In case anyone is wondering, the reason this series has an 18+ warning has (probably) got nothing to do with the BL elements but everything to do with the crimes depicted, which are pretty dark and involve sexual exploitation, including the exploitation of underage people.

I believe there are many BL fans who are drawn to the series because of the promise of BL. Personally, I was somewhat unsure about it (as someone who watches a lot of BL) because the the crime/thriller story in the synopsis doesn't seem to cohere well with the BL genre, but I was pleasantly surprised to see how nicely the main characters' romance is woven into the story involving some rather heinous crimes.

We can perhaps see this series as a thriller with romance in it, like many series that focus on straight relationships instead of a gay relationship. This story happens to feature a gay romance, but perhaps the "BL" label shouldn't be used here. I personally think that not every story with a gay romance in the main plot is BL, which is a genre that has certain quirks. If you are looking for a series that is largely focused on the love between them like many other purely BL series, you are better off watching something else. Nevertheless,, this series has a prominent romance narrative thread that is nicely intertwined with the narrative involving various murders.

The relationship between Tan and Bun (played by Max and Tul) is beautifully developed. The mutual attraction between them from the start is nicely portrayed, with Bun barely able to conceal his disappointment when he thinks that Tan is his female friend's boyfriend. Yet, despite his attraction to Tan, Bun is unable to trust him unreservedly at first because of how Tan is possibly involved in the crimes. Bun's complex emotions towards Tan as the mystery starts to unfold make their relationship interesting. The audience is also, for a while, left guessing what sort of person Tan is. Is the attraction purely sexual? Is it deception? Or is there genuine love on both sides?

Even without the romance narrative thread, the series is already pretty solid as a thriller, with the mystery being unraveled at a nice pace with some twists. A couple of twists are somewhat predictable but they don't weaken the story. One may be incredulous that, in an age of easy digital reproduction and dissemination, people can still think trying to getting back the original digital video of their incriminating acts. However, the flaws of the series are fairly minor. The story is well paced and nothing seems too rushed or draggy.

The strength of the series as a thriller makes the choice of featuring a gay romance commendable. After all, the story can very already do very well on its own with bromance or straight romance. In fact, there is a risk in featuring a gay relationship. It can either be a hit (since BL has a lot of fans) or a miss (since audiences beyond the BL fan base may not like the gay romance plot). The series does target and pander to BL fans, but not in a childish way. There is a kiss between Tan and Bun in the first episode (and even at least one possible side BL couple for us to ship), but the elements made for BL fans are worked quite seamlessly into the story. The final episode also has one of the tenderest gay romance moments I have seen in BLs in the past year or so.

I'm not sure how popular the series is currently, but I wish it will prove to be commercially successful. This will be a good impetus for a higher visibility of gay characters in mainstream productions.