You Are Mine

Sweet and light hearted Series

I enjoyed this series a great deal. It had me smiling, laughing, and even crying. The characters are fun and take you on a small adventure to find love between the lives of the rich and poor. I laughed so much at the beautiful touching moments they had. One of my favorites is the drunk moment and he bites him and then slaps his butt as punishment moments. The actors have great chemistry and the side characters are great fun to ass support from the brother vice president to the secretary pool helping. It was full of moments that made me smile and root for them to be together. The ending was a nice touch to have the mother president told off and then show support at the end. It's a great series, I only wish they had a more powerful ending and I wish for a bit more intimate moments so sweet together, hope to see them in another series together.

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The first 9 episodes of this are just a depiction of textbook workplace sexual harassment. The finale and special episode were better.

The boss in this is domineering, controlling, and repeatedly sexually harasses the employee despite continued verbal and non-verbal rejections and visible discomfort on the employee’s part.

There are many times that the boss watches and touches the employee when he is sleeping, even once almost kissing him. He brings his face really close to the employee’s and repeatedly violates his personal space while he is both awake and asleep. He’s constantly non-consensually touching the employee. He asks the employee to do unprofessional tasks, such as giving him massages and cooking for him, and gets offended when the employee complains about the unprofessional duties. He asks the employee if he’s a virgin or has ever been in love before. He proposes that the employee move in with him to help him sleep in exchange for food, accommodation, and transportation, essentially trying to be his sugar daddy. Not once did the employee look at all comfortable in any of these situations.

After the employee gets kidnapped, the boss takes him to his home and essentially forces him to stay there and sleep in the same bed. He says that it’s too late and he’d be causing trouble if he called for the driver now. He insists on sleeping in his own bed and won’t let the employee sleep in the living room when he wants to. He hugs the employee while the employee is sleeping, and the employee wakes up with his lips essentially touching the boss’.

From there on outwards, the sexual harassment got so egregious that I really struggled to not drop the show. There were times that it made me feel a bit sick.

The employee tells the boss that he thinks he’s acting too close and cites rumors as one potential issue. It’s clear that rumors are not his only concern, and that he’s not personally comfortable with the closeness either, but can’t say that due to the power dynamic in play. The boss says he’s fine with rumors and goes in for a kiss, while the employee is leaning away in discomfort, but doesn’t stop until the employee jerks away. But it doesn’t even end here. The employee hides in the bathroom, and when he opens the door, the boss backs him into the wall and kisses his ear. The employee is wide-eyed, looks completely grossed out, and pushes the boss away, telling him that just because he’s an employee, that doesn’t give the boss to right to demand just anything.

The boss had invited himself to the employee’s home, and even after all that, he doesn’t leave. Instead, he just thinks he needs to take it slower. He grabs the employee’s hand (once again noncon touching him) and apologizes. The employee shakes off his hand and tells him to eat quickly and leave, still trying to appease him due to the power dynamic. And the boss? He straight up lies and guilt trips, saying the driver had to leave, and, “You wouldn’t make me take a cab, right? What if I get kidnapped again?” And so he forces the employee to let him spend another night sleeping in the same bed. The next morning, he demands that the employee wash his shirt for when he comes over the next time. Both treating him like some kind of maid, but also presuming that there will be a next time when the employee wasn’t even comfortable with the first time.

During their company trip - the boss reserves the seat next to the employee’s on the bus, then blocks him in and doesn’t let him sit with his coworkers when he wants to. He leans in until the employee is backed against the window and buckles his seatbelt. He tells the employee that he’s not “allowed” to date anyone. He also changes the rooming arrangements so that they share a room, again not giving him a choice. When the boss asks if he’s reluctant to room together, he says no (despite saying yes to coworkers previously), because he can’t possibly say yes due to the power dynamic.

The boss wants to show him what it means to be “cherished”, so he's booked a honeymoon suite with rose petals and one bed. He noncon hugs the employee, backs him up while in just a towel, then drops the towel and goes into the hot spring and wants the employee to join him. The employee is extremely uncomfortable during all this. He manages to escape and join his coworkers in the public pool, where he actually looks happy and comfortable for once. When the boss notices this, instead of realizing that he’s making the employee uncomfortable and that he needs to back off, he says to give him time to be better.

