Dream High Ep. 5 (Patreon)

In Episode 5, the special class continues preparing for their next evaluation, this time focusing on conveying emotion in song rather than just singing technically. Pil-sook is transferred into the class and shyly asks to join Hye-mi, Jin-guk, and Sam-dong, turning them into a quartet. Teacher Oh-hyuk enlists Yang Jin-man (JYP) to help train them, but Jin-man initially refuses and later mocks Hye-mi’s stiff performance, highlighting her struggle with emotion.

At school, the bullying against Hye-mi escalates. Jin-guk first thinks she’s the one provoking Baek-hee, but when he discovers one of his own friends is involved, he threatens him to back off. Meanwhile, tragedy strikes when Jin-guk’s hyung attempts suicide after failing another test. Though badly injured, he survives, and later admits that even in his hardest days, at least he had a dream — pushing Jin-guk to reexamine his own ambitions.

As part of their training, the special class stages an impromptu street performance of SNSD’s “Genie,” singing and dancing for passing pedestrians. Their raw joy touches Jin-guk’s hyung, reinforcing the idea that music’s true power is emotional expression. Later, Jin-guk helps Hye-mi recall a shared childhood memory, finally unlocking the emotion she needs to pass her test.

But just as things seem to turn around, danger strikes again: Hye-mi becomes the target of another attack and nearly gets hit by a falling potted plant — only to be saved at the last second by Sam-dong, who takes the injury in her place.