Union Boys - Best/Worst School Subjects Headcanons
The Union is chock full of troublemaking delinquents who seem to spend all of their time smoking, being bullies, and getting into fistfights. Even at school (especially at school). It's a rare occasion that we see any of these hooligans sitting in a classroom. In fact, many of them don’t have even a single panel of such a thing occuring. The question remains: do they get good grades? (spoiler: no <3) and in which subjects do they succeed/struggle?
(These headcanons have been sitting unfinished in a .txt document on my laptop for literally three years. For some of them, I no longer remember my original reasoning for them. but I still think I was Objectively Correct.)
Yoosun High School
Jimmy Bae
Likes Art and Music classes, but he was made to think that its too embarrassing and “uncool” as a favorite subject. He tends to skip/slack off in both subjects because of his sensitive ego, but enjoys the classwork in secret. Unlike some other Union guys, Jimmy actually goes to classes (sometimes), so his grades are passable across the board. His worst subject is Korean (he struggles with HS level grammar, etc.), followed closely by Math, and his best core subject is History (he finds it interesting).
Jack Kang
Also likes Music class, and is much less concerned with being "cringe" about his interests. Jack also goes to class, unless he's skipping with Jimmy. Most people are surprised to discover that Jack's GPA is on average a little bit less than Jimmy's. Jack’s best subject is Science (likewise, he's decent at Math too), and his worst is Social Studies (he just thinks it’s boring).
Hyeongshin High School
Forrest Lee
He’s surprisingly studious and a hard worker, and his best subjects are definitely Literature and Writing. He’s especially good at writing essays and research papers. He doesn’t have a clear worst subject, but he thinks Math can be difficult at times. His attendance in class has been slipping ever since he took over the school when Myles Joo got kicked out.
Sam Lee “Grape”
His best subjects is Math (particularly Geometry), and he likes some of the more math-focused Sciences such as Chemistry as well. His least favorite subject is Music, because Wolf accused him of sounding like a “fucking dying walrus” and other such vulgar insults in Middle School, and he’s never been brave enough to Karaoke solo ever since.
Ganghak High School
Wolf Keum
One of the biggest mysteries of Ganghak is how Wolf Keum manages to stay in school, despite spending the entire day on the rooftop and never going to class. His secret is just that he has a great memory, and decent test taking skills. Memorization based subjects are his best ones (HS level Math and Science, mainly), but he falls short in comprehension type subjects (such as Korean Literature). Almost always leaves the essay portion of any given test blank, because he'd rather take the missing grade than actually write an essay (it’s too much work).
Hwangmo Joo
The all-rounder of the Union. He’s either average or slightly below average in nearly every subject, except P.E., which he’s very much passing. Hwangmo blames the other Ganghak boys for his terrible attendance record, as they’re always cutting class and making him feel obligated to do so too. When he’s able to put effort into school, his grades in Social Studies and History improve the most.
Hayden Ma
Likes to skip school in favor of social meetups, but he does actually go to class some of the time. His best subject is Art (he's good at self-expression and has a creative imagination), followed by Writing/Literature (he's actually good at writing if he applies himself). Unfortunately, he gets on average low to barely passing grades in most other subjects, again, because he doesn't apply himself enough.
Daehyeon High School
Jake Ji
His favorite subject is P.E. (he loves to play sports) and any Literature based class (he loves to read). He's also good at Social Studies and History. His worst subject is by far Math, followed by Science, but he still passes the classes because Jake actually puts in the effort to graduate from school. He does have a well hidden mischievous streak, so despite being a relatively good student, he'll still skip class on a whim.
Dean Kwon
His best subject is Literature (he’s also quite the reader), but his favorite class is Art, as he has an eye for visual design. Dean freaks out whenever Jake decides to cut class without him, but usually this doesn’t occur that often.
