Let's just cut right to it, this show was painfully boring. There, I said it. A story built around partial amnesia has real potential, but between the choppy scene structure and random flashbacks thrown in constantly, the whole plot ends up feeling more tangled than it needed to be. The romance doesn't fare much better either, it's written so poorly that I never really found myself invested in this couple. Both leads come across stiff on screen and deliver their lines in a really awkward way. The show runs 8 episodes, each somewhere around 30 to 35 minutes. Hanuel, a 29 year old language teacher, wakes up after an accident only to realize his memory stops at age 19. It turns out he'd been in another accident back then too, which is why his memories cut off at that point. He has zero recollection of the fact that he's currently living with his childhood friend Saebyeok, who's now a huge celebrity. That makes the whole situation even harder for Hanuel to wrap his ...
Kohei is a former competitive swimmer and these days train children. One day out of nowhere his wife asks for divorce, which surprisingly even their teenage daughter thinks makes sense. Kohei gets pissed drunk that night ends in an LGBTQ+ bar run by transwoman Priscilla. He wakes up in an apartment that belongs to Yuki, gay, polyamorous, making his living as a chat boy while aspiring to become an animator. At the same time, he is struggling to tell his father that he is gay and has issues of his own. They are both confused but eventually become attracted to each other. Coming out to himself makes Kohei feel more alive. Nevertheless, the ideal living together doesn’t last long, and jealousy sets a wedge between the lovers. Then, they have sex. One day they make love, and the next day they hurt each other. These emotional ups and downs constitutes a large part of the film, which includes the duo living together, Kohei coming out to his daughter and Yuki having some sort of relationship with his ex who wants to help him become an animator.
The metaphor for the film is told with a specific fish wherein the two fish must have separate tanks or else they will fight till one fish dies. Similarly, the two male leads here cannot seem to coexist in the same space without hurting each other. They respect each other, in fact clearly love each other also very much but jealousy, communication, aspirations, guilt etc constantly keep pushing them away. I wish the story was a little more developed. Somehow you feel something is disconnected. The film tries to scoop too many topics but fails to get a proper grip on them. Quite some lines are suggested but left undeveloped, unfinished like bulling of one of the kid. I think, with some deeper analysis, this film can actually develop into a fine series. There is a lot to explore here. The actors were both good and I really liked the chill bar atmosphere that is run by Priscilla, which eventually becomes Kohei's goto place where he can be himself.
A tender love story albeit rough around the edges, with a bit of unsatisfactory ending. It's not bad, but it could have been much better. (5/10)
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