A surprising amount of 9.5 and 10 star reviews on this site oh lord. There's still much room for improvement

So I've read the korean comic, in fact I'm still reading it while waiting for English translations. I still prefer the comic version, but for what it's worth the drama does alright with fitting the important parts into 8 episodes. If I watched all the episodes at once I would probably think the pacing is too fast, but since I only got to watch 2 episodes as they came out per week I thought it was ok. However I do think because it's only 8 episodes the progression from enemy to lovers still feels rushed. Sure Jae Young thinks Sang Woo is cute I guess, but was taking off his cap all it took for Jae Young to fall in love? And how did Sang Woo start to like Jae Young back, it went from "he's an annoying classmate" to "i like him" pretty fast. There isn't much depth to their emotions.

First of all, I think the casting for Sang Woo is pretty spot on in terms of appearance. Jae Young I would have liked if they got the red longer hairstyle right, but it's no big deal. I never like lip piercings though so I don't know why they have him wear that in the first episode. But in the manga I do get a more westernized vibe from Jae Young which I would have liked to see more in the live action. The acting is okay, but after watching other korean BL series like To My Star and You Make Me Dance this definitely pales in comparison. You can tell that the actors are idols instead of people who studied acting. Sure they're eye candy (especially Jae young) but sometimes their facial expressions are awkward and I hate the zooming in and 10 second long stares that happen in so much romance kdrama. The acting is bearable though, as for rookies they're a lot better than some other BL I've watched. They have some funny banter but sometimes it just feels forced and not natural? Everyone is saying "omg their chemistry is so good" which people say for almost every korean BL drama lol. The last two episodes where they kissed I didn't get the same satisfaction I did as with the previous two series I mentioned.

I wish at the end they didn't go with the usual "I'm not going to leave for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because I love you" trope. Like why can't Jae Young just go to Dex and they do a time skip where he comes back from France and gets back together with Sangwoo? Maybe I'm just a realist but I hate it when people give up their potential dream/job for their new lover. Like what if they break up in the future lol.

Overall this series is okay, but overrated in my opinion. I hear it has a high budget, which I couldn't tell tbh besides the nice clothes and lighting/aesthetic I guess. I still get excited when a new chapter of the manga comes out, but while watching the drama I got bored honestly. I dropped the series on episode 3 but decided to pick it back up because of how many other BL fans were singing praises about it. Even after the end I'm not super impressed. I guess I'm biased since I liked the manhua much better. The drama is fluffy and lighthearted which appeals to the masses I suppose, but don't expect too much substance either.