John Smith

You could also say Woo Yeo is being selfish as well. We do not know if his current state means he is a threat to everyone or just Lee Dam. What is more selfish than seeking humanity at the expense of humanity?
That being said, the talk of breaking up happened at the end of episode 12. I think we should wait until at least the next episode before we start passing judgments about their words and actions.

Is that a compliment, insult, or one of the most awkward responses I have ever gotten?

Rather than bad or good, I think episode 12 made them seem more real. For Woo Yeo, he is continually acting with more human emotion. For Lee Dam, the cracks in their relationship that she either ignored or forced herself past came bubbling to the surface. In my opinion, the speed or ease at which you decide to breakup is not relative to the amount of like/love/care you have for a person. Just like two people meeting for five minutes and deciding to date does not mean they love each other a lot.

You think that Lee Dam does not like, love, or care about Shin Woo Yeo? A lot of her physical contact with Sun Woo is either coincidental, accidental, or non-consensual. If the viewers are to believe that Woo Yeo needs to be close with other women because of the marble, why not show Lee Dam the same courtesy because of the red string. If you remember, he was the one that broke it off first and tried to erase her memories.
I do think the triangle the drama created is way too messy, but that is another discussion. I think the mention of breakup was for a cocktail of reasons, but it seemed to be mostly based on the fact that he put someone else's life in danger. Emotions are running high (in the drama and comment section), so I hope it does not last long. They have been so supportive and understanding of each other, with plenty of open communication. It can be disappointing when characters have a sudden bout of being out of character just to fill out an episode or two.

I get it, you just want to label me. If all you are going to do is label, I would much rather hold an actual conversation with someone who will respond with a bit more than you seem to offer.
For the record, it is not nice to label people, especially just a "label and leave."

Yes.

The drama did not make it clear about who knew what and when about Smiling being female and maybe the novel was more clear about it. Regardless, for sure the actual active team members did not know she was female, and for any misgivings they might have had, she seemed to quickly be accepted. I am really glad that was not dragged out. Now I hope the drama can balance her working towards becoming an experienced professional gamer with her being in a relationship (with a professional gamer). I enjoy a good romantic comedy as much as the next person, but I also enjoy a good story with an even better message.

Why do you simply hope that I realize what I said is very sexist? Do you simply hope bad things do not happen? If you truly feel in your heart that I made such a sexist comment, or very sexist comment, why do you just hope I realize it without making any effort to help me become a better person? I really disagree with your comment. At least the commenters above you tried to share their thoughts and opinions. They also chose not to label me a sexist, but instead, gave me the chance to defend, change, or clarify my thoughts, which I took the opportunity to do. Maybe you have already made your judgement about me, but please look at the conversation as a whole, all the responses, and ask questions, challenge ideas, or at least give a valid reason before just labeling me like that. There are people out there that care and believe what you think, so I ask that you be responsible for your words.

If my original statement came across as trying to suppress her freedom of choice, that was not my goal. Are we sure she wanted to wear that uniform? That is probably part of my thinking. She seemed to want to be part of the team, and stand out for being a good player, not a female. Did I misread the character? How did you interpret her? She seems to enjoy spending time with her best friend. She clearly likes the team as well, but she treats both differently. In my view, she does not seem like a person to play up being a female while trying to achieve her dreams. She just seems like she would say "I am a professional gamer, not professional female gamer."
You can check my comment to Jessica if you want more insight into my thoughts.

