A promising yet unfulfilled journey
Prior to touching on any unfavorable points in the adaptation, I would be remiss not to praise the decision made by Ahn Ji Ho and Lee Sang Jun to take on roles that break the conventional heteronormative mold. Special recognition goes to Ji Ho, who, having starred in a popular mainstream Zombie drama "All of Us Are Dead," shows immense courage in embracing a non-straight role and sets an example for other mainstream actors. The interaction between these men is endearing. Sang Jun (Seung Won in the drama) is a timid/shy, lovesick admirer, striving to capture Ji Ho (Hee Su in the drama)'s attention. Much like the source material, drama Seung Won's motive for approaching, reaching out to, and confiding in drama Hee Su is to spend more time in his company and reveal his feelings for him
Seung Won: "I don't like Ji Yu"
Hee Su: "Why did you lie?"
Seung Won: "Because I wanted to keep hanging out with you" (chapters 42-43)
A screenshot: https://imgur.com/a/7ElUfSX
Drama Seung Won, too, gently nudges drama Hee Su to confront his true feelings and discover the solace and true love that await him in Sang Jun (Seung Won)'s arms
Apart from Ji Ho (Hee Su) and Sang Jun (Seung Won)'s chemistry, a praiseworthy part is drama Hee Su's compassion. In the first episode (5:10-7:04), he listens without prejudice to a woman struggling with her feelings for another woman. There's something extraordinary about the scene. It's become one of my favorites!
Now, this might be a contentious point. I find that the actors’ and actresses' appearances don’t match the youthful roles they’re playing. Without a doubt, they're good-looking, but they give off the impression of being older and in their mid/late twenties or early thirties. Their seasoned, mature appearances prove challenging to reconcile with their student status. And watching them cosplay as high school students sometimes stretches my ability to suspend disbelief to its limits. An effective approach could've been to set the story in a workplace or university
I can be lenient with these matters, most high school dramas/movies have the same problems. What troubles me is the pacing and the straightwashing or forced feeding of "straightness" to cater to the squeamishness of homophobic mainstream audiences wary of encountering too many rainbows on their screens. The pacing of the gay storyline is sluggish compared to its "straight" counterpart, suggesting an uneven distribution of resources and dedication from the producers. It's not until the seventh or eighth episode that the emotional bond between the gay couple undergoes transformation. The adaptation struggles with maintaining the integrity of the source material, a problem worsened by the presence of a "straight" storyline
The source material doesn’t even feature a "straight" storyline between Chan Yeong and Ji Yu. I find the insistence on shoehorning one into the narrative, and replacing Sun Woo and Yoo Dahm’s (the second gay couple's) storyline, unforgivable. A screenshot of Sun Woo and Yoo Dahm from chapter 56: https://imgur.com/a/OInfwbQ
How mind-boggling it is that we're accused of "destroying" friendships for shipping characters of the same sex who are "just friends" in their source materials when society destroys or hints at destroying man-woman friendships in favor of non-platonic storylines with nary a consequence. Friendships between men and women, boys and girls, are meaningful and don't require a non-platonic downgrade. Chan Yeong and Ji Yu serve Hee Su best as supportive friends. Inserting a "straight" angle between them detracts from Hee Su's journey. This story, "Heesu in Class 2," belongs to Hee Su and his love interest, Seung Won, and shouldn't be hijacked or distorted by a superfluous "straight" storyline
Some might defend the erasure of the second gay couple from the adaptation, citing that their storyline occurs in the second season of the source material. It's a dubious, flimsy excuse at best. The screenwriters were capable of fabricating a "straight" storyline involving Chan Yeong and Ji Yu. It would've been prudent to use the creativity and merge key elements of the two seasons into the 10-episode adaptation. The creative process of converting the Manhwa into a drama enables the combination of two seasons' worth of content into a condensed format. The screenwriters could've reorganized and improved on the timelines, events, dialogue, and character development of the source material. The erasure of the second gay couple is an oversight, considering the wealth of solutions available to incorporate their storyline
Being classmates and friends, Hee Su's acquainted with the second gay couple. Their early introduction in the adaptation could've provided Hee Su with close tangible evidence that happiness in a gay relationship is possible, instilling him with the confidence to pursue his own male love interest(s). Their presence could've contributed to Hee Su's personal growth. They didn't have to be "useless" or "irrelevant"
Those reading might ask themselves, "are you a hater? Do you hold a grudge against the adaptation?" I'm not, and I don't, or I wouldn't have assigned it an 8/10 rating. I believe the adaptation should've gone beyond the bare minimum of keeping one of the gay couples. And I believe everyone has a right to be uneasy about certain deviations from source materials. The sentiment was witnessed in the public's response to "The Little Mermaid" (2023) and "Snow White" (2025), where a simple change in skin color caused widespread disapproval. It's reasonable to also disapprove of changes to gay source materials
Expressing a preference for gay narratives over "straight" ones or questioning the producers' call to accommodate societal prejudices against gay-centered narratives doesn't amount to prejudice or -phobia. Releasing a work into the public domain opens it up to positive and negative feedback. Both are opportunities for the producers to understand their audience better, identify their shortcomings, and grow
That said, I appreciate the effort put into this part-BL/part-gay adaptation. Going forward, I'd like to see BLs exclusively centering gay experiences and relationships
Seung Won: "I don't like Ji Yu"
Hee Su: "Why did you lie?"
