Queer story. From 2015. WITH A HAPPY ENDING

Let me start out by letting you know, I only watched Takuya and Joon Jae's storyline. But this makes it one of the most groundbreaking dramas of its time, and by extension, history. Takuya and Joon Jae's story is beautiful and realistic. It shows what someone in their situation would be feeling without getting too grim, but not reaching the surreality of BL (homophobia doesn't exist). I loved it. The acting was fantastic, and the actors didn't have the holdups that actors seem to today acting in BL. I'm not sure I'd even qualify this as BL. Maybe the forebearer of Korean BL simply by virtue of having a story where two men fall in love, but BL has the purpose of making the audience feel happy and to enjoy a relationship that is outside the standard rigidity of modern-day society. This was just a story among other stories where people explore their sexualities and preferences. And I love it. Oh, and also let me repeat THEY HAVE A HAPPY ENDING!!! Like what? This makes me almost proud of Korea (if I didn't know what the current homophobia people in Korea face today. Actually, that makes this show even more incredible. How did they get this past the Christian hardliners!? And everyone else? Why isn't this lauded on every site and list devoted to BL and queer media?! UGH, the travesty! But it exists! And people have watched it! ANd I have watched it, so all is good now in the world)

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very cute with some very incredible actors

I liked the dynamic between the two leads. I like it when the power dynamic is "reversed" i,e, not based on gender roles, and I like the devotion the characters show each other. They are very observant of each other and I have never seen a show/person better at recognizing someone's strengths and portraying them in a cool, upfront, and selfless way.
Of course, while this stems from a good (if standard) story line, it is the acting of the Male Lead that puts this show at the top. He brings out the best in the plot and in the characterization. I can go on, but one thing that really stuck out to me was that in so many East Asian dramas, the male lead catches the female lead when she trips or something, but in this one, it's the female lead that does!!! I LOVE IT. The gender police's sirens aren't going off. She's not a bulked up warrior, she doesn't have to be! You don't have to be as strong as a man to catch someone in your arms! Or trap them up against the wall with your hands bracketing either side of your face. There doesn't have to be a reversal of gender roles because it's cute and hot and it makes the audience's (and hopefully the male lead's heart go doki doki even more! It rejuvenates an overused plot point, it puts characters on a more equal footing, it adds depth to the possibilities that this genre can offer and the twists and the cute scenes this drama can take! It's so fun and beautiful.

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Fantastic except how they treated talk of suicide and used gayness as slap-stick

I want to say that I loved this drama and watched it all in one sitting. I also had two holdbacks that kept slapping me across the face as the show went on because they never went away.
How they treated talk of suicide and used gayness as slap-stick.
Spoilers from here on.

