Maggi64

Do you mean the LGBT short, "Just Friends?" where the guy in the military's mom comes to visit him?

You are spot on about projection being a fundamental aspect to how we ALL respond to film, literature and art. In fact, this is the single foundation of the academic field called, alternately, "Literary Theory" and "The New Criticism." Basically, French critics in the 1980's established that we all view stories via the prism of our own personal experiences, and our own personal racial, class and gender identities.

It's just that most people (eg, the person who chastised you above), are not aware of the fact that they are bringing their own personal baggage to a story. They actually think there is such a thing as an "objective story" that all humans see through the same exact lens, rather than an individually inflected lens.

I am also unclear about their relationship. But he is definitely coming off as jealous.

What is ASTCO?

I googled and cannot find anything. But if someone else knows, please tell us!

I suppose it's partly cultural. Because Korea also has more plastic surgery than any other Asian country. In fact, Korea has more plastic surgery than any other country on the planet. Greece is 2nd, and Italy is 3rd. Surprisingly, the USA is not even in the top five. The USA only ranks high when counted per capita, because we're such a big country. But it's tiny South Korea that ranks #1 in terms of percentage.

I was praying this was based on a manhwa just so I could read ahead and see what happens after that confession. Because it's gonna KILL me to wait 7 days for the next episode!

You are quite welcome. And just imagine, it only takes me a minute to compose a reply that evinces critical thinking. You could take a lesson in this.

Why? The actors are good and the stories are good. That's why it's such a shame that their talent agencies insist on filters that make them look like no adult human being on this planet. When you, as a fan, prefer for your male actors to look less human then you are part of the problem. I, however, am a fan who will continue to watch while also continuing to demand that the good actors in them be allowed to look like adult male human beings.

Oh, and my practicing discretion in viewing does not disqualify me from viewing. So your statement that I "stop watching" is idiotic to say the least.

Exactly, lol.

Yep, Takara and Amagi was one of the few J-BLs that used it. I can't think of any Thai BL's that used it. Which is odd, since the Thai BL plotlines are super fluffy. Nevertheless, all the males in Thai BL's look like human males with natural human complexions. Which I prefer.

At any rate, the Korean idol industry is deeply problematic for so many reasons, and this thing with using filters to create unrealistic images is just one more thing that troubles me about it. Really, I just recommended that another commenter here google all the suicides of K-idols. The Guardian listed over 30 of them this decade. Yikes! There is definitely something wrong with the K-idol industry.

Just checked the scene in the show, plus I just checked chap 1 of the manwha. Tae Hyun is DEFINITELY kissing long haired dude, who is lying on top of him.

When Da Yeol peeked over I think he saw the outline of the long haired guy laying on top of Tae Hyun. But I'll have to watch again to be sure.

Oh yea, I caught that with the sausage! lol

If I'd only seen it with high school boys such as in this show, then yes, I would never comment. But I see this weird filter in virtually all K-BLs, and that includes ones about men in their mid 20's to 30's who belong to the workforce. For example, The New Employee, My Sweet Dear, Tasty Florida, Ocean Likes Me, First Love Again, Kissable Lips, Oh, Boarding House etc, etc.

The K-BL's apply this filter in a way that makes it hard to suspend disbelief and accept that the characters are real. I am reminded for every second of film that this poor guy is owned by an authoritarian Korean Talent Agency that wants him too look like something out of a fantasy movie, rather than a human being.

Oh, I think they were definitely making out. Because the long haired dude is sooo jealous of Da Yeol. Which we saw from that stunt he pulled at the end of Ep 2, which he seemed to think would hurt Da Yeol and Tae Hyun, but which will only draw them closer together! See my comment marked as a spoiler below.

Ep 2 pretty much confirmed your theory. I bet he was miffed that the dude confessed, then ran away without waiting for a reply. And that this was the reason he played it so cold at the interview. But ep 2 and previews prove he was interested.

BTW, it's killing me that the eps are so short. I know an ep comes out tomorrow. But do you know if it will be just one ep or 2 eps? Sometimes the Koreans drop 2 episodes at a time.

The shame of it is that they are good actors putting in good performances. So I shall continue to watch, thank you very much. The directors also do good jobs. It's the agencies, not the directors, who insist on these filters to make the actors look inhuman. The directors who refuse to use filters have to fight the agencies not to use them.

Remember, the agencies in Korea are very different than in Hollywood. In Hollywood, the agent works for the actor. But in Korea, the actor works for the agency. That's why we always see the actors' agencies listed in their bios. Think about it, you NEVER see a Hollywood actors list their agencies in their bios. But Korean actors list their agencies cuz the agencies basically own these poor kids like products. They use them up at a young age and then dispose of them once they age out or kill themselves.

We agree that Asian men are freaking beautiful. But not about the Korean use of filters and makeup. Because even the most beautiful Japanese actors don't have this bizarre white complexion with blushed cheeks. Think about Kiyoi in My Beautiful Man. He is beyond beautiful, but he is not washed out by a camera filter. Hence, he still appears human and his natural age.

These filters are something uniquely Korean. And as I've stated above, I am disturbed by the Korean idol industry in general because of such unrealistic standards of beauty. They take perfect men and women, and it's STILL not enough. They have to apply filters too! This sets up unrealistic standards which these idols cannot maintain.

If you are interested, google the epidemic of suicides with K-idols. The New York Times and The Guardian have written about it. Over 30 Korean idols killed themselves in the past decade. Their idol industry is just plain disturbing with it's unrealistic standards. Now, I think that the filters over beautiful faces is not all of the reason for it, but it's certainly a good example of one the reasons for it.

I couldn't even figure out what they found toxic. I had to read comments below to discover that they were offended by Tae Young's faking that Da Yeol had sexually assaulted him in the infirmary. As for me, I was just glad that the infirmary scene established that Tae Young and the long haired guy were gay and lovers. Most K-BL's knock themselves out to establish that characters are hetero before daring to let them fall in love with a guy. But this one started out at square one telling us that a lead was not only gay, but had a lover. Nevertheless, the prudes only saw a fake sexual assault accusation.