Heesu in Class 2

Could have been a 30 minute special

I’ll start by saying the cast was amazing and the chemistry was great. The story had an amazing set up and crazy potential however it was completely wasted. The main couple got less than half of screen time each episode and they made no progress until the last 20 minutes of the last episode. It was so aggravating as each episode went by and we had the same problem over and over. It was so dragged out that I was actually mad. I like a good slow burn but this was not that. I’m so sad because this show could have been one of my favorites but I would not even think to rewatch it. The amount of filler was crazy.

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Do not watch this drama if you're not ready

If you want to watch men kissing and being romantic with each other, this isn't the drama for you. If you want more adult content or stories that resolve quicker, then this isn't the drama for you. If you want a perfect BL fantasy in which all characters are magically gay and nobody questions their sexuality, this isn't the drama for you. If you're not going to watch this drama with an open mind, then this isn't the drama for you.

I had been excited about this drama for the past 3 years and I must say, I was not disappointed. Was this drama just like the original WebToon? No. It is an adaptation afterall. Was it a perfect adaptation? Not that either, but was it good? Yes.

When the trailer dropped, the reception from Korean and non-Korean audiences was very different. Many Korean fans were simply excited about it, whereas international fans were ready to hate the drama. Thus, I ask you, if you're not open minded, you're only going to see the flaws in the drama. Actually, not the flaws, but the things that you wanted that were never going to be there. Most comments kept talking about this drama being another heteronormative straight washed Korean drama, and I was so confused. I've seen many Korean BL's and none of them have ever been straightwashed except one. Spring of Crush. That drama was a huge disappointment. The original is BL but the drama was changed to bromance and completely eliminated the romantic storyline. But apart from that, I've never seen any Korean BL's actually straightwash their content. So I was confused, to say the least.

In preparation to this drama, I had read the Webtoon years ago and one thing that I loved about this webtoon compared to other BL's was that it wasn't exactly a BL drama. As a gay man myself, also having lived in Korea for many years, one thing that I liked about BL's is the fantasy aspect that helped me escape reality. But on the other hand, I didn't like how the genre of BL fed onto this fantasy that every man is magically gay, there are no female characters at all in many BL's and the fact that they're attracted to men is never addressed nor of importance. It just is that way. That bothered me because it was just too perfect and I couldn't fully feel a connection to the characters at times. It was simple fanservice. But Heesu in Class 2 was different. The fact that they had their friends hide their lovey-doveyness because being gay in high school like this would be an issue, the fact that Heesu is in love with his straight best friend and he stays straight the whole time. He wasn't magically gay or bi all along, nor does he suddenly realize he actually likes bi. This isn't exactly a queer Webtoon, but it's the closest BL to seem really relay the queer experience in a light enough way without taking away its meaning. This is the main reason I loved the webtoon. So much so that I thought the author was a gay man, not a girl.

Now did the drama deliver on the main essence of webtoon? Yes. Completely and fully, yes. The thing that annoys me the most about most hate is people calling it Chanyoung in Class 2 or a straightwashed drama with BL characters as side characters. Which I think are huge exaggerations and I stand by what I said. If you want a perfect BL fantasy in which all characters are magically gay and nobody questions their sexuality, this just isn't the drama for you. This drama isn't actually about Seungwon and Heesu, nor is it about Heesu and Chanyoung, nor Chanyoung and Jiyu. This drama is about Heesu. This drama is about love, and its many many forms. So the main essence of the drama is still very much present.

Heesu's journey with accepting himself. With his world that revolves only around Chanyoung and no one else. His immaturity, his determination not to lose Chanyoung and actually try to confess to him, to be with him. Him learning that he really doesn't know what he actually likes, only what Chanyoung likes. Seungwon being the one who wants to know HIM, for who he is. And him for the first time having someone take interest in only him. This all is still very much present. This isn't simply a BL story, the main focus was never Seungwon and Heesu getting together, but Heesu learning what love is. Heesu maturing and growing. And Heesu did just that, the whole drama. He learned to let go and let Chanyoung be happy. Him learning to take initiative, to take courage. Learning love through the experience of his older sisters. Him feeling insecure in being himself and coming out and seeing Seungwon with two moms giving him that reassurance that no matter what, he at least wouldn't hate him for being gay.

