“What kind of ending is this?”

My timelines on social media for the Korean BL Kissable Lips are full of comments and posts like these.

Beautifully portrayed by actor Kim Ji Woong, Kissable Lips is the story of Kim Jun Ho, a vampire living on borrowed time after accidentally killing a human years before. He meets Choi Min Hyun (Yoon Seo Bin), a pureblood human whose blood has the power to save Jun Ho’s life.

And this is where things get real.

For me, Kissable Lips is one of the best done and powerfully acted KBL’s out of the more recent short dramas (the 8 to 12-minute episode formats) that were released at the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022, not including the ones before this period as they are another story entirely. Kissable Lips fits right up there with the recent The Tasty Florida and My Sweet Dear for me.

There honestly isn’t a lot a show can do in the limited time frame these 8 to 12-minute episodes give viewers, so when you can manage a good story in that amount of time and act it out well, then it leaves an impression on me.

Kissable Lips left an impression.

If you are not a fan of non-HEA (happily ever after) dramas, think about what kind of ending you prefer before going into this one. It does depend on your personal definition of a HEA. I found it happy, but I may be in the minority.

Kissable Lips is, first and foremost, a story of redemption, and it never pretends to be otherwise. We are never led to believe that Jun Ho will have the ending viewers or Min Hyun desires in this drama. His guilt was heavy, the blood on his hands as much a burden on his heart as his love for Min Hyun.

Maybe it’s my age and experience, but I like that the writers gave Jun Ho the two things he desired the most, love and redemption. Although Min Hyun’s story is less fulfilling because he carries the pain of losing Jun Ho in his heart, he is also a prime example of why this story is happy in its own way.

Min Hyun lived, and that’s precisely what Jun Ho wanted and needed him to do.

Because of this, I found myself completely satisfied with the ending. I did briefly wonder why Min Hyun never donated blood to Jun Ho in a safe way through having it extracted first, but then realized that most of the power taking blood from a pure-blooded human lay in the emotion behind it and the feelings they share during the process.

Fear and guilt kept Jun Ho from going there, and after five hundred years of existing, I didn’t blame him.

I think the true power behind this story is the sacrifice Jun Ho made to make sure Min Hyun lived. That’s the greatest love a vampire could give to the person he truly adored.

My only complaint is that I wish there were more story. This kind of powerful storyline certainly needed more time. Imagine the scale of emotion Kissable Lips could have had with longer episodes, especially based on the reactions it is already receiving.

The actors did a fantastic job. Although Jun Ho’s pain and sacrifice touched my heart, it’s Min Hyun’s unwavering devotion throughout that left the most profound impression. It’s refreshing when a character is never swayed, and even though there were times Min Hyun was afraid, he never turned his back on Jun Ho. Even after he discovered Jun Ho’s past. Kim Ji Woong and Yoon Seo Bin did these characters proud, and I am looking forward to whatever projects they decide to take on next.

In the end, how a viewer feels about Kissable Lips will depend mainly on how they go into it. I found it incredibly well done, well written, and well-acted for the short time frame it was given.

If you are looking for a profound quick watch that leaves you needing tissues, I highly recommend Kissable Lips. You can check it out now on Viki or Bilibili.

Rating- 4.5 out of 5