Her every waking minute is spent on the sausage quest

I could spin that into something that would fit the tone of the shows, but can't actually be shown in a kdrama.

I really did try to go into this with an open mind and not the salty feelings I may have about No Gain No Love getting shafted in the promotion and finale screentime dept. I even watched this more than once to try to see if I was missing anything.

My takeaway was: this didn't need to exist. The first episode kinda made me embarrassed that I read 19+ webcomics haha. I kept thinking "wow, is it really this cheesy?" Haha
Then I thought maybe this is why there aren't many of these types of live action dramas despite there being many webcomics and webnovels with this theme.

I did like some moments such as when all the billboards were of Kang Ha Jun or when she realized she was in a censored version of her story. Oh and when he kept being shown with the tissue in his nose haha. Those moments made me chuckle. I liked the little making of extra that was cut together with footage of Lee Sang Yi's singing the OST.

Other than that, it's largely forgettable to me. It wasn't even as racy or steamy as people might've been led to believe it would be. Her name was mentioned SO many times in that first episode, that I kinda hated the sound of her name. I don't even remember if it was said as much in episode 2. I also kept thinking about the fact that they recreated scenes because Ja Yeon's hair is black now. (Making me wonder when did they decide to make the spinoff)

Where was Ji Uk's friend? I thought that actor was gonna be in this since he was at the press event (is it called a press conference in SK?). If he wasn't in this, why was he there?

I guess viewers were supposed to be as confused as Ja Yeon because why was the convenience store manager aware of the rules of the world?

I did chuckle at the fact that the actor who plays Yeo Ha Jun really scored with his part. With 1 casting, he was able to play 3 characters haha.

I don't *hate* this show; it's fine and easy to watch. Seems like the actors had fun making it. It's just not particularly memorable to me.

It was really a bad idea.

First, the experience and behavior of Ja-Yeon never aligned with the fact she was written 18+ novel. I mean after 6 months of dating, they were still acting like highschoolers. So they never assumed this part of the story in No Gain No Love, neither in this drama.

Her novel was pretty bad... It reminded me the script of My Secret Romance but at least, this couple was hot!

The story took place when Ja-Yeon hated Gyu-Hyeon so it was not swoony but awkward to watch.

The isekai part was fun but it was better in Extraordinary You or W.

I truly think I'd have enjoyed this more if I'd not seen NGNL, because it sorta creeped me out that Ja-yeon was basically depicted as falling in love with her dad/memory of her first-love Ha-jun/a mental fiction of a guy who wasn't really Gyu-hyun...but then then she woke up thinking she loved a real man who we all know was of questionable moral caliber? For example, the scene where Ja-yeon convinces the sad "I'm not actually real" Not-Ha-jun that he's real enough in her mind was sweet, in story, but creepy if she's conflating this character with Gyu-hyun. If didn't know the real Luck You, I would have found that way cuter.

Spice up Our Love also did make me wonder if NGNL was originally slated for 16 episodes with this material intermixed--and this is key--alongs OTHER STUFF pertaining to Hae-yeong and Ji-uk, but they realized that they needed to edit it all down...and they went too far, and that's why episode 12 of NGNL was a dumpster fire of rushed mischaracterizations.

Anywho, I wish this had been a sexier romp and I wish it weren't all about inventing your ideal man rather than, you know, actually meeting him.

P.S. Real question: Do we all get a bean for this?

P.P.S.

Do I wish they had done more with the actual characters of Ja-yeon and Gyu-hyun? Absolutely. And I've already mentioned how annoyed I am that the marketing and press releases about this were so misleading (not only about it being a "spinoff," which to me implies more than two episodes, but also how spicy it was going to be).

But I still loved it, to the extent that I watched it twice. I mean, it's two things I love, romance webcomics/webnovels (including otomeisekai) and Gyu-hyun/Ja-yeon. It's also a pure romcom! My theory is that the writer of NGNL fell in love with her secondary couple (hence why NGNL gave them so much focus) and then had this crackpot, silly idea that couldn't fit into the main story. Hence, the spinoff was born!

