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I did ballroom also when I was in school and also train with professional competitive dancers, that is why I can relate so much with the movie on how realistic it is and how the two male leads are pulling off the dances. I understand why others might get bored especially if they are eagerly looking forward for romance. But for me, I agree with you, this is a true gem - the acting, dancing, cinematography, story and even pacing is perfect - very realistic. Every dance scene I am holding my breathe hoping that there would be no dance scene that looks awkward, but they are just so good. So yeah, I am so proud of the two leads for their performance - both acting and dancing.

I went in expecting to enjoy the romance, but I ended up being blown away by their acting and especially their dancing. Back in school I did ballroom, so I know how tough it is to make it look that polished, and they pulled it off so professionally. You can really tell how much work went into it.

In ballroom, it’s normal for male teachers to dance with male students, switching between the lead and follow roles. Just like in the movie, dancers have to learn both sides to really understand their partner. So when I watched the two male leads dance together, I wasn’t just swooning over the romance, I was focused on how well they carried each other and how natural it looked.

That’s why the pacing of their romance felt so realistic to me. At first, they’re just professional dancers with no emotional attachment, which makes sense given their personalities. And the way the romance develops, especially the ending, also felt very true to real experiences in the gay world.

This. Even in my high school, we need to get a certificate of good moral character when enrolling to certain universities. And this is not just a simple template, a teacher or an adviser of the student will have to give specific good characters displayed by the student then give their endorsement. I believe if Cho has a clean record in his school in New Zealand, this will not be hard to acquire. At least in this case, the school would be viewed by the court as more objective and neutral.

I also don't think Napoli Mafia would survive the tofu challenge. What really caught my interest, though, was the first challenge that exempts one from the Hell Challenge. It made me realize that Netflix wasn’t trying to make each challenge fair, like many other cooking shows do. The blindfolded tasting was probably the fairest one, but everything else seemed to depend on luck—whether you picked the right team or created the right menu for your restaurant.

The choice of judges also showed that Netflix wasn't aiming for totally objective judging. The results were heavily influenced by the personal preferences of the two judges. However, I appreciated that they agreed on certain standards before factoring in their personal opinions. For example, Paik praised Edward Lee’s take on Bibimbap for its flavor and saw its potential to introduce Korean flavors to a wider market. Meanwhile, Anh focused more on the cultural significance, noting that calling the dish Bibimbap without mixing it strips it of its cultural meaning. Personally, I'd be more interested in trying Lee’s dish over what Mafia prepared. But I agree that Lee should’ve called it a “Bibimbap-inspired” dish instead. That way, Anh wouldn’t have had an issue with the name not matching the traditional method of eating it.

I just finished watching the first five episodes of ULS because I had forgotten the story. Right from the first episode, I found Dong Hee’s character confusing. He comes across as outgoing and almost comedic, which doesn’t match how I remember him from earlier in the series. I understand that characters can evolve, but the drastic shift in his personality is hard to wrap my head around. I guess it’s left up to interpretation.

Also, Hotae seems less bold toward Dong Hee in ULS. Maybe this is after he promised not to repeat what happened before—like the forced kissing lesson? It’s understandable that their character is hard to decipher in ULS, as the focus is clearly meant to be on the main leads. Interestingly, the chemistry and story of the second male leads (Dong Hee and Hotae) actually feel more compelling to me. As someone who’s attracted to the same sex, I found their relationship incredibly realistic, and it really hit home for me. I cried a lot because I could relate so much to their dynamic.

For those saying that Ho Tae’s struggle to accept his attraction to Dong Hee is frustrating or rooted in internalized homophobia, I’d like to offer some perspective. In my experience, many gay men I know, including myself, initially disliked or rejected their same-sex attraction—even those raised in liberal households. Especially during our teenage years, there’s a strong desire to fit in rather than stand out. So, for me, Ho Tae’s behavior feels very real.

Even that intense scene where they’re practicing kissing at home reminded me of similar situations I’ve experienced. In these cases, we’d never talk about what happened afterward and would act like it didn’t happen. I think it’s because, just like in the series, no one wants to be the first to admit they like their "friend," especially when that friend is another guy. Despite everything, I still have good relationships with those "friends," and we seem to have this unspoken rule to never bring it up again.

Have the same issue with the beard shadow, very obvious especially when watching it on 4K. Personally, I think the two ML can pass as HS if they covered both of their beard shadow effectively. But yeah the guy on HIStory 4 is almost a joke to me when he appeared. I feel like the production is lowkey being arrogant in showing they have budget with all these beautiful people in their cast. But I feel like that's unnecessary. They could have used this opportunity to discover upcoming and young talents for the HS roles.

