[lej222]

Supernatural Involvement and Ominous Signs in ASLFUA

For a while, many readers have theorized that there is some kind of a higher power/higher being in ASLFUA, and looking at the latest episodes it seems to have been confirmed. With this post, I've tried to gather every instance of the higher power's implied presence and all the ominous scenes in the story. I also included foreshadowing scenes that could have made Miae aware of certain things if she had paid attention because coincidences are important in the story, and certain moments that were defining in the plot. The list contains spoilers for the newest KR episodes and it keeps being updated.

Episode 2 :

Miae is reading a book in the library about how the last day of 1999 will be the end of the world: "'1999, a terrifying overlord is coming...the end of the human race.." -> this might be a reference to the famous prophecy of Nostradamus in which in the 7th month of 1999 a great king of terror would descend from the skies (which makes me think...is it July in the story right now?)

The Hwang family's phone stops working

Miae's dresser breaks and therefore she has to take out the trash, where she sees Cheol crying

"This boy is about to be this girl's most special person, someone whom she will never be able to forget."

Episode 3

Miae and her mother visit the Buddha statue and Miae's wish is not to be in the same class with Cheol - it doesn't come true.

Miae, Cheol and Jisu all become classmates in their last year. Miae and Cheol become deskmates by coincidence.

Episode 4

Cheol's furniture becomes Miae's, along with the contents of his dresser, something only he knows about

Episode 5

Yunhui calls Miae on their new cordless phone, the line is interrupted by another conversation, "Did you get the present I sent you?" - it sounds like a message to Miae from the higher power about Cheol

Episode 8

Miae ruins her bangs, her mother says she should do something about her hair - the first time we are told Miae should go to a hairdresser to fix it

Hwanggeum Academy uses corporal punishment - might be relevant later on?

Miae has to go to karaoke so she gives up on going to the hair salon (this foreshadowing is super crazy btw)

Episode 9

Cheol is compared to the protagonist of the comic Miae reads, 'My First Love Next Door Is Number 1' - gets into trouble and transfers, fights the school bully and wins, nicknamed Lucifer, has a facial scar, lives next door

As Miae is thinking about Cheol, her thoughts are interrupted by a cockroach in the classroom

Episode 11

Miae notes how strange it is that she keeps seeing Cheol while they didn't bump into each other the previous year (just like how Jisu later keeps commenting how strange he keeps meeting Miae) - Miae acknowledges the higher power

Yunhui's pager says "between friends goodbye"

Episode 12

Miae has a weird feeling when she's talking to Cheol's shoe as if it understands what she's saying

Episode 15

In her dream, Miae remembers Cheol crying and her making a wish with a stone tower about how she wants to be his friend. The phone suddenly rings, the TV becomes static and there's a storm outside despite the weather forecast not saying anything about it. The other end of the phone is silent and the lights go out.

Episode 17

Cheol's shoe gets smudged with ink so Miae cannot give it back to him. She cannot concentrate on her practice test, foreshadowing her involvement with Cheol's academy.

Episode 21

Miae again remembers some memories about Cheol saying he doesn't want to be her friend while she's sleeping

Side note: while Soonkki is a great writer, there's some inconsistency about Jisu's seating arrangement. I think she always meant him to sit in Block 1, that's why we got limited panels of that area of the classroom, but his position kept changing until his official introduction. Here, he should have been sitting in front of Seonghan, but there's another boy in that seat. In episode 23, we get a panel of Block1 again, and there's a boy who looks like Jisu from behind in that.

She again remembers her time with Cheol while sleeping on the bus

Episode 24

Daebak Academy notebook says "The teacher is spoon-feeding you, so why can't you pass" -> the higher power is giving hints to Miae, why can't she understand them?

Episode 29

Miae thinks about how she doesn't bump into Cheol as much as before, we get a close-up of the shoe and the Daebak Academy notebook

Episode 37

Miae falls on Cheol while playing soccer

Episode 39

Miae and Cheol are arguing but still bump into each other because of their parents

While Miae thinks about how Cheol should smile at people, she almost gets hit by a ball but Cheol saves her.

Episode 40

Cheol goes to Miae's house to do their homework. Miae's mother says she wonders if it will rain before she leaves. Cheol tries to change the lightbulb in Miae's room, but the lights go out because of the storm. Miae thinks "again?" and they fall on each other. She tells Cheol they should be friends.

Episode 41

Cheol agrees to be Miae's friend and we see a flashback of young Miae wishing they would be friends. While they are doing their homework the rain stops. Miae says planes even fly in the rain and Cheol replies that airplanes fly above the clouds.

Episode 42

Miae answers their phone and the line is interrupted again. Someone thanks their boss for the present and says they will do well on their own from now. -> is it a sign Miae should do well on her own after the hints?

Interesting to note that every time Miae might be involved with the higher power, certain objects in her room are highlighted - Cheol's shoe, the lamp, the notebooks. They all give signs to Miae that she keeps ignoring.

Episode 43

Cheol and Yonghui point out that Miae should get a haircut. Miae ends up cutting it herself instead of going to a salon.

Episode 45

Miae wishes upon a star instead of a plane so that the presentation in class will go okay. This actually comes true, as also noted by the narrator in ep 46.

Episode 46

Daebak Academy booklet says "nothing comes easy"

Episode 47

Something I've noticed is that throughout the story Miae keeps thinking she forgot something, and there's usually a situation that seems like the answer to it. Here, it turns out she forgot about Jinseop's homework. And Taekwang's song is about how someone cannot do both things at the same time. It was the same when she forgot about her homework while playing soccer. Forgetting about things is a recurring plot point for Miae, which culminates in the Jisu subplot where we learn Miae completely forgot about his existence even though she didn't have many friends who were boys.

Episode 50

Cheol's father wants to take a picture of Cheol and Miae, but Cheol refuses

Episode 51

Miae again cuts her own hair and wonders if she cut it too straight

Episode 55

Cheol kicks Miae's pencil into Jisu's chair (side note: you can see here again how Jisu's seating arrangement was inconsistent, he should have been closer to the window)

Episode 56

Miae gets sent out to the corridor with Jisu

Miae's friends talk about handsome boys and someone mentions the number1 student (Jisu)

Episode 60

Jisu becomes Miae's folk dance partner - the first time Cheol and Miae are not doing something together

Episode 61

Hwanggeum Academy booklet says "there's nothing you can't do if you put the work in, do not expect a miracle" when Miae is struggling with the dance

Episode 65

Cheol's father takes a picture of Cheol and Miae after the sports festival

Episode 66

In Miae's dream, Cheol's sister says for a while means 5-6 yrs, Miae counts she will be in middle school by then. There's also a memory of Miae running after Cheol, saying "wait for me".

Miae's mother tells her to get a haircut but Miae replies she needs a bigger allowance for it.

The narrator says Miae should watch where she's walking after she bumps into Cheol.

Episode 67

Miae loses her name tag and Jisu finds it

Episode 70

Miae wonders how her wishes never come true, but remembers she also made one with the stone tower as a kid, but cannot recall what it was about.

Episode 71

Miae's mom notes their phone keeps ringing since yesterday. That day Miae wanted to tease Cheol with how she heard him saying he "loved her" in the shop and she saw him shirtless the same night.

Miae doesn't realize it was Jisu who called her a pervert

Episode 72

Miae notices someone wearing her name tag (Jisu), but doesn't find the culprit

Episode 75

Cheol wants to ask Miae something, but the homeroom teacher interrupts. Miae and Jisu get called to the teachers' room and have to do cleaning duty together for a week.

Episode 76

We see Miae's mom at a hair salon - could the lady in orange be Jisu's mother? who knows

Episode 77

Cheol stands up for Miae, but when Honggyu asks if they are dating, they both vehemently deny it. It suddenly starts raining.

Episode 78

Miae and cheol promise to be friends for real, forever. The narration comments, "But will they end up regretting their promise?". The rain stops. "1999, the final year of the century is half over" -> Miae's story is half over at this point. I have pointed out this before, but the series seems to be about the transition period between childhood and young adulthood, symbolized by the last year before the new millennium. Hence the title, 'green apple academy'

In her dream, Miae remembers asking Cheol if they are friends. She is awoken by their phone. the Daebak Academy notebook says "you are in danger if you are relaxed" and we see a girl talking to Cheol.

Episode 81

Cheol and Miae fall on each other and almost kiss, but the phone rings. Later, they do end up in the same position with an accidental kiss.

Episode 82

Miae wants to confront Cheol about the kiss and gets embarrassed, but her actions are interrupted when the trash bag she gave Jisu splits open, spilling its contents. Miae runs to him to collect it.

