Love and Leashes (모럴센스) — 2022
Love and Leashes is a 2022 South Korean romantic comedy about two co-workers who enter a private contractual relationship after one of them accidentally discovers the other’s hidden BDSM interests. As they explore their arrangement, they navigate secrecy, consent, and the challenges of balancing personal desires with workplace life. The film is based on the webtoon Moral Sense by Gyeoul.
Narrative Score
Full Plot & Ending Explained
Intro
Jung Ji-hoo, a new employee at a public relations firm, is admired as “Mr. Perfect,” but he secretly has BDSM preferences and hides them carefully from coworkers. Jung Ji-woo, a capable manager at the same company, notices him as a quiet, serious colleague and is often irritated by the way male coworkers underestimate her.
Turning Point 1
A delivery mix-up changes everything when a package intended for Ji-hoo is accidentally opened by Ji-woo, revealing a leather collar and leash. Ji-hoo rushes to explain it away as something for his dog, but his lie collapses when a sex-shop coupon falls out of the box, exposing his secret and leaving him humiliated in front of Ji-woo.
Turning Point 2
Ji-hoo thanks Ji-woo for keeping quiet, and in the process she apologizes for acting bossy toward him, saying she sometimes comes across as harsh. Ji-hoo misunderstands her explanation as an admission that she is a dominant personality, and, stunned by the possibility that she could be the kind of partner he has been seeking, he asks her to become his mistress; Ji-woo is shocked and refuses.
Turning Point 3
At a work event, Ji-woo finds Ji-hoo visibly distressed and learns that his previous girlfriend broke up with him because of his sexual interests, leaving him ashamed and insecure. Ji-woo reassures him that she does not think he is perverted, and later Ji-hoo again asks her to be his mistress; she still hesitates, but after she calls him into her office and blindfolds him, he confesses that he is drawn to her confidence, maturity, and integrity.
Turning Point 4
Ji-woo agrees to try a dominant-submissive arrangement and spends the night researching BDSM so she can understand what she is doing. The two then sign a strict three-month contract in which Ji-woo is the dominant partner and Ji-hoo is the submissive, turning their private power exchange into an organized relationship with rules and boundaries.
Turning Point 5
As their arrangement develops, Ji-woo becomes more comfortable taking charge and Ji-hoo grows attached to her, but the relationship becomes complicated when Ji-woo starts to see him as more than a submissive partner. She eventually tells him that she likes him and wants to date him normally, but Ji-hoo insists on keeping their connection strictly within the contract and refuses to blur it into romance.
Turning Point 6
The situation escalates when their private play is accidentally exposed at work through an audio clip, threatening Ji-hoo’s career and Ji-woo’s standing at the company. The workplace fallout forces Ji-hoo to confront his fear of shame publicly, and the hidden relationship can no longer remain separate from their professional lives.
Ending
Ji-hoo finally defends Ji-woo, takes responsibility for the relationship, and openly confesses his feelings rather than hiding behind embarrassment or the contract. With the misunderstanding and workplace crisis resolved, Ji-woo and Ji-hoo leave the arrangement behind and begin dating each other sincerely while still continuing their dominant-submissive dynamic.
Cross-checked against Wikipedia and other public film references. View on Letterboxd ↗ The Narrative Score above is an experimental 5-axis rating, not a critic score.