Onde Seus Olhos se Prolongam (2020)

Comecei a ver esse drama aleatoriamente, descobri que ele estava no ar por aqui mesmo, e valeu muito a pena. Embora alguns aspectos da personalidade do Tae Joo tenham me incomodado, a história dele com Gang Cook é muito adorável. Ao longo dos episódios você vê claramente que os sentimentos que têm um pelo outro são muito fortes.
Num geral, por ser um drama curtinho, achei muito bem planejado. A trilha sonora também é ótima. E, o melhor, Hye Mi não ficou como vilã da história, e é uma das coisas que mais espero ver em BLs, a mulher da história não ser demonizada apenas por estar ali e acabar gostando de um dos personagens principais em algum momento. Aliás, a mãe dela é uma fofa também!

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O primeiro BL coreano dita o tom de por onde devem ir os próximos lançamentos

Eu assisti esse BL logo que ele saiu em 2020, porém como a ideia é rever todos as séries para deixar o review aqui, eu voltei a vê-lo agora e acredito que pouca coisa mudou na minha opinião sobre: Where Your Eyes Linger é um dos melhores BLs coreanos lançados até agora e ele dita muito bem (ou assim eu espero) de por que caminho devem ir os próximos que virão depois dele. Claro, há essa altura já sabemos que muita coisa boa e muita coisa ruim já veio depois dele, mas acho que antes de mais nada, essa série cumpre um papel fundamental em fazer um ótimo trabalho para puxar o interesse do público e das empresas em mais produções do segmento.
Nessa história dois amigos de infância, Kang Gook interpretado por Jang Eui-Soo e Han Tae Joo interpretado por Han Gi-Chan vivem em um relacionamento fora do comum, afinal mesmo sendo melhores amigos eles também tem uma relação de patrão e empregado. Tae Joo é um garoto astuto e mimado, filho de um poderoso e muito rico empresário, enquanto Gook um rapaz mais intenso e contido, que vem de uma origem humilde. Ambos moram juntos bancados pelo pai de Tae Joo, com o pretexto de que Gook seja o guarda-costas de seu filho. Mas ambos começam a perceber que seu relacionamento muda quando ambos começam a não conseguir compreender e lidar com seus sentimentos mudando um pelo outro, e deixando de ser apenas o que se sente por um amigo.
O plot é bem comum e clichê, porém a diretora e escritora da história Hwang Da Seul soube aproveitar isso muito bem e decidiu desenvolver a história na perspectiva mais rica que esse enredo poderia dar que é a luta interna com os próprios sentimentos que ambos os protagonistas estão enfrentando, ainda que de maneiras diferentes. A trama então se aproveita da diferente personalidade da cada um dos dois para ampliar esse plot e nas situações que a relação entre os dois personagens começam a lidar por conta de seus sentimentos.
As atuações estão muito boas, o Gi-Chan consegue entregar uma performance muito bacana e crível do seu personagem, e o Eui-Soo, apesar de estar em um território comum em termos de personalidade para os personagens que ele já atuou, acho que conseguiu criar uma versão muito palpável desse personagem que tantos conflitos internos. Os atores e personagens secundários são bem aproveitados, e fica um destaque para a participação do Jeon Jae Yeong que conseguiu fazer um antagonista muito querido na maior parte do tempo.
Algumas pessoas reclamam da duração da série, eu acredito sim que mais tempo teria dado mais oportunidade de explorar melhor as relações dos personagens entre si, principalmente do Gook com a Hye Mi, assim como poderia ter sido melhor desenvolvido mais partes da trama que acho que ficam um pouco no básico: como a traição do Pil Hyun mais pro final da série ou a relação familiar do Tae Joo. Mas entendo que por ser uma série pioneira no país, tinha suas limitações e acredito que os produtores fizeram um bom trabalho com o tempo que eles tinham, e focaram nas coisas que precisavam mais de atenção.
O final da série é mediano, acho que ele cai num clichê de timeskip que eu pessoalmente não gosto, e que apesar de fazer sentido, acho que precisava de elementos para completar alguns porquês que abrem com a volta de Tae Joo para a Coreia ao final. Acho o beijo final um pouco morno, mas também compreensível pela fase do segmento naquela época. Porém num geral acho que a série termina de forma bem positiva, o casal tem um final positivo, os personagens secundários tem seus arcos concluídos de certa forma, e a história leva há algum lugar.

