Not as good as the poster would have you think

At first glance, I had already set up a level of expectation from the poster alone. It perfectly portrayed a gentle longing; muted tones, a mellow gaze. The plot described was a simple one that has been seen many times before in LGBTQ+ media, the dynamic between a charismatic, yet oblivious character and their overprotective friend, who takes it upon them self to tend to their every need whilst disguising their deeper feelings as being strictly platonic. This appealed to me as, although it is a common trope, I personally enjoy stories of angst and slow burn romance. However, after completing the series , I was let down by the execution and production of the plot.

*Disclaimer: I watched the series on a random site, was not able to find it on a proper streaming site and have only just found out it was on Viki, so the quality was not the best*

Story:
It starts off great, characters are introduced and established as themselves, Han Tae Joo is our charismatic, flirty main lead. Gang Gook is his childhood best friend, who makes it a priority to look after and protect him. It's simple and sweet, and they've done a surprisingly good job of stretching out the 10 minutes of each episode, it did not feel too short at all and was easy to consume passively. The two maintained a playfulness that was endearing , but got out of hand at times with Gang Gook's possessiveness and Tae Joon's straightforwardness. I felt uncomfortable at the commentary coming from Hye Mi and her mother as it was straight up fetishization . This is not uncommon in LGBT+ portrayed media, especially ones created by people who are not in the community and have little understanding or self awareness at these remarks. It, however, felt especially nasty coming from a character in her 40's-50's (?). Not only was it extremely inappropriate, it was especially gross when you remember the fact that they are highschoolers. Having a grown woman sexualize their relationship and ask invasive questions just made me incredibly uncomfortable. Moving on, some of the actions of the main couple were questionable, but the story proceeded and played out as expected. It ended well and was just overall a very simple plot, moving from point A to point B. It was very clear in the execution that the target demographic of the show was an audience of "fujoshis" and those that enjoy the "exoticism" of same sex relationships. It depicted a surface level romance with common stereotypes and did not do a thing in terms of inclusivity or proper representation. Overall, It did not go out of its way to impress but it got the job done, I enjoyed its simplicity and it kept me entertained for an hour.

Production:
Some scenes were poor in quality. The lighting would be off, in certain scenes the angle was overly sexual, in others they would just be shot badly

Acting:
Some of the acting was awkward and stiff. It was not terribly awful to the point where watching it felt unbearable, but there are times where certain words and actions did not flow naturally. This is especially prominent in scenes where the main couple are more intimate with each other.

Cast:
The main roles got the job done and had decent compatibility.

Music:
Bad. Just ,no. Skip the opening.

Overall:
Not bad, but not great. A good way to pass time.

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