NO ACTUALLY… also i love ur pfp
I think I understood his point of view. He was battling with depression after losing something he started in the first place to feel worthy of her, but he also ended up being hoot at and loving it. This kind of thing with any athlete is normal. The thing that they have built their whole live around for years, comes crushing , so it'll literally feel like the end. And if you add to that that he's a teenager when it happens, everything is intensified and blown even more out of proportion, because teenagers are in fact, dramatic. It doesn't make his feelings less valid, but they just feel everything a little too much (you were probably a teenager once, unless you still are). Plus, he always had the kind of personality that had difficulty making friends and getting along with others, and Haneul said he was the type to beat himself up over stuff, like he's self deprecating, so he self sabotaged his relationship with Haneul.
It's as if people don't actually read. I mean, I do agree with the dragging part, but you can just not read it.
First of all, if I’ve made it this far, it’s because I genuinely liked the story and expected an important plot twist that would justify all these chapters and all this build-up. As a reader, I think it’s completely normal to have expectations based on what the manhwa itself has been building toward. If I’ve been following it since chapter 0 and this is the payoff I get, why shouldn’t I comment on it? Finding the drama disappointing or forced doesn’t mean I want to drop the story. Usually, I like seeing works through until the end unless there’s really something that completely kills my interest.
And I want to clarify something: I never criticized the representation of teenage depression. On the contrary, I understood her reaction, and I also understood that the accident was, in fact, an accident. But at the same time, her reaction and her guilt don’t completely erase the fact that she also had some responsibility in the situation. I mean, what kid has never had a ball roll into the street? That’s exactly why we’re taught to look before running after it. That doesn’t mean I’m “blaming” her — it just means recognizing that the whole situation was tragic and unfortunate overall.
What confuses me is how the story handled the consequences years later.
He blamed himself, he changed, he helped her, they rebuilt their relationship, stayed by each other’s side for years, and faced that difficult period together. So come on now — if crossing the line and sleeping together as friends is somehow fine, but accepting a confession is suddenly absolutely impossible because of an accident you supposedly overcame together?! Be serious for a second.
The story presented this secret as something devastating, something that would completely change the way she saw him once she learned the truth. So after all that suspense and emotional build-up, I expected something much heavier.
That’s why the reveal felt disappointing to me.
To me, it feels like the story took a real and understandable teenage trauma and turned it into a present-day conflict mainly to drag out the drama. And that’s frustrating because I genuinely liked the development of their relationship and the way they grew together over the years.
And honestly, it also annoys me when people act like readers can’t criticize something just because they still enjoy the story overall. Saying “if you don’t like it, stop reading” completely shuts down any possibility of discussion. But do you cut off friendships when a friend criticizes your behavior, or do you listen to what they really think precisely because you care about them? Because to me, it’s the same thing: criticizing something doesn’t mean hating it.
Criticism is not an attack on the entire work. I don’t suddenly think the manhwa is terrible. I just think this specific conflict was written in a way that felt too dragged out and not convincing enough compared to the rest of the story’s development.
And honestly, I think part of the fun of following a story is being able to discuss both what works and what, in our opinion, doesn’t.
So THIS is supposed to be the insane reason why he rejected her confession?!
Like, I thought it was going to be something actually serious — something that was his fault, something she didn’t know, and that would’ve genuinely disappointed her if she found out… BUT THIS?!
THIS IS SO STUPID.
Like yeah, the incident happened because she wasn’t careful and he acted like an idiot, but then he did everything to make up for it. He helped her, he changed, they rebuilt their relationship…
GOD, just admit you needed a dumb excuse to drag the story out.
I genuinely started losing patience with het manhwa because so many of them make zero sense. It was supposed to be a light story, but they had to force some pointless drama in because apparently they can’t stretch the plot without unnecessary angst.
SO disappointed.