The Midnight Romance in Hagwon Episode 4

rises above my expectations

Episode four hit it out of the park. It kept up with the momentum from the first three episodes. The pacing was tight and the directing was pretty stellar. I enjoyed the misdirection used before the special lecture. And it worked really well because both Daechi Chase and Daechi Choi(?) have such similar buildings, so the misdirect and the initial confusion played out perfectly.

We finally get confirmation that Jun Ho does have feelings for Hye Jin beyond being an important instructor to him. I loved the use of the present and past with the special lecture combined with Hye Jin teaching Junho in the past. I did laugh at the use of black and white because Wi Ha Joon does not look like a high schooler when he's out of his uniform, so they had to have the black and white to tell the viewer that this is a past scene not a present scene. The interweaving felt natural and highlighted just how important Hye Jin means to Jun Ho, which was very nice to see. And obviously, Jun Ho cemented his importance to Hye Jin in this episode. He was there for her when she was in the middle of her crash out, and I think that established how Jun Ho is someone she can rely on and is someone who will always be on her side. I think having that and knowing that is more important than the physicality of their relationship in breaking down the barrier of instructor and student.

I liked how Nam Chung Mi's character was further established in this episode. Rather than someone who's one hundred percent driven by ambition (not that there's anything wrong with that), she's someone who's consideration of others has always blown up in her face, which is why her decision to step into Hye Jin's territory makes sense. I wonder if she'll decide to sort of team up with Hye Jin and Jun Ho, or make her own way in the academy. It was touching to see her be the only instructor who remained behind and who looked in to watch the lecture.

I am surprised by the preview of Episode 5 and it looks like the Director might get rid of Hye Jin? Which would be kind of crazy to do, but also very interesting to see. Like, the Director and Hye Jin have such an affectionate relationship and long history between them. But the Director is also someone with a lot of pride, and because he believed so strongly in their proposition, that his disappointment in them could explain why he chooses to throw her out. Just interesting stuff. This is what makes a drama entertaining to watch, more than just crazy events happening, it's how they build the characters together in relation to one another that makes a story really shine. I'm looking forward to seeing how episode five pans out.

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The politics between the two teaching academies…

The politics between the two teaching academies is taking all the fun out of this exciting drama. We can clearly see that the students themselves were not happy about the surprise lecture which turned out to be extremely boring for them. On the other hand, Si-woo had so much fun with his personalised class that he is contemplating switching to Daechi Chase for good.The romance between Jun-ho and Hye-jin is brewing now as we can see Jun-ho thinking about all his happy moments with Hye-jin from when they were younger. He was falling for her then and hopefully will realise his feelings for Hye-jin in the episodes to come.It is also visible how Hye-jin also wanted to talk to Jun-ho as she kept looking at her phone after their argument. I am hoping for the show to be extremely romantic with little to no melodrama because there is nothing that stands in the way of this romantic couple.

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Best ep so far <3

The first part of Ep.4 was quite heavy, but everything was paid off handsomely by the latter part. I was almost crying watching the free lecture made by Hye Jin and Jun Ho. If it's not for this "accident", the memories of their magical feat of the old days couldn't be relived in such a persuasive and heart-warming way. The script is well-written, the drama is well-directed, and kudos to ML and FL's calm, collected but also explosive performance. I love love love this ep, and love love love this dramas series. Last but not least, every soundtracks so far by The Restless Age are heaven-sent. Must watch, must listen, must enjoy!

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