Unlikely. I recall the author writing that he doesn't look like a manager at all—and she herself doesn't yet know exactly what a manager looks like (physically).
This is actually borne out by the fact that Kim simply doesn't remember his face anymore.
Besides, Eva is often mistaken in her judgments, so I don't think she can be trusted on this matter. I suspect the author will likely frame this as a source of trauma for the professor—assuming they elaborate on it further—since recent events show that those associations have already faded for him.Rather than as a drama about him being "merely a replacement."
Mmmmm, I still feel like the ex-manager is something that needs to be properly addressed in the future because his presence can still be felt even in the latest chapter. There are so many things about Heejae that are tied to him too, like why Heejae took a decade-long hiatus and that mission of his that somehow scarred so many young, bright souls in the process lol. But I guess it’s also natural in life for some things to be left unsaid without proper closure or confrontation.
But thank you for the info about what the author said!
I fully agree that this manager will reappear from time to time and his story will be developed but not within the framework of a "replacement" plotline or the drama surrounding their supposed resemblance, but simply through the revelation of his past, specifically the trauma stemming from the Professor abandoning him.
Yeah, maybe not within the framework of a “replacement” plotline, like you said, but as a reader, there are too many parallels between Garam and the manager for me not to assume that Garam “was” a stand-in, like how they both saw something in Heejaes Chopin, and how Heejae saw his ex manager in Garam during his low moment, among many other things. I do believe that he genuinely loves Garam now, but I also believe that the ex managers influence was pretty heavy during the beginning of their relationship, even if Heejae wasnt consciously aware of it. Unless they address this aspect, its going to be the elephant in the room for me, if that makes any sense.
I find it hilarious that Heejae is well aware that he is a knife that hurts others, but not aware of when or how he does it.
Now that we’re about to enter Heejae’s redemption “becoming human” arc, I bet we’re going to dive into Heejae’s history with his ex-manager even more.
Ngl, I do find it disturbing that Garam is so similar to the manager, even though we haven’t clearly seen his face yet. Even Eva mentioned this before, so I believe this information will play a big role in the future. Like, after Garam’s insecurities about Heejae mainly caring about his sound, instead of him as a person imagine if he ever found out that he was similar to Heejae’s sorta-kinda ex, It’s giving replacement, It’s giving insincere lmfao.
Like in Chapter 105, he saw the manager in Garam, completely lost his mind, and ended up getting a blowjob. I need Garam to learn about the manager. I wonder if he’ll be in his saint mature bigger person mode or spiral into insecurity.
Imagine if Garam left him with a similar piece of paper like the manager did. With how down horrendously bad Heejae is right now, he’d probably end up in an asylum and and would completely destroy this whole ‘becoming human’ thing