Secret Relationships (2025)

more toxic than a nuclear swamp

They are inherently cold, the Korean I mean, so obsession is just screaming and I’ve always put off by that. it’s a great storyline though and admittedly good actors but obsession is an ART it needs finesse which is lacking here. It’s like (team A) 2 weak characters and (team B) the 2 screaming characters. I feel the writing was invested in the flow of the story and shock value MORE than the characters build up and development. In “addicted” (China) and “my beautiful man” (Japan) obsession was deliciously portrayed, that kind craziness you only find in same sex couple was missing here (reciprocity is irrelevant) …
I feel disappointed I really wanted to like it but all the incapability turned me off even for the true love storyline. My god the main character lead was so passive it frustrated my all well intentions towards the whole thing.
Still watched to the end so maybe its really good and I don’t know how to judge.

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Green Flag, Yellow Flag, Black Flag, Or Well... A Psychopath

I like to call this the red string theory, the ending proved how Da On was meant to be with Seong Hyeon from the start but it wasn't the right time or place. Honestly I really liked this story, it was very interesting from start to finish, so with this review I would like to talk about each person individually starting off with our Black Flag aka our psychopath, its honestly so interesting how I first thought Su Hyeon was gonna be the most toxic of them all, and thats what they wanted us to think until we started to find more and more about Jae Min, he is honestly just so lost in his own meaning of love that he doesn't realize how messed up everything he does is, he thinks its love and sacrifice, but its just obsession, I like to know characters background when it comes to breaking down the reason why they're this toxic but there wasn't much background information about Jae Min like the other characters, so im guessing this is just the way he is cause he was born this way. But it still doesn't excuse any action he did towards Da On, and the fact that they were all so harmful either to Da On or the people he cared about. But anyway, thats all I have to say, next one is our Yellow Flag, I thought about labeling him a Red Flag and honestly he's a bit of both, so maybe he's like a Orange Flag, but you can tell he was way more sympathy than Jae Min. Su Hyeon is honestly someone I can see kind of like a misunderstood character, I feel like he isn't a bad person deep down he was just in love and was pushed to his limits by Jae Min and also his own personal life with his family putting the immense pressure of the company and honestly just pleasing them with whatever they asked him to do. You can tell he can be caring when we saw the scene of him being super kind to his niece, that showed a different side of him I feel we would be able to see if Su Hyeon wasn't just pushed to the brink of insanity. I honestly felt bad for him at times, he did do horrible things to Da On as well and wasn't the best person to be around but I really do feel sympathy of what he could've been if it hadn't been for the actions he made because of once again love and obsession. This leads me to my next point before I talk about Seong Hyeon and Da On, Jae Min and Su Hyeon saw Da On as a possession rather than a person they wanted to love and take care of, they were both fighting like cats and dogs over another human being with feelings and emotions and making dumb decisions like fake dating between each other just for what? At the end of the day Da On liked both Jae Min and Su Hyeon at some point, if either of them had done the right thing and done things properly like Seong Hyeon, they could've had the happy ending the so craved with Da On. But they chose to be dumb and toxic about it and look where that lead them. I do feel for Su Hyeon, maybe because in a way he was manipulated by Jae Min into fake dating him so neither of them could have Da On but Jae Min always had an ulterior motive, theres a reason he's labeled Black Flag, this man was no doubts the villain of this story and it infuriated me whenever he would pop up and ruin everything again. But anyway, lastly we have our Green Flag, he's honestly all there is to a Green Flag and what we all look for in a partner, he managed to love Da On and care for him properly, no single toxic behavior was done, everything he did was for him, this man risked his life for him, he did everything thats expected of someone that truly loves someone else, a literal sweetheart, even when he woke up after being stabbed the first thing he asked was "how did the presentation go", LIKE HELLO?! He's just perfect. And I'm so happy things worked out for both of them and they got their happy ending, the way we all wanted it to go. It just shocks me how he was able to deal with 2 men who were so toxic and dealing with Da On trying to push him away, plus waited a whole year to be with Da On again. That's just true love man. He cared so much about Da On, and Da On deserved this love. Now this brings me to Da On, our main character, I felt really bad for him, and understandably so. He came from a broken family, a gambling addict of a father and an absent mother/sick? Not sure about what was her deal. Having to have young siblings in which I'm sure he took the role of being both father and mother and taking care of them, once he had the chance to escape he did and tried to make a life for himself, regardless of all the trauma he was about to experience with Jae Min and Su Hyeon, he had already experienced some trauma with family, his dad always asking for money so he could continue his gambling addiction, and ruining his reputation in his work place by showing up and making a scene. Then when Jae Min ordered that guy to make him drunk and then took pictures of him in bed almost shirtless, the shit this man experienced was honestly devastating. He deserved to feel love and be loved but instead he had days and days of misery because 2 guys didn't know how to love properly. It hurt me so much when it got to the point that Da On was saying how he doesn't deserve to love or be loved because in the end they all end up being hurt. I was like "NO" because he deserves love and more, he deserves to feel what it is to truly be in a happy healthy environment and relationship. And Seong Hyeon was that for him, so I'm glad once again that things worked out and we got our happy ending, I would be a mess if we didn't. But anyways, this is the longest review I've done in a long time but I just had so much to say about this series, its so different from the others, I haven't seen a love square ever because not even love triangles are my thing but this one was very interesting. I recommend watching, it's an 8.5/10 for me.

