We don’t choose who we fall in love with, no matter how hard we try to avoid falling.

Love defies logic in the Korean BL series Boys Be Brave, adapted from Seok Young’s webtoon Can’t Confess. The male leads, Kim Jin Woo (played by Kim Sung Hyun) and Jung Ki Sub (played by Nam Shi An), navigate complex feelings that become more evident with time. While Jin Woo yearns for a love he doesn’t want to admit feeling, Ki Sub grapples with emotions he’s reluctant to acknowledge.

There’s a lot of push and pull in Boys Be Brave. While I enjoy dramas where the characters’ feelings are pitted against each other in an intriguing opposites-attract tug-of-war, the first episode is plagued by too much running away in the name of humor and not enough story before finally falling into the exciting plot that develops near the end. While the comedic intent of the scenes is clear, dwelling too long on sequences like the running and cockroach scenes can lessen their humor. Trimming these scenes could enhance their comedic impact and quicken the pace, allowing more time to develop a complete story.

Kim Jin Woo is a practical character with a routine lifestyle who feels more comfortable following a plan. Jung Ki Sub is a people pleaser who lives in the moment, easily giving in to people’s demands of him without considering how he really feels about it or how saying yes can sometimes be as hurtful as saying no.

By the end of the first episode, things fall into place. The too-drawn-out scenes at the beginning fade into an intriguing storyline about unrequited love and complicated feelings, with a hint of pasts that aren’t as simple as they seem.

And that’s where it won me, especially with the two secondary leads, Ji In Ho (Ahn Se Min) and Choi Balg Eun/Sunny (Jung Yeo Joon). Although they don’t have much screen time, wistful regret and longing between them adds depth to the storyline and creates an emotional appeal the first half of episode one lacks. It heightens the mystery we also start to see evolve between the leading duo, bringing it all together in a beautifully done second episode that captured my attention and left me wanting more.

It’s apparent that Boys Be Brave will be about facing oneself, especially when it comes to personal expectations, how the past and present affect those expectations, and how love changes them.

My biggest concern is in how they present it and the time frame they have to do it in. The first episode is a perfect example of how some Korean BLs tend to go wrong by focusing too much on specific moments and then running out of time by the last episode to tie things together smoothly. The second episode, however, manages its time well, which heightens expectations for the final seven episodes.

Either way, I’m intrigued. If done well through the finale, Boys Be Brave’s strength could lie in its ability to blend humor with heartache and longing, creating a compelling watch that is entertaining and poignant. Only time, direction, and pacing will tell if it culminates in a satisfying narrative arc or if it will leave room for further exploration.

For a drama that promises an intriguing push-and-pull love story between two couples, check out Boys Be Brave now on Viki and Gagaoolala.

Rating- 3.5 out of 5