Reviews

Worst parent Ever

As international fan... I can't handle all parents in this drama. I'm not sure is this cultural thing in China, I gonna cut contact if I have parents like this. It family drama, it show all bad things happen, at the end we still in family.

Let start FL parent , I'm going crazy if that my mom, She keep making her children's miserable to follow the way she want. Keep interference with FL partner, also with work, seriously after regret than do it again SAME THING!,,, It just pure abused. Obsess with relative family even they wrong...

Then Xin Jia Liang's family, just selfish parent... with affair and status. ML 's father just abandon his family, Zhang Zi Yu's mom power hungry! The only role model parent the grandma!

The story focus for family, not love story, if this really portray real life in Chinese's family, all the respect for the children who have such tolerance.

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Sweet and mature love story of the main leads. The rest is skippable.

This drama focuses on two love stories. The first one is about a responsible girl boss with a soft side (the female lead) who finds out her fiancé has cheated. She spends a drunken night with a seemingly unbothered musician with a flirty side (the male lead), who turns out to be her new co-worker. The second one is about a soft and sweet artist (the female lead’s younger brother) who falls in love with his sister’s older best friend.

The best (and only) thing about this drama is the main lead’s love story. It’s mature, somewhat realistic, a mix of romance, emotional with funny moments. Most of their romantic moments happen at night (hence the title) and the night cinematography truly enhances their scenes. I truly loved their story, both go through challenges and especially the female lead has a great self-love arc.

The rest of the drama however is a total let down. After episode 10 I pretty much ff/skipped everything except the main lead’s scenes. The second couple is plain and boring, in fact their story feels very separated from the main leads and not connected to the night theme of the drama. There is also a third couple that is annoying and a total filler. We also have typical workplace conflicts that are boring and seriously feel like fillers too.

POSITIVE:
- Mature and responsible main leads.
- Great chemistry between the leads.
- Beautiful cinematography (especially all the romantic moments between the leads that are shot at night). It truly lives up to the title “Love at Night”.
- Many beautiful rain/umbrella scenes.
- Lots of nice kiss scenes.
- Nice shirtless scenes with the male lead.
- Male chases female trope.
- Rom-com feel but with a more mature and serious tone.
- Female lead has the most stunning outfits.
- Not a typical love triangle. There is a cheating ex fiancee that tries to get back with the female lead. He didn’t bother me at all as he served as a great plot device and character development for the female lead. In fact their story felt very realistic and great lessons for many women around the world. He was cunning, manipulative and truly despicable which made the plot interesting for me.

NEGATIVE:
- Boring workplace setting. We have the typical work conflicts that are only there so the characters do something.
- Equal (if not more) screen time given to the second couple. Their love story is odd and boring.
- Annoying and filler scenes of the third couple that didn’t need to exist.
- The only likeable/interesting characters are the two main leads.

OVERALL:
This drama could have been 10 stars if it was shorter and only focused on the love story between the main leads. I’d only recommend it if you love the main leads and want a sweet and mature love story with them (and are willing to ff/skip the rest).

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Travelling across the time to protect the person who has been protecting you all the time.

This is actually a drama which shows a man who has always been protecting FL for a very long time without letting her to know that he is protecting. That makes us wonder can there really be a man who loves a girl to this extent.

For some reason the ML dies by jumping over a lighthouse. FL travels back to stop it again and again. The story becomes interesting when she travels back to the beginning of her third year of her senior grade, when they both fell in love with each other gradually, those were the beautiful episodes. But still at the end she failed to stop him from dying. Then we should be prepared with whole box of tissues coz after that the drama will let us know how much the ML loves FL secretly and protect her from all the hassles leading him to the death finally.

I was crying hard... knowing how much he loved her, how much he wanted her to be safe, and how much he endured alone to protect her. I'm damn sure no one in this world can be like this and that's why this drama is so special for me. I will never forget 'Zhang Wansen'.
The actor himself did a very great job. His acting was soo good. I loved it. Thank you for the hard work

The ending : Actually I didn't like the ending nor hate it. I don't like open endings. may be I should watch the Movie

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I love and hate this drama

Excuse my limited vocabulary

I liked the first 5 episodes. UNTIL the "President" came over to somehow live with them temporarily. I know it is because of work and all, and I was trying to understand that, but the female lead should still put some distance the moment it became an issue. More so! when she realized that her boyfriend was getting jealous.