Veredito final: 8,75
Série super recomendável, principalmente para quem está começando a se aventurar nos BLs! Dá pra assistir em uma sentada.

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Petição para a Coréia fazer séries mais longas

Sobre a história: como sempre, o pecado coreano é fazer tudo muito curto, portanto muitas coisas ficam no ar, sem explicação lógica, enfim... o enfoque é exclusivo no casal principal, porém suas histórias individuais são esquecidas e/ou não explicadas, o que algumas vezes me deixa curiosa. Não existe um aprofundamento psicológico dos personagens.

O roteiro é bom, apesar do que expus acima. A direção é boa, as locações, a fotografia e a ost são lindas, e os atores além de lindos tem uma química fantástica, existe uma tensão sexual quase palpável desde o primeiro episódio. O fato da garota também não ser rotulada como a megera também foi bem legal, aliás, ela e a mãe foram uns amores.

Minha única crítica é sobre os pontos em aberto, sobre as famílias, os negócios, porquê foi tão fácil fugir do pai e se encontrar com o amado no fim de tudo (se ele rastreou com o GPS o pai poderia ter feito pior), enfim, detalhes que enriqueceriam a trama.

No mais, amo essa série, já assisti várias vezes e com certeza recomendo. Quem ainda não viu, aconselho ver a versão filme, e se deliciar com pouco mais de uma hora de fofura.

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Perfect soft angst.

You know that perfect angst that rather than making you feel like you want to die, makes your heart flutter? That was it.

Truth to be told, it strongly felt like every fanfic ever came to life and... it works. Pinning over each other for years, longing and wanting the other, but never taking the step forward, protecting each other, making sure the other is not hurt. All the best tags we can find in fanfics are here too. While the story is extremely simple, the directing, editing, acting, ost... everything works in such a harmonious and perfect way, I fell for the show and died a few times waiting for the next episodes to air.

Some people wished it was longer, but I honestly disagree. With this type of plot it would be hard to make a good show, which wouldn't be a cheap fan service. The storytelling here was perfect. Not once was I confused about the plot or characters' motivations. They used the screen time efficiently and showed a cohesive story from the beginning till the end. I think extending this drama could ruin it.

Tae Joo and Kang Gook are nothing alike, but that's why they work so well together. Playful and flirty Tae Joo driving the stoic and collected Gook mad. The dynamics of them, the jealousy they tried to tame... That's the highlight of the show- amazing chemistry between Gi Chan and Eui Soo.

Usually I don't pay that much attention to ost, but the songs used here were truly amazing and fitting. If I noticed them, it means they were really good :)

So why not 10, if I loved it so much?
There were a few scenes where I was not completely convinced by Gi Chan's acting (like the talk with his dad in the last episode). At times I could not connect to the emotions he tried to convey. Since the cast was small and the plot was simple, it all relied on the acting skills of Gi Chan and Eui Soo. I believed every line Eui Soo said, but felt disconnected from the few delivered by Gi Chan. What's more, I wasn't the biggest fan of how they executed the last few scenes. Not to get into spoilers, I was happy with the content, but not crazy about how it was presented and structured.

That said, I would DEFINITELY recommend watching.

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A Beautiful Story.. Loved it

OMG, when I heard the there was going to be a Korean BL, I was a little skeptical because as we all know Korea is known for its hot and thriving BL industry ??? (sarcasm in case anyone doesn't get it).

But seriously, I was really shocked at the quality of it all, it was really awesome and really great and I loved every second of it.

Before we kick off, I would like to highlight If you are someone looking for like just skinship, then I don't think this is the series for you, if you want story, great acting, production etc, then this is for you.

Also please try to watch the series on Rakuten Viki to try and ramp up its popularity and make the show have good ratings.

