The Midnight Romance in Hagwon Episode 11

first couple fight

Jun Ho and Hye Jin have fought before, but I think this is their first real confrontation after they became a couple. As always, it was a good episode. If the previous episodes were more about Hye Jin and her personality, this one did a good job at reminding the viewer about Jun Ho's. We know that he is a very confident character who has a lot of pride in his work ethic and ability to achieve the things he wants. We have never seen him fail in the context of the story. Everything he's taken on has worked out for him. So his anger at his parents and then later at Hye Jin makes sense. This is someone who doesn't understand why everyone around him can't believe in him and take his words at face value. He feels belittled by both which makes him even more stubborn about sticking to his guns. Not only that, but we've seen him wish for Hye Jin to confide in him more, so he's hurt by the way she shuts him out.

The thing is, I can also understand the fight from Hye Jin's point of view. This came out of left field for her, and honestly, out of left field for the audience as well. I did not expect Jun Ho to throw out his study book and pivot his teaching strategy entirely, so I felt just as confused as Hye Jin was when she found out. Throwing out an entire reference book days before the new semester starts is a risk no one would ever take, which is why Hye Jin and Sang Mi were horrified. Not only that, but Jun Ho suddenly going off about how he'll teach students to really learn, rather than how the academies teach them to memorize and retain sounded very idealistic. Sang Mi and Hye Jin have been part of the academy scene for a while. They're weathered in their expectations and understand how things go. In contrast, Jun Ho is completely new to all of this, not only to the Academy but also to teaching in general. He wants to change things and doesn't understand why Hye Jin can't support him. I think he is also afraid that she still thinks of him as someone to support, rather than someone who can support her.

I think Hye Jin loves Jun Ho, but she doesn't really think of him as an equal. Which, I can't blame her for, considering how he reacted last episode, and how she admitted that she thinks he represents the worst parts of herself. This is demonstrated when she speaks with Pyo Sang Seob, who is also someone who has butted heads with before. She sees him as an equal. Even though he's not an Academy instructor, he has years of teaching experience that Jun Ho doesn't have. So when Sang Seob says he'll handle things his way, she lets him do so. I felt like the most emotional scene in the episode was not the fight between Hye Jin and Jun Ho, but the scene with Sang Seob and his student, when she asks him to review her material. You could tell that he was moved by the fact that she listened, and also bitterly regretted that he can no longer move his students in that way. I felt for him as a character, and I respected him more when he told Hye Jin about how the vice director of her own academy had betrayed her. Ten years of teaching materials??? I would cause a scene if I were here.

Maybe she will cause a scene in the next episode? We shall see.

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