So, this is how your write a redemption. This story is a beautiful example of a well thought out way to do that. Both Taehwan and Yeonwu are fleshed out characters with dimensions, clear issues and motivations.
On one hand, we have Yeonwu who's repressed and has internalized shame because of his religious upbringing and highly strict expectations so he found refuge in studying in the US, away from parental judgement as well as religious homophobia. Even the fact he says he likes his clothes stuffy or how Taehwan dominating over him and sexually humiliating him is something he physically enjoys, hints at his whole core being sort of small kept, like he tries to keep himself caged and small, stemming from tight parental control, how he's experienced his identity through the lense of 'sin', shaming and religious homophobia, creating this lack of space to live authentically with a mother who treated him like a sinful failure and a father who couldn't give a single fuck about him outside of his image as a good Christian son. His infatuation with Taehwan is the first breach out of the cage, but since Yeonwu hasn't worked through his insecurities, self acceptance issues, and lack of self esteem, he went into yet another trap by accepting mistreatment as the necessary cost of physical connection and closeness with the one he likes. Because Yeonwu at that time didn't see himself as worthy and felt disgusting as Taehwan made him feel that way because of his own internalized homophobia, Yeonwu went along with, and even saw the cruel ways of Taehwan as unavoidable and deserved. However, Yeonwu posseses a type of silent, introverted strength that isn't obvious at first, but the plot challenges that and pushes him to set boundaries on his own terms. Yeonwu realizes he accepted crumbs because he never let himself take more, realized he deserves more and is worthy as a person. For him, to let go of Taehwan meant acknowledging his own self worth. His journey was about realizing he can be loved, that he isn't too much, and that the moment you give up on yourself for the sake of getting validation, even in its most rotten form by Taehwan, you lose the most important connection - the one with your own self. In that regard, the rotten peach pit symbolism in the manhwa illustrated that very well. Like he let himself be eaten by the anxiety and uncertain validation from an unhealthy situationship, corroded and consumed by someone who was trying to come to terms with his own sexuality. So now on the topic of Taehwan -
We have Taehwan, a survivor of child sexual abuse by his teacher, whose struggle with sexuality and identity stems from I'm assuming both what he has experienced as a child, which in turn contributed to his internalized homophobia, and the fact he was the 'mature' child who coped alone and was way too aware of what others wanted to see and hear from him early on. From a tender age, he has learned to socially perform, to mask struggle and deal with stuff on his own, and for his own sense of worth and identity, to be accepted and needed by others without exposing his struggle as to not be seen as incapable or flawed. The fact he stood out as the only Asian kid in an elitist all white school must've further pushed him to compartmentalize his feelings, wishes, and also pushed him to perform in order to be accepted, to not be alienated, although he knew he was never seen for who he is, but what he represents as a diversity token (yet another objectification of him as a person). He builds walls from his own emotions, which also creates walls from everyone else, although he hides behind politeness and seemingly openness through those walls. Later on, as he unravels, we see that he has very intense and big emotions, probably one of the reasons why his whole life, he tried to escape from them, and his sexuality was the gateway to that, making it so scary for him to the point of letting out his frustrations on Yeonwu and being in utter shock after the initial sleep kiss. The Jenga tower allegory worked very well in the manhwa because it goes to show how unstable the seemingly tall inner constructs of coping mechanisms were within Taehwan. Love tore it all down because to love, you have to be vulnerable, and to be vulnerable, you have to face and give up your pride. Pride, in my opinion, is not arrogance or the absence of insecurity, but the coping strategy for shame. Taehwan, as a survivor of both bullying and CSA, feeling the pressure to fit in while being Korean and bi in a conservative elitist school, must have internalized a lot of shame, and the best way to cope with that is to build walls upon which pride can stand at the forefront and guard everything else, to hide the pain and the fear. His feelings for Yeonwu challenged all of that at once, took out fundamental pieces of the metaphorical Jenga tower that is Taehwan's inner coping mechanism structure. His inner world, the way he knew it, crushed. His anger and resentment were the defence mechanisms for coming in touch with that crash, and the feelings of loving and longing for another man as the symptom. I think Taehwan was especially bothered by Yeonwu's personality because unlike Taehwan, Yeonwu didn't seem to perform all the time. He would be openly awkward, flustered, meek, almost pathetic in his eyes. This touches on the type of masculinity Taehwan wants to perform as part of his overall tight social mask - being stoic, straight, unbothered. Everything Yeonwu wasn't, and everything patriarchal standards exclude homosexuality from. As Taehwan later on unpacked his prejudice and feelings, he came to love these traits and see them for what they are - Yeonwu being cute, authentic, and a deep feeler. Taehwan had to have his walls broken to realize he missed a wide range of himself and his emotional experiences. That's how he was freed, in a process that was scary and painful for him. Yeonwu unlocked that process.
