Some secrets are too much to hide.

The Korean BL The Lie We Lived In throws together three men connected by circumstance, deception, and danger. Kim Seung Beom stars as Seo I Do, a contract killer whose latest assignment takes an unexpected turn when he’s ordered to keep his target alive instead of finishing the job.

That target is Heo Dong Hwa, played by Lee Jeong Ho, whose isolated life is suddenly disrupted by the arrival of I Do and his longtime friend Chu Tae Jeong, portrayed by Kim Kyung Min.

What begins as a mission quickly becomes something far more complicated when Tae Jeong mistakes I Do for Dong Hwa’s older brother, a misunderstanding I Do chooses not to correct. But secrets have a way of unraveling, and things become even messier when he discovers that the cheerful and unsuspecting Tae Jeong is actually a detective.

An assassin versus a police officer narrative is certainly not a boring plot for a romance series, and The Lie We Lived In works hard to cash in on that. It starts off strong with a realistic opening and an assassin who somehow manages to be simultaneously intimidating and pitiable. He’s dangerous, but he’s also someone you can’t help but sympathize with.

The first two episodes do all the initial heavy lifting by introducing us to an assassin who obviously wants more from his life than the bloody, lonely existence he lives and a police officer who’s determined to discover the truth about his father’s death.

They’re brought together unexpectedly when Seo I Do’s assassination job happens to include Detective Chu Tae Jeong’s friend. While this could have been a hostile beginning, the somewhat naive and talkative Tae Jeong manages to turn the tables without even realizing he’s done so. And it’s actually incredibly endearing.

It doesn’t take long before the loneliness both I Do and Tae Jeong are familiar with becomes the thing that draws them together. Despite one being a criminal and the other a cop, there’s an immediate connection between them that makes the plot twist at the end of episode two that much more compelling.

The Lie We Lived In sets the stage for the “lie” between our two leads and leaves its audience open to a multitude of possibilities. Whether or not the ending is happy or sad, it’s a series that has the potential to leave all of us in our feelings.

For a series about two men on different sides of the law who find themselves increasingly drawn to each other, check out The Lie We Lived In now on Viki.

Rating- 4 out of 5