I finished this story in a few hours, which is surprising.
The characters' positions (at least in society - the binary perceived "gang leader" and "lower middle-class office worker") often felt too cliche at points, but their characterizations are what made me stay. The fact that Seoyun has such a comedic and naive personality while being simultaneously burdened by his past is what makes this work so much greater than at face value - the same applies to Sunghoon. He's generally apathetic, but a single person's demeanor causes him to rethink his perspective and actually WANT to change. He doesn't change like clockwork, but it's a gradual process (hence the therapy). It's a great resolution for both characters but definitely could've been resolved much more smoothly and a bit slower. Still, it's not terrible pacing.
My favorite part? All of the bridge scenes. That bridge symbolizes death, grief, loss, and eventually ... acceptance. It's clouded with the memories of the traumatic incident in his youth, where he lost his entire family and apparent "meaning." Literally Seoyun's entire family: his mother, father, older brother, eventual child, etc... Really the story is just about Seoyun coming to accept what he has lost and embed it within himself. It's something that makes him who he is and that's quintessential to this story's overarching themes. Wonderfully done, and I only now realize how much that beginning scene was actually foreshadowing lol.
Great symbolism and themes! Subpar pacing. Weird side characters that surround the main characters (especially the cohort of men Seoyun dated/was friends with). Blegh.
But I guess it's accurate. People are like that.
Also, existential loss is what ironically gives Seoyun his meaning. The total loss of his family gives him no meaningful connections and he therefore found life purposeless and uneventful - evident by the pretentious and self-centered people he eventually surrounded himself with before meeting Sunghoon. They substituted Seoyun's family ... but obviously, they didn't fulfill that role because they only cared about themselves.
He finds "meaning" in another person - Sunghoon - at the cost of reevaluating his life, choices, and experiences thus far. Again, they both willingly made the choice to first meet and be with one another - no "fate/ destiny" in this story. Sorry - not sorry.
I finished this story in a few hours, which is surprising.
The characters' positions (at least in society - the binary perceived "gang leader" and "lower middle-class office worker") often felt too cliche at points, but their characterizations are what made me stay. The fact that Seoyun has such a comedic and naive personality while being simultaneously burdened by his past is what makes this work so much greater than at face value - the same applies to Sunghoon. He's generally apathetic, but a single person's demeanor causes him to rethink his perspective and actually WANT to change. He doesn't change like clockwork, but it's a gradual process (hence the therapy). It's a great resolution for both characters but definitely could've been resolved much more smoothly and a bit slower. Still, it's not terrible pacing.
My favorite part? All of the bridge scenes. That bridge symbolizes death, grief, loss, and eventually ... acceptance. It's clouded with the memories of the traumatic incident in his youth, where he lost his entire family and apparent "meaning." Literally Seoyun's entire family: his mother, father, older brother, eventual child, etc... Really the story is just about Seoyun coming to accept what he has lost and embed it within himself. It's something that makes him who he is and that's quintessential to this story's overarching themes. Wonderfully done, and I only now realize how much that beginning scene was actually foreshadowing lol.
Great symbolism and themes! Subpar pacing. Weird side characters that surround the main characters (especially the cohort of men Seoyun dated/was friends with). Blegh.
But I guess it's accurate. People are like that.
Also, existential loss is what ironically gives Seoyun his meaning. The total loss of his family gives him no meaningful connections and he therefore found life purposeless and uneventful - evident by the pretentious and self-centered people he eventually surrounded himself with before meeting Sunghoon. They substituted Seoyun's family ... but obviously, they didn't fulfill that role because they only cared about themselves.
He finds "meaning" in another person - Sunghoon - at the cost of reevaluating his life, choices, and experiences thus far. Again, they both willingly made the choice to first meet and be with one another - no "fate/ destiny" in this story. Sorry - not sorry.
Great!
3.7/5