Seung Won: "Because I wanted to keep hanging out with you" (chapters 42-43)
A screenshot: https://imgur.com/a/7ElUfSX
Drama Seung Won, too, gently nudges drama Hee Su to confront his true feelings and discover the solace and true love that await him in Sang Jun (Seung Won)'s arms
Apart from Ji Ho (Hee Su) and Sang Jun (Seung Won)'s chemistry, a praiseworthy part is drama Hee Su's compassion. In the first episode (5:10-7:04), he listens without prejudice to a woman struggling with her feelings for another woman. There's something extraordinary about the scene. It's become one of my favorites!
Now, this might be a contentious point. I find that the actors’ and actresses' appearances don’t match the youthful roles they’re playing. Without a doubt, they're good-looking, but they give off the impression of being older and in their mid/late twenties or early thirties. Their seasoned, mature appearances prove challenging to reconcile with their student status. And watching them cosplay as high school students sometimes stretches my ability to suspend disbelief to its limits. An effective approach could've been to set the story in a workplace or university
I can be lenient with these matters, most high school dramas/movies have the same problems. What troubles me is the pacing and the straightwashing or forced feeding of "straightness" to cater to the squeamishness of homophobic mainstream audiences wary of encountering too many rainbows on their screens. The pacing of the gay storyline is sluggish compared to its "straight" counterpart, suggesting an uneven distribution of resources and dedication from the producers. It's not until the seventh or eighth episode that the emotional bond between the gay couple undergoes transformation. The adaptation struggles with maintaining the integrity of the source material, a problem worsened by the presence of a "straight" storyline
The source material doesn’t even feature a "straight" storyline between Chan Yeong and Ji Yu. I find the insistence on shoehorning one into the narrative, and replacing Sun Woo and Yoo Dahm’s (the second gay couple's) storyline, unforgivable. A screenshot of Sun Woo and Yoo Dahm from chapter 56: https://imgur.com/a/OInfwbQ
How mind-boggling it is that we're accused of "destroying" friendships for shipping characters of the same sex who are "just friends" in their source materials when society destroys or hints at destroying man-woman friendships in favor of non-platonic storylines with nary a consequence. Friendships between men and women, boys and girls, are meaningful and don't require a non-platonic downgrade. Chan Yeong and Ji Yu serve Hee Su best as supportive friends. Inserting a "straight" angle between them detracts from Hee Su's journey. This story, "Heesu in Class 2," belongs to Hee Su and his love interest, Seung Won, and shouldn't be hijacked or distorted by a superfluous "straight" storyline
Some might defend the erasure of the second gay couple from the adaptation, citing that their storyline occurs in the second season of the source material. It's a dubious, flimsy excuse at best. The screenwriters were capable of fabricating a "straight" storyline involving Chan Yeong and Ji Yu. It would've been prudent to use the creativity and merge key elements of the two seasons into the 10-episode adaptation. The creative process of converting the Manhwa into a drama enables the combination of two seasons' worth of content into a condensed format. The screenwriters could've reorganized and improved on the timelines, events, dialogue, and character development of the source material. The erasure of the second gay couple is an oversight, considering the wealth of solutions available to incorporate their storyline
Being classmates and friends, Hee Su's acquainted with the second gay couple. Their early introduction in the adaptation could've provided Hee Su with close tangible evidence that happiness in a gay relationship is possible, instilling him with the confidence to pursue his own male love interest(s). Their presence could've contributed to Hee Su's personal growth. They didn't have to be "useless" or "irrelevant"
Those reading might ask themselves, "are you a hater? Do you hold a grudge against the adaptation?" I'm not, and I don't, or I wouldn't have assigned it an 8/10 rating. I believe the adaptation should've gone beyond the bare minimum of keeping one of the gay couples. And I believe everyone has a right to be uneasy about certain deviations from source materials. The sentiment was witnessed in the public's response to "The Little Mermaid" (2023) and "Snow White" (2025), where a simple change in skin color caused widespread disapproval. It's reasonable to also disapprove of changes to gay source materials
Expressing a preference for gay narratives over "straight" ones or questioning the producers' call to accommodate societal prejudices against gay-centered narratives doesn't amount to prejudice or -phobia. Releasing a work into the public domain opens it up to positive and negative feedback. Both are opportunities for the producers to understand their audience better, identify their shortcomings, and grow
That said, I appreciate the effort put into this part-BL/part-gay adaptation. Going forward, I'd like to see BLs exclusively centering gay experiences and relationships
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