📍 Working-Class Mr. Ahn’s Unscheduled Visits to Dr. Yeon’s Clinic continues…
Bromance Culture Analysis
J:
Sending you some treats since you’re having a crazy busy weekend – no pressure to reply!
Chapter 1: Weekend Bliss and Korean Media’s Bromance Culture
I’m having the most blissful weekend, enjoying the gourmet soup you made, one delicious spoonful at a time.
Weekends are a blessing for a salary slave like me in this country with the highest average work hours in the OECD.
Spending my evening with a soup seasoned with your wit and humour? Could it get any better than this?
I’m still cracking up over that brutally honest thing I told my followers:
Suho, Si-eun, and Beomseok are from totally different social classes with zero overlap, so the chances of them mixing in the future are basically nil.
The fact that you got so hooked on my “working class Su-ho” and “professional Si-eun” lines and have run with it this far is absolutely hilarious.
Once again, I’m applauding your creativity and sense of humour 😂
Here’s some feedback on your delusion unreality soup.
Fair warning – I’m an amateur foodie, so expect some excitement and rambling. Please bear with me.
When you’ve got strong writing, well-crafted scripts, and a whole parade of cute, handsome characters, it’d be crazy if shipdoms didn’t emerge, right?
Anyone in the media industry who doesn’t know the scale of this subculture is probably living under a rock.
As long as they respect the original creators and keep things within reasonable bounds, even the original writers know that shipping culture keeps their work alive long after the show ends.
That said, I think excessive shipping of real people – like idols or actors – should be avoided.
The people being “consumed” in these ships are actual human beings.
By “excessive” I mean fantasising that two male idol group members are dating, and then becoming an anti-fan when either of them starts dating someone of the opposite gender.
That’s bordering on mental illness territory. So whenever we enjoy any culture, we need to maintain the distinction between fantasy and reality and keep our common sense intact.
The key is always finding that “middle ground.”
Shipping culture in Korea runs deep, and as someone who’s been watching this media industry for years, I’ve been intrigued to see how Korean media has caught on to the fact that “bromance” concepts make money.
They’ve been strategically laying bromance undertones throughout their productions.
The thing is though, in Korea, bromance isn’t really seen as being close to sexual love between men.
It’s more like comradeship (which would include Suho and Si-eun’s bond) and the tight bonding between a protective hyung and the younger brother who follows him.
When this topic comes up with my subs, I get the sense that different cultures interpret the concept of bromance with varying depths.
In Korean media and cultural industries, bromance is interpreted more as deep brotherly love.
If it weren’t for that interpretation, it’d be pretty difficult for one of the world’s most conservative countries to heavily layer bromance elements into its content.
But seeing these bromance-heavy works go from webtoons to live-action in one of the most Confucian and conservative countries makes me wonder: is the consumer base really that solid?
This is my headcanon, but I think before producing WHC2, the production company probably agonised over how much to dial up or down the bromance.
I think S2 showed bromance way more explicitly than S1, but S1 was what gave this fandom its major “bromance” impact, right?
They didn’t put it blatantly on the table.
There’s this ridiculous Korean formal expression used when hosting guests:
There isn’t much prepared, but please eat a lot. (* The table’s already bent)
That’s exactly how I felt watching S1.
The fandom was getting served:
There isn’t much bromance prepared, but please feast away. (* The table’s already bent)
And when Si-eun calls Suho “psycho” but it sounds like “you’re so cute” or “I’m totally smitten with you”? I’d never heard a “psycho” that sounded like that before.
Really, even people completely oblivious to bromance undertones couldn’t have missed the intense bromance between Suho and Si-eun in the show.
Best Lines from Working Class Mr Ahn and Dr Yeon Clinic
Who knew I’d feel S1’s metaphors and analogies (even if unintended by the directors) in your Yeon Clinic series 😂
In Chapter 2, I’ve picked out the best killing verses from your clinic series. This isn’t a ranking – I organised them in the order you wrote them:
Dr Yeon Clinic Beginning
Best Lines Collection
A: “And he never charges a dime. After all, it’s unclear who is giving whom medicine.”
