Warning, spoiler ahead!!!




The show is split into two timelines, several years apart.
We see our duo in college and then several years later as working adults.

PLOT:
Female lead is the only child of a respected middle-class family. Her parents love her and she's been raised well. The only drawback is how controlling her mom is. Mom is an education official who is very controlling and exacting in directing her daughter, all "for the sake of her daughter's future". But nothing that mom has commanded thus far has been truly against the daughter's wishes. When the show opens we are introduced to a young, sheltered girl entering her first year of college, under her mother's strict control, but not unhappy because nothing in her life has been difficult or against her own wishes so far.

Our male lead has a sad past. Coming from a poor fatherless family, he's used his wits and vast intelligence to earn money however he can in order to pay for his mom's medical expenses. He is extremely smart and knows a lot (a lot!!) about computer programming/hacking.
His mom hits a critical stage in her health, leading him to need a large influx of fast money; at the same time a classmate approaches him with a scheme--take a test in my name and I'll pay you... Of course the plot is discovered. As a result, the male lead is expelled from school and must repeat his senior year of high school.
His mom dies. His only remaining family, an older sister, moves to a different town to earn money. He is left alone. Shattered by loss and injustice, we meet him as he enters his first year of college (a year behind schedule), a man alone, determined to learn as fast as possible in order to earn money (ie power and security) for himself, vowing to stay alone and depend on no one.

The fl and ml, classmates, clash from the start.
She wants him to come to obligatory morning review classes since his absence costs the entire class demerits.
He has no intention of attending said review classes since it's a waste of his time and our boy is determined not to let anything or anyone distract him from his main goal of learning and earning money asap.

So begins a game of cat and mouse and one-upmanship. Who can outsmart whom? Who is smarter? Who is stronger? Who is more stubborn?

Eventually, she falls in love with his wit and sheer genius.
Eventually, he falls in love with her tenacity, charm, and doggone stubbornness.

They start dating...

And, predictably, when things are going good, the sh1t hits the fan.

And now the players take their assigned roles for the rest of the show.
Our boy: devil may care attitude, couldn't care less about anyone's opinion of him, determined to succeed and walk his own path.
Our girl: An obedient daughter, but only up to her line in the sand-aka the boy. Completely devoted to him.
The mom: determined to "save" (control) her child and lead (bully/ force) her into a bright future.
Two antagonists : 1) a fellow student, used to being number one in a pond (his hometown) who is suddenly forever reduced to number two after leaping into the ocean (stacked against our genius male lead). 2) an interloper from a different college who's just plain an asshole, with no morals or principles.

Things happen...people are hurt...and we leave our main duo in a very, very bad way...


Leap forward a few years.
Our boy is changed. Our girl is changed.
We meet them again as pale imitations of who they were.
But one thing stays the same: Our boy is determined to succeed, all on his own. And our girl is determined to help him, despite what he wants, regardless of the cost to herself.


My title for this review is a line from Sia's song 'Broken Glass': "But our love's not worth playing chicken with".
To me, this entire show is a high-intensity emotional game of chicken between several players.
* How far can mom push our girl?
* How far can our girl challenge (defy) her parents?
* How much can our girl sacrifice and endure for our boy?
* How much and how long can our boy hurt our girl?
* How much can our girl, and our boy, endure?
* How much are friendship and pride worth to our jealous friend? And which of the two will win in the end?

The chemistry between the leads is one fire. Combustible, with the heat felt through the screen.
Incredible acting by them both.

As characters, I admire the girl very much. She knows what she wants, is realistic about paying the price for it, and is steadfast in pursuing it.
I really wish she'd loved herself more though. Despite that, what some might see as weakness, allowing herself to suffer again and again in her support of him, I see as her making that choice again and again to take on the pain because she loves him and wants him to succeed-no matter the cost. That's strength to me. She knows herself and is willing to pay that high price.

As for him.... I can understand his reasoning. But I wish he'd have been kinder. Or maybe cut her off completely, and not allowed her to help him at all.

But they are both stubborn as hell, lol, neither of them yielding.
Towards the end when they are both able to be honest with each without any barriers, that makes for a beautiful relationship. In the future that strong bond will be unwavering no matter what comes their way. They are two very strong people who don't back down and will do anything for each other.

The mom....
As an educator, I expected more from her.
A greater understanding, and respect, towards her daughter.
And a greater open-mindedness, receptiveness, towards our boy.
Ultimately she very much disappointed me. A self-important hypocritical tyrant. Zero redeeming qualities.
As for the dad, he came through in the end. He always was the gentler parent. I'm okay with him. Decent guy.

The jealous friend/ antagonist #1....
Not being number one is a reality in life. Very very few people can claim that title. As children, we can strive for it. As adults, we must simply strive to be the best possible version of ourselves. That's a lesson he never learned. And he was willing to hurt innocent people deeply because of a childish vendetta instead of accepting reality and growing the hell up.
I don't like his ending, but it is what it is.

MUSIC:
Wonderful. My favorite song of the ost is "Falling You".

REWATCH VALUE:
10/10

HEA:
yes :)