Individual Circumstances (2023)

Missing... something.

Oh, man, how do I even describe this?

I went into this with no expectations and I think that helped my enjoyment of it. I was curious as to the main characters' backstories and why they were the way they are now, and that kept me watching. I actually did enjoy watching this and kept wondering what Yeon Woo would do next to woo (no pun intended) Woo Jae.

However, I do think this show ran into a few classic K-BL problems. The plot, while enough to keep me interested, wasn't the most satisfying. Yeon Woo did everything to get Woo Jae back, but Woo Jae honestly didn't do too much to reciprocate. I wonder if we'd had more of their past (where it was implied Woo Jae was the... pursuer for lack of a better word, though not in the traditional sense) it might have been better, but I'm not sure it would be. I felt like it was missing one of those "I realized I messed up and am now going to run to him" scenes.

Second, the actors were very much lacking chemistry. It wasn't super noticeable in earlier scenes, but towards the end where they were meant to be closer romantically, I felt like they were just actors trying to act in a BL instead of the characters who missed the other and wanted to be with their partner. The kisses were the stereotypical dead fish kiss and I very much got a "let's press our lips together because the script says it but no homo" vibe. I could easily see them as friends but struggled to see them as a couple. I am begging K-BLs to do chemistry workshops, please.

While I do think this show ran into a low-budget, low-episode-count problem, I also feel like the plot was all over the place and didn't do the best it could have. We got hints of their earlier relationship, we got hints of their current relationship changing, but unfortunately it wasn't fleshed out enough either way to give us any satisfaction.

It's a fun, fast binge for those who are looking to kill time, but I recommend you lower those expectations and just go with the flow for this one.

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want to see the actors in something else

Overall: ep 7 and 8 were better but it was too little too late. There were 8 episodes about 15 minutes each, aired on Viki and GagaOOLala (depending on your country)

Content Warnings: harassment

What I Liked
- funny moments
- how the director Ha Yeon Woo was prepared/put some thought into his plan
- the fan service of Ha Yeon Woo's body
- production value (including the scenic shots)

Room For Improvement
- for a jerk protagonist and a sweetheart to work in a romance, the jerk needs to have a REALLY good reason why they are a jerk and the jerk phase can't last very long. Unfortunately the explanation in episode 7 just wasn't good enough for me and the jerk phase lasted way too long.
- didn't feel chemistry between the protagonists
- the writer was a huge jerk to his manager and it made me mad (wish the writer was nice to others but then only angry at the director when he showed up)
- needed a little bit more of an indicator when they switched from present to past and then back to present again, some choppy moments
- very slow paced,
- dead fish lip presses

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Things are missing....

Ignoring the acting, seeing as I only enjoyed the writers actor, and considering that this wasnt the worst thing I've ever seen by FAR! I still can't help but notice so many things that left me a bit "??". By that I mean the plotholes, or stuff that seems to be missing and it doesn't just happen once.

Firstly, the plot seems to be all over the place... Like the cops appear there but then because they know each other they just go away ???? Hello ??? He was literally camping in a place the OWNER said not to like.. the writer told him multiple times to leave... But alas, that's just the beginning.

Let's talk about the hoodie. They focus a big part of why the writer left as to the hoodie, which was like a "heartbreak" impact sort of thing, but then they never told us what happened to it ? Did i miss something? Did someone stole it? And THEN when they're drinking outside the writer's house the director not even ONCE mentions that the writer was wearing the hoodie like........... ?

Another thing is that the director guessed the the house code, guessed the computer password and when the writer arrived he didn't even questioned him about it... Does that many ANY sense? Did he just think that was nornal? They haven't talked to eachother for YEARS and he just ignored that? Alright then...

It wasn't absolutely horrible seeing as I did finish it which never happens if I dislike something, but it was indeed lacking in several aspects that just make it all feel very incomplete.

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Ehh

Rushed and flat ending because they took up too much time focusing on Mr Writer’s broodiness and melancholic nature.

The beginning was ok, I see why others said it was confusing. I was grateful towards the end that the eps were short because the relationship wasn’t really developing and I just couldn’t get behind Woojae’s thought process at all.

I have to agree that it also lacked chemistry. We didn’t get to see enough of their background to really understand everyone’s feelings.

The manager felt like an unnecessary character after awhile….

Had potential, didn’t meet it.

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It's OK. A bit repetitive

This is a forgettable series with a solid first episode and a pleasant Ep 7 & 8, but the rest of it was a dreary repetitive mess, with the character of a reclusive writer being absolutely horrible to a charming, generous, and extremely good-looking director who he obviously had a troubled past with. The writer is so awful, though, that it was hard to care if they got together or not.

And as more and more is revealed, it's clear that the writer was totally in the wrong, but also the plot hinges on yet another implausible misunderstanding - how could Woo Jae have been unaware of Yeon Woo's mother's death? It didn't make much sense.

The kisses are the worst I've ever seen, even by Korean standards - it was really uncomfortable to watch, and it would have been better to just do a hug.