J: You can feel Mr Ahn’s “certain special privilege” of being able to waltz into the Yeon Clinic without an appointment, even though the clinic is famous in the neighbourhood for its special ‘hot-weak’ look (and even has a line of nurse trainee applications).
A: “To, you know, cure headaches, toothaches, heartaches, and throbbing pain… Treatment might get a bit loud, but the attendant nurses are professional.”
J: I almost rolled off my train seat laughing at this one on my way home.
The Yeon Clinic clearly specialises in “internal medicine”, so why is Mr Ahn coming in with toothaches?
And why does headache treatment always involve “a bit” of noise?
I hope these cheeky nurses don’t let their employer find out that the soundproofing panels are actually defective until they retire.
A: “This was on purpose, of course; alarming his closest friend was a form of gentle teasing he had been doing for years”
J: This teasing started back in high school when Suho would knock on Si-eun’s house without warning, shouting “food delivery!” while Si-eun was reciting Newton’s mantras to subdue his urges.
How romantic can you get?
A: “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.”
J: The fact that Dr Yeon isn’t just an internal medicine but has a surgical background is so uhm…
I once answered a commenter who asked what I thought Si-eun’s future career would be, saying “neurosurgeon.”
The reason being that he’d want to understand his neurodivergent issues deeper – part curiosity, part intellectual interest – but also this fantasy-not-fantasy idea that he could perform brain surgery on his bestie whose nerves got damaged after the coma.
(Of course, when I gave that answer, I was in a kind sister Jennie tone)
But there’s also this subtext that Dr Yeon controls his old friend.
Suddenly putting this spice on the table, but I hope the heat comes through.
A: “This rude entrance was usually followed by a lecture on manners and morals from the medical savant”
J: A medical “master” who lectures his bestie about manners and morals, but on crisp white linen becomes a baby going “eong eong”…
Who could make him like that?
A: “Yah!! How sneaky! He must have been like this when he buried my phone in the sofa all those years ago!”
J: Ahn Suho won’t be fooled twice by Si-eun’s sneakiness. As expected!
A: “They say eel and sea cucumber works as well.”
J: Seeing the nurses’ gossip dialogue made me think that passengers in huge ships probably already know the culture and history of the country where Suho and Si-eun grew up better than we could tell them.
The fact that you know the subtext of sea cucumber and ginseng…
It’s shocking (😂).
Also, I imagined how solid your creative arsenal must be, built up layer by layer through various cultures.
A: “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.”
J: So basically, Mr Ahn has like an annual membership premium pass, like the kind used at Disneyland?
And Dr Yeon didn’t charge a single dime when selling that pass… what the… such blatant favouritism?
A: “They decided mid-wrestle to save these tools for the boss of Jeon clinic across the street”
J: Don’t spare the “unplugged panels” for the Jeon Clinic boss either.
The stubborn doctor friend who promised to sleep 7 hours a day for his health but gets absorbed in medical books until 3 AM – Mr Ahn’s been using rubber panels to discipline him since way back, but this would be a bit more intense than those.
A: “‘The Prod,’ ‘the Finger Flick,’ and ‘the Grab’n’Squeeze.’”
J: This sequence needs to be made into at least one full episode.
Especially the climax where tension builds up to ‘the Grab’n’Squeeze.’
A: “There was also an affixed, functional bathroom”
J: This clinic is like a magic box full of chocolates.
A mini bathroom and mini bed… It’s a fully equipped hotel, but the irony is that only the soundproofing panels are a scam.
A: “Si-eun-ah”
J: If I had to pick the most heart-fluttering line in both reality and this cheeky unreality, it’d be “Si-eun-ah.”
A: “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.”
J: We don’t even need to attach the photo – we all know exactly what picture this is.
Not some $1 plastic frame from Daiso but a sepia-toned wooden frame…
Dr Yeon… you sentimental fool, aren’t you? (in Seong-je’s tone)
A: “He really hated lying to Mr Ahn. But how was he to tell him that it was Beomseok who took this picture?”
J: Sadly, this line reveals that Beomseok’s name still equals Voldemort among them.
Everyone knows him, everyone was hugely impacted by him.
“He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named” yet “He-Who-Cannot-Be-Forgotten”
Did Suho forgive Beomseok? Or did he just pretend to forget with a “that’s all in the past” attitude? Suddenly, I’m curious about your opinion.