Episode 83

While Miae talks to her friends, she thinks back on her memories with Cheol and the narration says "I always liked.." and Miae looks surprised by it.

Episode 86

Interesting detail that Cheol doesn't know why Miae keeps looking at airplanes. If we assume she has a reason for doing it from the past, it's likely not related to Cheol.

Episode 87

Miae uses the trashbag as an excuse to run away from Cheol, repeating how she has to throw it out. All of a sudden, Jisu appears and takes it out of her hand, giving her a chance to run. It's just my personal theory that the trashbag here symbolizes Miae's vulnerability and reluctance to face her feelings, and Jisu takes it from her hand. It makes sense when we remember how his words made her think about her actions when she wanted to interrupt the confession. It's a great early foreshadowing that Jisu might play an important role in Miae's growth story as her voice of reason.

Episode 89

Cheol and Miae take photos together in a photo booth, first with Jinseop and Song-I, then the two of them alone. We don't know if Miae still has her pictures, but we can assume she somehow lost them during running around from the bullies because we never see them again. Cheol gives her a new name tag in the next episode.

Episode 95

Cheol gifts Miae an airplane model for her birthday. I personally believe this episode marks the end of the first part of the story and it's a turning point, but more about this under ep96.

While Miae leaves for school, their phone suddenly rings and her mom answers it. Miae sees posters about love on her way to school. For the first time, Jisu arives early for cleaning duty.

Episode 96

The series has had 2 symbolic illustrations at the end of 2 episodes. The first one was at the end of ep2, when Cheol and Miae's story started in the present:

Miae is offering a green apple to Cheol - a biblical allusion, here, the green apple probably signifies how Miae helps Cheol in the first part of the story to mature and grow as a person with her own knowledge.

This illustration comes at the end of ep96. Like I mentioned, I believe this marks the start of the second half of the story which focuses on Miae's growth as a person. Space is an important concept in the series, Miae also has planet stickers on the wall of her room,has a charm on her bag, etc.

"16 years old. An age much like the universe." "16 years old. An age where it's like you're thrown into space." - highlights the narration.

But why is it compared to space? We have the illustration right after Jisu splashes water on Miae's face and Cheol wakes up from his dream. In my opinion, it's because this is where these kids' limited worlds start to expand. In part 1, Cheol and Miae were mainly together, but as you grow up you start to feel like you're just one insignificant part of a greater whole. You might feel like you're the center of the universe when you're a teenager, and that the world is ending when you experience negative emotions, but as the illustration shows us, it's not just Miae and Cheol standing alone in the universe. There are other people, facing different directions, but they are all interconnected by an invisible force. Miae is looking at Cheol, but Jisu is standing in her shadow- because even though she was not aware of him, Jisu had his own life happening parallel to what we saw in part1, and this is where he starts to have an intersection with Miae. If there is a higher power in the story, it is aware of all these connections and talks about youth in a nostalgic way. The sense that these moments are fleeting is always present in the story, however, connections formed between individuals will always have a lasting impact, just like how the universe will continue to exist. Being thrown into space might feel like losing your footing, but here it's the personal relationships that ground these teenagers and make them stay close to Earth.

Episode 98

The teacher tells Miae to cut her hair after Jisu takes the blame for ruining the plant.

Cheol is acting strange because of his dream, and while Jisu looks at Miae the narration box says: "16 years old. An age riddled with the unknown, just like the universe."

Episode 99

Miae's hair gets stuck in the zipper of Cheol's bag and he pulls it out, ruining her bangs in the process. They go to the infirmary after Miae gets scratched by the zipper.

Episode 100

At the countryside, while Miae picked a flower she thought how nice it would be if Cheol came to her school - and it became true. She thinks how it was so strange -> Miae again unknowingly acknowledges the higher power when it comes to Cheol

Episode 101

It's raining and the TV is not working in Cheol's home. He remembers taking a picture with Miae in the countryside. He asks his father about the picture on the sports day -> the data was lost. Miae gets grounded by her mother and she wants her to quit the academy.

Episode 102

I've mentioned symbolic objects in the story, but this one was noted by other readers as well: in ep 101, Miae accidentally drops the chalkboard eraser out of the window and Jisu fails to catch it - but Cheol does. However, in this episode Miae tosses it back to Jisu before saying she hopes they'll never see each other again (it's the first, but not the last time she declares it).

Cheol fails to convince Miae's mom about the academy -> Miae's mom points out Miae's grades have been dropping since last year. She makes her stance clear - she wants Miae to study.

Episode 103

It's raining and Miae cannot open Cheol's drawer in her room.

She tries to cut her hair, but the phone rings. On the other line, Miae hears someone saying "I only did what I did because you wanted it so bad, but you screwed up that chance! You don't deserve that project, I'm going to hand it to someone else." -> the first time the higher power tries to directly say Miae is late

Miae's mom cuts her hair instead of sending her to a salon...

Miae loses the name tag Cheol gave her

Episode 104

Jisu says "see you again" to Miae (and will keep saying for a while lol). Miae points out she never wanted to see him again.

Episode 106

After the teacher discovers their conversations in class, Miae and Cheol get separated and Miae becomes Jisu's deskmate. Miae and Cheol are not allowed to interact until the final exams are over.

Hwanggeum Academy's notebook remarks "Do you regret it now?"

Episode 107

Miae dreams about the flower from the countryside and a voice says she should hurry up and do what she wants about her wish if she remembers. She doesn't remember and the voice gets angry, Cheol appears and crushes the flower, telling her if she doesn't remember she should just forget it. The voice remarks Cheol is angry because Miae is late.

Episode 111

Jisu, who has also become aware of the coincidences, tells Cheol he's not the only one having something special with Miae.

When Miae calls Jisu her friend from the same class and tells him he should learn for himself, Jisu tries to say something, but he is interrupted by Cheol.

Episode 112

Miae thinks about their bet and how she should ask something serious, something more than friends do from Cheol, and we get a bunch of error messages. Cheol's dream is all fuzzy.

Jisu wins the bet, but we never get to know his wish because Miae gets angry at him.

Episode 115

The narration points out Cheol has changed and matured a lot, is it Miae's turn?

Episode 116

We see some posters about a summer festival, the forest in Midsummer Night's Dream and how everything is the product of coincidence.

The forest in Shakespeare's play is dominated by the supernatural - what we have in common with this story is the forest Miae and Cheol played together as kids, and obviously the involvement of a higher power. The coincidences poster is possibly a reference to Carl Jung's Synchronicity, a concept that states that seemingly meaningful coincidences have a deeper meaning, they don't have a rational explanation - almost like destiny, a deeper order in the universe. It's a connection between one's psyche and the material world (so you have to notice and acknowledge the deeper meaning of these coincidences in order to experience synchronicity). Jung used this to argue for the existence of the paranormal. For example, if you cannot decide something, you might come across a book on the topic. What a coincidence, right? In this interpretation, everything is interconnected in the universe, and we are a part of this web of connections. So those coincidences...were actually not coincidences. -> Hmmmmm.....I wonder.....meaningful coincidences, the universe, connections...why do they sound familiar??? BECAUSE OUR STORY IS EXACTLY ABOUT THIS NOTION! Who notices these coincidences? Miae about Cheol, Jisu about Miae....One has to be open to the possibility of the connection between our inner world and the outside world, only then they can start to notice the signs the universe is sending them. Soonkki, you deserve my applause! Because it was exactly what I said about the art at the end of ep 96 and the placement of the characters. Mind? Blown!

Miae thinks that she feels something is wrong

Yunhui's pager says friends goodbye

Jisu gets involved in the Yonghui-Yunhui storyline by coincidence

Episode 117

We see all the coincidences from Jisu's perspective and how he became aware of them. And what does he say about them? That they are fascinating and kind of funny! My boy Jisu got the synchronicity message.

This is the 3rd time Miae and Jisu didn't hold hands. The first time Miae pretended to help him up, only for him to fall back. Then Jisu held out his hand after the exam, but she didn't take it. Here, he again reaches out and Miae doesn't take his hand. Remember this later!

Episode 118

Someone steps on Cheol's bag, and he's worried it might be Taeuk

Jisu wants to join in another bet in exchange for his help

Episode 119

Jisu gets involved in the Shim storyline, and as we know from later he picks up the cigarettes to get revenge on him

Episode 122

Miae learns that Cheol rejected Seonyeong and the lights flicker in her room

She cannot remember her dream. The narration says that she should have realized that something changed.