I also hated the part where the "President" did not put more effort into creating a distance, knowing the girl already had a boyfriend. On the other hand, the girl went to the "President" for consolation, like girl you already have a boyfriend, why not talk about your issue with him and not run away? Probably because she wants to talk to someone related who also works in the same industry. That, or I don't know.

The last 5 episodes generally circulate within the "President" coming into their lives, disturbing their first phase as lovers, getting jealous of each other crush/ex, and going down different paths. The worst thing about it is that I can't feel the boyfriend-girlfriend relationship between them apart from when they are deciding what to do next or their short moments.

Meanwhile, I hate the male lead for not trying to communicate with her (I mean, he sometimes did, but only sometimes!). The female lead is "almost" always the one taking the first step. I also hated him for that part when the girl was also getting jealous over his ex, and he was like, "I have no time for this," like, wtf. I expected more from a couple that has "good communication." However, it is already a miracle that nothing big issue happens frequently since they are polar opposites.

But really, at some point, I just want both of them to break up.

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Could've been epic but writers casually decided to made mess in some parts

I would be honest, I only watched this series for Vegas and Pete, and especially for Vegas in particular, but I was left disappointed with their screen time and writing.

Since I mentioned them, let's start with Vegas and Pete. I already said I watched this series just for them, and they both catch my attention the most. Honestly, I always get hooked to psychologically complex characters like Vegas and Pete, which is definitely the reason why they caught my attention the most. The portrayal of highly complex characters like Vegas and Pete required way more screen time than the director gave them in the series. In almost 14 hours of series, they only get like 14 minutes, which left their story badly portrayed. Okay, so personally, I'm not against their relationship, and I won't say that writing controversial and psychology messed up relationship is particularly bad, but it takes extra efforts and care to rightly portray them. But whatever happens in the series is way more acceptable and better than the novel. In the novel, Pete was raped by Vegas, not just one time but over and over again, and in the novel, there was no internal conflict as in the series. As in the series, both were struggling with daddy issues, but in the novel, it wasn't like that, and I refused to believe that somebody can fall for their rapist. I get that it's the Stockholm effect or a machonist n sadist relationship, and we can pick up the argument that in the series, Vegas physically tortured him (physically hurt him), but it wasn't a particular rape or something, and yes, I also understand that physically hurting someone is so bad, but not as bad as rape, in my opinion. Because rape is done to crush somebody's dignity, to show your superiority over them, and more than physical effects, the victim also faces mental effects, while reading the novel, you can clearly see Vegas is trying to do the exact same, which makes him even more hard to accept his actions, comparing to the series.

So I'm quite glad they didn't follow the novel, and they made a lot of changes, but they definitely deserved and needed more screen time, like at least 3-4 episodes, or even more, to show their relationship dynamic better, and lastly, this could be a subjective opinion of mine, but if Vegas had died when he was shot, it would have been so much better, not because I hate him or something, but I think that tragedy death would have been so much better.

The sex scene of Vegas and Pete doesn't have a verbal consent, but since Pete kissed him first, we all have assumed that Pete gave his consent. Like really??? Should it be considered as consent??? But I can tolerate their sex scene more than Kinn and Porche scene. Kinn and Porche had sex twice, while Porche was unconscious, and yes, you can say that "Porche started liking him", but he was drugged, he was freaking unconscious, his consent at that period wouldn't be considered as consent. And we have to admit their relationship was as messed up not as much as Vegas and Pete but their relationship was everything but healthy. I've to admit, Kinn and Porche gave us some sweet romance scenes compared to Vegas and Pete cause these two bitches were only having scenes which could mentally mess you up.