When the employee gets drunk, the boss picks him up over his shoulders, refusing to let him down even when he bites him in protest, and instead smacks the employee in retaliation. While drunk, the employee pins the boss down and collapses on top of him, and the boss starts groping at him on top of and under his shirt. The employee wakes up and stops him, and then the boss pins him down and kisses him while the employee is struggling the whole time. It was completely non-consensual, even if the employee hadn’t been drunk.

They have a conversation where the employee asks if the boss is trying to have fun with him or if he genuinely likes him. The employee essentially says that he has no experience, that the boss is the boss, and that he can just do whatever because he no choice anyways. He comes to the misunderstood conclusion that the boss is just playing with him and then passes out. In the morning, he’s naked in bed (went into the hot springs the night before), being cuddled by the boss. The boss says he has to “take responsibility” for what he did last night, and won’t let him get up. He tells the employee that he’s not “allowed” to drink anymore, and to wait and he’ll “deal with him properly” in a minute. The employee finally does the smart thing and runs while the boss is in the bathroom.

From here on out, the conflict is made out to be that the boss wants a genuine relationship while the employee thinks he’s just playing around. No one is acknowledging that there have been zero interactions between them that haven’t been complete and utter sexual harassment / assault. I was shocked when the employee admitted he had feelings for the boss because he was not welcoming or comfortable in a single interaction with him.

The boss goes real “nice guy”, like a Tinder date after you reject them. When the employee is ignoring the boss, he starts getting all insulting: “What do you think you’re doing disappearing? You think you’re that important? Answer the phone. Don’t take this too far.” Then backtracks and begs: “I’m sorry for my bad attitude. Can we talk in person? Just text me back.” Followed by guilt tripping: “Don’t make me worry. I miss you.” He sends a million texts and when he gets no response and the employee resigns, he shows up at his house. He yanks his arm a million times during the conversation, forcibly preventing him from entering his own house. Still non-consensually touching the employee as the employee repeatedly pushes him away. The employee says, “I know you want me but I don’t necessarily want you. You’re the general manager and this is really not okay.” So what does the boss do? Forces the employee to come back based on a 1-year minimum term stipulation in the contract that he forged. His reasoning is that this is the only way to make him give him the chance to earn his forgiveness.

So the employee comes back, but the boss continues to sexually harass him. The employee says that if the boss is going to ask for things beyond his secretarial duties (like massages), that he needs to pay extra. So the boss forcibly grabs the employee’s arms, hugs him, runs his nose along his face, and asks him how much this would cost, while the employee is standing there stiff and almost crying. And after that, the employee is for some reason defending this despicable behavior, saying that he made the boss upset and not the other way around.

The boss realizes that even though he’s forced the employee to come back, it’s never going to be the same, so he accepts the resignation. Meanwhile, the employee finds out that the contract was forged. And instead of recognizing this as the manipulative, malicious act that it was, he takes it as a revelation that the boss has real feelings for him, so he goes running after him and they finally get together.

Throughout all of this, there’s a very strict power dynamic. The boss is the boss and the employee is the employee. The employee calls the boss “general manager”. The boss expects the employee to follow his orders and the employee does. The employee has to act subservient and appeasing to prevent upsetting the boss. He is not in a position where he can comfortably say no to anything the boss demands he do, or where he can express his own desires and opinions. And the boss exclusively demands — never asks.

None of the things the boss does to show he cares are ever presented as an option. They’re all forced upon the employee. When the employee gets hurt, the boss insists on giving him a piggy back ride, even when he prefers to walk. When the employee is limping while making tea, he commands (not asks) him to “go sit down”. When the boss has extra food, the employee wants to share with the other workers, but the boss commands that he sit and eat with him instead. When the employee is kidnapped, he ignores his wishes to let the kidnapper go. He later lets him go as a kind of demonstration to win the employee over…but the point is, it was never the employee’s choice. It was always ultimately up to the boss.

