regrets and enjoy their youth and life's little moments. Everyone in this drama has become my comfort character and I loved all the songs so much. I believe that OSTs really complete a drama and I only truly enjoy a drama if the OST is just as good. The music, the friendship, the nostalgia and the youth of the 90s created pure magic altogether and I will be thinking of this drama for a long time. Usually, with time travel dramas they end up giving a rather unsatisfactory ending but I felt the happiest watching the final half hour of the last episode. I feel like nothing could have been done better. Yes, I hoped that Yi Chan's accident wouldn't have happened, but I had a feeling that the accident was always meant to occur one way or another and that Yi Chan was bound to lose his hearing. However the ending makes up for all of it: Eun Gyeol is finally back with his family, their love and support for each other is just as strong and their life is still what it was always supposed to be: shining and bright, no matter their situation. It was so beautiful to watch Yi Chan and Cheong Ha be so successful and happy, using something they considered their 'weakness' to shine ever more brightly.

And this is not even everything I wanted to say, but like I said above words are not enough for me to describe how good this drama was, and how wonderfully the actors portrayed the beautiful characters in this drama.

Thank you to all the writers, directors and producers for bringing this gem to us. Thanks to the amazing staff and the brilliant actors, main leads and all the support cast, I had the most beautiful time watching this the past couple of months. Thank you for making my autumn 2023 so memorable, I will be thinking about Twinkling Watermelon with affection for a long time ♡

"From time to time, let yourself enjoy the moment. You can never get back your youth. Let yourself twinkle while you can. Do things that make your heart flutter. It won't make your world come crashing down." (Ha Eun Ho)

"Life didn't have to be perfect for it to shine. It's the little moments that make your life twinkle, and happiness is what you experience when those moments come together." (Ha Eun Gyeol)