Before I go into the review proper, I like to highlight (again) to anyone reading that it is the tiny moments in this show that makes it gold. Like the fact they sleep on the same bed, Koreans have bedding for the floor, so we kind of know they choose to sleep on the same bed. Another is the fact Gang Gook hated Tae Joo touching anybody else's ears (the weak spot attack❤️❤️). All those tiny moments really make the show kind of great because it's like builds up the chemistry between them but also the tension.

Now to the main review. This show was a simple 100 out of 10 for me, from the first episode, I loved the interactions, Gook always being there to protect Tae Joo.

We start off with the bullies chasing Tae and we start to see the type of relationship they have, they have grown up together and are kind of extensions of each other. Now the first place where I get to understand the depth of the relationship is where Tae's father slaps Gook, as a punishment to Tae, this kind of shows to me that his dad understands that Tae has deep feelings and care towards Gook because you wouldn't necessarily care about your bodyguards (Gu Jun Pyo ?, Boys over flowers says hi). So from that, I start to get their relationship.

The intimate scenes between them and I don't mean intimate in that way are so awesome, because there is an extra added level of unsaid words but they just both kind of know that they are there and the gay panic particularly on Gook's side was funny. Tae I feel wanted Gook to start dating because he felt it might take care of his feelings for Gook but as we see, that kind of backfired as Tae because it brought out his jealous side more. The girl I get is meant to make them realize how they felt about each but I wouldn't lie, I hated seeing her on my screen.

Then finally when they started to collide at mid-episode 4 and eventually, Tae told Gook to walk at the ending of episode 4, coupled with the Light Soundtrack playing in the background, I had a meltdown, cause I was thinking this is those type of shows that everything would not be resolved till the last episode but I was very happy that beginning episode 5, Tae went back for him, meaning he could not bear leaving Gook out in the cold like that. From there the relationship progressively got better and by ending episode 5, we had our almost kiss/kiss scene in episode 6???. The ending though kind of broke me, from Gook's gay panic to that ending of episode 6.

I don't like the Kim Pilhyeon, I mean they asked you to keep an eye on them, how does that lead to you having to report that you saw them kissing, like the chairman (Tae's dad) would never known if not for your big mouth, but I mean we should have all known that Tae would go to England from episode 1. I definitely was not a fan of his dad????
By the way, I was so confused by the ending of episode 7, like why was he working at the restaurant? But I like that they cleared that up, that it was kind of in the future

Episode 8 was so and so for me, I liked the way the fight was stationed, it wasn't like unrealistic that he beat like 10 guards at once but one or two at a time, made it more dramatic and real for me, with the music, it was cinematic.

But I mean I kind of liked the fact, that they still kept the reaction that a lot of South Koreans would have to having an LGBT kid. They didn't create this magical world where everyone (especially the parents) are all so accepting and always knew the kid was gay or something. I mean, it hurt us a bit but it was real.

Plus the fact when they finally got home, that Tae was asking why didn't Gook just accept his feelings earlier, "they didn't even get to do that" according to Tae, I felt is the most on brand thing with teenagers right now.

Can we appreciate the fact that they didn't spend a lot of the storyline with the girl intervening, they actually kept it BL. Like they didn't pull one over on us in the last few seconds. I mean it was also cool that they made Kim and Hyemi end up together, kind off made sense.

Overall, I really wished this had longer episodes and more episodes, there could be so much they could have explored with the high level of story telling and acting they had but this is still just perfect. Having a 2nd season wouldn't hurt but I doubt they would because it kind of had a good ending

I loved the extra layer of side comedy, He Mi's mother was the funniest because she was all of us, shipping Tae and Gook. Hyemi mother was everything, from shipping TaeGook to always shading Hyemi❤️❤️❤️ and even shading Pilhyeon that Gook was more handsome and mature. Then her crying made me laugh like a maniac

For the acting, OMG, the acting was soooooooooooo good, I loved the acting from the entire cast, it made it all so much more believable.

Finally the music ???... They have my heart in terms of soundtrack ❤️❤️❤️❤️. I absolutely loved the music in this, I mean the OST had like 4 songs (Light, See U, Looking at you and You) but I felt they used it so well, that it really brought out the moments more and made it all that more powerful

I really hope that WYEL is what kicks off Korean BL because no offense to other countries (Thailand ???) but the Koreans have shown they are simply better are making dramas than them, with creative stories, great production, and high quality, amazing acting and cinematography meant for gods. Imagine 20 episodes of Korean BL with 40 minutes running time.

