BLISS RATING: ★★★★+
“In your life, I promise to never be an obstacle….But just let me be by your side.”– Quote from Blue Boys
What I am astonished is how others see series. As of late, South Korean BLs can be a ‘hit or miss’. Some are profoundly impactful while others are full of trite and mundane storylines. I found this to be simply brilliant while others found its ending cliché. For me, that was the most endearing part of this series. I have lived a long time and as trite as that behavior was portrayed, I have seen and witnessed this behavior in my life more times than I can count to many of my gay friends. It is called ‘jealousy’ and it is indeed a very ugly emotions that makes both males and females do awful, damaging and destructive things to others. And unfortunately, I do not think that emotion will ever diminish. The only reason I have not given this series a higher rating and frankly on my Top 10 List (which I honestly thinks it deserves both), is that it is just too short. It needed more time…
This is a wonderful story, really. It is a story of loneliness but told with such compassion and tenderness. Choi Jae Min ((Choi Seung Jin) is struggling to find permanent work and is not getting younger. He is cognizant of his status in life and his inability to be successful at his age. By serendipitous fate, he meets an old high school classmate of his, Kim Nam Yi (Lee Hoo Rim). It becomes obvious that Nam Yi had a ‘thing’ for Jae Min when they were in high school, with the feelings being mutual. They spend a lot of time reminiscing. Having lost track of time, Nam Yi needs to spend the night with Jae Min. And what a night it becomes.
It is obvious that the spark of love exists between the two of them. Yet neither one has had time to process or explore their relationship. So, all of it is new and scary and perhaps not on an even keel both financially and socially standing.
A force of destruction enters the picture. So Ri (Lee Soo Ha) is a close friend of Nam Yi and she refers to him as ‘Oppa’. She notices them being playful and close to one another. It is obvious she like Nam Yi and has for a long time as her movements indicated, at least to me, jealousy. I found this part of the story, perhaps trite to others, not so far-fetched. What she does, however later to Jae Min, is both cruel, abusive, and one of the worst forms of emotional bullying. She threatens him with his potential future employment and further makes him feel inferior in status to Nam Yi. All behaviors I have seen before by not only jealous women but also jealous men. It is hurting someone at their weakest and most vulnerable moments. Something I have seen happen – a lot.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. this series? This is a remarkably well-acted series. However, because of the compressed time of the episodes, there is not a lot of effort to get to see these characters more than what is presented to us. To be sure, there is both screen and personal chemistry between the actors. They went from merely being friends to being lovers in short order and made it work. Better than that, it looked so believable. Usually in these short series, the kissing seems a bit forced and contrived, but this all appeared to be so natural and real. The connection between these two was simply phenomenal and so credible. There is a softness between the two that translated into a deeper relationship all done without words.
There is a fifth episode that ties up some lose ends from the initial four episodes. And perhaps watching them all in totem made it seem so much more coherent to me. There is a good conclusion at the end that helps balance their budding relationship. To be sure, they are still not on the same page. Nam Yi is way more independently wealthy and has a lot to learn about the struggles of those who are marginally trying to make it in this world. Yet, his priority is Jae Min. As it should be. They need to talk, communicate, and be together. It is obvious that they are in love with each other. Nam Yi understood the destruction that So Ri did and is willing to change. And Jae Min is also willing to be open to what Nam Yi’s line of work is and to try and understand his reference points.
Where this series falls a bit flat is because of its time. Everything felt rushed. We did not have time to catch our breath. To be sure we saw some of their vulnerabilities, but I wanted to know more of who they were and what made them tick. They are fascinating individuals who twist and turn to meet each other’s needs so rapidly that we really never get to see who they are as individuals. I missed that.
I am so looking forward to Part 2 of this series. This is genuinely a solid and, at least for me as someone who has lived a long time, a realistic portrayal of two lonely guys who found each other at just the right time in their lives. In fact, the force of destruction that tried to break them apart is what may keep them together. What is that force? Understanding.
At least that is my hope. I am ever the eternal optimist.
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