It’s that strange journey from being the school’s intimidating pretty-boy to this guy with layers you don’t see coming. He starts off so polished and untouchable, the kind of character you expect to stay as the cool love interest or the distant rival. But the cracks show up in the quiet moments—when he’s working in his mom’s shop, or when his pride gets bruised but he swallows it. His arc isn’t about becoming a saint; it’s about a proud person learning to be vulnerable without losing his spine.
What really got me was how his ambition with music became a parallel track to his personal growth. It wasn’t just a plot device. The frustration of not being taken seriously, the grind of part-time jobs to afford equipment—it felt grounded. You see him fail and get back up, and it’s never a guaranteed success story. That lack of a guaranteed win makes his efforts more relatable than a typical ‘talented protagonist’ trope. He earns his moments, and the setbacks feel real, not just narrative speed bumps.
And then the relationships. His dynamic with Suho starts as pure rivalry, but the shift toward a complicated, grudging respect had so much more weight than instant friendship. With Jugyeong, he’s trying so hard to be this reliable, steady guy even when he’s clearly out of his depth emotionally. The way he loves is clumsy and all-in, which is heartbreaking because you know he’s setting himself up for a fall. That combination of pride, hidden softness, and dogged persistence is why people stick with him even when he’s being frustrating. You just want to see him catch a break.