Agreed! I think compton adds an needed extra dimension to the story. I love seeing what he stirs up every chapter and the conflicts and questions he catalyzes.
While I completely agree with you on Compton and him being a victim of Heejay's abuse, I feel like this is an important reminder that he is not ONLY a victim. BDK has done a great job thus far of demonstrating the nuance and complexity of these characters and they do a phenomenal job. By that I mean that they show how two ideas can coexist with the same individual. Heejay is both an abuser and a tender caring lover. His manager Kate simultenously hates him with every fiber of her being and yet still chooses to be his manager when everyone else has run and left him. Compton is a fascinating character because we also get to see multiple sides of his character. He is both a victim of Heejay's abuse and mistreatment and an abuser himself. He insults his orchestra, treats them like garbage and manipulates them all to serve his purposes on a daily basis and his own trauma does not in any way excuse what he has done. It explains. I does not justify nor should it. I personally really dislike Compton and I feel justified in doing so as do many readers I'm sure and that's perfectly legitimate considering what he has done. He could get back in the readers good graves of he seriously atones for what he has done. Until then I remain firmly in the I dislike Compton camp.
even before these recent chapters i really couldn't get the extreme hate for compton regardless of how much he projects his hatred on to garam and makes him uncomfortable — i feel like people tend to forget or brush off the fact that he deadass is a victim trying to search for kinship in every single student of heejae's and that it's very much warranted lol. he's such an interesting character and conflict to think about that reminds me of youngjo in a way for some reason (i'm not sure if i'll articulate this properly, but i feel like it's because they're not really to be rooted for narratively as "obstacles" for lack of a better term, within the main relationship, but you sympathize with them greatly despite that). it's also an incredible way to explore how readers should feel about heejae, he's been really softened by garam, they have an insanely tender and beautiful relationship — but thank god the author doesn't forget the other facets of heejae's character letting the sum of the professor's abusive actions still catch up to him (and consequently garam). it's very nuanced! and i'm sad for compton, he genuinely has so much healing to do and the fact that he starts acting like heejae when he berates garam especially while he absolutely despises his teacher is sooo food for thought. god this story drives me nuts