I first watched this beautiful drama back in 2020. I loved it. It recently appeared again in my YT feed. It reminded me how beautiful the drama was.

This is a story of two painfully introvert people falling in love. ML and FL are extreme introverts. They often struggle saying “No” to people, they struggle with expressing themselves and are sometimes taken advantage of. There is a huge gap between how gifted the ML vs how ordinary our FL is. This gap makes her second guess their relationship. But in spite of all of that, they find love.

Our ML is a naturally gifted, elite pianist. But he is exhausted by the constant pressures of people’s expectations. He has been so busy in meeting those, he has come to hate his skills. On the other hand our FL is very mediocre with her chosen instrument. She is painfully aware of it. People around her like to tell her that. Even her family, although loving, reminds her of that. She yearns to be better at it. She tries, but is unable to overcome her natural lack of talent. When she asks Park Joon Young, “do you know what it is to lack the talent”?, you can feel her pain. It gives him and us a pause. How painful it is to know that you have hit your limit and no matter how much you try, you are going to get better at something you love? PJY is so bloody talented that he takes it all for granted. Not his fault but he is so immersed in his own troubles that he’s forgotten to count his blessings. Her one remark reminds him of that. Just beautiful.

I love how the ML and FL’s characters are realistically flawed. They are not perfect but together they work wonderfully. It’s very easy to mistake CSA for a weak person. She is not weak. She is just an introvert. But she can assert herself when needed. She breaks it off with PJY when it becomes difficult for her and irrespective of possible repercussions says “No” to her catty professor.

PJY is also a very complex character. He is struggling with his family situation, exhausted by constant pressures; he values her friendship, asks her to wait for him but also loses his patience when she keeps bringing up the gap between their natural talents. During the span of the drama, he learns how to let go of his past, learns to love his gift again and comes to appreciate CSA for her perseverance and love.

The story is wonderful, music more so. The side characters are realistic, at times bratty but overall good people. This is not a lighthearted fluff. It’s a serious depiction of beautiful as well as painful sides of love.