So given all that, Taehwan and Yeonwu, on a deeper level, feel drawn to each other because they both present different sides of the same coin - a lot of internalized shame, resentment and especially fear. Yeonwu being ashamed of his feelings for Taehwan and insecure about his worth as a potential partner to him, and Taehwan being ashamed of falling for a man, for Yeonwu, from the start. Yeonwu resenting his own lack of self respect and addiction to the unhealthy treatment by the hand of Taehwan, and Taehwan resenting his feelings for a man. Yeonwu being afraid of his impact on Taehwan, and Taehwan being afraid of his feelings for Yeonwu and their implications. Both struggle with their own sexuality, which in Yeonwu is shown as the desperate clinging onto physical affection, no matter what cost, and Taehwan being so afraid and confused by his feelings that he would let it all out on Yeonwu. Them meeting was the catalyst for unpacking all that shame and trauma, as well as pushing their inner development as people. For Yeonwu it was the realization of his self worth and finding his own voice, and for Taehwan, it was letting feelings be felt, communicated, and to be vulnerable as his walls would hold him back from experiencing not just pain, but happiness and love. Taehwan also had to accept himself to be able to love Yeonwu, just like Yeonwu had to accept himself to let Taehwan love him.
About the redemption - Taehwan's realizations of his wrongdoings and own escapism from difficult feelings as well as topics seemed very realistic and logical given his character building. I like how the chase arc was a whole process and Yeonwu had very realistic reactions to it all, how it was complicated and wasn't resolved easily because what Taehwan did to him was painful, to an extent dehumanizing, and cruel. The anxiety, the distrust, the push and pull, Taehwan's fear of repeating the mistakes, of abandonment, his persistent guilt; Yeonwu's mistrust and need to move on, the fact his trust was gained slowly and only with enough positive reinforcement - it all illustrated a very organic struggle between two people who were learning about themselves and their feelings for each other after a toxic initial relationship. The more their reunion after 2 years apart felt impactful and genuine. Taehwan's longing was very real, and so was Yeonwu's trust.
So, this is how your write a redemption. This story is a beautiful example of a well thought out way to do that. Both Taehwan and Yeonwu are fleshed out characters with dimensions, clear issues and motivations.
On one hand, we have Yeonwu who's repressed and has internalized shame because of his religious upbringing and highly strict expectations so he found refuge in studying in the US, away from parental judgement as well as religious homophobia. Even the fact he says he likes his clothes stuffy or how Taehwan dominating over him and sexually humiliating him is something he physically enjoys, hints at his whole core being sort of small kept, like he tries to keep himself caged and small, stemming from tight parental control, how he's experienced his identity through the lense of 'sin', shaming and religious homophobia, creating this lack of space to live authentically with a mother who treated him like a sinful failure and a father who couldn't give a single fuck about him outside of his image as a good Christian son. His infatuation with Taehwan is the first breach out of the cage, but since Yeonwu hasn't worked through his insecurities, self acceptance issues, and lack of self esteem, he went into yet another trap by accepting mistreatment as the necessary cost of physical connection and closeness with the one he likes. Because Yeonwu at that time didn't see himself as worthy and felt disgusting as Taehwan made him feel that way because of his own internalized homophobia, Yeonwu went along with, and even saw the cruel ways of Taehwan as unavoidable and deserved. However, Yeonwu posseses a type of silent, introverted strength that isn't obvious at first, but the plot challenges that and pushes him to set boundaries on his own terms. Yeonwu realizes he accepted crumbs because he never let himself take more, realized he deserves more and is worthy as a person. For him, to let go of Taehwan meant acknowledging his own self worth. His journey was about realizing he can be loved, that he isn't too much, and that the moment you give up on yourself for the sake of getting validation, even in its most rotten form by Taehwan, you lose the most important connection - the one with your own self. In that regard, the rotten peach pit symbolism in the manhwa illustrated that very well. Like he let himself be eaten by the anxiety and uncertain validation from an unhealthy situationship, corroded and consumed by someone who was trying to come to terms with his own sexuality. So now on the topic of Taehwan -