6 months from now I'll come across this review and have no recollection of having written it or watched the series, except I'll probably remember writing that I wouldn't remember writing this.

The acting is good, especially Yeon Woo - Woo Jae is flatter, but he delivers in the climactic scene in Ep 7. The music is also pleasant enough, and Han Jung Wan is very hot. The wardrobe is particularly good, to the point that I looked forward to scene changes to see what the characters were wearing. If you can stay awake through the middle episodes, the ending is nice. Except the kisses.

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Didn't Hate it As Much as I was Expecting To

Okay, so me and this series had a bit of a tiff during the earlier episodes, with me contemplating more than I would've liked to on dropping it or not. However, I decided against it, only because this series is short, and I found myself actually not hating it that much. But that doesn't mean this series gets the upper hand though, cause I wasn't really drawn into the story until like midway between episode 5 -- and when you only have 8 episodes, that's not a good thing.

Let's Dive In.

The first episode was like watching paint dry. The setup, the introduction to the characters, the dialogue -- all of it was terribly uninteresting. So I set this aside for a few days and then tried again, got to episode 3, and then got bored again, set it aside another couple of days, and then tried again. Fell asleep halfway through episode 4. So finally, today, I had set a goal that I would finish this series whether it killed me or not. And I did. And I actually didn't hate it.

Bu episode 5, the plot picks up a bit and so does the romance. Well, not necessarily the romance, but we see their backstory more, and like I always say, I'm a sucker for friends to lovers. So by then, I'm at least entertained by the setup of our main characters and how they came to know each other. Another aspect I liked was the intricate lacing of Woojae's story following along with the plot that occurred. At the end, I was kind of hoping he'd turn his hetero story into a homo story, but that's me nit-picking.

The chemistry is very dull between the two actors. They're both great-looking people, so they look perfect with one another, except, nothing goes past that. The kisses are bad and even more awkward with the drawn-out scenes of their lips literally just touching. Nothing says we're in love like two dead fish smooching.

Ratings:

Story: 5.5/10 - Lots of it is boring. Don't even ask me about the side characters because *shrugs*. I watched most of this at 2x speed, and honestly half awake. It starts to pick up by the end, but it should've grasped my attention way before that.

Acting: 7/10 - It's okay. The actors don't really get to show their true skills because the script is boring and doesn't delve into any real emotions besides stoic and happy.

Music: 6/10 - Wasn't distracting. Good.

Recommendation Value: 3/10 - nah. It picks up, but it's still not worth the watch when there's a plethora of series that gain your interest in the first episode. But it's not totally a miss just because Mister International Korea is in this and I'm shallow.

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Why did the wind have to blow right then?

I kind of loved this. It was as if I was witnessing a short story being written, discussed, and eventually brought to life over the course of the drama. The color scheme was also fantastic and the acting bordered on great during key scenes. However, despite the MLs having wonderful chemistry all throughout, when it came time to deliver on showing physical affection, they failed. I find myself having to dock a full point for the kiss scene. And, here's the thing, it wasn't as though it was charming or realistically awkward: It just didn't work. I think I would prefer it if they didn't kiss at all rather than deliver something so disappointing and frame it as a romantic high point.

This leaves me feeling conflicted. While I would almost easily recommend this to others, I find myself sighing at its conclusion.

It's like returning home and going over vacation pictures and finding one where you're wearing a new outfit, standing in front of a gorgeous sunset, but at that exact moment when the picture was snapped the wind happened to blow your hair into your face and so while it is still a great memory and you will show it to family and friends your fingers will always itch as you so wish you could fix it by simply brushing your hair away.

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A HUGE MESS

Tbh, the overall rating of this show shouldn't be more than 2.5/3. And whoever directed this show should never attempt directing again.

I wouldn't say the story is that bad, but the way it was executed was TERRIBLE. 85% of the whole series is the guy camping and they staring at each other through the house. No deep background story or anything... they spend 6 episodes fighting, then all of a sudden, within 5mins they already hooking up. And to top it all, the chemistry and acting was MEHH..
Then the kiss came.. not only was it BAAD, it looked photoshopped. I just don't get it, why act in a BL series if you not comfy enough to kiss a guy?
Overall: story - average, plot - poor, acting - poor, kiss - poor, chemistry - poor.
At this point, I think I'll just give up on Korean BL series. They started off good even though we hardly got good kiss scene, but now, they not even putting any effort

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Fell asleep watching episode 1 THREE TIMES. [FINAL REVIEW]

I am not one to fall asleep while watching a show so the fact that I fell asleep three times while watching ep 1 has me baffled. I didn't even realize that I fell asleep.

Anyway, personally episode one did not seem as strong in my opinion. So much time was focused on their surroundings, which served no purpose. Did we really need to see him watering plants for like 5 mins? There were also some scenes that seemed to change abruptly in my opinion, which confused me for a few seconds before I decided to ignore them or until I understood what happened in the scene.

However, episode 2 gave me some hope because it started to get more into their story and the past.

