Debuting Fake Gay Romance in ‘Bump Up Business’ Episodes 1–2

BL Recaps Korea

2023-10-30
10:13

The newest Korean BL has arrived in GagaOOLala! ‘Bump Up Business,’ starring real-life boy group members turned actors Mill and Nine from the group ‘OnlyOneOf,’ is an eight-episode drama adapted from the ongoing webtoon of the same name. It tells the story of an aspiring idol, Eden, who finally gets to debut, but with the catch of staging a business gay concept with a once popular senior idol, Jihoon. Will Eden and Jihoon also catch feelings as they pursue their dreams with their fake romance? Let’s find out in BLTai’s episode 1 and 2 recaps!

Warning: Spoiler alert! Read at your own risk.

Episode 1

Kang Eden, an aspiring idol, awakens from a dream in which he is a young boy running after a young girl of his age on a deserted beach to play with her.

Eden works out at his company’s gym with glee after learning that he will be making his debut soon. Woo-sung and Dong-gun, his co-trainees, congratulate him, though the latter says he is jealous and will catch up soon. Eden is still optimistic about their words and wishes them luck in their debut. At the same time, Woo-sung notices their senior, Gong Jihoon, a washed-up idol praised for his glowing aura. Woo-sung, ever friendly, drags the two and greets Jihoon, who ignores them to continue working out. Dong-gun claims that working with Jihoon will be exhausting for anyone due to his controversial reputation and rude personality. Eden, who is very conscious of senior-junior respectful relationships in the industry, tries to defend Jihoon and says that it could just be his preference to work out in a quiet environment, resulting in Woo-sung and Dong-gun making fun of his kindness. The two also joke that it will be interesting to see a nice and kind Eden team up with a rude person like Jihoon.

On the day his debut plans are to be discussed, Eden finds the CEO Nicki and Manager Dajung in the conference room, but no other potential group members. After mentioning that the other member had advised them early on that they would be late, Manager Dajung explains all the characteristics of Eden that they found remarkable enough for him to debut as the other half of ‘Lion Heart,’ their project group’s name. Meanwhile, the door of the conference room opens, and Jihoon politely enters. He is then introduced as the other part of ‘Lion Heart’. CEO Nicki points out that Eden, as a rookie, will help Jihoon restore a better image than he currently has while also allowing Eden to capitalize on his existing popularity. Despite his reservations about the unexpected turn of events, Eden agrees to join the group to make his debut, while Jihoon simply observes from the sidelines. Manager Dajung suggests that the debut will take the form of ‘BGP’ or ‘Business Gay Performance’ to go viral quickly and stand out from other male duos. Eden, who is uncomfortable with the idea of pretending to be gay as a concept, tries to intervene but is ignored by the group.

Meanwhile, Jihoon inquires about the likelihood of success if they proceed with the plan, to which Manager Dajung enthusiastically responds positively. CEO Nicki goes on to say that they are already in discussions with experts about putting the plan into action. Jihoon agrees to try if Eden is willing to go through with it, though he initially forgets his name. While she assures Eden that the company will respect her decision, CEO Nicki hopes that he will trust the company, resulting in him finally agreeing. Jihoon prepares to leave once everything is settled, but not before hugging Eden close in front of the two women and asking them if that kind of action will suffice. CEO Nicki and Manager Dajung approve, while Eden nervously stares at Jihoon.

Sometime later, the two work on a photo shoot for their debut; while Jihoon performs professionally, Eden is visibly uneasy around him. Manager Dajung calls a halt to the shoot after becoming frustrated with the two’s awkwardness. Jihoon then decides to take the lead on Eden, whispering instructions to him as they pose for the camera, their faces just a few inches apart. Eden makes an unintentional expression that fits the shoot, making Manager Dajung happy with their performance. Following that, they meet with CEO Nicki, who orders them to get to know each other outside of work to ensure a stable foundation for their supposed close relationship. Determined to make their debut work, the two agree to coordinate before beginning to practice their performance number. While resting, Jihoon asks Eden what he likes and dislikes, which results in the latter talking nonstop, forcing the former to tell him to just send everything via text message instead. Eden couldn’t help but ask Jihoon as they prepared to leave if he didn’t hate pretending or being close with someone of the same gender, but got a calm response that it’s all work for Jihoon. Outside the company building, they are greeted by a group of fans. Seeing Eden’s surprise, Jihoon takes his hand and leads him to their car.

Eden dreams again as he sleeps that night. He dreams of Jihoon, dressed provocatively and sitting beside him this time. He is startled when Jihoon suddenly pushes him to his bed and comes close to his face as if about to kiss him.

Watch ‘Bump Up Business’ on GagaOOLala.

