Summertime

Youth, Romance and Secret Feelings Wrapped in Beautiful Korean BL Magic

As soon as I found out Summertime was from Studio Oak Company, the same production company behind The Prosecutor’s Proposal, Thundercloud Rainstorm and Ball Boy Tactics, I was so happy. I already knew this had the potential to be another outstanding BL when it came to production quality, acting, storytelling and chemistry.

And DAMN, that opening scene was HOT! I absolutely was NOT expecting the series to start like that. What a way to grab my attention from the very beginning! They really said, here is your NC scene right from the start!

Even though each episode is only around 20 to 25 minutes long, the series never feels rushed or cheaply produced. The pacing is surprisingly smooth, and every episode makes great use of its short runtime. Everything looks polished and beautifully put together, from the cinematography and locations to the warm and colourful atmosphere. It has that clean Korean BL aesthetic while perfectly capturing the youthful summer vibe that makes the title Summertime feel even more fitting.

The cast is another major highlight. The chemistry between EunHo and DoHyeon feels incredibly natural, with the perfect balance of friendship, sweetness and underlying romantic tension. I especially love their childhood friends dynamic because you can genuinely feel how comfortable they are with each other after growing up together.

The youth and romance elements work beautifully together too. There is something nostalgic about watching two people who have known each other practically their entire lives slowly realise that their relationship could become something more. The childhood friends trope, secret crushes, student life and campus setting all give the story such a refreshing and youthful feeling.

DoHyeon has had feelings for EunHo for a long time, but because they are both boys, he has kept those feelings hidden. I absolutely loved the fantasy scene with DoHyeon’s wet dream, especially the way it came back to him when EunHo bent down in front of him in real life to tie his shoelace while looking up with that innocent expression. Connecting DoHyeon’s fantasy with what happened in reality was such a smart piece of storytelling. The way that moment immediately brought all those feelings back to the surface was so well done, and honestly, my jaw dropped watching it.

Then we have transfer student Yihyun coming in to shake everything up! My heart honestly hurt for him because he had already experienced bullying for being gay before transferring, only to face it again at his new school. I was so happy when EunHo stood up for him. What I loved even more was that when Yihyun told EunHo he was gay, EunHo never mocked him or treated him differently. He simply accepted him and showed him what a true friend should be like. This is what friendship should be about, supporting someone when they need it most.

And of course, I am ALWAYS here for a little jealousy and romantic tension! One person has secretly carried his feelings for almost 19 years, while another begins falling for EunHo after finally meeting someone who stood up for him and made him feel accepted. One love has been growing for nearly two decades while the other has only just begun. It adds the perfect amount of emotional tension without taking away from the sweetness of the story.

Episodes 7 and 8 were easily some of the biggest highlights for me and took EunHo and DoHyeon’s relationship to another level. Episode 7 gave us so many passionate kisses, including that thrilling moment in the teacher’s bathroom, but I also loved the softer side of their relationship, especially the note about their future after graduation and the yellow roses symbolising both friendship and eternal love. After 19 years together, it felt like they were finally beginning the next chapter of their lives.

Then Episode 8 completely blew me away. Their intimate scene against the window with the fireworks exploding behind them was easily one of the most memorable intimate scenes I have seen in a Korean BL. It was beautifully filmed, passionate and full of chemistry, and you could really feel the emotions between them. Their adorable winter date afterwards, with all the hand holding and endless kisses, made everything even sweeter. It is so hard to find a BL that manages to deliver both a story I genuinely care about and convincing romantic chemistry, but *Summertime* absolutely delivered both.

My only small criticism is the ending, but I’m going to ignore it because I really enjoyed the drama overall. 😂 Honestly, just don’t watch the last five minutes because I was NOT expecting THAT!

Overall, Summertime is beautiful, colourful, romantic and full of chemistry. The cinematography is gorgeous, the acting is strong, both male leads look fantastic together, and the story has exactly the kind of youthful romantic atmosphere I love.

If you love Korean BLs, youth romance, childhood friends to lovers, long held secret feelings, jealousy, love triangles and plenty of romantic tension, Summertime is definitely worth watching.

I’ve watched almost every high school BL released this year from Japan 🇯🇵, Thailand 🇹🇭 and Korea 🇰🇷, and Summertime has completely won me over. For me, it is the spiciest and boldest of them all and easily my favourite high school BL of 2026 so far! ❤️

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The final episodes (9,10) were a disgrace to the actors and the viewers!

I do understand why many people are pissed at this series. Everything was just fine till the end of ep 8 and then it went really into the crapper... Why is EunHo so insecure all of a sudden? That pissed me off... he never acted like that and than "voila" he was. And then is the reveal, that everything was just EunHos imagination and a dream. I do understand why people feel betrayed. What did the screenwriter and director smoke to do it that way? What was the goal behind it? Is it just to be "true" to the original work? Or could it be for a S2 to make it all different?