Episode 123

Miae notes that she experienced the kiss in the comic book with Cheol

Jisu almost catches her, but Cheol pushes him away

Episode 126

The parents are having dinner together at a pig feet restaurant and toast for the future of their children. The TV is not working, and a boy who looks like Jisu tries to fix it.

Miae kisses Cheol

Episode 127

Miae has a dream again in the white dress. As she realizes she might like Cheol, the voice says she's too late and there's no use regretting it.

Episode 129

Miae remembers that they took a picture in the countryside together and wants to take one now. She makes a wish to an airplane about how she just wants one photo, and remarks that the planes never granted her wish before. Spoiler, they won't this time, either.

Miae chooses to take the picture with Cheol. The narration box says "she's always done whatever she sets her mind to. That has always been one of her better attributes. But Mi-ae, it seems as though you keep forgetting something. I told you, you're too late."

The pager's message means idiot, cancelled and it suddenly starts raining. Maie and Cheol cannot take their photo and Cheol cannot give her back the hairpin she dropped a few eps ago.

Episode 132

Graduation photos were postponed until the second semester

In Miae's dream, the voice says she's all over the place and cannot decide what she wants from Cheol. In her memory, Miae wishes at the stone tower that Cheol would like her back. The voice angrily remarks how it must not mean much to her.

Episode 133

While Cheol and Miae are looking at each other, Miae is smacked in the face by a flyer. Later while they are riding the bike, Cheol almost says she looks pretty but he is hit in the face with a flyer that belonged to Jisu.

Episode 134

Miae takes the cigarettes from Jisu and puts them in her backpack

While Jisu and Miae look at each other, the narration box says "Well. this is what we would call fate. What do you think?" Miae can sense the voice and dismisses it.

Jisu again says "see you later" and Miae answers let's not, but Jisu replies they never know and it would be fun.

On the radio in Miae's room there's a voice speaking, asking if it was a success and how there is something you can't stop thinking about. "A friend? The fact that you weren't wrong? Whatever it is, I don't think it's such a bad thing to obsess over it a little bit. I hope you have no regrets about it."

Episode 135

Miae's eyebrow and bangs are so ruined she has to finally go to a hair salon. Yunhui gives her money and says there's a cheap place where she can go. It turns out Jisu's mother is a hairdresser and after realizing she is Jisu's friend, she doesn't ask for money. So if anyone ever wondered why Miae kept ruining her hair in the story, here's the answer....

a little bit of strange wording here:

The narration says "Now that I think about it, this was about the time..wait,no, it was a little bit earlier that things started to go wrong, little by little. You two were completely oblivious, though. Just you two."

Miae's mother goes to the academy. One theory I can give on this is that Miae's family might be moving. She wished for it at the start of the story, mentions it in a later episode as well. Who knows ~

Episode 138

Miae doesn't tell Cheol her feelings because of her pride as she feels like she would lose first

Miae has a feeling as if something is trying to make her look bad in front of Cheol and her gun suddenly starts working

Everybody forgot to buy the picture they took together in ep 139

Episode 140

After conveying their feelings indirectly to each other, Miae tells Cheol they cannot date right now because her mom wouldn't allow it. She plans to go to the same high school, university, everything and thinks there's no one to stop them so nothing can go wrong.

Episode 141

Cheol imagines high school together with Miae and their friends

Every time Cheol is flustered, he accidentally drinks his sister's coffee and he cannot sleep at night..in a story where dreams are relevant I'm sure this is just a coincidence, right???🧐🙃😏

Miae says they should not be obvious before the entrance exam and they start to think of it as a competition

Someone watches them from the street

Episode 144-145

We get everything from Cheol's POV

Cheol got his scar because he wanted to give Miae the romance book she liked before they left and he fell on the stone tower

The picture his dad took of them is about a young Cheol accidentally kneeling with flowers in his hands, the same flowers from Miae's dream, in front of Miae. This picture was in the book Cheol and his family kept.

Cheol realized the book was in his dresser that is now in Miae's room, the one she couldn't open before

Episode 146

Miae sees two flyers in the newspaper, one is about how a student still didn't give it up, the other is about changing one's car

On the street, the same car ads keep flying after her in the wind

Miae goes with Yonghui to wait in a line and the same flyers are all over the place

Episode 147

Miae wants to call Cheol, but Jisu stops her. Miae notices how often they have met during vacation, and Jisu says these coincidences are fun. He remarks it's almost like as if some higher power is involved (!!). Miae is standing on the car ad, they look down on it with Jisu, then she kicks it away. Jisu tells her he has a feeling they will meet again, but Miae hopes they won't.

The academy is also full of the car ads and Miae falls on them

Miae thinks that for a while she's had a feeling as if something wants to get between her and Cheol, but brushes it off

Miae ends up with a bubble gum in her hair and goes to Jisu's house to fix it. Jisu tells her she should stay because he is bored, and there is a car ad on a stool.

Episode 148

We see some of Jisu's childhood memories and he was called a magpie by Miae which was a symbolic choice (I also made a post about it). Jisu in this story is the grateful magpie.

Miae and Jisu "touch hands" for the first time when they high-five (I wrote about how their hand hold never happened before)

After spotting some men smoking, Jisu tells Miae to go inside (one of them might be his father?)

Episode 149

Miae finally remembers Jisu

the narration boxs keeps saying how Jisu is cool and showing heart-thumping sounds and Miae is confused about these strange things

Miae not remembering Jisu was an important plot point considering she recalled everyone else from her past. As I theorized, memories and fate seem to be intertwined, the synchronicity theory also supports this. Synchronicity happens when seemingly unrelated events coincide and they become significant to you. It's easy to see why Jisu was aware of this notion, but Miae was not - because Miae had no idea about those coincidences other than meeting Jisu randomly. Him being her classmate, being the one who found her pencil, who helped her in the crowd, found her name tag, etc. - only Jisu knew about these. But right now, Miae was made aware that they knew each other in the past - a pretty big coincidence.

So now that Miae might have kickstarted her own fate, the question is whether she will be able to fight it or if there are certain things bound to happen no matter what. Is the narrator omnipotent and omniscient? So many questions that will hopefully get answered.

Episode 150

For the first time, Miae says she and Jisu will see each other again sometime. Before this, it was always Jisu who said it and Miae would reply that she didn't want to meet him again.

Miae remembers Jisu transferring, but doesn't know why he singled her out (so she will probably recall more memories later)

As Miae leaves Jisu's house, the car ads are flying in the air around her

Jisu enrolls at the academy and for the first time he says it's not a coincidence

Episode 155

Hwani tells her mother it would be great if they could keep being neighbours with Miae because she's fun. After a pause, Cheol's mother agrees.

Jisu keeps telling Miae she's a "traitor" or "bat" (depending on the translation, meaning she keeps secrets from others like the Yonghui Yunhui situation and the fact that she went to Jisu's house) and she might get into trouble because of that

Episode 156

The narrator directly communicates with Miae again, and informs us about Miae's thoughts. It makes heart-thumping sounds when she's with Jisu just like in previous episodes, but Miae ignores them.

Jisu again says how the coincidences are so fun. He counts to three until the teacher interrupts Miae and Cheol's bickering (similarly to Taekwang in ep 158)

When Jisu tells Miae he'll go out of the room to let her talk with Cheol, Miae thinks she'll talk to him regardless of anyone's interference and we get a close-up of an academy notebook saying 'NO' and a plane flying in the sky.

Episode 158

Flashforward in the episode to a scene with Cheol leaving Miae at the academy while a storm is coming and Miae looks like she's about to cry

An hour earlier in the story the dark clouds are already gathering (I mentioned how rainy weather is always connected to the change in Miae and Cheol's relationship, and how it's usually an ominous sign). After seeing Jisu's flustered face, Cheol tells Miae that he wants to change the lightbulb in her house before she gets hurt. The lights at the academy are highlighted as they keep vibrating. (I also noted how the lights are signs of the supposed higher power, they get their own panels in Miae's room, and they went out 2 times when Miae and Cheol's relationship changed)

After Jisu reveals that Miae was in his house and Cheol gets angry, Miae's pager starts buzzing (again, the pager messages always appear when the higher power wants to communicate with Miae).

Taekwang is an interesting character because the things he says are sometimes connected to the greater theme of the story. Like when he listened to his music and said how Miae cannot choose two things at the same time (come on, it was the foreshadowing for the current conflicts!), he smelled Jisu on Miae (???), Jisu even said he's the one he cannot deal with, and now he was counting the seconds until Miae got another sign. Is he used as a medium? (who knows lol)

Miae wants to check the pager message but the fluorescent lamp(?) breaks. Jisu shields Miae from the shards while they fall on the ground, making it his first successful attempt to save Miae in the story. The pager lands in the corner of the room.