The important and subtle message of the drama stayed the same. In no moment in the original webtoon (which I read in Korean, so I don't know how it was translated to English) did they say the word gay outright from what I remember. The drama kept that. They don't say the words because they aren't needed. The fact that we get a scene in which Heesu can come out to one of his sisters? That was powerful. The fact that we get to see Heesu cry and get the courage to accept himself and eventually come out? That's powerful. This isn't a BL where you get to see the main couple get together and be cute together. This is a coming of age story in which we get to see two gay teenagers learn to accept themselves, take courage and take a chance on love despite everything. I actually also loved the change with the drama in which Heesu is interested in the things related to space. The metaphors really added a lot to the story.

Now I don't think it was all perfect. Honestly in the original, I actually kind of had wanted Jiyu and Chanyoung to get together, but Chanyoung not succeeding in love for once was something that added to the story in the webtoon. But we get a music arc with Jiyu and a tennis arc with Chanyoung that really did add to the characters to a degree. I think saying the drama was about them is a huge exaggeration. However I do think they kind of messed up the characters of Chanyoung. Chanyoung was originally aware of Heesu's in crush and wanted someone to come and take over to save him from his own heartbreak. Making him unaware changed the dynamics of the drama and did a disservice to the character. I do like the ending in which we get to see him show up for Heesu and say he'd be there for him no matter what, which is important for Heesu. However I do think that he could've apologized and that was portrayed in a more selfish and self-centered way. But a good looking guy who's popular and in high school? I want to say that isn't a little more of a realistic take on how a real high school good looking guy would react? I do think he was selfish and lacked accountability though.

I do however like that all the characters were flawed in many ways and immature. They got to grow and learn a lot. I loved the love arcs with all 3 of his sisters, which really served to show Heesu learning and growing while relating to his own love life and struggles. All female characters in this drama were great. Even the slight bullying that happened over instagram was an interesting addition to the plot. Seungwon standing up for Heesu as well.

So again, I'll repeat. Is this a perfect adaptation? No. Is this a straight washed heteronormative Korean drama? No. This isn't a story that's supposed to be fanservice to please the fantasy of gay men relationships. This drama was from the beginning to the end about love and about Heesu. Heesu's growth, coming to terms with his sexuality, coming out and finding love. It was about that while we got to see the growth of everyone else around him relative to him as well. I loved every bit of this drama and would highly recommend it to anyone who's willing to watch it without comparing it to the original source material too much and without expecting a BL fantasy.

One last thing, the acting. This is by far one of my TOP 5 BL dramas overall and of the best in terms of acting. None of the actors gave weak acting deliveries. Until the end, every emotion, every scene was done with superb acting. Unlike many other BL dramas in which there are many new actors who were unable to deliver the emotional depth of queer characters or even have basic acting skills, this drama had none of that. Ahn Jiho's portrayal of Heesu was a bit manlier than the original, but he kept the bratty, innocent, dreamy and loving good hearted nature of the character. And that boy can cry like no other. I keep replaying the confession part of the last episode over and over just to see them act. Do I wish there was more of the main couple? Yes, sure. But it was never about them. It was about Heesu's growth and if you actually stop looking for a fantasy of gay relationships and watch through the eyes of Heesu as a character, this drama is really good.

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Chanyeong in Class 2 LoL

It’s disappointing to see *Heesu in Class 2* shift its focus in a direction that feels completely off-track. As a BL series, the excitement was there from the start, but Episode 6 really changed things for me. The straight couple seems to be taking center stage, making it hard to stay invested. Chanyeong’s character, in particular, has become frustrating to watch...constantly chasing after the girl while seemingly ignoring Heesu’s feelings altogether. Every time he’s on screen, I feel less inclined to continue supporting the series. Frankly, at this point, it doesn’t even feel like a BL drama anymore. While I fully support the gay couple as the main characters, Chanyeong and the girl are just not it for me. Sadly, I have to give this one my lowest rating. It should be title Chanyeong in Class 2 LOL

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Frustrating to watch

The series is quite different from the manhwa. It feels like the director is focusing more on the straight couple than the actual main leads. Some might not agree, but it seems like this was done to attract K-drama fans who prefer straight romances. Honestly, it's a bit frustrating. They also made Jiyu's character really unlikeable. She comes off as nonchalant in episodes 2–3 but suddenly becomes energetic around Seungwon. It just feels inconsistent and kind of annoying. The live action is very boring. I was really looking forward to it but it disappointed me a lot. The director did a poor job with the live action.