First off, the direction was fantastic. The cinematography, the costumes (can I get some of Isekai Ja-yeon's outfits in real life, please?), just a feast for the eyes. The ending credits were especially adorable, and I love that Lee Sang-yi performed the OST track. It was really fun seeing Ja-yeon's novel, especially seeing the scene that she and Gyu-hyun acted out later as it was meant to be. I would read the HECK out of the webnovel, lol. Also, I said this during NGL, but it's kind of surprising how sexy the actor playing Ha-jun (the real Ha-jun, haha) is capable of being. She had great chemistry with both actors. I do think her chemistry with Ha-jun was more overtly sexy, but that's kind of the point: Gyu-hyun is not a classic, smoldering romance lead. He's pretty dorky.

Second, I liked having this glimpse into Ja-yeon's psyche. She uses writing as escapism and creates stories in which she can receive the unconditional love she feels she's lacking in real life. I'm so glad that by the end of NGNL that will no longer be a fantasy (not just Gyu-hyun but also she'll come to realize how much Hae-yeong loves her, too). I also loved how a lot of “Ha-jun” and Yeon-seo’s interactions parallel actual interactions Ja-yeon and Gyu-hyun will have later on (someone on Reddit also pointed out that the locations they visit are the ones she will put on the map to visit in ep 12! I love easter eggs like that.) What was really notable to me was the moment Ja-yeon fell for "Ha-jun" mirrored the moment she fell for Gyu-hyun, when they both chose to be there for her (Gyu-hyun singing to her, "Ha-jun" rescuing her from the freezer). Ja-yeon is looking for someone who will be loyal and won't leave her, and she found that in "Ha-jun" and later, in real life, Gyu-hyun. I liked how a lot of the dynamics in Spice Up Our Love were similar to dynamics in NGNL, particularly the boss and secretary relationship.

I wish we'd gotten more NGNL characters. I loved seeing Hui-seong, and it was fantastic how they used her. I'm sorry that I told everyone that we were supposed to see Ji-uk and Hae-yeong, apparently I had misread that or maybe had some sort of false memory, idk.

Of course, the spinoff doesn't...

Yeon-seo's cheating ex-boyfriend Do-gyeom (Park Jeong-woo) is so hot. I swooned when he accidentally called her "Yeon-seo" in front of their CEO before correcting himself to "Nutritionist Seo."

Han Ji-hyun and Lee You-jin are hot together. They have chemistry unlike Ja-yeon and Gyu-hyun. For a supposedly R-rated drama, the hottest scene was their drunken one-night stand. I don't understand why Yeon-seo got mad when Ha-joon revealed his identity. He was totally flirting with her, "Was it only worth 200,000 won?" He smiled when he found her employee ID badge. She is a hypocrite, though, when she said that she doesn't play around with food. You're having sex right next to food. Nobody wants to eat contaminated food.

Lee Sang-yi... is not hot, and I hate Bok Gyu, so I tuned out when he took over. Ja-yeon was speaking my mind, "How can that hater be my Ha-joon? I wish you were the male lead instead." I love how she still has a crush on her first love in this spin-off. My favorite scene was when Ja-yeon threw Ha-joon's donkatsu at him, then sweetly handed Secretary Kim a donkatsu with a ketchup heart.

Why was Gyu-hyun's version of Ha-joon so nice? OG Kang Ha-joon was our typical tsundere jerk. His out-of-character kindness made no sense. The way Ha-joon repeated her name "Seo. (pause) Yeon-seo-ssi" ad nauseam got annoying quick.

Ja-yeon having no control over her body during sex is terrifying. If they had actually acted out the ending scene, it would have been rape. I squealed when I thought Exhuma's Lee Do-hyun would appear only to be disappointed he got Song Joong-kied and Cha Eun-wooed. I wish Ha-joon would've been smart and rammed his car into Do-gyeom's Car of Doom.

