Don't Go Before Me
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.
Running Commentary — Mr Ahn's Cold, continued
Jennie:
I. Fashion Sense In the Yeon Clinic deluluverse, Mr Ahn has slightly more fashion sense — Si-eun would've just worn whatever achromatic clothes his parents bought him. He's the type who doesn't want to waste energy picking out clothes. In Artist-nim's drawings I remember Suho picked out a bright yellow thing for Si-eun, who just accepted it hahaha. He could've kept that mushroom hair and Yeon Clinic would still have a line of nurses wanting to apply hahaha.
Asuka: Yes. That mushroom bob is so cute to me hahahah. I've wanted so badly to reach through my screen and pat his head. That said, if I could do that, I would have also divinely slapped Yeong-bin. And helped Suho scrub the small of his back, since it's kind of hard to reach.
II. Sharing Underwear People might think Si-eun would say 'don't wear my underwear' but in reality, he's 'not picky' enough to share underwear and socks with his live-in partner without distinction, which is so very Si-eun-like. Or maybe he's originally picky but sharing stuff with Suho feels totally natural. I highly suspect guys in the army have seen and experienced the depths of poor hygiene. In deluluverse, with 3 years of experience in Iraq, I think Dr Yeon isn't afraid of sharing washed underwear with Suho.
Asuka: Suho probably did it first to shock him, since that's one of his pet hobbies, but this time it didn't work. Dr Yeon may have even been looking for an excuse to do this hurhurhur….
III. The Yeonnies Chat Group For socks, you'd be the head nurse and I'd be the trainee — but this eagle-eyed trainee definitely wouldn't be me because I'm really dense about this stuff. If it were me, I wouldn't have noticed. I'd definitely be one of the Yeonnies waiting for new hot gossip hahaha.
Asuka: Oh that's a very active and giggly chat group.
IV. The Blue Porcelain Dish — The Desk That Winks No space, and they need to grab them easily when excited, so keeping them in the wardrobe would be inefficient hahaha. Yeah, they need to be openly piled on the blue porcelain dish to be 'easily' usable?
Asuka: Yes. And Mr Ahn is just like that. The entire adult display on a dish is some kind of flirtatious gesture. It's like, every time Dr Yeon walks by that desk, it feels like the desk is winking at him, with Mr Ahn's expression.
V. The Truncheon Wondering where Si-eun got it. Online? Yeah, probably ordered online. During office hours. When there were no patient appointments. While watching out for the nurses. Ack, Suho's so shameless and adorable!!! The clients are innocent, they just received recommendations from this harmlessly handsome tile specialist Mr Ahn hahahahaha.
Asuka: I think if some of his rich ajumma clients found out the truth of their tile colours, rather than being outraged and scandalized, they might think he was sending them some kind of signal, and they would be sure to come to the next consultation a few buttons loose. I myself would really like to see a jealous Dr Yeon's glare hahaha.
VI. Ten Minutes of Auscultation The act of auscultation being this long and sexy, who knew. 10 minutes of auscultation feels like Dr Yeon's putting way too much personal interest into this. Imagining two otters clinging close together — happy. Right, at the police station he apologized to Beom-seok right away saying "You were right. Suho was really in danger." I remember that line.
Asuka: It's such a simple line, but that scene was so well-acted. So rich with unspoken thoughts. Why are these boys so talented? I feel my acting is only good enough for malingering out of those damned drinking parties…
VII. Overconfidence Kills This 'what if' scenario will follow Si-eun until he dies. Even though the original sin wasn't his, he can't escape the guilt of feeling like he's the original sin because of this scenario. Right, Si-eun never forgives himself, so I imagine how tormented he must've been while Suho was in a coma. At least when Suho woke up, he could somewhat escape that guilt. Suho can't possibly miss the gloom rising in Si-eun's eyes during auscultation even though he can't hear the grim recitation happening inside...
Asuka: Suho is not academically inclined, but it is definitely filmverse canonic that he is sharp-eyed.
VIII. I Swear You're Just Trying to Play with My Nipples Brain-canon wise, I think Suho made that playful joke after sensing Si-eun's grim inner vows. It's a cute joke but the narrative's too sad. When he makes this joke, I don't think Suho's face would've gotten red at all, which makes it so cute. He's good at making jokes, but when they actually start happy time with toys, I think it's Suho whose face turns bright red.
Asuka: I imagine it's partly due to the way Dr Yeon delivers sexy lines. It's not sensual. There's a directness and an odd, descriptive quality to his bedspeech that just shocks Suho pink. Kind of like, "I am putting my penis in now." This sort of bluntness can feel like someone tearing off the bed covers. In a way, Suho gets back at Si-eun by constantly trying to startle him, in the kitchen, in the toilet, at the clinic, any time.
IX. Remember to Place It Back in the Dish Right, Suho couldn't have missed Si-eun's gloomy heart... But he was quietly glad for Mr Ahn's interjection. His guardian had yanked him out of a spiraling whirlpool of self-doubt.
X. The Old-School Thermometer I don't use this stick thermometer anymore either.
Asuka: Ear therms are definitely faster and easier. But Dr Yeon is of the idea that old school things work best. And he is extremely cautious when it comes to Mr Ahn's health. There's actual research that supports the use of these old stick thermometers.
XI. Don't Hide If You Have a Fever It's heartbreaking because of the neurosis but why does Dr Yeon love Suho so desperately? I love it so much.
Asuka: Because Suho is the first person in the world who ever made Si-eun feel that he was enough. Just as he was. Not brilliant enough, not fast enough, not strong enough — just enough. You don't let go of that. You don't let go of the person who gave you that. Even if it costs you everything.
XII. Don't Go Before Me "I've got to prepare for work," Dr Yeon answered — and in my head, he walked quietly through the darkness, guided by the thinnest thread of light, careful not to wake Suho.
When Mr Ahn still didn't come in while Dr Yeon was brushing his teeth — they're really like an old married couple hahaha. Oh my god, right, this is also true. Lots of people get concussions from slippery bathroom floors. This is actually a fact rather than just Dr Yeon's neurosis. There's actually an emergency protocol in homes with chronic conditions recommending not locking bathroom doors. I live alone but removed the pin from my bathroom doorknob just in case.
Asuka: Hahaha I love that you did this. Dr Yeon would approve. And somewhere, Si-eun nods.
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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