Eunchan Hong
Out of the four in Jake's gang, he gets the worst grades (relatively), mostly because a lot of the teachers at Daehyeon have a negative impression of him, and he has a tendency to clown around in class. His favorite subject is Science (particularly Natural Sciences, as he's the type to watch nature documentaries at home), and he's pretty good at Literature too. His worst subject is Social Studies (he finds it boring) and Math (it’s just hard).
Timothy Park “Big Data”
Best subject is Math (obviously), followed closely by Science. He's good at studying and academics in general, so he gets good grades in almost every subject, except P.E.
Listen, say what you want about the weak hero manhwa, but at least they gave us a good storyline.
they gave us background for almost all characters- diverse characters and their friend groups, iconic duos and trios, great fight scenes, and my favourite thing, they made us understand the antagonists and protagonists.
like it may have not been the best ending (R.I.P Donald) but it gave us a proper ending- one that made sense and one without any plot armors, and that is why i love this manhwa.
the show did all the characters dirty- i mean they changed the back stories of so many characters, changed their personalities and their ambitions and i hated it.
not to mention, the erasure of some of the best characters in the manhwa. like where's Gerard, Teddy, Philip, Rowan, Julia and Lily? where's Jimmy, Jack, Hwangmo, Jake, Dean, Timothy, Eunchan, Forest, Sam, Robin, Kingsley and most importantly, where's Changhui?
these characters made a huge portion of the story, and made it more enjoyable. they showed the different point of views of characters that are facing their own problems and challenges- and the way the author weaved all the stories into one was beautiful. erasing them and focusing on just a few characters made the drama boring and honestly, i just gave up after finding out about Donald's backstory. because you can join the fandom from the drama but at the end of the day it is completely different from the manhwa.
weak hero undergrad uni headcanons part 2: union edition
doing this instead of actual uni work lets goooooo! and without further ado...
Jake: medicine/healthcare. i feel like he would become a doctor so he could heal people like his brother. I find it very sweet, like "i'll become a doctor so i can help you get better!" and it would be a nice conclusion to his character arc cos jake struggles with his bloodlust and capacity for violence. turning his energy towards healing would be good for him.
Dean: hotel management. this is because i watched too much hotel del luna and thought it would be funny. dean number 1 hotelier! he's protective over his friends... so being in the hospitality sector isnt too far of a stretch
Timothy: computer science/business analytics. he's really good with data and scouring the internet for info. He could put his skills to good use in the IT sector. alternate path is secret service spy agent...
Eunchan: ngl he'd skip uni and go be a streamer or something but if he HAD to pursue higher education... he'd go to a trade school i think! he seems like a hands-on typa guy.
Jimmy: business. look at him. his inferiority complex ass (affectionate). yeah I think his ambition will take him far with a business degree. jimmy bae ceo of loser inc. (sorry jimmy stans)
Jack: law, specifically commerce law. He'd be a consultant at jimmy's potential company. he gives me law vibes.
Wolf: jewellery design/metalworking. look hear me out on this one... wolfie loves his bling bling, and once he goes to therapy for anger issues, i think he would like working with jewels and gold/silver accessories. he needs a hobby.
Hwangmo: education/ early childhood education/psychology. ok HEAR ME OUT TRUST!!! hwangmo has been dealing with wolf (glorified manchild) for YEARS. and he seems like such a softie once you get past the harsh exterior (bro can befriend anyone). i think it would be really cute if he became a school teacher or therapist since he's good with people and mediating.
Dongha: cosmetology/hairdressing! dude look at those luscious locks tell me he's not gonna save people's haircuts. he'd specialise in high fashion/experimental hairdos, i see him being a stylist for fashion models.
seongmok: honestly... dude would join the military. or if not he'd study communications. which is ironic because he barely speaks.
kingley: law+commerce. he'd totally do a double degree and bust his ass to become a corrupt lawyer for donald's sake. or a secretary.
donald: law / political science / business ... he'd wanna do something that would let him change the world.
