The short version? Goblin wannabe with worse story, worse setting, worse chemistry, and infinitely worse acting. Go watch Goblin instead.

After failing to bring myself to open the next episode on multiple occasions, even in times of extreme boredom and suffering from a long drama drought, I've decided that this is it. The show is not worth it.

---

The trailers and concept photos looked great. The premise looked great (but reliant on execution). The actors looked their part.

So far, 4 episodes in, and that's all this drama has to offer. Every ounce of energy was invested into making the leads look as attractive as possible. Their impeccable outfits, their perfectly coiffed hair -- only the overzealous filtered lens leaves something to be desired. But the story, the pacing, the direction, and last but not least, the ACTING, is nothing short of atrocious.

For rom-coms, you don't necessarily need a novel concept to make a good, enjoyable watch. And this is certainly no original plot. However, when the plot is predictable, a heavier burden is placed on the cast. Business Proposal notably makes a tired story come alive with the superb chemistry amongst its cast. But from what I've seen so far from Song Kang, I'm sorry to say that the man cannot act to save his life, and this drama is no exception. I haven't watched enough from Kim Yoo-Jung to say anything about her acting in general, but she is not good here either. In their defense, the dialogue is stunted, and the story has no flow. Their encounters and interactions are incredibly forced. Certain story elements are nothing short of cringe. Perhaps TOO MUCH of an emphasis was put on their looking absolutely perfect that acting integrity and script delivery was compromised. Either way, I did not feel the chemistry, which is arguably what is supposed to hold up the entire drama.

Aside from the failure to establish a swoonworthy romance and the cringeworthy moments abound, the family power play and serial killer subplots are underwhelming and curiously uncompelling. The company politics in particular are laughably childish and painfully unconvincing. In short, the only reason to watch this drama as of right now is for pure visual enjoyment, because it has nothing else to offer.

Alternative upgrades:
- Park's Marriage Contract is a currently airing drama that's also a rom-com that focuses on a contract marriage with fantastical elements. However, it actually has good pacing and a cohesive storyline that isn't hellbent (see what I did there? ha ha ha.) on being purely aesthetic-centric.
- Goblin is the show that this drama is trying and failing to emulate. It has everything this drama doesn't: good acting, a good balance between romance, comedy, and drama; funny but not cringey banter; chemistry between different actors. Also good acting. Wait, did I mention good acting? Yeah, Goblin has good acting.