Currently Reviewing: Law and the City

by Cryssy Anne, July 27, 2025 · Updated April 21, 2026

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Currently Reviewing: Law and the City

(Gif images source and photo from MyDramaList: Tumblr)

Ahn Ju-Hyeong (Lee Jong-Suk) works as a lawyer. He has the type of personality that allows him to be brutally honest with others. He never had a deep interest or dream of becoming a lawyer to protect the weak or carry out justice. Ahn Ju-Hyeong became a lawyer simply because he likes following logic and cases. He has worked for the same law firm for the past nine years, since he began his legal career, and is recognized within his law firm for his work, having received a record salary for an associate lawyer. Ahn Ju-Hyeong has no interest in opening his own law office because it is too much trouble for him. He is comfortable in his perfect workplace, but his peaceful world begins to crack. (Source: Asianwiki)

This article is suitable for light and dark reading modes! The following paragraphs contain spoilers up to episode 6.

Here, you can read another older article of mine related to Mun Ka Young, titled 'Premiere Diary for Link: Eat, Love, Die' from 2022.

After nine years as an associate attorney in a medium-sized law firm, Ahn Ju Hyeong (Lee Jong Suk) has reached a point in his life where few things can impress him, precisely because his personal life has become so mundane. Just barely being happy with getting his job done — especially when he doesn’t want to do it — and receiving his monthly salary, without burdening himself with unnecessary attachments. This makes him appear indifferent and even a little cynical at first. However, at second glance, you realize he is simply forthright. He sees things for what they are, focusing on facts rather than prejudices, and he fulfills his duty without overly involving his feelings. In that sense, he is the perfect attorney: sharp, straight-to-the-point, and maybe a little too stubborn for his own good.

This time around, he gives his character a newfound side, more serious and mature that perfectly matches Ju Hyeon’s professional side without losing his goofy side. As Ju Hyeon likes to clarify, he has almost worked in the field for a decade, but not quite yet. He has seen many of the same things over the years, so you can’t blame him for becoming that aloof to his environment. Ju Hyeong seems detached even from his own family, but you can already guess that there’s more behind his masked appearance. More secrets are hidden deeply inside him, waiting to come out into the light slowly.

Nonetheless, he isn’t a complete sociopath who is incapable of making any friends. On the contrary, he is pretty close to some of his colleagues from other law firms. In a mix that resembles some classic and well-loved K-dramas, such as “Hospital Playlist” or the “Reply” series, this show also features a very colorful squad that uniquely sparks both comedy and comfort. Together, they make an already remarkable and unforgettable group. You could easily spend hours and hours watching them share a hearty meal while engaging in a chaotic yet perfectly synchronized conversation.

Mun Ka Young portrays Kang Hui Ji, a young and curious attorney who is eager to learn a lot as she joins a new law firm. She is an overly enthusiastic and altruistic person who strives to make the world a better place, one good deed at a time. But make no mistake, her good-natured personality doesn’t necessarily mean that she is naive to a fault, as she is independent and knows when to stand up for her beliefs. On the contrary, she uses her resources to her advantage and knows when and how to step in or withdraw, depending on the case. In that sense, she is the perfect contraposition to Lee Jong Suk’s character. This makes the fact that they met 10 years prior during a backpack trip around Hong Kong even more interesting. And their encounter isn’t all that impossible to begin with, given that South Korea is a small country and both of them are attorneys, so it doesn’t seem out of tune with the show either.

To create something like this in a show, without making it too cliché or forced, you would need a solid script, talented actors, and brilliant chemistry, and this show has it all.

There’s, at the same time, the goings-on among the group of senior attorneys who manage each law firm. As they soon find themselves in a predicament when the building's owner forces them to merge their firms, their decisions will put them and their teams in a tight spot. Whether this show will feature an ultimate villain or a greater conflict arising from the merging, this K-drama has succeeded in hooking viewers with the right balance of comedy and romance, while also showcasing the complexities of life. Nothing is completely black or white, but rather a gradient of all types of colors.

