Bri

This was so much different and so much darker than I thought it was going to be. I was shocked at how much depth all the characters had, especially the main two. I wish the show was longer to be honest so we could dive a bit deeper into a few things. I really enjoyed this overall.

I felt so bad for both Han Gi U and for Lee Hyeon Jae the entire time which was unexpected. I knew going in I'd feel bad for Hyeon Jae in the sense of what I thought would be your typical grooming from the teacher, but that's not what the show was at all. Obviously yes, they did have an inappropriate relationship with each other, but it turned out to be more complex than I thought it would be.

Gi U was going through a lot with his wife, his past, is self-worth, and with this new job. I believe that he was genuinely trying to just be a helpful teacher and good person towards Hyun Jae (at least in the beginning). He saw a student who clearly was troubled and needed help and was constantly being told to just pretend he doesn't exist and I think most caring people would try to reach out and help him out. Then when he brought him to his house for the first time, that was a huge no. I also found it interesting that they had the anonymous chat in the show, so we saw the two of them bonding and getting closer without Gi U knowing who he was talking to. I think the chat is really what made it tough for him internally on whether to go after Hyeon Jae or not. You could tell he knew it was wrong but between their chat, them getting closer in person, and him feeling guilty about how Hyeon Jae is treated, there was a lot of internal conflict about what he thought he should do. He did choose to not be with Hyeon Jae in the end, but he made quite a few bad choices before that regarding their relationship.

As for Hyeon Jae, someone should've gotten this boy some help and a real therapist. He so obviously was dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts on top of being constantly ignored and being abused by his father. It made so much sense why he got so quickly and deeply attached to Gi U because he was the only one to ever reach out and offer him help. Hyeon Jae saw their relationship very differently than Gi U did from the start which was not good at all. He couldn't tell the difference between what he was feeling for Gi U and vice versa and that really showed more and more as the series went on. I felt so bad for him the entire series because a lot of this could've been solved if he just had a proper adult in his life who cared for him, but he didn't until Gi U came along. I know the ending is an open ending, and I've seen people say different things on what they think happened. Personally, I think Hyeon Jae gave Gi U that one last chance for them to be together and when Gi U turned him down, I think Hyeon Jae then went and committed su*cide. I think he saw Gi U as his last hope at love and when Gi U said they couldn't be together that he gave up. That may be dark, but I think there were quite a few signs that pointed to this being the case.

As for Jeong Ha and Seong Won's storyline. I did like it, but they are another reason that I just wish the show was longer. I wish we got to dive deeper into them as individuals as well as them as a pair. They seem to have a history together, but we really didn't see any of it. I think if the show was longer their story would've been better but since they didn't get a lot of screentime, it was just okay more than anything.

I found this show so different and so much more interesting than I thought it was going to be when I first heard about it before it started airing. I really recommend this show to others, it's so much more than it seems at the surface.