Porche as a character is quite admirable in my eyes, a loving and hardworking brother and I would be lying if I don't say that I'm a little biased when it comes to Porche cause I was able to connect to him with older sibling who is a parent to younger sibling part. But Porche as a lover is quite stupid.
Talking about Kinn, he started off as a really strong character in start but I ended up not loving that character very much, they both turned out blind in love. And their relationship didn't have depth and internal conflict. For example, we get to see why Vegas and Pete fell for each other but Can we name a single thing why Porche and Kinn fell for each other despite their sex appeal to each other. Probably no and all I'm trying to say is it would've been better if they would've shown us their POV and internal feeling when they were falling for each other for more depth but this is completely my subjective opinion because I would not lie, I was personally looking forward to Vegas and Pete more than Kinn and Porche so this could be possible that I was not able to see their relationship depth. I haven't read their story in novel so I can't compare series with book but I must say that Kinn was quite toxic in series and he was even more toxic in novel. [ only read a small portion about Kinn in novel of Pete and Vegas story ] so that's all for them.

Now let's talk about the 3rd couple, Kim and Chay. You can hate me for saying this but in my opinion their relationship was unnecessary like both of their roles could be utilized better and yes I get it they look cute together and stuff but their relationship was nothing but an eye candy to watchers. But I must say they were the only sane couples in series and I actually was chill about it until I found out their real age gap was 10 years. Honestly 10 years of age gap is not the matter of scandal just because my subjective morals do not approve that but what I found scandals is that Chay was a minor at that time which I personally could not tolerate but I'm glad they got decent scenes and even off screen Jeff was pretty decent as well what I am able to see so far.
Chay's internal conflict is easy to break down, a young teenager fell in love with his fav singer and it made sense but I'm still not able to find out what's Kim's reason to love him back, like what was his internal depth? So still there is a lack of internal conflict writing like Kinn and Porche.
And talking about Kim as a character, I quite like him, he was just a one step away from becoming my fav character. He had flaws which made sense. His character arc was fine even there are still somethings which I didn't like about him but I can outright those with his decency.

Takkhun, he was quite an iconic character even a lot of people find him quite annoying which is understandable cause a Takkhun in real life would be an annoying a-hole but I quite like him in the series, he added the extra spice into it.

Talking about this series overall, It was good but it could've been so much better, it could've been one those bl series which could easily go in history because Mafia bl theme is quite rare I guess. It's always high school or university or sometimes office romance. But bl with mafia theme would be so fucking epic but the mafia theme got lost somewhere in bl. They were not able to consistently maintain mafia and bl together. And the plot of the series?? I dislike it. Don't ask me why I just personally didn't like where the series was going, it almost looked like some forced weird and alienated plot that made you go like wtf?? One side of me was so curious that how Porche's mom ended up like that and why but we ain't getting a second season so I think it would remain just a curiosity.

Other things about the series such as cinematography, I love it. I love the angles, shots, and visuals.
Acting, the cast did a great job, and some actors just nailed it, such as Bible as Vegas. Probably the best decision the makers made about the series, and considering it was his first project, he did such a good job. I personally feel like nobody could've played Vegas better than Bible. The sadistic nature, the anger, emotions, fear, guilt—everything was amazingly portrayed by him. Build as Pete, at first his acting didn't catch my attention very much, but the scenes which he did with Bible???? The smirk, the sorrow, the empathy, the emotions he conveyed, oh God, they were just fine. Takkhun, I don't know why, but I always felt that his character is hard to perform. Like all those dramatic dialogues, reactions, I just found them very overwhelming to perform, so he definitely did a great job. Porche, his acting was just perfect. Chaoticness, anger, love, sadness—he did a great job. Kinn, I might not like the character very much, but I love the actor and his acting. Kim, I personally feel like Jeff is quite opposite to his character in real life, so he definitely did an amazing job with his character. Chay, he was just 17 at that time, and it was his first time acting too, so considering all those facts, he did a great job with his role. And the rest of the actors did a good job too, making the story more enjoyable.

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When perfect casting meets a great script!

2024 start off with a dump of bad C dramas then came Pegasus and made me have faith in C Dramas once again. This is going to be one of the best this year. Kudos to the writers/directors/actors!

Loves: (literally everything!)
1. Hu Xian Xu (LinZhen Dong) - Been a fan of his ever since Hikaru no Go. Seeing him reunite with Zhao Hao Hong as his side kick again was icing on top. HXX is amazing! You can see his micro expressions switching from 2 personalities in one shot. Definitely he studied Wang Yan Lin's expressions & gestures.
2. Wang Yan Lin (Zhang Chi) - I've seen him in some crazy support roles over the years. Now I can't imagine another actor playing Zhang Chi.
3. Supporting cast - Many familiar faces. Solid acting, great casting all around.
4. Actual script - Interesting fun story & good pacing overall. Great characters. I love how there aren't any single minded bad characters.
5. Production Quality/Lighting/Makeup/Music. Real voices, normal talking, no crazy make up, definitely refreshing!