Episode 159

Miae goes to a phone booth to check her messages and it's filled with the car ads so she kicks them away

The first message is a loud noise of a song recording. I personally think if there's a higher power in the story, this message came from it. The other is about Miae's friends telling her they'll visit her at her academy which gives Miae a sense of panic knowing Yonghui and Yunhui might meet.

Miae sees an airplane in the sky and the narration says Miae has a feeling that something is interfering with her and the panels get fuzzy with flashbacks to phone calls earlier in the story (omg this is actually crazy)

It starts raining and we get a glimpse of the last countryside memory we haven't seen yet about Miae running after Cheol at night. In the present, Miae trips just as she did as a kid, but instead of Cheol she meets Tae Uk.

[lej222]

Hey! I'm a bit late in the fandom of aslfua. I just read the manhwa recently, and I was a bit shocked learning that has been on hiatus more than a year.

But I really enjoyed reading your theories and analysis, if I'm being honest, I read aslfua very lightly and, as Mi-ae, most of the time I ignored all the signals about the higher power, so your posts had made me open my eyes and really invest myself in this manhwa.

Also I love your analysis about Jisu, he has a very special place in my heart and I really loved every one of his appearances in the history, they all made me giggle and made me gain interest in the plot more and more. And then, when I checked the fandom I was a bit sad for all the hate that he received :( (Even though I kinda was expecting that, because of him being the second male lead.)

But one thing bother me, and it was people saying that he was being a bad friend for saying that Mi-ae spent time in his house. Like, when I read that part of the history I was thinking to myself "It's really a miracle how nobody really has been mad at Mi-ae, even though she's avoiding her responsibilities" and then, when Jisu blurted out the true I was satisfied, because I was getting bored that she always got what she wanted, and was acting like a child. And, also, that's what a true friend would do (in my opinion) if you're messing things up. And he already told her in multiple occasions that she needed to speak with Cheol.

Then, as you said in your previous post, I also noticed how Jisu was the only one who treated Mi-ae like an equal. Honestly, even though I love her relationship with Cheol, they were not working out, and more and more seemed like Mi-ae was his little sister rather than her girlfriend. So, for me her interactions with Jisu were so refreshing and I love the chapters at his house.

Respecting to those chapters, I want to point out how I think your theories were spot on. When I was re-reading I noticed how there was a single panel that just showed how nice the weather was for literally no reason (lol), and it has a weird placing, because it's just in the middle of the Jisu playing the guitar section, followed by the higher power's text box "he's soooooo cool!!!!!" (actually in that part I thought the same lmao)

(Now that I look at the picture there is a church, uh?)

And when Jisu was teaching Mi-ae to play guitar, at first I just thought that it was really funny how while Mi-ae was rambling about her life, Jisu was more bothered by the way she was playing the guitar rather than listening to her, but then when I read your theory about Jisu being in the spectrum that clicked really well, because although his way of teaching can be interpreted las "romantic", it didn't seem like it (at least for him), and he just wanted her to get the chords right. But maybe I'm reading to much into it haha.

(I think that maybe a lot of people can interpret that he's acting jealous, because she also was talking about Cheol, but I don't quite share that way of thinking) (Maybe it's a little bit of both)

Other point that I find very interesting is the difference between the relationship that Cheol and Mi-ae have and hers with Jisu. When I stopped to think about it, the first enforces the concept of the first love with bunch of clichés and situations that seem out of a comic book (them bumping a lot into each other, being neighbors, theirs windows facing each other, the falling and catching, they being deskmates by coincidence the first day of clases, they going to the same academy and the same class again by coincidence, etc).

But with Jisu it's completely different (even though the higher power it's making them bump into each other), their pace it's more slow and "normal", there are no strange situations that make them blush or act weird, and if it happens something like that it's not presented the same way as it's been with Cheol, they almost look platonic. So, for Jisu being a second male lead it's kinda strange, isn't it? Because it's supposed that the sml it's a character that stirs the drama and make the fl question herself and her feelings. For that reason I think that they represent how a more "realistic" relationship or "second love" looks, and I guess that it's intentional how Mi-ae has never compared her interactions with him with the manga she reads (not happening the same with Cheol and I guess Jinseop in one occasion)

Even so I might be wrong, but I wanted to talk about this with someone, and you seem so nice and introspective I couldn't hold myself for writing :). I hope you're doing fine in your life, and sorry if some wording feels off, English is not my first language <3

Hi, welcome to the fandom^^ you're never too late, especially with the long hiatus T_T I hope we can see the ending one day together, and don't worry your English is very good :) Sorry for replying late, life has been busy, I hope you're doing well too and thank you for such a long post.

It's nice to meet another person who likes Jisu as a character :) I also agree with you, I think his presence in the series has given the story a new dynamic and I always love his chapters. Honestly, it's better to ignore all the hate comments, I feel like the biggest reason he gets so much hate is only because he's the second lead, but also seeing grown-up people bully a teenager can definitely be weird at times :D

I think the hate he received when he said that was definitely overblown, he and Cheol were both wrong and Jisu said that because Cheol also mentioned going to Miae's house. We have to remember that from Jisu's perspective, Miae is someone who used to be his friend, then completely forgot about him, I would honestly be hurt in his place, too. Most readers only empathize with Cheol and Miae because they are the main characters, completely disregarding the instances when they were also being childish (also, there's nothing wrong with them making mistakes, they are kids). Miae definitely has a problem with taking responsibility for her actions - she likes avoiding things that are bothersome and she would rather ignore conflicts than face them. He's definitely a true friend in the sense that he helps her to reflect on her behaviour, because she actually considers his advice even if she doesn't like it.

I feel like every character has different things to learn, like you said Cheol tends to think of Miae like a kid, which can reinforce her avoidant behaviour. Just think about how Miae's first thought was to ask for Cheol's help when she wanted her friends to reconcile - it wasn't a situation where Cheol could intervene, it was a matter between Miae and her friends only. She should not rely on Cheol for trying to fix her own relationships, she needs to either choose a side or openly state her opinion. She refuses change and even in her imagined future everything is the same, but that's definitely not realistic and her mother knows it too, they are great foils to each other.

Yes I agree the panelling is really good in this webtoon :) it's one of the reasons why I hope it won't be finished in light novel format, it'd take away so much from the storytelling. Also, the random church was funny haha I wonder why that was there.

I also agree with the guitar playing scene, I don't think it was about jealousy. We've seen before that Jisu is not a very patient person, and there are things that irritate him easily. Which is, like you said, can be because he might be on the spectrum. He's also not a good teacher because he cannot understand why things that he can do easily might be hard to others. He also doesn't seem to have much drive to socialize with others, we saw this when he was a kid too. It's possible he had no ulterior motive when he was teaching Miae, but even if he doesn't realize it he should still work on how to respect the personal space of others, like I said every character has things to learn. Btw, I feel like there's something big Miae doesn't remember about him, and Jisu finds it strange. Even in your screenshot, he doesn't answer her when she asks about why he had to transfer. Soonkki likes to work with flashbacks and foreshadowing so this is probably something important.

Very good catch about their dynamics, I also wondered about this, and I reached the same conclusion, it's either to show that Miae&Cheol's relationship is more romantic in nature OR it's meant to be a contrast between a love that's idealized and one that's more realistic like you said. It definitely depends on the author's intentions. There was also the scene when Jisu and Miae also almost had the comic book cliche kiss, but Cheol interfered, but even if he hadn't there's no guarantee they wouldn't have just bumped into each other. And true, Jisu's role is more of helping Miae face her problems, rather than being a second lead. For a long time, he was also the only character who was not connected to either the academy or Cheol, and his perspective is limited which I find a fun part of the story - this way we can keep guessing about his past and e.g. his connection to Johan. I also find it interesting he's the only one who seems to be aware of the supernatural storyline haha btw I love all the kids so I hope they'll all have their happy endings

[lej222]

I've always loved your interpretations, and was wondering how would you describe ASLFUA in your own words? Whenever I try to recommend the story to a friend, my words are aren't giving it enough justice or I just can't fully give a proper description. How would you do it?

Thank you so much :))) Honestly, I feel like not many people would agree with me, but I think of ASLFUA as a funny and nostalgic growth story about a group of young students who are just starting to step into the real world and about the last moments when they can still be kids. It reminds me of the concerns I had when I was their age, and how differently I thought about the world and my future - the hopes I had, the friendships I made, the people I had to say goodbye to. In a way, it reminds me that change is constant but good memories will stay with you forever.

