sindrandi_

In my alternate universe Seungjin & Hanmin will hold hands and skip right out of that house and into the sunset. Bring the house crashing neighbour cat.

Became repetitive and would've benefited from being cut down to 6 episodes in total. The message, however relevant - particularly looking at the SK statistics, was clear from the beginning and delivered increasingly heavy-handed as the series progressed. The last episode was basically a melodramatic infomercial. The cast was stellar overall, but Kim Jae Wook was a clear highlight. What a striking actor (and man) he is. I wanted to like this more.

Well-acted, filmed and paced for the most part. I found the length to be just right. Gritty and rough around the edges, which is necessary for this kind of plot. Dark, but not without hope. Both ML's needed just a little more experience and bravery to truly go all out in key scenes, but I'm not that mad about it, because in other scenes they delivered a rawness and tension, that was a joy to watch. Jang Woo Young was the standout in my opinion. I really enjoyed watching his performance. I have to highlight the OST too. As soon as I heard the vocals in the intro, I jumped straight to Spotify and found another promising gem from the SK indie scene.

This short drama was a nice break from the usual high school setting. I wouldn't consider this a BL. The story doesn't really need a sequel, but I want one anyway. Even if I liked the ending, I want to revisit these characters to see, how they're doing. Be it together or apart.

Not great, but not horrible either. A light, quick watch. Had it's cute moments. Some stray thoughts:

- The love rival wasn't needed. Neither was the taekwondo senior or the professor.
- The misunderstanding dragged too long and wasn't presented in a believable way.
- Not enough focus on the main couple and fleshing out their motivations for this connection.
- YoonChan's boxers showing in the shower scene and him having audible dialogue in one scene without his lips moving. I'm aware the budget is limited, but still.
- I liked, how they actually had red ears, when flustered. Often characters will talk about being flushed with no skin redness in sight.
- Kisses & skinship is as always great in Strongberry productions. The scenes at the cafe and in the kitchen were adorable and natural.
- I'd rather they'd optimized the pacing, cut uneccessary characters and used the extra budget and running time to include the ending development (even if they're going for a season 2),
- Sometimes it adds a little extra awkwardness and charm, when rookie actors are used. Both of these guys' goofy skipping scenes made me laugh (in a good way).
- Playing a bright & bouncy character isn't easy. The actor portraying YoonChan was struggling with it and it showed. It made me appreciate rookies who nail it even more. E.g. Yoon Do Jin/Love Tractor or Cha Yeo Woon/Love for Love's Sake (btw, why did they use that show's theme song here?)
- "Most human relationships are improvised". I liked that line.

The ML's are obviously not experienced actors, but they were cute together. I'll watch a season 2.

Everyone is very likeable, but it definitely seems like this cast will heighten the drama more than in previous seasons. Last season I was thinking a way for PD-nim to keep us on our toes was to cast exes, but so far it seems like these two were friends, who began flirting. So why is YoungJoon so pressed about this? And why did MyungGyun make it worse by not choosing the other bed. There has to be more to their story. I was so annoyed they didn't show the photos YoungJoon had worked on with SHINee in his job segment. I have to look it up. YoungJoon is giving SeonWoo vibes. I hope, he learned from watching him in season 2 and won't make the same mistakes, because like JaeSang said, being nice to everyone isn't necessarily attractive in romance.

I always feel bad after the age and job reveal, when some cast members clearly feel either embarrassed or like they won't be interesting or attractive anymore. Unfortunately SeungJin may be the YungHee of this season and that really sucks, because he's so cute and brings an interesting and completely different vibe to the house. I hope someone calls him again. His comment about breaking the record of no calls made me a little sad.

I found the new roomie duo adorable in the first two episodes (it's impossible not to smile, when Hwi is battling pillows and covers to control his butterflies), but I'm not mad about things getting shaken up by Croffle Hyung. I felt like it all happened a bit too fast and they have to take some time to flirt and be open to give other people in the house a chance.

I find HanMin so effortlessly charming and attractive. That smile is something! If I was a man in that house I'd do a season 2 YungHee; throw that door open, run down the stairs and call him without a moment of hesitation.

What a blessing it would be to have someone like Taiichi in your life. Best character.

Forcing the monsters to take a backseat and adding numerous useless and annoying as hell characters (!!!) was a massive mistake and the main reason, why this season is vastly inferior to a strong season 1. I really hope, they learned from this and will shift back into the right lane in season 3.

