Also: They got together in a not so healthy, but rather toxic sloppy way that I would be bewildered if they didn't have issues.
Yoon is scared of Vasya which is a whole aspect in payday because damn if my boyfriend was a mafia boss, I would be too. It all leads back to the fact that they just don't know each other. They might understand each other but knowing the other? When said boyfriend is never in the country and when he is, the other boyfriend just wants to have sex??? Yeah right.
Yoon can't trust Vasya because as it's said in Mayday, they used each other and had ulterior motives which is exactly the reason Yoon can't trust him which is another plot point in payday (ch.31)
Conclusion: Mayday and Payday on their own are average but since they're a series, they're amazing together
Another point: in chapter 32 Vasya lit says that he gave Yoon that usb because it had random pictures because he wanted to show every side of him which brings me to my point that their relationship is developing, Vasya has always tried to show Yoon who he was and given Yoon the chance to know him but Yoon didn't know what was on the usb which in a metaphorical sense just shows that he never out the effort in. Him not looking at the usb shows he is scared and has never tried getting to know him which links it to the plot point of Yoon being the one to never put effort into the relationship. With this, I'm trying to say that the author has a lot of implications in payday and mayday that are soooo interlinked.
"it was just another usb with random pictures. Because I wanted to show u every side of me. because I was as dishonest as you" (Ch. 32)
THERES SO MANY LAYERS TO THIS MANHWA MAN.
"I'm in love with him but I don't know the details of his recent wrong doings. I try not to hear about it because I know it wouldn't help our relationship"
Just cause Vasya is in a relationship doesn't mean he would abandon who he is WHICH is a whole ahh thin in payday but let me say it again: Yoon knowing vasil would still turn into Vasya because people don't change but Yoon never wanted him to change.
ALSO: the reason Vasya likes Yoon makes so much sense: his bravery.
In Mayday, Vasya already says that Yoon Is like a timid hamster who shivers under his gaze yet he never fails to speak out his true thoughts/opinion
Despite being scared, he is brave. Which is ironic because he is so scared of Vasya and lied to him. Idk, I like this contrast.
"not really deep plot" my AHH bruh
THIS IS GOLD. LET ME TELL U WHY:
1) established relationship with actual fucking depth, it's not all sunshine after they get together. They had serious problems in Mayday and yes, that manhwa was your average mafia boss story but this one is so good because it genuinely hits you with the consequences of their characters
2) the pacing was really good in a way that ties up mayday and payback. Both stories feel really vague, as if the author is just giving us a mere idea of what this story is supposed to be and who these characters are. Because of how vague it is, the author hits us with a kind of newer plot twist and shows us how much of an unreliable narrator Yoon actually is - the one to neglect the relationship wasn't the big bad mafia boss but sweet innocent MC Yoon, which makes sense after his flings, past rape trauma and everything that happened to him in Mayday is picked up and we are shown the consequences of his backstory and how that shaped him into who he is and how that influenced the entire plot line. Yes it's literally 99% of how Yoon wants to escape ML but why? It all leads back to his backstory and the author always makes vague hints/implications. Yoon is known for getting around and yet he's scared that he is just a mistress. He leaves his exes because if they were incompatible with him, then he could just break up with them but Yoon knows he doesn't want that with the ML. This is tied with his abandonment issues caused by his family. Another consequence of this is the fact that Vasya leaves Yoon too long, that he starts to feel lonely without ever knowing when he'll be back. And the fact that Vasya appears out of nowhere all the time, which makes him seem unreliable asf. Not a good idea for anxious people like yoon. Him getting around is most likely because of his SA trauma. And in Mayday, it's always been hinted at that he is an introverted loser who is ashamed of everything he does. It only makes sense that this would be Paydays plotline. Again, by keeping the story vague and a little more on the heavy to understand aspect, the author can make this plot twist that Yoon was the bad boyfriend and not the ML
3) Personally, I think the emotional aspect was conveyed very well. I have never read a manhwa with this amnesia problem type. What I mean is that the 18yo ML is scared that everyone wants him gone, the fact that we should hold a funeral. Idk why but the author genuinely made me realise that that kid is, in fact, not Vasya but Vasily. Vasily is scared he will die if he gets his memories back and I guess, in a metaphorical sense, I have never seen a manhwa exploring this type of emotional distress. Just as Vasya already said, everyone thinks Vasya just lost his memories and when he gets them back, he will be back to normal. But the author really plays into that "someone just died" aspect instead of making it seem like an unfortunate accident. Read chapter 21-22 for this.
4) The fact that in Mayday, Yoon was scared asf of Vasya until the very end. And it continues in Payback. Just because you like you boyfriend and are in a relationship with them, doesn't mean you're on equal terms. Especially when said boyfriend is a mafia boss. I'm not saying that's healthy, you SHOULD be on equal terms but they weren't and that is picked up in payday. It's just a "realistic" aspect to think about. Since Yoon saw Vasily still very aggressive, he knew he would turn into the same Vasya, no matter what, and that is what scared him because he could not break up with him if he really turned back into Vasya. Because for one, Yoon doesn't truly want to. But he also can't because yes, ML is a mafia boss and the whole fucking premise is that MC can't ever get away from ML. We are not romanticising this mafia shit in these two stories at all.
It's also 2am while I speed read both manhwas so I'm lit just yapping but yeah that's just my take