WingedBean

This review section, unfortunately, reminds me of the commentary for 'Seoul Trip' and 'The Scandal '. All three spaces are filled with audiences angry about the mere presence of nudity and sex. It makes me wonder: is the audience completely unaware of eroticism as a genre? Erotic movies/films/stories that use sex as the driver of the story? Where sexual acts or tension serve as turning points that alter relationships, escalate conflict, or expose secrets?

While I disagree with the overall hate, I do agree with a few specific critiques:

🍆 The editing could have been better. Some scene transitions are jarring and confusing

🍆The story could have taken a beat to explain Kang Do Jin to us more. For example
• Why was he so attracted to Lee Seon U? According to my understanding, that 1st night in his house wasn't a coincidence, or simply a chance that the heavens dropped in his lap. He wanted that man and found a way to get him into his house. He undressed in front of him to seduce him.

• What was Kang Do Jin's relationship, or rather history, with the creepy client Mr. Baek? Did they know each other b4 the contract? Or was the dude just a creep to everyone?

🍆 I'd have liked a scene or two after the 3some incident to see how the two dealt with the emotions from that night. Hot as that night was, I'm sure it also carried a lot of anger and hurt. I'd have liked to see how they navigated that. A little side effect from the night can be seen in the later scene where Seon U talks over Do Jin when talking to a client. Do Jin looked shocked, guilty, and later, proud. But how did we get here? I'd have liked to see that.

That said, I do not agree that this drama was just NC for the sake of NC or, even worse, just softcore p🌽rn. All the sex tells you something, if you pay attention. They tell you who the characters are, how their relationship evolves after each encounter - from pure lust to love- and even how the power dynamic shifts within said relationship.

Here's my understanding of these characters

Do Jin
He starts off as a POS, but a POS with a mission. He takes advantage of his position as team leader to make Seon U work overtime. Then takes advantage of the storm to take him home and seduce him, to test the waters. He could've asked Seon U to send him the material once he was done.

Emails exist, but he chose to remain in the office till Seon U was done with work. He could have gotten the man a motel room for the night and gone on his merry way. Hell, he could've let the man have his sofa, but undressed in the bedroom and not sat in the living room with his robe half open, but he didn't.

Imbalanced power dynamics are a staple of psycho-sexual erotic films, often bordering on the taboo. He wants the man, but draws a hard line between personal and professional. Acting like a tyrant at work, pushing his buttons to get a reaction out of him. In some way, he's a bratty 'bottom,' and if their relationship leaned into D/s dynamics, he'd be the bratty sub pushing his soft 'top' to get a reaction so he can hopefully be 'punished' sexually.

Seon U
The story doesn't explicitly tell us why he fell for his boss. How I think of it, however, is in terms of the 'forbidden fruit'. DoJin is untouchable. It's easy to worship the untouchable. To want to impress it. But what happens if you are allowed to touch it? When this far-away thing is finally in your hand, and it's more 'malleable' than you thought?

I think the contrast of 'in-office unmovable Dojin' and 'at home/in secret Do Jin, who lets me touch him, kiss him, and moans in my arms' is very seductive. It's what makes Seon U fall as hard as he did. Sex allows him to see a different side of Do Jin. One that no one at the office sees. When in bed, Do Jin 'submits' to him. Not necessarily because he bottoms for him, but because he lets him do whatever he wants to him. Again, this is very different from in-office boss Do Jin.

However, despite all this, and as much as he likes Do Jin, there is a chasm between them. He cannot cross it because Do Jin won't let him. Won't meet him halfway. So when Do Jin shows up at the hotel room he sent him to, he takes the chance to punish him for it. He hears the apology but chooses to go through with it. To make Do Jin hurt, and for once, to have power over him. As I said before, sex escalated the conflict, altered their relationship, and shifted the power dynamic.

They communicate entirely through sex. It brought them together; it's how they fight and reconcile, and it's what keeps them together

Final Thoughts
No, this is not a show with gratuitous sex scenes. It is a story that successfully uses sex as a vital tool for communication—both between the characters and with the audience.