There are many instances of sexism in the drama. Time and time again, Tong Yao steps up to stand her ground or prove them wrong which seems to be the main theme of the drama so far. The drama also makes sure to show her as a woman too, especially when she is with her best friend. As of episode 10 or 11, the real competition has not started, nor has the romance heated up. The focus has clearly been on Tong Yao, as a female, taking the first steps on her journey in a male only sport. She has made great efforts to join a team, bond with her teammates, learn as much as she can, and contribute to the team's success. Perhaps you misread or misunderstood when I said "in the context of her character and personality." I was not making a statement about her from my point of view, but rather how I interpret the character from her point of view. Her wardrobe might include plenty of skirts, short or otherwise, but she just does not come across as the type to want to stand out for anything other than her ability, and just wants to be one of the guys as much as she can. Again, that is my interpretation of the character based on her words and actions, not some preconceived notion I have just seeing one episode, or a preview, or from reading someone else's point of view. For me, the issue is not about being sexy or not as much as the uniform was clearly chosen to make her appear sexy. If you think that is a problem, then go find the person who designed pants for everyone else, yet saw it apt to make her uniform have a skirt. I think that is the real sexist person. Do you think she would be any less attractive in a pair of pants like all the other competitors? It is hard to hide beauty, and even harder to hide talent. Both tend to shine. I think that is how her character would have wanted it. I also cannot deny that part of that decision might have been made as it relates to being a drama versus reality.
The point about her selection to the team is misleading. Even though she might have been the best amateur player at her position, the drama made it clear she was chosen, at least in part, because she was female. Teams make exist to win championships, but the sponsors behind the teams exist to make money. Rarely are things black and white. They are usually a confusing, messy, and unexpected shades of gray. I think that is one of the best things about the drama. It offers the potential for really good character development from just about everyone. I am enjoying the drama so far and look forward to the rest of it.

Tong Yao is a female trying to break into the professional ranks of a sport that consists of only males. She also lives and competes with males, doing the same training that they do. I know the team is trying to promote her for their interests and the drama wants to sell the beautiful people in it, but she seems to always wear skirts and shorts that are too short if she wants to be taken seriously as an equal to the males players. I am not saying I think that the shorts or skirts she wears are too short (she would make a burlap sack dress look good), but more so in the context of her character and personality. She wants to be taken seriously as a player, earn their respect, and stand out for being great, not for being a female or wearing a different (sexy) uniform.

How can he be a womanizer? He seems to avoid all women with the exception of Lee Dam. In the drama, he clearly exhibits toxic behaviors and his relationship with Lee Dam is not healthy.

I do like the contrast of the relationships. I only have so much angst to go around on one drama, so while they are not together yet, it is nice to enjoy stress-free love blooming.

Korean dramas have the tendency to want to add drama until the end, and then settle everything at the very, very end, so if that is how it had to be, definitely more KDY.
If I were to give advice to the writers about the rest of the show, I agree, it would be focus on the main characters. Imagine a ship is sinking and drop all the dead weight and unnecessary cargo. Woo Yeo, Lee Dam, Hye Sun, and Jae Jin would get a vast majority of screen time. Drop the third musketeer (Soo Kyung) by pairing her up with that guy and have them fade out. End the ridiculous triangle with Sun Woo and have him fade out too. I do not want the two potential couples to have to deal with tropes until the very end. More action based resolution. Also, a half episode's time to each couple for happy ending.

I agree it is uncomfortable to watch him continually make advances towards Lee Dam. He seems a bit creepy to me as well. I think it is mainly the writing. It is also the partially the actor who cannot seem to find the right aura (for lack of a better word) to seem likeable, especially when he is around Lee Dam. I think once he is able to deal with his crush, and starts to treat others better, I might actually like his character regardless of how the actor portrays him.

He is handsome and rich, so I do not feel too bad for him to begin with. Even if he was not handsome and rich, the character has not been written well enough or translated by the actor well enough to actually earn my pity. I think he needs his sister to sit him down and seriously tell him the harsh truth about his behavior in general and towards Lee Dam. And yes, that is a shameless pitch for more Kim Do Yeon.

You practically listed the qualities that a lot of Asian drama male leads have who actually end up with the FL. I was just trying to avoid going too negative because there are people that still want to pair him up to the FL.

I think that this would be the kind of drama that shows him meeting someone at the end of the drama because he still has to work through his crush and everyone important is already paired up.

Mountain spirit.

I think one of the reasons these so called ship wars start is partly because there is no real set definition of what second lead syndrome is and that can cause misunderstandings. Another cause of toxic conversations is that not everyone is entitled to their opinion. An informed opinion, yes. An opinion that you defend, sure. An opinion with no basis in fact or using mistaken or invented facts, no. It also serves no purpose to argue against personal preferences. If you have SLS because the main lead constantly abuses the other lead, and the second lead is always there to comfort and protect, you can support that. There is even room for compromise. If you have SLS because the second lead is so handsome and how can you not have it, then that is a personal preference looking for a fight. Discussion of informed opinions can be beneficial to everyone, just like avoiding an argument over personal preferences can be beneficial to everyone.