📍The wit my subscriber sprinkled in my comment section—a kind of pepper all its own—is so much wittier than the pepper on rice or curry, you’re going to die laughing.
For a change of pace, let’s set aside the academic essays for a moment.
This space is usually reserved for serious breakdowns of Weak Hero Class —we’re talking mental, directorial, and cultural analyses.
But now and then, it’s a lot more fun to take a little peek behind the curtain of fan subculture.
So, think of this post less as an essay and more as a little note from the fan-verse, a chance for a good, lighthearted laugh.
And before we dive in, a huge, heartfelt thank you to my dear subscriber, @asukalonginus3335, who handed me the kind of wit that’s spicier than any pepper and literally got me through the week.
Your humour gave me the perfect reason to put this together.
This one’s for you! ♥️
Si-eun-ah: More Than a Name
Asuka: The one that got me was the last ‘Sieun-ah’ we will hear from Su-ho’s voice. It rings out simply and tenderly in a dream-space that is the warm, broken heart of the show.
Jennie: I had a Twitter follower ask me recently how couples in Korea call each other, like with pet names, and they asked what I thought Su-ho would call Si-eun if he had a pet name for him.
(and I have no special aversion to this kind of subculture that naturally forms when you have a well-written script, a strong story, and a bunch of handsome/cute boys lol).
So I replied that Su-ho just calling him “Si-eun-ah” already feels like a pet name to me.
The last name Su-ho called before he woke up from the coma was “Si-eun-ah”…
Yes, I still remember the insane moment.
I loved that scene so much, I made an audio about the nuance that was hard to read in the subtitle.
Unlike Su-ho’s usual silliness and tough accent, his voice was so sad and wistful, right? It was a truly cruel and beautiful scene.
A:
Good day Jennie.
I maintain a very low social media presence to keep myself sane (I’m sure you can imagine a boss or irritating senior sending me a Facebook friend request and me buffering indefinitely because I want to ignore it at my workplace’s peril—I’d stall a lot worse than Ji-hoon whenever Hyun-wook did an improv).
And so I only have a private and almost defunct Facebook account that I use mostly for the grim purpose of checking if any friends have gone on before me.
I still have no Instagram, Snapchat, or Twitter/X, but I’ll consider setting one up to further our discussions on the artistry of Weak Hero and future dramas.
It is so sad indeed.
Si-eun-ah, you can sleep after all that?
And Si-eun takes a good 20 seconds to respond, but it feels like nothing at all, because we want more time for these two precious friends together.
Dr. Yeon and Working-Class Mr. Ahn: The Beginning
J: Friend!
No worries, I also activated my Twitter just because of Weak Hero Class 1.
I’m not a social media person, either, but I felt like I had to preserve these precious conversations from my YouTube channel somewhere.
Comments like yours are what make my day, don’t ever forget that!
Thank you always.
And for real, while every scene in Weak Hero Class 1 gave me a huge impact, I swear the dream convo Su-ho and Si-eun had in the hospital bed left the biggest impression on me.
I still often wonder what director Yoo was feeling when he wrote the script… I’m sure it’s filled with his personal experience, taste, and the inspiration that keeps him alive as an artist.
And because of that, I sometimes don’t want to see the Weak Hero Class 1 characters become adults.
A follower recently asked me if Su-ho, Si-eun, and Beom-seok could form a community together as adults, and I said I thought it was impossible.
A total buzzkill answer, I know, but because their social circles are so different, I think it’d be hard for them to maintain a relationship.
Beom-seok is a politician’s son, Si-eun will be a professional, like a doctor or prosecutor, and Su-ho is clearly working class.
It makes me so sad to think about it, but it’s more beautiful for them to remain as an intense, unforgettable memory for each other… a moment in time they’ll never forget.
I hope that’s what happens. I’m so sorry for rambling again.
Have a great day!
A: Yes, I can see how the pressures of reality may pry these boys apart.
Beom-seok’s psychological problems have already caused him to act out in horrifying ways.
However, in the unreality of my delusions, fomented by time wading in shipdoms, I can totally foresee how a certain handsome working-class guy keeps visiting his favourite doctor for spurious reasons.
And each time he waltzes into the private clinic at lunch without an appointment, Dr. Yeon still sees him with pretend irritation.
