uchiha

this also is the best korean BL i have seen this year and maybe to date. unfortunately, there is no happy ending for the main leads. given the premise, i figured an ending of love was never going to be in the cards. i still had hope of otherwise.

every storyteller who had lines contributing to the plot sold to me, with unshakeable faith, that this story was real. i could almost envision it all transpiring as if i was standing there on set. there was not a singular actor who lacked talent / skill in this and i am so shocked by this revelation. this could almost be called a masterpiece.

the ethical misgivings, in this story, between an ambiguous turned inappropriate student - teacher relationship were something of a generic plotline but the execution did not miss at all. the teacher, han jiwoo, struggled with "wavering" in crossing the boundaries with his student and eventually did. however, he could never fully commit to letting himself develop anything further with said student and i love that this path was taken. despite cheating on his sham of a marriage, jiwoo otherwise seemed to be a person of good heart who took to the underserved, overlooked, and abused. it was made evidently clear that the teachers there did not give a damn about the children they oversaw and the conditions they lived in. jiwoo was the only exception seemingly wherever he went. hyeonjae's age was never revealed so his actions were not his fault, per say. the only to be held accountable was his teacher and his teacher strongly resisted up until the very end.

i think this is a work that could be used as a device to discuss the social climate, traditions, culture, and workplace culture of south korea. as mentioned, the teachers do not care about their students. it made me ponder on whether this is an accurate reflection of reality in korea. someone's status is more important than anything and that seems to be true in real life when it comes to the asian continent. when it comes to suicide, there are three asian countries in the top thirty. south korea is the third out of all of the countries in the world and i can see why. the stifling, suffocating, and boxing nature of prioritizing one's face over well-being, desire, and health [until no longer able to be ignored] is a testament of south korea's regressive society. the way a stranger looks at and sees another stranger is korea is more important than that individuals comfort, which is outrageously ridiculous. in this BL, the teachers overlooked an openly abused student and his behaviors as a result due to the position of this student's father. all of the adults around him were in the know of his situation and did nothing to aid him except jiwoo. they did not even have the decency to look after him at school and ensure he was fed, groomed, and had a safe place to sleep. so, it was only natural that he fell in love with the ONE person who treated him like a human individual and not token property.

the second coupling deserve their own show. i wish viewers would have gotten to see just bit of intimacy from them or at least a two-sided confession. everything about the execution of their relationship path was perfectly delivered. thankfully, their conclusion was on the rise.

i basically had zero notes for this show as i documented nothing to talk about. the only critique i have, from my head, regards the abuse inflicted upon hyeonjae. the way his father beat him and ordered him to be treated did not seem to align with what was showcased on his body, but i could be wrong. two things to consider are that, it may be a bit slow of a watch at times and the dialogue is quite calmly delivered regularly. otherwise, there was nothing else of note that i want to bring up.

overall, this BL is not one of happiness but still one with a logical + satisfying ending. proceed, with caution.