5 Times Episodes 9-10 Of “Love Class 3” Reminded Us How Hard The K-Pop Industry Can Be
The entertainment industry, especially K‑pop, isn’t for the faint of heart.
Romantic relationships are basically off‑limits, there’s constant pressure to be perfect, and the competition is cutthroat. Not to mention the brutal schedules, hierarchy, and a position you work years for but can lose in a single moment.
Now that the boys are all working together in the same entertainment company, the reality of the industry hit extra hard this week in “Love Class 3.”
These five moments from the latest episodes will make you realize that the K-pop industry is no joke.
Warning: spoilers up to episode 10!
1. Jae Min gets singled out
Now that the debut team has been formed, it’s practice-eat-sleep-and-repeat time for the trainees, and it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.
This is especially true for Jae Min (Lee Woo Jin), who’s become the group’s main target for reprimands and underhanded comments from staff, likely because of his past scandal. To note, the scandal hasn’t fully been explained yet, but from the clues given so far, it doesn’t seem like Jae Min was at fault at all but instead was used as a scapegoat.
This singling out of Jae Min happened again this week during a dance rehearsal with a particularly grumpy teacher. When Jae Min can’t get a move down, he’s called out and ridiculed in front of the whole group instead of being helped.
That’s just not good teaching. When the goal is to get all the guys working together as a group, pushing certain members down in a public setting isn’t the way to go. This puts Jae Min in a funky state of mind for the rest of practice, and he continues to make mistakes.
Thankfully, Khun (Petch Panutuch Saelee) comes to the rescue later when all other trainees have left. He helps Jae Min get the step down with encouragement, not demeaning comments, and just like that, Jae Min relaxes.
The dance teacher can definitely take a few notes from Khun.
2. Soo An keeps fighting
From past episodes, it’s already known that Soo An (Seo Yi Han) has been giving the music industry his all, but he hasn’t gotten anything in return yet to validate his hard work. He’s nearly about to give up his dream when he’s been given a spot on a team, bringing him one big step closer to debuting.
In a short but touching scene, Soo An calls his mom to ask for her support to give it one more shot. Tears were most definitely shed because you can see he hasn’t given up hope despite how hard it has been for him. That takes guts.
If that didn’t already make you tear up, the preceding scene shows him training on his own over and over again. You can’t deny he’s put in the work to be an idol, so here’s hoping it finally pays off.
Coming from the winning group from the idol survival show over a year ago, Hyun Jae (Saebyeol) is loved by the company, and this means jealousy from other members, even though he works just as hard as them, if not harder.
In the practice room, Soo An overhears some trainees talking about Hyun Jae. They think he gets special treatment while they only practice hard.
In the prior scene of the dance instructor calling out Jae Min, he also clearly favors Hyun Jae while dragging everyone else. It sounds like a compliment, but it actually doesn’t help Hyun Jae at all.
What the trainees don’t know is that Hyun Jae is always working hard. Every day, he gets up before everyone else at four in the morning to tidy up the practice room and set out fresh towels and drinks for the members.
The only person who picked up on Hyun Jae’s secret morning endeavors was, of course, the equally thoughtful and hardworking Soo An, who noticed how the room was prepared when they arrived to practice.
The reality of hard work in the K-pop industry is that it can go unnoticed and even be distorted. A little harmless jealousy from the other members is understandable to a point, and so far, the members seem to look up to Hyun Jae, but they definitely haven’t seen the full story.
4. Hyun Jae and Soo An are paired up again
History might be repeating itself and not in a good way.
A practice choreography video with Soo An, Hyun Jae, and two other members blows up, which is good news for the group, but it inadvertently puts Hyun Jae and Soo An in a tough spot.
Because fans love them together, the two are asked to ride the wave of popularity and do more videos with just the two of them. This excites Hyun Jae but worries Soo An.
This all-too-familiar scenario seems to scare Soo An, since it feels like they are reverting to their old ways when they were shipped by fans during the idol competition show.
Back then, what seemed to start as something genuine turned into something that felt like an act just for the fans. At least it felt that way to Soo An.
So far, Hyun Jae hasn’t expressed the same worries as Soo An, and it’s a big part of why Soo An has tried to distance himself and end their personal relationship.
And this all comes right when Hyun Jae and Soo An seem to be getting along after such a long period of tension between them. Talk about timing.
5. Khun had to run from his past
Granted, anything related to Khun’s career isn’t technically the “K‑pop industry,” but the idol politics, fandoms, and media scrutiny are similar enough that it fits. And Khun’s struggles are just as relevant to the plot. But first, a flashback.
Last week, a mystery woman arrived: Stella. Jae Min sees her standing outside Khun’s door, and he assumes she is romantically involved with Khun. Even though there was really no proof of this yet, he let his intrusive thoughts take over, and he’s been stressing about it ever since.
This week, Jae Min finally meets Stella, and the lead-up to this meeting is hilarious.
After practice, Khun and Jae Min decide to go out for drinks. They don’t label it as a date, but… it’s definitely a date. They get to drinking and chatting in what would appear to be a totally empty bar, and just as they lean in for what would be their first kiss, Khun gets a message from the still-unrevealed Stella.
Another surprise: Khun says Stella is on her way to meet them. That’s when Jae Min’s overthinking goes into overdrive, and he starts drinking a little too much (very reminiscent of the first time Khun and Jae Min drank together).
He wakes up in Khun’s bed, for a second time, to be specific, and the person who opens the door is the mysterious Stella.
Despite Jae Min’s initial suspicion that Stella might be Khun’s girlfriend, he finds out she is only his close friend from Thailand. And a really good friend, as a matter of fact.
It took a drunken dinner and another unplanned sleepover to finally learn this truth, but Jae Min got there eventually. Besides, it was very unlucky that such a good guy like Khun would be spending so much time with Jae Min while hiding a girlfriend.
Stella explains to Jae Min everything that Khun has been through when he was a famous musician in Thailand and how it changed him. She says he came to Korea to “breathe” and “escape” and that hits so hard when you think about how kind and softhearted Khun is. He’s been through a lot, and it explains why he’s so careful with the people he lets get close.
Stella also tells Jae Min how Khun has been going to Korean language school because he’s recently quite invested in improving his Korean, apparently because of a certain someone. Aww!
Start watching “Love Class 3” now:
Asya’s a BL-biased Soompi writer with a love of K-pop and all types of Asian dramas. Some of her favorite shows are “Psychopath Diary,” “Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss!,” “Light On Me,” “The Untamed,” “Go Go Squid!,” and “Cherry Magic!”
Currently watching: “Love Class 3,” “Ticket to Heaven,” “The Lie We Lived In,” “Double Helix,” “Love Upon A Time,” “Wu,’’ “Smile After Tears,” “The Prosecutor’s Proposal,” “Don’t Be Too Emotional,” and “A Winter Sun Wakes the Wind in Spring Hills’ Dream.”
Looking forward to: “Love Scandal,” “Magic Lover,” “Mr. Fanboy,” “The Love Matter,” and “Be My Player Two.’’
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