So my rating reflect the "dream" EunHo had, which would have been fine if they had choosen not to reveal it. They did everything right and it could have been one of the stellar korean productions we have seen this year, but no, they had to ruin it. Production quality was good, the acting was good for the most part, the kissing and nc-scenes were done from sensible to hot. All of it is fine... only the dream story is not. When we think they get together everything breaks apart.

Also a word to the sentence "some scenes where made with the help of AI". I want to share a bit of light on that. They used AI for weather effects. So they did not waste tons of water for rain, they only watered a small area and let AI fill in the rest. Also when the weather was not as beautiful as required the AI helped with removing clouds or color the leaves. In this case the use of AI made sense, helped save budget and they did not do anything cringe or akward with it.

If you watch this, you will be disappointed. And if you have watched it, you felt like your time was wasted with a dream. We can dream for ourselves, that's not why a BL exist. Update: After I read some comments, even the Manwha did not end that way. So "STUDIO OAK" what was the fucking reason to make it that way? Gays can only be happy in their dreams? 🤬

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DISAPPOINTED

I never thought this would be the review I’m leaving while I was still watching the drama, but I just finished watching the last episode and the only thing I have to say is what the actual f*ck.
this was so good, I genuinely enjoyed every single second of it everything was nice, the acting, the chemistry, like I was over the moon with how adorable they were and the insane chemistry between them, until the end that is. at first I was so confused, like maybe he was just dreaming and will wake up soon, but the whole drama was the actual dream…? that threw me of so so bad, and is the only reason I’m giving this a 6/10. I could’ve easily given it a 9 or a 10 even but to think everything that happened between them was just a dream is NOT IT I don’t even know who came up with that idea and thought it’s gonna leave the viewers go “holy plot twist” because it just made me go “holy shit”.
I still have to give it to them though and say they did an amazing job and I’ll just pretend the last part of the final episode didn’t happen at all for my own happiness.

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Come for the Heat, Stay for the Heart

Summertime announces itself very quickly as a Korean BL that is not interested in playing it safe. The sexual content is unusually explicit for a KBL, particularly given that the characters are 19-year-old high school seniors, and anyone uncomfortable with that should know it before starting. But reducing this drama to its provocative scenes would be a mistake. What surprised me most was how emotionally intelligent and genuinely moving it became.

Cha Do Hyeon and Yeo Eun Ho have known each other their entire lives. Their fathers were friends, their families are intertwined, and neither boy really remembers a life without the other in it. Do Hyeon has long understood that Eun Ho occupies a place in his life no one else does. Eun Ho, however, has never had much reason to examine their relationship at all. Do Hyeon is simply Do Hyeon—the person who has always been there.

That changes when romantic and sexual feelings begin forcing their way into a relationship that has existed comfortably for 19 years.

What Summertime does exceptionally well is take that disruption seriously. This isn’t simply a story about someone realizing he is attracted to another boy. Eun Ho has to confront what it means to suddenly see his lifelong best friend differently, what changing their relationship might cost them, and what these feelings mean for his understanding of himself. Even in a heterosexual romance, realizing you have fallen for a lifelong friend could destabilize a relationship you value enormously. Add an unexpected same-sex attraction, adolescence, graduation, and the uncertainty of approaching adulthood, and Eun Ho’s confusion feels remarkably believable.

Some of the strongest stretches of the drama are surprisingly quiet. Characters wander, think, avoid each other, remember, make terrible decisions, and try to understand emotions for which they don’t yet have the vocabulary. There is humor, but it arises naturally from the characters rather than turning the story into a comedy. One particularly funny sequence involving Eun Ho attempting to let chance determine his feelings manages to be adorable while also revealing exactly how desperately he wants a different answer from the one he already knows.

Kwon I Hyeon, a gay transfer student who initially seems positioned primarily as a romantic rival, becomes something more useful to the story. His presence forces some uncomfortable feelings into the open, but he also provides Eun Ho with a perspective he doesn’t have elsewhere. Importantly, he doesn’t hand Eun Ho an answer about his sexuality or tell him what he should do. Eun Ho still has to figure that out for himself.

The central relationship works because the drama establishes intimacy long before romance. Do Hyeon and Eun Ho know one another’s habits, families, weaknesses, and routines. They take care of each other almost automatically. That history gives even ordinary interactions emotional weight and makes the prospect of changing—or losing—the relationship feel consequential.

