Sigma Fellowship
Working-Class Mr. Ahn's Unscheduled Visits to Dr. Yeon's Clinic continues...
Missed Part 1? Start here → PART 1
Warning: this post deals with some heavier psychological topics and dark fictional elements. Everything here is totally fictional.
Mantis Was Drool, Not Tears
Asuka: Congratulations on your well-deserved day off. It puts you one step closer to Chuseok.
Hahaha I didn't think you described Mantis in such unflattering terms in your YouTube vid haha.
Remember I signed off on one email, saying I was going to 'watch Mantis in 30 minutes'? I did. And then 45 minutes later, I went to dreamland, though I didn't see Si-eun there (poor baby must have been wandering in the nightmare realm). Well, I'm partly to blame for watching it on my bed. But a few of my Weak Hero binges were done on the bed, and I wet the pillow with my tears. Mantis? I wet the pillow with drool… kind of like Suho and his leaking hotteok cheeks, but not as romantic.
Mantis isn't very good… to put it gently. I'm surprised they would dare to shift terms for a veteran star like Siwan. They are out of their minds. The show suffers from a lack of tonal control. It tried to be funny, cool, romantic, stylish, brutal. But it fell short, and I fell asleep. And the pacing really needs better plotting and editing. Like, the ex-mentor appears like some mysterious Morpheus character with deep skills, then he gets himself into a tangle with his two ex-students, and the next moment he is dead, and the moment after that the show ends. What the hell is this? And I really clenched my teeth at the waste of Benjamin. Wretchedly underdeveloped. Not even the talents present could save it. Bloody Squid Game Jang Gurae is there. And there is Hyunwook, 'damned good at acting' and damned good-looking (my words). And Park Gyu Yeong to me feels like a young Zhou Xun; Zhou Xun is one of China's finest actresses, a really subtle and moving artiste. And they still couldn't stop the train from derailing…
See Queen Mantis instead. It's definitely better.
And yes, the Yoo+Hyunwook+Jihoon collab was a serendipitous miracle. I'm so deeply happy I got to witness it.
Asuka, long lunch yes, colleagues no.
The Bitch Senior
Asuka: I'm sorry to hear of your troubles at your previous workplace. I see you had to deal with one of those bitch seniors that needed to flex her lifestyle so she could validate her existence. My theory is that this sort can never find the correct vibrator size and setting, and their dissatisfaction has mounted to the point where they have to inflict it on the rest of the world.
Sigma Fellowship
Asuka: He'd rather watch TV at home with Si-eun. This extends from canon — Baku is Eunjang's centre and heart, while Suho (per Director Yoo) "only moves for Si-eun."
I think this is so true. I suppose Suho is what they call these days a 'sigma male.' He doesn't need or want a pack following. He just happened to effortlessly dominate Byeoksan's hierarchy because of his charisma and ability to enforce respect for his personal space. I think he spots in Si-eun a kind of potential sigma fellowship, which eventually blossoms into something that broke millions of hearts worldwide. I think Si-eun is some sort of sigma too, but he is affection starved and really needs true friends. He does not want a pack following either. Alas Si-eun is poorly physically conditioned, looks like a harmless potato, has a brain that makes other boys jealous, and can be unapologetically blunt (I remember how he 'thanked' Gotak when they first met haha), so he gets picked on unlike Suho. Sigma does not mean invincible.
Beomseok wants to be an alpha. Even if he were to achieve this (and in deluluverse, he might), there is this fundamental difference in their natures; I'm not convinced Suho could ever be as close to Beomseok as he is to Si-eun, even if the incident never happened in filmverse and they carried on paddling happily as a trio in a canoe.
IKEA
Asuka: This is really such a cute and plausible scene hahaha. I think I will write about it someday.
What lets this "suspicious" friendship maintain such harmony, beyond their shared history, is that neither wants anything from the other. They've never gauged who loves more. Never will. Don't even register the need.
What a beautiful analysis. I'll remember it.
Prime Directive
Asuka: You know, I know a couple kind of like that. The husband actually. He's an odd person, fiercely independent also, but he checks in on his wife now and then at random times, because she's a bit of a bimbo and a klutz, in a cute way. He's not controlling, he lets her do what she wants, but I sense he's deathly afraid something has happened to her if she doesn't pick up her phone. He's cancelled his work before (the two work in the arts) just to check if she is alive, because she didn't pick up her phone or text him back. I saw this with my own eyes.
I think Si-eun is like that, but with much more pre-planning to turn the tide of safety statistics to his side. His prime directive is to keep Suho safe. (At least in deluluverse. But I can fully envision filmverse Si-eun also turning out this way.)
It's obsessive, and therefore unhealthy, but it's also really kind of sweet.