From episode 3 onwards, the series got so boring that I don't even want to continue it. Also, where's the plot? Where's the story? There's nothing interesting in this series. Rather than wasting your time watching it, I’d recommend reading the manhwa instead.

Imagine waiting so long for the live action, only for it to disappoint you like this. Anyway, the acting wasn’t that good either.

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A new perspective on Chan Yeong’s Tennis Cinematic Universe.

“Y’all are so dramatic. Why is everyone complaining? I love the hetero couple even though it’s an unpopular opinion. I actually loved and enjoyed this drama. Ignore the haters and bl fanatics.”

(Translation-Don’t listen to all the criticism given by “bl fans”. Let’s ignore queer representation, who cares about that. Let’s focus on hetero couple like we have always.)

This is my love letter to people who said the above things.

So brave of you to stan the default straight couple in a drama where no one asked for them. And their story? revolutionary. Truly never been done before. This isn’t about disliking a couple. It’s about a storytelling failure. The hetero couple is not the enemy. The problem is that they were never the main characters. Here is an unpopular opinion. Queer baiting and straightwashing is wrong.

Criticism is not hating.
People really need to hear this: Criticizing a drama’s writing is not the same as hating a couple, hating the actors, or hating the show. Criticism means you care enough to point out what’s wrong. And what’s wrong here isn’t a matter of “taste.” It’s not “people just don’t like the side couple.” It’s not “you’re overreacting.”

Viewers aren’t angry because people like the couple.
They’re angry because: their storyline overshadows Heesu completely, the emotional core of the show is ignored, and we lose the unique perspective we were promised.

If you go to a restaurant and order ramen, and they bring you pasta with a tiny spoonful of ramen on the side, you’re not “complaining.” You’re asking for the dish you paid for.

This drama had the potential to explore: unrequited love, fear of confession, queer longing, friendship vs. romantic tension, the pain of loving someone for a decade in silence. Instead of diving into that, the show sidelines him for a straight romance we’ve seen a thousand times.
This isn’t representation.
It’s a bait-and-switch.

It’s okay to enjoy the hetero couple, but also important to acknowledge the storytelling flaws. The issue is pretending that others are “complaining” just because they expected the actual main character to matter. This drama didn’t fail because of the side couple. It failed because the writers abandoned their own protagonist and when i say “fail” Im not talking about viewership. It failed as an adaptation and it failed to do any justice to the actual story. The show betrays its own synopsis.



Do you want everyone to just sit quietly and enjoy queer erasure?
Do you want viewers to pretend the protagonist doesn’t matter? To act like it’s fine for a queer-coded main character to be shoved aside in his own story, while a straight couple absorbs 70% of the screen time? Because that’s what you’re asking when you say: “Stop complaining.”, ”I love the straight couple!”,, “Others are just being dramatic.”

That is not “preference.”
That is not “unpopular opinion.”
That is erasure: narrative, emotional, and representational.


Perspective for those who “love the hetero couple”
Liking them isn’t wrong.
But loving them shouldn’t blind us to the fact that:
* the main character’s story was never allowed to grow
* his emotional world was overshadowed by arcs that weren’t even advertised
* the drama disguised itself as one thing and delivered another
* representation was teased but not honoured
It’s misdirection, imbalance, and lost potential. Viewers aren’t “complaining.”
They’re mourning the story that could have been, the story that was supposed to belong to Heesu.
What if you were the side character in your own story ? Now this is being done just because you are queer. If you were straight this wouldn’t have happened.