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Secretly Awful Friends for Poor Daon

I have mixed feelings about what I'd personally rate this drama. There were parts about it that I absolutely commend it for, but then there are parts that I felt were too rushed or poorly done. That being said, I still think I liked more about this show than I disliked.

I personally really liked how they showed how there are different ways of being abusive to someone, whether it be physical, financial, verbal, or emotional; Daon when through it all with dealing with his parents and his "so-called" best friends from university. He very much was a victim of the people in his life and I really commend this show for actually giving him his happy ending with Seonghyeon. Unfortunately, a lot of romances (especially BL for whatever reason) love to give their protagonists an ending with the people that treated them poorly compared to someone that treated them well.

And, in comparison to many romance stories with protagonists stuck in an unfortunate situation, Daon doesn't really feel like a blank state. He actually learns respect for himself by the end and it was genuinely satisfying to see considering how much control his abusers thought they had over him. Seeing him not giving in to his parents' demands because he knew it would ultimately be for the worse was extremely satisfying to witness because of how often characters in stories are shown to let avoidable circumstances have power over them. Yes, he was gullible when it came to Jaemin, but that was easily because of the way Jaemin molded him and strung him along to be the way he wanted him to be. With Seohyun, Daon learned not to stretch his hope out thin that he would return or change, and that scene when he returned the ring was really powerful. He decided to be straightforward and honest with Seohyun and that showed just how mature Daon was in comparison to him and Jaemin.

Jaemin and Seohyun are a good example of what to avoid in a partner or friend. The series did well to show how although they have many differences, they are both two different types of abusive. Seohyun was stubborn, extremely ill-tempered, demanding, and impulsive. His anger issues made his attempts to win Daon over fall void and this would cause him to lash out as a result. Daon knew to just distance himself from someone like this whenever he acted this way, which seemed to start back when he pretend dated Jaemin. Jaemin, on the other hand, was far more intimidating as he actually paid off on his threats. He was manipulative, obsessive, selfish, and unhinged. He really was far more selfish than Seohyun to the point that he wanted to keep Daon pining after him forever without ever giving him the satisfaction of confirming his feelings for him. He would put his own self-satisfaction above ever making Daon truly happy because he was only concerned with what he wanted in the long run and naturally assumed Daon would comply with that. Oh boy the way he was on edge when he realized that Daon was learning to respect himself and move on from him after Jaemin was cruel with his rejection. He only had eyes for one thing ("thing" as a word choice because both Seohyun and Jaemin seemed to view Daon as a prize to win), and once he realized he was losing it, he wanted to take it with him into his grave. He had an extremely perverse nature that he hid behind a flawless facade. People like that are truly terrifying and I think the show did a good job of showing that.

