It will be no surprise to those of you out there reading, that I fell down the BL rabbit hole HARD the last few years. Like real hard. And I have yet to find the ability or the inclination to pull myself out. For a while, I tried and then figured… eh EF it, I’m going to watch what makes me happy and if BL makes me happy, I’m not going to let anyone make me feel bad about it. So it’s no surprise that when I’m thinking of my favorite couples now, my head instantly turns to the couples of BL, both lead and side ones that really captured my heart in a drama. These couples could be part of good shows or (unfortunately) the only thing that gets us through a bad show. These pairings are the pairings that, whenever I think of them, or see clips and gifs, instantly makes me want to watch the drama all over (and in some cases over and over). That being said, it seemed only fitting to have a post dedicated to my favorite BL couples!
Caveat: I decided to keep it just to dramas as if I added in movies? Well, we’d be here all day. 😀
Ming/Kit
2Moons 2
I was really worried when news came out that the entire cast had left the 2Moons franchise and the show was completely recast. I’d been looking forward to Copter/Kimmon as Kit and Ming! Man, was I surprised when while watching 2Moons2, I actually liked Joong and Nine in the parts WAY more. It could have been the writing or the fact that the storyline now focused on this second couple, but I was in for the overly charming Ming and the prickly Kit.
Sarawat/Tine
2Gether/Still 2Gether
I loved this show and these characters pretty much from the first moments. They may have started out fake dating, but you knew something bigger was going on with Sarawat and when the truth came out after we watched Tine slowly realize that this could be a real relationship… there was definitely some squeeing and arms flapping going on. I’m so-so-so glad they decided to go forward with the Still 2Gether because if they’d stopped with 2Gether, while my memory of the couple wouldn’t have been soured, it would have definitely would have had a shadow of ‘awww….come on not even a handhold???’ on it. I can’t imagine these two will ever go back to BL but I’m happy we had them in this.
Pha/Tian
Tale of 1000 Stars
While Tale of 1000 Stars didn’t make it to my top BL list (1. It was a tough decision and 2. yes, I will have a post coming out of my favorite BLs later this month.) I grew to love this couple. It seemed like we waited forever for this show to come out, as they announced it way before it was set to premiere, but once it did, Tale of 1000 Stars was even better than I had thought it was going to be. The pairing of the loyal, hardheaded ranger and the spoiled rich kid trying to turn his life around and deserve the second chance he was unfairly given, makes your heart go thump. The long looks, gentle touches, and growth of this couple were unexpectedly poignant. (Though I’m still irritated at Phupha for getting so angry there at the end. YOU KNEW SHE WAS DEAD YOU BIG JERK.) I was so excited to find out just today that the actors have been cast in a BL for 2022.
Ki/Chen
Boys Lockdown
Was this an awesome drama? No. But it was cute as hell and so was this couple. The love in lockdown romance was a big thing trope last year and this is the one entry into the genre that wasn’t told primarily through social media. They got to be cute as hell in person while (mostly) still being socially distanced. There is a season two coming out that’s being told from an interesting perspective –as the ‘actors’ who portrayed the characters. I’ll be interested to see how they pull that off. Did I mention they were cute as hell? You couldn’t help but grin along with them. (Plus those matching dick masks were hilarious.)
Mork/Pi
Fish Upon the Sky
I am a sucker for a hot lead who, from the start, is absolutely crazy for the other. Looking at my list, there’s a lot of them here. This time it’s the shy awkward dental student who has the undivided attention of Mork…whether he wants it or not. Spoiler alert: He does not. But Mork is never creepy about his crush on Pi, letting him work through his anger, jealousy, and mistaken crush identity. You want to shout at him “Stop being so prickly and love him back!” but, Pi has very real fears and I come out of the series respecting him and his choices. There was a dumb part about a wannabe girlfriend, but all in all, I can look away and forgive the show and couple that one miss-step. These two are just too cute together.
Jack/ Li An
History 3 trapped
There are so many good couples to choose from in the HIStory franchise! (There’s a very good chance another one will pop up later in the list.) For this one though, I’m going to highlight Jack and Li An because I just found them so sweet. Li An an eager, clueless puppy who believes in the best despite all the things that have happened during his life, and the mafia enforcer who is delighted by him are just cute as hell and surprisingly touching. While I’m unsure about Jack’s place in the story by the end, I give him kudos for giving everything up to stay if Li An asks him to.