Eun Yu travels back in time to literally kill herself. She tells Eun Gyeol multiple times, and NOT THING HAPPENS. HE BARELY REACTS AND BY EPISODE 12 IT'S LIKE SHE'S TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER. IF THIS WAS NOT FICTION (AND EVEN IN FICTION), WHEN SOMEONE TELLS YOU THEY'RE GOING TO KILL THEMSELVES, COUNT YOURSELF LUCKY THEY TOLD YOU THIS TIME. I DON'T CARE IF THEY'RE JOKING, OR UNSURE, OR IT'S SPUR OF THE MOMENT.
THIS. IS. A. CRY. FOR. HELP.
I would give anything for him to have reacted appropriately once. To have acknowledged what she said, to have even checked in, "so, I hear you want to kill yourself. You serious?" Instead, by episode 12, she's holding full conversations about coming here to kill herself multiple times in an episode, and .... and.... HOW CAN THE CONVERSATION JUST CONTINUE. I'm sitting here, like, wait, dude, bro, like what? Are you at least going to ask her if she still plans to kill herself? She's talking in the present tense here and it's not the subtitles' fault.
If you were someone who has a suicidal friend or family member and saw this and even considered for a moment, "this is how people respond when someone tells you they're trying to kill themselves?" that's bad. If suicide isn't talked about in a community, and more media than not treats it as unreal, un-urgent, or even a joke... this will affect your view and behavior. You are also going to treat it that way. And if you, the reader are saying "media doesn't affect your behavior; no one's that stupid," have you seen the internet? Are you not here on this website? Have you heard of Hallyu? The Korean Government knows how much media affects people's beliefs and behaviours. They built their entire trillion-dollar economy on it.
If you are suicidal and see someone else's suicidal behavior talked about like this, you're going to be horrified. You're going to take this as more evidence that if you tell people they won't take you seriously. Also, this is Korea, one of the countries with the highest suicide rate in the world. If you think about it, it's absolutely f-cked up that they treat suicide like this. "Oh, suicide, it's a part of life. Let's pretend she didn't say anything. Everyone's a bit suicidal these days, etc."
For - using gayness as a joke was very off-putting. Each time someone accused the brother or father of being gay for the other, they both reacted like it was the end of the world (Maybe that's what the ultra-devout Christians want us to believe, so what, you want to forward their agenda) You couldn't just leave it at a friend being overprotective of a friend/family member they are afraid for? You had to say that that much affection and protectiveness between or shown by a man must mean he's gay!?!?! Wow. Just Wow. I know it's a plot device, but please. This is only a stairway landing up from killing the gays - yay, we made it into the 20th century, now let's just make fun of gay people and use them to excuse away too much male sentimentality. wow.

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I was really lookingforward to this because Chimon is one of the actors I appreciate most from Thailand. I think his acting was just fine in this, I just feel bad for him. I feel like he had to force himself. I always wonder how much of a choice actors have, or moreso, how much pressure actors face to be in BLsespecially being an actor for GMMTV and being in a counrty where their BLs are world reknowned meaning they're being pushed by the literal government.
Has he been limited to BLs because of he has been side characters in them before? I always worry. I just can't imagine trying to act a sexuality that's not your own. Ok, actually I can all to well given that's what I do every day of my life. It fricked me up. And to have to do that for the world at large? It isn't the same because you can go back to your straight life, but the shadow will always be there. I'm sure stranges on the street will stop them and ask, and they'll always be wondering if that's something the person across from them is judging them for.
Summary: I have never seen a couple with less chemistry in my entire life. but not in a bad acting kind of way (there are all too many of those). It was just two straight guys that couldn't reach that far into their psychy nor escape the world we live in that tells us that gayness is weird and wrong. I 100% can't do it.
Anways, the chemistry was so lacking, awkward, and embarrassing that I can't even watch them attempt anything more intimate. Hence stopping at ep 7. Reading theough peopel's comments and seeing that they had to do the most intimate types of scenes makes me shudder to think of it. And it seems like I wasn't the only one,
And still, Chimon's smirk. CHimon's half smile. We love to see it.

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Worth watching, but a mixture of good and bad

I loved the general idea and follow-through of two of the three storylines. (hopefully not a spoiler) but I'm a huge fan of the "I'm in love with my straight, oblivious best friend who makes my life all miserable" and they did a pretty good job with it. I felt Min Woo's pain, but then it became a little choppy/rushed.
I loved Lee Hyun and Kim An's storyline because of Lee Hyun's unwavering devotion to Kim An despite all he had been through, slowly showing him he can let love in. But Kim Yong Seok was (rightly) just done with his character by episode 9. His character had seemed like a strong character who was fighting through so much sh*t, and was in reach of making it out the other side, and then, well that would be a spoiler, but in general, I feel like the "weakness" and dependence shown by the character later on was out of character, and Kim Yong Seok (and I) were not fans.
The last one was just ... present? I'm sure there was a story being told, but I can't really isolate it. Nevertheless, Jung Woo Jae was one of the best actors in the show. (I was surprised that J-min was the best actor. Should I be surprised that an idol is an incredible actor? Or am I being partial)
(other?) Complaints:
Like what was it with the boom mikes floating along the top of the screen at least two different times - the first time they were in front of Kim An's house, and the second was in Ep. 9. I don't know a lot about filming, but I Can't think of anything more unprofessional and easily fixed. Like, that seems like the biggest no-no.
While I enjoyed the individual storylines, the ending of each (especially Maru and Min Woo) seemed rushed, but then they stretched out the ending also known as who-even-knows-what-is-happening-after-everyone-got-together-but-let's-make-it-as-awkward-and-poinless-as-sh*t. i.e. Episode 10 should not exist. It was the epitome of awkward cringe. I watched it because the characters' stories and actors had brought me in and I wanted to stay with them until the end. There were still little cute moments in the mix, but it still was painful to watch. You could tell Gim An/Kim Yong Seok had had enough. (somewhat of a spoiler) Forcing all storylines to converge in a nonsensical way, and have six men sit and talk in a circle about each other and nothing while glamping together? Nah, man.

