I think for me I can relate. To try to explain it to you: if you trust someone who is lying to you for an extended duration, at some point you're gaslighting yourself, and the when the truth breaks out, your sense of reality, trust in them obviously, but also your trust in yourself, your own senses, your own rationality, your ability to perceive, avoid, or control danger, it all shatters. It's really, honestly scary. Emotionally and physiologically, it feels like an extended panic attack where your whole body is cold and tight and scared, like nothing feels safe anymore.
Even after the immediate moment, it has echos bc then you're stuck suspecting everyone else in your life bc now you know your trust in a person doesn't mean shit, it just means your betrayer tried a little harder not to get caught.
As Jihan explained to the other traitor from his past, once you get over that shit storm, cognitively, any subsequent relationship is really hard to earn or build. Bc you're aware of that other person's capacity to really and truly deceive you and overcome your best efforts to find the truth. You are also aware of the fact that they spent effort, that they were deciding again and again over however many days, weeks, months, that your grasp on reality, your right to know what will affect you, their respect for your right to make decisions with full information all meant shit to them. What mattered to them all along was getting what they wanted out of you, your needs be damned.
I agree that if he wasn't having a strong emotional and physiological reaction, he could have heard the liar's rationale, and I love that the author let him acknowledge that the liar may have had some complicated motivations, but like mc was going through it in that moment and he had a strong learning experience to inform his decision.
I'm keen to see if it's handled well in the subsequent chapters, and from the work so far, I'm anticipating a solid treatment.
I’ve been dreading and anticipating this arc after reading it because of the emotions and thoughts that with it. I pity what Yoojeong but it felt so good to see him break down (I don’t hate him at all! it’s just satisfying) and I kept thinking that while I understand that it’s Jihan’s trauma and he is SO RIGHT for reacting how he did, but as a normal person without trauma, I personally couldn’t 100% understand the weight of Yoojeong’s betrayal.
I’m semi-forcing myself to the push through to the light at the end of the tunnel