What happens when your most embarrassing teenage memory walks back into your life wearing a designer suit and carrying the title of “boss”? That’s the delightfully awkward premise of My Dearest Nemesis, tvN’s latest offering in the romantic comedy space.
The story follows Baek Su-jeong (Moon Ga-young) and Ban Ju-yeon (Choi Hyun-wook), who first connected through their online game characters during their school days, only to reunite as boss and employee 16 years later. Back then, Su-jeong was a high school senior who fell for a player nicknamed “Black Dragon,” only to discover at their first meeting that he was an awkward middle schooler. The humiliation was mutual, the damage lasting. Now, fate has thrown them together again at Yongseong Department Store, and the past isn’t quite ready to stay buried.
What Works
Let’s start with the good news: if you’re looking for a breezy, easy watch that won’t demand too much emotional investment, My Dearest Nemesis delivers exactly that. This is comfort food television, the kind of drama you can watch after a long day when your brain needs a break from heavier fare.
The drama achieved impressive global reach, topping streaming charts in 136 countries including the U.S., U.K., France, Brazil, Mexico, India and the United Arab Emirates, which speaks to its broad appeal. There’s something universally relatable about second chances and the mortification of running into someone who witnessed your most cringe-worthy moments.
Moon Ga-young brings her signature charm to the role of Su-jeong, playing the competent career woman with warmth and relatability. Her character is refreshingly capable, a skilled planner who knows her worth in the workplace, even if her personal life gets a bit messy when her past literally becomes her present.
The production values are solid throughout. The drama looks polished, with the corporate setting feeling authentic and the cinematography maintaining a bright, optimistic tone that matches the story’s lighter aspirations. And that OST? The opening song “Stay” has that nostalgic, dreamy quality that longtime K-drama fans will appreciate.
But here’s where the drama truly shines: the second couple. Im Se-mi and Kwak Si-yang’s characters bring an unexpected depth and freshness to the story. Their dynamic feels less predictable, their chemistry more natural, and honestly, there were moments when their scenes outshone the main romance. They got the balance right between playful banter and genuine connection.
Where It Stumbles
Now for the elephant in the room: the chemistry between our leads is puzzling at best, non-existent at worst. For a romantic comedy, this is obviously a problem. Moon and Choi are both talented actors with solid track records, but something fundamental didn’t click between them. Their interactions often felt more like siblings than lovers, lacking the spark that makes viewers root for a couple.
Part of the issue may be the age dynamic at play. While the drama features an older woman/younger man pairing, which can be refreshing, the execution here makes the gap feel more pronounced than intended. Choi Hyun-wook, despite his talent shown in previous works like Twinkling Watermelon, seems to have jumped into adult roles before developing the maturity needed to pull off a convincing romantic lead opposite Moon Ga-young. His character Ban Ju-yeon is written with childish quirks that, instead of being endearing, make him seem less like a capable chairman and more like he’s playing dress-up in his father’s clothes.
The writing doesn’t do the leads any favors either. The plot follows the well-worn path of nearly every office romance you’ve seen: childhood connection, accidental reunion, workplace complications, interfering family members, misunderstandings that could be cleared up with one honest conversation. While the storyline was somewhat ordinary, combining business proposal elements with enemies-to-lovers tropes, there’s precious little innovation to distinguish this from the pack.
Around episode six, the drama seems to lose its focus, pivoting from rom-com hijinks to melodramatic territory with the male lead’s family trauma taking center stage. This tonal shift feels jarring and unearned, as if the writers suddenly remembered they needed to add “depth” but forgot to lay the groundwork. The pacing suffers, with some viewers reporting they gave up around this point because the energy that made the early episodes watchable had completely dissipated.
Su-jeong’s reaction to discovering Ju-yeon’s identity in the present day also feels overblown. Her prolonged cold treatment comes across as cruel rather than justified, and after 16 years, her failure to mature past that adolescent hurt makes her seem stuck rather than sympathetic.
The Bigger Picture
My Dearest Nemesis represents both the strength and weakness of formulaic K-drama rom-coms. On one hand, there’s comfort in familiarity, in knowing exactly what beats to expect and getting exactly that. The drama knows its lane and mostly stays in it, which means it’s perfect for viewers who want something light and undemanding.
On the other hand, when a drama plays it this safe, it risks being forgettable. With only 12 episodes, there should be room for tighter storytelling and more memorable moments, but instead, we get a stretched-out narrative that repeats familiar patterns without adding its own voice to the conversation.
The production team behind this, Studio Dragon, has given us phenomenal shows like Crash Landing on You and Kingdom, so we know they’re capable of brilliance. This feels like a project that got greenlit based on the marketability of the leads and the popularity of the source webtoon without anyone asking the harder questions about what would make this story worth telling in 2025.
Final Verdict
My Dearest Nemesis is a drama that’s easier to respect than to love. It’s competently made, features attractive leads, and won’t offend anyone’s sensibilities. If you’re new to K-dramas and want to dip your toe into the office romance subgenre, this is an accessible entry point. If you’re a die-hard rom-com fan who can forgive weak chemistry in exchange for pretty people in pretty clothes having mildly entertaining workplace adventures, you’ll find enough here to keep you watching.
But if you’re looking for something that will stick with you after the final episode ends, if you want a romance that makes your heart race or characters whose journey truly moves you, this probably isn’t it. It’s the drama equivalent of empty calories: satisfying in the moment, forgotten by tomorrow.
Watch if: You need something light and easy, you’re a fan of Moon Ga-young or Choi Hyun-wook regardless of chemistry, you enjoy office romances even when they’re by-the-numbers, or you’re curious about the excellent second couple.
Skip if: Weak romantic chemistry is a dealbreaker for you, you’re tired of predictable rom-com plots, or you have limited drama-watching time and want something more memorable.
Have you watched My Dearest Nemesis? What did you think of the leads’ chemistry? Let me know in the comments whether you found this to be a charming comfort watch or a forgettable miss!
