Starring OnlyOneof members Nine (Jihoon) and Mill (Eden), the Korean BL Bump Up Business, adapted from the manga of the same name by RK Studios, has arrived. And, with it, a series that focuses on falling in love under the public eye and on the toxicity that homophobia and obsession can have on those in the limelight.

While the production could have had stronger cinematography, transitions, and a longer format to better fit the emotions it wanted to capture, I was impressed by the stalwart way this series looks at the idol industry and the emotional havoc it can cause.

Everyone knows what it means to step into a public career. Doing so means making certain sacrifices and choices that don’t always feel comfortable. All for the sake of a dream. But becoming a ‘product’ should never mean losing who you are.

Fame is like a drug. The high that comes from doing something you love while being on stage and camera is a high that’s challenging to come down from. Chasing that high can be mentally and physically exhausting, especially when the fans and people around you who are supposed to support you treat you like a commodity rather than a person. Especially when the companies that can bring you that visibility want to sell an image they want you to have rather than the talent you came to them with.

One of the hardest things for me to grasp when I first got into K-pop was the idea of concepts. Idols are singers and dancers with enough talent and determination to succeed without selling a story. While concepts are fascinating to watch play out, It’s wrong to use them to force/bully a choice out of an artist.

Bump Up Business dives into the nitty gritty reality of queer baiting, obsessiveness, and exhaustion inside the industry while exposing what being gay inside the industry can mean. How the scandal, exposure, and stigma of being gay can threaten a career like Jihoon’s.

But what Bump Up Business exposes the most is the saddest reality of entertainment. While queerbaiting concepts are used to bring fame through shipping, coming out or being outed often brings scandal, ridicule, and closed doors within the industry itself.

This begs the question: why is it so easy to sell same-sex love as a fantasy but hard for some to accept same-sex love beyond a built illusion? Why is it so easy to ‘buy’ into fiction but not rally behind the truth?

Exposing the flaws in an industry that often sells fantasy is Bump Up Business’s biggest strength. I wish gay artists inside the idol industry lived in a world where their talent sells while their personal lives and those they love remain safely theirs beyond the concepts.

Nine and Mill impress as Jihoon and Eden inside a series with an obvious budget limit. It was also fun to see the other members of OnlyOneof in various supporting roles. KB, in particular, really excelled with his portrayal of antagonist Hyunbin. I’d love to see them on screen again.

For an idol series about falling in love inside a world of concepts and queer baiting, check out Bump Up Business now on iQiyi and Gagaoolala.

Rating- 3.5 out of 5