I’m at chapter 6, and is the main character just dumb or what? What part of "the custome...

bro why is he shouting to a ghost who already said, that they clearly don't remember him oh my godd im dropping this

it gets better i promise. also i’m pretty sure it’s the normal reaction for someone to continuously reject the idea of the person they once knew to forget them, which is called denial! he’s pretty awesome as the story moves forward!!

I'm good. I already know where this is going if I keep reading. But like seriously why would he shout? That isn't how a normal person reacts actually . If you found out someone you used to know was now a ghost you’d be hit with shock, confusion and sadness or maybe denial

In psychology, this is called an acute stress response. Usually, when people see something impossible, they freeze bc their brain can't process it yet. He wouldn't be screaming or shouting. he’d probably be crying or talking in a whisper because he's trying to wrap his head around the grief. Shouting feels fake and forced. (unrealistic) A quiet, tearful conversation would be way more realistic for someone dealing with that kind of heavy situation.

People are different yknow, what's normal for you might not be normal for them. If this isn't your cup of tea then I don't wanna push you to read but I just hope you keep in mind that freezing isn't the only possible response. Some people might channel that into anger too. Our instincts are fight, fright and flight and the fight is clear as day here.

You’re completely right. It’s true that denial has many different forms. Shouting is definitely a well researched response to denial. Why? Because denial = “refusal to believe or accept something”.

From the perspective the op is presenting: our mc being informed that the individual is a ghost, should result in our mc fully understanding and accepting this reality. But that’s not how denial works.. Denial can sometimes affect only a part of your thoughts. It doesn’t have to affect your entire mind’s processing abilities. It can affect you subconsciously, while not affecting you consciously. It’s quite possible our mc understands logically the individual is a ghost. But can’t accept it. Therefore it’s denial.

As the individual above has stated, the MC’s response was likely denial. Denial doesn’t necessarily result in shock. Shock and denial are completely different things. If the MC is experiencing denial, then shouting makes sense.

The said ghost he screamed at is his lifelong friend. His grief overrides his fear. Grief shocks people differently. How do you think grief induced psychosis exist? Psychology students also not behaved in one way. He’s shown to be somewhat very empathetic the whole story, and he always tries to make things better for his surroundings.
You can find him insufferable for behaving “stupid” but bro forgot this story is fantasy and mind you, not a single psychology journal could deduce what someone is supposed to do when facing literal ghost, because that would meant having to acknowledge the existence of ghost itself. “He supposed to do A he supposed to be B” is so funny cause if we can predict how human should behave given certain condition, we shoulve been able to solve mental illness.

I understand ur point alright? but I think ure missing my point. I’m not saying there is a strict rulebook for how every person must act. Yes grief is different for everyone, but there is still a baseline for human behavior that makes a story feel real.

When I say he wouldnt be shouting, it’s because it feels unrealistic for his specific character. If he’s been shown to be empathetic and someone who tries to make things better for those around him, shouting at a ghost, especially a lifelong friend feels totally out of character. also unrealistic, I get it, everyone reacts differently. But usually, people react in common ways and following those common reactions is what makes a story feel realistic To me, having a character react in such a VERY unique way just feels off. Anyway, that’s not even my main focus, my main focus is how dumb his character is being. commonly when someone is deeply empathetic and sees a loved one again, their first instinct is to reach out, cry or be in total awe, not to start yelling.

Also just because a story is fantasy doesn't mean the human emotions should be random. Even in stories with ghosts and magic we connect with them because the characters react in ways we can understand. Shouting in that moment breaks the immersion. It’s not about predicting some shi it’s about believable storytelling. Even without a psychology journal on ghosts we know how shock works. Deep shock usually takes ur breath away, it doesn't give u the lungs to scream. If he’s supposed to be empathetic, the shouting just feels like a forced reaction rather than a natural one. u know what im saying? is he's psychopath student he should know how to communicate and understand, bcs that's literally a big. part of psychology

I acknowledge your opinions on the topic. I hope you don’t take my response as me trying to be judgmental. I only mean discuss the topic. Since it involves psychology, and I know quite a lot about that subject, I would simply like to put forth additional information.

First of all, i’m not sure if you might be projecting how you would feel, personally, in that situation, onto the MC. While It’s possible you’d react the same way towards a close friend becoming a ghost as you’d act towards a complete stranger showing up as one, I don’t believe this is the case with most people.

The unchanging behavior the MC has displayed towards other ghost in this series, is due to the consistency of those situations throughout the series:
1- Ghosts of complete strangers appear.
2- His close friend appears as a ghost.

Most people would react differently to a ghost they never knew, than the way they would react to the ghost of a fiend. I don’t believe it’s normal for people to treat these two situations as equivalent to one another. And for that reason, expecting someone to react in the same way, to these two very different situation’s, doesn’t make sense to me.

Also, no, I don’t think most people empathize much during a state of extreme grief. When you’re overwhelmed with grief it’s more natural to be focused on your own emotions. Your grief is at the forefront of your mind. Empathizing with someone else during a state of extreme grief would suggest the individual is not in a state of extreme grief, rather, they are simply in a mild state of grief. They are not overwhelmed with grief. They are just grieving.

Think of how some people will even commit suicide due to grief. Some people, who are in extreme grief, will turn to alcohol- even if their young children still need them. People who are in extreme grief tend to be irrational. irrational outbursts are a very standard response for extreme grief.

I can’t imagine our MC developing a state of extreme grief over total strangers. Therefore, our MC responding to his friend in a completely different way from his normal behavior, is not the result of inconsistency from this character. It’s the result of the two situations being different.

All of those observations comfortably forget to count into account that screaming, more often than not, happened during stages of grief, especially in anger stage.
Quoting Kübler-Ross and Kessler (2014), the stages didnt happen in any strict timeline nor specific chronological order and everyone experiencing and approach grief differently. MC screamed at his friend because he’s in disbelief (again, an expected reaction, check: Common Grief Reactions part Mental, Standford).
Many people did in fact scream when facing grief and often times they even got angry toward the subject of the grief itself. It might seem strange, but it happens everywhere around the world. Psychology is not a set in stone study since it involves humans behavior and human behaviors vary from one another despite the preexisted spectrum and patterns studied, but for this specific take, I’d say MC’s behavior is not over the top. In one observational study of After The Crash, doctor warns the patient who’s grieving may exhibit extreme behavior, a mix of loss of temper and emotional volatility.
However, I must say that the dismissal of MC emotions (implying “this isn’t normal, this isn’t realistic, they shouldn’t behave that way, this isnt rational”) is surprisingly, also commonly observed reactions of caretaker/staffs of hospitals handling people in grieves (see: Kontos et al, 2014, Grief, Anger, and Relationality: The Impact of a Research-Based Theater Intervention on Emotion Work Practices in Brain Injury Rehabilitation).

I understand this conflicts with your perception of him, but recall that humans are multifaceted. Kangjin is kind and empathetic but he's also a human who is flawed and makes mistakes.

I think saying it's out of his character is wrong. It was just the beginning and we didn't know a lot about him, so how is it wrong? Just because other characters said "oh, you look like a good guy." means he's strictly a good guy.

Also, he was told nothing. You're a reader and you already know the genre of this story, but if it's irl, you would question what's out of the ordinary and try to rationalise it.

Plus, if someone told me to run a restaurant and serve even if they don't pay, I would think they mean occasionally do charity, not free food every dish. I think an explanation is in order here.

dude if you want a nonchalant aurafarming boss mc go read solo leveling or whatever