A: “Well, I like the photo very much and I am very happy I met you.”
J: Such sweet words coming from Suho’s mouth. I wouldn’t need chocolate for a whole year.
I can picture that goofy but puppyish smile he had when saying this.
A: “But we’re just showering, okay!! My appointments are all backed up already.”
J: I hope we can check the detailed specifics of Suho’s non-compliance with “okay” in the shower during dessert time after the full course meal.
A: “In that last drawer was a photograph of Si-eun on the left, and Beomseok on the right, both of them holding pool cues.”
J: After learning the secret of the fourth drawer, I became convinced that in your delusion, Suho got over Beomseok a very long time ago.
Maybe the one who suffered the biggest trauma from that incident wasn’t Suho, who got the external injuries, but Si-eun, who got the deep internal wounds, and maybe it’s Dr Yeon who still hasn’t escaped from that trauma.
Things We Conceal Out of Love
Asuka Longinus
Re: Hope you had a good meal
Hi Jennie, thanks SO much for taking the time to appreciate my cooking.
And thank you for the treats you sent my way.
My god, if this is the size of your banchan spread, then your main courses must be like the stuff I saw on Dae Jang Geum years ago.
I shall endeavor to reply to more of your expert commentary on Tuesday.
The next two days will be brutal…
For now, I’ll just say (13) really is my favorite WH photo, it’s got the warmest ‘tired baby bro leans on his hyung’ vibe.
And it says wordlessly but confidently, ‘together, our world is complete.’
I just had to wrench it into the story like a celebrity cameo appearance.
Bless you, Hong Kyung for your fast fingers; the Force was with you.
You have enriched the shipdoms immeasurably.
Mr Ahn, who has been privately carrying this photo in his wallet, has just realized Dr Yeon treasures the exact same photo in an even more sentimental, glowed-up form. He is so moved he gasps to himself.
Huh. And you said not everything is about me.
But it’s blatantly untrue. Intimately and intuitively, Mr Ahn knows why Dr Yeon has this photo, and so he replies:
Sieun-ah, I love you too.
But it doesn’t come out like that. Hyung doesn’t talk like that unless he is dead drunk and vulnerable. And so we get:
Well, I like the photo very much and I am very happy I met you.
With a goofy puppy smile.
But Dr Yeon gets it and has to swallow the lump rising in his throat.
Ah… these two… And they haven’t even showered yet… What happens after that is open to interpretation ie, dependent on a reader’s personal delusion level.
My non-authoritative director’s cut is that in the shower, Mr Ahn sees bruises forming on Dr Yeon’s body thanks to his three techniques, and he feels very sorry. So Mr Ahn embraces him from the back.
This causes some swelling for Dr Yeon, which is promptly noticed by his dearest friend, and leads to Dr Yeon’s appointments getting even more backed up. 😉
(14) and (17) are utterly delicious to unpack.
It’s clear that Si-eun and Su-ho did not fall out with Beom Seok at the same ‘rate’, even in their teen days.
In S1 ep 6 around 21’30, as the camera closes in on Su-ho, that look on his face feels to me like the exact point where he decides to sever his connection with Beomseok.
Bastard. So it was you. Don’t ever come near me again.
(I was so sad for their friendship…sigh…)
Literally seconds later, he chucks a chirpy puppy Suhoism at Si-eun, although his expression is ever so slightly tight, because he is simultaneously enraged with Beomseok but doesn’t want to ruin the mood with Si-eun.
(How the hell are you so damned good at acting, Choi Hyunwook? Like seriously…)
But Su-ho can’t resist throwing a threat at Beomseok as he passes by.
This obviously disturbs pure child Si-eun, who has no idea what transpired the night before. And Su-ho keeps it that way.
I tried to preserve this dynamic between Mr Ahn and Dr Yeon. People say true friends don’t hide things from each other.
Ah, no, they most certainly do.
And sometimes they do it precisely because they love each other.
True friends always have true love; what they may not have is the maturity to engage in timely and totally honest communication about difficult issues with the finesse of psychologists.
And so things can, and do, go awry.
The belief that true friends never hide things from each other can be found in books that read like Hallmark cards. That’s not Weak Hero.