The chemistry between Seong In Ho (Do Hyeon) and Kim Do Min (Eun Ho) is excellent. It is certainly physical, and the drama does not leave much doubt about that, but the more impressive chemistry is in the quieter moments. Their comfort together feels lived-in. As Eun Ho’s understanding of Do Hyeon changes, the way he looks at him changes too, and that gradual shift is far more convincing than simply having the script announce that he has fallen in love.

The drama also understands that first love doesn’t happen in isolation. These boys are standing at the end of high school, when the lives they have always known are about to change. Questions about university, work, family expectations, self-worth, and who they want to become gradually become as important as the question of whether they want each other. For such short episodes, Summertime manages to explore a surprising amount without feeling like a checklist of coming-of-age issues.

It isn’t flawless. Some secondary characters remain fairly thin, and a few adults offer advice so spectacularly questionable that I wanted to climb through the screen and intervene. The short runtime also means certain transitions happen quickly. But the central relationship receives the attention it needs, and the writing repeatedly trusts small moments and behavior to communicate things that could easily have been overexplained.

And yes, the NC content is explicit—occasionally startlingly so. What ultimately impressed me, though, is that the physicality isn’t the drama’s substitute for emotional development. If anything, some of its most powerful episodes contain very little physical intimacy at all. Desire creates the crisis; the emotional consequences are where the story becomes compelling.

At only ten short episodes, Summertime accomplishes more character development than many BLs manage with twice the runtime. I started it thinking, “What on earth am I watching?” I finished it thinking about identity, friendship, first love, growing up, and how frightening it can be to discover that the person who has always been part of your past may also be the person you want in your future.

A surprisingly thoughtful, emotionally intense coming-of-age BL hiding underneath one very provocative first impression.

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A 10 if you ignore the ending

The drama is an extremely bold drama about 2 childhood friends in high school. The moment the first episode starts, you're hit with a jaw dropping moment. So much so that the actors weren't even shown the scene in their reaction video. But that's just the beginning!

The drama somewhat reminded me of The Time Of Fever where one lead is slowly failing to hide his attraction to the other and is practically hungry for him. That's what the intimate scenes of Summertime are like. Real passionate kisses. A bit of obsession but not to the extent of being a red flag.

The drama was very interesting and I eagerly awaited every episode. This will be a great binge! There is also a 3rd character and I must admit, at times I had second lead syndrome. There's a bit of mystery surrounding him.

The last 2 episodes could feel a bit annoying but you do see the signs of Yeo EunHo's struggle. It just becomes blaringly obvious towards the end. The only thing that I disliked was the very end. It left me extremely confused and annoyed. I read the director's statement and personally I don't buy it because it was badly portrayed as opposed to everything else. But the drama is too good to miss purely because of the ending so I gave it a 9.5/10.

Hope people give it a chance even if as a one time watch.

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INSANE chemistry and tension - BREATH TAKEN AWAY (literally)

ladies and sons of ladies LISTEN UP. dare i say the best bl to drop this year... if you get bored from bls easily this one gets you HOOKED from the start. literally has no boring episodes so far and usually when i watch bls the acting seems so artifical to me but in this one the acting is EXCEPTIONAL. yall thought prosecutors proposal was good? wait till you watch this because when i tell you the amount of times i had to shut my laptop and reconnect with nature...🫣 the intimate scenes had me blushing. All i have to say is that the director needs a raise and so does the screenwriter ( actually the whole ass crew needs one). i was literally doing backflips in my room when i saw that korean bls are finally taking more risks when it comes to intimacy. this one just feeds all your needs so much sexual tension i mean this had me gasping for air and talking to an imaginary audience. just enjoy it yall. 🙂‍↕️

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What the what?!?

Friends to lovers. It's always nice to see it play out and I'm always curious how they will cross that friend line. I wish they'd take more chances and give us more to hold onto. Nothing was really different from any other drama. I thought the premise was friends to lovers, but the ending seemed like it was trying to say something else?

It kind of felt a bit choppy throughout and that ending was interesting. Idk I feel like Eun Ho has decided to make more of his life now, but no matter what, it still includes Do Hyeon. It might have been better to have a few more episodes to show how he changed his life going forward because now I don't really get why it was all a dream and from what part was it a dream? I guess it was before Do Hyeon's bday so he already liked him... idk. It was choppy.

The dream to me was fine, but wtf was the "we are always in this summer". Like a time loop? It was unclear. Idk if there is a novel about this show or not, but I'm a big believe in not having to read the book to understand the live adaptations. A lot was unclear.

Worth a watch, better luck next time. ✌️

Update: umm so apparently that dream wasn't what most people thought. This is what I'm talking about. This show is kind of confusing if you haven't read the story its based on. Literally 30 seconds more of him snapping back to his older swlf would have been helpful 😅

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Summertime almost had me. And then it didn't.

