I watched it and I loved it – plain and simple. Aspects of the show I found most appealing include the following.
- Universal topics. Issues raised by the show include first love, trust, search for happiness, expressing feelings, difficulties of communication, fear of getting hurt, fear of hurting a loved one, longing for love and companionship, overcoming insecurities, dealing with trauma and emotional baggage – among others.
- Relatability. Myung-Ha and Yeo-Woon – so different and yet sharing many similarities – are like mirrors reflecting issues we all have. Myung-Ha’s “I don’t know what to do when I like someone” and Yeo-Woon’s “You’re my first everything” and “Whenever I see you, I both feel good and want to cry” sum it up perfectly.
- Minimalism. No time was wasted on filler, unnecessary scenes or gestures, also there is almost no “fluff”. Despite focusing on one couple and one plot (Chun Sang-Won and Ahn Kyung-Hoon are not primary nor even secondary characters in this story – they are merely there, just like the rest of the cast, for the main couple to have someone to interact with) the show managed to convey an abundance of story and content. The storytelling was very concise and highly effective.
- Performances. Lee Taevin and Cha Joowan did a superb job, their performances are very strong and convincing. Both actors were visibly comfortable with the material and each other, displaying a top-tier on-screen chemistry. Very impressive.
- The switch. Initially Myung-Ha is the active one, getting through to Yeo-Woon, but once Yeo-Woon embraces his feelings he takes the lead, while Myung-Ha begins keeping his distance, realizing his own problems. In someone else’s hands this shift could be wasted or become incomprehensible or would require more time to be developed – but not in LFLS.
- Serious tone and humor reduced to a minimum.
- Very good cinematography and camerawork.
- Memorable and well-chosen music, with the instrumental bit accompanying Myung-Ha’s search for Yeo-Woon in ep. 1 (as well as Myung-Ha’s and Yeo-Woon’s reunion at the beach in ep. 8) being my absolute favorite.

This was the second Korean BL I watched (“Choco Milk Shake” being the first one) and this might explain my initial surprise at the difference between Thai BLs and LFLS. As I tried to explain to a colleague of mine: when I watch Thai BLs I treat the characters as Polish (I am from Poland), only played by insanely good-looking guys. That is the level of similarities and relatability I sense when watching Thai productions. LFLS was initially different – either because of cultural differences, Korean style of BL making, source material, artistry of Kim Kyun-Ah or other factors. That feeling of otherness, however, lasted for about 10 minutes.

LFLS is a true gem. It is not perfect, however its flaws are so few I decided to omit them in this review. Some might be surprised that so far I did not mention the computer game like setting and everything connected with it (including the “plot twist” in ep. 7). The reason for that is rather simple: I did not find it important. This is, after all, a love story, and not a story about computer games; what matters is the plot – not the setting.