period wish we could pin thissssss
I agree with most of this, except for one thing. Dohu has already recognized his feelings before the whole truth is unveiled. If anything he wasn't sure of, it would be the depth of his feelings. The truth here is that Dohu is extremely slow at understanding himself, and since the story is told from his point of view, you get an unrealiable narrator.
For example, how much is Dohu's attraction towards Juheon is based on him wanting to write about Juheon, than him actually having a crush over Juheon? He already had a wet dream, having red ears, increased heartbeats at the presence of Juheon, and all of this very early on in the story. It's like a director that falls for their actors, Dohu was unable to recognize his feelings because he confused the two.
Also, while you may argue Dohu is leading Juheon on, it doesn't help that Juheon himself has an overactive imagination. Juheon has a habit of jumping to conclusion in regard to everything. He assumed Dohu loved him without confirming it, and when it was revealed Dohu used him for writing materials, he once again jumped to conclusion that Dohu never loved him. For every mistakes Dohu made, Juheon never gave Dohu any chance to make amends or explain. Instead, Juheon immediately went for the worst scenario. It's understandable because of Juheon's trauma. However, if you can excuse Juheon due to his past, then you can do the same with Dohu. Dohu is the way he is because he is born that way.
In any case, all of this is moot point because in the end, the real reason why Juheon left Dohu wasn't because of Dohu's mistakes, but it was because he was being threatened by his aunt. There is no way Dohu could accept their break up if that was the real cause.
I agree. I 100% excuse Dohu's actions like I do Juheon's. They're both my sons. I 100% agree that Dohu knew he liked Juheon but wasn't sure of the intensity. I think that distance was still necessary for him to be able to view it from a more objective lens but yeah the break-up would have been resolved faster if Dohu's aunt wasn't a POS. ICL doe, if someone constantly sought me out & proclaimed they liked me & only showed interest in me while being famously reclusive and aloof, praised my looks constantly & even in our conversations had me and my happiness and well-being as their priority, I would also think they liked me. Yes, Juheon jumped to conclusions but boy oh boy was Dohu quite misleading. Then again, I think Dohu's brain caught up with his emotions later cuz no one would do all that for just inspiration. They're both quite silly lol & perfect for each other
Dunno why people are unable to grasp that the seme is hesitant to get close to the uke considering he actively deceived him and was using him and wasn't even entirely sure of his feelings towards the seme. Like leaving aside his powerful ass family controlling and threatening him, their break-up was necessary in order for the uke to reflect and grow as a person and stop lying to himself about his own feelings. Simple communication wouldn't have fixed this as the uke was straightforward about all this thoughts but his actions were lacking. Uke has now changed and is aware of his feelings and is actively pursuing the seme, which is necessary to his arc going from a passive drifter in his own life to someone taking charge. The uke admits himself that it was only when the seme disappeared that he figured out his feelings. Seme also needed that time apart so he could focus on formulating a plan to get away from his controlling family. Their break-up was very much necessary.
Going back to the original topic, not only is the seme trying to dissolve all familial ties and maybe even actively ruin his and family's situation and doesn't want the uke to get caught in the backlash, but also given his history with the uke, he's absolutely wary to trust him again. Like the uke was the only person he dropped his facade around and he thought they were in a relationship the whole time only to find out his boyfriend was using for writing material and got close to him for selfish reasons. Also, the uke was very much acting like a man with a crush and definitely leading the seme on, it's just that he wasn't aware of the social cues he was broadcasting, hence why the seme was especially devastated to find out that the person who very heavily implied and even outright stated that they liked him and who constantly sought them out and then entered a relationship with him was not only deceiving him but also had ulterior motives. The uke had the opportunity to confess and didn't until it was too late, and even after wasn't entirely sure of his own feelings. So he couldn't even say that now he really liked the seme, but that he was unsure. Like usually the trope goes "Yes, I was using/lying to you but now I really do love". But the uke went "Yes, I was using/lying to you and now I'm not sure of my feelings for you". Like, yes they had to break up until the uke caught up with his own feelings intellectually. Of course that fucked the seme up and made him wary of any potential for renewing their relationship.
Can't believe this has to be spelled out but I'm doing it anyway. People need to realise that their inability to grasp a concept doesn't mean the concept itself is poorly executed.