Opposites Attract – Series Review & Episode Guide

Howon is a 23-year-old university student. He wanders into a gay bar and immediately locks eyes with a handsome guy sitting alone in the corner. According to the bartender, that man has ridiculously high standards. He has already turned down everyone who tried their luck. Naturally, this only makes Howon more interested. He makes a bet with the bartender. Howon is convinced he can get that guy into bed before the night is over.

Howon introduces himself to the handsome stranger. Minu, a 33-year-old university professor, barely seems interested at first. To boost his chances, Howon lies about his age, claiming he's in his 30s. He even throws in a fake IT job to sound more impressive. None of it works. Minu still looks ready to end the conversation. Howon can tell he's getting nowhere. Then, he catches the bartender watching from across the room, which only adds to the pressure. Refusing to back down, Howon decides it's time to switch tactics.

Howon switches gears and starts getting sassy. He insults Minu, calling him boring and accusing him of playing hard to get. The jabs finally get a reaction. Minu pushes back and defends himself, so the conversation actually starts moving along. Then, Howon does something unexpected and leans in for a kiss. At first, Minu doesn't respond. Howon immediately mocks him again, complaining that he's still boring. This time, Minu proves him wrong by taking the lead and kissing Howon back. Finally, there's a breakthrough.

They go back to Minu's place and spend a passionate night together. The next morning, the couple has a deeper conversation. Minu admits he's a boring guy who just wants a stable relationship, not random hookups. Surprisingly, that's also what Howon wants. The problem is that Howon lied about himself last night. Minu thinks he just slept with an IT professional in his 30s. Howon is too embarrassed to admit he made up a fake identity just to get them to sleep together.

To make matters worse, Minu finds out about the bet from the bartender. He is understandably upset. Instead of apologizing or coming clean about his age, Howon just lets the relationship fizzle out. They stop speaking for the next three months. Then, a new school semester begins. Howon walks into class, only to freeze when he sees his new professor. It's Minu. This is the first time they have seen each other since everything ended on such an awkward note.

The first episode of Opposites Attract was rough. When the leads first met, that scene felt awkward as hell. Still, I saw some potential, especially when Howon lied about himself. "Hi, I'm 33! I work in IT!" In reality, he's a 23-year-old uni student who made up a fake profile to impress a hot guy. There's so much juicy material here. How long will he keep up this lie? How will Minu react to their age difference? And what about that professor-student dynamic!? Even if the story didn't have the best start, I was hopeful that it might improve.

Instead, Episode 2 got even worse. One of the biggest issues is that Howon and Minu seem painfully awkward together. On their first night, I tried to make excuses. They're strangers… They're nervous… Give them time to warm up. But their conversations are so damn boring! Watching paint dry offers more excitement. The series has no idea how to write interesting dialogue, so these characters just have surface-level small talk. They barely connect at all. The show pretends that "opposites attract", but the reality is that these two guys have nothing in common. There's no spark here. Negative chemistry.

So far, all the interactions have been awkward. Yet, Minu drops the most ridiculous line on Howon. "I'm already falling for you." EXCUSE ME??? Based on what!? Has it even been 24 hours? Who the hell says that to their one-night stand the day after they met!? This confession feels so dishonest, like the writer doesn't even know their own characters or how relationships actually work. They're just slapping romance onto the couple because the script says they're supposed to fall in love. Stop trying to gaslight me into thinking there are real feelings here. These two have nothing!

Good actors can overcome a terrible script and make the romance work. Sadly, that's NOT happening here. As handsome as Minu (Cho Myeong Gyun) may be, that man is low-energy and lacks charisma. He can't command a scene to save his life. His partner (Hyun Woo) plays the extroverted Howon, yet he seems shy on camera. At times, he's okay. Other times, it feels like he lost his confidence during filming. Worst of all, their kissing is meh. The series includes lots of physical affection, but these moments are wasted on a couple that don't have any passion.

Midway through the series, Minu finds out that Howon lied about everything. Thank god! This is what the story needed. Let's bring in some drama to shake things up! After the big reveal, there's more tension. Minu is pissed off and suddenly develops a personality. And now that the couple's dynamic is messier, they have more interesting exchanges. Episode 5 ends with a good scene where Howon gets vulnerable, and the actor nails the moment. Okay, here we go! The plot has warmed up… The chemistry is clicking… I feel slightly invested in this romance now.

Since Minu is Howon's university professor, their romance is gonna be problematic. The story tries to address this issue and makes it the big conflict before the finale. And then? Nothing. The last episode is so anticlimactic. Minu and Howon simply decide to be together. I'm annoyed! This series wastes all its time on dull chats and pointless filler. But when it comes to resolving an intriguing conflict? It can't be bothered. My enthusiasm has crashed back down. I'm reminded once again that Opposites Attract is a poorly written BL drama. It doesn't deserve a high score from me.