The drama is adapted from the web novel “Secretly, Secretly; But Unable to Hide It” (偷偷藏不住) by Zhu Yi (竹已). It is also known as: Secretly, Secretly, but Unable to Hide It, Can’t Be Concealed, by Tou Tou Cang Bu Zhu. The drama was directed by Lee Ching Jung and the screenplay was written by Shen Fei Xian. The native title of the drama is 偷偷藏不住.
This drama ethically might raise some issue but stylistically it is sweet and innocent to watch. Yes, there have been some breeches in the student’s behavioral rules! But the direction did not overstep or made it overly sleezy to watch. There is a fine balance between the age-appropriate behavior and the blossoming of true love between the leads. It is worth watching.
I was a schoolchild, but back then, I was too busy trying to pass on to the next class. So that, I hardly had time to think about love or having an affair. Even though my friends had crush on their relatives. I worried about my low scores and the books that I was reading. I hardly believe in love at first sight or any mushy romance.
But as a story, I am willing to let my heart lead the way. For I often listen to my brain more than my heart. As a story, it was done well. The relationship of budding young girl and later as adults the love holds out with greater tenacity, which was endearing to watch.
With Indian actors I can do a better critic of their acting but sadly not so foreign actors. I tend to be a little lenient with my critics about acting non-native language dramas. I did not feel out of place with the female lead having a love interest at such immature age. But then, all of us believe our children to be docile, hardworking, earnest students with innocence as the prime ingredient.
I don’t mean to say that if we had a crush and in adulthood if your feelings are reciprocated by your crush then it is ethically wrong! Morally it may seem unacceptable, but emotionally it feels that something that is rare in a relationship still exists in the fast-paced modern world.
The constant reminder of the age gap and the leads preoccupation about it frankly speaks for some well-intended restraint from the responsible adults. But the balance of the story was not kept. The young girl’s only preoccupation was her crush on the brother’s friend.
Beyond that the male lead had all the issues which was post interval discovery. In the first half of the drama, he is a hard working and self-supporting university student who is friends with Sang Yan. Sang Zhi is the sister of Sang Yan, and her family life is almost perfect.
The mild violence was truly the state of this drama. It is viewable for younger audiences, but the social policing may not allow a young mind to believe that a crush can become a love of their life. In such cases it is best not to show precedence for the young one to follow.
For older audiences, it might be a possibility to watch; but if the mind is not open to a possibility of such a state of love being in the world, I think that the stars acting in the drama may find some descension in the public opinions.
As far as the romance part of the drama goes, I would say it was a nice buildup to a good relationship. When the male lead gets to know that his lady love has been in a crush since her secondary level which happens to be her secret – one is profoundly moved by the gentleness with which it was managed by the scriptwriter.
The dialogues were smooth and within proprieties levels. Though I may have missed the nuances of the dialogue, I felt the drama did not show any crudeness of behavior on the parts of the either lead. I mean all of us flirt at some point in our life and sometimes it is a healthy relief when it is controlled and not overdone.
Left alone, how do we behave truly shows the positive feeling encouraged during the rearing years of a child. Every child comes with a distinct set of issues and not all childhood would have been at optimum environment for nurtured growing. The male lead’s life might be one such story and that he grew up to be good person despite the difficulties in his life, speaks for his true character being evaluated with fire.
The desire for drama which can be viewed with all members of the family is few and this drama could very well do so, but then with PG tagged on it. Sometimes, it is important to talk about love and excess of emotional downpour during the early young ages. It is important to become a well-rounded adult.
Equally important would be to find if the choice puppy love in youth is it still present in adulthood as adult affection. That kind of slow exploration was done to finesse by the team of Hidden Love. Sometimes treading on delicate matters requires the utmost attention to details in emotions displayed and brought out for the audience. Finesse was there in both the leads and the supporting characters.
Itinerant Storyteller 