Had me in the first half

Story

The premise & plot of this drama is quite refreshing, but some plot points and scenes do get a bit cliché. It’s still fairly well executed though, so it’s not necessarily a bad thing (if it’s not broke, don’t fix it, right?). The love triangle aspect really managed to grip me and keep me interested, especially by the middle of the series (episode 8 or so), but after that, it became quite predictable and obvious to me that Shinwoo was going to be the endgame love interest. I don’t mind that at all since I never had much of a preference when it comes to who Taekyung ends up with (I just want everyone to be happy tbh) and I really was rooting for Shinwoo and Takeyung in the last few episodes. Although I still think that the love triangle was well-done and they managed to balance Taekyung’s scenes with Daon and with Shinwoo quite well, I wish they put a bit more romantic scenes with Shinwoo throughout the episodes because by the end, Taekyung’s decision still felt a bit rushed for me, like he moved on from Daon a bit too fast. Maybe this is because the passing of time can be a bit unclear sometimes, so I don’t really known how much time has passed in between some scenes/episodes.

Other aspects of the story that I like is Sohee’s redemption arc. I would’ve been bothered if they just made her the typical ‘mean girl who’s getting in the way of the couple’ like you see in most BL dramas, so it was nice to see that she got what she deserved for her actions and to also see her grow and become a better person after that. Shin Daon’s coming out storyline was also nicely done. It was very relatable and realistic, plus it’s always nice to see these dramas take on real issues instead of just glossing over them.

The rating of the story would be higher if episode 15 and 16 were better written and executed. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed them, but these two episodes felt odd to me in some places. There are a couple of things that I would’ve personally changed. For example, I think after Taekyung and Daon talked in the beginning of episode 15, it would’ve been nicer to see Shin Daon move on and get more personal scenes instead of romantic ones with Taekyung. Mostly because it’s already obvious that Taekyung likes Shinwoo (he even said it himself!) and so it was quite off-putting to see Taekyung and Daon still having that chemistry (like in the lipstick scene) when Taekyung is clearly not in love with him anymore (maybe he’s still in doubt? But I didn’t quite get that from what I saw). Regardless, the end of episode 15 was still a good cliffhanger.

Episode 16 was slightly disappointing for me. Yes, they managed to tie up the characters’ stories, but somethings still felt missing. I wish they went a little further with Namgung and Sohee, especially when they were carrying the baskets together. Like for Sohee to at least say something and acknowledge that Namgung’s has always been by her side before she goes to Daon or something like that. The fact that they suddenly focused on the teacher on the last episode also felt a bit weird. Yes, he was important in the beginning of the story, but his appearances were quite sporadic throughout and in my opinion wasn’t enough to justify making a chunk of the last episode about him (I wish they just built up the beach scene better instead). It became obvious to me that they were probably focused on him in the last episode because they wanted to do something with his storyline from the webtoon (and considering that last scene, they probably are), so they just had to put him in there somehow. That took me out of the flow of the story a bit, but it wasn’t that bad, it was still pretty wholesome.

Shinwoo and Taekyung were probably the best parts of the last episode, but when it comes to the other characters, I’m still left wanting for more. It would be nice to see a season two of this series where all the characters and their dynamics get explored deeper, so fingers crossed!

Acting

Cheo Chanyi’s performance as Shin Daon is definitely my favorite amongst the cast. I think he managed to portray Shin Daon’s personality and qualms perfectly. Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but he really was the heart of the story for me. I know he’s not the main character, but most of my favorite story elements revolved around him, like his family issues and also him coming to terms with his sexuality and identity.

The rest of the cast was great too. I can sometimes tell that they’re fairly new actors in their deliveries, but it wasn’t that distracting. In my opinion, Go Woojin as Namgung is an underrated performance that doesn’t get talked about enough. He did really well as the comic relief and I’m sure it’s not easy to keep up that energy all the time. His character was really the one who solidified the group’s friendship for me. Without his character and the great performance, this series would’ve been lacking.

Music

Not much to say here. It was nice and fit well with the tone of the series, but it wasn’t particularly memorable either.

Rewatch value

If I do rewatch this, it’ll probably just be some scenes that I particularly liked instead of the whole thing.

Overall

This drama was nice, but it felt inconsistent to me sometimes, especially in the last few episodes. There were ups and downs, but it was still a very enjoyable experience overall. If I liked the last two episodes more, the rating would probably be higher. If you like fluff and lighthearted dramas, this one’s for you!

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