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MORE MORE MORE

Good story, good pacing, cute guys and good acting - what more can you ask for? I have one thing, I want more time with them!!! The series is too damn short!

This is a testament why Korean dramas are leading all other its asian counterpart, this is a web drama but it certainly doesnt feel like it. The plot and the execution including the sets are well polished, and all the actors did a terrific job.

I even found myself singing with the song!

I will definitely rewatch this series and heres hoping that Korea will produce more, and hopefully next time it will be a full blown mainstream series.

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When there is more representation I can be picky, but for now this'll have to do

In my humble opinion, this drama does not add up to the hype. I am thankful that South Korea has started making more LGBT dramas and movies, since it is a great step forward. However, I think we LGBT+ people have a tendency to go a bit crazy when there is any kind of representation, and we are so greatful for the scraps that we hype up stories that really aren't that good, and sometimes aren't even healthy relationships. I have seen a lot of student-teacher relationships, or age gaps that are not approperiate when it comes to gay stories. Where Your Eyes Linger is a portrayal of an unhealthy relationship between a "master and servant". Not only are they not equal, but Taejoo is actually mean towards Gook and uses his position and authority against him to deliberately make Gook uncomfortable. That is not the vibe for me.
Moreover, I think that the acting was... awkward at best. It is very clear to me that the actors are uncomfortable and they have no chemistry. The one kiss scene was not really a kiss, just a peck, which would be fine if it wasn't the case with so many gay dramas and series. I just felt really forced to me.

But, just because I did not like this drama does not mean that I won't gobble up any other representation, however awful. I am in a desert and representation is my water. So I know I'll still be watching these types of dramas that I don't like until there is more representation with variety so that I can afford to be picky. I cannot wait until that time comes.

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Fan Fic Turned to Life

I'll keep this review short, simple and spoiler free because I don't have much to say.

Remember all those crazy one shots or fan fictions you read on Wattpad, trying to imagine yourself being inside the story with your favourite celebrity in it that makes your heart race and wishing for more? Yeah, this is exactly what you'll see in this Korean BL.

The story is sweet and charming. The chemistry is on point between Tae Joo and Kang Gook. Of course the story is simple and straightforward but once again, Korean Dramas have used their strength on perfecting their editing, acting, directing and the OST soundtrack. For a first Korean BL production, I have nothing to complain. I'm not gonna spoil the show, I'll leave it in your hands for you to judge.

Do I recommend the show? Sure. It may be unoriginal in terms of the same old overused plot but there's no problematic tropes used there which makes it nice and refreshing to watch. Enjoy the ride now that all the episodes are out and you don't have to wait every week yearning for more episodes.

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Where Your Eyes Linger is a Korean BL, which makes it an extremely rare beast.

The premise is pretty simple and very Korean: a Candy/Chaebol romance that happens to be between two men.

The poor Kang Gook is the best friend and bodyguard of Chaebol heir and wannabe teen playboy Han Tae-joo, for whom he has secret feelings. The two live together, go to school together, do martial arts together. They're basically inseparable in a dynamic that harks back to feudal Joseon bromances. It's a dynamic that didn't entirely work for me at first due to the disturbing power imbalance between the two boys, and I found the first few episodes very rough.

However, once the show settles into itself and stops finding excuses for them to grapple with each other, it begins to deal quite realistically and even movingly with the emotions of the situation. Gook is Tae-joo's servant and nothing - not their feelings or their friendship or anything else - can change that. Instead of using this power dynamic to set up the somewhat uncomfortable and unequal relationship I started to fear, the show instead treats it as a barrier, which in real life it would be.

The show also makes a few more quality decisions, especially around its second female lead who is textually treated in the same way as a traditional kdrama second male lead. It's a refreshing decision, not just from a kdrama perspective but from a BL perspective as well.

As a web drama, Where Your Eyes Linger is far far too short and as such the narrative is rushed. It would have benefited from longer episode lengths.

