Interesting story, romance makes no sense

This drama had a lot of potential and there were many parts I liked, but the romantic parts have ruined it for me and I don't think I can keep watching because of that. The cast is really cool and like many other reviewers have said the diversity and attention to social issues was a big plus for this drama because they make it stand out from many other dramas and add interesting, realistic facets to the story. I also loved the revenge storyline, and Yoo Jae Myung and Ahn Bo Hyun were able to elicit a strong emotional reaction with their portrayals of their characters. Just the first few episodes inspired fury, grief, pride, happiness, and determination. Additionally, he drama made an interesting commentary on class and corruption.

However, where the drama really fell short for me was the romance. It was not only unnecessary, but also left me confused as if I were missing something. Park Sae Ro Yi's crush on Oh Soo Ah seemed to pop up out of nowhere, but was sweet at the beginning and the story provided enough context and explanation that I was able to accept it even if it seemed a bit farfetched. However, as time passed and the story progressed,Sae Ro Yi's romantic feelings for Oh Soo Ah began to make less and less sense. His primary goal in life was to get revenge for his father's death and yet he was completely willing to accept the fact that she had devoted 7+ years of her life to work for the family responsible for his dad's death and the subsequent cover-up? Additionally, his crush lasted years and years without any indication that she reciprocated his feelings even though he had only been close with her for a short time and hadn't even had contact with her for 7 years? And yet their relationship made more sense to me than the romance pushed between Sae Ro Yi and Jo Yi Seo.

While I really appreciated Jo Yi Seo as an interesting addition to the plot line as well as her general bad*ss-ery, she was an overall unlikeable character. She and Sae Ro Yi had little in common and no visible chemistry. While I am sometimes okay with an age gap between couples in dramas, the age difference was far too clear in Sae Ro Yi and Yi Seo's relationship to overlook. While Yi Seo was able to help Sae Ro Yi with his business using her experience and connections; emotionally, the two were almost never on the same page. Additionally, on multiple occasions Yi Seo got in between Sae Ro Yi and his actual crush, Soo Ah, which I thought should have drawn Sae Ro Yi away from Yi Seo instead of toward her. Every time the two of them appeared together on screen I found myself wondering "Am I meant to want them to get together?" Because their relationship made absolutely no sense. The scene that made this clear for me was when Sae Ro Yi allowed Yi Seo to tag along on his trip to visit the detective who had mishandled his case and began telling her all about his life. Because Sae Ro Yi had never been open about his emotions, plans, or experiences before (not even telling his Soo Ah who had been around for his dad's death and he supposedly had feelings for) and because Yi Seo had never expressed empathy or interest in anyone else (including her supposed best friend) this scene seemed wildly out of character for both of them and left me completely confused. Was I meant to believe that because of their "romantic attraction" they were going to act like completely different people? Even when they had no reason to be romantically attracted to each other in the first place? Instead of adding to the story and drawing my attention like romantic plot-lines often do, I found myself getting irritated with the characters and the story every time there was even a hint of romance. This unnecessary addition to the drama really hurt the story instead of helping it.

Overall, the drama has a lot of potential, and perhaps I will eventually end up finishing it by simply skipping over any romantic aspects. But because the love interests are such integral parts of the story, I fear I will miss out on important plot points if I don't watch the emotionally confusing and out-of-character romantic moments.

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