Love Affairs in the Afternoon caught me by surprise. I was looking for a short drama to follow along when I happen to click on this while scrolling from the weekly recommended lists - I often find the drama that is 7 to 10 down the list to be my liking, and this was my latest picking!

Clearly this was enjoyed by those who watched it, the story topic is controversial, which is what caught my attention. I hadn't seen the Japanese version but from what I hear, this in comparison is more hopeful and brighter tone than its previous remakes. The two leads are convincing in their roles: the innocent girl meets cute dorky guy. There is a easy chemistry between them, a lightheartness that complements the music choices, and the cinematography. Her friend, the elegant, more daring older lady serves a great purpose to catalyse the story into action. There isn't over the topness, or over-sentimentality in the love story - instead those sweet moments are peppered along as the story develops, and the pacing is just right: the story telling leaves enough room for surprises that makes you keep watching. The story is satisfying and not too cliche, it never underserves or overserves, it explores the theme of adultery carefully and thoughtfully, not dogmatically. It is clever in setting the right mood, and through each character, we see their struggles, their choices, we see them be slaves into their emotions and face the consequences of life before picking themselves up again.

TLDR: Highly recommend it! The drama is good for a weekly drama dose, it is not too heavy, the directing, cast, story is good and the topic in itself is interesting. I might watch the Japanese one in the not so distant future.