The question is why Beomseok's obsession feels different? Why is it ickier and creepier?
Little Suho's Appreciation
Asuka: (Si-eun's milkshake volume is in there too, right?)
Oh but of course hahahaha. Hyung's about 4% envious, but mostly he doesn't want Si-eun to feel self conscious. On the other hand, Dr Yeon understands length, girth, liquid ounces and stuff like that are genetic and don't change by rubbing the genie's lamp and wishing really hard, contrary to Mr Ahn's suggestion that he do some more.
But Si-eun still feels a little pouty nonetheless whenever hyung cracks one of his sausage jokes.
From my unauthoritative director's notes — yes I think most of the time Dr Yeon is aware, or at least highly suspicious that Mr Ahn is faking sleep, that's why there's the line "pretending as he sometimes did for his own unknowable, Suhoesque reasons." Suho overestimates his sleep face acting. It's also difficult to control twitchy Little Suho's appreciation of Dr Yeon's sleep therapy, and he is rather noticeable.
The Damned Maknae
Asuka: Oh Bigbang was from my time hahaha, let me detour and squeal a bit. G Dragon was and still is an icon, what amazing longevity. And I remember laughing snarkily when I saw a young boy with an adorable tooth gap whoop his ass in a crying competition; I watched that vid when it first came out. About 16 years later when I went to reverse check 'who is this Park Jihoon guy?' thanks to his mesmerizing performance on Weak Hero, and that old 1 v 1 with G Dragon resurfaced in my research, I think the neighborhood heard me scream "That was him?!". Much more privately I thought, "Oh my god, someone became hot…"
I loved sunny Taeyang and his wholesome vibe. He's shirtless all the time, but he feels so harmless hahaha. Yes I know Eyes Nose Lips. Thanks for the comparison, I'm really honored.
I loved TOP. If GD was the leader, TOP was the ace. I think I must have watched 71 Into the Fire like, 71 times haha. He had a low point, but I was so happy to see him back in Squid Game. I really loved Daesung, especially in Family Outing. He had this whole cute dork vibe, and a smile so wide it crinkled his eyes. He never twinkled quite as brightly again after his accident, sigh…
But the maknae. The damned maknae. Every time I think of the group I am reminded of the unspeakable. What the hell have you done Lee Seung-hyeon? Why did you do it? Ugh…wait wait… calming breath 1234 4321…buddhist…buddhist….
It's nice how you have contrasted the different beauties of Jihoon and Hyunwook.
A question that floats around in shipdoms: is Si-eun or Suho more desirable? Honestly I think they are only complete when they are together, so I must take them both. I'll eat the hotteok drizzled with honey. The potato will be oiled with butter and baked with love. Ok, this is getting me a bit hot. 1234 4321…1234 4321…
Awww Looks Like We're All Equally Sick
Asuka: Awww looks like we're all equally sick haha. It's really special to see other fans sharing the same hopes, feeling the same pain. And your channel has certainly done its part helping us fans connect. Thank you Jennie.
Seriously, "sleep well, for my share too" is a gorgeous phrase.
So Deliciously Complicated
Asuka: There is a soft spot that Si-eun has for Beomseok. Even when Si-eun's anger was at its white hottest, if at that moment Beomseok's father had entered the classroom and tried to stomp on his prone son's face, would Si-eun have stopped that beast? I highly suspect so.
They shared camaraderie (comrade love), and a brotherly love, and a friendship love. There's gratefulness mixed in as well. Beomseok really did risk a stabbing by Gilsoo, and a clubbing by his monstrous father, just to save Suho. He did this thoughtlessly, without heed for himself. I think Si-eun acknowledges this.
Ah…. So deliciously complicated…
Yours, Asuka, hungry for hotteok and fries.
Who is Jennie? Bricklayer. Local correspondent for the Yeon Clinic deluluverse. A sous chef who checks whether the soup actually tastes like Seoul. A specialist who designs this kitchen to hold more than Suho's coma — philosophy, history, society, culture, stacked one recipe at a time.
Who is Asuka? Head nurse and main chef of the Yeon Clinic. A Scheherazade who sings the Song of Achilles she found shelved next to a book on Zen Buddhist masters. Fluent in several languages, conversant in single malts and the precise emotional damage of Weak Hero Class 1. Signs off as ASL. (Always starch linen.)
This free ebook will ruin you. In the best way. A character analysis of Si-eun, Su-ho and Beom-seok that goes beyond what subtitles can carry. Take it — it's free → DOWNLOAD HERE
This post was originally published on Jennie's blog in the autumn of 2025. The original blog has since moved to Blogger due to hosting changes — welcome to the new home.
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