Winter Fever – Series Review

Yujun and Yeonho live together as a couple. To any outside observer, they look perfectly happy. Yeonho is like the textbook-perfect boyfriend. He dotes on Yujun and goes out of his way to take care of him. What more could you ask for? However, Yeonho's attentiveness actually has the opposite effect. Yujun doesn't like that Yeonho is so eager to accommodate him in everything. That makes Yujun feel like a burden rather than a boyfriend. Over time, he starts to feel unhappy about their relationship.

At school, Yujun sees Yeonho's younger brother, Doyun. Yujun accidentally overhears a conversation between Doyun and his mom. Earlier, Yeonho's mom spotted Yujun and Yeonho holding hands. Now, she suspects the two of them might be dating. Since Yeonho hasn't told his mom about their relationship yet, Doyun does his best to throw her off the scent and won't confirm anything. When Doyun sees Yujun, he scrambles to change the subject. However, Yujun already caught every word. Hiding the relationship doesn't make Yujun feel good about himself. It's one more reason for Yujun to doubt his boyfriend.

Enter Hyunseo, a senior student Yujun is friendly with. When Yujun admits he has a lot on his mind, Hyunseo offers to take him out for drinks. Yujun spends the whole night venting about his relationship while getting drunk. Hyunseo listens and then cuts straight to the point. If you're this unhappy, just break up with him! Hyunseo then shoots his shot and volunteers himself as the replacement boyfriend. Bold move! Who needs Yeonho when Hyunseo is right there, single and apparently very available?

Yujun is too drunk to give Hyunseo a proper answer. He just laughs it off and doesn't take his friend's offer seriously. While Yujun is snoozing, Hyunseo answers his phone for him. It's Yeonho calling to check on his boyfriend. Oh, Hyunseo gets ballsy! He tells Yeonho point blank that he's interested in Yujun and plans on stealing him away. When Yeonho shows up at the bar to collect his boyfriend, Hyunseo keeps riling him up. Hyunseo predicts that it's only a matter of time before Yujun and Yeonho break up.

The next morning, Yujun wakes up with a hangover and zero memory of the night before. Yeonho nurses him back to health and acts like everything is fine. Except it isn't! That phone call with Hyunseo clearly got under his skin. Yeonho is scared. He's desperate for them to stay together. He sees Yujun as his eternal soulmate, the one he wants to grow old with. If they break up, it would emotionally destroy him.

Once Yujun sobers up, he runs into Hyunseo again. He has no memory of the confession from the night before. Hyunseo is more than happy to remind him of his love confession. Why not shoot his shot again? Hyunseo tells Yujun to break up with Yeonho and use him as the excuse if he needs one. Hyunseo is fully prepared to be the rebound. Yujun turns him down, but Yeonho spots them together on campus, looking a little too friendly. It makes him feel even more insecure about his relationship.

My first impression of Winter Fever is that it feels unoriginal. A love triangle where some asshole tries to break up the main couple? Wow, groundbreaking. Truly a unique concept we haven't seen before in this genre… 😑 In case my sarcasm wasn't obvious, I'm so unimpressed. How many times can we sit through the same old shit? Does the world need another story about stealing someone else's boyfriend? Winter Fever joins a long line of generic BL dramas that fail to distinguish themselves.

Hyunseo truly has no shame. Most homewreckers do shady stuff and try to be discreet. Not Hyunseo! He's so loud and proud about destroying someone else's relationship. If he had been more sneaky, his plan might have actually worked. Instead, this guy is scheming openly and talking a whole lotta smack. Nyah nyah, I'm gonna steal your man! Even though Hyunseo is a jackass, he spices things up a little. Without him, the whole drama would just be Yujun moping around like a sad potato. At least Hyunseo adds some chaos. Occasionally, it's fun to watch him sabotage the couple like an evil maniac.

Yujun spends the whole series being unhappy. He has many complaints about his relationship. Some of his issues are valid, so I understand why he feels suffocated. However, he never talks to Yeonho about his problems. He bottles everything up and vents to anyone else. Your boyfriend is right there! Why are you airing your dirty laundry to another guy!? Yujun makes no effort to save his relationship. Doesn't it seem like he has given up without a fight? Deep down, I don't think Yujun loves Yeonho anymore. He's just looking for a good enough excuse to end things between them.

Yeonho starts out as a sweet boyfriend. Aww! Look at how devoted he is! After a while, he loses his marbles and cranks up the intensity to an uncomfortable level. Ohhhh, I'll never let you go!!! Ahhhh, don't leave me!!! We must be together forever!!! Buddy, take a breath? There's a fine line between loving someone and obsessing over them. His attachment to Yujun makes me think, "WTF… Should I be concerned?" I just don't like seeing a character lose his mind over a relationship. The more he acts like a clingy weirdo, the more it makes me wanna root against him.

I'm obsessed with the fact that Hyunseo's actor (Yoo Jin Seok) plays the villain in another BL drama. Every time I see him, he gets cast as the bad guy. It's kinda iconic! To his credit, his portrayal is pretty compelling. Hyunseo is smug enough to make you wanna punch him. The other two leads (Seo Jung Hyun and Kwak Geon Hee) are solid, especially during the big emotional scene in the finale. With that said, I don't think they're given strong enough material. The story's cringy dialogue and cliched melodrama make it harder to appreciate their performances.

By the end, I was rooting for this couple to break up. Yujun clearly isn't happy. Plus, the story doesn't give a good reason for them to be together. I didn't want Yujun with Hyunseo either. He should just stay single! If the story ended with Yujun walking away from both guys, I would've bumped up my review score. Sadly, Yujun and Yeonho get back together without resolving any issues that made them miserable in the first place. I finish the series with a bored shrug. Winter Fever never made me care enough about the story or the couple, so I don't have strong feelings about it.