Is this technically a gay show? Even after getting through the whole thing, that's still kind of tricky to answer. There's never any physical intimacy shown between the two leads, not even a single kiss. What it gives you instead is something that goes way deeper than that. It traces an emotional bond that spans a full decade between two guys who are both dealing with their own baggage, and what they share basically amounts to being soulmates. The story moves across Japan, South Korea, and Berlin. Honestly, whether people want to call what they have a romantic relationship or not doesn't really matter to me. A relationship doesn't need a label like boyfriends attached to it to actually mean something. And closeness doesn't need to be physical to feel genuine. What this show captures is something quieter but way more powerful, a bond rooted in understanding, respect, and just showing up for each other. Across eight episodes, each running 35 to 45 minutes, this is one...
Duen Yi is a songwriter and is tasked by his music record company to write his nextsog. He has been doing various iterations but somehow hasn't been able to crack it. His best girl friend, Chan Chao, works for the record label and frequently checks in with him, but he is stuck. The duo goto a coffee shop to meet the lead singer of one upcoming band, which is where Dune Yi meets Pleng, the coffee shop owner who is very knowledgeable about coffee. Duen Yi is forward with his flirtatious advances, making his romantic interest clear. Pleng Ruk maintains a warm and friendly demeanour towards his customer, but Duen Yi is surprisingly aggressive. Turns out that Pleng has been faking being in a relationship within best friends the lead singer of the new band, because he was heart broken in his previous relationship. When Duen Yi, finds out he promises that he will be truthful. So this is the main story of a budding song writer and a coffee shop owner, who go through their very mundane ups and downs. In parallel, we have a second story of this lead singer of the new band. The band has their issues with some new members and how Chan Chao is managing all that. Their is a love story between an employee of the coffee shop, who's is Duen Yi's junior with this band singer. And third story going around is that of Chan Chao and her love hate relationship with the owner of the record company, while she is chasing her dreams of having her own company.
A show titled like this, you would think that coffee and melody should be central to the theme. Surprisingly it is not. In fact the show highlights aspects of career , family and friendship and of course, romance. The protagonists and supporting characters are conflicted about love or work, which leads to intriguing dilemmas. But as I mentioned, there is just not enough drama. It feels too straight forward and dull. I really enjoyed the first two episodes. The agressivess with which Duen Yi flirts with coffee shipowner was very refreshing. Normally in Thai shows we see boys are very shy and proper and what not, so it was nice to see a guy going heavy an straight forward and letting his feelings known to the guy he likes, despite him potentially having a boyfriend. Sadly, the relationship never reaches magical high. The protagonists are strictly ok and they don't overall warm your heart. And somewhere the show falls back into some other cliches of ex showing up and those other things. Even the story of Chan Chao and her record company's boss could have been more dramatic, but it just falls flat. The second parallel love story was also strictly ok, but when the characters don't connect with you, then as an audience you could care less if the couple gets together or not, and here sadly, that is how I was feeling. So, overall, I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. I did really enjoy certain parts and then was quite bored with others. It was a give and take in that regard. (5.5/10)
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