‘My Personal Trainer’ Is Straight…Up Hot and Flirty

BL Recaps Korea

2023-07-25
07:08

‘My Personal Trainer’ is a 20-minute South Korean BL comedy directed by Byun Chun and produced by Strongberry. It follows the story of Jin Ho (played by Lee Na Gil) and his quest to grow his YouTube account through his fitness journey together with his friends, Kang Woo (Moon Soo Ho) and Young Joon (Lee San).

If you want to learn more about this silly film, keep on reading! Warning, spoilers ahead!

Jin Ho is a YouTuber who is struggling to grow his subscribers despite having tried the most ridiculous and random things such as ASMR videos, reviewing rated 19 comic books, eating shows, and recreating funny drag queen videos with a ridiculous wig. You name it, he has probably tried it.

Jin Ho is tired of it though and complains about the lack of his subscribers despite trying so damn hard. As they change into workout clothes in the locker room, his friends, Kang Woo and Young Joon point out that it’s probably because he is not good-looking. There are tons of handsome guys out there, they say, so why would they even look at you? Ouch!

Jin Ho argues that shouldn’t the content be the deciding factor but Kang Woo counters that everything must be pretty these days. Kang Woo says that face value is definitely what sells. Young Joon adds that it’s either that or a hot body. Which is totally why they’re going to start working out.

The trio enters the gym, totally in awe about the equipment in there. The two quickly hit it on the treadmill while Jin Ho starts vlogging the start of his fitness journey. He asks his viewers to watch as he turns into a hot guy and then shows the camera as he unsuccessfully tries on a piece of gym equipment.

Jin Ho brings his phone as he records himself taking a tour of the gym. As he enters a different room, he notices a hot guy doing bench presses and focuses on his, uhh, crotch area. The guy notices him and Jin Ho immediately bolts out of there.

Back to his friends who have had enough of the treadmill, Jin Ho laughs as he beckons them to follow him in order to summon a trainer. Jin Ho makes a show of failing to use equipment properly which has the hot guy approaching them. We see your plan, Jin Ho!

The good-looking trainer, Seok Hoon (played by Jang Seok Hoon), leads them to the dumbbells and kettlebells, something a bit more manageable for them. Upon instructing Kang Woo and Young Joon what to do, Seok Hoon approaches Jin Ho and gets hands-on with how he leads him. He flexes his biceps for Jin Ho, asks him to touch it, and guides his hand on his chest, down to his abs. Is this flirting or just usual gym bro stuff? Hmm.

Seok Hoon goes back to the other two and instructs them again on how to work the dumbbells. When he comes back to Jin Ho though, he tells him that they should do some squats instead. Jin Ho follows his instructions and squats except, there’s an issue. Every time Jin Ho squats down his ass brushes against the front of Seok Hoon’s crotch. Kang Woo and Young Joon watch bewilderingly as this happens a few more times before Seok Hoon leaves them be.

When he’s out of earshot, the trio immediately gushes over how hot Seok Hoon is. Jin Ho was visibly affected by how much Seok Hoon touches him. Young Joon recognizes him as someone popular on Instagram and true enough, when they check out his account, Seok Hoon has 10,000 followers. Jin Ho ponders whether he should follow him or not, or if Seok Hoon is gay. His friends laugh at him and tell him so what? It’s not like Jin Ho can flirt with him. Jin Ho decides that maybe he isn’t upon seeing Seok Hoon with a woman in a picture and continues working out.

On his way home, Seok Hoon messages him and praises his workout senses. He assures him that since Jin Ho is handsome, he’ll get popular soon enough which delights Jin Ho.

Several days later, Jin Ho is smugly showing Seok Hoon’s sweet messages to Kang Woo and Young Joon. The two are skeptical despite Seok Hoon’s heart emojis and claim that he’s obviously doing that to keep his clients. Jin Ho argues that Seok Hoon is clearly gay because what straight guy sends that much heart emojis to another guy? Oh dear, don’t underestimate the audacity of straight guys.

His friends still seem unconvinced that a celebrity trainer would flirt with someone like Jin Ho. They resume working out, leaving a confused Jin Ho who immediately gets approached by a touchy Seok Hoon.

Later, in the shower room, Jin Ho is approached yet again by a shirtless and sweaty Seok Hoon. The trainer asks Jin Ho if they could go for a drink after he’s done washing up which, again, delights Jin Ho who starts to enthusiastically prepare for it.

At the restaurant, the flirting continues with Seok Hoon calling him “bro” and even feeding him. Jin Ho, in return, calls him handsome. They drink for quite a while until they get drunk. Drunk enough for Jin Ho to grab Seok Hoon’s hand and ask why is he so damn handsome. Jin Ho confesses that he’s his life’s joy these days and Seok Hoon admits that it’s the same for him. Seok Hoon carries him bridal style and whisks him away to a hotel where they have sex.

Morning comes and Jin Ho wakes up alone in bed. He gets a call from Seok Hoon who tells him formally that he called because he was worried. Apparently, Jin Ho got too drunk so he had no choice but to leave him in a hotel since he was too inebriated to tell him his address. Seok Hoon reminds him not to drink too much or he will lose muscle and that he has to attend the gym today if he remembers signing to a one-year training with him.

Just then, the memories come back which involved none of the romantic stuff he dreamed about but actually, Seok Hoon convincing him to sign him to be his personal trainer and then carrying him on his back to the hotel.

At the gym, Kang Woo and Young Joon laugh at Jin Ho’s misery as Seok Hoon starts treating him more professionally. The two mock him for falling prey to his sales talk and tease that he’ll be working out at the gym until next year. Jin Ho then asks what they’re doing at the gym and his friends reveal that they signed up for a personal trainer too because he’s hot. Ridiculous!

Three months later, Jin Ho vlogs about his journey to fitness through a live broadcast. He tells his subscribers that he and his friends initially signed up to build some muscle but he met a hot trainer along the way. Just then, Jin Ho hits his 1,000th subscriber which had him jumping and dancing with joy. Not far from him, Seok Hoon fondly watches him dance with his phone in his hand. Seok Hoon whispers “Cute” and presses the subscribe button on Jin Ho’s account.

Writer’s thoughts:

Now, wasn’t that cute?

At first, it seemed like Seok Hoon truly only cared about getting his money from customers like Jin Ho, but the twist at the end was nice. What’s also nice is the portrayal of different body types in this short film, from the twinks to the soft muscular ones. Not only that but ‘My Personal Trainer’ had femme gays in the story albeit just as side characters.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a masterpiece by any means but not every BL watch has to be deep and profound. Sometimes, we just want to watch something silly and goofy and this is good for that.

All in all, it’s cute, it’s shallow, it’s fun, a little naughty, and definitely worth the watch!

Check ‘My Personal Trainer’ on GagaOOLala.