No Gain No Love Ep 1 Hit or Miss? Find out if Shin Min Ah and Kim Young Dae managed to impress with rom-com premiere

No Gain No Love starring Shin Min Ah and Kim Young Dae has premiered, let’s check whether the rom-com checks all the boxes and impresses or not.

Updated on Aug 28, 2024  |  11:56 AM IST |  280.3K
Shin Min Ah and Kim Young Dae in No Gain No Love; Image: tvN
Shin Min Ah and Kim Young Dae in No Gain No Love; Image: tvN

No Gain No Love, starring Shin Min Ah and Kim Young Dae, is one of the highly anticipated K-dramas of the year since it also marks the rom-com queen’s return to the genre. No Gain No Love premiered on August 26, 2024, at 8:50 PM KST (5:20 PM IST) on tvN in South Korea and was simultaneously made available for streaming on Prime Video.  

No Gain No Love stars Shin Min Ah as Son Hae Young and Kim Young Dae as Kim Ji Wook are the main leads, along with Lee Sang Yi as Bok Gyu Hyun and Han Ji Hyun as Nam Ja Yeon as the second leads. 

Shin Min Ah and Kim Young Dae starrer No Gain No Love Ep 1 hit or miss?

No Gain No Love plot run down

No Gain No Love follows the story of Son Hae Young, a cheapskate woman who sees everything in her life as a statement of profit and loss. She likes profits in her professional as well as personal life. Son Hae Young decides to enter a fake marriage with Kim Ji Wook, a part-time convenience store worker, to ensure profits and secure a last-moment promotion at work.

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1. Shin Min Ah shoulders No Gain No Love like a rom-com queen 

It is no surprise that No Gain No Love has brought the queen of rom-coms back, Shin Min Ah! Shin Min Ah is the biggest home run as Son Hae Young. Shin Min Ah’s Son Hae Young, is so perfect that she will force you to become as “calculative” as her. Viewers might start judging their lives as profit-and-loss statements.  

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Shin Min Ah, furthermore, not only looks gorgeous but embodies Son Hae Young in essence. She is a walking profit-and-loss calculation machine who is trying to get ahead in life but somewhere has hard, sad truths pulling her back. 

No Gain No Love hits big with Shin Min Ah pulling the strings, with her conniving tricks, calculative decisions, bubbly eyes, and bets bickering with Kim Young Dae.


2. Kim Young Dae’s shabby haircut puts a damper on his looks and charms, but he manages to pull up

Kim Young Dae, as Kim Ji Wook, enters the scene as a god-incarnate or an angel in disguise, and his character boasts he is good to the boot. 

However, Kim Young Dae’s shabby, unnecessary hairstyle puts a slight damper on his good looks and charms. He fails to charm as a male lead by just a tad completely. No worries, Kim Young Dae makes up for it by completely embracing Kim Ji Wook and his pivotal chemistry with Shin Min Ah.

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Kim Young Dae especially charms viewers when he bickers with Shin Min Ah’s Son Hae Young, adding to the excitement of their romance in the future. 


3. No Gain No Love’s editing brings a much-needed 'editing bliss'

No Gain No Love’s editing is a big respite among the run-down editing cuts, making the K-drama a maze to watch. No Gain No Love’s entire flow is smooth as butter churned to perfection with flawless editing, ensuring the story builds up with no obstacles whatsoever. 

Another highlight is the addition of fresh animation elements here and there to add an element of delight and satisfaction. 

4. Indestructible trio

No Gain No Love introduces a perfect women's friend trio with Son Hae Young, Nam Ja Yeon, and Cha Hui Seong. They don’t blindly support Son Hae Young but also nag her and pull her legs, making the trio even more charming. 

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The first episode sets expectations for this trio to grow and become a surrogate family to Son Hae Young, making viewers await meaningful women's friendship and bond. 

5. Everything is either marriage or money 

No Gain No Love hits a home run by being perfect with the plotline, highlighting a story where marriage and money have taken the front seat. Surprisingly, marriage means more incentives and profits in offices (an unreal but fun addition to the story), while money becomes a key player in love, family, and life all the same (quite realistic). 

Son Hae Young must choose marriage to make money, while Bok Gyu Hyun must earn money to escape marriage, setting a fun stage for upcoming twists and turns.

In conclusion, Shin Min Ah and Kim Young Dae’s No Gain No Love hits a home run in the world of rom-com K-dramas with nary a miss and deserves your watch. Binge it now!

ALSO READ: No Gain No Love teaser: Shin Min Ah proposes to Kim Young Dae to be her fake groom for congratulatory wedding money profit; Watch

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Tanya, on this side of the screen, probably with a Bangtan Bomb and my K-pop playlist on the play.

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Credits: tvN
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