Why Was I Born into the Proletariat
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.
Love Really Is
Asuka: It's lovely isn't it? The comments are hilarious. There is a huge thread in the comments section sustained by people trying to cope, and it can be summarized as "OF COURSE Achilles and Patroclus live happily ever after on Mount Pelion LaLaLaLa LaDiDaDiDa I can't hear you." I fully empathize.
❤️ ...the most beautiful and painful thing to bless our species.
Yours, Asuka, boiling actual herbal soup for a cold.
Let's all eat well and get well soon!
P.S. Ah the rainbow spread of rings and rubbers... hahahaha I hope you didn't research this while at work! Remember to put on a frown and mute the volume if you do, just in case. I've actually shamelessly walked into a shop selling these things near Akihabara. I noticed all manner of people entering, so I entered also. Not too long ago, I learned from an uncle that one of my great-granduncles on my mother's side, was notorious for running a successful toy shop business. Toys that Suho and Si-eun would play with. This may mean setting up a deluluverse was always in my blood.
Why Was I Born into the Proletariat
J: Hi Asuka, just making a joke to make you laugh... Reading your email — practically a whole book — I found myself chewing over this question again: why was I born into the proletariat class, a wage slave paying rent? If I weren't chasing paychecks like that French grandmother who lived past 120 by never working a day, I could lounge on a couch in this land of milk and honey (our deluluverse), plucking a lyre like Archie — popping grapes one by one — savoring literature like a sloth...
I'll review your epic from the end — the part that nearly burst my cheekbones with joy. But Asuka, never push yourself too hard. Your talent lives and breathes in your fingertips even when you sleep, and it's not going anywhere. I don't want you suffering under the obligation to boil soup. Of course, I know — it's not obligation. It's your literary sensibility and artistic talent that won't let you rest until you write. Still, as always, not pissing off our salary-dispensing employers matters more than our seaweed soup. Take care of yourself.
Suho and Si-eun's Toys
J: I still have enough sanity left not to pull out my personal laptop at the office and browse Amazon's adult section. Honestly, I spent ages agonizing over the right verb — does Si-eun's delicate doctor hands "put on" the rubber ring on Little Suho? "Roll down"? I settled on "filling" and figured whether I fell forward or backward and broke my nose, the meaning would get across. I'm truly naughty...
The Amazon search results were a dazzling rainbow... I gave myself an internal round of applause for living alone. Thanks to this wretched, maddening curiosity and imagination without boundaries, I can picture Dr Yeon's expression as he steadies Little Suho — standing at attention — biting his plump bee-body lower lip, going "heave-ho" as he fits the ring all the way down. Not so different from his face during minor surgeries under local anesthesia. Mr Ahn finds these Dr Yeon Moments — barging into their private world without knocking — both absurd and endearing.
"Si-eun-ssi, you're not working right now, are you?"
The purpose of this rubber ring is to delay milkshake production as long as possible. One cubicle in my brick-stacking brain feels like a late-season downpour just hit. Even I find it ridiculous but I became Rodin's Thinker, uselessly pondering: does Mr Ahn even need this? Probably yes. Because Little Suho gets far too happy in warm, moist spaces.
Achilles and Patroclus
J: There's a thread somewhere denying they were lovers? Why waste time on debates that aren't worth a grain of sand — no, not even worth 좆밥 JOTBOB (that filthy, insulting Korean drama curse word)? If Archie and Pat were lovers millions of years ago, does the Earth collapse?
Don't Die This Year, Wait Till Next Spring
J: The moment I got home, I archived our arc on my blog over dinner, browsing Pinterest for suitable images. When I typed "Song of Achilles" fan art literally exploded — like gold coins bursting from a lucky pouch. If I'd clicked just one and tumbled down that rabbit hole, I might've had to call in sick tomorrow.
It's a sweet Pandora's box. Once I start the English version, fan art will naturally follow. Thinking about all the talented creators on this planet — just like you — their work as countless as grains of sand on a beach, I make this vow again: don't die this year, wait till next spring. (Just joking to make you laugh.)
Primal Masculinity
J: Honestly, don't girls love primal masculinity too? Prerequisite required: Suho's face. And Achilles' face.
