Writers are often most honest with themselves on the page.

And nowhere is this more obvious than in South Korea’s newest BL Individual Circumstances.

A story about a romance that fizzles with no explanation, Individual Circumstances follows the fateful reunion between troubled writer Seon Woo Jae (Jun.Q) and struggling director Ha Yeon Woo (Han Jung Wan) in a surprisingly stunning way.

Individual Circumstances has big feels and top-notch acting for what appears to be a low-budget project. It immediately delves into Woo Jae and Yeon Woo’s present lives while maintaining a past dramatic nostalgia, threaded throughout the episode using brief flashbacks and Woo Jae’s vague internal monologue.

This brings me to why I’m already drawn into the series. Despite Woo Jae’s seemingly cold, distant personality compared to Yeon Woo’s open, fun-loving energy, I find myself wanting to apologize for him. Woo Jae gives off serious To My Star 2 Ji Woo vibes, and I am soft for characters who close themselves off emotionally. While they are often harder to relate to and difficult to understand by viewers, facing emotionally reserved leads feels like sitting in front of a table with a jigsaw puzzle splayed out in front of me, thousands of tiny pieces waiting to be connected.

Part of the allure is my own habit of hiding behind words. As a writer, I am more honest with myself on paper and in stories than when facing myself in a mirror. I love how Individual Circumstances presents this by having Woo Jae’s fictional written story play out simultaneously with Woo Jae and Yeon Woo’s developing reunion tale.

Whoever penned the script understands a writer’s need to bury part of themselves inside the characters they write. Each character I’ve created holds a small piece of myself. Like the same jigsaw puzzle that makes up people like Woo Jae, my characters have a hidden part of the puzzle that is me. Getting the bigger picture of who I am would take laying out every character I’ve ever written and pulling the one thing about me I’ve hidden in each of them before piecing them all together.

Individual Circumstances manages to capture this on screen.

The first two episodes lay a strong foundation. The chemistry and tension between Woo Jae and Yeon Woo are palpable. Their contrasting personalities and Woo Jae’s looming reasons for disappearing create an intriguing mystery that promises angst, emotional confrontations, personal realizations, and an intense romance.

I hope Individual Circumstances maintains its course, keeping a steady pace that allows it to tell the story it introduces. With only eight short episodes, I fear the precarious time limit it is being forced to tread.

For an intriguing second-chance romance with an indie film feel, check out Individual Circumstances now on Gagaoolala, Viki, and iQiyi.

Rating- 4 out of 5