The long-awaited Korean BL A Shoulder to Cry On is here, and it’s giving viewers a lot to work with, offering thirty-minute episodes adapted from the manhwa Sonyeoneul Wilohaejwo by Dong Mul.

Starring Omega X members Kim Jae Han and Shin Ye Chan, it tells the enemies-to-lovers story of a scholarship archery student Lee Da Yeol who is wrongly accused of fooling around with a student, his accuser, the popular Jo Tae Hyun.

The first two episodes dive quickly into the story, giving an internal monologue-heavy peek into Da Yeol’s life and thoughts before throwing the archer stumblingly into Tae Hyun’s path. An awkward push-and-pull begins, the popular Tae Hyun seemingly dead set on getting a reaction from the stalwart Da Yeol.

And that’s where the heart of this series lies.

While the first episode didn’t immediately grab me, it still set itself up nicely, leaving me curious about the rocky awkwardness that episode one delivered, only to hit me with the ‘why’ in episode two.

The screenwriter and the director behind A Shoulder to Cry On have a good eye for telling a story in an emotionally narrative way. At first, the internal monologue felt too heavy to me, even repetitive. Somewhat off-putting. I like the mystery behind a seemingly cold character. I like watching the ways that cold exterior cracks as a series progresses. But in A Shoulder to Cry On, it isn’t Da Yeol being cracked open, despite his even expressions. It’s Tae Hyun. His outgoing personality and habitual winks shield an inner coldness begging for a different kind of attention than the attention he receives.

A Shoulder to Cry On‘s first episode is supposed to be off-putting, setting up a story where the gap between the awkwardness of the character’s first meeting is slowly threaded together as their mutual hidden loneliness draws them toward each other. Both find much more comfort in hating each other than admitting there are feelings there, something that becomes much more obvious as the second episode progresses.

With thirty-minute episodes, A Shoulder to Cry On has much more time to build its narrative, and I get the feeling each episode will center on making the viewer feel a specific way. Off put in the first episode. Slowly curious and sympathetic in the second.

This makes me excited about what the next episode will bring and the different emotions the series intends to shoot for. While it is evident Ye Chan and Jae Han are rookie actors, there are also times when they’re obviously embracing their characters, delivering the story meaningfully. I am especially impressed by Shin Ye Chan and his portrayal of Tae Hyun. There’s a vulnerability that tugs at the heartstrings and seems to pull from real-life emotions.

While I won’t get into the heartbreaking Omega X story, I found myself touched by Tae Hyun. While the bullying in the first episode felt like an ironic twist that makes viewers want to shield Da Yeol, Tae Hyun’s storyline feels particularly heart-rending to me. While I haven’t read the manhwa this is adapted from, it’s apparent Tae Hyun’s passive-aggressive personality is shielding the victim he is.

There are a lot of hidden stories here: Da Yeol’s father’s possible alcohol abuse, the reason behind Tae Hyun’s aunt’s aggressive accusation, and the reason both boys find a need to wall themselves off from others in different ways.

There’s also an interesting thread of secondary characters, each carefully introduced but well-built, from the jealous actions of some to the friendliness of others.

A Shoulder to Cry On is complex and layered, which is intriguing. Despite the figurative sociopath and hamster imagery built by the series, it felt much more like a cat-and-mouse game where the cat wants to keep the mouse as much as it wants to eat it.

For a drama that slowly builds its narrative while maintaining an air of mystery around its main leads, check out A Shoulder to Cry On now on Viki and Gagaoolala.

Rating- 4 out of 5