Imperfession?
I really didn't need Sun Yu Qiang's side story to be so long. Could've used that time to focus more on the main story.
Wished for more episodes.

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A Cinematic Masterpiece: Kingdom Redefines the Zombie Apocalypse Genre

A word before my review:- "I'll be honest, zombie apocalypses aren't typically my go-to genre. In fact, I had a traumatic experience watching a non-Korean zombie movie when I was just 11 or 12 years old. I didn't understand the context, but it left me terrified, and I avoided the genre altogether since then. However, thanks to a friend's enthusiastic recommendation, I decided to give Kingdom a chance, and I'm so grateful I did! This series has completely changed my perspective on the zombie apocalypse genre, and I'm now hooked."

THE DRAMA - KINGDOM :-

This Korean drama is a Stand-out drama in the thriller genre, setting a new standard for zombie apocalypse stories.
The decision to set the series ( the story point of Zombie) in ancient times was a bold and really challenging move, but the makers pulled it off with finesse. Mainly where the " Sageuk" dramas main elements rule on the classic love-revenge-wars-betrayal, power-struggle for the throne. it's a really tough challenge to the writer - director to create Zombie world in this classic sageuk elements. But their hardwork shines in every scene and every character makes us emotional, survival tense.
and the Netflix 's Korean drama wave started from here.

*THE EXCELLENCE OF KINGDOM'S SOUNDTRACK AND CINEMATOGRAPHY*

"When it comes to the thriller genre, I'm particularly discerning about two crucial aspects: soundtrack and cinematography. Kingdom excels in both areas, elevating the overall tension and suspense to new heights. The soundtrack is masterfully crafted, with the subtle sounds of the zombies and the haunting background score for the main leads perfectly complementing the on-screen action. The cinematography is equally impressive, with a keen attention to detail that immerses the viewer in the dark and foreboding world of ancient Korea. The cinematography in the Kingdom is nothing short of breathtaking, transporting me to a hauntingly beautiful ancient ( sageuk/historical ) Korea time'. The dark tone cinematography is a masterclass in crafting suspense and tension, expertly leveraging lighting, shadows, and composition to create an atmosphere that's both foreboding and mesmerizing and capturing a hauntingly beautiful scenery of Korean old days with bare trees on the mountains, their silhouettes etched against the eerie backdrop like nature's own work of art."
The soundtrack is equally impressive, with a haunting score that perfectly complements the on-screen action, amplifying the emotional impact of every scene and character. The combination of these two elements creates a truly unsettling and thrilling experience that keeps me on the edge of my seat.

ACTING:-

"The acting in Kingdom is truly exceptional, with each actor delivering a standout performance that leaves a lasting impact. Ju Ji Hoon, in particular, brings his character to life with a depth and nuance that is simply awe-inspiring. The entire cast, including Bae Doona, Kim Hye Jun, Ryu Seung Ryong, Heo Jun Ho, and Kim Sung Kyu, delivers fantastic performances that are both convincing and compelling. The cast's extraordinary acting skills are a testament to their dedication and talent, and they play a significant role in making Kingdom the thrilling and unforgettable experience that it is."

OVERALL :-

"I'm a little late to the party, but I'm thrilled to have finally experienced the masterpiece that is Kingdom! The script is nothing short of brilliant, weaving a story that's both captivating and unpredictable. The director-writer's vision is masterful, transporting me to the eerie world of the Kin and plunging me into the midst of a zombie apocalypse like never before. With its flawless pacing, heart-pumping action sequences, and emotional depth, Kingdom has raised the bar for K-dramas and zombie apocalypse stories alike.

My Rating: 10/10

If you haven't yet indulged in the thrill ride that is Kingdom, do yourself a favor and dive in without hesitation! This unforgettable experience will leave you breathless, craving more, and forever changed. Trust me, it's worth the binge!"