The friends-to-lovers setup is genuinely one of the better ones I've seen. When Eun Ho worries that what he's feeling might just be physical attraction, Do Hyeon's response cuts straight to the point: the friendship has already changed. Whatever this is, it's already happening. That's a rare moment of honesty in a genre that usually treats the confession as the hard part.

The problem is that the series builds all this tension around two people crossing a line they can't uncross — and then gets weirdly coy about what crossing that line actually means for them. It's explicit enough to show the attraction, but not interested enough in showing what that attraction does to their dynamic. I didn't need more sex scenes. I wanted to understand what this meant for two people who've known each other their entire lives.

And then there's the ending.

I'm not going to explain it, partly because I'm genuinely not sure I can, and partly because I'm not sure I want to. What I can say is that it left me more confused than moved. An ending that needs a manual to make sense probably isn't doing its job.

Good performances, real chemistry, an interesting idea — and a series that kept stopping just short of the thing I actually wanted to see.

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Afraid of writing a spoiler tittle

Major spoiler ahead, do not ready before watching the drama or there would be no point in watching anymore.

Man, what in the world happened? lmfaooo. so technically, he was dreaming even in the dream? longest dream of century man, can't believe the whole drama was a dream. I saw that people were getting disappointed by the last two episodes and I immediately stayed away from any spoiler, I thought, maybe there's like an open ending, or sad ending or he went off to abroad or something. Didn't even think of the whole drama being a dream because they were already having quite a lot of detailed dreams from the starting episodes. We get it, writers are obsessed with the dream plot. hahaha
Personally, it was hilarious that they decided to end it like that. When you think about it from the pov of what the writers might be trying to say? I don't know, but I took it as that you know from start, It was Do-hyun being all over for Eun-ho, like literal obsessed lover and it was Eun ho who had to take time in understanding himself and digesting the whole new dynamic of their friendship but now the role has reversed, if there would be a season 2, it would be so interesting. Even now, imagining their world, where Eun ho is the one claiming Do hyun first, he would be the one being comfortable in doing everything with Do hyun, and it might be new for Do hyun now, everything. It is interesting, the receiver would be on the giver side. Idk, I am finding it interesting, the whole reverse thingy that will happen now between this relationship dynamic. I like the last dialogue where Eun-ho said, "Come and catch me, I am here waiting for you". Because this is exactly was Do-hyun was doing for Eun-ho in his dream.

Now about the drama, it is a good one time watch, very bold for korean industry, can't believe from not getting a single kiss scene in BL to getting intimates scenes that too in a high school BL. They are redefining the standards of intimacy for KBLs. I like their chemistry, it doesn't feel scripted, the scenes. It comes out very natural, you would enjoy their dynamics.
I personally like when TOP is a loser in love, so I liked his dream do hyun ( lmao) but yeah he did seem toxic with how he literally was so obsessed and territorial over Eun ho to the point where he won't even listen to what Eun ho wants and will do anything to satisfy his own desire. As Eun ho also called him, "Selfish bastard" he really was one. but the crack is that, eun ho likes that, so leave him man, bro is exactly where he wants to be.

Overall, it is a good one time watch, I love high school Bls and if you like childhood friends to lovers, clingy, obsessed, territorial top guy with his Feisty bottom then go for it!!

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what was the reason?

this was not a highly anticipated watch of mine since korean BL do not have good track records in my watchlist. i was getting ready to drop this as soon as eunho's insecure nonsense came to head in episode nine. then i read the comments here that revealed a major twist. i almost cackled with disbelief and finished episode ten some minutes ago.

studio oak seems to be leading in progressing BL forward in korea but then they fall short every time. whose decision was it to make the entire plot a fcking dream? for what reason? seriously, why? i feel robbed as a viewer. even though the end was not as treacherous as i was expecting, it still was not it at all. making it a dream is not even a logical decision but then leaving it on a cliffhanger is where eyes were rolled. we are supposed to interpret the ending ourselves too? foolishness.

the kissing was fire and that was all this was worth. this deserves a lower overall score for playing in my face.

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Good and then suddenly add in random things

First of all, everything was perfect at the start. I loved how they introduced the characters, the chemistry between the MLs, and the acting. However, after they got together and were finally happy, the story suddenly drops the f-bomb on us. Suddenly Eunho is insecure and dumps Dohyeon when he never cared about his achievements before. And maybe it was because Eunho didn’t think about the future as deeply before, but it doesn’t make sense for his character to suddenly become insecure when he was so stable before. And after all that, they also suddenly tell us it was all a dream happening in Eunho’s imagination??? Like make that make sense?? It makes no sense to build all this character development and story then suddenly drop it all with a plot twist that completely differs from what was initially developed throughout almost the entire show. It would’ve been perfect if they just ended the show after they got together and headed to college together, happily.

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