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Great story, progressive ish content, bad acting in 2/4 MC

The title says it all, but I want to focus on what I found progressive. This is the first time where I watched a show that (sadly still) assigned top and bottom but this time the top took on many of the “womanly traits” like cooking and maybe stronger emotions, though that equally could have been the quality of acting. He was definite The cuter one, but still was the top. It’s bad to say, “oh it defied gender stereotypes,” because it still
assigned top and bottom. Or giver and receiver. But it twisted the “top = man” bottom = woman. Idk. I found it so refreshing in the moment that i wanted to write a whole review about it.
As for the story and acting, the acting was bad, but it didn’t really take away from the overall show other than to make me feel bad/ embarrassed for the actors. I really enjoyed the storyline, and it was compelling enough that I looked forward to the show every day. I would recommend unless you don’t like bad acting. And I mean bass. I have not seen acting this bad in living
memory. But it was cute and fun. Except for that one scene on the subway tunnel by Ren

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This = gaslighting and harassment. If in a similar position, it's ok to say no and be respected

It's sad to see again how people can find abuse, stalking and gaslighting cute. This is something called romantic harassment and abuse. The end results are the same. It's when someone keeps making advances, touching you and controlling you even after you say no over and over again and all the while you feel discomfort, you feel fear, you avoid places you normally go and it affects your ability to work and be comfortable in your own skin. These are the products of abuse, clear as day, so it hurts to see this idolized. Please don't view this drama and the actions of the "love interest" as ok.

This. is. not. ok.

Put yourself into the main character’s shoes, and imagine telling a pushy person to stop invading your personal space, but that person just wouldn’t stop touching you, getting into your way and stalking you. Wouldn’t you start to get annoyed, or even creeped out?

For those shouting, oh, it’s just fiction, don’t watch if you don’t like, I respond, no! That kind of disrespect should never be considered the basis of a healthy relationship.

The main character is virtually being gaslit into a romantic "situation " by the so called love interest and the whole team of oblivious and horrible coworkers.

This is not how good BLs should be. There are already quite a few really stellar series of that genre out there that clearly demonstrate how a good enemies/rivals to lovers story should be written.

Please stop normalising and romanticising abusive behaviour. It is neither cute nor should it set an example for anyone looking into getting into a relationship, or just living their lives, as this main character was.

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Great representation

I liked how there were no tropes. It felt like a real story. It was very accepting of queer identities, they talked about queer identities instead of brushing them behind a bush like some other BL dramas coughKoreacough. I especially liked what the dad had to say at the end and how there was a bit at the end for SOGIESC (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics) by the PHILIPPINE ANTI-DESCRIMINATION ALLIANCE OF YOUTH LEADERS.
I LOVED IT. It was maybe my favorite part. Imagine if a Koran BL with two members of a kpop boy group had a section on the definition of bisexuality put on by a LGBTQIA group?! In other words, let's support all the Filippino dramas! They're far ahead of other countries and their media. OMG, imagine if the US tried to make BL. I think hollywood would get razed to the ground by angry fujoshi (me included. It'd just be a capitalist move/gimmick anyways).

