This is already promising more than Unintentional Love Story, the author's previous work. ...

This is already promising more than Unintentional Love Story, the author's previous work. Instead of putting the audience through a lot of guesswork and making the characters seem oblivious of their own motivations, the backstory here was able to show the perspectives of both characters even if it's from Ian Ryu's POV. It seems even more plausible that the POV is Ian's since he's the one with the obvious reason for being observant of Eunsan. Though the attraction seems one-sided, you can see from Ian's POV how he remained attracted to Eunsan despite everything he's seen so far- and it's precisely because it was BEYOND just physical attraction... it was Eunsan just being himself- being kind, empathic, and generous almost to a fault. Eunsan wasn't trying to seduce him or trying to be cute... his personality is just naturally attractive and overflowing with positivity, something that seems ironic as we know him many years later to be an overcautious, overthinking human being needlessly carrying a lot of emotional baggage.

In Unintentional Love Story, we have an ML who seemed to have come from an obsessive, one-sided relationship with a colleague- an obsessiveness that continued to weigh his relationship with the MC, complicated by his somewhat moody personality that always puts the over-transparent, laid-back MC on edge as he barely has anything in common with the ML when it comes to profession, hobbies, and lifestyle. The ML also follows the rich, naively-innocent, yet entitled character stereotypes in most BL- he offers to do everything for the MC out of the kindness of his heart coz he has the resources and the connections to make things easy for the ones he loves. The author seems to have refined that character design here by giving Ian the kind of childhood that allows us to appreciate his work and relationship ethic years after. Now we know why Ian values work- will never makes excuses to fail his career or compromise his commitments even when he's head over heels for someone. And it was not just about financially struggling as a student and knowing the value of money- it was learning to appreciate that the best things in life come to those who do their best no matter the outcome... and that BEST thing was not even becoming a success in hockey but meeting Eunsan and falling in love with the kind of person he is AND using that love as an inspiration to go on and survive even when those genuine feelings were not and might never, in fact, be reciprocated. In other words, Ian's entire identity is built around NOT taking anything or anyone for granted.

Eunsan's character is built the same way. Even if Ian were to try to treat him like a princess, Eunsan was never the type to let that happen. Their personalities aren't just randomly decided by a few lines of dialogue but by how the backstory takes us precisely to those unguarded moments where both Eunsan's and Ian's egos are bared to us. Eunsan would never let himself "enjoy" any special treatment not only because he had always been Ian's responsible senior who took care of him and everyone else on the team, but also for the reason that his inner child was built that way- he looks after others not out of duty but out of intuition (no wonder he spoils his younger brother too and treats his co-workers like family). Despite appearing to be laid-back and carefree he actually worries too much about others that he's almost never aware that he ends up needlessly making compromises (like drinking something too sweet for him just because it was a gift he needed to appreciate) and ending up confronting Ian about his attitude coz he couldn't take being given the cold shoulder treatment by the same person he's come to like. In her previous work the author makes out the MC to be a little oblivious and naive of other's emotions and though we see the same in Eunsan, it's not the stereotypical obliviousness that makes for a convenient plot device to prolong the romance- it's more of a psychological obliviousness that grows from a person being too emphatic, selfless and sensitive toward others that they often downgrade the importance of their own needs and feelings. We know from the start how Ian Ryu knows this and feels tempted to take advantage of this weakness so he could get closer to Eunsan... but we also know from the backstory that Ian had his own struggles from the get go... he wanted Eunsan REAL BAD... but he also wanted to be WANTED BACK even if not romantically but for a REASON, a purpose that's just as permanent and stable.

The fact that Ian could love Eunsan to the point of ignoring his own pain, his own need to be loved is what makes this story both simple and enlightening because we don't see this in the light of exaggerated drama and suspense where tragedies unfold every other chapter. We see this in plain sight... between two characters who can't help but be true to themselves and to each other even when they're doing their damnest best to hide their deepest feelings.

To some, that may not be a deep story worthy of being called a masterpiece- but I think that while reading can be a rewarding intellectual exercise, most of us prefer the pleasure of empathizing with endearing characters that make the story an enjoyable journey worth coming back to.