There’s a explicit sort of love that you simply expertise solely as soon as: tender, harmless, and painfully honest. “Really feel What You Really feel” builds its complete world round that feeling, wrapping the viewers within the heat of youth, friendship, and all of the feelings we solely totally perceive years later, after we look again by means of outdated images..

“Really feel What You Really feel” is a Hong Kong BL drama that follows two college college students, Yu Lei (Solar Cai Zhen) and Chen Ke (Liang Bei Yi), at Ming De College. In line with Yu Lei, the 2 have been initially meant to be rivals, however someplace alongside the best way, rivalry turns into one thing neither of them is aware of methods to title, and finally, one thing neither of them can ignore.

At its core, the story is much less about dramatic battle and extra about emotional discovery: the confusion of past love, the worry of being misunderstood, and the gradual realization that what they really feel for one another is greater than friendship.

Listed here are 5 the explanation why you need to watch “Really feel What You Really feel.”

Warning: spoilers forward!

Nostalgic setting that reminds the viewers of their youth

“Really feel What You Really feel” opens in 2001 with college students enjoying soccer on a wet night time in a muddy area after the semester ends. At first, the viewers is given little context. Then, the principle character, Yu Lei, steps ahead and begins narrating his story.

His line, “he was the one reply to the entire questions of my youth,” instantly captures the emotional core of the drama. It paints a transparent image of the sort of story “Really feel What You Really feel” goals to inform: a coming-of-age BL centered on the brightest and most unforgettable years of its characters’ lives.

Not like the opposite well-liked BL dramas of this season, comparable to “Love You Instructor” and “Sammy’s Youngsters’s Day,” which incorporate psychological and noir parts respectively, “Really feel What You Really feel” is a simple romance drama. Due to this, the collection locations larger emphasis on its setting and ensemble forged.

After the opening sequence, the story shifts roughly two years into the previous, when Yu Lei first enters college. The drama focuses on his evolving relationship with Chen Ke, in addition to his friendships with a big group of classmates, a number of of whom share a dorm with him.

By way of moments comparable to journeys with buddies, enjoying traditional old-school video games, and utilizing pagers earlier than smartphones grew to become commonplace, “Really feel What You Really feel” captures the nostalgia of a bygone period when life appeared a lot less complicated.

Lovable couple dynamics

What makes Yu Lei and Chen Ke’s relationship in “Really feel What You Really feel” so charming is how plausible it feels. Their dynamic isn’t constructed on exaggerated misunderstandings or overly dramatic conflicts. Whereas there are some misunderstandings which can be deemed to occur when somebody falls in love for the primary time, this C-drama primarily grows out of small moments and feelings that really feel pure and relatable.

The 2 first cross paths on their first day of college. Yu Lei arrives on campus along with his father, who’s heat and welcoming, very like Yu Lei himself. In distinction, Chen Ke arrives alone, carrying his personal baggage, quietly hinting on the variations of their household lives and personalities. Their first interplay is straightforward: Yu Lei by chance hits Chen Ke with a soccer.

Later, Yu Lei learns from his cousin that Chen Ke ranked first within the college entrance examination. Seeing his cousin brazenly admire Chen Ke sparks a petty sense of jealousy in Yu Lei, the sort many youthful siblings expertise when an older sibling praises another person their age.

This jealousy turns into the inspiration of their early dynamic. Yu Lei always tries to outdo Chen Ke and grows annoyed watching his cousin develop into nearer to somebody he views as chilly and smug. Decided to show himself, Yu Lei hopes to earn a spot within the pupil gala and develop into the “primary” particular person in his cousin’s eyes once more. Nevertheless, whereas Chen Ke efficiently earns a piano solo efficiency, Yu Lei fails to qualify.

What makes their relationship particularly lovely is that, whereas Yu Lei sees Chen Ke as a fierce rival, Chen Ke doesn’t appear to share the identical hostility. As a substitute, Chen Ke typically reacts to Yu Lei with quiet amusement and refined fondness. In a number of scenes, he could be seen smiling warmly at Yu Lei’s antics, making it clear to the viewers lengthy earlier than Yu Lei realizes it himself that Chen Ke’s emotions are far softer than rivalry.

First crush and pet love

The romantic relationship between Yu Lei and Chen Ke captures the sensation of a primary crush: tender, harmless, and painfully honest. It displays the sort of love individuals typically expertise of their youth: a connection so pure and overwhelming that the individuals concerned don’t totally notice what they’re feeling till, at some point, they’ll not deny it.

