This series is about the cutthroat industry of private for-profit schools in Korea. A thriving industry that has parents overly involved and controlling of their children’s lives, and leaves their kids struggling with stress, pressure and all the hardship that comes with it. The story follows former national athlete Nam Haeng-Seon (Jeon Do-yeon) who quit her dream to raise her niece, Nam Hae-yi (Roh Yoon-seo) and has a banchan shop. She is the primary caregiver for her brother - who has autism - and is hardworking, cheerful but not that good at studying. Hae-yi is incredibly bright, but understanding that her family doesn’t have much money, has managed to get by on her own. Things begin to change as she approaches her University entrance exam and she realises she needs to get into a cram school to keep up with her peers. Choi Chi-yeon (Jung Kyung-ho is a star private school teacher. Brilliant at maths, and sought out by mothers of students across Seoul, he is deeply unhappy. His assistant Ji Dong-hee (Shin Jae-ha) being his sole friend and confidant. Fate intervenes bringing Haeng-Seon into Chi-yeon’s life.


Full disclosure, it is a Noona romance - meaning the male lead is younger than the female lead. So if that’s not for you, this may be a skip. For me though, the romance between Haeng-Seon and Chi-yeon hit all the right moments for me. The push and pull, the genuine care and respect for one another? Couple goals. Chi-yeon basically shoots heart eyes at Haeng-seon everytime he sees her. This is something I can recognize consistently from characters that Jung Kyung-ho likes to play ( _One More Happy Ending, Beating Again, and Hospital Playlist are examples_) - this man likes to play men who are head over heels for their ladies. We stan a loving king. :heart_eyes:

The real strength of the show though? The family dynamics between all the members of the Nam family and the comparison between all the other students we saw. Haeng-Seon does her absolute best to support Hae-yi in everything she does, even if she doesn’t have the ability to understand and navigate the after school politics like the other mothers do. When she realises she has to get in on the game, she is noticeably different from the other Mom’s and is treated as such by them. She doesn’t allow herself to stoop to their level to get what she wants, and that is so apparent in how Hae-yi behaves later on in the series when faced with a moral conflict.
These Nam women have MORALS and we love to see them.

The storylines regarding the cram school Moms and the sudden serial killer plot did tie up maybe too nicely for me, but this is kdrama land and I should be grateful they were tied up at all. And, that being said, the secondary characters in this show were excellent even when we loved to hate them or knew from the very beginning they were the villain. (If so hot, why so evil??)
All and all, this is a simple, easy watch. I love that the outfit styling felt so 80s - and apparently impacted floral blouses increasing in sales in Korea. That is the Nam Haeng-seon effect. I enjoyed this very much.