BLISS RATING: ★★
“I liked that we shared the same name. I liked that we called each other Jun. I liked the time we spent together.” – Quote from Jun & Jun
This series was disconcertingly uncomfortable to watch and got to the edge of being an entertaining story, but never reached there. Overall, it suffered, as most Thai BLs as of late do – the essence of not being honest, straightforward, or communicating directly. The obtuseness of the message is the means to a plot to a story. Saying what one means only lies through innuendo, sprinkled sparingly with humor.
Thus, the story becomes a bore and only creates more unnecessary problems. And of course, belabors the development of a relationship and allows for at least one (sometimes the two) main leads to act child-like, immature, or whine like they spoiled teenagers. It just gets so old and tiresome. This series had the potential of being a good one, but it is so stuck in its formulaic routine. While the premise has been done endlessly before, this one was a tad more creative, but blew its chance to be different.
Two young boys, both with last names of Jun, became friends when they were children. They developed a special bond, perhaps because they shared the same last name. Even though they had lost contact with each other years ago, their childhood relationship was still quite meaningful and special and obviously memorable and still deep in their reflections.
Lee Jun (Yang Jun Mo) is beginning his internship for a new job at a marketing agency after being a former idol. In a twist of fate, he discovers that his boss, Choi Jun (Ki Hyun Woo) shares the same last name. Unbeknownst to Lee Jun, Choi Jun recognizes him as his old childhood friend. He has over the years developed strong attachments to those memories and now seeing him as an adult is falling for Lee Jun.
Initially, he ‘plays’ with Lee though in very obtuse and sometimes not so subtle fashion that he likes him. It takes a while before Lee Jun recognizes Choi Jun as his childhood friend. This all sounds and looks cute but is very uncomfortable and production companies need to stop skirting what is clearing (or what should be illegal) inappropriate behavior between employer and employee. Without Lee Jun fully understanding who Choi Jun is, Choi’s behavior is sexual harassment. This kind of coercion, even in jest or humor is simply not funny and certainly not appropriate.
The story itself is quite vexing, confusing, and almost deliberately distracting. Rather than developing a solid story between Jun and Jun, there are silly side-stories that go nowhere. In addition, there are other unrequired lovers of Lee Jun that he seems to be completely oblivious to or just too dumb to grasp their cues. Certainly, Chio Jun recognizes them and goes overboard to insulate Lee Jun from any of their advances.
Lee Jun has a mentor at work who happens to be his former idol manager named Hyun Jae (Jo Chan Hyun). His unrequited love for Lee Jun is rather pathetic and he never works up the courage to make his true feelings clear. Meanwhile, Simeon (Park Hyeong Seop), an idol who worked with Lee Jun in the past, and who has been asked to be a model for their current product, is very obvious about his feelings for Lee Jun. Yet, the writers decide to make Lee Jun play dense. Yea, right. To neatly wrapped up these two men being ‘rejected’ by the same guy, the story in a very peripheral and in a make-up-your-own-conclusion sort of way hint that these two may or could or perhaps end up being together. It is all so vague.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. this series? In so many series when you have flashbacks to when the main characters are children, there is an innocence and a sweetness to the story and a rawness to the acting. And more times than not, some of the finest acting is done by these young actors. This is no exception. The two young actors who played Lee Jun and Chio Jun (both seem to be uncredited) are just phenomenal. It is irrelevant that I could not figure out who was who. It did not matter. These two young actors had a sincerity about the characters they were playing and a genuineness that made no difference. They had warmth, connection, and frankly a deeper understanding of the characters than the older actors had of their own characterizations. These two little boys, albeit not very long in the series, set the tone and gave life to both Lee Jun and Chio Jun. Kudos to some fine acting to two young boys whom I am sure did not fully understand the complete story yet managed to convey a connection between them stronger than the older characters.
If this was my first ever BL, I think I would not ever want to watch another one. Why? Because it literally made no sense. It seemed afraid to develop a love story. It concentrated on silly mundane dramas. In the beginning, the chemistry between the two leads was quite stilted and it was hard to image they were going to be a ‘couple. Later, they did relax, and I honestly have to admit the eventual kissing scenes were quite sensual. I did find the exchange of the piece of candy between the two Juns was frankly hot and I loved that. It was unique.
This series, however, did break the standard of triteness by being a bit more adult in its approach to sex. There is a funny scene when Lee Jun is sitting on Choi Jun’s lap, and someone has an erection, and the other feels it. Finally, something so real for a change. In one of the later scenes, Choi Jun is kissing Lee Jun and he is sporting an erection in his pants. This is only the second time I can recall in any BL that I have been able to see (although it is subtle) an erection, a phenomenon that is as natural as breathing for a man. You cannot have sex without one; quit trying to hide something that is so natural. And finally, there is a delicate but funny scene with a gift of a bunch of condoms given to Lee Jun by Choi Jun’s supposed girlfriend, Yeong (Yung Ye Bin) as a present for becoming a regular employee. She obviously has played along with the charade of being the girlfriend for a while and is now stepping aside for what is now a full-blown gay relationship.
Astonishing handsome male leads. A potentially interesting story. Finally small hints of adult sexual themes in a BL. Fabulously good young child actor. Yet this series fell flat on its face. I think the blame must be shared – poor screenwriting, lack of a clear focus where to take the characters, too many superfluous characters, and no real plot. Also stop the nonsense with the sexual harassments in a work environment. That is neither a subject of humor nor cuteness. And start to develop a depthness to a love story and not rely on trite, formulaic non-communicative plots.
What a great story this would have been if you had intensified and solidified the connection that the young boys had as friends and develop it into a meaningful, almost soulmate kind of relationship, as they reconnected as adults. Too bad.
Leave a Reply