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Love between pro killers can’t be more daring

It a pretty short, fast paced and straightforward Show. No beating around the bush!! This is a Medieval type of love story. it’s between a man and a woman revenging their dead parents. The ML lost his family when he was 10, lived on the streets and had to kill to survive. During his childhood he met the FL and protected her. The FL asked to learn how to kill too but the ML refused teaching her. The FL got adopted by the man who killed the ML’s family. When the FL’s adoptive father heard of the ruthless “Mr. Mo”(the ML’s undercover but real identity), he faked his death because he knew Mr. Mo was the son of the people he killed and knew Mr. Mo would seek revenge on him. He told his butler to tell his daughter (FL) that it was Mr. Mo who killed him. This was to instigate his daughter to go undercover to get close to Mr. Mo and kill him (as revenge for her father’s “death “) before Mr. Mo eventually finds and kills him. His plan succeeded ( well,.. the first part of it did). His daughter (FL) went undercover as “Xia Zhiqiu” a dancer at the club where Mr. Mo had connections with. Mr. Mo was a well known killer but no one knew what he looked like. Mr. Mo took the name Ye Yifan (among people). Xia Zhiqiu got close to Ye yifan ( coz she knew Ye Yifan worked for Mr.Mo). Her plan was to seduce Ye Yifan to love her, then use this as a reason to ask Ye Yifan to kill Mr. Mo for her. She did succeed to get close to Ye Yifan. Ye yifan knew something was wrong and confronted Xia Zhiqiu. She lied repeatedly and got exposed( her identity, name not being Xia Zhiqiu but Gu Qingyan the daughter of his parents’ murderer and her motive for getting close to him was known also ). She was driven away by Ye Yifan, but used to tricks to make him take her back in. Ye Yifan and Gu Qingyan( Xia zhiqiu’s real name)found out they were childhood friends. Gu Qingyan felt bad for lying to him but couldn’t stop because of her goal. Both the ML and FL fell in love with each other.Later on Gu Qinyan ( FL) found out that Ye Yifan is Mr. Mo. She felt betrayed. After a long time Mr. Mo understood the whole situation and knew that the Fl’s father faked his death. He succeeded to find the man. He brought him to the spot where he killed his family and killed him. The Fl who witnessed this was very angry and shot herself. The ML panicked and when the FL woke up( faking an amnesia) even tho he knew she was faking it, he chose to believe her and no matter what she did to him or asked he accepted because he wanted her not to hold a grudge against him for killing her dad. The ML finally confronted her about her fake amnesia, the FL wanted to kill him so bad! After awhile the FL found out that the reason the Ml killed her father was because her father killed his parents and almost killed him many times when he was a child. She also found out her trusted accomplice Shen Annian was just using her to get what he wanted ( a treasure and map that originally belongs to Mr. Mo’s family) . The day reached where Shen Annian went to attack Mr. Mo. He failed terribly because he didn’t know Mr. Mo had planted spies around him. Shen Annian lost his life. The FL and ML decided to get married and let go of their grudges. On the wedding day, someone kidnapped the FL. Guess who it was…….! The BUTLER!!! He was the real mastermind behind the everything. He instigated the Fl’s father to take the job offer of killing the Ml’s family, used Shen Annian to have the desire to get the treasure from Mr. Mo, used the Fl to harbour grudges and make her hate the ML and want to kill him. That day the Fl asked to speak with the ML one last time before the butler kills Mr. Mo, after which she stabbed herself. When the butler was distracted, the Ml killed the butler and took the Fl to be treated. After treatment the Fl left. After a year she came back to the same club she worked before knowing the ML was there and they relived their memories of when they first met at the club. THE END… what a satisfying end where all the antagonists were killed and the grudges dissolved!!! Totally recommend!!!

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It's been awhile...

