In XO, Kitty, Professor Lee is a teacher at KISS who went to school with Principal Lim. With Kitty’s arrival, past secrets are exposed, and it is revealed that Professor Lee has a son. Michael K. Lee plays the part of Professor Daniel Lee.
Professor Daniel Lee teaches at KISS, and he is certainly not the favorite teacher of the students. He is stern and expects the students to maintain discipline even during the holidays, but there are also times when he is kind and caring.
The no-nonsense teacher
Professor Lee asks Kitty to attend tutoring classes on her very first day. Kitty did not think school in Korea would be so hard, as she managed to get decent grades in the US.
However, Professor Lee gives her a reality check by telling her that she is not at the same level as the other students at school. He constantly keeps asking her to focus on her education and makes it clear that her charms are not going to sway him to give her a better grade.
He knows his students well enough to figure out that Yuri did not do her homework on her own. As rules matter to him, he shares his concerns with Principal Lim but fails to take action against Yuri, as he does not have proof that the homework was done by Dae.
Professor Lee seems to be unimpressed by most things, including Kitty’s Chuseok dinner. He comes across as mean and rude whenever students make mistakes, but at the end of the day, he means well.
He acts strict throughout the detention after Min Ho’s party, but when it ends, he gently tries to make the students understand that underage drinking is a serious offense, which shows that he cares about them.
Professor Lee and Principal Lim’s past
Professor Lee, Principal Lim, and Kitty’s mother studied at KISS at the same time. Professor Lee and Principal Lim were in a relationship. Principal Lim got pregnant with their son, Alex, but she never told him about it.
Professor Lee dreamed of becoming a rock star. He was a talented singer and got the opportunity to study music at the New England Conservatory.
Principal Lim did not want him to give up his dreams because of her, so she chose not to tell him about the pregnancy and gave up their son for adoption.
Instead of becoming a rock star after college, Professor Lee ended up teaching at KISS. He now believes that pursuing music as a career is not practical, but he still plays the guitar and sings when he is alone.
Father and son
Alex is happy with his parents but is curious about his birth parents. He takes an ancestry test, which leads him to Professor Lee’s nephew. He then figures out that Professor Lee is his father and comes to teach at KISS to get to know him better.
Alex decides not to tell Professor Lee that he is his son when Professor Lee makes an off-handed comment about not wanting children. However, he does tell Principal Lim the truth about their relationship.
When the school’s talent show turns into a disaster and Principal Lim’s husband is anything but understanding, she decides to tell Professor Lee about Alex.
He is surprised and angry at her, but he does not reject Alex. Principal Lim also convinces him to discuss this issue together, the way families should.
Also Read: Principal Jina Lim: XO, Kitty character explained