Seonghyeon was an actual green flag that was refreshing to see in BL land. You rarely get to see a healthy romance flourish but Secret Relationships was clear about writing him in a way that felt possible yet also idealistic. I enjoyed how much he contrasted with the toxic duo because it showed all the more what traits in a healthy partner should look like. He was caring, playful, earnest, and loyal. He never wanted to usurp control over Daon from the other guys and he was honest about his intentions with Daon. Daon truly deserved to be with someone that actually valued his opinion and respected him as a person like Seonghyeon did. I commend them breaking the tropes that are sadly attached to much of BL media.

That being said, I have a few issues with the show. First, I feel like the runtime was the main issue that spawned the other issues as a result. Much of the characters' backstories felt underdeveloped which left me wanting to know more. If we got to see more of Daon's life growing up then his current actions would be better explained and he would be more sympathetic. As for Jaemin, we never get to see much of anything about him past a few vague memories of Daon seeing him when he was younger. We never get to see what Jaemin was like before Daon nor what all caused his obsession to begin and persist for 11 years. However, I'm inclined to believe it may have been done on purpose to show that Jaemin had always been perverse and selfish deep down; something that a backstory might take away from by making him seem "misunderstood" or "sympathetic." I was still curious to see the extent he went through for 11 years to possess Daon though, so much so that I felt his insanity break at the end felt a little misplaced and spontaneous. Seohyun's backstory was alluded to being demanding because of his family situation, which definitely explains how he got a personality as ill-mannered as he has, but I still feel like there was such a drastic change between when Daon knew him in university versus the present time that I wanted more context of what happened when he was abroad to cause that. Seonghyeon's backstory being included would have also been nice but I understand it wasn't a necessity compared to the other three because his kindness was much more blatantly caused by a kind influence like his grandmother in his life.

Also, why did Daon jump in Seohyun's ride just to avoid Seonghyeon? That seemed too dangerous for him to use just as an out.....and although it was very vague, I think in like episode 6 Daon and Seohyun were alluded to have slept together after Daon dragged him into his house to stop him from fighting Seonghyeon. And if that's true, that was most definitely forced and changes how I'd view Seohyun from being a potential threat to an actual one. It made me really uncomfortable because of how forceful and intimidating Seohyun had been with Daon just moments prior; especially the forced kissing. That scene was the one that made me the most uncomfortable in the entire show-that and when Jaemin forcefully gave Daon a hickey. Daon really did just serve to please these two in their eyes.

My other issue is why the hell did he give a presentation when his love is knocking on death's door???? I don't think I would be mentally well enough to do that considering how his best friend of 11 years he was in love with just attempted to murder-suicide him after chloroforming him, his psycho ex-friend tormenting him recently and coming out of nowhere, and oh of course his lover was just STABBED by his psycho bff of 11 years. What the fuck Daon!?!??! I got to know what was going through the author's head at that point, man.

In conclusion, I really liked the message of this show: have respect for yourself and don't let people treat you terribly, regardless of how long you've known them. Find someone that will treat you with mutual respect and don't let people have control over how you view yourself.

Would I recommend this show? I don't know. I think that the idea was great, but the short runtime took away from the impact it deserved to have. If the Webtoon it is based off of is more complete (and the art style isn't terrible), then I'd recommend reading that instead. Also, the actor who played Jaemin was unsettling as hell and I 100% want to watch anything else he appears in because he did really well (though they all did well).

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Im hurt that its over...

I don't usually write reviews, but this time around, I have to.

The series grabbed my attention from episode 1 until the last episode.

I just finished it, and I must say I'm so hurt.
Don't know if I'm hurt because it was too short . I don't know if im still hurt because of what Daon has been through. I also feel very sorry for the 2nd lead Su Hyeon who was used by that psychopath. I feel like he really did love Daon, but he didn't know how to express love and his family background also didn't help. He comes from a family of dictators , he couldn't have learnt how to love from such a background.I'm also happy that Daon ended up with the green flag guy, who is so perfect for him, who is not as complicated as he is. They are a perfect match, exactly what Daon needs to heal. This series will be with me for a very long time.Why did it have to be over so soon😒

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THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT! THAT'S HOW YOU DO A BL!