A workplace relationship between a boss and an employee is pretty much exclusively in the realm of sexual harassment in the real world. But in a fictional world, it CAN be depicted as consensual. The power dynamics have to be toppled early on. They have to be equals where both have the power to say “no” and it will be listened to. There can’t be one ordering the other around, and both have to be comfortably able to express their desires and opinions without fear. There can’t be sexual harassment, dub con, or non con that would be recognized as such even without the power dynamics in play. A Boss and a Babe, for example, while having some consent / boundary issues of its own, did an infinitively better job of not making the entire boss / employee relationship seem predatory and disgusting.

There’s sexism worked into the script too, for no good reason. Things like, “I know he doesn’t mean any harm but you know us women are more sensitive,” and “We should hire a man. Boys are tougher.” And in the special episode, “I’m not a girl. Why would I want a wedding?” in reference to grand romantic gestures.

The only reason I’m giving this 2.5 stars instead of 1 is because of the finale and special episode. They were cheesy as all hell, but very sweet and cute and fluffy if you suspend logic for a minute.

The employee stands up to the boss’ mom, saying he won’t leave for any amount of money, that he’ll take care of the boss if she disowns him. They’re not even properly together yet, but they both just quit right there on the spot. Does it make any logical sense that they’d both blow up their lives with zero backup plan after being together for negative 5 minutes? Absolutely not, but it was the kind of “give up everything for love” that I like, and they were finally equals, with the employee and boss both supporting each other financially. They move in together in the employee’s cheaper place. There’s mutual love and affection - no shying away, no consent issues, no power dynamics. Many good, proper kisses. They go on a vacation to an island despite being unemployed for a month and with no job prospects in sight. They get engaged in the special episode. And everything magically fixes itself, of course. The mom realizes the company needs her son and tries to get him to come back. It’s sweet and cheesy and doesn’t make any logical sense, but it gave me some happy, loving moments after 9 episodes of pure discomfort.

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Problematic but addictive. One to binge!

I binged this after airing, and I'm convinced that's the way to watch this.

For those who like a dominant man, I get you. But should you ever meet someone like Shangzhou irl, I would strongly recommend running in the other direction. This man has "unprocessed bagage" written across his forehead. That being said, Shunyu is no kitten either, although it seems otherwise in the beginning. The combination of these two is nothing short of FIREWORKS. The chemistry is banging. and that chemistry is what makes this 10 ep. series absolutely worthwhile.

If you are sensitive to non-consentual touching, pushy innuendo and powerplay, you should proceed with caution. Shangzhou uses all these techniques to get what he desires. At first, Shunyu is not having it, but as soon as his boss shows a sliver of heart, he starts falling for him. Like I said, don't expect too much reality-based interactions. While Shangzhou is convinced he is clearly showing Shunyu he likes him, the object of his desire is convinced his overbearing strict boss hates him. There is a rather large communication gap here. Only after a drunk interaction Shunyu starts to understand Shangzhou's feelings. But that just ushers in further misunderstandings and issues, since Shunyu is totally spooked and runs off.

Shangzhou sees no other way than to pressure Shunyu into staying, which complicates and cools things between them significantly. What turns this around you ask? Well, of course there should have been a heart to heart between them to clear the air, or lawyers should have been involved to break this insane contract. But no, Shangzhou's older brother steps in to make Shunyu understand how troubled a man his little brother is since he's been so mistreated since childhood. He just can't properly express his feelings!

This is all Shunyu needs to set aside all his misgivings and give Shangzhou another chance. He even stands up against Shangzhou's mothermonster, with Shangzhou himself not uttering a word...

While all that I've written before might give you the impression that I didn't like the show, that is not the case. I wanted to hate it because of the insane actions of Shangzhou, but I couldn't.

There is so much to hate, but also so much to love. As I said, the chemistry, but also the side characters are very well done. little details like the stress doll of the head secretary are hilarious, Shunyu is cute as a button, the pace throughout is perfect and the ending is so so sweet.

Go binge it. Now!