What If This Happened in Straight Dramas?
Imagine this
A straight drama is advertised as a story about a boy and girl who’ve grown up together, childhood friends on the brink of something more.
The synopsis tells us:
* He’s secretly loved her for years
* She’s his world
* Their friendship is fragile and precious
* And the drama will explore that emotional tension
So you press play, expecting their story.
Now picture what actually happens:

🎬 Episode 1 to 10…
Instead of seeing the childhood-friends-to-lovers arc we were promised, the show suddenly spends:
* 30 minutes of every episode following a random side couple
* Their family trauma
* Their love life
* Their arguments
* Their reconciliation
* Their career struggles
Meanwhile, the main girl, the reason you started watching gets:
* 3 scenes per episode
* no emotional development
* no progress
* no payoff
* no real story
You waited to see the tension between the main couple, right?
The longing?
The slow-burn?
The emotional explosion we were promised in the synopsis?
But the camera keeps running back to the side couple like they paid for the show.
Would viewers stay quiet?
Would they say, “Stop complaining! Let the side couple shine!”? Of course not…..

Why? Because narrative betrayal feels the same, no matter the genre.
The issue isn’t about sexuality.
It’s about storytelling integrity.
People would riot if:
* The Heirs sidelined Kim Tan and Eun Sang to tell a teacher’s love story.
* A Business Proposal replaced the main couple with the second lead’s cousin and their personal trauma.
* Kimi ni Todoke spent 8 episodes on the girl sitting behind Sawako.
Everyone would ask the same thing viewers of Heesu in Class 2 are asking now:
Why are the main characters being treated like background furniture?
Why is the advertised story being ignored?
Why are we watching someone else’s drama?


Criticism is how we demand better.
Better storytelling.
Better focus.
Better respect for the protagonist.
Better representation.
Criticism is how we say: “This character matters. His story matters. We want the show we were promised.”
It’s not hate. It’s accountability.
And if people feel more offended by criticism than by the actual erasure happening on-screen, then maybe they need to sit with why that makes them so uncomfortable.

Why adapt a compelling queer coming-of-age story when you can force-feed the audience a straight romance and sports melodrama no one asked for?

If you wanna ignore all this and praise the revolutionary drama that truly has never been done before, go ahead.

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Beautiful queer coming of age story

I get that some people were disappointed bc of expectations from the source material, but the overall ratings seem excessively low to me for such a lovely and well made show. I haven't read the source material so this is solely based on the drama itself.

This is the best Korean drama I've seen in terms of depicting a realistic queer coming of age story. Heesu felt like a real person and his world felt full and believable. The het side couple were really well drawn as a foil to the main couple, especially how easy it was for them to confess compared to how much harder it is for their queer counterparts. The sisters' mini storylines were also great for highlighting different things going on with Heesu and providing advice/examples that he could then apply to his own situation.

My two favorite scenes were Heesu finding out about Seungwon's two moms and Heesu coming out to his sister, both were heart-warming and understated moments of connection that rang true.

I hope more people give this drama a chance or a second chance, I think it's very special.

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Heesu...this play is not about you

I think it is homophobic and disappointing to take as BL story, claim to adapt it, only to remove the BL. If they were interested in making a straight drama with a BL side couple they should have just written one! To advertise this show as a BL is disingenuous!

This show is only interested in the straight characters. It completely abandons the two main BL leads after the point when they would naturally get together. They did not even care to write a character arc to give them reasons to stay apart! They are simply sidelined and the show focuses on other characters until LITERALLY the last 10 mins of the finale. They seem determined to avoid having to show Heesu and Seung Won in a relationship on screen.

When the finale confession actually does happen it's sad and painful for Heesu, who feels Seung Won lied to him. After Seung Won's clarification... they seem ok!??? That is the ending to THE MAIN CHARACTERs love story. We certainly don't see them understanding each other! The happy ending is essential implied, not written!

Meanwhile the straight couple is developed slowly throughout the entire show. We see them from first interest in each other to multiple episodes of them happy togther! It's to the point that a significant portion of the lasts 3 episodes getting to see them develop within the relationship beyond just getting together. The amount of time and energy the show spends explaining the importance of the straight couple's EXTRACURRICULARS in the finale is particularly egregious!

To give some idea of the priorities in this show I have the following lists...

