South Korean broadcaster MBC acquired the remake rights six years after the original run. Casting served as an immediate promotional engine. Actors Jang Hyuk and Jang Na-ra had previously co-starred in the 2002 smash hit Successful Story of a Bright Girl. Their 2014 reunion represented a 12-year on-screen gap, drawing massive interest from domestic viewers and international K-drama communities.
Director Lee Dong-yoon opted against a scene-for-scene copy. Jang Hyuk reinvented the male protagonist, Lee Gun, as a flamboyant corporate executive with an operatic, self-deprecating laugh that initially baffled television critics before turning into a fan phenomenon. Jang Na-ra anchored the emotional balance as Kim Mi-young, stripping away over-the-top cartoonishness to deliver raw vulnerability during the tragic hospital sequences.
The MBC production achieved double-digit ratings throughout its Wednesday-Thursday broadcast run, climbing to a peak of 15.2%. The pair swept the 2014 MBC Drama Awards, winning Best Couple and Top Excellence honors. Their chemistry remained so indelible that television networks reunited them for a fourth collaborative project, the spy-comedy series Family: The Unbreakable Bond, in 2023.
