I get the frustration, since I read both but also.
. Did you skip the part in the other story where Gwen (the mage) explained that most Dragon and human bounds are doomed, and the human almost always is suffering under it?
This one showed the very exception. When Dragon and Mate (in my opinion) are meant to be and not just taken.
Also there is a huuuuge power dynamic difference. Eyra is a mage here while Nain in the other novel is a normal human.
And it's not like he can't decide in the end, it's also stated that the bond manipulates the feeling. If the dragon dies the mate usually thanks to the bond can't deal with it and disappears too. But since Nain craves normal human love he is drawn to Gwen. The problem is the dragon in this story. Quite literally. And since in Eyra and Yanus case other dragons wanted to have Eyra as mate too I had the theory that most Dragon pairs didn't work out because it was simply the dragon taking someone as mate and if this human isn't meant to be this dragons real mate they are doomed.
The snake that's swallowed the pomegranate is simply the other side of the coin. Showing that not all dragon bonds are good or happy. Which in my option adds a lot to the world building. Exspecialy with Gwen's knowledge he gave and his research in this matter.
so there is an other manhwa on the same universe as this one, it called the snake eating pomegranate seeds or whatever I forgot. the thing is, this manhwa is soooooo happy and healthy like 100/10. while the other is a cheating trash.
in this manhwa the dragon listen and the MC understand the dragon really well. while the other one they just can't understand each other, the dragon do listen to his mate, they already lived for decades yet they can't fucking communicate.
the MC in that manhwa can't understand dragon see human as an ant while the dragon can't fucking communicate and understand his mate ALL THOSE DECADES WASTED FOR NOTHING. in this manhwa they understand each other, they respect what each other want and FUCKING COMMUNICATE. imagine a 6 MONTH relationship is so much better than a 1000 YEARS relationship.
Eyra do scared of Yanu before. yet instead of giving up he try to understand Yanu and yeah he stay loyal, but the other MC literally scared and cheated like... BOTH MC'S HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM, AND THE FUMBLED ONE IS THE 1000 YEARS RELATIONSHIP
on top of that in the novel of the snake eating pomegranate seeds, the MC can't decide to choose his sidechick or his dragon so he choose both and leave both. I just realized how bad the plot is after reading this manhwa