But despite a rough start and the use of some truly questionable music decisions, this is a classic kdrama romance scenario that happens to have two men in it. And that's the best thing about it. It means that some of its peculiarly Korean narrative decisions worked for me when I would have found them tiresome in a standard drama. I think it's great that they made a drama that treats homosexual romance in exactly the same way as it would have treated heterosexual romance.

That alone puts it heads and shoulders above every other BL released this year.

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Unoriginal and Problematic

There is nothing in this short Korean web drama that you haven't seen before. It's like every scene is just a rehash of all the bromance/BL scenes you've ever watched.

STORY : The story basically revolves around a rich young heir who has feelings for his best friend who is also his bodyguard. They've been best friends for 15 years, and it's obvious from the get-go that both of them have feelings for each other. A conflict arises when an admirer for one of them appears. This will be their main problem throughout the story.

With an unoriginal premise like that and a total running time of only 1.5 hours, I didn't really expect much. My expectations were already very low, but I was surprised that I still got a bit disappointed in the end.

CHARACTERS : The two main leads are definitely good-looking but so problematic and illogical. Let's start with our main character, Tae Joo. I was initially relieved to learn that even though he's the rich heir, he's not the stereotypical arrogant or condescending bully. Despite his rich looks and upbringing, he's far from being fragile or uptight. The guy is actually pretty laid back and grounded.

But he's such a huuuge flirt. He openly flirts with some other guy's girlfriend (which was the reason why he was getting beat up at the start of the story) and kisses her without much thought at the next episode. And unsurprisingly, we will never hear from her again.

Tae Joo is also very blatant in his show of affections for Kang Gook, the other main lead. Kang Gook is his best friend and bodyguard. Tae Joo is so sure that Kang Gook likes him too that he tries to seduce him every chance he gets - which sometimes disturbingly borders on sexual harrassment. Like the part where he lied about his broken arm to get Kang Gook to wash his hair in the shower while he's butt-naked himself.

And then right in the end, he stands up, faces Kang Gook and orders him to join him. KG is clearly uncomfortable in this situation, and refuses. (This is basically sexual harrassment. It doesn't matter if the other's gay or into you. If he's unwilling, don't push it.)

And he repeats it many times too, initiating unwanted contact every chance he gets.

From this, we can already see that Tae Joo is not only manipulative and bossy, he's a huge hypocrite as well. He gets mad whenever Kang Gook degrades himself by saying he's just Tae Joo's "servant and bodyguard" but then he bosses him around and manipulates him constanty throughout the story. That "hug me like my mom did" was really low. Because he knows that Kang Gook wouldn't be able to refuse that one.

Tae Joo is also the one to give Hye Mi (the female lead) Kang Gook's number. Because according to him, "Kang Gook should learn how to date", but gets seriously mad when the two seemed to be getting along better. This hypocrite gets to flirt with everyone while Kang Gook watches in the sidelines, and then gets mad when KG does the same thing to him.

But Kang Gook is quite problematic too. It's obvious that he's in love with Tae Joo as well. But unlike TJ, he keeps his feelings to himself and always refuses TJ's advances. He agrees to date Hye Mi, despite of his feelings for TJ. His indecisiveness eventually broke the poor girl's heart as she gradually realizes that she never had a chance to begin with. (But we all see that coming anyway.)

ACTING: Mostly decent, but nothing memorable. There is tension there but very few physical touches, and you can really see that both actors are slightly uncomfortable.

MUSIC: Aside from the opening song, I could not remember any background music or soundtrack in here.

FINAL EPISODE: I mostly judge a drama by its last episode. The ability to tie things together in the end and make a satisfying ending is what makes a drama great and unforgettable. Sadly, this drama's finale is as lacklustre as the other previous ones. In the final episode, KG is shown walking with his suitcase, thinking about TJ. He was thinking of giving up on TJ. Seems like this guy couldn't wait anymore.

And I just thought - wow. Are you for real? After that heartful confession three years ago, and pining for your bestfriend for a long time, you're going to give up like that? Did you not communicate for three years? I understand that it's a long distance relationship but how shallow are your feelings for each other that both of you did not find a way to communicate for three years? Like come on, it's 2020. Whatever happened to cellphones or computers? It all seems heartless and dumb at the same time. Like that confession never mattered.