Just like my headline suggests, it really has been awhile since we had such a solid kdrama in years!! I don't even remember the last time I felt so emotionally INVESTED and obsessed with a Kdrama. Sis checks twitter religiously every single day and hour for more updates lmao. I can't wait for it to end so I can finally concentrate at work HAHAHA TT but at the same time I aM super sad that its ending because when will we ever see ksh on screen again? in 3 YEARS? dude serves us a 3 course meal and then disappear like its nothing making us survive on crumbs after.

wow.. where do I start, this drama is like a breath of fresh air, it has everything! The plot itself is intriguing, literally had the whole world coming up with theories, we had doctors, lawyers, accountants all coming together to discuss the plot HAH. I am RUNNING AWAY FROM PEOPLE WHO CAME UP with the theory that hyunwoo dies at the end of this show. LIKE HELLO? nO. GET AWAY from Me.

anywho, I love how this drama brought all of us together!! This ride has been nothing but an EXPLOSIVE TREAT. The cast had already warned us during the interview that this show will have plot twist over twist over twist + case on case on case. They weren't lying when they said ep 5 was only the beginning because everything that came after that was just HELL. Had us ugly crying every ep frs. I was shocked to find out that each ep is about 1.5h long cause it doesn't even feel that long!!! also bc every ep is alluring.

The storyline to some may be mediocre, but its the storytelling that is enticing. The plot shines the harsh truth of how life after marriage would be, and in this case it may not always be a happily ever after. Miscommunications, assumptions, built up frustrations and unresolved hurts will always affect the relationship, afterall it takes two hands to clap in a rs/marriage. I like how they show the state of the contrast difference between the Hong and Baek family and how its in Baek's family that hae in feels comfortable about letting her guard down and learning to receive love. And I really love how clear baekhong's love is shown in this drama - to be loved is to be understood and known.

The ways the actors go above and beyond to make their characters come to life. Ksh and Kjw served INSANE chemistry both on screen and off screen, even I can't help but to ship them irl TT. (secretly wishing for them to pull a BinJin) The acting, the adlibs, the constant strive to do better in delivering lines and expressing emotions shows dedication to their craft. Man literally proved us once again why he is the king of ratings and one of the highest paying actor in sk! Both kjw and ksh delivered such a stellar performance, and ofc with the other casts as well, special mention to park sung hoon as eun seong cause man acted so well it made me wna PUNCH him every single time he comes on. He needs Jeon Jae Joon to teach him a lesson HAH.

As a fan of both of the main leads, I have been truly blessed by this series. And sending my heartfelt congratulations for everyone that made QOT come alive, yall truly deserved the recognition for all that hard work!! It really is a bittersweet feeling knowing that we're heading towards the finale of this drama, part of me is sad because this is the end of an amazing story, but also so happy for all the recognition and support they are all getting. I already felt the post drama syndrome kicking in at ep 14... ahha, this feeling is smth i've never felt for in such a long time. Thank you QOT, for once again reigniting my love for dramas. It really has been a traumatic ride HAHAH kdrama? no.. ktrauma.

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FL's mother is the only main character, everyone else is a support character

This drama is just FL's mother messing everything up and every other spineless character compensating for it.

1- 17 episodes the tension builds up where FL's mother keeps messing up
18 - 37 we expect either FL's mom to change or FL to grow up. Nothing happens

FL grows only a little bit and that's it. By episode 30 everything is same and everyone forgives FL's mother even though she hasn't changed. I don't know if the writer wants to convey that "we should forgive our parents even though they keep interfering in our personal/professional lives". FL's mother is still annoying. The only reason this deserves a 6 is just because the leads were awesome. There were a few good love/romance scenes but they were very less compared to the screen time given for FL's mother.

This drama would have been better if a) FL and ML got more screen time
b) FL grows up more
c) FL's mother becomes a good person at the end.

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My favvv….

I watched this a whileee ago but it’s one of my favorite Korean BLs so it deserves a review so more people can watch it. I absolutely love this series, it was so cute and the plot was everything. There was never a lacking or dull moment in the series for me. I usually hate love triangles because they be so toxic but this drama was actually the opposite. The “love triangle” wasn’t toxic and I can even go as far as to say it was kind of healthy (in some ways). The main character is so adorable and I feel like the personality his character was given should be more represented in BLs. I loved the main couple and the shyness added to my likability. I love the innocent and shy couple trope because it is so damn cute!!! This was just a very lighthearted story with characters, who struggle with certain issues (i.e. mental health), can finally have a happy or close to happy ending.

The acting was so good and the plot was givinggg everything. I really enjoyed it plus the 16 episodes were heaven sent. I love it when a good series has a decent amount of episodes. This is definitely a Korean BL that I highly recommend!!

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