In the quiet countryside of Osaka, Shimizu Erin has perfected the art of peaceful living-and, naturally, cooking. As the sous chef at her uncle's hidden gem of a restaurant, she's content with her routine, even when memories from the past stir up like an unexpected spice in a familiar dish. But, just like her best recipes, life has a knack for tossing in the most surprising ingredients.
Enter Kang Ji-hoon, a K-pop idol who can't catch a fish to save his life, and Park Tae-hyun, his hilarious partner-in-crime who's always one joke away from causing trouble. What starts as an innocent encounter by the lake quickly spirals into something Erin didn't ask for-romance, friendship, and a whole lot of chaos.
Erin's best friend Yuki is more than happy to push her out of her comfort zone, especially when it involves matchmaking with a certain idol. And just when Erin thinks she's got enough on her plate-balancing her career, family, and her new feelings for Ji-hoon-her ex-boyfriend and Ji-hoon's crazy celebrity life decide to stir the pot a little more.
Now, Erin's world is heating up faster than the kitchen stove, and with meddling friends, love triangles, and cultural clashes, things are about to get deliciously complicated. Will Erin and Ji-hoon figure out the recipe for love, or will the pressures of fame and family be too much to handle?
In this heartwarming and hilarious love story, it's not just the food that's getting spicy-so is the romance.
Nicky Peters sets out on an emotional roller coaster when she creates a melody from an old high school journal entry which develops into her debut song for her second album. Her personal and professional life become quickly complicated when she finds herself standing in front of the one person she thought she'd never see again, the same person who unfortunately understands all too well who Nicky's hit song is really about...him.
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Nicky Peters' rise to fame in country music was fast, being plucked out of obscurity at seventeen after her YouTube videos went viral. After she pens a very personal song from one of her old high school journals called, "Honestly," for her much-anticipated second album, she realizes her feelings will be under a microscope for the whole world to see, including Nate Stanton, her ex-best friend from childhood. He also just happens to be the one person who truly understands the meaning behind her heart-wrenching song.
What happens when fate brings her face-to-face with the boy she thought she'd never see again?
Nicky quickly realizes airing her emotions out in public via a number-one, hit song can make things complicated fast. As Nate and Nicky reconnect and navigate through their past, truths are revealed, assumptions are at an all-time high, and a publicity nightmare looms which jeopardizes all she's worked so hard for.
While Nicky's misfortunes add up, she realizes fame comes with a price. She begins to understand the cold, hard facts, keeping her career intact as country's "it" girl and maintaining a personal life may be more difficult than it sounds, especially when you're living through a public scandal.