THINGS THE SHOW WRAPPED UP AT THE END
1.Heesu's older sister and her boyfriend breaking up and getting closure
2. Heesu's Best friend and the girl that secretly likes him getting together
3. How Heesu's straight best friend feels about Heesu liking him in the past.
4. Why the girl that used to like Heesu stopped pursuing him
5. Heesu's senior moving closer to her ex
6.TENNIS
7. STAGEFRIGHT

THINGS THE SHOW DID NOT WRAP UP
1. Heesu finding out exactly how long Seung Won a crush on him
2. Seung Won explaining that he lied about having a crush on that girl because, he wanted to be around Heesu and didn't know how else to do it.
3. Seung Won explaining that the reason he had been so cold and dismissive to Heesu (thus hurting his feelings) is because he was jealous at the ideas of H confessing to someone else.
4. What kind of relationship will they have! We don't see them spend time together once the misunderstandings have been cleared up!

I was really enjoying this show in the first half this was such a disappointing ending.

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Girl, IDC about the negative remarks. This deserves a vast support now!

It's NOT straighwashing, I tell you ahead and don't listen to those nitpicking the series. Its main focus are the GAYS! Probably the heteros are there to create a sense of diversity?? Why are yall hating (youre like straights hatin gay relationships but in diff font) ? Besides, even if the series is changing the manwha, the essence of the story is still there—HEESU AND HIS FLUFFY CRUSH!! And hello? It's an "ADAPTATION" (directors could change however they like). I said what I said because this series is for the GAY! I hope yall will support this because kbls with big names are vv rare. Let's boost this series so they would continue creating something about LGBTQ. Don't drown the drama plsss this can be a gateway for more in the future duhh... BTW, 2 eps remaining and hes close to confession. I badly need this SLOWBURRNN

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The queer kdrama we deserve

Heesu in Class 2 is phenomenal. Finally, a classic kdrama with a queer couple at the center. This show is not structured like a BL—all of the characters and relationships matter, not just the main romance. It’s deeper than a simple boy meets boy love story, and the show was made with such love and care. The writing is excellent, the visuals are gorgeous, and the whole cast is fantastic, especially Ahn Ji Ho.

There is a lot of negativity about the show on here that seems to be driven by manhwa fans resentful that the show adapted the story differently for the screen, and BL fans resentful that characters outside of the main pair actually matter. They’re wrong. The show’s version of the story adds so much depth and emotional weight to relatively shallow source material. I hope you’ll ignore the noise and give this show a chance, because it deserves our attention.

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Adventures in the Exquisite Anguish of the Adolescent Crush

“How do you end a crush?” ask two different characters in the finale episode of Heesu in Class 2. That question vexed that duo (and others) for ten episodes worth of adolescent anxiety. Finding a solution at that age? Never easy. The high school romance genre is evergreen because the experience of being an adolescent is universal. Nearly as universal? The experience of being an adolescent awash with romantic feelings for someone close-at-hand, feelings an inexperienced teen may simply have no clue how to direct. Not without risking embarrassment and exposure. Keeping the crush a secret can become an all-consuming mission of its own. Left unspoken, after all, a crush cannot bring pain—except the pain of unrequited love. For a closeted gay boy, the crush itself is perhaps not even the chief secret. Preserving the secret of the closet can outrank the desire to confess a crush because the risks of revelation as gay can seem exponentially greater than placing one’s emotions on the line. Gay or straight, determining when to reveal a crush is tricky. Heesu in Class 2 captures the exquisite anguish of that time in life more deftly, more sweetly, and more creatively than any other high school romance series I’ve seen. The plot derives tension from words left unspoken, confessions deferred. Some patience will be required of the viewer, but when the confessions at last flow, the catharsis feels sweet.

