To sum up : "This drama is simply a work of art". Never thought I would ever give a perfect 10 to any kdrama, but to my utter delight, this one met my exacting standards. I almost didn’t watch this, because the synopsis was so unappealing. "Older married woman has affair with a kid young enough to be her son" … uhh..thanks, I'll pass … not interested in watching successful people who ought to be content with their lives creating artificial angst for themselves and the viewers. Just goes to show how wrong pre-conceived notions can be. I was bored one day and since it was on Netflix, I just started watching it. The first episode was a little random and almost lost me … but …just hang in there, because starting from the 2nd episode, the story just took off, and wow, what a ride it was from that point onwards! The acting, the music, the direction, the photography, the sets/lighting. ….every single scene seemed to be so lovingly put together and the result was a work of art. The main female protagonist was NOT a korean version of Madame Bovary I thought she would be -- instead, here was one of the best female characters I've seen on screen, korean or otherwise. She was neither a "good woman" or a "bad woman" -- instead she was beautifully multi-layered with enough strengths and failings to fill a book. She was steely strong and scarily manipulative when it came to her business dealings, her face never betraying her inner emotions and remaining calm under intense pressure she faced every day. She was always a step ahead of the game and it amazed me how she openly played the "triple agent" in the nasty chaebol family she was working for (you have to watch it to understand the context). She was blatantly ambitious and didn’t hesitate to hurt people along the way if it meant getting ahead. On the other hand, deep inside the "unspoilt" part of her, she loved the piano. And she loved it with passion. This is what brings the young self-taught genius pianist and her together in the first place. Their slowly growing love (slow on her end, but almost immediate on his) is so intense that it gave me goose bumps and butterflies several times. Their passion for each other is so uniquely and interestingly depicted that I have to bow down to the director and writer. It is not your typical "slow-mo dramatic kiss and hug" scene. Instead, we often see only the back of their heads when they are kissing. But the set-up, the background music, the slightest flicker on the actors' faces, their body movements are what builds up the crackling sexual tension. SPOILER ahead******* : the pivotal scene when they first make love was so beautifully filmed it just took my breath way. Instead of showing us the details, the director has us listen to the lovers' voice over as they softly confide their fears to each other and comfort each other, while the camera pans over several innocuous inanimate objects in the shabby apartment, carefully avoiding any glimpse of the bed. The net effect : the most tuggingly-intimate love scene I've ever seen. ******SPOILER END Both the actors have done a stellar job in portraying their characters with great nuance and complexity. And they fit together so well and naturally that the age difference just melts. Theirs is the best chemistry I've seen …period …they just burn the screen up together. I wonder how watching the actual filming on the set would have been. Their scenes together were so real and so palpable. In the end, the "affair" actually takes a backseat . The story is really about her self-discovery and how she gets the courage to own up to her mistakes and start life all over again with a clean slate. I LOVED the ending -- it was perfect and I wouldnt have it any other way. The actor who played the poor husband (who is not a very sympathetic character anyway) actually did rather a remarkable job in pulling it off. He was not so unsympathetic that you hate him. In fact, I felt a little sorry for him, not because his wife leaves him (they were never "together" emotionally to start with), but because he was really not capable in his career despite ambitions. He just ended playing puppet to his superiors but was always on the losing end. So he was just plain weak …. but the actor succeeded in not making him totally despicable. Lastly, this drama would NOT have been the same without the astounding music. I would even go so far as to say that the music is truly the main character in the entire show. Thanks to this show, I was introduced to some amazing piano pieces that I have downloaded and listen to frequently. This drama has truly spoilt me for all future kdramas, and I really hope and wish this team of director/writer would come together again and do another show.