Su-ho doesn’t talk about what Beomseok did with his scooter because he knows Si-eun will be heartbroken.
As for Si-eun, on your YouTube channel, I added the light edit that:
He is the same Yeon Si Eun who hid his broken arm and told me things were fine.
As grown-ups, they still don’t talk about Beomseok.
That’s why Mr Ahn doesn’t tell Dr Yeon he has the same photo.
It’s a kind of ‘hiding’ that they are still doing with each other, but probably for different reasons and to different degrees.
Just like when they were kids, Mr Ahn knows Dr Yeon hides things from him.
Dr Yeon doesn’t know Mr Ahn knows.
And neurodivergent Dr Yeon isn’t always aware Mr Ahn is also hiding things. This gives Dr Yeon a kind of innocence that makes him irresistible to Mr Ahn (in Deluluverse at least).
Gosh, look at me.
This was supposed to be a short reply… It’s the Weak Hero effect…
Thanks again for reading, Head Nurse, Yeon Clinic, back to work now.
Glad you enjoyed it!
J: My pleasure! Hi Asuka!
Spending my last Sunday night before another brutal Monday hits.
Hope you’re having a chill Netflix time after your busy weekend.
Suho and Si-eun’s wrestling could be seen as a metaphor for something, or it could literally be life coaching (physical education?) from a friend for Dr. Yeon, who, unlike Mr. An, sits around all day HAHAHA
Even back in their Byeoksan days, Suho would coax and encourage Si-eun to work out by the Han River – with sweet coaching, of course.
But thanks to your email and director’s cut, I finally got the behind-the-scenes scoop on why Si-eun’s junior got swollen, which made for a very fulfilling Sunday HAHAHA
Hmm, Beomseok’s queen bee fantasy – I’ll reveal my director’s cut once I survive this brutal week and Friday rolls around again.
And the rubber panel/paddle was Young-i’s birthday gift to Suho for the two puppies’ fun time.
Young-i and Seokdae used to source various products using their business skills back in the day, including toys.
Suho still holds Si-eun tight when he has nightmares about ‘that unspeakable day’ breaking out in cold sweats.
Back in Si-eun’s college days, their place was too small for a double bed, so like it or not, they had to sleep close together.
After seeing how Si-eun would quickly fall back asleep when Suho patted his butt during those cold-sweat episodes, it became his gentle gesture of comfort…
Though when they’re having their fun, the scale gets a bit bigger, shall we say HAHAHA
I should stop here before I oversleep and rush to work tomorrow – time to chant Newton’s mantra and sleep.
Oh, according to the script book, after the scooter accident, Si-eun realises it was Beomseok who made Suho limp.
He says something like ‘It was Beomseok who did this, wasn’t it?’ But the final cut doesn’t show or hint that Si-eun figured it out.
However, your portrayal of ‘wanting to protect a precious friend’ and ‘Suho’s heart not wanting his beloved friend to get hurt’ was so evident in that scene that it still breaks my heart.
We already know – from this point, this trio’s wooden canoe paddling under the setting sun starts sinking below the surface just like that twilight… Ugh, my chest tightens again.
Hope you have a lovely rest with your comfort cocktail.
Your wireless bricklayer, Jen.
Ah Jennie,
I didn’t know script had Sieun realizing Beomseok’s treachery.
It must have been a very carefully deliberated choice by Director Yoo and his team to not make this obvious and official.
I think it makes things all the richer and more three-dimensional when fans (like myself) start supplementing the Weak Hero world with their own worlds of ideas.
Anyway, based on your interior design experience, what sort of hands-on work would Su-Ho be involved in?
I am brewing a new pot, and I’d like to know your choice of flavoring here.
Yours,
Head Nurse, snuck out of work to type important things.
Dawn Air and Windbreaker Embraces
Hi Asuka,
Boss stepped out for a smoke break, and the moment he left, I cracked open my personal laptop monitor to steal a moment of liberation from this hellish Monday.
I’m glad to take action before your new pot stops boiling.
Suho worked in construction after graduating from Byeoksan High (in my ocean of delusions, of course 😂).
Sadly, in this country where safety negligence runs rampant, construction sites rarely follow safety protocols properly.