Explaining the plot almost requires a diagram. A has liked his best friend, B, for ages but doesn’t wish to risk their longstanding friendship by confessing to another boy. Meanwhile, B likes C. She actually likes B back but chooses to conceal it. (It’s a strategy.) C’s best friend D likes A. D wants to keep A and B apart, while A wants to keep B and C apart. Naturally, D enlists A to help him court C (whom he does not like). You know, as anyone would. Strategically, the matchmaking effort will afford D opportunities to interact with A, while keeping A away from B. A accepts this role as putative matchmaker because he hopes to take C off the market, refocusing B’s attention on himself. Did I mention that C is a sympathetic co-conspirator on D’s scheme to win over A? Well, that cooperation itself thwarts her own clandestine pursuit of B, but that contradiction just adds to the fun. Ultimately, D’s ersatz courtship of C sparks jealousy from B, a turn of events that propels their story forward. Eventually, A (Heesu) must come to terms with the fact his crush has chosen another. He soon refocuses his attention on D, but his dilemma has not changed. Confession risks not just a broken heart but possible social ostracization should his attraction to boys become known. And, so, keeping secrets secret becomes a major concern in this plot. (Perhaps to the detriment of the series, since it sometimes feels as if the story is caught up in endless circles of futility.) D and A have fallen for one another, but the safety of the closet prevents either from speaking his truth. With all of this misdirection, Heesu in Class 2 becomes, low-key anyway, a bit of a farce and very much a comedy of manners.

Preposterous as all of the foregoing may sound, the crucial thing is that the characters feel emotionally honest at all times. That owes to some very fine work by the cast at conveying the emotional turbulence felt by each character. You have known a teenager who has acted loony in love. Maybe you were that teenager? These portrayals will recall to mind those by-gone days. Lacking confidence about their prospects for romantic success, each of these inexperienced wannabe players struggles to determine the right moment to confess their true feelings. One side-character girl even persuades the object of her desire to confess his feelings to a different girl entirely, precisely because she knows his feelings would not be reciprocated. His heartache could be her chance, but he needs to feel it first. “I got tired of waiting. I want him to get rejected quickly. Will it be Day 1 for me today?” She delivers that line to A—by now, smitten instead with D—who is inspired to accelerate his own confession. This minor side couple exists to illustrate another attribute of teen-aged romance: learning to accept when your crush has chosen someone else. At times each of the four lead characters must grapple with that possibility—and A (Heesu himself) feels it most keenly. Maintaining a secret crush thus presents its own risks: the risk that someone else will swoop in first. The tension born of waiting—waiting for someone to realize their feelings for you; waiting for the nerve to confess your own secrets—encapsulates what makes this series tick. These teens make (mostly) bad choices; yet, most former teens will empathize with the thought processes that yielded such decisions. Been there. Felt that.

As if capturing the flavor of unrequited youthful ardor is insufficient accomplishment in itself, Heesu manges an even more impressive feat, one few BL series bother to attempt. Heesu in Class 2 walks the line between the straightforward sweetness of BL-style courtship (seldom grounded in reality) and intelligent representation of the queer experience (often grounded in depressing reality). It is scary enough for a straight boy to confess to a girl or vice versa. But for those contemplating confession to another of their own sex, the potential pitfalls take on added layers of concern. In fact, a likely reason the writers matched a straight crush (B for C and C for B) with a gay crush (A for B and D; D for A) may precisely be to illustrate how the pressures of keeping secrets operates differently for closeted gay boys. Consistent with that theory, resolution for B and C arrives much earlier in the story. They simply had less to risk, and thus acted much sooner on their feelings. Completely closeted, A is in no hurry to confess to either boy he crushes on. I do not perceive Heesu as afraid to risk his heart. Rather, he cannot fathom the social consequences if the confession goes awry. By the penultimate episode, his secret crush on D has become more than he can bear. Perhaps, in part, because he now has had the experience of watching his first crush (B) pursue someone else without ever having taken his own shot. That wisdom propels him not to replicate the error with D, but more: he seems to have recognized a new despair. His own identity has become imperiled. “Now I’m going to tell, too. [Voiceover] Before my secret swallows me up. Before I fall into this dark hole forever.” Queer people will recognize that feeling as well, when the safety of the closet seemed to offer more harm than comfort. That is the sort of thing that galvanizes the closeted to come out.

