Totally, honestly I want someone to explain to me “locker room culture” because is that what it really translates to or is there a better wording/phrasing for what the author was trying to say. Bc all I’m thinking is that damn is it normal in Korea for straight athletes to jerk each other a bit? (Just joking lol but still…)
In summary, no, fully straight athletes are not regularly having sex in locker rooms just because they can. Not fully straight --> maybe. But the concept of this culture is that it happens behind closed doors just because it can. Easy access. It stems more from cultures or time periods where society is a little more repressed about same sex relationships bc they can use the concept to casually coverup same sex sexual acts. I haven't seen this phrase used in western media in quite a while but more common in asian media, whenever it's used to justify a physical relationship going on behind closed door.
In Korea specifically, young men are known to be quite touchy and physically affectionate with one another as part of their cultures social culture. But again, in a society more conservative like Korea, this doesn't indicate that someone would go so far as to commit sexual acts unless they find the gender at least somewhat attractive. My guess is that the author combined this element of Korean youth culture with the locker room culture concept.
I hope this helps!
There's a lot of discussion regarding the Author's note, both here and on Tiktok, so I just wanted to give my gentle two cents.
This just may be my generous take, but when the author is saying Eunsan is 100% hetero, i believe he means the MC only has a dating history of women, that he's never seriously considered dating a male, and truly believes himself to be fully straight. This doesn't mean that Eunsan is 100% genetically straight and somehow the ML just 'converted' him. Please note that 1.) theres always some things lost in translation, and 2.) Eastern countries arent as well-versed on the nuances of the sexuality spectrum. Someone can spend their whole life dating only one gender and still identify as bi/pan, but these nuances are more openly discussed in Western societies.
Most eastern countries still outlaw same-sex marriages and, like it or not, the reality is that both readers and writers of these BL webtoons do tend to sexualize/fetishize these relationships.
My point is -- don't take it too hard and assume the worst, that the MC was somehow 'converted'. The author was likely referring to Eunsan's history and personal belief, and even if they weren't, just understand that you're reading a story written in a culture different from your own. Even the openly gay culture varies widely from country to country. Their discussions on nuances aren't the same as those of our own country and I think just the fact that their country is moving forward on these topics(partly even with the help of webtoons such as these) is a great thing.