I couldn't think of a more perfect line to describe this series than this, we've had a lot of "Enemies to lovers" stories in the movie industry so this may come off as just another and even at worse, we'd think it won't be much different from the others we've seen. But here I am, after seeing this particular one, I say it's still a must watch for you.
Of course, the genre gives it out already. If you're no rom-com lover, this is not for you but if you are, add this to your list for the many reasons I'll share about it now. Well, I saw series because it's the first ever series "Choi Hyun-wook" (the male lead) played in an office romance setting, quite far from his expertise (Music and fighting roles).
The last two series I saw him play in were both masterpieces to me, "Twinkling Watermelon" and "Weak Hero Class", I had a great time on those two series more mainly because of his vibe in them. One was more about music and the other with lots of fightings, so this new series came as a shock and something to be more excited about.
"My Dearest Nemesis" also known as "Black Salt Dragon" is a 2025 Korean television series and it's based on a webtoon starring "Choi Hyun-Wook" and "Moon Ga-young" alongside supporting cast "Kwak Si-yang" and "Im She-mi" in a workplace romance that is bright, light and easy to watch. It's a pallet replenishing rom-com.
A hardworking woman who leads the planning team in a renowned department store, meets her new Boss who turns out to be a first love she never want to see again but didn't recognise him because of how different he had grown up to be. It's a story about an online game that connected souls but their first encounter turn out so badly.
Even I had a high expectation regarding their first encounter after the sweet experience of online love and reliance on each other. It happens a lot in our world today, where we expect too much because of how well an online relationship has been and everything turns out wrong in our eyes when it doesn't meet our many expectations.
Ban Joo-yeon (starred by Choi Hyun-Wook) plays a high schooler to adult who found solace in gaming and collection of items regarding it, he enjoys rock music and loves to dress up like a Rockstar. Turns out he is a chaebol grandson and can't be like that in public so he leads a double life avoiding whoever threatens to end his hobby.
He meets Baek Soo-jeong (starred by Moon Ga-young) at a department store where he's ordered to act as a director. He remembers their first encounter where she saw him in his secret attire after his wild night at a rock show. In an attempt to eliminate her from the store regardless of her efficiency, he begins to find ways to piss her off.
Baek Soo-jeong on the other hand had won for herself a title "Director killer" because of how fierce and dogged she can be about her job and hope for promotion. All his effort to make her quit were futile as she found more reasons to continue working hard and even make him leave instead. And so, they grew closer and fell in love.
The fact that both didn't remember how their first love looked like anymore or that the change was tremendous for them to know, was quite something to me. Maybe it's a giveaway that viewers will know easily since the female lead didn't change at all but only looked matured and the male lead changed totally with same hobby.
Falling in love with a first love over again without knowing they are each other's first love, I think the story got unique here and was exciting to see how it plays out when they both find out the truth. I must say, the supporting roles, friends to the two did a lot in making the excitement grow. Their own love story almost became my favorite.
The vibe I get from Ban Joo-yeon when he plays as the rock music lover reminds me so much of "Twinkling Watermelon", I guess the story writer knew viewers would want a bit of that and we appreciate it. It's a series you should see if you've been seeing lots of action and tensed stories, quite refreshing. I'll give it a rating of 8.5/10.
Watch YouTube trailer!