It’s honestly funny how I have now crawled back to K-dramas like I didn’t say I was done with romance in my 2025 new year resolution. I can’t keep up with that particular resolution anymore because I had to tell myself the truth, K-dramas are also my way of escaping from the harsh realities of this world. If I am not reading a book, I’ll surely be stuck on one of those Korean romance series. They’re very skilled at taking the most unrealistic concept and wrapping it in emotions. Before you know it, you’re sitting there catching feelings or crying ugly over something that doesn’t even exist in real life.
Synopsis(possible spoilers)
The story follows Seo Mi-rae, a burnt-out webtoon producer who is tired of real-life dating and honestly just tired of life in general. Between her stressful job and lack of time, love has become more of a burden than something exciting.
Everything changes when she gets access to a virtual reality dating service, a Monthly Boyfriend system that allows her to experience different romantic scenarios with ideal partners tailored to her desires. Inside this virtual world, she meets different versions of perfect men. These men are charming, attentive, emotionally available, basically everything real life keeps failing to deliver. And slowly, these experiences start awakening feelings she thought she had buried.
But in real life, there’s Park Kyeong-nam, her colleague and rival. He’s a cold, slightly annoying, and the last person she wants to deal with, yet somehow, he’s the one who begins to stir real emotions in her.
And that’s where the ridiculous conflict begins.
My Thoughts and Rating (because this one really had me thinking)
First of all, let me just say, this concept is insane. Like subscribing to boyfriends? Count me tf in!
The scary part is how believable this virtual dating actually feels. Because the drama taps into something very real, which is how exhausting love has become. The overbearing talking stage, the inconsistency, the emotional unavailability, it’s tiring. So of course, the idea of a perfect partner you can just log into feels tempting. I would fall a million times into such temptations except, I’d want my partner to get mad at me every now and then or we’re done! I am not dealing with someone that smiles through it all. That’d be weird asf.
I’m done rambling.
What really got me here is how the drama explores emotional convenience vs emotional truth. In the virtual world, everything is easy. There’s no form of rejection, confusion or heartbreak, just love, exactly how the subscribers want it. But then reality steps in through Kyeong-nam and suddenly things are unpredictable, and frustrating but also real.
If love is perfect, is it still love? Because part of what makes love love is the risk, uncertainty or the fact that the other person has a choice.
About Mi-rae as a character, I really liked how she wasn’t written as someone desperate for love. Her journey isn’t mostly about romance but allowing herself to feel again. Watching her slowly open up, get confused, pull back, and then try again felt very real to me.
The drama does a really good job contrasting both worlds though. The virtual world is colorful, exciting, almost addictive while the real world is dull, stressful and emotionally complicated. This contrast between the two worlds is what makes the story unique. Because it mirrors how a lot of people escape into fantasy when reality becomes too much. Example, me!
But, as much as I enjoyed it, I don’t know why they call it a rom-com. It’s either I forgot to laugh or the supposed jokes were just annoying.
All in all, this is one of those dramas that sounds unserious but actually has something to say. It’s about loneliness, escapism, and the kind of love people think they want versus the kind they actually need. Truthfully, it forced me to think about how easy it is to choose what’s safe over what’s real.
Rating: ⅘
I do recommend this one if you’re one of those folks that’s tired of messy real-life dating. I guess you’ll relate a little too much.
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