One of the hardest things to earn in life is trust.

Adapted from the webtoon of the same name by Dorae, the Korean BL Happy Merry Ending delves into a fear of relationships and the harm that broken trust can do.

Starring Lee Dong Won as wedding singer Seung Jun and Byun Sung Tae as pianist Jae Hyun, it tells the story of a man with a panic disorder who finds himself slowly growing closer to a lively new wedding host.

There’s a lot about Happy Merry Ending to like. From the palpable fear Seung Jun feels to his curious attraction for Jae Hyun, the series presents an interesting love story that manages to build itself off of Seung Jun’s panic disorder.

But this is also where it fell short for me.

As I stated in my initial thoughts on the series, short story formats take a lot of work to pull off. They need to come in hitting hard with the plot from the beginning, pulling it along at a pace that never lets go of its audience. While Happy Merry Ending does open strong, it quickly dissolves into a rushed story that tries too hard to focus on Seung Jun’s trauma while pushing the romance to the side.

While focusing on plot over romance works well for full-format series, it creates a disconnect in mini-episodes. While I empathize with Seung Jun’s plight, I also felt overwhelmed by it. With little time to properly delve into the full scope of Seung Jun’s trauma, viewers spent seven episodes watching him mostly push Jae Hyun away.

Until suddenly, out of nowhere, he doesn’t.

A one-year time skip later, Seung Jun has grown into himself, realizing a confidence on a journey he took alone without the viewers.

And that’s my biggest issue with Happy Merry Ending. It feels like it left its viewers behind. We realize Seung Jun found healing, but we don’t actually experience it.

One of the most critical aspects of storytelling, especially emotional storytelling, is keeping the readers/viewers involved. While Seung Jun’s emotions are expressed well, the other characters feel too vague.

The second lead, Ho Yeon (Shin Myung Sung), was easier to connect with in the first six episodes than Jae Hyun, his character receiving more emotionally dynamic screen time with Seung Jun.

That said, Byung Sung Tae (Jae Hyun) did an excellent job building a one-sided love story. With Seung Jun’s fears overwhelming most of the series, Sung Tae’s portrayal of Jae Hyun needed to be strong enough to pull off the instant attraction. While he manages to do this, there isn’t enough story to make it fully work. There isn’t enough time to make the romance strong enough to overcome the trauma, even though the dialogue and time skip feeds this ‘we found healing at some point’ narrative to the audience.

We’re told that Seung Jun has gained confidence because of his relationship with Jae Hyun rather than showing it.

A short story is already hard enough to move forward impactfully, but the burden becomes even heavier when your plot centers around emotional trauma and a panic disorder. The need to explore the trauma while pulling off a love story becomes a race toward a quick finish that doesn’t always satisfy.

While I felt disconnected from the romance in the series and put off by the abrupt time jump, I am happy to see Korean BLs honestly confront mental and emotional disorders. The road to healing begins with acknowledging that mental illness exists.

And this alone makes Happy Merry Ending worth the watch.

For a drama that attempts to gain confidence through falling in love, check out Happy Merry Ending now on Gagaoolala and Viki.

Rating- 3.5 out of 5