I Didn't Want To Like It But I Do

As the headline states, I didn't want to like this show. The show- and the character Thyme- goes a bit far with physical violence -though he only raises his hand once at the main character without actually hitting her- and I would implore anyone in a relationship like this to leave it immediate. I feel the need to say that as I know a lot of the fans of shows like this are teens who could get the wrong idea.

Still... The actors, the plot and the humor stole my heart. I'm completely fixated on this series. I typically only watch BL but this show is so electric. Even while I question the need or even the morality of creating stories like this while abusive relationships are so prominent in the real world, I must admit that this series is addictive. I suppose as long as one is capable of criticizing the media they consume, it should be fine. I just implore any young woman or man watching this to do that.

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A Masterpiece

*The dynamic between Kang Gook and Tae Joo is uneven and unhealthy, with Kang Gook being an employee and Tae Joo being mean and manipulative at times, (asking him to hold him "like his mom" and pretending that Kang Gook sprained/injured his arm during a martial arts session) to Kang Gook as well as to women.

Part of what fascinates me most about Kang Gook and Tae Joo is exactly what makes the relationship so unhealthy: the many hats that Kang Gook wears for Tae Joo. Kang Gook is his bodyguard and something of a butler, an employee but also his only friend, the man he's in love with but also his whipping boy, as well as something of a pseudo parental figure (A couple of times in the story, Tae Joo ponders out loud why he acts the way he does about Kang Gook. I believe part of this is him genuinely asking Kang Gook. After all, Kang Gook is wearing so many hats for him and Tae Joo is surely emotionally stunted in several ways. Him asking him to hold him "like his mother" was undoubtedly manipulative, but I do believe that Kang Gook provides comfort that he cannot get from his father).

This combined with the tension between the two make for storytelling that compensates for it's many unexplained circumstances: Why did Tae Joo's father employee what appears to be a fellow teenager to guard his teenage son? How did he find him and where are Kang Gook's parents? Why did Tae Joo stay so long in England if just to come back not long after Kang Gook decided he was leaving ?(let me know if I misunderstood something in the final episode)

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