Strongberry, a name Boys’ Love fans know internationally as one of the most honest and profilic gay production companies in Korea comes back with a short series titled “Happy Ending”. After the success of “Choco Milk Shake” I was pleasantly pleased to see actor Kim Seong Hyuk who plays the silly Kang Dong Ho, in this new series. In the three episodic series, he is paired with Park Jun Mook who plays his good friend Hyun. The pair exist in a pre-established story already in progress which is how Strongberry normally does it.

Two men, nondescript local that look familiar enough so the viewer doesn’t have to think hard about what is being presented in the high definition video of each episode. The director has an eye for detail in the way the camera pans around the two men; shows too much of the environment while the characters act out the familiar movements we BL watchers have come to expect from Strongberry’s scripts. The invasion of personal space with the time earned sense of friendly intimacy under the guise of pranking, the taking of someone’s diary and the game of keep away by the taller man while the shorter man gets up on his tiptoes leaning on the chest of the taller man seems familiar. These and other moments are made unique by the film making and actors as each slice of life moment in these two men’s lives is depicted soulfully. The fly on the wall aesthetic of their lives is what kept me enjoying the 3 episodes in this series.

Unfortunately that level of quality didn’t extend to the pacing for the three episodes. The editing was where the show falters. Like learning in the third episode that Kang had done something in the first episode that affected his entire characterization throughout the show making his character have layers while his actions are confusing and motivations unknown. Hyun’s self doubts in the third episode also don’t coincide with the calm demeanor he had in the first two episodes. That being said the different cutaways from random moments in time for the two characters made me confused on when things were happening. By the end of the series the ending itself seemed more of an overall pilot situation. You don’t know the ending of these characters which makes the title itself ironic.

Rating- 3 out of 5 (for a strong effort with an unreliable narrator)

Streaming on- Strongberry YouTube Channel