Why do you keep coming?
he says, trying to sound weary of his favourite patient. But the attendant nurses already have their suspicions.
Because that’s the only time they get to see his jaded face flush with a smile so sweet and true. And he never charges a dime.
After all, it’s unclear who is giving whom medicine.
(J: 😂)
J: Wait, when you said you work on stage… are you a playwright?
Hahahahaha, oh, I laughed so hard in my delusions.
Si-eun’s also a doctor, but wait… I left a tweet (below) about sexuality for my Twitter followers, and after reading this, I feel like I need to revise it. 😂
Assuming love can’t be defined as one type, this is just my personal rambling as always, lol.
Both Su-ho and Si-eun feel too hetero to me, so I struggle imagining them sharing physical intimacy or sexual acts.
I read Beom-seok as gay, so I can picture him lying in bed masturbating to Su-ho’s Instagram pics.
But if we don’t define love only through sexuality, Su-ho and Si-eun had a different type of love.
Personally, I think director Yoo’s “love” meant deep bonding.
Si-eun, who had zero preferences, would probably end up loving whatever colours, movies, or music Su-ho liked (totally agree with this fan headcanon).
Since Su-ho was basically the first person Si-eun opened up to after coming into the world, Su-ho had to be his first love.
But as a sexually intimate couple?
My headcanon doesn’t work that way.
Su-ho and Si-eun probably formed an unforgettable deep bond that’ll last until death, and Si-eun suffered from first love fever—but is that connected to sexuality?
I don’t think so.
The one crying after masturbating thinking about Su-ho would be Beom-seok for me—but after reading your delulu, I’m about to do a complete revision.
I was pretending to be so elegant while archiving your super poetic lines on Twitter, and then I read your delulu… I almost fell out of my chair.
After all, it’s unclear who is giving whom medicine (lol)
I almost died laughing. I wish I were one of the nurses at Yeon Clinic.
I’ll be laughing so hard while taking a walk later, thanks to your delulu, omg. In my own delulu, Su-ho and Si-eun have no sexual contact because they’re too straight.
I’ve always read Beom-seok as gay, and I’ve imagined him masturbating while looking at Su-ho’s Instagram and then crying in despair.
But reading your delulu made me realize mine needs a full revision.
Not a single sexual word in your delulu, but the whole thing sparkled with witty innuendo. 120/100, I laughed so hard, that was truly witty.
Thanks for making my night.
I was cracking up in the shower thinking about those clever lines from your delusion, thanks for giving me a week’s worth of laughs.
Tomorrow on my brutal commute, I’ll probably be grinning like an idiot, remembering your storytelling that has zero explicit content but the entire tone screams sexual innuendo, and people will definitely stare.
I bet you hesitated before posting that comment.
Looking at my YouTube comments, everyone’s so classy and serious—praising the show, dissecting every detail with such elegance—but you had the guts to give us just a peek at your delusion, and like Su-ho, I’m blown away by that courage.
So, in the shower… I was tempted to flesh out your 2D fantasy into a vivid 3D. Being a Korean local means I could add concrete details—what kind of manual labor Su-ho does, which construction sites, you know.
Even the interior design of Si-eun’s clinic.
I could paint the whole picture and have you rolling on the floor, but just thinking about it made me laugh so hard I dropped the showerhead, lol
This might be an East Asian thing, but we’re always putting that materialistic lens on everything.
When I build future arcs for this trio, for Su-ho and Si-eun to keep their social dynamic going, Su-ho would need to build wealth through Bitcoin, lol, to balance the economics.
Thankfully, Su-ho’s been into investing since childhood, so hopefully he’d get rich quickly and match Si-eun’s social class.
These are completely useless fantasies that don’t help my life one bit.
And if Beom-seok really wants to make amends, I hope he skims some cash from daddy’s fortune for Su-ho.
Honestly, with narratives this strong, tight scripts, and cute, handsome guys in bunches, it’d be weird if there wasn’t a subculture.
This is purely my taste, but if I can’t spot queer elements in the source material, I don’t get excited reading fanfic where they go romantic.
Fanfic where Beom-seok makes moves on Su-ho, though?
That might work. And behind elegant masks, I read Su-ho’s treatment of Yeong-i as pure kindness, but in my fantasy land, I think Su-ho and Yeong-i have already hooked up.
