The Effect - Years later

The Effect TV Drama Series - Summary

Note: contains mentions of rape, bullying, abusive relationship and suicide attemps, please read at your own discretion

Shin is a university freshman who, on the first day of school, is seen watching other freshmen greet each other and get to know each other. He does not join in as he is very shy and did not have any friends in high school so he thinks he does not know how to make any at university.

In the classroom, he meets Bright and Pramote. They are to work in the same group. Unexpectedly to him, they soon become inseparable friends despite their different personalities. Where Shin is shy, Bright is outcoming and always offers to pay for everyone so they can have some fun together. Pramote on the other hand is very serious but also a good listener, caring and sensible. He always tells Bright that friendship is not about only paying for his friends and getting exploited, it is about deeper connections and being there for each other. A two-way street to say.

On exam day, Shin enters the classroom but the teacher refuses to let him sit down as he had lost his tie somewhere. He is asked to go retrieve it. Shin runs out of the classroom and goes looking for it. He does not know where he could have left it, but still desperately runs around the school.

In his hurry, he bumps into another student. He tries to continue running, but the other does not let him go. Instead, he grabs Shin's arm and starts to scold him.

The other student turns out to be Keng, the school ambassador whose photos are all over the school, he is portrayed as model student for all. He is in his third year and at first, seems quite understanding of Shin's situation. He even lends him his own tie so Shin can go back to the classroom and take the exam. Shin starts to admire him even more and is very grateful.

Shin cannot stop thinking about Keng after his exams are done. He holds onto the tie and even washes it by hand so it would not get damaged in a washing machine. We can see that he is getting intrigued by Keng but is too shy to approach him again. His friends, Bright and Pramote notice that something is wrong, but Shin has a hard time opening up to them.

Finally, Shin gets to meet Keng again. Although still shy, he gives the tie back to him. Keng smells the tie and notices that it had been thoroughly washed. He starts to look at Shin with strange eyes and we can see his memories of Shin's smile flash in his mind. It seems that Keng has fallen in love with Shin.

Since Shin's school results are not so good, Keng offers to lend him his notes so he can study more. Shin tries to refuse, but Keng does not want to hear any of it. Instead, he invites Shin to photography clubroom to retrieve them.

When Shin goes to the clubroom, he is introduced to Keng's friends. One among them, Man, dislikes him and Keng has to repeatedly tell him to lay off.

However, as Shin is interested in photography, he starts to spend more and more time with Keng. Bright and Pramote notice this change and are getting worried as they do not have a good feeling about this. Keng seems too overbearing to them but they still support Shin's friendship with him, they are good friends.

Slowly, we can see that Keng wants something more out of the relationship with Shin. Although his parents are constantly pressuring him to maintain his good grades and reputation, Keng is interested in Shin all that more. Shin however is too innocent to notice he has become Keng's love interest and only treats their relationship as friendship which at times irritates Keng and he tries always more daring and direct ways to let Shin know about his feelings.

One day, photos of him and Keng are spread on the Internet. Their relationship is not accepted in school and Shin is getting bullied and verbally attacked because of it. He feels uncomfortable and wants to avoid meeting with Keng, but the older student remains obstinate. Shin is worried that he will ruin Keng's good name and reputation and he starts feeling depressed and stressed about the whole situation. His only support are his other friends, Bright and Pramote.