yeah!! and the FL is not exempt from playing into gender roles either. from the way she interacted with her shitty ex, letting him constantly walk over her in the name of love to the way she lets her male bestie have so much say over her life, in the name of "guiding her" (ch 31), because a grown ass adult can't make her own choices apparently, good or bad, to the way she constantly pretends she doesn't like the attention she's receiving from a hot, popular, younger guy because it makes her feel chosen and special and not as mundane as she actually is and is constantly talking about how she feels guilty because he should be with someone "prettier and younger" but will never actually let him go or have started their situationship if she had as much integrity as she cosplays at.
it's clear to me that this woman genuinely has some issue with needing male validation in any form it comes to her, just look at the way she let her former teacher constantly treat her like shit and she didn't even acknowledge it - just handwaved it away without lingering resentment. like, how come you have ZERO close female friends you can constantly talk to (no the women from her college reunion doesn't count, they're basically just there for story exposition). this whole story is a good treatise on what happens when you as a women let the patriarchy tell you what's your worth and why trying to confine yourself into a cis-heteronormativity box won't do you any favors. like, no one who is self-confident lets men constantly walk you like a dog the way this FL does and keeps coming back for more.
Yup, first she ended up in the kind of relationship with the first asshole where he treated her like shit. Often in patriarchal societies, if women want to be in a relationship, it is going to be like this. Her self esteem was ruined after and it is made apparent in the story that she is lonely and interested in new guy’s attention.
After reading your comment, there is definitely something wrong with me because I love this story so much for some reason
haha there must be something wrong with me cause I love reading it too. it's just fun watching these people inter-personal relationships and they may put up a front but their actions and words constantly betray them ╮(￣▽￣)╭
Notice the reasons he latches onto her? His perception of her is one-dimensional, and allows him to project his own fantasy onto her personality. She seems demure, able to take a scolding, a damsel in distress. This is not bad writing on the author’s party- this is completely intentional. Consider gender roles in Korea right now and what the “ideal woman” is in a patriarchal society. For the 3+ men that are obsessed with Eungyo, she fits this narrative perfectly, hence her allure and their obsession. As men, they feel entitled to her and end up competing in dick measuring contests just to project themselves into her life, to maintain control of her. Reread the story from this POV. It’s a masterpiece.