[lej222]

Do you think the names of the schools in ASLFUA are going to influence the roles of the characters later on?

I KNOW the school names are intentional. Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje are the names of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.

Goguryeo was known for its strong army and fighting, and almost every student we know from that school is either a bully or good at fighting , students we know from that school are either bullies or good at fighting .

Silla was more strategic and focused on forming alliances, which also kind of fits some of the students there.

Baekje is the only one I’m less sure about 🥲 . Historically it was associated with art and culture, but in ASLFUA the students from Baekje seem more socially connected and emotionally expressive rather than artistic.

the personalities and dynamics of the students from each school kind of match these traits so far.

Soooo

Maybe the schools are meant to reflect different “types” of people or approaches to conflict? Im not sure….i just couldn’t stop thinkin about this

I really really wanna hear your thoughts on this topic :D

I haven't seen anyone mentioning this before, and I think you are definitely right :D Honestly I feel like it's fitting to the story because teenagers usually have this sense of belonging, like being part of the same group makes you feel like being part of a collective whole. In the story we have students who belong to different middle schools, students who belong to different academies, students who live in the same neighbourhood, etc. - and like you said all these things contribute to a shared identity that they can relate to. And it's nice how students from all these different "kingdoms" come together at the academy regardless of their backgrounds. The academy is truly the center of it all, it's no wonder it's also in the title.

[lej222]

The Most Heartbreaking yet Beautiful Webtoon No One Talks About - 'Whale Star: The Gyeongseong Mermaid'

Sometimes you see a plot description that gives you the wrong first impression about a series - this is exactly what happened to me when I first came across 'Whale Star: The Gyeongseong Mermaid" on Webtoon. Contrary to my expectations, this work had no mermaids or any other fantasy elements in it; instead, it's a realistic story about war, loss and the power of human connections.

Set in 1926, when Joseon was under Japanese colonial rule, the story follows a girl named Su-a who discovers a wounded man washed up on the shore. Su-a, who was sold as a servant to a rich pro-Japanese household at the age of five, realizes that the stranger is an independence fighter wanted by the police. When she recalls a whale that once died before her eyes, Su-a decides to help the man instead of handing him over to the authorities. Uihyeon, as she later learns his name, had been tasked with delivering explosives to a safe location before he was separated from his comrade and fell into the sea. Uihyeon compares Su-a saving him from drowning to the protagonist in Andersen's 'The Little Mermaid'. This analogy sets the stage for the tragic events that follow, changing the life of the innocent young woman who becomes entangled in the Korean independence movement.

>FROM HERE ON, I WILL INCLUDE SPOILERS ABOUT THE ENTIRETY OF THE WEBTOON, INCLUDING ITS ENDING! PLEASE DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO AVOID DISCUSSIONS ABOUT FUTURE PLOT DEVELOPMENTS!<

A life of suffering and misfortune gives way to conviction

Su-a's actions are discovered by her mistress, who turns a blind eye to her crime but orders Uihyeon to leave. Su-a wishes to see him one more time, so she decides to go to the independence movement's meeting point to deliver Uihyeon's secret letter that he left with her. However, she accidentally eavesdrops on an important conversation between two individuals involving the movement's future plans. They judge Uihyeon's letter to be genuine, but they have no way to verify the truth of Su-a's words. To ensure that no confidential information gets leaked, one of them, a man named Haesu, forces her to drink lye mixed with opium. Su-a survives but she loses her voice, which renders her unable to communicate as she can neither read nor write.

Despite objections from her father, Su-a's mistress makes Su-a stay and teaches her simple signs to use so she can still work as her maid. However, tragedy soon strikes when the lady of the house is forced to marry a Japanese officer. She wants to fight for her freedom of choice, but her father leaves no room for negotiation. Before taking her own life, she tells Su-a to go so far away that she can even forget who she used to be.

This is the start of an overarching theme in the story - Su-a wonders how people like Uihyeon and her lady can throw away their lives for their convictions. Su-a thinks of herself as a fish, and her mistress as the ocean - the "water she breathed". Su-a feels content with the salty air and the sound of the waves, she doesn't think she needs more in life, until her "ocean", the young mistress, dies. Su-a is suddenly a fish out of water, a person without purpose. Holding on to the scissors her lady used to end her own life, Su-a sets out to find the man who took away her voice and seek revenge.

With the help of a kind student, Su-a arrives at 'Whale Star', the tea shop that the independence fighters use as their secret base. She encounters Uihyeon who is horrified to learn what happened to her. To Uihyeon, Haesu was like a comrade and a brother; nevertheless, Uihyeon cannot find it in his heart to forgive him for what he did. After confessing his sin, Haesu receives a letter from the leaders of the resistance fighters: Su-a can decide what to do with his life. Haesu proposes to drink lye, but gives the opium to Su-a. Despite the pain she feels about what happened to her, Su-a stops him at the last moment, thinking about how she cannot proudly claim her death like the people around her, and how the death of that man would not make him suffer as much as she did. Su-a is put under surveillance and starts working at the tea shop while living with Uihyeon.

In the webtoon, we follow the tragic fates of many different characters. Uihyeon, the lady Su-a served, Haesu - they are all ready to die for what they believe in. They turned the pain they suffered into conviction, and for them, their conviction is proof of their autonomy and agency.

The same goes for Yeongyeong, the other independence fighter who was with Haesu when they met Su-a. Her husband was captured by Japanese soldiers, but did not live long after returning home. Yeongyeong gave birth to their baby as a young widow. With her younger brother, they joined the fight for independence. She never shows any sign of regret about her actions; to Yeongyeong, her determination is stronger than her relationships. She leaves her son knowing that she cannot take care of him, and takes her own life when she gets captured. She only allows herself to cry once in the story, before she leaves everything behind. As a cruel twist of fate, her brother betrays their cause when she's captured in order to save her life, but by then she's already dead.

Similarly to Yeongyeong, Haesu never apologizes for what he did to Su-a, but throughout the story his actions keep haunting him. Haesu lost his entire family at a young age at the hands of Japanese soldiers, and like Yeongyeong he wanted to believe that the end justifies the means - that for the sake of their nation, silencing one girl was a price they had to pay, even if it was a vile thing to do. At the same time, he knows what he did cannot be forgiven. In their relationship, Su-a is a victim, and she never forgets the pain that was inflicted on her. Not once in the story does she refer to him by his name, she always calls him "that man", and she's repulsed by his touch. While she can never forgive him, they spend a winter together and she extends him the courtesy of respecting his last wish before he dies. Haesu's feelings for Su-a are complex, rooted in guilt and self-hatred, but also in the admiration of Su-a's innate kindness that she shares with Uihyeon.

Uihyeon, as later revealed in the series, is the son of a famous pro-Japanese judge. While studying in Japan as a student, he experienced the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923. In the wake of the tragedy, he witnessed the murder of ethnic Koreans, and only avoided the same fate because of the help of the family he was staying with. Crushed by his inability to help the victims, he looked up at the sky and was reminded of the words his mother spoke about how the moon looks the same from both Joseon and Japan - but instead of comforting, he found the situation cruel because the moon truly looked beautiful, despite the tragedy occurring on the ground. It was the moment when he decided he wanted to see the moon of a free Joseon. Upon returning to his homeland, Uihyeon sold the lands under his name and joined the independence fighters, becoming close friends with Haesu.

Uihyeon and Haesu serve as great foils who go through vastly different experiences throughout the story. After their first meeting, Haesu quickly realizes that Uihyeon is different from him, and that makes it hard to trust him - Uihyeon hesitates when he is asked to kill, and feels immense guilt upon pulling the trigger, while Haesu already lost everyone close to his heart and can be more rational. Uihyeon is an emotional person, characterized by the love for his country, in his words "Joseon is [his] mother, [his] friend, [his] brother, and [his] lover." Haesu tells him that Uihyeon can have his great romance, while he will be the "venomous one", foreshadowing their future relationship with Su-a as well who lost her voice because of Haesu. Haesu endlessly distrusts people because of his past, but Uihyeon still has the mindset that he had as a kid - a hope for a better future, like how Uihyeon talks about the scent of rain that Haesu was curious about when he was younger. Uihyeon's "great romance" (idealism) and Haesu's "venom" (pragmatism) are both challenged by the narrative when Uihyeon is forced to kill, and Haesu is saved by the person he deeply hurt.