Wilson/Teng Teng
History 4 Close to You
I told you you’d see another pairing in this list! I LOVED this couple. The best friends turned fake dating turned actual lovers? It was enough to keep me going through the other (TERRIBLE AWFUL NO GOOD) pairing storyline. If I watch again (and I will) you better believe I’m just going to fast forward and only watch these guys.
Tae Sub/Kyung Soo
Life Is Beautiful
SOBS IN BL FANGIRL. If you’re a fan of BL and haven’t seen this show? Well, I completely understand if you’ve missed it, as it’s an older Korean family drama… but the relationship of the son of the family, TaeSub, and his long-term boyfriend Kyung Soo is parts endearing, parts heartbreaking and parts swooning. Because this is an older Korean drama, no, you never actually see them kiss, but the scene where they do? It packs the same punch as a couple who’s allowed to get all visually steamy.
Phun/Noh
Lovesick The Series
I had to. I HAD to put this show into here. This was the first BL that captured my attention and I’ve never let go since. I love this couple of Phun/Noh. They have to go through a lot to be together. They make mistakes and hurt people in their attempts to do the right thing for everyone around them, but by the end, they realize that by doing what is best for them is what’s best for those they love. It’s been a while since I’ve rewatched Lovesick and part of me wonders if it holds up… so I may just not rewatch and sit back here with my fuzzy fond memories.
Ae/Pete
Love By Chance
Looking back, I do have issues with the couple. Or, I have issues with Ae and can say, maybe this wasn’t the healthiest relationship ever. If they are going to make it in the end, they are going to need some serious couples counseling. But for the most part? I love this show enough to ignore that. The way that Ae protects Pete and how he comes to terms with his feelings for him? I was there for it. (Through many a rewatch.)
Ai/Ni
Tonhon Chonlatee
This side pairing was so much fun. A longstanding couple who were best friends turned lovers, hid their relationship from their other friend for years as they wanted his friendship more than they wanted to be out as a couple to him. Despite this, they were just a perfect long-term couple, in love and in sync.
Win/Team
Until We Meet Again
It’s entirely possible I have a thing for secondary couples. I’m okay with that. In the case of Until We Meet Again, with the understanding that this will really irritate a lot of my friends and readers, I ended up liking the side couple of Win and Team more than the main couple. Through the show, I was sad that their storyline was sidelined in order to give the main couple more screentime, but I’m happy to say that the production recently came out with a limited series continuing their relationship and I can’t wait to watch it! Hot Tattoo boy was instantly smitten with Team and I really want to see more of that.
Shi De/Shu Yi
We Best Love
I recently rewatched Fighting Mr. Second…. And then I turned around and rewatched it again. I couldn’t help myself, I love this couple. Originally an enemies-to-lovers plot, but what you realize later, it’s only one side of the couple that hated the other… so good. Each series is stand-alone, but put all together you see the entire arch of their storyline. While I might not agree with what happened during the years between seasons 1 and 2, you never once doubt the love that Shi De has for the prickly Shu Yi and that underneath all of that hurt not only does Shu Yi love him right back? He was the one who had more faith in their relationship all along.
Fighter/Tutor
Why R U?
FIGHTER/TUTOR! How can you leave this couple off? I can’t. The enemy’s to lovers plotline is never one of my favorites but if you can make it through that and realize that Fighter has just been fighting (har) the feelings he feels for Tutor all along, this is a relationship for the books. Plus it doesn’t hurt that they are HELLA STEAMY.
Sun/Nuea
YDestiny
While this is not one of my favorite shows, this is absolutely one of my favorite couples. The drama YDestiny is split up into 7 couples each with one character named after a day of the week. Sun (Sunday) a tutor who agrees (is tricked into) tutoring the super hot, popular, impish Nuea. Nuea, who ABSOLUTELY has a thing for Sun and makes no secret what he’s looking for. For some reason I was really taken with this couple as its not a dynamic you see very often. This actor pairing originally came from Why R U? however, their storyline was one of the ones truncated due to COVID. I’m so glad we got another chance to see them together.
I know there are more out there. So many my brain says “What about this one?” “And this one?” “And this one!” but somewhere you have to draw the line, and here is where I’ve drawn it. For now. Maybe ask me again later. What are some of your favorite BL couples?
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