Awww, I love this drama. It is really sweet, and the leads are great. Byun Hyung-tae is adorable even if he has a late 2000s mullet.

I love this drama! It is one of my favorites too. I am always surprised that more people don't talk about it. The two characters just feel real and the way they work through issues is so relatable. There are no chaebols or geniuses (and Nan-hee actually isn't that great of a writer), but somehow the slice-of-life is still very entertaining.

I need to watch this drama again. I watched it when I first got into dramas and did not enjoy it. I think now that I'm older and had 9 years of drama viewing under my belt, I will appreciate it more.

Yes and Yes! Agree with all of your points. I watched it after hesitating a bit this past year, and I loved it! Thanks for the write up @mihoo!

This is my all-time favorite drama, and one of the first I ever watched. I remember I had just finished Your Beautiful at the recommendation of a favorite author and was scrolling through the Dramabeans ratings looking for something else I might like. I rewatch this drama nearly every year, at least in part, and find new things to love.

In particular, I love that Nan Hee is at a crossroad in her career and is trying to decide between pursuing her dream or nurturing her talent for the job she has. I love watching her navigate her professional relationships and figure out how to be independent for the first time.

I also love how melodramatic she is, her terrible taste in clothes, and the complexity of her friendships. More than any other drama heroine she feels like she exists in the real world.

Lee Jung Jin was also my first drama crush. I have watched at least the first episode of all his shows (please pick better projects) and his character in this set the tone for me of what I wanted in a romantic hero. I wish there were more Hyung-taes.

OMG thank you for these words. I am so on the same page. I have watched this some years ago and I might will rewatch it now that I read your text. The chemistry was cracking when they went in for the lovers part. Also, Lee Jung-jin never, n e v e r looked that hot again.

This one is on the top of my friends to lover dramas list. I liked it so much I had to suffer through the bad quality of the videos because the serves were all down at the time :/ Their friendship was stellar and the fact they didn't get into a relationship right away added to the story. I just love it ^^ Now I feel like rewatching it LOL

I actually started watching this a couple of months ago but stopped around Ep 4 'cos I got tempted by a more recent drama. I think I need to pick up where I left off now.

With that said, from what I've watched, I do agree that their friendship really is quite grounded and realistic, the way they bicker and all. Plus Lee Jung Jin was really really hot here ♥

Ahh, I didn't know this drama needed defending!! It's one of my earlier Kdrama loves, along with 'My Lovely Kim Sam-soon' and 'Dal-Ja's Spring' - I think I've watched it about 5-6 times already, and would happy re-watch it again; It's seriously ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you for the post @mihoo - I look forward to reading it!

Watching old drama never seems outdate to me. Aslong as is still in 2000's. I watched MISA from 2004 in 2010 and watched Evasive Egency Enquiry from 2007 this week. Never say never with oldies. The problem is either the video is still available or not. Haha

I like so many things about this drama. One small example - how the other woman tries to erase Nan-hee's presence from the apartment when she's already gone. And how that helps Hyung-tae figure out his feelings.

Thanks for the write-up! I personally don't think this drama needs defending, since it's pretty solid and one that I also remember very fondly.. : ) My memory of it is a little shoddy by now, so maybe a re-watch is on the horizon.

ok you've got me invested now, I'll watch it.

I think I have to watch this drama again 'cause it was really good, but I need to remember it. I loved their friendship and how it grew to so much more than that. Even though there were times that I felt a Little bit bored I truly believe that I would enjoy it so much more now days!!!

Thanks for your defense! Bottom of the 9th is one of my favorites of the friends to lovers trope, which is my absolute favorite. What I loved most about it when I initially watched it, was that it felt like me and my best friend, 10+ years in the future. No romance has ever come between us, but this drama made me stop and question that. Still no romance shared, because I don’t live in a drama, but I still have a soft spot for how close to home this drama felt.

Oh yay! I think I just found the next romcom I want to watch. Thanks for this post - perhaps because I started watching dramas in 2016, I haven't seen or heard of too many from the 2000-2010 era.