Reading fanfic of them dating would honestly get me going.
But Su-ho and Si-eun read too straight to me in canon, so couple fantasies don’t click.
Plus, their bond feels like a love that’s deeper than sexuality—imagining them as a couple and losing that deep connection (which hits me harder) kills the appeal even more.
What I’m saying is, rather than seeing Su-ho and Si-eun as a developed couple, their original deep bond gets me more.
Like Director Yoo said, I can’t help but think they were in love.
I’ve never heard a “tho-rai” that screams “totally hooked on you” and “you’re adorable” before… these bromantic moments hit harder than any couple delusion.
The original exchanges are already more heart-fluttering; why do we need fantasies when this exists?
But your fantasy arc, just reading that snippet, got me hooked on working-class Su-ho and doctor Si-eun.
You probably couldn’t fit everything in the comment, but I bet in your delusion, Dr. Yeon suddenly gives the nurses half days off, of course, paid half days, clears the clinic, and then has some quality time with Su-ho.
Your scriptwriting wit killed me—definitely hit me with part 2 when you can.
Yeon Clinic Series: Where fiction Sparks
A:
Hi Jennie, I do get involved in scriptwriting at times, but I wouldn’t call myself a playwright.
I have no published works to my name, and besides, there are so many wonderful writers out there who can send you to the stratosphere or the abyss with a phrase; my earthbound words just don’t soar the same.
I’ve not pondered the self-massage habits of the canoe trio. But since this can of worms has spurted open…
Beom-seok probably thinks hard about Su-ho, who has no idea how much sticky business goes on behind each of his Instagram uploads.
Si-eun doesn’t touch himself because that reduces his study time. If the urges ever come, he chants Newtonian mantras to subdue the passions.
And that’s okay because Su-ho does enough for the two of them.
(J: 😂)
I think Si-eun and Su-ho will always be “questionable straight friends” / “straight(?) friends.”
There’s a whole world of gray about Gray.
My take is that they look like the sort that might experiment out of curiosity, very likely initiated by Su-ho, but their true bond isn’t physical.
There have been other characters in the vast multiverse of fiction who are deeply attracted to each other but do not have a physical relationship.
They love, undoubtedly, but do not make love. Why hold hands when they hold each other’s hearts?
Is their embrace worth less than a kiss?
They will cry, kill, and die for each other; must they also whisper sweet nothings to prove their bond?
So in the end, what are they?
I’m not sure, but whatever they have is so beautiful, I’d rather leave it intact in all its ambiguity; I don’t want to lob off any nuances while squeezing the two into some box of my preferences.
But my delusions are another matter.
(J: 😂)
I still like to think a certain Mr Ahn visits Yeon Clinic rather too regularly.
To, you know, cure headaches, toothaches, heartaches, and throbbing pain… Treatment might get a bit loud, but the attendant nurses are professional.
One does not fool around when Dr Yeon is holding court.
Once, when a team of audio engineers was brought in to install soundproofing, a younger trainee nurse tried too hard to be helpful.
These panels look like they cut out higher sounds, but do they also reduce thumping noises?
This summoned a stare from the owner so burning cold it made the air turn to lead.
Older nurses rushed off to do filing. Paperwork was never more welcome.
It has been several months, but the trainee has yet to be promoted.
It is said she is considering moving over to the rival Jeon clinic that is flourishing from its twin specialities of treating broken finger bones and stab wounds, but is plagued by rumours and scandals.
J: Honestly, I think you’re plotting to make me pass out from laughter and collapse from hyperventilation today.
I seriously considered taking a day off tomorrow just to spend all day laughing at this wit-packed comment you left, lol
Even without my amateur Korean local perspective adding realistic bricks to your delusion arc, your fantasy already sent me to the moon.
I do hope this comment never gets deleted.
Even if a satellite crashes into Earth like in Don’t Look Up with DiCaprio, I want this wit-bouncing comment preserved.
It’s so funny. I’m going to read it 50-plus times, like those novels I used to hide from my mom but read in school.
While archiving today’s comments with subs for Twitter, I found our OST convo.
Reading that reminded me that I was going to upload audio about the context and subtext of the karaoke song Su-ho and Yeong-i sang together.
I scrapped it for copyright issues, but suddenly remembered and posted about it.