Random thought... one aspect that makes Weak Hero pure fantasy is Suho's textbook-level maturity — an mma fighter admired by the whole school, yet zero arrogance, zero showing off. Can a 17-year-old boy receiving worship from every peer really be that precociously chill? The production team strained credibility (thankfully!) to make us reed-thin girls fall for Suho by creating the world's coolest boy.
Returning Suho to Si-eun at the end might've been because Director Yoo felt "too sorry" for Si-eun, or catering/fan service for audiences. But even if Suho had gone to heaven in the original, that would've been an acceptable ending too. (Having said that, if it actually happened, my hand gripping the remote would've trembled violently.)
Si-eun and Women
J: You know that sequence where Si-eun's tailed and chased by Gilsu's gang? Afterward, Si-eun calls Yeong-i to a cafe — wearing that black cap that fit like skin — to ask about Gilsu. I saw bts footage. Probably a passerby. Jihoon sitting cross-legged playing guitar in front of a cafe, Lee Yeon sitting beside him — very low quality photo — but Jihoon's masculine figure really hit me. Of course, Lee Yeon being so small and slender made Jihoon's build stand out more.
If Beomseok hadn't made that mess, while Suho was Sleeping Beauty, Yeong-i would've been great comfort beside Si-eun. Maybe they'd have naturally developed into lovers. The image of a petite woman beside Si-eun looks really good. In some corner of the deluluverse, during deployment, there could be something with another female military doctor. Like Pat, "If not for Suho, wouldn't I have dated this woman...?" Lost in thought in the dust-blown military camp.
Mapping
J: In our deluluverse, the underworld goes down three floors and ladders stack up to the moon, so effortlessly pasting Archie and Pat's aspects onto Suho and Si-eun isn't unreasonable at all. Maybe believing makes it so, but considering Archie and Pat's narrative has been reasonably "plagiarized" in countless works, our two deluluverse otters can freely plagiarize too.
Iraq
J: I read in some book that women don't menstruate during war. When I asked my grandma and great-grandmother who survived Korea's civil war, both said they could count on their fingers the days they menstruated across nearly three years.
Remembering examples, Sandra Bullock's Bird Box and Squid Game show men and women relieving urges even in life-or-death situations. Come to think of it, if my stamina doesn't dry up, someday I want to brick-stack Suho and Si-eun in zombie apocalypse-verse. When Pat first entered battle, only by "afternoon" did he realize why he was still alive and why spears weren't flying toward him — Archie had placed an invisible "barrier" around him. In apocalypse-verse too, when Si-eun's about to be bitten by zombie hordes, Suho — licensed to carry guns in deluluverse — would plant bullets precisely in foreheads. Conversely, when Suho's in danger, Si-eun with his near-170 IQ would lure zombie swarms to a cliff and eliminate them all at once... More ink wasted...
Lord Chiron the Centaur
J: Lord Chiron probably watched those two testosterone-packed boys enjoying summer's peak with inner satisfaction... "I was like that once..." reminiscing about his past. Old classic films have those scenes, a woman returns to the castle with the white cloth draped around her stained with raspberry juice on the back. Why?
Je NamJaChinGu Ipnida
J: When Suho shows Si-eun's photo to the girl from last night who's desperately pursuing engagement, saying "This is my boyfriend" he doesn't use casual speech but polite formal — "Je NamJaChinGu Ipnida" (my/boyfriend/is). When the ending is "-da" it's extremely formal speech used for clients, elders, or bosses — Mr Ahn's finishing move to send the hysterical woman 1,000 meters away in one blow.
(In Weak Hero, Aide Park mixes formal and informal speech with Beomseok... He uses informal when Beomseok's crying in the closet — remember how gorgeously you described that scene in your previous email? Crying in that closet thinking only of the one boy he loves and hates most, facing Aide Uncle with reddened eyes... Looking down at Beomseok, Aide Park says "If you want him to even breathe, you'd better listen to the Congressman" with slightly contemptuous informal speech....)
Contract
J: Sorry to the lady who spent last night with Suho, but I imagined his profile as she comes to his office clinging and crying while he pretends not to notice, meticulously reviewing contracts — Suho only reads print when scanning stock market news in the morning paper or reviewing contracts. Kind of sexy...
