Don't watch this with 2X play speed, Not the best drama ever but definitely not the worst.

Edited after I completed watching it for second time:
Alter Hyeri represents only the happy positive characteristics of EH. Though EH was living a life as her younger sister, she didn’t behave as the real HR. Rather she just dressed up as her and did what Real HR dreamt of doing. However while she lived as EH, her EH personality represented her sadness, loneliness and negative characteristics of herself. So her personality fractured into two selves. As HR, she could live a carefree happy life. She didn’t earn any money, she seems confident about her looks and life. She even chose the ideal dream life partner for herself, JY who is only nice to those whom he cares for. On the contrary, as EH, she was dealing with guilt, facing career problem, she was told she was too old or not accomplished enough.
Surprisingly as HR, EH was able to console both JY and his mom. JY was bitter about life and his loss wasn’t acknowledged by anyone, especially by his mom who even blamed him, causing him more pain. Therefore EH also knew how to solve her own issues. The journey of seeking answers often leads us back to ourselves, where the answers have quietly waited all along.
To be happy she decided to live as HR, even moved to the forest where real HR was lost. But ultimately she discovered how wrong her decision was and how she should process her grief. Most importantly her happiness lies in being with the person she loves. And when she poured out her grief, HO listened patiently, holding space for the weight of her sorrow.
After 12 long years, HO ultimately opened up to EH about the burden of his responsibilities and dysfunctional family situation. It seemed so easy that one might wonder, ‘Then why did he wait so long? Why was he so fearful?’. But isn’t fear supposed to be irrational as it often doesn’t follow any logic? And EH knew how to console him. She knew how to handle him when he was overwhelmed.
And to be honest, the real EH possesses uniquely quirky personality that some people might find it irritating or off-putting. But HO finds her endering, he doesn’t hold her back from being herself; instead, he playfully engages with her while attentively tending to her needs.
And even though if JY didn’t win the girl, his healing began after meeting her. He played a vital role in her healing journey as well.

SHS nailed the character as there was four different personalities : 1. Sad EH, 2. Happy EH as HR, 3. EH pretending to be HR and 4. The real EH who exhibits both the positive and negative characteristics of herself.

SHS and LJW shared such a natural chemistry between them. Their chemistry depicted how comfortable EH and HO are together. The portrayals mirrored the warmth and intimacy of their connection and bond.

What truly disappoints me is the abrupt shift in tone within the storyline. The drama was detail-oriented but there was a redundancy of unnecessary details. There were supporting characters who just wasted time, served no purpose. Some were unbearable. The production team just wasted money on them as these characters just annoyed the viewers. EH's healing should've shown with more details. I wouldn’t mind if the story showed jumps forward in time, at least a few months. And her career suddenly seems to go well. So does it mean she was sabotaging her own career by leading a double life?
The proposal scene doesn’t seem to fit there. It could've been implied some other ways.
Though I don’t dismiss his improvement, HO will need input from those around him from time to time, as he still needs to work on his emotional intelligence.He should see a therapist for his own issues. Fortunately he is surrounded by people who adore him. They will surely guide him.

Lastly I really admired Jion as one of the few sane characters in the drama.
Nevertheless, the writer should not feel disheartened. It is a deep story which requires understanding and maturity. She presented a unique story that I found intriguing enough to invest my time in.
9/10.



Review after 1st watch:
The major issue I found in the drama is the pacing and supporting characters.
1. Some characters are not needed, they just annoyed me and wasted time. They didn’t contribute to the storyline at all.
2. Number of episodes is correct as the storyline didn’t require more episodes.But, in episode 9-10 the whole drama became so dark. EH's pain was portrayed in such a raw way that any viewer can feel it deeply. The anticipation felt so unbearable only to meet the sudden shift of tone. From episode 11-12 drama was filled with lighthearted moments which I find unsettling. These episodes are also enjoyable but I couldn’t enjoy them properly as I still remembered what happened in previous episodes. If one binge watches it in the future, s/he might not feel same way. But a person who was waiting for the episodes for a week may feel the frustration. I think the major problem of a drama should be depicted in the middle of its storyline. So, it should have been shown in episodes 6-7, and then the tone should have started to shift gradually. Then it would have become more believable.
Summary:
The main story is about 3 people with their past trauma. Though there are 4 lead characters, 3 of them got more importance and one character didn’t develop at all ( since that character was perfect all the time, had past issues but overcame them already). The story main focuses on JEH, a 37-year-old with her own issues of childhood and adult life. It is a story of her grief, loneliness and career problem in a male-centric job industry. She is seen without any family or friends. Her EH personality is suffering with responsibilities of life. On the other hand, her HR personality is happy with leading a simple tension free life. She is confident with her looks, straightforward and most importantly happy. I find EH is an extrovert and her EH personality stopped being herself and through HR personality she revealed those latent traits. Also EH is an wise character. Though as EH, she couldn't solve her issues, she knew how to console JY and his mom as HR personality. Later she realised what she herself wants in life to be happy. Sometimes we are already capable of solving our own issues, we are just not aware of that.
Then there is JHO. He is a flawed character. He loves EH and has a pretty bad way of expressing it. I found him an introvert. He has problem in communicating his emotions. He is not a book boyfriend material, not a green flag character mostly shown in many dramas nowadays. But also he is not narcissistic, abusive, toxic blah blah blah. This character had to grow up pretty fast as he was neglected by his father and abandoned by mothers. He surely made mistakes but those are not so bad that he can't be forgiven.
And then there is KJY. He seems very reserved. Deep down we know he is barely living his life. After the death of his elder brother, his grief stricken mom blamed him. From then he is living just to carry the responsibility of his late brother. He fall in love with HR very fast which is unlikely as he is handsome and highly accomplished but again, his good looks or success in job field doesn’t lessen the burden on his heart. He is not a green flag either. He was engulfed in his grief and anger for so long until HR enters into his life as a ray of sunshine.
This drama shows a realistic approach of their character growth. Suppose a character has issues to overcome but certainly s/he will require time to do so. Their progress can't be denied just because the person couldn’t become the ultimate best version of them. S/he still has miles to go but they should be encouraged and guided by others.
Now what I loved:
1. SHS. You can watch it just for her. She was brilliant. She depicted the journey of EH in such a lovely way. EH is not a very likeable character, rather a broken soul. But you can feel her pain, you can't stop falling in love with her.
2. SHS and LJW chemistry : Though I found LJW underperforming here, the chemistry between them felt natural as a couple who were dating for a long time. You can feel the angst and longing between them as a couple who can't move on from each other.
3. Kang Hoon's emotional scenes.
4. Cinematography and details.
Honorable mentions: BHY and her antics, Supervisor Kim and lastly Min Young.

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