'Melancholia' Episode 2: Seung Yoo is inspired by Yoon Su to give his love for mathematics another chance

Melancholia Episode 2 saw Yoon Su (Lim Soo Jung) figure out the truth about one of Asung High students. Yoon Su was initially intrigued by the mysterious student Baek Seung Yoo's (Lee Do Hyun) ability to solve the problems that she had posted for students of the calculus club.

She had hoped to find students who had the ability to see maths outside of the problems that they were forced to solve repeatedly as part of their syllabus.

Yoon Su realized that she had a talented student in her new school and repeatedly addressed him as "Ramanujam". She believed that Seung Yoo could do so much more if he continued to pursue his love for maths in Melancholia Episode 2.

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Why did Yoon Su decide not to guide Seung Yoo in 'Melancholia' Episode 2?

Yoon Su was extremely excited when she found out the student’s identity but was forced to give up on Seung Yoo soon after. It was not because she didn’t believe in him, but because she understood that he was battling a serious depression.

Seung Yoo’s father wanted his child to make him proud and bring more medals, and he didn’t seem to care about the cost.

Despite his son’s brittle mental condition in Melancholia, Seung Yoo’s father repeatedly forced him to get his academic records back on track.

That was also the reason why he approached Yoon Su in the show. He described the experiences that Seung Yoo had as a young boy at MIT and tried to brush off Seung Yoo's feigned disinterest as a teenage rebellion. Yoon Su, however, seemed to understand her student’s problem.

She told Seung Yoo in Melancholia Episode 2 that he shouldn’t be forced to do anything against his will, but also pointed out to him his interest in math and how he viewed the world through it intrigued her. She got Seung Yoo to revisit his love for math but things went wrong when his father informed him that another teacher suggested that he sign up for a specialized science school instead of continuing with Asung.

The teacher here was the Director of Asung High. She wanted Seung Yoo out of her school so that she could continue to favor the children of powerful people. If Seung Yoo were to find his interest and his talent with math resurfaced, the school would be forced to support him. That was not something she wanted. She was also certain in Melancholia Episode 2 that Yoon Su wouldn’t agree to Asung High’s way of life.

Seung Yoo, however, misunderstood the teacher to be Yoon Su. She was the only one who saw him attempt to solve a problem. She had told him to not fall in love with any math problem that he didn’t get to solve and instead try other problems as well. Seung Yoo felt betrayed as a result of this misunderstanding.

Seung Yoo lashed out at his father who was dead-set on sending him to a specialized school in Melancholia Episode 2. The moment she heard this, however, Yoon Su tried to convince Seung Yoo’s father to let him stay in Asung High so that she could guide him. Seung Yoo’s father didn’t agree and he even forced his son to sit for the school’s entrance exam.

Seung Yoo only realized his folly when he heard from his father that Yoon Su had initially disagreed with guiding him, and this influenced him to solve a problem that the two of them attempted together. Seung Yoo returned to Asung High, but the situation spelled trouble for him and Yoon Su in Melancholia.