readher

The directing and acting are really good. If it wasn't for the slow motion scenes, one might forget that it's a "cheap" TV drama.

No, they only started officially dating after the bidding was over. They appeared as a couple at the winner's announcement event.

They were in a semi-relationship before that, though, as they slept with each other numerous times (in the novel, they actually sleep with each other when Maple visits Ai in the bar in ep 2) and hanged out a bunch. It was basically just Maple's insistence that they wait until the bidding is over that prevented them from getting together earlier, so I'd say they were de facto dating but not de jure.

While there are big changes to the plot compared to the novel and some might feel jarring to those who read it, at the same time the changes have a chance of making the plot actually interesting. The book had very little substance and drama, it was mostly about the girls meeting and the whole bidding war was just a faint background. I think the show would be forgettable if it adapted the novel 1:1.

But maybe it's just me, seeing as I prefer (prominent) romance sub-plots to an interesting main plot, rather than romance being the main focus. I think it makes for a more memorable experience and allows for more diversity rather than falling into the same tropes over and over again.

Ultimately, it's just a romance series with cheap drama. It's a step above the usual, yes, but it's not going to deviate too far from the genre staple. For that we'd need to have series that are plot first and gl romance second, which might not actually be what the majority of the audience wants, for all we know. The fact it's only 8 episodes is going to make all the genre problems stand out even more.

In ep. 2 they cut a whole intimate scene at the club out.

He kind of looks like Telly Savalas.