I'm puzzled by the criticism of Song Kang's acting. I think his subdued, understated performance fits the character really well and is emotionally absorbing. I also really like his monsterization appearance and the movement of his wing and hope, they won't add a second one.

I'm currently reading the webtoon and I cannot recommend it enough.

Even with such a limited running time, you still end with the possibility of a happy, hopeful or bittersweet ending, if you prefer to play around with options. While I don't think, there really is an open ending here, at least two of the three endings in my head would make sense. I like all three possibilities and imagining where each one would lead these two characters. I really enjoyed Park Jun Mook in this. His emotional scenes were understated, but impactful. He made me cry.

I got the notification, but couldn't see their comment. Guess, I'm blocked too. Well, that's one way to discuss and keep the illusion of being "right".

I got so annoyed by the debate in this comment section, that honestly for the most part was like reading a Kpop fandom war on stan Twitter. So I bought the novel, which IS a BL. A fantasy with mainly innocent, subtle displays of affection (kisses at most). Now, the novel ends with the soul of the +40 year old gangster staying in the body of the teen. Meaning we're looking at an age gap (soul) love story. MDL users usually don't handle those well either. The novel touches on some complex themes. Coming out to a controlling father. Death and dealing with loss. Being outed at school, bullied and ostracized. Getting a second chance of changing your life. Falling in love. Guilt. Revenge. I was interested in, why they chose to remove the BL part of the story, but found only that one heavily quoted article. Korean media doesn't seem to ask these questions.

One side in this debate has been defending erasure of the gay characters and changing the BL part to a bromance. We're only 4 episodes in, so we don't really know, where they'll go with these characters and end the story. However, we do know, they changed "gay" to "stalker" as the reason for someone being bullied. And I can comment on that and call it bullshit. Even if the director didn't want to show these characters falling in love, you can still keep the original reason for a character being bullied. And changing it to "stalker", when it's so clearly not, that is lacking trust in your audience. Even a Korean audience, who is existing in a more conservative society and are slowly taking steps towards becoming more inclusive. I can somewhat understand changing the story, because dealing with an age gap gay love story would be tricky, but I can't get behind not sticking to the real reason for the bullying and subsequent suicide of a main character. There's power and possible change in showing that to your audience - especially the target one in Korea.

People passionately defending a change from BL to bromance and then sharing ship edits and talking about a clear "BL tension" in these 4 episodes is kinda laughable. People can ship for all I care as long as they realize, they are projecting, because there logically can't be romantic or sexual tension at this point in the story. It's so clearly not on screen either, because one character is +40 and acting more like an uncle, while one character is seeing his class mate as a doubleganger and responding to the "parent like" care, he's getting and has been starving. 4 episodes in they're busy with other things, than a BL attraction or bromance connection. There's skinship, but that's obviously not romantic or sexual in nature.

I don't appreciate the shaming or disregard of all BL fans as mere "gay relationship fetishists", when the group of people enjoying this genre is way more complex and diverse. On the other hand fans of the novel and people from the queer community should also be allowed to express their disappointment and anger about the removal of gay characters and a gay love story. The fact that some commenters defend this show as if they themselves created it is a bit much, and then we're back to a stan Twitter vibe. Most of us here are judging this series and the choices made by the production company as outsiders. Gay representation is so different in Korean media and society, than say Europe, where I'm watching from. I think, that is important to be aware of, when discussing this show as well as taking a breath and reading, what commenters on both sides are actually saying, I for one have been enjoying reading your comments here and a couple of other similar commenters, who have approached this debate more calmly and without resorting to personal attacks or slurs. So thank you for that.

Now I got that out of the way, let me comment on the show.
It is fine so far. Not horrible, but not mindblowing either. The budget was clearly limited, the story is (a little too?) familiar and the vibe is way more comedic, than I expected. Gangster dude and Clown boy has been a more interesting duo to watch until now, so Manicure boy needs to step it up. Clown boy reminds me of Yoo In Soo's character in All of Us are Dead. He's so useless and pathetic, you can't really bother hate him. I hope the show becomes more angsty, but with 8 episodes, I don't expect much. I'm impressed by how much presence Lee Seo Jin has despite the whole setup for his character. I'm mostly zoning out during the family and gang stuff, but I'm wide awake, whenever Won Tae Min starts talking. Can someone please give this man a solid ML role in a drama already?!