You: expect very realistic plot instead of fantasy
Also you: 10s kiss for dramatic effect (the kiss is just a dare even)
Also you: gives example of Western shows

You obviously never lived in Asia. Seems like those who read the novel thinks they also have a better understanding of Asian culture just because they read the novel.

I'm not sure about realistic plot though. The 10seconds kiss is not realistic. I would understand like a second kiss to be considered as "game" or nothing by both character. But 10s that's too long to be considered as a game or nothing. Even when I was in grade 4, silly boys in my class would randomly kiss anyone in class, but just a quick peck on the cheek or lips. So I know stuff like that happens but 10secs, I'm not sure.

Regarding the beard, you can clearly see they are full beard shadow. For Asians, if very rare for high school boys to sport full beard. I'm from SE Asia and there are many Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese university students in my city. I haven't seen any of them sporting a full beard. yes, they do exist but very few. Thus, my point, the characters on this series with their beard shadow, makes them less convincing to be high school students.

Just finished watching the first 2 episodes on Netflix and gurl I'm confused as he'll what's going on. When I first saw Sheng Wang, with his face and demeanor, I thought he would be portraying BLY. Also, Gao Tian Yang looks like Johnny Huang, it's confusing my mind. Haha. I sometimes thought Gu Hai is also in this series. I did not read anything about this adaptation so I'm clueless what's going on. I just had the expectation that the story would be similar to Addicted and Stay with Me.

Lastly, why are all casts in the school are so good looking - all the girls and boys in the class, the math teacher and the PE teacher, even the Mandarin teacher is so cute. I'm not complaining, I'm just surprised they're able to cast all these beautiful people in the series.

If there's something I want to critic is the beard shadow of most of the high school casts. Since I'm watching it on 4K on a big screen, their beard shadow is very obvious that you start to think they are not high school. I hope the makeup team did a better job in hiding them.

This! As someone who is suicidal, that decision was very realistic to me. Especially the line when sa said "I'm tired. I don't have energy left to live my life." This is exactly my dialogue most days. Just like SYH, I do see many things around me that makes me smile and happy, but at the end of the day I'll be overwhelmed with intrusive thoughts. These contributes with my suffering. And when you are suffering, there's a limit to what you are willing and able to endure. I've seen that to my uncle too who had suffered from cancer. He was in the hospital and was in severe pain. All those times he wanted to give up but he did his best to endure and fight with his will to live for his family. After more than 2 years, he passed away. And when he died, his family grieved but there's also a sense of relief knowing their father can finally rest and be free from suffering. I don't want this comment to be morbid, but just want to share that SYH decision to leave is not just a thought that came from the writer's creative mind. But a realistic depiction of reality.

I've been seeing his promotions in Korea on my YT recommendations. But why does the synopsis looks like Someday or One Day with a different twist?

I resubscribed to VIU thinking that this is related to the Taiwanese Kiseki. Lol. What's more disappointing is the low score of the show. I got tired of Thai BLs for quite sometime now. I stopped watching any of them in the past 2 years. Then the Cherry Magic Thai version came out and it got me excited. I dropped it at episode 10 IIRC. it was cute and fun at the beginning but then I got bored towards the end. Watching how they will make the story fit the Thai culture really made me curious. but after that, I can't help but to expect that it would make me more excited the the Japanese version. So even if I was almost done with the drama I felt I could use my time more wisely. Lol

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out since it's also on Disney+.

I appreciate the validation. Haha.

I dropped the drama when they started liking each other. it suddenly became more serious. I started watching and liking the drama becuase of the comedy. But just like any other shows, they just have to have romance to make it work. When I saw a reel on TikTok about the guys pulling each other's hair, I thought I would pick the show up again just for that episode. But no, that was not enough for me to continue. I just re-watch the clip on TikTok of the two guys if I want to get a laugh.

Thanks for your input. I guess I won't be wasting my time on this drama either.

I watched the first episode when it was first aired on Disney+. I was about to watch Episode 2 right now but I decided to go here abd check if people's review changed. Most don't really enjoy it. So it's final for me, I will be dropping this drama. I want to thank the sacrifices of those who had to endure watching more than 1 episode hoping the drama to get better just to be disappointed. I guess I'll just stick to Flex Cop for now.

the 2 ML has more chemistry tho. Not BL agenda here. Just want to point out that they need to up their game to make me root for any romance in this show.

his more handsome at Big Bet. He's playing as a Filipino in the series. Looks like they're casting him because he has features of a South East Asian.