about mcs and mls first time

I totally get where you’re coming from, I can see how his trauma seems like an excuse for the fact he raped the other guy. But I don’t think the manhwa is trying to justify his actions at all, I think quite the opposite. We see two both very complicated characters, doing and behaving in ways that are both unacceptable. For the rapists case, he had experienced something beyond traumatic during the most crucial part of his years. I can’t imagine how that begins to fuck someone’s head up. His need for sex and abuse probably stems from that, and him raping the other guy is probably how he’s viewed sex since this is all that he’s experienced. Not an excuse for his actions at all, since he’s still a grown man that should know better. But it is an explanation for his actions, albeit not enough to reason them. I think this manhwa is reflecting a side we don’t usually see in victims - that it’s extremely difficult to heal from the trauma - and that trauma can represent itself in disturbing ways - and often they’re left deeply scarred

yes i agree. my issue isnt that the scene has been written, i want to point out how the author, like in almost every manhwa where usually the uke gets assulted, romantizes it and will most likely still try to frame their relationship as romantic and healthy afterward, which should not be a standard "romantic" dynamic (seme raping for whatever reason or none at all and the uke "forgiving" due to developing stockholm syndrome that is) if the author is aware they cant possibly turn them into a couple and wont force an ending like that, its still wrong how ppl view them as one after that kind of violence an d betrayal which fundamentally damaged the relationship. then ofc the victim having stockholm syndrome that is treated as "forgiveness" or "love" isnt real healing either, its just skipping over the consequences and outcomes the abuse has done (as we know stockholm is also a mental disorder) that trope is getting so old, it just undermines the seriousness of what happened

You’re forgetting something: Incheol could stop him he could hit him or push him away Incheol is strong, bigger, and an adult, which makes the situation more complicated is Incheol feels trapped and thinks this is the only way, so he keeps going even while hesitating. And it’s not just Pyeong-hwa doing wrong, he had already told Incheon not to come back, yet he returned anyway (︶︿︶)

nah im not forgetting anything. first of all ppl often tend to not physically resist due to their stress response even when they technically could. you re forgetting how pyeong hwa also took advantage of the situation when the group of men appeared, he initiated it while they were nearby and was aware incheol wouldnt risk escalating the situation and getting caught with him. still the absence of physical resistance doesnt automatically equal consent.
also incheol returning cuz he was emotionally conflicted and simply worried doesnt imply consent to anything either, how can he be responsible for what pyeong hwa did to him by just returning out of concer after being told not to? pyeong hwa took advantage of his sympathy as well

First of all, this story clearly isn’t meant for minors.
The entire first season has been anything but romantic. Not every story has to be a perfect, utopian relationship.
The core of this story is emotional and physical conflict. It’s about guilt, self-destruction, and characters making terrible decisions because of their circumstances and inner struggles.
Reducing it to “just rape” or trying to romanticize what is happening completely misses the point. The narrative is showing how broken the situation and the characters are, not celebrating it.

I really hope this doesn’t turn into a romance

exactly so we agree. clearly mostly minors are reading it, so many ppl interpret good written pieces like this one (for now) SO wrong and romanticize the shi out of the characters and their complex relationship with each other. this truly cant turn into a romance◞‸◟

I think this is a very black and white view of Incheol's rape and Pyeonhwa's assault. Pyeonhwa's trauma doesn't act as an excuse of the rape, rather an explanation; We see various power play dynamics between the two of them from the jump even. Pyeonghwa's small head bow in the car when Incheol got him from the hospital, almost making a mockery respect. Pyeonghwa putting a condom on Incheol during the rape scene; another mockery seeing as Incheol wasn't the one who needed the condom but rather Pyeonghwa. All of those scenes just show Pyeonghwa take an almost dominant hand in their dynamic by force, by small acts. In the center of it all you also have Incheol, a man who serves as a slave to the system.

I don't think - with all these complex characters that rarely go off script - that this manhwa will follow the regular yaoi script. The author is a person heavily inspired by films and you can see this by looking at Pyeonghwa, who is heavily inspired by the character Neil Mccormick from Mysterious skin. Neil is a little shit bag of a boy and he acts the way he does because of the sexual assault he suffered through as a child from an adult he trusted - just like Pyeonghwa. Even the song we see him listen to, Stockholm Syndrome by Muse, is a point of character reflection. Anyway, If you parallel these two characters and we assume that the author has a good head on their shoulders and will continue their streak of not following the average yaoi trope script, what Pyeonghwa did to Incheol will become a driving plot device (and I lowk think season two will give us a lot of dialogue that will bounce back to it seeing as Incheol tells Pyeonghwa it's uncomfortable to be around him) and it'll either happen again (under more errrr, iffy consent deals as a means to something) or it will never happen again. But these two will most probably never get together as a locked in, healthy couple - or a couple at all. If they do I'll shoot myself

Please don't shoot yourself haha

I'm hopping to this mature manhwa the same, and expect
this relationship (I'm not meaning romantic relationship) to become maybe more fucked up in terms of incheol feeling more involve with pyeong as result of guilty.

And from pyeong I'm expecting him to edging more into a possible death something more dangerous could happened

In the middle they can find some kind of "safe space to just be as fucked as they are feeling everything for once" but not in the romantic way you know ? Something more nsjfjancjs (dark)

The dynamic of incheol bring almost the dog of that politician and pyeong being the one who "dominate" is pretty clear in details you are so right

And exactly this is not for kids this is not just a BL

This has well done characters and well done context like a serious movie

Not just your typical Manhwa

Maybe one of them dies