Recalling a distantant past

To everyone’s satisfaction, Ju Hyeong has no choice but to admit he did remember Hui Ji from the very beginning. We see in a flashback how their sudden yet predestined first encounter unfolded, and it seems like there are some unresolved feelings between them, which are clear every time they look at each other. After all, if they never met again until that moment, it was merely out of a slight misunderstanding, and not because they didn’t like each other. The way they resolve this issue is a breath of fresh air, not only because it erases unnecessary drama, but also because it allows them to move past any animosity and into a more friendly relationship.

This translates quickly to Hui Ji relying on Ju Hyeong about a specific case in which her client may or may not have committed medical malpractice. This puts Hui Ji in a difficult position, as she still has strong scruples about taking cases that conflict with her principles. It’s contrary to Ju Hyeon, who views every case as work and work alone. Although this case highlights their different approaches at work, he still helps her and finds a convincing way to resolve her doubts, with the help of none other than Kim Ji Seok (a cameo appearance by Yoon Kyun Sang), Ban Mun Jeong’s (Ryu Hye Young) husband. Nonetheless, there’s still the question about whether their differences will bring them together or only further apart.

Dealing with family issues in and outside court

In this part of the story, an interesting highlight is the way both work and personal life intertwine. Even though attorneys may appear cold-hearted or calculating, at the end of the day, they are also human beings. Their struggles, circumstances, and family issues can also impact their work. For example, Mun Jeong gets a bad streak throughout the whole day, which puts her in a gloomy mood for a long time. However, later on, we see how she is also struggling with getting pregnant, something many modern women can experience quite abruptly sometimes.

On the same note, Cho Chang Won (Kang You Seok) is cornered by both his father and his boss. While his father constantly insists on him working for a prestigious company, his boss forces him to visit a rich brat in jail, bringing down his spirits either way. All of them show what true adulthood is: living every day while enduring the harsh reality. Nonetheless, it isn’t excessively depressing to watch, since they still have their friends by their side to share a good meal and talk it all out at the end of the day.

Taking an ex-girlfriend’s divorce case

Ju Hyeong got the worst of it, like a sudden dead end with no alternative. He not only gets assigned a divorce case, something he hates to do, but the defendant ends up being his ex-girlfriend, so now he has no choice but to fight against her in court as her husband’s attorney. This time, as much as he would like, he can’t be completely objective about his work. He inevitably gets swayed, seeing that she is under such a stressful situation, unable to get proper compensation from her divorce, even though her husband is a scumbag.

This uncertainty of the situation starts to bother him, especially when Hui Ji confronts him about how stupid he is for taking the case. By the time everything is settled and the ex-husband shows just how much of a jerk he truly is, Ju Hyeong finally snaps. And it is such a relief because, as hot as he looks while being professional, nothing beats seeing his fierce rebuttal.

Although there had been a decade-long misunderstanding between the two of them, they managed to resolve it, and their constant bickering soon gave way to the rekindling of old feelings.

When Kang Hui Ji was struggling with a complex case, Ahn Ju Hyeong came to her aid and even prepared snacks for her. Meanwhile, Kang Hui Ji worried about Ahn Ju Hyeong as he dealt with the stressful situation of meeting his ex-girlfriend in divorce court while representing her husband.

The dynamic between the two attorneys begins to change. As Ahn Ju Hyeong continues to subtly take care of Kang Hui Ji, the distance between them gradually closes. One photo captures the would-be couple walking side by side, with Kang Hui Ji wearing a warm smile after unintentionally becoming aware of Ahn Ju Hyeong’s feelings.

Ahn Ju Hyeong and Kang Hui Ji will shed their usual suits and make a glamorous transformation before hitting the club at night.

Capturing the moment when the two attorneys get to see a different side of each other that they hadn’t been able to see at work. At the same time, meeting inside a club with loud music blaring around them, the two gaze at one another in slight surprise as they take in the unfamiliar sight of the other lawyer sporting a different style.

To find out why Ahn Ju Hyeong and Kang Hui Ji wind up meeting at a club—and whether this environment will have any effect on regaining their old spark of love, only time will tell. This drama is a revigorating one about the plain, comic yet unplanned moments of life!