BLISS RATING: ★★★★+
“Love is not only made for lovers, it is also for friends who love each other better than lovers. A true friend is hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.” – m.lovethispic.com
This BL is so much more than just a love story. It is also a story of a unique love that comes along only rarely in one’s life. It goes deeper than a love for a love. And is a gift of singularity that remains with you forever.
Honestly, I do not think this production knew what a gem it had on its hand. If they did, they would have beautified this story and made it into an epic love story of two different loves – of intimacy and friendship. Indeed, it is a beautiful story that never reached its full potential.
Sul Won (Shin Young Seok) is left in charge of running a low-cost boarding house. He lives with a rather eclectic bunch of other guys. There is an amusing misidentification of the new guy who moves in. Kim Cheol Soo (Im Sung Kyun) is a physical education teacher at a local high school and by accident rescues the lot of them from a would-be robber. Sul Won now feels obligated to repay his kindness and begins to become closer to Kim Cheol Soo. Initially, not wanting all the attention, Kim Cheol Soo seems drawn to him. There is something about Sul Won that he begins to feel an attraction towards. And wants to be with him, more than just a friend.
However, Sul Won’s best friend, Bong Deok (Shin Ki Hwan), who has been secretly in love with Sul Won for years, has neither hinted or said anything to Sul Won about how he feels. As the relationship between Sul Won and Kim Cheol Soo develops, Bong Deok becomes more anxious. He also decides to move into the boarding house. But once Bong Deok realizes the extent and intensity of their attraction to each other, it becomes unbearable, and he moves out. His love for Sul Won is fully unrequited. This leaves Sul Won feeling empty and confused and profoundly sad.
The beauty of this series is the softness and gentleness of how Sul Won recognized and accepted the feelings of Bong Deok. He put aside his feelings for Kim Cheol Soo and with great integrity went to his old friend to comfort him, be with him, tell him he loves him as a friend in a most gentle and compassionate way. He did not know nor even suspect but the friendship they have goes deeper than love. However, he has fallen in love with Kim Cheol Soo. There is nothing sadder and more painful than an unrequited love and, while perhaps, not consciously, but completely unselfishly Sul Won provides the comfort and a security blanket that Bong Deok now needs, as his best friend. It displayed the magnanimous and altruistic temperament of Sul Won. This was such a beautiful exchange and so warmly addressed that a cried at its profound display of a deep and abiding friendship; deeper than physical love. What strength of bond the two friends now have.
After some reflection and advice, Kim Cheol Soo realized that he handled the whole discussion with Bong Deok about Sul Won without compassion and understanding and it might now have cost him a relationship. So, when he asked Sul Won about where he was and he told him that he was comforting Bong Deok, he was willing to step-aside to give Sul Won a chance to decide where his true feelings lay. Sensing what was happening Sul Won made it clear to Kim Cheol Soo who he wanted to be with. How? By stopping him in mid-sentence and thrusting a kiss onto him avidly.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. this series? This series is filled with a lot of quirky characters but the one who was most entertaining and in a sense, the most complex was Wang Ye Min (Kim He Jong). He is a writer with very odd mannerisms and personality traits. Pretty much a loner but has the reputation of being a wacko. Intense, focused, and yet sympathetically charming, he manages to somehow draw people to him. Oddly fixated on drinking grape juice, I found his characterization charming in a quirky non-threatening fashion. He does develop a quasi-connection with Kim Cheol Soo’s sister, Kim Hee Soo (Han Seo Ul) and seems to enjoy her company. He added a lot of eccentric charm to this series.
This is not a particularly passionate series and is to some degree superficial. Yet, it does have charm and a heaping tablespoon of character and integrity. All these characters, in one form or another, have principle, fairness, and a sense of honor about them. Their constitution of fair play and doing-the-right-thing showed this series to have high integrity. And therefore, the series is fun and enjoyable even if it is short. They are all so very likeable.
Still, there are a lot of unanswered questions at the end. While we see Kim Cheol Soo and Sul Won together and holding hands, we also see the remaining individuals in the boarding house. Bong Deok is there as well, seemingly happy, and perhaps accepting the fate of simply being able to enjoy the continued bromance with Sul Won. We also see Kim Hee Soo and Wang Ye Min there but not seemingly as a couple. And sometimes, in life, not everything has happy endings. Maybe everyone is simply content to be where they are, and are with who they want to be with – merely as friends.
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