The Midnight Romance in Hagwon Episode 14

one of my favorite episodes so far

Whew! That was really good. Loved the tension throughout, loved how the show did not dive into the dramatic tropes of physical violence or slut shaming. We saw some really nasty behavior from certain characters on the show, but it felt believable and not in any way like a caricature. I loved how at the very end of this episode, it's Jun Ho who emotionally breaks down from the entire situation. Genuine gut punch to see, considering how confident and self-possessed he's been this entire show. We got to see his fears over not only whether he ruined Hye Jin's life, but also his habit of always doing things his own way and wondering if that way is what ruined Hye Jin and the academy. I loved seeing him be vulnerable, especially in front of someone who is not Hye Jin!! And with maybe the last person you'd expect him to let his guard down around.

Nam Chung Mi is my second favorite character after Hye Jin. She has principles and by god she'll stick to them, but not just out of a wishy-washy "oh that's not right" kind of way. She's someone who will do what it takes to get ahead because that's exactly how far she's come. So it felt even more poignant for her to turn down the offer and decide to stay at the academy with Hye Jin. Her small scene with that one annoying teacher was really great. Minimal dialogue but you could tell just how exactly Nam Chung Mi thought of not only him, but everyone else who was planning to leave. Also her sweet moment with Jun Ho's friend was very cute. Her mentioning that she thought love was a waste of time until she saw how Hye Jin cheered up just from a few words from Jun Ho, which also led her to believe that love could also be a great source of strength in times of hardship.I have full faith that the show will stick the landing, considering that it hasn't disappointed me in any of the other previous episodes.

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