When last we left our unhappy teen and (game) player, there was going to be some kind of epic showdown between them and a new opponent. Maybe?
Not really, but Yeowoon gets possessive
The big confrontation starts with Sangwon offering to take Myungha home on the bike he can’t legally ride. Myungha points this out, and Sangwon smoothly switches to offering to be taken home by Myungha. Cute.
Yeowoon doesn’t think it’s cute. He reminds Myungha that he promised to sleep over. Cute.
Sangwon doesn’t think it’s cute. He says snide things about Yeowoon’s running abilities and knocks shoulders on his way out.
Myungha makes dinner, and we get a first-person POV shot from Yeowoon’s POV. I like the video game quality of the first-person POV, but it’s odd seeing it from Yeowoon’s perspective. This implies he’s the player. I wonder if this means something about the game setup or if it’s just a visual-style thing.
The Sad Backstories Club has their second sleepover
Myungha asks Yeowoon what kind of friends he wants to make, still working on the whole ‘making him happy’ thing. Yeowoon is still suspicious of his motives and wants to know if Myungha sees himself as his guardian. This feels less negative than how he was earlier, thinking Myungha pitied him.
Myungha agrees he might be a guardian. This leads to a sad conversation about their parents. Yeowoon’s mom is gone but his dad is still around. Myungha’s dad is gone and his mom left home a long time ago.
Yeowoon says he started running because he felt stifled. He had no friends because he had nothing to talk about except his sad life. He wants to know what Myungha did, and Myungha hugs him. The lights go out and Myungha makes a joke about showering. Yeowoon shoves him away, but he’s smiling. Cute.
Laying down to sleep, Yeowoon asks if Myungha misses his mom. Myungha says he will even when he’s 29.
Sangwon isn’t going to be put off that easily
He tells Kyunghoon’s sister, Si-a, that he can’t ride his bike anymore because someone will report him. He’s smiling as he says this, so he likes it. The next day he sits down next to Myungha on the bus. He wants to know if there’s something between Myungha and Yeowoon. He sounds jealous, and I wish I knew Korean and could catch any nuances that might not be translated.
Myungha sees his Love Supremacy proximity alarm go off and is looking for Yeowoon. Sangwon feels ignored and badmouths Yeowoon’s running skills. Myungha defends Yeowoon, but Sangwon isn’t chastised.
Yeowoon sees Myungha with Sangwon and looks unhappy. He ignores Myungha’s greetings and his affection level stays at 0.
A love triangle? A passive-aggressive triangle? Maybe both?
Myungha meets with Si-a about the job, which won’t be a problem because he has extra job experience. Si-a thinks he’s friends with Sangwon, which he denies. Then Myungha gets a call from Yeowoon, and Si-a is excited because she’s a fan.
Why would Yeowoon call him then? Did I miss something? I thought he was giving Myungha the cold shoulder. Does this call exist only so Si-a and Myungha learn they are both Yeowoon fans?
The next day Myungha watches Yeowoon run. I still love how much he loves watching Yeowoon run.
Sangwon shows up and starts badmouthing Yeowoon again. His friend, the guy bullying Yeowoon earlier, is another runner who was knocked out of qualifications by Yeowoon. I’m not sure if that matters now as much as getting Myungha’s attention, even if it’s negative.
Unfortunately, Yeowoon is now upset that Myungha saw him perform poorly at practice. Myungha doesn’t care how well Yeowoon performs, but that doesn’t make Yeowoon feel better. Later he finally responds to one of Myungha’s texts. To tell him not to come to the next race. Oh well.
Myungha is desperate enough to ask Yeowoon’s former bully what Yeowoon likes. I am amused. And it’s not a bad idea, as the bully suggests running shoes. Yeowoon’s are in bad shape.
After work, Myungha sees that Yeowoon called and calls him back. Yeowoon is waiting by Myungha’s place with a bag full of ice cream. Yeowoon notices that Myungha smells like he’s been with a girl. Myungha explains that it was just Si-a.
Yeowoon leaves quickly, just there to give him a friendly bag of ice cream and leave. Typical teenager stuff. When Myungha eats the ice cream he notices it’s soft, so Yeowoon waited for him for a while.
The once-an-episode chase down the school hallway scene
Last two episodes it was Myungha evading Yeowoon, but we’ve switched things up and it’s the other way around. With Si-a’s help, Myungha has new running shoes for Yeowoon. He gives them to him. When Yeowoon asks why, Myungha says he might need them.
Yeowoon’s affection drops to -10. Then -60. Yeowoon says Myungha knows nothing. His affection drops to -99 and he leaves.
Sangwon doesn’t get to chase anyone down the hallway but he intercepts his mother in the parking lot. She’s not happy to see him there instead of in class. He asks her about some work her company might do with Yeowoon. She has a sports-something company and Yeowoon does sports-stuff. I get the feeling that Sangwon’s jealousy of Yeowoon started here.
Next Sangwon finds the shoes Myungha gave Yeowoon on his desk. He taunts Yeowoon about being poor. Yeowoon shoves him into the wall. Sangwon keeps it up, suggesting Yeowoon can punch him to get out of the race.
Myungha breaks the fight off, but the one he drags off is Sangwon, telling Yeowoon not to follow.
At practice, Yeowoon is still in the old ratty shoes. He remembers Myungha asking him about whether running made him happy. As he prepares for the race, he hears Myungha calling his name. Myungha shouts at him to run!
Sleepovers, love triangles, ice cream, sports, we’re still in a High School BL
It’s still not a typical high school BL, but surreal game stuff takes another step back. No more warnings of impending death and only a few of the other notifications. The Yeowoon affection notification was great.
I like that Myungha references his internal adult-ness when it makes sense. He knows he misses his mom at 29 and has enough job experience for a high school job. The surreal game plot might not be front and center, but it’s not forgotten.
I’m genuinely not sure whether to call it a love triangle. I suspect Yeowoon has deeper feelings for Myungha and is aware of them. That would explain why he’s so suspicious of Myungha’s motivations, so cold when Sangwon is around, so against Myungha watching him race, so ready to sniff out perfume on him, and so upset over the shoes. He wants something deeper from Myungha and is in a constant state of longing.
I think Myungha is interested in Yeowoon, but doesn’t know it yet. Maybe that’s why I like his admiration of Yeowoon’s running so much, that’s where it’s clearly not about the game but just about his feelings for Yeowoon.
Sangwon. I don’t know what to think of Sangwon here. He’s definitely jealous of Yeowoon and the attention Myungha gives him. It could be romantic, but it feels extremely childish. Especially considering he acted the same way with his mother.
This episode’s cliffhanger works for me. All of Myungha’s progress with Yeowoon got lost suddenly and unexpectedly. Yeowoon hasn’t been racing well and he’s about to start an important race. Despite being told not to come multiple times, Myungha is there shouting encouragement. Their relationship, the most important thing on the show, is what’s left hanging in question here. Will things get better between them? Or worse?