There are some scenes that are entertaining since I was able to keep my eyes open once I passed a certain point in episode 1.

My 7 rate may change and go higher if they continue to improve like how they slightly did in episode 2. OR it could also drop cause right now it is on a fine line for me

So far, this is not something I would lose sleep over cause obviously, I did not.

UPDATE BELOW:
Well...I finished the show. My rate will remain a 7 because the series continued to make abrupt scene changes which would leave me confused. And yes, I did fall asleep, again, in a different episode.

I must admit that I did enjoy how Sung Woo Jae used the characters from the story he was writing to describe his feelings toward Ha Yeon Woo and how they, themselves, were the characters trying to solve their misunderstanding. I wish they made this a little less confusing and hoped they would have dived more into the characters cause it all seemed extremely bland when it has potential.

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Secodn chances, reunion romance, former friends to enemies to lovers, sunshine/tsundere pairing

A reunion romance between a movie director who was once promising and a writer who disappeared due to past hurt. Stars JunQ (main rapper of 2nd gen group MYNAME) and Han Jung Wan (Mr International Korea winner).

Reunion romances are not my thing but I liked the bratty sunshine (inner pain) director character despite his stalking (and maybe because of his naked chest). Using a guitar to torture someone is entirely appropriate, in my book/BL world it happens all the time.

I did want to know what happened to them in the past but the mystery got drawn out too much and the tsundere character became very frustrating and mean spirited as a result. I like the resolution and explanation for the conflict a lot more than I liked the conflict itself.

I could tell what this show wanted to be, and what it could’ve been, but it simply wasn’t good enough. In the end, like a host of other KBLs over the last couple of years, it is eminently forgettable.

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Avoid Under Most Circumstances

I never know what to expect with Korean BLs. They're hits just as often as they're misses. The one good, or bad, thing about them, is that they're always short so I don't feel like I've wasted a huge amount of time if they're a bust. This one, while not a total bust, was just lackluster. I didn't really feel anything while watching, nothing bad or good, which isn't desirable when it comes to entertainment. You want your audience to feel something and I got nothing here. Suffice to say, this isn't one that I would waste your time on.

The story itself isn't horrible, just a bit weak. Two separated friends who never had the cajones to put their feelings into words years earlier meet again. Woo Jae, who did make some effort to make his feelings known, has become a web novelist and he is not pleased to have director Yeon Woo back in his life. It turns into a back and forth of Yeon Woo trying to win Woo Jae's favor in order to turn his web novel into a movie in an effort to revive his directing career and Woo Jae resisting his efforts. In some instances, it was moderately entertaining, but not enough to draw me in. And Woo Jae's standoffish, jerkish behaviour toward everyone, not just Yeon Woo, was excessive and off putting, especially since it was explained far too late in the game and the explanation was frankly pathetic. "My love wasn't instantly reciprocated so now I'm going to turn into a raging ass for the rest of my life." Not a valid excuse, honey. Yeon Woo, I could sympathize with a lot more. He had a lot going on in his life and he was never even given the chance to voice his feelings for Woo Jae before he just disappeared. However, I don't condone his actions in hunting down Woo Jae and then setting up camp in his front yard uninvited. So basically neither character is without his faults, but Yeon Woo is the lesser of two evils by far.

The pacing is slow. There's a lot of repetition of Yeon Woo trying to "help" Woo Jae, Woo Jae getting cranky, things backfiring on Yeon Woo and repeat. That time could have much more effectively been used exploring their background together more in depth, having them actually communicate and have a conversation about what happened in the past and where things went wrong. They spent a decent amount of time focusing on that stupid hoodie and then never cleared that up which was so frustrating. I know that was back in their college days but there was enough of a focus on it that I felt it should have tied in somehow to when they were adults especially since Woo Jae wears that same hoodie at one point. As a side note, the scene with the police was weird and, I would hope, completely unrealistic.

The acting left a lot to be desired. Jun.Q as Woo Jae was just boring. He basically spent 90% of the drama brooding and had one expression. I'm exaggerating, but I really did find his performance underwhelming. He just felt repetitive to me. Jung Wan was an improvement, he definitely knows how to work a smile, but he also felt a bit note. There just wasn't a whole lot of nuance to their performances. And these guys had zero romantic chemistry. Their buddy chemistry was okay, not great, but okay, but their romantic chemistry was less than zero. I felt nothing, no sparks, zip zilch nada. And as others have commented, we get treated to the dead fish lip presses that some may call a kiss. I wouldn't.

The only positives in this debacle are the production and the OST. The cinematography is well done. The scenic shots in particular are my favorite. And I did like the OST. Nothing that really jumped out and grabbed me, but it was pleasant and not distracting.

Generally speaking, I say with dramas as short as this one to just go for it. It's only two hours, what the heck. But with this one, I would really say don't waste your time. At least with those other ones, they left me with some kind of emotional fulfillment and this one didn't. So I would say save your time and find something else to watch. This isn't one I'll ever come back to.

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