When we left our unhappy teen and (game) player, the player got an ominous warning threatening death for failure. How will he handle this frightening game mechanic?
Myungha doesn’t seem concerned
He starts his day by texting Yeowoon, using emojis that Yeowoon considers dated. I guess we’re in the present day? And since Myungha hasn’t been in High School for about 10 years he’s behind the times?
Myungha spends a moment wondering what happens if he dies in the game, does he die in the real world? But then he moves on with his life.
He’s decided to work smarter rather than harder, kinda. For ideas on how to make Yeowoon happy, he asks Grandma about her relationship with Grandpa. When she starts getting into the horrors of war he leaves. Poor grandma.
At school, he’s troubled by Yeowoon not answering his texts. He asks his poodle-haired classmate, Kyunghoon, about his friends. Kyunghoon has no friends. Aw. Myungha declares they are friends and asks for his number. Aw. It’s not hard to like Myungha, what’s Yeowoon’s problem?
The Love Supremacy Proximity Alert
Myungha sees that Yeowoon is approaching and leaves. When Yeowoon calls, Myungha claims he’s not avoiding him. Then he agrees to meet him for lunch. Myungha is inconsistent.
But kind, as he nearly gets trampled getting a snack from the snack store for Yeowoon. After feeding his unhappy teen, Myungha wants to know why Yeowoon doesn’t like him. Somehow he didn’t know Yeowoon doesn’t like people in general. Since Yeowoon’s not hiding it, this says a lot about Myungha’s mindset.
Yeowoon wants to know why Myungha likes him. Myungha is a fan, not of running, but Yeowoon running. A flustered Yeowoon drops his snack store snack. Now his affection has gone from -7 to -5.
But a debuff is still cast. Myungha protects Yeowoon from an Evil Falling Leaf and gets notified that the debuff is nullified. What would have happened if it hit Yeowoon?
Kyunghoon calls, that was fast, and Myungha goes to the school roof for some sort of bully showdown. Myungha easily fights the bully. But it’s not really about the first bully. There’s a second bully.
A new opponent has entered the game! Sangwon!
Sangwon is very eager for Myungha to hit him. Myungha is not eager to hit him. Yeowoon rats them out to the teachers and the party’s over.
Kyunghoon knows Sangwon because their parents are friends. Sangwon’s parents are rich, and he’s known for fighting. And he’s very curious about Myungha. Sangwon goes to Yeowoon to ask about Myungha and their relationship. Yeowoon isn’t the sharing type.
After school, Myungha watches Yeowoon run. He’s not just telling Yeowoon he likes watching him run as a joke or way to win the game, he really likes watching him. He’s also upset when he sees Yeowoon scolded by the coach and teased by the other runners over his worn-out running shoes.
While sitting there, Myungha picks up a sidequest
Not only does he have to make Yeowoon happy, he needs to help him make more friends. Strangely, part of the game notification seems to have Myungha’s own handwriting.
As a hint, numbers representing Yeowoon’s affection levels appear over everyone’s head. The lowest number is a -100 over his own head. That’s so sad.
Myungha tackles this new quest with his usual delicacy. He drags Kyunghoon and Yeowoon off to share a meal. There’s stiff conversation, and another debuff does something to the food. I’m not sure what, but they’re coughing after one bite. But the bad food makes Kyunghoon laugh and lightens the mood.
When it’s just the two of them, Yeowoon tells Myungha not to watch him run, he’s going to quit and doesn’t like running. Myungha wants to know if running truly doesn’t make him happy. Yeowoon says that’s true, but Myungha thinks he’s a bad liar.
Yeowoon can’t quit though, because he’d lose his scholarship and couldn’t attend school. Myungha promises that if Yeowoon is so desperate to quit that he’ll forsake his scholarship, Myungha will help him. Myungha is a good friend, disagreeing with him and supporting him.
I wonder if Yeowoon tells Myungha this as a test. Since Myungha likes watching Yeowoon run, if he stops running, will Myungha not like him? I’m sure the mean coach and other runners don’t help either. Yeowoon seems the type to pile up unhappiness.
Anyway, Myungha’s reward is Yeowoon’s affection level is now at 0. Nice.
Myungha needs money in order to put it where his mouth is
I guess he’s serious about supporting Yeowoon because he checks his bank book. The numbers aren’t good. He goes to Kyunghoon’s place, which is very nice and very white. He seems to be there to borrow money but Kyunghoon also has a lead on a part-time job.
Sangwon and Kyunghoon’s sister show up. Kyunghoon’s sister is concerned that Myungha is bullying her brother. He denies it and wants to leave, but Sangwon blocks the way. Then Myungha gets a strange call from Yeowoon and leaves in a rush. Sangwon follows, wanting to be friends. Not the best timing Sangwon. Also, Sangwon is to Myungha as Myungha is to Yeowoon.
A game notification about making more friends for Yeowoon pops up. Myungha uses Sangwon’s motorcycle to get to Yeowoon fast, bringing Sangwon.
It’s the “time to get an IV” part of the drama
Myungha finds Yeowoon unconscious and takes him to the hospital. He gets standard drama IV treatment because he’s malnourished. Myungha doesn’t want him to be on his own. Yeowoon is still suspicious about his motivations and worries that Myungha pities him.
Despite the “0” affection level, I wonder if Yeowoon’s feelings for Myungha are getting deeper in a more-than-friendly-way. That would make him feel more vulnerable and afraid of letting Myungha closer. Then Myungha has to be adorable by offering him ice cream and saying he likes Yeowoon more than ice cream. I understand him being afraid to get his hopes up.
They go back to Yeowoon’s. Sangwon is still there and the music is confrontational.
Final thoughts for final thought’s sake
Episode two feels more focused on the light, kids-hanging-out-together high school aspect of the story. Myungha gets to know Yeowoon as he breaks through his emotional walls. We learn Kyunghoon has no friends (well, until now), see his place and meet his sister. Sangwon is an unpredictable wild card here to do… something.
The big dramatic death threat at the end of the first episode didn’t amount to anything yet. Then there’s the heart pounding drama of ending this episode on three guys staring at each other. Why is that dramatic? Are we supposed to think there will be a showdown? Sangwon is strange and unpredictable, but not threatening in any specific way. He might take Myungha from Yeowoon? Not when that’s the whole point of the game.
I think it’s the writers trying to get webtoon pacing, with many many many many many short segments strung together, to fit drama pacing, with much larger segments.
Without the game notifications, we’d have an adorable show like If It’s With You. But with them, there’s unease and question marks behind everything that’s happening. Why did that one notification have Myungha’s handwriting? If failure is death, what does success get? What does it mean for these characters we are growing to love that they are just part of a game?
And then there’s the typical audience fear when watching a show with this kind of set-up: Will it make any sense at the end? Let’s keep watching to find out!