Ignorance and the mindset of the privileged

To avoid suspicion about Su-a's identity, Uihyeon claims that she is his relative while the two of them live together. Uihyeon teaches her how to read and write, and in exchange for returning home to visit his father, he asks someone working for his family for information about Su-a's former household. At the same time, Uihyeon's father tries to force him into a marriage with Haruko, the daughter of the Japanese family he stayed with in 1923. Haruko used to watch Uihyeon sitting under her window while she was playing the violin, and once he even told her he liked the song that she was playing. However, after the earthquake Uihyeon stopped listening to her music, and soon went home to Joseon.

Haruko tells her father that she would be happy marrying Uihyeon, but unbeknownst to her she is mistaking Uihyeon's amiable personality in the past for genuine romantic interest. Uihyeon is upfront with her about not wanting their union, and claims not to remember interacting with her in the past. For Uihyeon, everything about himself that was true before he went to Japan has become irrelevant, like how he doesn't reply to Haruko when she's talking about the music he used to like - in Uihyeon's heart there's no place for anything else other than the love for his country.

Haruko's conversation with Uihyeon highlights the difference in their priorities. Haruko, coming from a rich Japanese household, appears to be in a privileged position compared to the less fortunate people of Joseon. She has wealth, social standing and musical talent, as well as the freedom to choose a marriage partner whom she loves. Uihyeon is someone who has already become disillusioned with her world - he left his family, along with his status and wealth, and he wants to live and die for the people of his country. On the other hand, Haruko is not someone who can understand his pain and determination - for Haruko, musical recitals are still the main conversation topics, while the independence fighters are "rioters" and she believes Uihyeon couldn't possibly "be like them."

In spite of her naivety, Uihyeon refers to her as a kind person he never had feelings for and won't in the future either. Haruko is insistent that he might come to love her if they spend time together, but she doesn't understand that her ignorance about the suffering of Uihyeon's fellow countrymen is not something that he can overlook. Although Uihyeon doesn't blame her for having been born into a privileged position, he cannot relate to her after the tragedies he witnessed and cannot remain indifferent either. To him, giving false hope to Haruko and making her miserable as a result would be like committing yet another sin.

The Little Mermaid, and her prince who loved another

Some of the best love stories are ones that do not focus on romance. Su-a and Uihyeon's relationship is a tragic retelling of Andersen's famous fairy tale, 'The Little Mermaid'. Their bond is central to the plot, even if they spend most of the series separated from each other - the story starts and ends with them, thereby giving it a frame structure.

Su-a is only a servant girl when she finds Uihyeon washed up on the shore. She's someone who values life and that's why she decides to save him instead of calling the police. When Uihyeon first regains consciousness, he falls into the sea and it's Su-a who pulls him out. Uihyeon compares her to Andersen's mermaid princess, while Su-a thinks of herself as a fish who only wants to swim in the sea. She recognizes Uihyeon's good nature, thinking that someone with "[his] tone, [his] voice, [his] eyes" cannot be a bad person. Even though she's a servant, he treats her with respect and kindness. She tells him about herself, and wants to know more about him. But before she can put a name to her feelings, Uihyeon has to leave.

Su-a wants to see him again, even if for one last time, and her decision comes with the cost of losing her voice. Just like The Little Mermaid, Su-a cannot return to her "ocean", because her young mistress soon dies. Su-a doesn't know what she should do, she is unable to kill the man who took her voice, and she feels like there is no place for her anymore. When she reunites with Uihyeon, he is heartbroken to see that she got hurt because of the cause he is fighting for. Just like Su-a, Uihyeon also wanted to meet her again one day and thank her for saving his life, but she lost everything because of him. Uihyeon offers to let her live with him, and teaches her how to read and write. They share a room and walk home together every day. Uihyeon finds her company comforting and wants to be there for her when she needs him, and before he realizes it his feelings start to turn into romantic love.

However, Uihyeon's conviction for the independence of Joseon outweighs everything else. He knows that choosing to love and fight for his country means "keeping death a close companion"; therefore, he cannot commit to a relationship with Su-a even if he's unable to let her go. He tells her that she saved him so half of his life is made up of her, and promises to find her again in the future wherever she is, no matter how many times it takes. At the same time, Uihyeon is not aware that his father was informed about his participation in the independence movement and alerted the police about their hideout. As a result, the resistance fighters are forced to flee after Su-a warns them about the imminent danger - some of them get imprisoned or hurt, while Uihyeon is dragged back to his family home.

Uihyeon's father tells the police that his son was a spy in the organization, which leads to him being perceived as a traitor by his comrades. Uihyeon loses his will to live, blaming himself for the tragedy, but eventually steels himself to fight until his last breath after he sees the brutality that happened in the tea house. Pretending to go along with his father's wishes, Uihyeon announces his engagement to Haruko and returns to school, all the while conducting a plan to eliminate his own father. Su-a saves the life of Haesu and the two of them hide in a temple during winter. When Su-a overhears Haesu's decision to kill Uihyeon if he turns out to be a traitor, she disguises herself as a man and sets out to find him before Haesu.

Haesu ends up being the one to find him first, but Su-a saves Uihyeon's life by killing a soldier, getting shot in the process. Haesu sacrifices himself so the two of them can escape, and he thinks about how, if even for a moment, he wanted Uihyeon to become tainted, for Uihyeon to feel the desperation that followed him throughout his life. However, when he sees Uihyeon's eyes, he realizes he is still "Su-a's Uihyeon", meaning that his innate good qualities could not be completely erased even after what he experienced. Su-a says something similar to Uihyeon when she witnesses him burning his clothes after taking the lives of Japanese officers - that he's still the same person she met back on the beach. Uihyeon doesn't want Su-a to see how he "comes back with a new layer of filth" every day; how he loses his humanity after taking the lives of others. They both continue to accept and see the best in each other, while being afraid that the other could find their darkest parts.

Not allowing himself to love Su-a because of his commitment to his country and his sense of guilt, Uihyeon makes preparations to send her abroad with all the money he can give her. His goal is to use Haesu's bomb and kill his father, along with other high-ranking officials, ending his own life in the process. And one day, when they meet again, he wants to ask Su-a how beautiful the moon looked in a complete Joseon, implying that he can only reunite with her after death. The day before he plans to die, Uihyeon wants to make Su-a hate him, so he claims that he never loved her and she should forget about him. However, Su-a came to know of his plan and uses opium to make him fall asleep, taking the bomb with her and completing Uihyeon's task in his stead.

Su-a's journey is one of self-discovery: she initially thinks she's content with "living like a fish", until she realizes there's more to life. She keeps contemplating her purpose, about why the people around her can proudly give up on their lives for their beliefs. She understands it at the end of the story, when she not only saves Uihyeon's life once again, but also protects him from having to kill his own father. Su-a realizes that Uihyeon's greatest "love" is for Joseon to be a free country - just like in the story of 'The Little Mermaid', the prince already had someone else in his heart. Her mistress told her to go far away until she can forget who she is, but Su-a ended up learning more about herself, and through her love for Uihyeon she also grew to love Joseon just as much as him.

For Uihyeon, the commitment to love his country was so great it prevented him from acting on his feelings for Su-a. There's deep respect, longing and passion between them, and the story manages to convey the depth of their feelings even without them ever being intimate with each other. Uihyeon's "lover" can only be Joseon, but Su-a also ends up symbolizing their country - she lost her voice, she lost her freedom, and she was even forced to kill; yet dies for the one she loves of her own accord. All the symbols in the series: the scissors, the opium bottle that Su-a carries, the moon - they represent the conviction of the characters, the freedom that they long for.

The ending of the story is powerful - we never see Uihyeon's reaction to Su-a's sacrifice, and no one knows what happened to him. A few months after Su-a's death, Uihyeon sends a letter that is described as if it were written by a child; this is likely the letter Su-a left with him, explaining her decision. Whether Uihyeon took his own life after that, or whether he stayed alive, continuing to fight for independence honoring Su-a's decision to save his life - it's an open ending. The last scene seems to be about the two of them reuniting after death, with Uihyeon looking at the moon at the beach where they first met and greeting Su-a. It's possible he kept his promise and found her again, even if it was only in the afterlife, but under the skies of a free Joseon.

I could still write about other important characters and plot points, but my post is getting way too long haha All I want to say is that this is a beautiful webtoon that stays with you, and I hope more people can read it and appreciate its deep themes. Also, I'm aware this is a famous work on Naver, but I wish I could see more English discussions about it, that's why I wrote "no one" talks about it (just to clarify).

So now, time to cry :D

[lej222]

Hi! I really liked your theories about ASLFUA, especially your analysis of Jisu’s character!! I love how you notice small details.