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EXCELLENT BL DRAMA !

lets talk about the Cast first, OMG they are both cute, the chemistry is giving and is serving , I have nothing wrong to say about them, I love the cute short Secretary and a tall manager. I liked Parker here , it was my first time watching him, he really fits the boss character and Yao Shun Yu is so cute here so light in the eyes .. I like his exaggerated acting it was so cute Iove the both leads interactions it was so lovely
I loved also the group of , is that a group of secretaries ? they are so cute and they really shipped the main leads and the Vice president , I love him ! like everyone here I liked !
About the story, as we all know it was common, but something is different here , Taiwan office romance drama has something in it that even the fact that the plot is common , I can never really moved on easily ! a predictable story but so beautiful, specially the part where Shun Yu fell in love with The General Manager and then he ran away because he might be hindrance to the reputation of the General Manager or the company .. but I love it , I can feel every emotions it was light but it was also deep, it was common but it was memorable really really good for me, easy to understand and on point and love the progress
Let me just say that Taiwanese BL kisses are so so natural ! like OMG .. There is no awkward thing on their kissing scene ! this is what makes Taiwan BL are so special that even on fan services, they just kiss as easy as that ! like how come ! ? well I am not a fan of steamy kisses and bed scenes on BL's like I promise I would make it on fast forward ! but the kisses here is just right , it is natural I loved it it is so romantic ! ♥
Every scene has a song in it that really made me feel every scene , the chemistry is OMG I even shout whenever there are parts where they hold each other, funny at the same time , the couples are not too touchy , not too steamy just right , I love the songs so much !
All in all a very good one ! Taiwan indeed have something extra when it comes to BL , even it is cliche" plot you can never go wrong watching it ! Taiwanese BL is really remarkable and this added to my all time favorites ! .. I would definitely re watch this one again and again !
Parker is really handsome and the secretary boy is so cute hope to see them in other dramas again !

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Save yourself and don't watch it

This is such a horrible show. I have no idea what the heck I just watched. It makes no sense whatsoever. It feels like the writing and editing team had lost it! As if they'd put random sequences one after the other. I don't think they knew what they were doing.

The story did not make any sense, the characters had no motivation, and it was just so out of place. Everything was out of place. I could not, even to save my life, understand when the main leads actually fell in love or when they were okay with being physical; everything was just so sudden. Also every single thing that the boss does definitely counts as harassment!!

I fast-forwarded and watched this entire show, but I still feel like I wasted so much of my life watching this that I will never get it back. So please, save yourselves; do not watch this.

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A tale of strong performances hindered by plot constraints

As the second instalment in to the VBL series, “You are Mine” stands out as an entertaining office rom-com series with a good plot supported by strong performances. But like its predecessor, falls short of being great due to lack of episodes. A couple of more episodes fleshing out the main characters would have made this one of the best series of 2023.

The series is about 2 central characters; Xia Shang Zhou, General manager of a reputed organization feared by his employees for being stern and quick to temper. Yao Shun Yu, a young and innocent man joins the organization as an Assistance Secretary to Xia. Finding him utterly useless during their first interaction, Xia learns to soften himself through daily interactions with Yao as he finds himself being attracted to this new addition to his team.

The series excels due to the strong performances by the two lead actors Parker Mao and Hsiao Hung. Parker Mao played a stoic, work-oriented individual who is above social interactions and lacks human emotions. Hsiao Hung, on the other hand brings to life the role of a young, cheerful youth who wants to work hard to help his family. Their acting prowess shines at scenes requiring extreme emotions of loss and heartbreak.

The series however fails in using the plot that it introduced in the early episodes. Xia Shang Zhou, is shown to be suffering from headaches and insomnia due to a childhood trauma and his mother’s strict upbringing. It’s this treatment from his mother along with multiple other factors that make him emotionless. That is a strong character building but is not capitalized further. There is no arc for Xia to break free from his mother’s control and grow as a character. Hsiao Hung, goes through an inner turmoil caused by his own feelings and his misunderstanding of Xia’s feelings towards him. A couple of more episodes to go through Xia’s past and his ultimate growth would have made this truly exceptional

In conclusion, “You are mine” is a series wherein the acting and chemistry between our two main leads, a plot with underlying themes of trauma, parental control and power dynamics makes it a must watch albeit a stronger plot could have made it a masterpiece

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One of the cutest funniest Taiwanese BL's!

