I think people's opinions on suah and juhyeok as characters and the trajectory of their relationship depend on if they recognize or acknowledge the significance of the nonconsensual scenting and if they take consent and bodily autonomy seriously, even by the rules of this omegaverse setting. the trouble is, I think the author is one of the people how doesn't take it seriously, or at least not seriously enough to not paint the boundary-crossing menace himself in a sympathetic light at every opportunity while neglecting to flesh out juhyeok's concerns and mental/emotional state.
it's a shame because the art is really nice and the author is good at conveying tone and emotion, but to me it's kind of criminal to put forth compelling and interesting conflicts between and within characters and their setting and then barely explore it with any depth and with such favoring of one character. I'd love to be proven wrong on this, btw, and have the issues I raised somehow just be pacing problems, but I'm not very hopeful given how "never understand" went down.
I seriously wanted to see a more healthy growth in their relationship which is not just based on obsession and wanting control over their partner...also it irked me so much knowing that all Juhyeok wanted was to be acknowledged for his strength and not just for being an omega (I don't think he disliked Su ah that much, he just hated the way Su ah treated him like an omega who needs protection most of the time and not as a person with feelings and aspirations of his own). It's so obvious that Juhyeok hates the feeling of being controlled by pheromones and ironically that's the only way Su ah knows to keep Juhyeok...
You just summarized all my thoughts into one.
After re-reading this story and seeing some comments about how sorry they feel for the alpha and how much they love the pairing, it honestly irritates me, yk. I understand that the whole point of this bl is to revolve around the main alpha and the omega; however, I cannot get over the alpha’s actions and wish there was a better option for the omega than this loser. At first, I thought it was cute how the alpha chases after the omega, loving him regardless of whether he was an alpha or not, and it could’ve been a cute rom-com, a slow burn perhaps, and the two of them grow together, but this story is a fucking mess. The alpha’s actions were downright disgusting towards the omega. He’s selfish, childish, and a complete fucking wimp. Him making it impossible for the omega to even interact with alphas and his reasoning for it? Fucking stupid. And he got under my skin the moment I read the bathroom chapter with the two of them showering together, and his wording and what he DID to the omega??? Disgusting. It even got me more pissed off with how he acted all noble and protective and bullshit like that towards the omega while interacting with the rich sugar daddy alpha, making this whole shit completely ridiculous.
I really hope the omega finds someone far better who will respect him as a person and love him correctly, unlike that fucking loser. I hated reading the chapter where these two acted like everything was normal after the alpha fucking raped him, like what the fuck.
The art is good, I’ll admit that, and the designs too, that’s my only praise for this story at the moment. Not sure if I’ll continue reading this story ngl.