I have a question: do you think Mi-ae’s mother might actually be the author (or somehow involved in working on) the manga she reads, My Love Next Door is Number One? I feel like there are a lot of subtle hints about her real job, like the mention of calligraphy and her “meetings” with other women. I was wondering if that could connect to working on manga (like inking or drawing pages) or something similar.She also seems to scold Mi-ae a lot whenever she reads the manga, which feels a bit suspicious. And it seems like she might be hiding her real job from her daughter… but why?

Plus, she told Mi-ae not to worry about the academy money because she would handle it, which made me think she might have a hidden source of income. Another thing I noticed is how the manga mirrors Mi-ae’s life so closely. Sometimes it even feels like when her mother looks at Mi-ae and Cheol, she’s taking inspiration from them.

Or do you think it’s just the author using it as a storytelling device? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Hello!^^ Thank you so much, it's nice meeting people here who also like his character :)

Omg!! I actually never thought of that, that's one of the most fun theories I've ever read :OO It's true we know she might have a side-job it'd honestly make a lot of sense if it was something that required her creativity. That would be wild if she destroyed the comics she worked hard on, though :DD Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the manga was already ongoing before Cheol's family moved to their current place. Still, if she was working on it as an assistant, that woudl be a super funny coincidence :D

After your reading your theory, I think it's a possibility ngl or she might be working on other comics. I wouldn't rule this out being a story-telling device because we know that whatever/whoever is talking to Miae, it can manipulate objects too, but it's also possible Miae just likes it and it's all a big coincidence. I enjoyed reading your theory so much :D

[lej222]

Hello! Did you see Sonkki's latest post? I don't know what platform she uploaded it to, but it makes me really sad. I clearly support the author in everything; a chapter a week and the length of each one is just amazing. I understood she was unsure whether to give a rushed ending or wait to do it right as she wanted, and I understood that the latter was her wish. I hope this is the case, but I understand if she can't do it. I started reading this series in 2024 when it was on hiatus, and it just returned the week after I read it (a miracle), and I've been waiting for it ever since and will continue to wait. It's a series that I find beautifully written in terms of character development and moves at a tender pace... I don't think I've seen anything this beautiful. The truth is I don't really understand the culture of manhwa authors (or Korean culture) very well. How do you think I could show my support to her?"

Hi! :)

I agree with you, I respect every artist and writer for their hard work, it requires crazy dedication. I can also understand she didn't want to go with a rushed ending, there's so much care put into this webtoon that I think it deserves a proper conclusion.

Just like you, I could accept if the series would not be finished. The hiatus has been going on for almost 2 years, with no return date in sight. I don't know what kind of contract she has with Naver Webtoon, or if she has another full-time job, obviously it would be great if she could finish the series but she should prioritize her health. Maybe she'll be able to release the remaining story in light novel format, or she might collaborate with another artist and only stay as a writer - if she cannot continue illustrating the series.

I find your words very beautiful and I also think this is a unique series. The best way to support creators is to subscribe to the works on the official sites, like every episode, leave comments and share it with other people. You can also follow the creator on their social media, click on all the chapters on Naver Webtoon as well because it's free, leave supporting messages on their socials, Soonkki has an Instagram account. If you can afford and you are a collector, you can also buy official merch :) Also, keep talking about it on social media so that the fandom doesn't die if the series comes back one day :)

[lej222]

Hi, so I wanted to ask you what your thoughts are on jinseop and his role in the story cuz at first I thought he'd be the 2nd ml, but he ends up befriending both Cheol and Mi-ae.

what do you think of him, and what purpose does he serve in the story?

Hi!^^ Honestly, at first I also thought he would be the second male lead haha I'm happy it didn't happen because it's rare to see platonic friendships in romance webtoons.

I think there can be different answers to this questions. ASLFUA features a bunch of kids who grow throughout the story and Jinseop has already gone through a big character development, it's nice to see how he genuinely became friends with Miae and Cheol instead of staying as a people-pleaser. But I also think he might be related to the plot later on, because he used to hang out with people who know Tae-Uk, and after the latest episode it's clear Tae-Uk will be a relevant character. So Jinseop might be able to help Miae using his connections. I also feel like even if Miae and Cheol got separated at the end of the story, Jinseop would stay friends with Cheol.

[lej222]

When I was rereading aslfua I noticed that in ch 64 Miae was picked up by someone but Cheol was too far for it to be him. Could it be that it was Jisu??

Yes I think it was him :) just like how he was the one who returned Miae's pencil

[lej222]

I wanted to ask i've read aslfua like 4 or 5 times and everytime i try to find what does unripe apple have to do in all of it do u have an idea?

Hi! ^^

In my opinion, it appears both literally and symbolically. It is name of the academy Miae attends, Cheol also gave her a green apple hairpin. If we go by the English translation of the title, I think unripe apples also symbolize the kids in the story, especially if we connect it to the fact that the academy has the same name. Miae and her friends are "unripe apples" because they still have many things to learn about themselves and the world around them. It's still quite some time before they "ripen" and become adults, until then they learn from their mistakes, build connections with others and go through many changes in their lives. That's one of the reasons why I believe the story will end with their middle school years :)

[lej222]

Hi!!! I have a question about Tamon's b-side, you said you've read the manga so I'm curious about what was shown to us at the end of ep6, like how will the characters develop? Do u think that it made sense? I liked the twist but i'm curious about your opinion, You can spoil the manga too i don't mind

Hello! ^^ Of course, I can share my opinion, from here on I'll include manga spoilers

I believe you're referring to Tamon's sudden yandere twist and I've also seen people not understanding why it was needed. I personally think that it made a lot of sense and it was foreshadowed well. Although this is a comedy series, there are mentions of very real problems that these idols have to face, and I feel like some people gloss over these parts because they fail to see that the manga is also a satire. Sure, at first glance it looks like a typical Wattpad story about a fan meeting their favourite celebrity, but the manga is very much self-aware. We are always reminded that Tamon and the other members of F/ACE are putting on an act, an image created by their company in order to maximize their income. All that matters to their superiors is how well they can sell this fantasy to the fans, whether it's them participating in "shipping" culture or doing fanservice. And we are also shown that the members hate doing this part of the job, in fact they can barely stand each other in real life. In this regard, the series is like a mirror to parasocial fans in many ways - we can see all the good and awful aspects of people obsessing over these idols, and just how little they actually know about their true lives and true personalities.

Tamon is someone who went to Tokyo all alone when he was a teenager. He had no support system to rely on and was under huge pressure to maintain the confident-guy image he was given. In the manga, he tells Utage about his childhood and we learn that Tamon was severely bullied as a child. When his brother who was studying in Tokyo at the time visited their home, he became worried for him especially after Tamon didn't want to go back to school. His brother decided to take Tamon with him in hopes of helping him. Tamon's brother was dancing in competitions and his friends invited Tamon to watch him rehearsing. That was the first time Tamon smiled in a long time, and it was how he learned to love dancing. Tamon's brother eventually became an office worker and got married, but Tamon decided to be an idol because of him, and in a lot of ways he imitates his popular brother when he wants to look confident.

Someone like Tamon, who was a bullied kid and had very little self-esteem, naturally gravitated towards someone like Utage who speaks confidently and has a big heart. The thing is, it's not just Utage who puts Tamon on a pedestal, Tamon does the same with her. Tamon thinks of her as a "goddess", he believes he's not worthy of anyone's love, especially not the love of someone amazing like Utage. Tamon believes his existence is already inconveniencing others, we also see this in a flashabck where Tamon's brother asked him what he wanted to eat and Tamon said the cheapest dish until his brother told him to be more confident in what he wants. Utage is Tamon's first real friend, it's not surprising that he became overdependent and possessive of her. When he lost the center position, the only thing that he believed Utage liked about him, he became anxious. Because he's someone who doesn't see his own good qualities, he tried to do everything in order to make Utage stay. It's not a healthy coping mechanism, Utage herself realized it, but it makes sense for someone like Tamon who's also dealing with depression. All these feelings are new to him and he doesn't know how to express them in a healthy way, at least not yet. In the manga he'll start to express himself better, there's a scene when there's only one slice of pizza left and he eats eat before Ouri can, symbolizing that Tamon is finally putting himself first and becoming more confident about his feelings.

