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This review may contain spoilers
Great chemistry, yet leaves a lot to be desired
This is a great watch for the BL chemistry of the 2 leads. Kim Yunsik and Park Si-wok's scenes together were so, so good here. Screen was on fire 🔥
In terms of BL coupling I couldn't praise it enough. Kim Yunsik and Park Si-woo were a wonderful together. They looked really good together onscreen. I loved that Kim Yunsik was able to pull off being the dominant/top partner who was also a tsundere. He was cold and heartless, yet also the type to only be caring towards the one he cares about. On the other hand Park Si-woo being this calm and collected guy perfectly fit the bill for Lee Chaeha. Visually and physically I also loved their size difference - Park Si-woo looked so small against Kim Yunsik, it made even their non-intimate scenes a treat to watch (size differences always a guilty pleasure 🤌)
Yet there's still disappointment with how this was executed in terms of the plot and overall story. The pace was just bad. This should have been a full 1 hour long, 12 episode drama in my opinion. There was too many holes, gaps and questions in the plot.
To begin with the plot was simply boring. It focused on Taeson and Chaeha's work setting, but it felt like it had nothing to do with them directly at all until episodes 7-8. The episodes were so short yet felt like it was becoming a chore to watch. I stuck it out because I knew I wanted to watch simply for the intense scenes between the main leads.
When the main plot does kick in, it also becomes very predictable. For example it was easy to figure out that their co-worker (Mr Song) was the 'secret son' around Episode 7, so the grand build up till the climax in Episode 10 didn't feel all that great IMO. There was no suspense or high stakes that kept you on the edge of the seat.
Even the main point of the drama, the relationship between the main leads, didn't feel fleshed out enough to leave any lasting impact. Infact it left me with so many questions:
- Taeson supposedly hated Chaeha for so long, yet we are supposed to believe he quickly falls for Chaeha within the first 3 or 4 short episodes? No build up at all.
- Taeson clearly said he wanted to keep a boundary of being sex partners, but then suddenly becomes jealous and possessive when Chaeha spends time with someone else? There's no explanation for why Taeson suddenly wants to be his romantic partner too.
- How does Chaeha ignore the idea of only being a sexual partner? I feel this was not brought up at all when it should have. Chaeha should have brought it up when Taeson was asking him for a date lol.
- Why and how does Chaeha get over Taeson lying to him about his identity? The big reveal happens at the end of Episode 8, yet it was all fine between them towards the end of Episode 9. A single big incident like Chaeha almost being strangled isn't enough to fix everything.
- Lastly, WHY do Taeson and Chaeha fall for each other? Besides having the great hots for one another, WHAT are the reasons they like each other? We don't know why Taeson likes Chaeha, and I certainly never got why Chaeha liked Taeson when the latter kept reminding him every 10 minutes about being the son of a murderer.
It felt like I was watching a short vertical drama, which this was probably close to anyway in terms of illogical plot and length. There's no development in terms of plot, character arcs and motivations, or even the love story.
In the end, we also only get a single romantic scene between them on the beach in front of a visually lovely sunset. But it's not enough. If it was a longer drama we could have seen them being in love and dating. It doesn't have any arc where it gives you more of them being together, hence feels fleeting and non-impactful. There is still 1 or 2 lovely lines and scenes between them until then, my favorite was at the end of Episode 9, when Taeson apologises and Chaeha says "Instead of being happy alone, I would rather be miserable with you." ❤️ This is the kind of thing we needed more of. More angst, more romance, more love..... And more visually appealing and heart-eyed Kim Yunsik if you ask me 😍. Instead I think it's better to watch for their intense intimate scenes in context of a BL.
Overall a 6/10. This is a good rating considering the leads chemistry was by far the best part.
In terms of BL coupling I couldn't praise it enough. Kim Yunsik and Park Si-woo were a wonderful together. They looked really good together onscreen. I loved that Kim Yunsik was able to pull off being the dominant/top partner who was also a tsundere. He was cold and heartless, yet also the type to only be caring towards the one he cares about. On the other hand Park Si-woo being this calm and collected guy perfectly fit the bill for Lee Chaeha. Visually and physically I also loved their size difference - Park Si-woo looked so small against Kim Yunsik, it made even their non-intimate scenes a treat to watch (size differences always a guilty pleasure 🤌)
Yet there's still disappointment with how this was executed in terms of the plot and overall story. The pace was just bad. This should have been a full 1 hour long, 12 episode drama in my opinion. There was too many holes, gaps and questions in the plot.
To begin with the plot was simply boring. It focused on Taeson and Chaeha's work setting, but it felt like it had nothing to do with them directly at all until episodes 7-8. The episodes were so short yet felt like it was becoming a chore to watch. I stuck it out because I knew I wanted to watch simply for the intense scenes between the main leads.
When the main plot does kick in, it also becomes very predictable. For example it was easy to figure out that their co-worker (Mr Song) was the 'secret son' around Episode 7, so the grand build up till the climax in Episode 10 didn't feel all that great IMO. There was no suspense or high stakes that kept you on the edge of the seat.
Even the main point of the drama, the relationship between the main leads, didn't feel fleshed out enough to leave any lasting impact. Infact it left me with so many questions:
- Taeson supposedly hated Chaeha for so long, yet we are supposed to believe he quickly falls for Chaeha within the first 3 or 4 short episodes? No build up at all.
- Taeson clearly said he wanted to keep a boundary of being sex partners, but then suddenly becomes jealous and possessive when Chaeha spends time with someone else? There's no explanation for why Taeson suddenly wants to be his romantic partner too.
- How does Chaeha ignore the idea of only being a sexual partner? I feel this was not brought up at all when it should have. Chaeha should have brought it up when Taeson was asking him for a date lol.
- Why and how does Chaeha get over Taeson lying to him about his identity? The big reveal happens at the end of Episode 8, yet it was all fine between them towards the end of Episode 9. A single big incident like Chaeha almost being strangled isn't enough to fix everything.
- Lastly, WHY do Taeson and Chaeha fall for each other? Besides having the great hots for one another, WHAT are the reasons they like each other? We don't know why Taeson likes Chaeha, and I certainly never got why Chaeha liked Taeson when the latter kept reminding him every 10 minutes about being the son of a murderer.
It felt like I was watching a short vertical drama, which this was probably close to anyway in terms of illogical plot and length. There's no development in terms of plot, character arcs and motivations, or even the love story.
In the end, we also only get a single romantic scene between them on the beach in front of a visually lovely sunset. But it's not enough. If it was a longer drama we could have seen them being in love and dating. It doesn't have any arc where it gives you more of them being together, hence feels fleeting and non-impactful. There is still 1 or 2 lovely lines and scenes between them until then, my favorite was at the end of Episode 9, when Taeson apologises and Chaeha says "Instead of being happy alone, I would rather be miserable with you." ❤️ This is the kind of thing we needed more of. More angst, more romance, more love..... And more visually appealing and heart-eyed Kim Yunsik if you ask me 😍. Instead I think it's better to watch for their intense intimate scenes in context of a BL.
Overall a 6/10. This is a good rating considering the leads chemistry was by far the best part.
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