HIC2 does not shy away from depicting these added layers for queer people, but neither does it belabor them. The BL genre occasionally uses the familial ramifications of same-sex romance to create conflict in the plot (the angry parent), but the genre typically disregards, blithely so, the ramifications to the individual in emotional and social terms. At various moments, it is clear both A and D, each shy from confessing his feelings precisely due to internalized homophobia. So long as it remains unspoken, the secret crush does not threaten the safety of the closet. Voicing those hidden feelings, after all, risks more than just rejection from one person. In a later episode, after C and B have found their way to each other, C becomes exasperated with D’s continued avoidance of his crush on A. She thinks a confession would solve his suffering as it had hers earlier. He will have none of it, and any queer person who has spent time in the closet will understand his response. “Do you not know, or are you pretending not to know? It’s much harder for me to just confess than it is for you. Have you ever thought about that?” The script sees no reason to elaborate on this explanation. A meta-theory as to why: perhaps because the Korean writers wish to shield any heavy-handed observation about gay truths from a domestic audience still uncomfortable with accepting queer attraction as a legitimate alternative. But an in-universe theory works equally well: perhaps because actual friends would understand each other without the added exposition needed to articulate those unspoken gay truths. In any event, C admits she was “just pretending” to be unaware of why D hesitated. But neither does this concession modify her advice. She quickly reminds him that he cannot move forward from, cannot bring a close to, the perpetual anguish rooted in his unspoken feelings without being open about those feelings. “There’s no other way anyway,” she sums up. Moving forward still requires a confession no matter the risk of rejection or the risk of his same-sex ardor becoming exposed. Heesu in Class 2 thus provides the viewer both the endorphin overload expected from top-notch BL shenanigans but also insight into a teenager’s emerging self-acceptance of a gay identity. The balance is tricky, but it works here quite well.

Finally, Heesu in Class 2 does not forget two other bugaboos of teen life: tension from living with family and having the courage to pursue your dreams. We spend the most time with Heesu (A) and his three older sisters, none of whom has proven to be a great role model for romantic success. The romantic trials and tribulations of his three lovelorn noonas prove instructive to Heesu as he navigates his own dilemmas in that department. Their household is raucous but loving. Most importantly, Heesu’s sisters are present in a way that both B and D, alienated from their own nuclear families, wish they could experience. Often left home alone, D leads a solitary existence. Living next door to Heesu and his sisters, D can hear the shouted teases and arguments emanating from that household. He clearly craves those kinds of familial ties for himself. An odd little scene where he joins Heesu and sisters for breakfast proves surprisingly affective for the wistful way D listens to the siblings banter. Just a routine morning at the Heesu household, but a type of familial closeness beyond D’s reach.
Meanwhile B has family issues of his own, related to his desire to pursue tennis. His father deems that activity a waste of time, a distraction that will hold him back later in life. Their relationship frays so badly over this issue that B eventually runs away to live with Heesu. (Naturally, B’s insertion into Heesu’s daily routine comes along precisely when the title character has not only resolved to accept B’s burgeoning romance with C by getting over his longtime crush, but also as he is beginning to crush instead on D.) Meanwhile, C dreams of a career as a professional musician. This subplot adds texture to the character and reinforces some of the series’ overall themes, but it carries far less weight than nearly everything else. Nevertheless, any added complexity to a Korean-BL is welcome, since that country’s BL plots tend to be stripped down to the bare essentials. The worldbuilding in HIC2 extends far beyond the BL storyframe, and the series is richer for it.

Heesu in Class 2 presents one of the more common experiences among high schoolers anywhere, anywhen, any sexual orientation: the surge of amorous emotion that overwhelms the developing personality. Yet to cultivate the social skills or social confidence to cope with those feelings, teenagers make choices that may not be in their own best interests. Streaming services these days abound with series that tackle this near-universal moment in the modern life course. That period when fear of what may follow a confession paralyzes us with indecision. That period before we become acquainted with either the sting of rejection or with the thrill of acceptance. The high school romance genre flourishes generation after generation precisely because watching fictional characters suffering through an unvoiced crush evokes from almost everyone a nostalgia for their own adolescence. Usually, the wistful variety. What might have happened, if only I’d done something differently? What if I had spoken up sooner? What if I had never spoken at all? Whether or not to confess, to take that secret crush from deep inside your own heart and lay it bare….that is a dilemma with which nearly all of us have wrestled at some moment or another. The cast and crew of Heesu in Class 2 have captured these adolescent insecurities most adroitly. The comedy feels grounded in reality. The absurdity, not so far-fetched. This series is worth the time to watch.

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