I grew up reading and loving books about friends/enemies-turned-lovers (Anne of Green Gables, Louisa May Alcott's books), but somehow I can't stomach it on screen anymore. It also doesn't help that I watched The Time That We Were Not in Love. Scarred forever. Why did I watch until the end? WHY?

I'll give this drama a try though. I've read lots of good reviews and I like Su Ae. Besides (and excuse me for my old-fashioned taste) but I really dig 90s-2000s hair. My favourite football oppas of that era wore it. 😄

I love 9 End 2 Outs -- one of only a few dramas I've watched multiple times over. It's truly a hidden gem.

I also defend the Hyung-tae mullet. Lee Jung-jin is smokin' hot in that haircut -rawr!

Oh, I really loved this drama! I didn’t like the noona romance in the beginning but I liked the development of the relationship. The leads had great chemistry. The lead guy is cute too!

I must be honest. Friends to lovers trope is also one of my favorites. So I was eager to watch this show for a long time. Since it was not available in Viki (at least in my country), and due to occupations and other recent dramas and so, it took me forever to start watching it like a year ago or longer, and I watched, I must have watched the half of it but somehow it got me tiring that they liked each other but insisted in relationships with somebody else. Me, eventually I got busy and because I am curious, I think I went up to watch the end and see if they managed to be honest, etc.
I cheated, I know, and maybe one of these days I will pick up where I left and watch it properly, or maybe I will binge it all from the beginning, trying to enjoy the acting and other elements. I mean, after your defense, I feel like finishing my business with this drama, because there were parts I truly liked.
Thanks for posting.

You had me when you said this "I mean, the probability of falling in love with your best friend is higher than crossing paths with a spoiled second-generation chaebol who falls head over heels for you and makes a 180 degree personality shift, right? ". I will check it out. Thanks for this...

Dear Ms. Mihoo, this is a show that needs no defense, just more advertising ;) .

And yes, this is one of my all-time favorite K-Dramas (I only keep in my hard drive three Dramas: this one, Flowers for my Life and Master's Sun). I loved to bits every moment Nanhee and Hyungtae spend together. One of my favorite scenes is when Hyungtae sees a billboard with his guitarist ex-girlfriend and seems dispirited... she understands his feelings and doodles a mustache on her!!! (that is a friend). Next, when they end up in a police station and coincide with her twentysomething boyfriend, Hyungtae ends up laughing since, well, "noona, you have some skills!!!" (in seducing a much younger man).

Another favorite character is the twentysomething hot coworker to Nanhee, which despite her young age is wiser and more focused than our lead (perharps since she is still not at a crossroad like Nanhee?).

All the cast is precious to me. This Drama is not only a romantic friends-to-lovers tale, but also a reflection on ageing, loneliness and the value of the relationships in our lives.

Spent my whole day binge-watching this. I need a Hung Tae in my life.

This drama has a permanent spot on my top 5 favorites list. I'm not a fan, like at all, of noona romances. (I'll spare you the rant.) Because of my disdain for them, 9th endings really picks up once junior is put to bed. It's once the noona romance is resolved that the show starts to really dig into why our couple are so reluctant to get together and we see just how much respect they have for each other. I appreciated the fair amount of give and take in this drama and felt so mature. We need more of this show.

I watched this 10 years later ( 2017) after someone mentioned in dramabeans. Why I didn't know about this drama earlier? Its a must watch for romcom.

Kang Ha-Neul resembles so much Lee Jung-jin.

Can anyone here be my life saviour ans link me to a website with working links for this drama? It's too old that none of my usual drama sites has it :(

This was one of the first dramas I saw and I loved it! I didn't know it needed defending lol
Thanks for reminding me about it, I was looking for something to rewatch and this is perfect ^^

@db-staff
There have been a number of references to this drama on DB recently, and it's still a beanie fave all these years later - would it be possible to link this post to the show's page? This is such a nice write-up and it was crazy hard to find. Thanks!
https://www.dramabeans.com/shows/bottom-of-the-9th-with-2-outs/