Director Confirmed: Suho is Si-eun’s ‘First Love’
This is one of the most frequently asked questions I’ve gotten since running my YouTube channelโand I’ve been sitting on it for months, waiting for the right moment to finally write this post.
“Is Suho in love with Si-eun romantically or friendly?”
Director Yoo confirmed in a commentary interview that Suho is Si-eun’s first love. Many fans immediately assumed: romantic.
But is that what the director meant? Is that what we saw? And does it even matter?
I decided to open this question up to my subscribers. What came back was a collection of perspectives so rich, so varied, that I realized the “answer” wasn’t the point at all. The conversation itself was the gift.
When Seven Minutes Says Nothing
One rainbow-profile commenter once told me ๐ my video talked for “7+ minutes while saying nothing.” They wanted a direct answer. A clear label. Romance or friendship? Pick one.
I caught what they really meantโthey felt like I was bush-beating. But not to be annoying. I was avoiding a direct answer because I genuinely believe the sophistication of this drama lies in its refusal to define these boys’ emotions with adults’ boring language.
Think about it. Teenage boysโespecially boys like Suho and Si-eunโdon’t sit around having feelings-talks. They don’t say “I care about you” or “This is all for you.” They just feel. And they express those feelings through actions, silences, and wordplay that hides sincerity behind jokes.
Weak Hero Class 1’s direction honored that. The show didn’t force these characters into boxes they wouldn’t naturally fit into. And I have no intention of doing that either. Because the moment you label it, you limit it.
The Commercial Brilliance
Let me be honest about something that might make some people uncomfortable. If this drama had commercially marketed itself as full-on boys love, I probably wouldn’t have fallen for it this hard. I have zero prejudice against BL genresโit’s just not my personal taste.
But the production team found something brilliant: the middle ground.
Most viewers watching this drama will detect the undertone bromance. It’s there. You’d have to be actively ignoring it not to feel it. But the show never makes it explicit.
This is actually a pattern among school action genres and youth stories that form lasting fandoms. They don’t deal with boys love themes outright, but they always hint at it as an undertone.
And it’s commercially wise. If they leave it ambiguous, fans fill in those gaps, which naturally form fandoms and create longer-lasting memories. Everyone gets to see what they want to see.
If they’d defined Suho and Si-eun as a couple, the fun of secondary imagination disappears. They lose the demographic resistant to BL genres. The show becomes about their sexuality instead of about their bond.
The production team maintained the right balance of bromance devices to immerse most audiences while telling the story they wanted to tell, instead of catering to specific audiences.
Three Viewings Three Different Truths
Asukaโone of my subscribers whose comments read like poetryโshared something fascinating with me. They watched Weak Hero Class 1 three times, each with a different companion, and the show revealed different faces each time.
The first viewing, they watched alone. Asuka isn’t oblivious to BL themes and tropes. They’ve read The Song of Achilles, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, Call Me By Your Name by Andrรฉ Aciman, Embrace by Mark Behr. They know what romantic and sexual tension looks like in literature. And on first viewing, they sensed the two boys loved each other so deeplyโhad to pause the show more than once to sob, or they couldn’t read the subtitles. But they did not detect a romance or sexual attraction between them.
The second viewing was with a very conservative Protestant Christian friend. This woman quickly declared: “I think the boys have a romance going on.” Her reasoning? Si-eun looks like a girl. (Asuka didn’t think soโthey thought he looked like a “cute button mushroom.”) She also thought Beomseok was gay. (Here they agreed.)
The irony wasn’t lost on Asuka. This lady is a very conservative Protestant Christian. Asuka is a strange sort of Buddhist agnostic. They couldn’t be more different. Asuka couldn’t help but wonder if she was trying to spot some kind of sin at every turn. But sin or not, it didn’t stop her from finishing the series in two noisy viewing sessions at a cafรฉ. She liked it intensely, even though she thought all three boys were gay.
Asuka wisely didn’t ask where her Christian moralizing went, because she could have very pointedly asked: “What kind of Buddhist is so hungry for ‘xiวo xiฤn rรฒu’?”โlittle fresh meat, a catch-all Mandarin term for boys who look like the Weak Hero cast.
The third viewing was an experiment. This time with Asuka’s mum, they deliberately put on rose-tinted BL lenses. And you know what? It worked. Asuka realized it was possible to see it as a kind of very understated BL drama. The tone and layering is different when viewed that way, and it has a special beauty all its own.
