My Secret Romance

• Korean: 애타는 로맨스
• Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Secret_Romance
• Rating: 5/6 
• Posted: March 28, 2024

For any Korean TV series, and particularly relevant to romantic comedies, if the characters can be honest to themselves and to each other, the number of episodes would be halved. This show takes that to the next level. Don't get me wrong, it's fun to watch characters falling in love without them realising so, and it's fun rooting for them to get there, enjoying the wild ride along the way. But this show has a specific subplot that still doesn't sit right with me.

About two-thirds into the show, the MMC started thinking that the one-night stand he had with the FMC 3 years ago had resulted in a son. He started treating the FMC more warmly and even more or less accepted the child as his own — without having ever talked to the FMC. Of course any viewer with some K drama experience can foresee how the FMC can be come upset and perhaps even feel betrayed once the truth comes out that the child is not hers. To no one's surprise, the truth eventually comes out with the exact consequences I have expected. I think my main complaint about this plot device is that it should have happened way earlier in the show.

But I didn't take points off for that plot device; I think it is not the most interesting thing to put on screen but I understand the point of including the social stigma from one-night stands and from having a child out of wedlock (once again, the social stigma makes sense in the context of the conservative Korean culture; for myself, I don't care so much) as obstacles for the main characters to overcome. What I took points off for is personal taste really: I think the FMC is a bit indecisive and hugs her male friend (who has professed to her before which she rejected) a bit too much. I like FMCs who are strong and decisive and set clear boundary between friends and love interests. In many social circles, it is customary to hug friends of the opposite sex and I'm not uncomfortable with this. But if the friend has shown tendency to cross this boundary before, I would like to see a stronger resolve like the FMC from My Roommate Is a Gumiho.

By the way, this show was released in 2017 and Business Proposal in 2022, and both shows has one thing common: the FMC in My Secret Romance is a nutritionist, while the FMC in the latter show is a food researcher. Both shows are cute and fun in their own ways, and this show actually has a proper ending unlike Business Proposal which just ends abruptly.