I agree with all you said and I still rated it highly because their tragedy touched me. I am a sucker for tragedy…
I don't mind tragic endings, but I would have prefered a happy(ier) ending, but since that's not what we got I like the route they went it. Ryu dropping everything to rush to his side and the let's just be together while we can sort of thing.
Can't help notice that with the het couple they show a confession right away. And sure we don't see them kissing etc on screen, but they get married, she falls pregnant. But with the male leads everything has to be so suble, read between the lines type of thing. We get some hints that their relationship is not a mere friendship. And the last scene is very direct imo, but it's too little too late. I wish there was less room for ambiguity, less room for interpretation. I wanted them to had become a gay couple, not two friends who clearly have feelings for each other but don't act on it living with a female friend and her baby. This could have gone very different had the director not decided to make a supporting character front and center and focused on developping Ryu and Johan relationship.
This was a pretty good ngl.
But with the male leads everything has to be so suble, read between the lines type of thing. We get some hints that their relationship is not a mere friendship. And the last scene is very direct imo, but it's too little too late. I wish there was less room for ambiguity, less room for interpretation. I wanted them to had become a gay couple, not two friends who clearly have feelings for each other but don't act on it living with a female friend and her baby.
This could have gone very different had the director not decided to make a supporting character front and center and focused on developping Ryu and Johan relationship.