Utage also saw Tamon for the first time when she was going through a hard time. Obsessing over Tamon gave her something to talk about and bond over with her friends. She's aware that she wasn't in love with Tamon's on-stage persona, but she cannot accept that she has feelings for Gloomyhara. Utage's biggest problem is that she cannot leave the mindset of a superfan. While she's being respectful around Tamon and doesn't cross boundaries, she refuses to listen to him when he wants to get closer to her. There's a good scene later in the manga when Utage meets other people acquinted with the members of the band, and she starts wondering if the problem is with her because she keeps overthinking her relationship with Tamon. There's another nice subplot when Utage wonders about how she's treating him. Because Utage has two younger siblings, she's used to treat others like a mother, and she also treated Tamon the same way for quite some time. In fact, she has the realization that making money for Tamon might have been an excuse because she actually likes the housekeeping job, and she's also a very organized person so it suits her. She's very professional when she's working, and there are some funny moments because of it, like how Tamon (like any other teenage boy) is terrified when she wants to fold his underwear haha. But like I said, both Tamon and Utage put each other on a pedestal and that's why it takes them a long time to face their feelings. Utage also needs to let go of the beliefs that a lot of parasocial fans have.

I'll also talk a bit about Ouri. While he openly dislikes Tamon, the reason is not because Tamon was the center. Ouri is the child of two superstars. He was told ever since he was a kid that if he wanted to be a celebrity he would have to face very high expectations. Ouri hates Tamon because as a prideful person he felt like Tamon was pitying him after the competition. Ouri doesn't mind losing as long as the other person also does their best. When Tamon finally said that he would beat him, it was a big moment for the both of them. He's actually a very funny character I hope people don't hate him too much haha they are all relatable in different ways

[lej222]

hi it was me who sent the firefly wedding ask! i was relieved to hear you didn't like the ending too so that said, do you might have suggestions similar to firefly wedding?

Hello^^ sorry for the late reply I was thinking about it :D But I got a great recommendation from a friend, it's a horror/mystery series called 클래스메이트 ("Classmate"). It recently received a #hateromance tag as well.

Unfortunately right now it's only on Naver Webtoon here with no official English translation yet. So let's hope English Webtoon will license it soon because it's a great series.

The story takes place in 2008 and it's about a high school girl who is forced by her bullies to perform a ghost summoning ritual in the abandoned annex of their school building. To her absolute shock, a mysterious spirit truly appears and he offers her a deal - if she agrees to invite him to her class by another ritual, he'll make sure that the classmates who torment her won't be able to keep bothering her.

The main characters are interesting and the mystery part is well-done, with great foreshadowing. The ghost is very scary and unhinged, so if you liked Firefly Wedding he's like Shinpei in some ways lol but because this is a horror story, it's kind of dark and it keeps you guessing.

[lej222]

Hellooo I love your analysis of ASLFUA and I was wondering how you would feel if ASLFUA got a K-Drama. I think most of the fandom agrees a K-Drama would not bring justice and kinda ruin the characters but I do wanna know how you feel they would handle it if they ever adapted the comic.

Hiii! ^^ I think I agree with this opinion, because the webtoon has a lot of exaggerated moments it wouldn't translate well into a K-drama, and another problem in my opinion is that they likely wouldn't cast real middle schoolers. And I don't personally want to see Cha Eunwoo playing a middle schooler (I mean he likely won't because of his scandal) just joking haha but Kdramas tend to cast attractive people who don't necessarily have the acting chops to pull of roles like this so I would rather not want this webtoon to get an adaptation unless it's an animated series.

[lej222]

I like both Cheol/Miae and Jisu/Miae. I’m not usually into multishipping, but Miae has great chemistry with both of them. Cheol and Miae’s relationship is developed organically and feels genuine, while Miae and Jisu have a fun dynamic that could easily grow into something romantic. If Jisu were the male lead and his relationship with Miae were developed the same way, I think it would be just as well-loved.

I personally agree with you, both pairs have a great dynamic and I wouldn't mind either outcome. Also, they are 14/15 I think it'd be normal for them to date other people, their whole lives are ahead of them. I feel like only a loud minority of the readers hate Jisu with a passion, most people on Naver seem to like him, so like you said I also believe it all depends on the writing and how the author envisions the ending.

[lej222]

i asked you about anime so i have another question if you don't mind answering so i saw a lot of people on youtube complaining about animation quality of shows, do you think they are overreacting i only saw recent anime

Of course you don't bother me, and I can only tell my opinion. I've been watching anime since I was a kid and it's truly noticeable when the animation is more fluid, BUT I feel like a lot of Youtube reactors don't understand that Demon Slayer and JJK level of animation is not the expected norm. If you want to read up on this topic, I recommend searching up what MAPPA's animators had to say about working on the second season of JJK and how utterly awful their working conditions were. Because of high demand, animators are expected to create extremely high-quality series while being underpaid and overworked. Good animation takes time and money, also a capable team with a good director. In most cases, there conditions are simply not met, and instead of blaming the companies who exploit these workers people attack the already overworked staff. We've seen this with One Punch Man season 3 where the director had to make a statement after the relentless bullying they faced from Western content creators. It's one thing to find a frame funny, it's another to harass the creators. I think it's okay if an anime doesn't have insane animation, as long as the animators get fair treatment, a good story can shine even without perfect production quality.

[lej222]

i'm not the previous person, but I'm new to anime so you said tamons b side is popular for a shoujo. But i went on reddit and other anime has way more upvotes.so how do u know?

You see, most anime series are made in order to promote the source material and therefore boost its sales. Shounen manga titles usually get more promotion and they often receive adaptations. Reddit numbers are irrelevant in this discussion because the main goal is to perform well in Japan. I also don't think that Reddit can tell you how popular something is because anyone can upvote a post, but it doesn't mean they buy/read the manga or buy merch, they might not even be watching the anime.

So basically an anime is a success if it can significantly boost the sales of the source material. As you can read here, Tamon's B-side is so popular in Japan right now that all volumes need an emergency reprint.

[lej222]

hiiii! i have seen people asking you manga questions, I would like to talk about this with someone, I might bother you in the future too if you don't mind hehe so have you read firefly wedding? i hated the ending i need someone to talk to (ignore if you haven't)

Hi! :D Of course, I like to talk with others you can always ask me :D

And I've been following Firefly Wedding for a long time, and oh boy, do I hate that ending too. When this manga came out years ago, it was one of my favourite titles at the time - the story was interesting, I liked the setting, the characters had a unique dynamic. There was one point in the series when the plot fell off for me, spoilers from here on about the entire series:

so I loved the chapters when they were on the island, there were high-stakes with Satoko's internal conflict about marrying for love vs marrying in order to make her father happy out of duty as a loving daughter. Shinpei was truly a dangerous guy and super unhinged, but you couldn't help but feel bad for him after knowing about the kind of life he had to live. There was a feeling of genuine helplessness seeing those young women trapped on the island and knowing Shinpei couldn't possibly be together with Satoko under normal circumstances. Even the title foreshadowed a sad ending, fireflies are known to have short lives, which could either refer to Satoko's lifespan who had a chronic disease, and/or their marriage that could never last because of her choice/limited time.

I thought the main conflict of the story would be about Satoko choosing her father and her "duty" over her feelings for Shinpei, or deciding to stay with him accepting she might never see her father again. This great internal conflict was unfortunately retconned by the reveal that Satoko's father was actually the hidden villain and he wanted to trick her into marrying a rich man by abducting her. It was a ridiculous plot twist that cheapened the importance of Satoko's dilemma, and the new suitor was even worse, mainly there as a plot device and adding nothing to the story. I was actually familiar with the mangaka's previous work, I didn't like it so I wasn't exactly surprised this manga also took a nonsensical route but I was still disappointed. Because while they were on the island, the possible outcomes were obvious and they were all bittersweet:

a) Satoko would leave Shinpei, get married to a man from an aristocratic household, and leave the letter behind to explain her decision that was motivated by her love for her father

b) Satoko would stay with Shinpei but would pass away soon because of her ilness, hence the "Firefly Wedding" title

c) Satoko would stay with Shinpei and miraculously heal, but she wouldn't be able to see her father again (again bittersweet ending)

Shinpei realizing the weight of his past actions was a nice plot development which could have worked with all the endings I just mentioned. The last chapter; however, was extremely melodramatic for no reason. Shinpei not knowing Satoko survived was awful writing, especially after her explanation about how she was saved (which btw made no sense). Satoko kept in touch with influential people who could have easily tracked down Shinpei even if he was using a fake name. It also makes the title meaningless in many ways, especially with all the fake-out deaths.

I would say the island arc was really good, everything after that was mediocre, and the ending was quite pretentious and nonsensical. This is by no means me hating on the author to be clear! I still like the first half of the manga and I think the concept was unique.