Gosh, no matter how I think about it, it’s so funny.
“Self-massage” “mantra” hahahaha
How can every single word from A to Z be sexual even though there’s not a single sexual word?
Forgive me for trying to add some Korean reality to your Nobel Prize-worthy fiction, just because I’m a local, lol
I’ll read it a few more times and leave a comment.
A:
Hi Jennie, thanks for indulging in my sheer nonsense.
Actually, weekends are by far the busiest days for me because that’s when arts groups tend to concentrate their activities.
I had to keep sneaking out to fantasise, and even took a self-extended lunch break, kind of like Mr Ahn. (Dr Yeon skips his.)
I’ve been brewing some of this word soup for a while now.
It’s bubbling with ingredients from various shipdoms.
You are very welcome to add whatever jang you wish.
I know yours is certified authentic.
(J: 😂)
Do step in as the clinic’s interior designer; you don’t have to knock, kind of like Mr Ahn.
Mr. Ahn’s Questionable Walk-ins
Dear, your wit literally kept me smiling through this brutal Mon/Tue, the first time I haven’t been miserable on weekdays, lol
If you need my brick-fitting skills for your fantasy arc, that’d be an honor, to be honest.
I’m counting down to the weekend so I can post nonsense on my rambling blog that’ll crack you up.
While reading your Yeon Clinic saga, I had this song on repeat—Primary’s hit (he’s Weak Hero Class 1’s music director)—and it was the perfect BGM, imagining Dr. Yeon’s inevitable smile when handsome, working-class Mr. Ahn drops by unexpectedly.
You’ll dig it.
A: Yes, it’s the perfect soundtrack to the Yeon Clinic series, hahahaha.
It’s got such a cheeky, breezy vibe, like a light summer fling.
And just for you, Jennie, I’ll boil more word soup later after work.
May it nourish you throughout the week. It will be a larger bowl this time.
J:
Speaking of cheeky, I need to correct one part of your take: if those two ever went that extra something mile out of curiosity, it wouldn’t be Su-ho initiating but Si-eun’s teasing, because in my take, Si-eun, as an Eunjang High senior, is bold and cheeky.
I’m not sure if my humble YouTube comment section has the capacity for your larger bowl; my channel’s bowl isn’t big enough to contain yours.
Yeon Clinic is clearly internal medicine, but here comes working-class Mr Ahn walking through those clinic doors with spurious reasons like headaches, toothaches, chest pains—basic family medicine stuff—while Dr Yeon gives him that slightly furrowed brow paired with a smile creeping across his lips that totally doesn’t match his expression.
As the interior designer of this sequence, that was my background music choice, hahahahaha
A:
A good point, well taken.
It is indeed highly unlikely he remains totally chaste after years of Ba-ku and Go-tak’s nonsense.
I suspect I will need a few posts for this bowl. I’ll number them.
The Hidden Photo Frame
bowl of non-canon, highly-revisionist soup:
By Asuka
Because he didn’t always knock, one day Mr. Ahn barged in to find a rather startled Dr. Yeon.
This was on purpose, of course; alarming his closest friend was a form of gentle teasing he had been doing for years.
It didn’t matter that the physician here was something of a cult hero, revered and envied by insiders for his phenomenal memory and the precision of his cuts and injections.
To him, Dr Yeon was just a more decorated version of his reticent high school mate, the strength behind his heartbeats, and Mr Ahn loved seeing those liquid eyes widen into pure, clear pools.
This rude entrance was usually followed by a lecture on manners and morals from the medical savant, but the nature of the procedures the doctor performed here on him made these Confucian scoldings sound hollow.
Still, Mr Ahn absorbed every word.
He wanted to hear his voice.
It was all part of an elaborate ritual that sprang up in place of him saying,
Si-eun-ah, did you miss me? I missed you.
That would have been the plain truth of things, but the words burned with embarrassment in his mind, and he couldn’t say them, since he was already going for checkups almost every other day.
This time, however, Dr. Yeon remained quiet.
He simply gulped.
Something’s off. Dr Yeon abruptly gestured to a sound panel behind Mr Ahn, and asked,
Doesn’t that one seem slightly crooked?
While the light of his life turned around to check the offending installation, Dr. Yeon hurriedly swept a small photo frame off his sparse tabletop and stuffed it into the lowest drawer, desperately pried open with the tip of his leather shoe.