I was hooked since episode 1! ♥️ This series is such a feel good comfort show that's not too serious and makes you laugh out loud. The actors are SO cute and funny together and boss's flirting made my heart flutter too! 😅 He's not a typical emotionless rude boss like in other dramas, this boss is secretly very sweet and caring. So I loved the dynamic between him and his employee. They took good care of each other! 💪 I also loved the female employees. FINALLY no rival, no love triangle, no fiancee, not a best friend, but just friendly fun women at the workplace! Even though the lovestory went a bit fast, it kept me on the edge of my seat. 😊 No it's not perfect, but it's not boring, overly complicated or violent like many other BL's. You are mine is sweet, funny and better than I expected. Especially the ending! The actors are very talented and this show is underrated. I totally recommend and would watch again 🥰 One of my favorites!

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Cute with a little bit of toxic

You are Mine is a cute and relatively short BL. I watched it due to it being on a toxic BL list but in reality it's not much more toxic than your average BL couple. The top is a little pushy and overexerts himself by pushing the bottom's boundaries. But what kind of BL doesn't really have that?

That being said though, overall this BL was really cute. It clearly doesn't really take itself seriously and is a short enough series not to overstay it's welcome. The only thing I didn't really like was how abrupt the ending felt. I remember going "Oh okay I guess it's over." But that's probably my only major gripe with the series. As the rest of it is filled with punchy comedy and enjoyable drama. Definitely worth a watch, even if it doesn't seem like something you'd usually go for.

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The series follows Yao Shun-Yu, a naïve and kind-hearted young man who lands a job as a male secretary at a company that had previously only hired female secretaries. His boss is Xia Shang-Zhou, a strict, demanding, and difficult manager. As they work together, the tension between them grows… and so does something more than just a professional relationship.

The story offers many fun and sweet moments at the beginning, with playful interactions between the leads that feel genuinely adorable. However, midway through the season, the narrative loses strength, and some subplots feel underdeveloped or forced.

You Are Mine is a light and easy-to-watch BL, perfect to enjoy without high expectations, featuring sweet moments and characters that can be charming if you enjoy the genre.
That said, if you’re looking for a romance with deeper development and healthier dynamics, it may not fully meet your expectations.

For fans of office-setting BLs with an adorable romance, it’s a moderate yes. If you prefer more mature or less controversial storylines, some scenes may feel a bit cringe.

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I confess to bingeing this one, but it isn't really great

My first response to this series was: "Another tyrannical-boss-and-quirky-subordinate story?" The story relies on several familiar tropes, including a disapproving mother towards the end. Nonetheless, I did find it fairly watchable. It is rather stress-free watching because we more or less know how the story will develop and end. And the BL couple is fairly likable.

Be warned, however, that there are several poor transitional points. First of all, although we know that Xia Shangzhou (the tyrannical General Manager) takes a liking to his new secretary (Yao Shunyu), it strikes me as a little too sudden when Xia frantically rushes to the rescue of a kidnapped Yao. Clearly, there weren't enough scenes to show that Xia had already fallen so hard for Yao. Other poor transitions include Yao's own struggles with his own emotions. Yao goes through several stages:

1. he notices Xia's interest in him and freaks out;
2. he struggles with his own sexuality but eventually comes to terms with the fact that he is in love with a man;
3. he struggles with being uncertain if he is just a fling to Xia despite being in love with Xia and accepting it;
4. he realizes that Xia really loves him but decides not to accept Xia so that Xia can avoid being embroiled in a scandal.

Although things cannot possibly be entirely clear-cut, the shifts from one stage of Yao to another is a little too muddled to be truly moving.

Despite the flaws, I did enjoy some comic moments in the series. Unfortunately some of these moments also fall flat despite having potential. A case in point is when Yao is given the task of sabotaging Xia's blind date (arranged by Xia's mother). Somehow, Yao ends up buying a whole lot of condoms, causing the woman who was arranged to go on a date with Xia to think that Xia is a pervert. (Erm.... excuse me, first, Yao shouts to Xia "You are mine" but the woman mistakenly thinks that he is speaking to her. Then the condoms fall out ... and the woman thinks Xia is a pervert even though all Xia does is to help Yao, who is slipping. ????)

Somehow another Taiwanese BL, Stay by My Side, is listed as Related Content in MDL. I'm not sure about the links, but Stay by My Side is overall much better. Despite the cliches and predictability, I think You Are Mine had the potential to be much better than it has turned out to be. It is somewhat enjoyable, but nowadays, there are probably better BLs to watch.

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