Director Yoo created something like that viral dressโthe one that looks white, black, blue, or gold depending on lighting and preconceptions. After several more obsessive viewings, Asuka’s preference settled on seeing the show as mostly straight and non-romanticโthough with love, warmth, and affection between the boys. But the beauty is: you can see it differently, and you’re not wrong.
People Tend to Belittle Friendship Compared to Love
Then Elaine left a comment that made me screenshot it for keeps.
“Personally, I think that Si-eun and Suho have a truly genuine friendship and an intense connection that is important and deep enough to be considered a first miraculous kind of love… but I didn’t see any sign that their mutual affection and admiration was actually a sexual attraction.
Perhaps it might become one some day but I suspect that they’re both heterosexual and, at this point it doesn’t really matter anyway because they are finding something in each other that is more important than a first romance, fling or sex.”
More important than first romance. Let that sink in for a moment.
She continued: “They have each found someone who accepts and admires and will fight to protect them… just for being… who they already are… with no other strings attached.”
No conditions. No performance. No need to be different or more acceptable. Just: “I see you. I accept you. I will fight for you.”
Elaine called this “a totally amazing thing” we shouldn’t underestimate. Why? “Because neither of them has ever experienced it before. And it’s life changing… especially for Si-eun but also for Suho.”
Then she said something that cut straight through: “Actually, I think it’s a shame that people tend to belittle friendship and friends in comparison to romantic love interests and sexual partners.”
We do this constantly, don’t we? Our vocabulary systems elevate romantic relationships. “Are you guys just friends?” “They’re only friends.” “Friend-zoned.” As if friendship is the consolation prize.
But Elaine pushed back: “Because a real friend can be just as hard to come by as a ‘true love’ and… who else do we turn to when our life partners disappoint us or expect more than we can give? We don’t expect our friends to be everything to us all the time when it’s easier to expect too much from a partner.”
Truth bomb: Some marriages end. Best friends remain.
“Si-eun and Suho are, so far, giving freely to one another. They have placed no restrictions or demands on each other as they would if they were a couple in a romantic relationship. And so… especially at this point in their lives… that’s a truly phenomenal thing. Unique and important.”
Sigma Fellowship
Asuka introduced me to a concept that perfectly captures the magnetism between Suho and Si-eun: sigma fellowship.
“I think he spots in Si-eun a kind of potential sigma fellowship, which eventually blossomed into something that broke millions of hearts worldwide.”
Suho doesn’t need or want a pack following. He effortlessly dominated Byeoksan’s hierarchy through charisma and his ability to enforce respect for his personal space. People naturally gravitate toward him, but he doesn’t need them. That’s sigma energy.
Si-eun is also sigma, but differently. He doesn’t want followers eitherโhe’s perfectly content alone. But unlike Suho, Si-eun is affection-starved. He needs true friends, even if he doesn’t know how to ask. His vulnerabilities make him a target. He looks like a “harmless potato” (Asuka’s words, stealing them forever). He’s poorly physically conditioned. His brain makes other boys jealous. He’s unapologetically bluntโremember how he “thanked” Go-tak when they first met?
But sigma does not mean invincible.
When Suho looked at Si-eun, he didn’t see a follower or competition. He saw potential sigma fellowshipโsomeone who gets it without words. Someone who doesn’t need the pack either. An equal.
And this is whyโeven in an alternate universe where the incident never happened and they carried on paddling happily in a canoeโSuho could never be as close to Beomseok as he is to Si-eun. Because Beomseok wants to be an alpha. That’s a fundamental difference in nature. Beomseok needs validation, needs the pack. Suho and Si-eun? They don’t need any of that. And that’s why their bond is so rare.
The Neurodivergent Lens
In a previous analysis, I became convinced that Si-eun has mental health issues more than Suho does. Some subscribers pointed out something fascinating: just like autistic-ADHD kids often feel immediate friendship and attachment to each other in real life, Si-eun and Suho’s relationship can be viewed along those lines.
There’s something about the way they immediately understand each other. No explanations. No small talk. No performative friendship-building. They just get it. Suho sees Si-eun getting bullied and doesn’t ask questionsโhe just steps in. Si-eun doesn’t thank him with flowery wordsโhe just accepts it. Later, when Suho needs help, Si-eun shows up with a belt and an attitude that screams: “Don’t touch him.”