Good story, some plot gaps, odd scene placement, fantastically diverse characters, some very beautiful characters. Thanks producers! I got pleasure out of this show and from some of the most unexpected places.

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Perfect depiction of sexual abuse... by the main characters.

Sadly, Rain and Prayu's relationship is based on full-on sexual assault. Rain says no, and Prayu keeps going. Rain says no over and over again. Prayu approaches him over and over again. When someone holds something over your head to make you do something, that is force. When Prayu is in the bathroom and he makes Rain say sweet things to him by threatening him with the others finding out, that’s forcing Rain to do something without his consent. Him running his hands up and down Rain’s body until Rain stops fighting? That is 110% assault. If someone says no, it’s no, if someone holds something over your head until you say yes, that’s still not consent = that’s still a no. If someone runs their hands up and down your body until you stop pushing them away, that is still not consent. Imagine this was your brother. If you’re watching your brother get pinned up against the wall by someone to who he owes money, and they run their hands (and pretty much their mouth) up and down his body while your brother pushes them away, saying no over and over again, would you cheer when your brother gives up? And would you like to see the person manipulating your brother start dating him? Your heart would break for him. I’ve seen friends experience this, and one of them currently has an ex-husband in jail for sexual assault and possession of illegal firearms. And she met him at a drag race (Coincidentally)

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fantastic acting. Just one plot gaaaaap. and that god damn ring. Homophobia? You tell me.

incredible acting. 20 out of ten. makes up for everything else. Mostly. two things significantly bring this down. First, the story progression... Like, they saw each other then poof they're in love. Like other than them saying they were in love, there's nothing that lead to that. Especially for vampire what's his name. I would have liked for there to be any indication of something that might have attracted him to farm boy. but nope, all of a sudden, I can suck his blood and oh surprise, I'm in love with him. Grrr.
The second? THAT RING! He even kicked it! They had two opportunities to get it on his finger! Really, is Korea that homophobic? I mean they just made a BL! They could at least not drop that ring. In more ways than one. Like they didn't even need to have it because it's worse this way. It feels like a concerted slap at gay marriage. Anyway. good job actors. Fighting at boys planet. May being in BLs only propel you forward as well as propel acceptance of queerness in Korean and international society.

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I'm just going to have to reimagine the ending, but not for the reasons you think. Any ideas?

