The people actively hating on Jiho, I hope you take a good look and see if you've ever unintentionally hurt someone you care about or been a bit insensitive. Chances are, if you're a human, you have.
He was never being overly selfish or ill intentioned. Maybe a little dense and careless, but he acknowledged and apologized and did better for those things that went wrong.
I really wonder what it is that leads to characters like this getting so hated. Maybe because they're presented as being so lovable, people react opposite? It's genuinely fascinating to me, like the people who will ALWAYS love the second couple in a story more. Are you just... insatiable? Unable to take what's given to you as enough and instead searching for the subversive option? Or you see someone being forgiven for their mistakes and you feel upset because you don't feel like you can forgive yourself for making mistakes?
Maybe I'm reading too much into it and it's just differences in taste, but I really am curious.
Oh also, I hated Chungi for a good second, but honestly I think how things played out were fair. He mended his ways and that did nothing to resolve his relationship with Jiho and that's okay. Sometimes people just need to go separate ways and the way someone was hurt is just too large a gap to rebuild the burned bridges. Chungi was selfish to look at something full of love and want to ruin it. But Jiho and Inwoo also wouldn't have been truly in love if they couldn't overcome that. I'm glad it didn't cause a ridiculous amount of drama, and I do think Boram and Chungi ended up being a very sweet side couple. I liked them a lot and I'm also very glad Chungi decided to wear his hair down. Special shoutout to the YouTube comment on the salon video of him that said "stop gelling your hair up..." lmao they were right dude looked goofy but he did always have a pretty face which is impressive on the artists part bc hair is so important but I could still tell he was pretty even with that doofy ass hairdo.
Anyways I loved this manhwa in case my rambling didn't make it clear <3 it was beautiful and sweet and cute and gdi inwoo is SO fine
Oh my gosh... ╥﹏╥
This was so beautiful, I hope people will not get scared off by the half of commenters saying this story is bad because I genuinely can't see how anyone who read to the ending could hate this. It had such a lovely resolution.
Was it perfect? No. There were things that could have been handled better, but it's also so much about those imperfections of life.
Both Inwoo and Jiho had moments where they were selfish or careless, but it was fleeting and when they saw how much it hurt the other they made amends and changed. I do wish there had been more of a heart-to-heart, but I will say that I LOVED when Jiho said they shouldn't sleep together in the moment because he didn't want to only ever be physically close when their hearts are distant. That's such an important thing that so many stories ignore. Sex isn't the be-all end-all and shouldn't be the go-to resolution and I love that this story acknowledged that and just had them hold each other.
The portion about Inwoo's mom was so heartbreaking, especially how he said she should have asked him for forgiveness rather than seeking redemption from God. That's such a beautifully sad moment because it truly shows that religion can be a haven to some but they can use it as refuge from their guilt rather than seeking a true resolution. I think it is heartbreaking to think that your mother chose herself over you, asking why she couldn't take him with her is so fair. But she really did think Inwoo's father wouldn't hurt him, and I think even if she did not fully trust that, she likely knew she wouldn't have anything to take care of him financially. It's always terrible to be a child whose mother didn't put you first, because it feels like that's the one person who should. Inwoo's abandonment issues hit so close to home, and his frustration with himself for not getting better was also so relatable.
But people are way too hard on Jiho, too. When Inwoo kissed Jiho in public because he knew Jiho would hate it and was trying to prove a point, that was such a cruel thing to do to someone who is not at all ready. More than that, it's cruel to actively do something you know your partner would hate. But that's the thing about this story. Its not picture perfect characters. Inwoo was in the wrong there, and Jiho was in the wrong for not realizing how actively Inwoo was hurting. To run away from someone who clearly has abandonment issues is not the right move. But also! It's not like that was super actively communicated.
They had some hiccups, but I very much so appreciate that there was no break up, no terrible extended fight. There were misplaced good intentions and some careless decisions but at the end of it all they love each other so dearly. The writing is beautiful, the characters had a lot of depth and complexity but their motivations never baffled me, and it was so nice just seeing them happy together.
Also, the art is GORGEOUS. Like aah Inwoo is one of the prettiest characters <3 and Jiho is such a cutie. Absolutely love them so much, so glad I read this.