I'm very sad that our Hae-young and Ji-wook were not in the spin-off, but grateful we were spared of Gyu-hyun's awful chaebol parents. With all the screentime the secondary couple got in No Gain No Love plus a two-episode spin-off, and yet the show still never told us what Ha-joon's hate comment that made Ja-yeon want to die was.

Novel:
1. Not one likable character.
2. Secondhand embarrassment.
3. Why a novel that is all about the "spiciness" is (a) censored, (b) soooo cringe, and (c) so uncomfortable when it comes to the interaction of the leads?

The dialogue was either trying extremely hard to sound (not)sexy, or just straight up uncomfortable ("you wouldn't have done that if you knew I pay your salary", "you're only worth 20k"?????). But at the end they didn't do (show) anything anyway... In NGNL they talked like her novels were art or wtv, not cringe and just basic Wattpad cliche?

Nightmare:
I don't know why they were promoting this drama as if she actually entered her novel, because it makes no sense to think she actually did.
Why would novel Ha Joon look like her hater? Why would the secretary look like real Ha Joon?
Why would some things move super conveniently for the plot while others wouldn't (she changes scenes at the most convenient moments ever, and has someone telling her the rules)? Why are they no rules besides basic plot armor? Why would everything happen in her head without any impact in the real world? I feel like they tried to do a W, but it didn't work.
To me it was just a nightmare.

And a freaking scary one. Let's ignore the "I would sleep with a drunk woman but not a sick one", I just want to know who's brilliant idea was to make Ja Yeon not able to move when a sexual encounter was happening. Wasn't this supposed to be sexy??

And why was this drama trying SO hard? Why was the dialogue so unnatural and cringeworthy? Maybe on mute/without subtitles I could take the "spicy" scenes seriously.
And the trauma dump... Oh boy. I'm not even gonna talk about how the timeline makes the NGNL ship (FUxJY) way weirder.

I need that bad memory eraser.

See, this is why I read the weecaps. @Unit reminded me that I did actually feel bad for Ha Jun when he realized he was a character in a novel. My god, the existential crisis!

Reading weecaps also reminds that I could never write them haha.
I appreciate you weecappers so much haha

Thank you, @ Unit, for this recap. I started watching it when it came out and was so confused that I stopped until the recap was out. Going back to rewatch and finish with your recap as my Cliff notes to see if it makes any more sense! From the Beanie comments I am reading here, I'm feeling that I will be disappointed. But, hoping it will help me get over missing NGNL. Wishful thinking, I fear.

I was hoping for a fun ride but this one was emotional. It was about how and why she became a writer. And I loved it. It could have been better with 4 episodes because everything was very fast. Nonetheless they have amazing chemistry and they're meant to be in every universe.

I'll keep this (relatively) short and sweet: I found this delightful. It was funny, moving, and sweet with just a little bit of spice. As someone who tried and failed to write a romance novel years ago, but who still teaches and talks about writing for a living, I find stories like this about successful writers of light fiction to be escapist and charming.

There are things I could complain about but that would feel disingenuous because the watching experience was so pleasurable for me. I also felt this way about the finale of NGNL, so if you thought it was disappointing trash, then perhaps my opinion on this one won't resonate with you.

Is this the full summary of episodes 1 and 2?

It's cute and has its moments, but you won't be missing anything if you don't watch it. It also adds nothing to the original No Gain No Love series from which it came.

I loved this, it was heartfelt and hilarious.
I actually prefer this over NGNL and wish it would have been 12 episodes instead.
The three main actors were fabulous and in a sideways manner got rid of the problematic character of Bok Gyu Hyun being a lead love interest.
Finally LSY got his time to shine and sing the ost. I personally think he is underated and is a more accomplished actor than the ML of NGNL.
What a missed opportunity for a series.