It's been a long time since I've felt this kind of feeling while watching a BL, definitely a good drama with an amzing story and most importantly, the angst! I'm such a fan of this kind of drama with a heavy and heart breaking emotion, they gave what I wanted. The story didn't go too fast or too slow, no dull moments and such. Although I wish there were more episodes but I think 8 episodes was already enough and the delivered the story well with amazing twist and interesting recaps about their past life.

I was not expectiong for kissing scenes or some intimate scenes knowing that one of the protagonist is a member of a Kpop group, but I was shocked when Daon and Seonghyeon kissed! That makes this drama a hundred better, they didn't try so hard to make it a BL without a kissing scene, instead they really did it and that's how you do it.

I love how the story progress and Daon relationship with each of them. I dont really like Jaemin since the first episode, I just dont get his vibe and I felt something is weird from him and I was right. As for Suhyeon, I felt sad for him because he did everything for his love towards Daon, but everything was a mess and I hate his temper.

Daon and Seonghyeon relationship was good, no awkwardness and I love how it develops. They portray their character really well and they have a strong chemistry!!! I would definitely watch more dramas of them together if it will happen.

This entry for 2025 BL was great, I fear how the upcomings BL will surpass this. They set the standard high! Anyway, I really enjoy it, I was kinda late since it was released last month but I'm glad I discovered it earlier than the others haahaha will surely rewatch it a hundred times! I highly suggest this series!

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Trust No One In his BL Drama

There are so many plot twists with characters changing from bad to good & back again, you just need to watch it completely out before you know who you're rooting for in this excellent BL Drama.
Jun Seo is amazing in his role, along side of Sun Hyung. Both are a great fix together.
All the actors in this are great throughout.
I found that once I started watching it, it was really difficult not to binge episode after episode. Each one ended, where you just wanted more. Your heart aches Jung Da On with so much torment in his life. This is really way beyond a normal BL series, but rather a mix of a strong drama along with a few thriller moments as well.
Very enjoyable with lots of excitement.

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Be fully prepared for an emotional ride and don’t forget to bring tissues ??

"Secret Relationships" is one of those rare adaptation series that takes you on a whirlwind of emotions—excitement, sadness, anger, disappointment, anxiety, and so much more. From the very first episode, it pulls you in with its gripping story and deeply emotional moments that stay with you long after you’ve watched them.

But what truly makes this series unforgettable are its plot twists. Just when you think you know where the story is headed, it throws in a breathtaking, mind-blowing surprise that leaves you in shock. Every twist feels so natural yet so unexpected, keeping you on edge and making each episode impossible to look away from. If you love dramas that make you feel everything at once, this one is an absolute must-watch. 😍🤩💯✨

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Damn! Probably One if the best if all time

It's hard to find a bl with an actually interesting plot and I know many people will agree.

I don't usually enjoy "one person-many suitors" dramas but gave this a try happy I did! this exceeded my expectations in every way!

This was fresh and the plot twists are actually good and interesting.

The cast!!! I'm hoping to see them in many good works in the future. They are truly talented.

Lemme just point out everything I liked

Storyline
Cast and Acting
Barely any boring scenes.. No cringe scenes.
Interesting till the end!

I am kind of (maybe a lot) picky with shows I watch because when it's not interesting right away I just drop it.. I'm not the type to wait until it gets better..And I don't hesitate to drop it even halfway or near ending if it gets boring bcs I really can't stand meaninglessly dragging the story or the scenes that makes no sense...So if you are like me.. Give it a try! It's been so long since I've been so satisfied with a bl so I really recommend it.

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Intriguing/Fascinating Until the End...

This series has so much going for it. Acting is superb. Screenplay is surprisingly strong and sharp. The cinematography is captivating and succinct, given that this series is not very long. Yet, I had such mixed feelings about this series. Perhaps it was because it goes so deep into the despair and sickness of three-way love connections. With each knowing how the other felt about one another, the outcome was bound to lead to toxicity and bitterness and a heaping amount of resentment. I loved the story but found myself experiencing revulsion in some of its more disconcerting parts. One has to be intrigued, perhaps even mesmerized, by its premise, but at the same time perplexed by how sick, twisted, and convoluted a love can get. Especially when that love is not projected outwardly but only inwardly. I must have what I want at any cost no matter what I have to pay to get it. That is both sad and sick.

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