I'm reminded of Miraculous Brothers & Love for Love's Sake, which is a compliment, but if these 4 episodes are representative of the height of the show, I don't need more episodes or a season 2. I look forward to seeing, how they'll tie the story up and what route, they'll go with the ending. This is Deuk Pal's story, and I really hope, they'll keep that focus in the show too. He's such a likeable guy!

Shoutout to the OST! Always a pleasure hearing that distinct LUCY sound.

4 episodes in and the ship edits and comments are a little ridiculous, if you've followed the "war" in this comment section. "Oh, this is so clearly BL", "the tension is undeniable" and "he's down bad"? Who, where and how? There are no "BL vibes" or bromance in these episodes. They're hardly even friends. Given the characters, their current situation and where we are in the storyline, "romantic or sexual tension" wouldn't make any sense. At all. This dude is busy adopting kids left and right, and the kids are reacting to his attention and care. Including Manicure boy, who is also pretty occupied with trying to figure out, what caused this change, while keeping whatever secret, he's hiding behind those shifty facial expressions in check. Bromance needs an emotional connection. They only got close to establishing it at the end of episode 4. Also, that would be horrible, rushed writing. Whether this will lean bromance, bl-ish or frenemy they need to get there first. There's been one BL trope and two suggestive needle drops on screen. If anything, we're in Miraculous Brothers territory at the moment.

I've seen people share a complete opposite ending to the novel here and on Twitter, than the one I just read, which is really odd. Are there different versions? The ending I read would start a whole other fight in the comments, and it must have been a factor in their decision to change the story. I understand, why fans of the novel would be angry and disappointed about the removal of the BL plotline, because it's so important in the novel, affecting multiple characters, while leading to some surprisingly complex questions.

The fact, that the show uses "stalker" as the reason for Yi Heon's treatment, while simultaneously hand-holding us, as if we didn't see and understand, what is going on. What complete bullshit and lack of trust in your audience. Having characters say it out loud matters! Having characters speak up and take action matters! Gangster dude had two whole scenes, where he did just that. The one with Clown boy was particularly good. Now, imagine if they'd used the real word instead of "stalker" in those scenes. They did it in Love for Love's Sake, which in some aspects parallels this show, because Tae Myung Ha confronted the issue with a similar mindset as Deuk Pal. Even if you factor in the changes to the original story, there's no logic in using "stalker" and it pulls you out of the story, because it doesn't make sense. "Oh, here comes the stalker, so I can't be in the same bathroom". Sure thing. If anyone missed, what that was? All the more reason for spelling it out. You don't need two hot boys kissing on screen to address the problem correctly. Gay. Not stalker. That's representation too.

It definitely looked like he got suspicious and started sniffing around. I really like him too and hope they'll keep him alive for most of the show (I got the same "don't hurt him" thoughts as you). Jae Kyung will need a colleague on his side.

Having all these questions and throwing theories around after only two episodes bodes well for how the plot will unfold. Let's hope, they'll keep us guessing and can keep up the tension until the end. Good tip about the notetaking. I'll try it out. ☺️

They're laying it out as Jong Soo being the main baddie with his henchmen Tae Jin and Chi Hyeon in tow. I wonder, if Jun Seo really has been kept (financially) quiet all these years until something triggered him to make a move, so they killed him. Him leaving the shares of his company to Jae Kyung & Yun Jin is in order for them to dig up and expose everything. Audio File because he has physical proof (?). So where does the new drug come into play. Who is the Doctor, and how does he know the SOS signal. Why did Yun Jin hide from Jae Kyung, that Jun Seo also visited her right before he died? (only because they're estranged?) Why does Jong Soo look so weak and jittery, if he's the supposed most powerful guy in that "friend" group. He looks like someone being controlled by a bigger evil. His dad?

I get the high school flashbacks are building Jae Kyung up as a person, who doesn't hold back, and he can't really be put on leave right now, but it still kinda irks me, how he's just running around investigating on his own and breaking rules left and right in the process. Throwing a fit at the hospital, drinking his blood samples and then pulling rank and scolding everyone as an excuse? If they're a drug unit, why didn't anyone else catch on to his unhinged behavior and how unwell he's been looking since he was found in the subway station? I'm glad at least Jae Kyung's partner is side-eyeing him and has started sniffing around. It IS highly entertaining, though.