No hesitation. No second-guessing.
This kind of instant, wordless connection is something neurodivergent people often describe when they meet each otherโa recognition that bypasses all the neurotypical social scripts.
Why this lens matters: Because it removes the pressure to categorize their bond as romantic or platonic. Instead, it becomes: “We found each other, and we don’t need to explain why this works.” It doesn’t need to be romantic to be profound. It doesn’t need to be sexual to be life-changing. It just is.
Comrade Love
Now we get to my favorite part.
I introduced Asuka to the Korean concept of ์ ์ฐ์ (jeon-u-ae)โcomrade love. Here’s the kicker: the word itself already contains ์ /ๆ (love). It’s not “comrade friendship.” It’s not “comrade bond.” It’s comrade LOVE.
Asuka said this, and it’s been rattling around in my brain ever since: “True friendship always has true love.”
Let’s talk about the scene where they restrain Gilsu together. This is ์ ์ฐ์ in action. A bruised-up Suho, dehydrated and still concussed from a bat to the head, looks like he’s about to lose his first fight. Then a desperate Si-eun protects Suho with a belt and an attitude that screams: “Don’t touch him, you bastard.” One loving brick to the knee. One romantic kick to the face. And the two high schoolers have subdued their local gang lord.
And then they exchange words so precious they echo in Si-eun’s warmest dream: “You’re really psycho (thorai).”
But the way Suho delivers it? It sounds like: “I can’t stand how much I love you.”
This is ์ ์ฐ์ . This is comradeship. This is Suho’s love confession to Si-eun.
Some couples pronounce affection like hastily written Christmas cards. Even when they’re together, their minds are lost in their own little separate phone-worlds. But Si-eun and Suho’s actions speak louder than words. And their words mean more than what they say.
Asuka put it perfectly: “I thinkโฆ they are saying ‘I love you’ all the time.”
The Hospital Scene
Let me tell you about what I consider the most admirable wordplay in the entire series. The final scene. The yellow hospital light sequence.
Si-eun: “๋ฏธ์ํด” (mianhae / Sorry)
Suho: “๋๋” (nado / Me too)
When Si-eun suddenly says “๋ฏธ์ํด”… I hear “์ฌ๋ํด” (saranghae / I love you). I feel like two heterosexual boys, post-tragedy, are using wordplay to hide sincerityโas teenage boys do.
Both words end with the action verb “ํด” (hae). The sounds are close enough that your brain can almost hear them as the same thing. Especially in that moment. Especially with that lighting. Especially with Suho’s faint smile.
I imagine Si-eun actually said: “I love you.” And Suho’s faint smile with “๋๋” (me too) was the automatic response.
Where I Land
After all these conversations, after all these lenses, where do I actually land?
Suho is Si-eun’s first love. I don’t think that emotion can be explained any other wayโthough defining it isn’t the point.
Suho’s attracted to “strong mental will.” When he praises Yeong-i, he notes her wildness and “guts”โqualities he says are rare in girls. He spots that same quality in Si-eun. It’s not about gender. It’s about strength of character.
Is it BL? True BL would’ve made sexuality central. This drama consciously excluded that. It’s not about coming out, sexual discovery, or navigating a same-sex relationship in a heteronormative world. Those are the themes that define BL as a genre. Weak Hero Class 1 isn’t doing that.
But did they share love? Absolutely.
Suho was attracted to Si-eun’s strong mental will. They shared ์ ์ฐ์ โcomrade love. They said “I love you” all the time, just not in those words. They found sigma fellowship in each other. They held each other so precious that they would bleed in each other’s place.
If that’s not love, what is?
The Deluluverse
Speaking of which… Asuka and I started discussing whether the canoe trio could realistically maintain their friendship as adults post-coma. That conversation evolved into a mid-length fictional arc series.
Asuka confessed something hilarious:
“I’m not a shipper, and I realize the mortifying irony of having mapped out a deluluverse with several thousand words in recent days. For this I can only offer Beomseok’s defence: ‘I don’t know why I did it.’ But no award-winning tear is going to flow out of my eye. Because I’m gonna do some more.”
Our arc isn’t just fictionโit includes deep character analysis and philosophical themes we couldn’t fit into YouTube videos. Started as a joke between Asuka and me, but it’s grown into something we both keep coming back to. I’m the bricklayer adding local flavor while Asuka simmers the fictional arc soup.
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