1. Yang Hua. Enough said.
But actually, he's like so progressive, but like in a, well duh, kind of way, better yet, he's progressive in such a way that he makes progressive the new standard and anything else antiquated and regressive. And it results in the (obvious) tolerance, love, devotion, forward-thing, accepting, respecting, and intelligent person he is. I mean, he defends and defines the entire concept of feminism while just discussing the topic for one of her cases. (I am going to save his words until the end of time). I mean, he's simply using his unassailable intelligence and logical reasoning to lay out succinctly why the patriarchy exists and why it is created out of man's fear of losing power and control of human capital, i.e. that the patriarchy is stupid, and that women are biologically and societally more valuable than men, and that men are the lucky ones to be allowed around women, and unconsciously adds that he is especially lucky because he's with her. And the female audience is like, wait wut? and plays the scene another twenty times.
2. progressive relationships
2.a. that the woman is the breadwinner and the man is the homemaker.
I find this especially progressive for China, and yes, at the end, they imply that he's become a HUGE name in his field, but what's important is he clearly expressed throughout the show that he didn't need that. That her being the breadwinner was something that he loved about her and respected in her and promoted for her. Uh, I'm fangirling so much right now. That scene where she totally schools the top lawyers at that party where all the men are around the table smoking and drinking whiskey and they try to make her agree with their sexist comments about women belonging in the house and being best kept in the house rather than working... ok so after that, they try to turn it back on her and ask how her husband would feel/feels and he comes up behind her and puts his arms behind her and defends her, saying he's happiest when she is doing this, and happy keeping home so she can do this. We were all like SNAAAAAAP. Gah his character was the best. I have seen that actor in other shows and I thought he was extremely talented in those and I will admit, I came here to see good acting from him again, and while I wasn't blown away, it wasn't by bad acting, it was simply the character he was playing had subtler emotions, but when they came out ooooo, it was nice to see. like when SPOILER=======he asks her for the divorce and his eyes... I could feel his pain so close to my heart. And his reasoning for the divorce, I know some viewers didn't like it, but I thought it was beautiful and it showed such a close understanding of her thoughts and fears and her character. He knew what she was using the marriage to hide from, he understood, from her families context, and how she cared for her family her views on marriage and where her feelings and fears and insecurities stemmed from, and he gave her just what she needed.... and then the plot fell apart. I think I understand why he didn't "choose" between her and Yao Yao, or at least the second time, it felt like he was sad that she didn't understand the depths of his feelings for her and that she could even think that of him. But then, the showing up at the restaurant to pick up Yao Yao. and then at the airport when he saw Yao Yao and her son (omg what a great actor/character) off what he said around, "I've got it, I've got a plan, I'll take it from here" after pretty much tricking her into thinking he went to Australia with him? As other reviews pointed out, it shows a manipulative side that was very not in character. I'd like to think that his plan was just to give her time to reach the decision that allowed her to balance her morals and her career (i.e. not going back to that toxic law firm and staying independent), before she could move on to deal with other things like figuring out her feelings on marriage and if and how she wanted him in her life. So wft, what was with him just moving in across the hall. Him thinking, "Psych, I've decided it's been enough becuase now I'm acting like a stuck-up know-it-all (he was just a plain, carefree know-it-all before) now that he a CEO of one of the biggest organizations in China?" Like did anyone else feel like he was almost conceited?
2.b open/non-standard relationship
When he was talking with the parents he said he was fine with however she wanted him in her life, and given her experience with the marriages around her, family members as well as a divorce lawyer, he explicitly said they didn't need to be married. It's just a label afterall, and if their relationship wasn't pressured into a particular mold or expectation if the word marriage was attached to it, then that was what he wanted for them.
I couldn't tell from the ending what kind of relationship they were going to form, but knowing Chinese censorship, I'm almost positive it didn't end up as an open relationship (though it looks like they wouldn't be living in the same house, which is already one step of the normative relationship ladder).

So back to creating our own ending. How can we make one where he doesn't appear to be manipulative, scheming, or pretentious? How can we make it where she reaches an equilibrium with her ideas around marriage and what she wants in a relationship, and then *she goes out and FINDS HIM?* I don't like that he just moved in across from her. Consent?? Hello? Also, what about waiting for The Character growth you were working on so hard for her to complete? I mean I guess we can as omniscient readers make him omniscient and say, tada! he knows she finally took that step in her career that put her values and justice at the front, but that still showed nothing about her coming to terms with her feelings for him (THIS IS A G-DAMN ROMANCE SHOW) She never said I love you.

Ok, so circling back. Ideal ending: an ending where
1 he stays true to his nature,
2 they have a relationship that is different enough from the norm such that how they define it, whether as marriage or not, allows her to feel comfort and safety, but most importantly one free/unconstricted/unconstrained by the trappings that the word marriage brings to a relationship,
3 it allows for the non-standard gender roles to be played out in whatever way the characters needed, and
4 She reconciles where she wants to stand with her career (the only thing that actually happened) and with him, and then goes out and does something about it herself. Not him, like wtf.

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Good story, great acting, no chemistry, and plot gaps

Idk what the hulabaloo was about. Story was interesting but had its plot gaps. Especially in the end. But, sorry, THERE WAS NO CHEMISTRY. They spent most of the time trying to it make Tin appear like a creep to Tol. Like WE knew Tin wasn’t a creep, but the characters like Tol and co didn’t and we’re rightfully creeped out. There was just never a jump to romance or romantic chemistry. He looked like a creep to Tol and then he looked like less of a creep. And it’s nothing on the plot or acting. The acting was fantastic, the story good, the romance and spark was not. Maybe because of everything else. It was a fantastic time leap show that forgot it was a bl too. I love good stories in BL I hope the greater market sees it and appreciates it. I just selfishly wanted chemistry.