I've been waiting for one of these dramas to come along and make me feel like a clown in the end, when all my theories are proven wrong. The first episode did a great job of getting you hooked. Ji Sung is such an intense and interesting actor and if Jong Soo really is the kind of player they're laying him out to be, I'm going to enjoy watching Kim Kyung Nam handle that kind of role. A very promising start.

I pretty much smiled my way through the last episode. Strong acting overall, but Nam Shi An and Jung Yeo Joon were the standouts for me. Ki Sub, what a great and singular character. The OST deserves a shoutout too. The way the song "Silent" came in at the museum in episode 7. That transition from Ki Sub to Jin Woo in his attic just as the chorus kicks in. I instantly teared up. So nicely done.

Did the show stick the landing? Kind of. Some big long-standing issues were wrapped up a little too quickly in the end. Could it have been fleshed out more? Did I need more time with the 2nd couple? Do I have unanswered questions about Ki Sub and In Ho? Sure, but given the limited running time I still think, they delivered a satisfactory conclusion to their stories. However expected it was, I liked Balg Eum's decision.

What a heartfelt, cute and funny series. I will miss these characters.

Whoa, I didn't realize until just now, that Kim Kyung Nam is on the cast list! Yes, yes and YES!!
This cast in general is strong, but I'm so very happy to see Kim Kyung Nam back in a drama.
Looking forward to this one.

Good point. They quickly establish it's who he is and why, so it lessens the risk of him coming across as annoying. And then the checklist part - even if inherently goofy - is more than just a skit too, because we buy into this being the only way he can go about it - and learn something about himself in the process. Ki Sub is handled so well. A wonderful character indeed.

People becoming aware of and dealing with their issues caused by past events is usually a great watch. If they reconnect, make new friends or find love in the process; even better. I put this show on hold after getting stuck 5 minutes into the first episode, when Ki Sub was introduced. That moving in scene was so draining. I completely misjudged his character, and once I got past that scene, I fell for him so hard. It's not just good writing and directing, it's good acting, because this kind of character if not handled well, could ruin the series. I had to double-check if this was really Nam Shi An's first acting role (it's not), but it's still impressive, how he's making Ki Sub "work" on screen. His chemistry with Kim Sung Hyun helps too, and even if all four main characters risk coming across as one-dimensional, it all somehow click. Watching them grow from navigating their individual and connected stories is heartfelt, endearing and often really funny.

Some extra stray thoughts:

*Inner monologue is tricky, but they pull it off nicely. I enjoy being in their heads.
*Not too fond of the Hye Jin storyline, but it served a purpose, so fine.
*There's something about Kim Sung Hyun's portrayal of Jin Woo in certain scenes. It's his line delivery and body language, that somehow manages to be simultaneously hilarious and moving.
*Jung Yeo Joon as Balg Eum is so attractive.
*That scene between the 2nd couple in episode 6 was chef's kiss. I actually cheered, when Balg Eum didn't run away, but finally put his feelings and concerns into words.
*The checklist shenanigans (almost) went on for too long.
*"Why does everyone live so difficulty?". Hardly groundbreaking, but in that moment and from that character, I still paused to write it down.
*I need way more time with the 2nd couple storyline.

I'm impressed by what is achieved with limited time and budget. A lot of BL's and their couples get hyped online while airing and long after. Some are more deserving than others. This little gem deserves the attention. I hope, it sticks the landing.

The trailer and teaser looks absolutely unhinged. It's giving dark comedy/satire and I hope, it'll deliver on those accounts. The cast is strong overall. Ryu Jun Yeol and Chun Woo Hee in particular should have no problems pulling off these kinds of roles and vibes. I think and hope the limited amount of episodes will work in the show's favour as well.

I'm so pleased to see Ryu Jun Yeol back on the Kdrama scene, and I hope, if this show is a success, that it'll lead to more people checking out his past dramas. "Lost" was top tier and his acting in it was outstanding.

This is why I love the slice-of-life narrative technique. The unassuming and seemingly uneventful everyday life is so competently used here to tell a story of people going through important life changes and making decisions, that ties into some pretty heavy themes like family dynamics, sexual orientation, first love and (childhood) friendship. The ML's are well cast and it's so calming and absorbing watching their interactions and cute domesticity.

Oh, I only just checked and realized now, this is the same director and screenwriter team, who did Old Fashion Cupcake. Well, that explains, why I like this little gem of a series so much.