Status
J: One directing choice I find very interesting and love in Weak Hero is the atmosphere where boys naturally form hierarchies in Byeoksan High's classroom — practically a small army. One director recalled his high school days as "jungle kingdom" reminiscing about invisible competition between boys, everyone prepared to overturn everything if a fight broke out.
Even 80-year-old men who seem headed for the afterlife tomorrow still try to be leaders at senior centers. In rural communities full of elderly, they compete to be "village chief."
If I remember correctly, the Korean translator of Song of Achilles added information as an appendix — Ajax later died screaming from rage when Agamemnon (that Neanderthal) chose Odysseus over Ajax as the war's greatest contributor, giving him the honor. As you said, look at Beomseok desperately wanting to be alpha. Sensitive to status in the pack, the moment he misunderstands being pushed to a status lower than some street girl between Suho and Si-eun, he completely "darkens" into a demon lord.
Odysseus
J: From this perspective... you're absolutely right — Odysseus was brilliantly cunning. I too thought if Pat and Archie participated in the Trojan War, it'd be because of that absurd oath — the blood oath Pat made at nine, dragged by his father to the agora under what was basically blackmail-coercion. But ultimately, Odysseus stokes Archie's hunger for glory, reminds him of his lonely father-in-law — awaiting death, foreseeing his kingdom's fall — touching Achilles' insecurity. That cunning strategist!
Naturally transitioning to Odysseus' story — I think the epic's original author over-gifted Odysseus with good settings. Mostly for the greater good, but Odysseus is a man who lies habitually. Yet his stories about his wife Penelope and children were true — by making everything lies except the romance with his wife, the author created this rarity that made him a devoted husband.
Actually, my good impression of Odysseus comes from this song depicting his journey back to Ithaca after war. Even without savoring lyrics, just the melody conveys that lyrical atmosphere of him returning home riding billowing waves, avoiding Siren temptations and nymph threats. The problem is this bastard made naive Archie — who lives and dies by honor — walk into fate's snare with his soulmate... Still, after Pat and Archie die, Odysseus advises Archie's psychopath son to show respect to Pat, so I can't hate Odysseus. (Truth is, I think I like his character.)
나 이제 그대에게로 가려네 머나먼 바다 건너서 차가운 안개 속에 신의 노여움이 나를 막아 세이렌의 노래가 들려 오네 내 영혼을 원한다네 칼립소여 님프여 나를 유혹 마오 나 고향에 가니 내 사랑아 내 사랑아 널 믿으며 널 부르며 이타카로 가는 길 어두워라 그리워라 늘 꿈에 그려오던 그 자리로 내 맘이 남은 곳으로 영원한 나의 연인 나의 페넬로페 날 기다려주오
I will go to you now, across the distant sea In the cold fog, God's wrath blocks me I hear the song of the Sirens, they want my soul Calypso, nymph, do not tempt me, I am going home My love, my love, I believe in you and call you The road to Ithaca is dark, I miss you To the place I always dreamed of, to the place where my heart remains My eternal lover, my Penelope, wait for me
Achilles Is Not Flat
J: There's an opinion calling Achilles flat? This lively boy falling for the cunning strategist uncle's tricks, suffering under his control-freak mother's control yet unable to disappoint her, making love with Pat while watching her reactions, treating Deidameia like stone, wanting to show off and boast about his dazzling battlefield performance to his boyfriend, asking him to go to war together — this boy is flat? Maybe they're confusing "flat" with "pure and straightforward"... (Neanderthals who don't know how sexy that pure straightforwardness is...)
Pat's Face
J: Probably I'll touch fan art when I have time, but in my imagination, Pat has darkish skin and lots of freckles on his face, especially his nose bridge... come to think of it, Dr Yeon too... (mapping activates again.)
Asuka, I'll stop here before you vomit from reading. I wish I could time-travel to Friday. Asuka, I'm attaching analytics. See, most visitors read on desktop, not mobile. This means they're really reading — that tsunami of text would be uncomfortable on mobile. And ladies from still-hot countries are still fanning themselves hard enjoying your fiction.
Yours, 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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