The Romance Is Garbage

I read the romance part ages ago but it’s just rushed in general, yeah they don’t really show any bonding or actual shared interests besides having the power to return but from their perspective they spent ages together just dying and returning which from our perspective it looked like they just spent a few days together. Regardless, it’s like trauma bond since they both suffered and realized they could technically be together forever. The only reason I see it as “good” romance is bc now they both return together w retained memories when mc dies and the woman understands his power while a different love interest would complicate things since nb rlly knows he regresses and even if they did, they don’t rmr anything when he goes back in time unlike his wife

I'll share my opinion, correct me if I'm wrong it's been a long long time since I've read this.

What I feel is that the "romance arc" is not really the "complete" romance arc, it's just the start of their romance. At first, It's just Gongja wanting to clear the floor and Raviel wanting to save her destroyed world from the endless regression loop that only she is experiencing. I feel that the butler had more impact with Gongja falling in love with Raviel rather than just the cards itself because when Gongja and the butler reached a high synchronization the player who plays that role will certainly fall in love with Raviel BUT the thing is, Gongja and Raviel managed to overcome that annoying synchronization by killing each other at the same time whenever the synchronization reach a high amount, the fact that if one of them is even a second late from dying that will cause one person to wait for the other for God knows how much time.(I forgot how long Raviel waited lol)

So basically their relationship goes like this
-> kill each other -> regress -> spend time with each other while the synchronization is low -> if the synchronization is high, kill each other again then do it again.


If you want a detailed version of that, it mightve been better to read the novel.

1. It's not being broadcasted. Or not everything. Only the very last chapters are since they always regress back.

2. They both showed their feelings for each other. Believe it or not - when you share the same experience you'll get to a point where you sympathise with a person and begin to feel a lot for them.
In a regression both of them have experienced hell and both have memories that no one else will ever know about. They can't even tell anyone the ability or explain it good enough. Because the regression would make them telling it reset and the person would never understand the feeling anyway.

3. It's embarrassing. But not to the part of a pervert that just wanted to get their fantasies into their own story or fan service that doesn't belong in there.
Both Raviel and Gongja love for the actual first time. This wasn't like the arc of the master and gonja where mostly gongja learned from his master but rather Raviel and gongja learning from each other. But because of the deep understanding for each other and the embarrassing truthness of gongja it's such a respectful way of love.
3.5 Also making it embarrassing instead of just neutral or making them cool would have killed of the realness. Gongja is an idiot in love. His first love will be embarrassing. His actions will be stupid and his words will be unbearable to read. That's what happens. Treating gongja like a teenage boy makes it more real. It makes him human instead of just a character. He can feel like us while we ourself find us in the ghost because he too find it embarrassing.

4. The arc was probably rushed because even know I still see people that turn around and don't read this story because it has romance. The artists/author didn't want to lose the adventure readers that hate romance to their core.

5.When you notice details in drawings or speaking you'll actually feel how much gongja fought back or how much on drugs it must have felt to just get ones own identity completely stripped from himself.
Making Raviel's trauma even more justified. It makes it even sadder to see her lover giving her the biggest hurting memory she will have when we know what she has experienced and how she felt about love at the beginning.

6. Raviel is a queen. Tbh I'm just based about her but she is the literal personification of girlboss. SHE is the husband. She is the duke. And she was the only key to actually end the level while Gongja was an idiot in love.

7. It didn't feel rushed at all to me since there were many layers in the romance. This is the type of story that rereading it makes it better (at least for me).

Yeah it being a trauma bond is kind of what gets me tbh. They're both regressors so I understand wanting them to be together cause it's like they're the only people who share that, but at the same time I feel like that's so unoriginal.
I've kinda dropped this now, it was good at first but at a certain point it started becoming repetitive.

I understand why they would want to get the romance part over with, but at the same time if you're going to do romance then you gotta do it right, yk? I think of it kinda like a weird bond, like they only want each other because they're both regressors and I feel like that's a bit unoriginal. And yeah he is a complete idiot when he's in love but IT COMES TO A POINT YK? it just felt so jarring and ooc idk.
But thank you for your input! I do see where you're coming from, but I guess I just don't think that kinda romance story is really my cup of tea.

It feels very much like a trauma bond, which I understand him wanting to help her save her world and all, but I feel like they could've done the story a lot better.
Maybe the whole 'like each other because they're both regressors' thing just isn't what I like to see for romance in a manhua, but oh well.

Thanks for your input! The synchronization thing did get a little confusing so you actually helped clear that up for me.