Discover The Best Movies and TV Shows Like She Was Pretty

Kim Hye-jin was once a stunning, wealthy girl, but adulthood brought sudden poverty and a genetic reversal of her looks, leaving her with frizzy hair and severe facial rosacea. Meanwhile, her childhood friend Ji Sung-joon was an overweight, insecure boy whom she constantly protected. Years later, Sung-joon, now a devastatingly handsome and successful Deputy Editor-in-Chief at the elite fashion magazine *The Most*, contacts Hye-jin from New York, eager to reunite. Terrified of disappointing him with her current appearance, Hye-jin desperate persuades her gorgeous, free-spirited best friend, Min Ha-ri, to impersonate her at their meeting.Fate deals a cruel blow when Hye-jin lands an administrative internship at *The Most*, only to discover that her strict, arrogant new boss is none other than Sung-joon. Unaware of her true identity, Sung-joon relentlessly berates and belittles Hye-jin for her perceived clumsiness and incompetence, deeply wounding her. Despite his harshness, Hye-jin begins to see his hidden vulnerabilities, driven by a perfectionist trauma regarding a childhood tragedy. She resolves to work harder, eventually earning his professional respect while secretly enduring the agonizing daily deception.Complicating the workplace is Kim Shin-hyuk, a quirky, eccentric senior feature editor who immediately sees through Hye-jin's awkward exterior and nicknames her "Jackson." Shin-hyuk falls deeply in love with her warm heart, openly protecting her from Sung-joon’s wrath and offering unwavering emotional support. Simultaneously, Ha-ri struggles with her own mounting guilt as she spends more time with Sung-joon, eventually developing genuine romantic feelings for him, which severely strains her lifelong bond with Hye-jin.Eventually, the truth shatters the fragile web of lies. Sung-joon discovers Ha-ri’s deception, leading to a heartbreaking confrontation, but his anger quickly dissolves into confusion as he realizes he has already fallen deeply in love with the real Hye-jin's intelligence, kindness, and resilience—the very traits he admired in his childhood friend. Hye-jin is subsequently reassigned to the feature department, where she finally thrives, gaining confidence and embracing her true self without hiding behind makeup or fear.Just as Hye-jin and Sung-joon finally unite, overcoming past trauma and societal expectations, a professional crisis hits the magazine. *The Most* must rank first in circulation, or face permanent closure. Shin-hyuk makes the ultimate sacrifice, revealing himself to be a famous, reclusive author to give the magazine an exclusive interview that saves it from shutdown, before quietly disappearing to travel the world. With the crisis averted, Sung-joon fulfills his dream of returning to New York as Editor-in-Chief, proposing to Hye-jin before he leaves. One year later, Hye-jin achieves her lifelong dream of becoming a children's book author. Sung-joon returns permanently to South Korea, and the couple joyfully marries, finally cementing a love story that transcends childhood memories, physical appearances, and the tests of time.