Little Fresh Meat
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.
The Viral Dress
Asuka: Please ignore this rainbow Neanderthal. All your videos have depth and a wealth of information.
There is no direct romance between the two boys in the show, from how I prefer to see it. You mentioned this would be a perfectly economical reason, to prevent dividing and alienating viewership; artistically, the show is also richer by keeping things deliberately vague. I totally agree.
I don't have a large BL intake (although recently it seems I output quite a bit of it — cackles), but the few BL novels that I was lucky enough to come across were extraordinary: The Song of Achilles. Before that, I read A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman, Embrace by Mark Behr.
And the first time I saw WH season 1? I sensed the two boys loved each other so deeply, and I had to pause the show more than once to sob, but I did not detect a romance or a sexual attraction between the two.
On second viewing with an older friend, she quickly said she thought the boys had a romance going on. She said Si-eun looks like a girl (I didn't think so; I thought he looked like a cute button mushroom, however this "boy so pretty he looks like a girl" angle aligns with the Webtoon's depiction of Si-eun) and she felt Beomseok was gay (here we agreed).
This lady is a very conservative Protestant Christian, I am a strange sort of Buddhist agnostic, we couldn't be more different. Well, sin or not, it didn't stop her from finishing the series in two noisy viewing sessions at a café with me. She liked it intensely, even though she thought all three boys were gay. I didn't think it wise to ask where her Christian moralizing went, because she could have very pointedly asked what kind of Buddhist is so hungry for 'xiǎo xiān ròu' (little fresh meat — a Mandarin catch-all term for boys who look like the WH1+2 cast).
On my third viewing, with my mum, I tried to watch WH through my rose-tinted BL lenses. I realized it was possible to see it as a kind of very understated BL drama. Director Yoo has created a piece of art like that viral dress that can be seen as white, black, blue or even gold, depending on the lighting and on one's preconceptions and preferences.
Several more obsessive viewings later, my preference is still to see WH as mostly straight and non-romantic, although there is love, great warmth, and affection between the boys.
Belittle Friendship
Asuka: She's right. They do!
On this exact topic I had a fairly heated discussion with the same conservative Protestant friend. I said love manifests itself in myriad forms, and most are capable of reaching the greatest heights and depths of human experience.
From what little I know of common Christian beliefs, I think the Lord Jesus says something like 'no greater love has one for another, than he who lays his life down for his friends.' In other words, kind of like what Si-Eun and Suho have. If I am not too far off, it means Christian orthodoxy has recognized the love present within deep friendship, and placed it on a pedestal of the highest respect for 2000 years. I'm wondering why so many forget this? Sometimes after couples divorce, best friends still remain. Some best friends would die for each other. I know this. There is by no means just one type of true love.
True Friendship Always Has True Love
Asuka: Yep, I said it before and I'll say it again: True friendship always has true love.
A bruised-up Suho, dehydrated and still concussed from a bat to the head, actually looks like he would lose his first fight. Then a desperate Si-eun protects Suho with a belt and an attitude that screams "don't touch him you bastard." One loving brick to the knee and one romantic kick to the face later, and the two high schoolers have subdued their local gang lord. And then they exchange thoughts so precious, they echo in Si-eun's warmest dream.
Some couples pronounce affection like hastily written Christmas cards, and even when they are together their minds are lost in their own little separate phone-worlds. But Si-eun and Suho's actions speak louder than words, and their words mean more than what they say. I think… they are saying "I love you" all the time.
J: Our beloved final scene "Yellow Hospital Light Sequence" contains what I consider the most admirable wordplay:
Si-eun: "Sorry" (미안해/MIANHAE) — Suho: "Me too" (나도/NADO)
When Si-eun suddenly says "mianhae" — I hear "saranghae" (사랑해/I love you). Two heterosexual boys post-tragedy using wordplay to hide sincerity, as teenage boys do. Both "mianhae" and "saranghae" end with the action verb "hae." Si-eun actually said, "I love you", and Suho's faint smile with "me too" was the automatic romantic response.
Asuka: What a beautiful interpretation. Thank you for this.
Asuka: Oh, deluluverse is a different thing. Yes yes. And I'm probably trying to compartmentalize. I'm not a shipper, and I realize the mortifying irony of having mapped out a deluluverse with several thousand words in recent days. For this I can only offer Beomseok's defence: "I don't know why I did it." But no award-winning tear is going to flow out of my eye. Because I'm gonna do some more. Although mine is a paperback crusted with heartbreak.
Song of Achilles
Asuka: I believe the Song of Achilles is available to read for free online.
I don't see either of the two main characters as effeminate. But it is a BL and they do explore their feelings physically. And my god, the first time they do this is in a scene so quietly and gorgeously written. It was like being let in on some secret. I can only pray to absorb a tenth of Miller's talent.
Ssibal
Asuka: My conservative friend, who hates profanity, noticed Si-eun used his very first 'ssibal' only towards Beomseok, and it is hissed out with such wounded breath. Of course, we all know he soon births another 'ssibal.' That one has the sound of his soul being torn out.
And that face. If I ever meet him in a fan-signing (deluluverse speech I know), I'm going to print that face out and ask him to sign next to it.
The Perfect Exorcism Ritual
J: Monday and Tuesday are my personal boogeyman, but grinning like an idiot at your email before bed was the perfect exorcism ritual.
Asuka, brace yourself for good news first — would you believe my blog traffic just quadrupled? Someone must've shared our arc on Tumblr. I'm picturing sisters in sweltering countries already flushed and frantically fanning themselves while reading, making those hot climates even steamier hahahaha. Thanks to those oil money clicks, I might actually cover my $300 blog maintenance costs lol. It's all thanks to you, dear.
Oh, and I renovated the blog. Fixed all those mobile errors that were probably driving everyone mad, plus ditched that ridiculously Umbridge-esque censorship plugin.
Not sure if I mentioned this in any video — reading Director Yoo's interview, where he said he enjoys watching Hyun-wook suffer and bleed, made me think 'guess it wasn't just my twisted taste after all...' hahahaha. So just imagining Suho's humiliated profile when he's forced to kiss Oh Beom's wide feet already has my heart singing Friday songs.
But Si-eun's such a tender soul. Like your beautiful observation — he doesn't lay blame at Beomseok's feet, blaming himself instead with that gentle heart. Perhaps Si-eun would soften again when it comes to Beomseok matters. Ultimately, wouldn't it be Dr Yeon who reveals to Suho the ironic truth? That his jelly lips need only touch anywhere on Oh Beom — anywhere except those very "feet" — to make the boogeyman who devoured our canoe trio simply… vanish. He's that good a kid, after all.
Post-Coma Suho and Si-eun
J: Aigo friend, totally forgot to attach those photos! Twitter's algorithm keeps shoving random stuff onto my timeline, including some seriously talented fan artists. What I saw was exactly how I'd imagined post-coma Suho and Si-eun, like someone plucked them straight from my head and put them on paper.
Dr Yeon Si-eun has become way more emotionally expressive than before (love that growth) and socially confident, but early-20s med student Si-eun was always on edge about Suho's safety and would just stare at him with those intense eyes, like he was trying to memorise every detail. The artist nailed that exact Si-eun-esque look perfectly. The talent out there is just insane.
Jen
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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