(But he's probably much better without that manipulative guy anyway. Just sayin') ;)

TLDR: The main problem of this drama is that it's not only unoriginal (trust me, you've seen this jazz a hundred times), it lacks depth and intellect too. It's pleasing to the eyes yes, but for a "supposed love story", this one is terribly soulless, dated and unsatisfying. Everything here is half-hearted, like nobody even tried. Decent acting, but not much else.

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Yearning Personified...

Been excited to watch this ever since I got into BL's a few weeks ago, especially since it is hailed as the first BL K-drama! Watched the first two episodes on Viki using the free trial. Apparently, the first episode is free for anyone to watch, so watching it will help give the views to let Viki know about the popularity of the series. So far, I am unsure what to make of the show as it if still too early. However, I can say that the story is set up nicely as we are introduced to the characters, their relationship, possible obstacles that they may have to overcome, and some background information on the characters. Since the series is quite short, thrusting us right into the middle of their relationship is smart. The production is surprisingly quite good. The cinematography is sharp and clean. The acting is also top-notch. Newcomer Han Chi gives an effortless performance of being a flirty playboy and Jang Eui plays a composed friend whose veneer begins to crack in terms of his relationship with Tae Joo. The chemistry/tension between the two leads is palpable and I cannot wait to see where the story leads them. As an aside, I do like how the mother of a possible third wheel is so supportive of the blossoming relationship between Tae Joo and Kang Gook though.

On a side note, Kang Gook's hair is kinda weird in the back, right?

On a different side note, I hope that this series does well. If it does, then K-drama companies will be more confident to greenlight big-budget productions with gay leads! We need something like Crash Landing on You, but with gay leads! How awesome would that be?!

After watching episodes 3 & 4, I loved seeing the tension between Tae Joo and Kang Gook ramp up in the presence of a possible girlfriend. Tae Joo is beginning to realize that he has feelings for Kang Gook and is lashing out due to jealousy. Not sure what purpose Tae Joo becoming friends with the people who wanted to beat him up served though. That part was kinda confusing and didn’t make much sense. Anyways, I cannot wait for the next few episodes! I’m so sad that it’s only 8 episodes. Can I just say how impressive Han Chi’s acting is! And for his first series too! He’s a complete natural!

Upon watching episodes 5 & 6, I continue to be impressed. The story is maturing to the point where Tae Joo realizes his feelings for Kang Gook, who deflects his own feelings. Seeing the constant push-and-pull between them is captivating. Jang Eui Soo finally shows some range when Kang Gook lashes out at Tae Joo. Han Chi continues to impress me with his acting chops, showing vulnerability, heartbreak and anger in one scene! The different emotions that he is able to convey with just his voice, eyes and face is very impressive! I still cannot believe that this is his first acting gig. I cannot! I truly hope that he will achieve the success and fame that his talent deserves!

Upon watching episodes 7 & 8, I was a bit disappointed. I felt that these last episodes weren't as strong as the previous episodes in terms of storytelling, emotional impact and character development. Kim's reason for reporting that he saw Tae Joo and Kang Gook kissing was flimsy. I was also confused that the homophobic father's punishment wasn't more severe. Not sure why parents think that sending their children away will make them more well-behaved and not gay. If anything, they will have more freedom, more freedom to be themselves and to do things that they've always wanted to do but couldn't when under the watchful eyes of their parents. Seeing Kang Gook fight to get to Tae Joo was touching though a bit too dramatic. Also, I was confused as to why the father would let Tae Joo go home with Kang Gook before flying to England. I didn't like the time jump which was weird. Kang Gook working at the cafe of the girl that he rejected where he is constantly fawned over for his looks by the girl's mother and by customers. His friendship with Kim was kinda random too. I did like that Kang Gook and Tae Joo were able to get their happy ending though I'm not sure why it took 3 years.

All in all, it was a good BL series and an impressive foray into BL for K-dramas! Hopefully, this series will continue to garner views and support, allowing more Korean BL's to be produced in the near future! The time for change is now! We demand more Korean BL's!

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