i would not surrender shit

Braun is hitting the ML threshold the most frequently but he lets his stocks sag as he sits on his laurels as an evil toxic situationship / supportive friend who is always around. He's really fighting for consistency, and when he tries to respect Kim Soleum's boundaries, you have time to doubt the veracity of his highs. Even his heartfelt goodbye is kind of shady and suspicious. Divorce is a difficult thing... If Kim Soleum were trying to rate his own MLs Braun would be much higher and never drop below More Than Friends, but we all know his judgement is questionable in that regard.

Lee Jaheon is more stable but also sags after his strongest moments thanks to their strong platonic core. They are unquestionably more than friends but definitely not lovers. Unless...?

Was convinced Saheon didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of facilitating any romantic tension whatsoever but then, Grapes,

J3 is the most stable and consistent out of the bunch. It never shakes, and when it swells, it's the subtle strengthening of their bond. Nice and smooth.

Jaekwan exceeds "more than friends" effortlessly but is fighting for his life to get any higher. True second male lead performance. He does get an unexpected upswing at the end, but with nowhere to direct it, it drops back to its original trajectory.

Choi is stable and capable of much more growth than Jaekwan, and his direction and stability implies a solid male lead trajectory! But lest we forget: certain kinds of fumbles require huge recovery periods. Getting his worst fumble yet right before the end of part 2 was the worst anyone has ever done it. They'll be telling tales of this fuckup for generations. But have heart: thanks to his lack of impartiality, he will never give up on Kim Soleum and will strive to learn from his mistakes. They will surely be on the up in the future.

Ho has reached the point that anyone could become Kim Soleum's soulmate and he'd win anyway. He has the Dark Horsepower of Mine That Bird. Amazingly, when his stocks began to drop back to normal after his peak moment, he took advantage of part 2 ending to score a final upswing to keep himself at the top. We may never see a showing like this again, folks.