But Mr. Ahn sensed the fluster and spun back just as the drawer closed with a soft but distinct click.
Yah!! How sneaky!
He thought.
He must have been like this when he buried my phone in the sofa all those years ago!
He tilted his head and smirked cheekily.
And was that thing in the drawer for my treatment? Or yours?
What? No way he saw that! Tsk! How is he so sharp?
Dr. Yeon thought. He said,
Don’t be so disgusting, please. And not everything is about you, you know? My patients here have the right to confidentiality.
Of course they do.
Mr. Ahn walked over.
That’s why I trust you won’t say a word about my preferred therapy for today.
Mr. Ahn lunged for the drawers and was promptly blocked by Dr. Yeon.
This resulted in the two turning back into high schoolers as they engaged in a wild bout of jostling, grabbing, pinching, and tickling, much of which was audible to the nurses outside.
They have known for a while now to put up the notice, “closed for lunch,” whenever Patient A strolled in.
It turns out the trainee nurse was quite right.
The panels didn’t do much to dampen the bass thumps; contrary to her expectation, though, they didn’t quite cut off the high notes either, nor much of anything else.
At best, they muffled conversations, but the screech of shifting furniture, the growling and groaning, the shrieking, and the shouts of “YAH!!” were especially sharp today.
She rolled her eyes. “Told you so,” she muttered bitterly.
The other nurses whose imaginations were set on fire got into gossip mode.
Wow, so much energy these two…
Bet it’s too much ginseng.
They say eel and sea cucumber works as well.
Well, whatever it is they are eating, my husband needs some.
Giggles all around. And then:
I think they are eating each other.
Silence. Then an explosion of hushed cackling and sharp whispers: “What?! My god, girl! SSHHH! If he hears that, he will know the soundproofing was a scam, and we are so fired!”
But the image took root in various forms in their brains, and they all felt a little funny in their bellies for the rest of the day.
The Prod, the Flick, and the Grab
There was no beating Su-ho in a physical match.
He was just too strong, fast, flexible, and born with a spatial awareness that was the dream of athletes.
It didn’t help that he was still doing heavy hands-on work, whereas Si-eun had lost weight and stamina from the demands of medical school, serving as a military doctor, and then single-handedly setting up the clinic.
Remarkably, the exertion burned the last of his baby fat, gave him eye circles that looked like light-goth makeup, polished his cheekbones, and sharpened his jawline, so he unknowingly carried a special ‘hot-weak’ look.
The line of nurse trainee applicants grew to unmanageable length as word spread of the mysterious Weak Doctor, and in those days, Dr Yeon felt like an idol doing a fan meeting in an alternate world.
While the thought of strangling his bestie with his stethoscope did cross his mind, as did bonking him with a defibrillator paddle, he decided mid-wrestle to save these tools for the boss of Jeon clinic across the street, if it ever came to that.
Plus, he noticed Su-ho did not even strike him once. In the only real fight they ever had, Su-ho had punched him in the face.
It was barely a serious jab—the handsome devil was grinning half the time—but it felt like an anvil.
Si-eun lost, but it was the shame of losing control of himself that gnawed at him until he apologized in public to Su-ho the next evening, literally from a bus window.
For his sincerity, he received his first finger heart.
It was a fluorescent little gesture that passed so quickly into memory, but to Si-eun it lit the night sky, though it didn’t show on his unreadable face at the time. He often daydreamed of it fondly.
Su-ho refused to make a fist this afternoon.
No kicks, knee butts, or elbows either.
He was not going to mar the complexion of his favorite face on the planet.
Si-eun had matured into a very fine young man.
God, how do people look so much better as they grow older?
He must be injecting himself. He caught Si-eun’s eyes looking at the defibrillator.
Ah, Dr Yeon Si-eun. Still a total psycho underneath, I knew it. Well, if he knocks me out, he will have to resuscitate me mouth-to-mouth.
Instead of his quicksilver knuckles, Su-ho employed three highly irritating techniques whenever he sensed an opening: ‘the Prod,’ ‘the Finger Flick,’ and ‘the Grab’n’Squeeze.’
The Prod was meant to tickle, the Flick was pure playfulness, the Grab was utter humiliation, as well as an invitation to more trouble.
