A Korean remake of the Thai BL of the same name, Why R U? enters the BL scene much the way its predecessor did. Starring Lee Jung Min (Jung Lee Won), Lee Ye Hwan (Kim Ji Oh), Lee Sang Min (Woo Sun Woo), and Park Chang Hoon (Ko Yoo Kyeom), Why R U? delves into a myriad of onscreen burgeoning love-hate relationships taking place under the potentially fantastical page-to-reality trope.

The first two episodes set the stage for narrator Lee Won’s frustrations over his bitter rival, Ji Oh, and his sister’s fateful BL fiction. After a vow he makes seems to bring his sister’s story to life, Lee Won finds himself propelled into a reality full of attraction and doubt. On the other hand, his classmate Sun Woo also finds himself fatefully paired off against Senior Yoo Kyeom as he vies for the attention of Yoo Kyeom’s girlfriend amidst growing feelings for Yoo Kyeom himself.

Why R U?, like its predecessor, is a fun plot with a lot of potential that will hopefully avoid the original’s pandemic production pitfalls. While the acting could have been stronger in places, particularly the scenes between Lee Won and Ji Oh, the first two episodes were well-paced and interesting. I have high expectations for the series if it avoids the plotholes many short-format ensemble dramas tend to have due to a complicated plot meshed into a small time frame.

That said, actors Lee Sang Min and Park Chang Hoon stood out the most for me in the initial episodes, delivering good acting and heart-fluttering chemistry. Their screen interactions as Sun Woo and Yoo Kyeom captured what I hoped to find in this series.

For a fun drama that captures the essence of the original it is based on while making it its own, check out Why R U? now on iQiyi.

And for those who loved the original, be on the lookout for a guest appearance by Thai actors Nat Natasitt and Max Kornthas.

Rating- 3.5 out of 5