Episode 2

Eden awakens from his dream about Jihoon and finds it difficult to fall back asleep.

While waiting for Eden, Jihoon practices his song parts at the recording studio. Meanwhile, Manager Dajung notices the dark circles under Eden’s eyes caused by a lack of sleep and chastises him for not taking better care of himself until his debut day. She then forces him to go to the studio, where he watches Jihoon recording. He nervously greets him after recalling his dream, in which they almost kissed. Eden makes mistakes in the recording multiple times, still distracted by the dream he had the night before involving Jihoon. On the other hand, Jihoon, who is watching from the side, notices that Eden appears to be distracted and decides to buy him his favorite drink based on the summary of likes and dislikes that the other sent. He sits beside Eden after he finishes recording and offers him a drink before asking what is bothering him. He tries to reassure Eden that he can share his concerns with him while attempting to place his arm on the other’s shoulder, which the latter pushes away. Surprised by Eden’s behavior, Jihoon asks if he has made him feel uncomfortable and apologizes if he has acted too intimately, as he simply sees him as a younger brother in need of comfort. He then gets ready to leave and reminds Eden to tell Manager Dajung about his concerns if he can’t share them with him, but he is surprised when Eden grabs his wrist to stop him. Eden then explained that he didn’t get enough sleep because of a bad dream. Jihoon expresses his relief but also questions Eden about his dream. He replied defensively that he didn’t dream of anyone. Noticing Eden’s blush and stuttering, Jihoon couldn’t help but tease him and ask if he appeared in his dream. Eden walks out of the room, flustered. Later that day, Eden comes across Woo-sun and Dong-gun on the roof and is about to approach them when he overhears them mentioning his name. Dong-gun bitterly remarks that Eden has simply been riding Jihoon’s popularity and must now prove himself. Won-Sung tries to defend Eden, but Dong-gun continues to express his resentment and envy. Unknown to them, Jihoon overhears the conversation and notices Eden’s sad expression as he walks away.

Eden and Jihoon have an interview scheduled with a reporter, whom the latter despises because of their history when he first debuted. Manager Dajung reminds them to be careful with their words, especially Eden, who appears to be distracted. Although Jihoon answers the reporter’s question about the sincerity of their close relationship as part of a gay romance facade, Eden fails miserably, especially when the reporter asks if Jihoon’s popularity is being used for his benefit. Jihoon defends Eden and their relationship and says he is the one benefiting from the debut to restore his previous image. After the reporter has left, Jihoon expresses his dissatisfaction with Eden and how he answered the questions despite Manager Dajung’s warning. He also tells him not to think about what the other trainees said because it is pure envy on their part, revealing that he overheard the conversation. Jihoon points out that Eden earned his place in ‘Lion Heart’ through his abilities. He then approaches Eden and asks, once again startling Eden, if the person in his dream who caused him to lose sleep is Jihoon himself. He then asks what he was doing in Eden’s dream to bother him, as he is bothered by the awkwardness it created between them as partners. Jihoon reminds Eden that their debut day is approaching and that any concerns should be shared. Eden promises to be fine before saying goodbye.

Manager Dajung organizes a close fan meet event for ‘Lion Heart,’ which is attended by both new and old fans of the two. Just then, a male fan approaches Eden and thanks him for being his inspiration. Eden agrees to hug the male fan as requested, but is surprised when Jihoon gets in the way. Jihoon tells the fan that he is easily jealous and offers to be the one to give a hug instead, despite the fan’s insistence that he wants Eden. Throughout the fan meet event, he closely observes Eden’s interactions with fans. After the event, Jihoon criticizes Eden for being too trusting when he will never know what a fan is thinking. Eden takes a cautious step back as Jihoon approaches with a serious expression on his face. To his surprise, Jihoon tells him that he still doesn’t know what he feels now, before moving his face closer to him, just as he did in his dream.

Writer’s Thoughts

Serving us intense visuals and chemistry with an onscreen romance storyline, not to mention that it also stars real-life boy group members, ‘Bump Up Business’ is every shipper’s fangirl’s dream! In the coming episodes, it will be interesting to see how the two begin to properly get to know each other, as well as possible revelations about Jihoon’s past and possibly even the story behind Eden’s dreams. While we have a long wait for the rest of the series, we can already say that the series’ OST, ‘Evergreen,’ performed by the Nine and Mill as part of ‘Only OneOf,’ is one of its highlights. Let’s see what happens to their debut and fake romance in the next episodes only on GagaOOLala.

Enjoy watching Bump Up Business on a bigger screen because GagaOOLala is now available to watch on your Smart TVs by downloading the app on Google Play, Amazon Appstore, and Roku.