DrarryDestiel

Seungwon is too frustrating - wish it was shorter

Okay, so this review is more of a rant, and thus very spoiler heavy.

I have read the manhwa but it was a while ago so I've mostly forgotten it. I do remember that they had cute relationship moments and I actually enjoyed it throughout instead of being frustrated like with the series.

For the drama, they literally only get together in the last 5 minutes of the show. Most of the show is just Seungwon trying and failing to confess his feelings in each episode. There is a whole build up with great moments and he ALWAYS fumbles it. It is kind of understandable that he's hesitant but it gets annoying after the third time. He couldn't even reciprocate when Heesu confessed his feelings first. The guy just let it hang in the air for days and then gave us a lukewarm confession moment and even made Heesu cry. Heesu goes through a lot of angst over his emotions and Seungwon's lies are not even properly addressed. It got to the point that when Seungwon texted Heesu to meet up for his confession I wanted him to just stay and say goodbye to his sister instead of going for another failed confession moment. It only turned into an actual confession because there were 7 minutes left in the series.

The music was good, and the production and acting quality were decent. Ju Yi was the only main character with any sense here. Heesu was portrayed well enough that I could empathise with him. The whole story was about how an unrequited crush feels and how to deal with it by confessing (with a million and one galaxy metaphors for that extra dose of fun). Even if it's not meant to be about their relationship, I would have liked to see more substance to their interactions. Unlike other reviewers, I didn't feel like they were lacking in screen time vs other characters. They got their fair share of it, but most of it wasn't time together. It was more of an ensemble cast story. What it made worse was that their screentime wasn't best utilised to build up their chemistry and interactions or even their friendship as a precursor to a relationship. There would always be some kind of build up and the camera would cut away without showing us what happened.

E.g. 1.) When Chanyoung deliberately announced to them that he was dating Ju Yi and Heesu got mad on Seungwon's behalf because he thought he still liked her, it looked like Seungwon might follow after Heesu and have some kind of meaningful reaction but nope, the camera just cut off the scene. Seungwon STILL didn't clarify to Heesu that it was not true even though it hurt his friendship with Chanyoung. He just let things get better on their own. This guy never takes action for anything. E.g. 2.) When Seungwon told Heesu he didn't like Ju Yi, Heesu didn't react at all, which is weird given that it meant Seungwon had been lying and Heesu had wasted all that time trying to get them together and being upset with Chanyoung and Ju Yi on his behalf. And then it seemed like they were about to hold hands, with the camera focusing on their hands being close for like a minute and then the camera just cut away and ended the scene. This was one of the later episodes after Heesu had realised his feelings so it really made no sense and just lost out on a good moment of showing some progress in their interactions.
The whole series is filled with moments like these.

I really wanted to like it, especially as it's one of the few full-length KBLs but it feels like I just wasted my weekend. I actually wished it was shorter so I wouldn't waste my time hoping Seungwon would have some sense knocked into him with every episode. Will not be rewatching it.

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Started off well, had some dumb character angst in the middle, ended well

It's all in the headline.

This started off like a great series, subverting tropes, showing communication, green flag behaviour, immediate interest in each other, good intimacy, no drama.

Then we got some drama due to *Jiwon* being insecure and messing things up and hurting Jungwoo in various ways. No cheating or breakups for anyone concerned. But we had some angsty hurt moments.

They made up in the end and it was a happy ending. But the obsession Jiwon had with Jungwoo in the first couple of episodes never came back around. It was all on Jungwoo to carry the relationship after he realised his interest. Although Jiwon was the one who apologised and made up for his behaviour (not enough grovelling in my opinion but if Jungwoo wants to forgive him and be with him instead of punishing him then that's understandable). Still rewatchable for the subverted tropes and the great early episodes. Had very good kissing and intimacy, especially for a KBL, in case that matters to anyone.

Also, the ballboy tactics title is a bit weird (too much innuendo lol) and initially put me off from watching the show but it never really came into play in the series. Apparently a ballboy is just someone who picks up basketballs in the court.

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