After Si-eun researched lol the annual statistics on worker injuries, one night, he wraps his arms around Suho’s waist and says he wishes Suho wouldn’t do unsafe work.
When Si-eun looks up at Suho, who’s a good two hand-spans taller – with those big eyes welling up without blinking, that’s pure kryptonite for Suho.
So he quits the very next day.
This stems from that scene where Suho waited for Si-eun in front of Daesung Academy and put the helmet on him. From then on, this cheeky Si-eun realises that three things are this handsome guy’s soft spots:
1. his big eyes 2. eyes brimming with tears 3. looking up at Suho – and he strategically deploys them when needed.
For a while, Suho works as a delivery rider, still wearing that windbreaker of his.
I wanted to ramble about this exact concept, hence all the buildup above.
I don’t know if it’s the same where you live, but Seoul, where Suho and Si-eun live, has particularly harsh seasonal transitions in late fall. Temperatures drop suddenly, and everyone gets runny nose colds.
But in my delusional unreality, I imagine Suho doing early morning delivery runs.
Work ends around 4 AM.
When he punches in their shared door code, Si-eun wakes up from studying himself to sleep.
Seeing Si-eun’s messy hair with a few strands sticking up from static electricity, Suho smiles faintly.
Si-eun opens his half-closed eyes and shuffles to the entrance, where Suho’s taking off his shoes, wrapping his arms tight around Suho’s waist. Suho’s windbreaker is saturated with Seoul’s crisp autumn dawn air from the seasonal transition.
Si-eun hugs that windbreaker – and all that air it holds – as tight as he can.
(I want to go home…😂)
Fast forward 10 years: Si-eun has graduated med school, served as a military doctor, and become a cultishly revered physician, while Suho has become a wallpaper and tile specialist.
Thanks to Suho studying real estate investment since his Byeoksan days,
(remember when he went to Beomseok’s house and saw that tree in the living room and was like ‘Is this one of those money-making trees or whatever?’ – Suho’s always been money-minded)
He started investing whatever he saved from a young age.
So work should be more of a hobby for him – that way, these two young men can enjoy their fun time in the evenings.
Waiting for clock-out time,
your wireless bricklayer Jen
Just got off work. No kidding, I’ve been imagining Ahn Suho in construction overalls for a while now hahaha
Ah but in the soup base that I’m already boiling, he hasn’t quit yet.
I’ll get Sieun to make him do so, probably in the next pot.
Or you know what? Maybe he has quit already, and now is in another job before he settles down as a specialist?
I’ve also had grand delusions of Suho as a fireman, you know, of the ‘douse me with your hose, baby!’ sort. Setting hearts ablaze as he puts out flames…
But I don’t believe firemen can just take extended lunch breaks as they like.
So yes, construction and then later a specialist in construction and ID materials is a realistic development.
By the way, I am totally sold on this:
When Si-eun looks up at Suho, who’s a good two hand-spans taller – with those big eyes welling up without blinking, that’s pure kryptonite for Suho.
And this is an utterly beautiful vignette, loveliest thing I’ve read all day:
Work ends around 4 AM.
When he punches in their shared door code, Si-eun wakes up from studying himself to sleep. Seeing Si-eun’s messy hair with a few strands sticking up from static electricity, Suho smiles faintly.
Si-eun opens his half-closed eyes and shuffles to the entrance, where Suho’s taking off his shoes, wrapping his arms tight around Suho’s waist. Suho’s windbreaker is saturated with Seoul’s crisp autumn dawn air from the seasonal transition.
Si-eun hugs that windbreaker – and all that air it holds – as tight as he can.
The thing is, Yeon Clinic soup has been simmering on the assumption that they haven’t been living together for a while. Would this be a possibility somewhere in the 10+ years after high school in Korea?
Perhaps because they go to the army at different times, and somehow they can’t afford rent when one of them is away?
Or Sieun’s medical school is too far from Su-ho’s construction work and their shared love shack, so they have to separate for a while?
So many Ingredients to choose from, yum haha
Head Nurse,
going to boil cup ramen soon.
Want to see where Scheherazade’s tale begins? 🔗 Click here to jump to Part 1
Or, jump to next episode 👇
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