We have Taehwan, a survivor of child sexual abuse by his teacher, whose struggle with sexuality and identity stems from I'm assuming both what he has experienced as a child, which in turn contributed to his internalized homophobia, and the fact he was the 'mature' child who coped alone and was way too aware of what others wanted to see and hear from him early on. From a tender age, he has learned to socially perform, to mask struggle and deal with stuff on his own, and for his own sense of worth and identity, to be accepted and needed by others without exposing his struggle as to not be seen as incapable or flawed. The fact he stood out as the only Asian kid in an elitist all white school must've further pushed him to compartmentalize his feelings, wishes, and also pushed him to perform in order to be accepted, to not be alienated, although he knew he was never seen for who he is, but what he represents as a diversity token (yet another objectification of him as a person). He builds walls from his own emotions, which also creates walls from everyone else, although he hides behind politeness and seemingly openness through those walls. Later on, as he unravels, we see that he has very intense and big emotions, probably one of the reasons why his whole life, he tried to escape from them, and his sexuality was the gateway to that, making it so scary for him to the point of letting out his frustrations on Yeonwu and being in utter shock after the initial sleep kiss. The Jenga tower allegory worked very well in the manhwa because it goes to show how unstable the seemingly tall inner constructs of coping mechanisms were within Taehwan. Love tore it all down because to love, you have to be vulnerable, and to be vulnerable, you have to face and give up your pride. Pride, in my opinion, is not arrogance or the absence of insecurity, but the coping strategy for shame. Taehwan, as a survivor of both bullying and CSA, feeling the pressure to fit in while being Korean and bi in a conservative elitist school, must have internalized a lot of shame, and the best way to cope with that is to build walls upon which pride can stand at the forefront and guard everything else, to hide the pain and the fear. His feelings for Yeonwu challenged all of that at once, took out fundamental pieces of the metaphorical Jenga tower that is Taehwan's inner coping mechanism structure. His inner world, the way he knew it, crushed. His anger and resentment were the defence mechanisms for coming in touch with that crash, and the feelings of loving and longing for another man as the symptom. I think Taehwan was especially bothered by Yeonwu's personality because unlike Taehwan, Yeonwu didn't seem to perform all the time. He would be openly awkward, flustered, meek, almost pathetic in his eyes. This touches on the type of masculinity Taehwan wants to perform as part of his overall tight social mask - being stoic, straight, unbothered. Everything Yeonwu wasn't, and everything patriarchal standards exclude homosexuality from. As Taehwan later on unpacked his prejudice and feelings, he came to love these traits and see them for what they are - Yeonwu being cute, authentic, and a deep feeler. Taehwan had to have his walls broken to realize he missed a wide range of himself and his emotional experiences. That's how he was freed, in a process that was scary and painful for him. Yeonwu unlocked that process.
So given all that, Taehwan and Yeonwu, on a deeper level, feel drawn to each other because they both present different sides of the same coin - a lot of internalized shame, resentment and especially fear. Yeonwu being ashamed of his feelings for Taehwan and insecure about his worth as a potential partner to him, and Taehwan being ashamed of falling for a man, for Yeonwu, from the start. Yeonwu resenting his own lack of self respect and addiction to the unhealthy treatment by the hand of Taehwan, and Taehwan resenting his feelings for a man. Yeonwu being afraid of his impact on Taehwan, and Taehwan being afraid of his feelings for Yeonwu and their implications. Both struggle with their own sexuality, which in Yeonwu is shown as the desperate clinging onto physical affection, no matter what cost, and Taehwan being so afraid and confused by his feelings that he would let it all out on Yeonwu. Them meeting was the catalyst for unpacking all that shame and trauma, as well as pushing their inner development as people. For Yeonwu it was the realization of his self worth and finding his own voice, and for Taehwan, it was letting feelings be felt, communicated, and to be vulnerable as his walls would hold him back from experiencing not just pain, but happiness and love. Taehwan also had to accept himself to be able to love Yeonwu, just like Yeonwu had to accept himself to let Taehwan love him.
About the redemption - Taehwan's realizations of his wrongdoings and own escapism from difficult feelings as well as topics seemed very realistic and logical given his character building. I like how the chase arc was a whole process and Yeonwu had very realistic reactions to it all, how it was complicated and wasn't resolved easily because what Taehwan did to him was painful, to an extent dehumanizing, and cruel. The anxiety, the distrust, the push and pull, Taehwan's fear of repeating the mistakes, of abandonment, his persistent guilt; Yeonwu's mistrust and need to move on, the fact his trust was gained slowly and only with enough positive reinforcement - it all illustrated a very organic struggle between two people who were learning about themselves and their feelings for each other after a toxic initial relationship. The more their reunion after 2 years apart felt impactful and genuine. Taehwan's longing was very real, and so was Yeonwu's trust.