Look, this drama is a web cheapie so I give it points for being focused on the main plot - no 1000 subplots and extraneous characters that dramas tend to suffer from - and moving at brisk pace despite uninspired directing and meat axe editing. I also really liked that kissing was hot for a change - no stiff fish kiss foolishness - and there's strongly implied sex which is great and realistic, unlike having 30somethings contemplate whether they should hold hands in public (another tired drama trope). And the leads, especially the vampire, are easy on the eyes. I have seen two Viki vampire dramas with Kim Ji Woong so far, and this one is way better than The Sweet Blood. For one, he is the lead here which is a huge plus since he was the most charismatic and good looking actor on The Sweet Blood yet stuck in a secondary role. Two, where Kissable Lips is focused, The Sweet Blood was all over the place weighted down by dull subplots and too many characters that didn't add up. Three, Kissable Lips has better mythology, that's easier to follow, and is much more appealing.

That said, I would have rated this higher - I shredded some big budget big name dramas precisely because they could have done much better with all the money at their disposal unlike web cheapies - had it not been for the last 2-3 episodes. So now we are diving into a spoiler territory. Avert your eyes if you haven't finished the drama or have no desire to pick it up but want to see how it ended anyway.

I liked the romance between Jun Ho (vampire) and Min Hyun (human) and the set up where Jun Ho was dying because he (accidently) killed his human lover and could only save himself by becoming a human from drinking blood of a pureblood human who fell in love with him. It's pretty interesting take on vampire lore, not entirely unique but more in line with fairytales than vampires. Love conquers all and all that. It works within this context. So Jun Ho is of course beautiful so it isn't hard for adorable teenager Min Hyun to fall in love with him. And vice versa. So far so good. Up until episode 6, the drama was squarely focused on the two falling in love with each other, with some minor side complications coming from Min Hyun's overly protective older brother and Jun Ho's overly concerned human guardian/surrogate mom/whatever. But episode 6 introduced a love triangle - arrival of another vampire who was Jun Ho's BFF secretly in love with him - that didn't add up to anything. What it did give us was absolutely bizarre murder in episode 7 where Jun Ho strangled his vampire friend for threatening Min Hyun. This scene was very uncomfortable to watch because BFF passively kneeled with tears running down his cheeks while Jun Ho was squeezing his neck for what felt like hours. All the while Min Hyun watched without trying to do something, I dunno, save his boyfriend from becoming a friendicidal maniac? And after it was over, they went home to have sex! Min Hyun was, like, I've heard you killed your human lover and I've just watched you strangle your BFF to death, that's so hot, man! You made me so horny! Drink my blood, bang me, I'm yours! OK who am I to judge other people's kinks? So if Min Hyun is turned on by snuff than I guess he should knock himself out. I just thought it was pretty strange to take this turn so late in the drama because it left no room for actual drama to come from a) hearing that your boyfriend snuffed his previous lover during unrestrained blood drinking and b) watching him snuff his BFF even if was for your safety. And then came the utterly unsatisfying finale (ep 8) which ended with a flashback from the same episode so there's only one conclusion: sponsor's cheque bounced! Quick, we need some recycled footage to end the drama!

I honestly think that they had to cut the chitchat because they ran out of money. After Jun Ho died in the finale, they teased us a potential twist involving the dropped promise ring. That went nowhere. I thought that Jun Ho would appear as a full human for basically sacrificing himself for love - he refused to drink from Min Hyun because it could have killed him like it did his other lover. Like I said already, this vampire lore has more in common with fairytales where love and sacrifice bring a happy ending. Heck, Min Hyun was crying buckets while holding the dying Jun Ho and one of most popular fairytale tropes is Healing Tears (see Rapuntzel and Beauty and the Beast). Or even better - Kiss of True Love/Kiss of Life (see Snow White and Sleeping Beauty). Hello, Kissable Lips! This trope should write itself with the title like this! Alas.

I would have given this drama a higher rating had it not been for last episodes ruination that even cheap production and bounced cheques cannot excuse. I'm happy to see Kim Ji Woong become Viki star so I'll check out more dramas with him. Just fix the writing. My man deserves better.