Watching this show was such a frustrating experience honestly. The plot maybe simple, but awful editing, with random scenes spread all over the place between multiple episodes, it takes the audience forever to even figure out what really is going on. Also I was very unsure of the dynamics between multiple characters (who by the way, all seemed to have very similar sounding names , and I couldn't keep up with that). Was an individual evil, or a friend, were the intentions Nobel, why so sad and such an issue of being a writer Randall that. In a total of 8 episodes each of about 25-30 minutes, even till the 7th episode , I was very confused on why certain tings are happening the way they were happening. Too many questions for a show whose title misleads you into believing it’s a sweet romantic offering.
Jungwoo is a good writer and has had a first hot book. But after he made allegations about a corrupt writer, who happens to be very connected, suddenly overnight his next book's deal is cancelled and is completely shunned by the literary world. Socially isolated, three years later now, he has been living an anonymous life with friend/secret lover Junghyun, who is a famous author himself. We meet an upcoming enthusiastic publisher Han. Turns out Han used to work for the publishing company that overnight cancelled Jungwoo's book deal and he did not appreciate that step and had quit the company. Now with a publishing company of his own, he is struggling to find writers. He now wants Jungwoo to write a book, but somehow Junghyun is completely against the idea. For next 4-5 episodes, all we see is all of these people and couple more trying to convince (and unconvinced) Jungwoo to wrote a book. But Han is persistent and he manages to convince Jungwoo and before you know suddenly they have fallen for each other, also because Junghyun has not ben supporting Jungwoo. There is something about Jungwoo ghost writing for Junghyun or the other way round, Just couldn't comprehend for life of me. And by then Had completely lost interest because I Just couldn't understand what really is going on.
None of the characters in the show is likable. Every one makes questionable decision and does something out of selfish reasons. Jungwoo and Junghyun are toxic for each other but I was really never able to understand the nature of their relationship as writers or even as lovers. They ware always are loggerheads, so how were they even lovers at any given point? And then there was this professor, who for whatever reason, didn't; t want Jungwoo to start writing again. Also the way editing was done, repeatedly same scenes are shown in the subsequent episode from before with a. Little more context and after a while, it just adds more to the confusion rather than helping. The series sets itself up more like a reason to break up than a sacrificial love story about two men who made a choice that destroyed them both emotionally. By doing this, the series sets the stage for a frustrating week-to-week watch where something doesn’t feel quite right. Melodrama goes on and on, the conflicts keep repeating themselves and there is barely any romance. The show wants us to root for Jungwoo and Han's love story, yet this couple takes too long to develop and doesn't bond meaningfully. The last episode contains dull revelations, dreary confrontations, and inelegant resolutions and by this time I really couldn't care less. As actors everyone does a decent job of what is asked of them, but when story is so contrived, there is only smooch they could do. Han as the new publisher is cute and has a charming smile, but everyone else is forever gloomy and annoying. Overall, the show feels stale, stagnant, and tedious and something that can easily be avoided (and just when I thought Korean BL stories have figured their shit). (4/10)
Comments
Can I say I feel bad because I always have trouble with korean names. My bad, I feel stupid everytime because it always requires me a world of concentration to remember who's who (especially when they have shared sylables, nightmare...)
Back to this show, it was a mess with some serious edit issues.