After Yu Lei’s preliminary one-sided rivalry with Chen Ke involves an finish, the 2 shortly develop nearer. Throughout a visit out of city with their buddies, Chen Ke tells Yu Lei, “I all the time thought individuals would come and go. However once I’m with you, I don’t really feel that manner,” earlier than asking him to develop into his greatest good friend. In that second, it’s clear that Chen Ke feels one thing deeper than friendship, even when he might not utterly perceive his personal feelings but.

On the similar time, Yu Lei additionally begins to note refined modifications in himself. He finds himself questioning why his coronary heart races at any time when he’s round Chen Ke or why he has the fixed urge of touching Chen Ke, unable to know why being with him feels so totally different from being with everybody else.

What makes their relationship journey particularly amusing is that everybody of their good friend group realizes they’re in love lengthy earlier than the 2 of them do. In any case, why else would two individuals go round calling one another their soulmates, composing music for each other, or combating towards your complete pupil committee and college administration if their emotions weren’t that intense?

The obliviousness of each Yu Lei and Chen Ke provides a layer of heat and humor to their romance, making their gradual realization really feel much more endearing.

Stress so thick you may minimize it with a knife

A part of what makes Chen Ke and Yu Lei’s relationship so compelling is the restrained stress that exists between them all through the drama. Each characters are barely adults and emotionally inexperienced in relation to love. Though Chen Ke has been in a relationship earlier than, he admits to Yu Lei that essentially the most he ever did along with his ex-girlfriend was maintain palms. Yu Lei, in the meantime, has by no means been in a relationship in any respect. Their inexperience makes each emotional and bodily interplay between them really feel unsure, delicate, and extremely honest.

Including to this stress is the worry of homophobia and social judgment that quietly hangs over their relationship. Neither of them totally understands their emotions, and neither desires to threat ruining the friendship they’ve constructed collectively. In consequence, each Yu Lei and Chen Ke spend a lot of the story holding themselves again, fastidiously dancing round feelings they’re too afraid to confront instantly.

This restraint is what provides their chemistry such depth. Even after their first kiss, there may be nonetheless hesitation between them, a lingering nervousness that makes each small contact and lingering look really feel electrical. Somewhat than counting on overt romance, “Really feel What You Really feel” builds intimacy by means of silence, proximity, and emotional vulnerability. The stress turns into so palpable that even the smallest moments between Yu Lei and Chen Ke really feel thrilling to observe.

Facet couple whom you can’t assist however root for

Whereas the principle romance stays the emotional middle of “Really feel What You Really feel,” the aspect couple, Li Ming (Huang Huai Ting) and Ouyang Han (Chen Hao), present a number of the drama’s sweetest and most entertaining moments. Their relationship serves as a refreshing distinction to the slow-burning stress between Yu Lei and Chen Ke. Whereas the principle couple spend a lot of the story trapped in denial and longing, Li Ming and Ouyang Han carry a lighter, extra playful vitality that helps steadiness the emotional tone of the collection.

At first of the drama, the 2 are always bickering and teasing one another, seemingly unable to get alongside. But even throughout their arguments, their chemistry is simple. The playful hostility between them steadily turns into real affection, making their dynamic particularly satisfying to observe. Nevertheless, it’s only after Ouyang Han is rejected by Yu Lei that his relationship with Li Ming actually begins to develop, and from that time onward, their dynamic turns into electrical.

“Really feel What You Really feel” is in the end a quiet, nostalgic exploration of past love, friendship, and the glowing feelings of youth. It’s a narrative that permits you to expertise the sensation of falling in love for the very first time.

Begin watching “Really feel What You Really feel”:

Watch Now

Javeria is a binge-watching specialist who loves devouring complete Okay-dramas in a single sitting. Good screenwriting, stunning cinematography, and an absence of clichés are the best way to her coronary heart. As a music fanatic, she listens to a number of artists throughout totally different genres and stans the self-producing idol group SEVENTEEN. You possibly can speak to her on Instagram @javeriayousufs.

At present watching: “We’re All Making an attempt Right here,” and “The Legend of the Kitchen Soldier,” ”My Royal Nemesis,” “The Scarecrow.“
Trying ahead to: “4 Palms,” “Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,” “Soul Mate,“ and “Notes from the Final Row.“