So true on all of this! Tbh, I have this conspiracy theory that the author wrote this story as a sort of disguised feminist novel to make readers realize the importance of agency and choice. Even though some part of mc might be attracted to ml, it is so wrapped in layers of coercion and manipulation that she can never be certain if her feelings are genuine. The story becomes a tragedy even though it is rofan because we know that mc will never be given the time and space to make her own decisions on her feelings for ml (and 2nd ml too) and her right over her own body is also taken away by others. The ml, although appearing like a victim at first, can’t escape blame because ultimately this a system that benefits him and that’s why he’ll never actually help mc even knowing the type of person his mother is. On that note, both of the moms are a great example of what generational cycles of abuse can do to people who feel helpless to escape and end up enforcing the same abuse on their own kids ╮(￣▽￣)╭
Wow, I didn't even notice that.
Frankly, I do still hold some hope that the author is doing this intentionally, and everything will suddenly all make sense, but it's also a Korean romance webtoon and I've been disappointed by far too many to believe in that.
I really hope your theory is right tho, cuz that would be such a great twist.
I had my doubts, but I kinda liked the way this was going at first. Now? Not so much.
And I'm not even talking about the female lead's actions or decisions anymore. I'm talking about the way this webtoon is handling these complicated situations. I really thought that Woojin's self-reflection on his approach to dating Seyun would lead to him thinking more before he acts, and taking things slower. Trying to go at her pace, y'know? But the way he just pounced on the first chance to marry her despite clearly seeing her hesitation, and knowing that she was facing a difficult situation when she said all that just proves that he's barely learned anything. Like, I really thought that after that whole speech he was going to say "I don't want you to agree to marry me because you're going through something. I'll wait for you" or at least something along those lines. But nope, the next second we're meeting the parents. WTH dude?
And then he just goes ahead to arrange a meeting with his parents for the next day? Come on, he's not even giving her a chance to take it all in. It almost feels like he's just selfishly dragging her along. Imagine how nerve-wracking this must be to someone who wasn't even considering marriage 1 month ago, much less with the guy she's about to marry.
Then the way her dad seemed to be portrayed as the doting and overprotective father. Even though all the points he brought up were SOLID and I really thought we would finally get a voice of reason, but they just had him throw a drunk fit and called it a day. He wasn't even aware that his wife was setting his daughter up for marriage behind his back. That in and of itself is a problem.
And I'm not even going to get into the problematic mothers of this webtoon. They deserve their own epistle.
Anyway, this whole story is starting to look like the 8-years-ago-backstories of those webtoons where the ML and FL were in an arranged marriage, but they got divorced because they had a lot of issues, but they get back together in the future because now they can form a relationship under healthy circumstances.
I'm sure Woojin is just blindly in love right now, but no matter how much of a good husband he vows to be, no woman should ever be forced or coerced into marriage, especially not when she's so young and inexperienced. He could be the best thing since bluetooth and the marriage will still crumble, because the pressure of moving into a new environment, changing to a new status, getting used to a new lifestyle, and dealing with a whole new web of relationships (his family) is enough to stress her and take a toll on her mentally, and stress is hard enough to deal with when you're willingly going through it, much less when you feel like you've been forced. That kind of situation breeds resentment. Not just for his mom, or his family, but eventually even for him. At least realistically speaking.
Right now, I think the only thing that could salvage this plot progression is if at some point FL breaks off the marriage and tells Woojin the truth about everything, and how she never really wanted to marry him. Then maybe a year or two later, after ML has had some PROPER growth and reflection, they can start over again, and he can clearly tell that snake of a mother that he won't let her interfere in Seyun's life any longer.
Thanks for coming to my TEDtalk