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Like literally peeling an unsensored Japanese manga BL off it's pages.

Porsche's acting was incredible, I liked his little brother, Kim was good (his voice and storyline at least. Not sure about that acting). But They could have 1) not had rape, though surprisingly they almost admitted it was rape. 2) improved Vegas and Pete's storyline to be more clear (oh, Vegas's acting (and bi-lingual-ness) was also incredible). I think they could have added a couple lines that explained that Vegas loved Pete because he really saw him and liked him for who he was, both with and without the trappings that came with being part of the minor family (dude, you can actually be someone now that you're OUT of the minor family, you're free Vegas (facepalm)), and Pete, I think ... well I'm out of my depths, but I think Vegas opened him up to his sub/kink desires and let him embrace them and not be disgusted with himself for it. But without this context, it's kinda sick... and falls flat. With Porsche/Kinn they had such the perfect opportunity to break out of the uke/seme, top/bottom, male/female stereotypes/roles, I would have loved to see Porsche top at least once. And not for titillation, but because I came here (to a BL) to NOT see romantic and sexual relationships defined by gender roles, nay, I wanted to see them FREE of gender roles. How can I describe this. I want to see the potential of society to dismiss, nay, demolish the barriers and stigmatism that uses gender as an excuse to say women are lesser, emotionally vulnerable, subservient, and dependent, and men must be powerful and emotionless and violent. You give us a show that tells us gender doesn't matter in love, but assigning "gender roles" says that gender stereotypes do matter, that they must be maintained. It's like they're saying sexual and romantic freedom is free... but only in fiction because you have to stick to your place in your gender role. Completely reversing every freedom viewers often look for in these shows. Straight women look for sex without gender roles and a place where they can play out their desires without stigma. And queer people look for queerness. So stop assigning gender roles. Nothing but straight men are looking for that, and if they're watching this, they're hopefully questioning gender roles and sexuality as we speak. And not hate-watching something. Like what is that.

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really good, appreciate their acting, and their …chemistry? Not even a strong enough word

. I have watched a lot of romance shows and I’m often more convinced by one character’s love than another. That was not the case here. The whole time I could FEEL ML2’s love for the ML, but when ML fell, I could FEEL his love for ML2. I was equally convinced. This manifests both from a terrific story line, AND terrific acting. Thank you. You weren’t perfect, but you were one of the most special.

Also, since it seems like, for the first time I’m my life, I haven’t reached the word limit, I also wanted to add that I loved how both the main characters were NOT models. They were not the highest standards of beauty and that made them all the more beautiful. Especially Roah, ML 2. Edit: second time around and Ro-a is beautiful in my eyes. Indubitably. And made that way by what I feel was simply good acting (when looking at Jiwoo 😂) so whether he’s physically handsome or not, I am unable to say, because it’s all blended together. ML 1 (jiwoo) isn’t pretty either, but he’s SO cute when folded in Ro-a’s arms 😆 and this is infinitely more important than physically beautiful actors.

More to the Edit; I’m back editing this review because I when I asked myself, what’s one of my favorite bl, this came to mind first. Why? Acting and well, embarrassingly, their chemistry. Like I’d always been suspicious of “chemistry” but for me, they … at the end, I really felt that their hearts were breaking for each other. And being mended by each other. Especially Ro-a.

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Really good with a little too much discomfort.

One decent actor doesn’t make up for a really bad actor and a story line that makes you severely uncomfortable. I’m hella queer too. It made me uncomfortable as a queer person. Queerness was never mentioned but kuta shuddered all the time at the thought of liking a guy. He had to always force himself. And forcing yourself to be “gay” is just like a gay person forcing themselves to be straight.it made me sick. Naoya’s really bad acting made it exponentially worse. But I do love Japanese bl. I love how noya was so respectful of his boundaries and wishes. There was just so so so much potential. That’sa huge part of why I’m grading it so harshly

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