Except it all hurt like hell, because Su-ho’s fingers were hard and unrelenting, he had a terrifying grip strength that could fracture walnuts, and Si-eun was bonier now than before.
Totally exhausted and unexpectedly bruised top to bottom, Si-eun now lay sprawled out on the ground.
He panted and sweated while looking around at the chaos in disbelief.
Drip stands were toppled, his files and books lay on each other like collapsed dominoes, and some sound panels were now crooked for real.
His auburn-dyed hair was a bedhead mess. His white coat was torn under his left arm, his black tie was dislodged, and he had to find his right shoe.
Thank God he kept extra sets of clothes in this room.
There was also an affixed, functional bathroom with a powerful shower and medicinal soap for days when there were body fluid accidents from performing surgery or other therapies.
He needed that shower now.
Just let me catch my breath.
I’ll make this stupid patient clean this mess up with me!
I can’t let those nice nurses know anything.
Only that sharp new trainee seems to suspect something.
Just then, he heard Mr. Ahn fumbling with his drawers.
Just Showering, Okay?
No, wait… wait, please…
Dr Yeon exclaimed.
Mr Ahn stopped.
_He’s pleading for real. What is he hiding?_
Mr Ahn clicked his tongue and pursed his lips.
Si-eun-ah,
he said gently.
What’s going on?
Dr Yeon hadn’t heard his name called this way in a while.
Most of the time, Mr Ahn just addressed him with informal pronouns. Or he called him ‘Dr Yeon’ with a touch of pseudo-seriousness.
His defenses lowered and he replied softly,
Please don’t get angry when you see it. It’s in the third drawer.
Mr Ahn hesitated briefly, then opened the drawer cautiously.
What greeted him was a photograph of himself standing upright in his high school uniform, his head thrown back with a smile.
Behind him, Si-eun rested his forehead against his left shoulder, eyes closed. The photo had been lovingly brightened, expertly coloured a delicate sepia, and framed. It was beautiful.
Mr Ahn tried to stifle a gasp.
Huh. And you said not everything is about me.
But he sensed his voice was about to tremble so he stopped and swallowed hard.
After some time, he asked, ‘didn’t Yeong-i take this?’
Dr Yeon froze.
_He probably can’t remember because of the coma._
His eyes looked downward.
Uh huh
He croaked out weakly. He really hated lying to Mr Ahn.
But how was he to tell him that it was Beomseok who took this picture?
He was very glad when Mr Ahn changed the subject.
Why didn’t you want me to see this? You made it sound like you had my nudes or something.
Oh gross.
Well, I guess I was… embarrassed. I mean, I like the photo, but what if you didn’t like it as much as I do?
It would be like stepping on my memories.
Also Byeoksan wasn’t the happiest place for either of us. I didn’t want you to get upset.
Well, I like the photo very much and I am very happy I met you.
Now it was Dr Yeon’s turn to swallow hard.
Mr Ahn smiled.
Come, I’ll help you clean up.
Uh-uh. I’m going for a shower first.
I was talking about your body.
… … …
Awww don’t be like that. Can’t hyung come shower too?
Actually yes you should.
Because if I came out looking all fresh and cool, and you walked out looking like you do now, the nurses will think I was the abuser.
But we’re just showering okay!!
My appointments are all backed up already.
The Fourth Drawer’s Secret
What Dr Yeon didn’t know was that in a hard-to-access part of his wallet, Mr Ahn carried a much smaller, almost passport-sized version of the exact same photo.
He received it from Beomseok and printed it out years ago, back when they were friends.
But he could see sadness flash across Dr Yeon’s face every time they talked about Byeoksan high, even briefly. Si-eun always had a soft spot for Beomseok, even at the lowest point of his unravelling.
So he asked about Yeong-i as a way out.
And what Mr Ahn didn’t know was that Dr Yeon pried open the fourth drawer with his foot, not the third.
In that last drawer was a photograph of Si-eun on the left, and Beomseok on the right, both of them holding pool cues.
And in the middle, looking all hyung-ish, sat Su-ho, his arms around the two boys.
The afternoon sun was behind them, as if trying to nourish this fragile flower bud of a friendship.
Hmm it looks kind of swollen. Did I really squeeze that hard?
Oh shut up.