the ratings for this story wouldn’t be so low if it reached its intended audience. this isn’t a satisfying or wholesome story, and if you choose to read it despite that, that is 100% on YOU, not the author. frustrating read ≠ bad writing. yes, duna is a slut. yes, haesol is an insufferable doormat. yes, minho is a gross misogynist and is confirmed to be based off of the author’s ex. none of the evil characters are redeemable in any way, and i don’t believe they are intended to be. arguing about whether minho’s punishment fits the crime is an irrelevant debate, and the same thing can be said for any other argument for or against the morality of the characters depicted in this story because it’s fundamentally a story based off of moral incorrigibility.
now onto why i think this story deserves better. every character stayed consistent and true to their set personality. there’s a wonderful balance between humor and depravity within each character and in the cast in general. every single person brings something to the table in terms of character dynamics. minho’s character was never developed, but he was written as a static character. he is dispositioned to be stubborn and mindlessly aggressive. it would, in fact, make even less sense if he suddenly became a good person for the sake of redemption. if you consider how the story starts (ie minho and duna’s relationship, duna’s sadistic tendencies), it makes total sense for the plotline to go where it did. it’s not a happy disney storyline but it’s definitely realistic with every character still having their struggles and sociopathic tendencies in the end, but they’ve all changed in subtle ways throughout the 117 chapters. duna and haesol never officially start dating, but that’s honestly that most realistic path. i also love that there are 3 end couples who all have their own unique endings. gyerin and jooyeon represent the typical happy romance ending. wookyung and minho represent the toxic abuser x victim ending with them accepting their codependence. and duna and haesol, in my opinion, are the most interesting of the bunch. they will probably never have an even power dynamic no matter how much time they spend with each other. their relationship is frustrating and ambiguous, even in the very end. they stand in the very middle of happy vs sad ending, not knowing which side to lean to. it’s fitting and realistic. will they ever be happy together? can duna ever accept haesol as her boyfriend? they’ve agreed to start healing together, but we never find out if they definitively succeed. and that’s how some relationships are in real life. i admire the author for exploring a more mundane type of ending and believe that these types of endings are more needed in romance fiction.
also note that the original author quit halfway through the story, so some things are bound to be inconsistent.
overall, don’t approach this story with the expectation of it going like a typical reverse harem or romance story. it’s truly unique in every aspects of the word.
the ratings for this story wouldn’t be so low if it reached its intended audience.
this isn’t a satisfying or wholesome story, and if you choose to read it despite that, that is 100% on YOU, not the author. frustrating read ≠ bad writing.
yes, duna is a slut. yes, haesol is an insufferable doormat. yes, minho is a gross misogynist and is confirmed to be based off of the author’s ex. none of the evil characters are redeemable in any way, and i don’t believe they are intended to be. arguing about whether minho’s punishment fits the crime is an irrelevant debate, and the same thing can be said for any other argument for or against the morality of the characters depicted in this story because it’s fundamentally a story based off of moral incorrigibility.
now onto why i think this story deserves better.
every character stayed consistent and true to their set personality. there’s a wonderful balance between humor and depravity within each character and in the cast in general. every single person brings something to the table in terms of character dynamics.
minho’s character was never developed, but he was written as a static character. he is dispositioned to be stubborn and mindlessly aggressive. it would, in fact, make even less sense if he suddenly became a good person for the sake of redemption. if you consider how the story starts (ie minho and duna’s relationship, duna’s sadistic tendencies), it makes total sense for the plotline to go where it did. it’s not a happy disney storyline but it’s definitely realistic with every character still having their struggles and sociopathic tendencies in the end, but they’ve all changed in subtle ways throughout the 117 chapters. duna and haesol never officially start dating, but that’s honestly that most realistic path.
i also love that there are 3 end couples who all have their own unique endings. gyerin and jooyeon represent the typical happy romance ending. wookyung and minho represent the toxic abuser x victim ending with them accepting their codependence. and duna and haesol, in my opinion, are the most interesting of the bunch. they will probably never have an even power dynamic no matter how much time they spend with each other. their relationship is frustrating and ambiguous, even in the very end. they stand in the very middle of happy vs sad ending, not knowing which side to lean to. it’s fitting and realistic. will they ever be happy together? can duna ever accept haesol as her boyfriend? they’ve agreed to start healing together, but we never find out if they definitively succeed. and that’s how some relationships are in real life. i admire the author for exploring a more mundane type of ending and believe that these types of endings are more needed in romance fiction.
also note that the original author quit halfway through the story, so some things are bound to be inconsistent.
overall, don’t approach this story with the expectation of it going like a typical reverse harem or romance story. it’s truly unique in every aspects of the word.