I finished all 53 chapters of the main story, and I genuinely don't understand how this is being presented as a healthy love story. To me, the biggest problem isn't simply that Haru is obsessive; it's that the story repeatedly shows us how unhealthy his obsession has become and then refuses to meaningfully address it.
For most of the story, Haru's entire life increasingly revolves around Jiseo. He puts aside school, his dreams, his plans, and relationships with other people because being with Jiseo becomes more important than having an independent life of his own. Meanwhile, Jiseo recognizes that this isn't healthy, he repeatedly tells Haru that he wants him to pursue his dreams, have his own life, and be happy, but his actions constantly undermine those words.
That's where the cycle comes in.
Haru crosses a boundary or does something unreasonable. Jiseo gets upset. Haru acts cute, apologizes, or gives Jiseo affection because he knows exactly how Jiseo responds to him. Jiseo gives in. They have sex. The underlying problem remains unresolved. Then Haru eventually crosses another boundary.
That isn't growth. That's reinforcement.
And the story takes that cycle to its most extreme point when Haru handcuffs Jiseo because he doesn't want him to leave. By that point, we're no longer talking about someone simply being jealous, clingy, possessive, or deeply in love. Haru has become so terrified of losing Jiseo that he is willing to physically prevent him from leaving.
That should have been the moment when the entire relationship was forced to change.
Instead, the conflict is essentially resolved within a chapter or two.
That's what I cannot get past. Someone whose obsession has reached the point of isolating himself, sacrificing his future, centering his entire identity around another person, and physically restraining that person does not have an epiphany and become emotionally healthy two chapters later. There needed to be consequences, sustained reflection, boundaries, actual behavioral change, or at minimum some acknowledgment that this relationship had reached a genuinely dangerous place.
And Jiseo needed development too. He isn't just a passive victim of Haru's behavior. He enables the cycle repeatedly. He recognizes that Haru needs a life outside of him, yet he continually rewards the exact behaviors that keep Haru dependent on him. Even after being handcuffed, there is no meaningful reckoning with his own role in allowing this dynamic to continue.
So when people say these two belong together, at this point I almost agree—but probably not for the reason they mean it.
Then the main story ends with Jiseo proposing to Haru.
A proposal isn't resolution. Marriage doesn't fix codependency. Love doesn't automatically cure obsession. And sex certainly isn't a substitute for communication or character development.
That's ultimately why this story didn't work for me. The problem isn't that the relationship is messy, toxic, obsessive, or morally questionable. The problem is that the narrative introduces extremely serious dysfunction, repeatedly escalates it, and then seems to treat the continuation of the relationship itself as proof that everything is okay.
It isn't.
There were so many opportunities for these characters to grow, especially after the handcuff incident, and instead the story rushes toward a happy ending without earning the emotional resolution required to get there. The same cycle we've been watching for most of the story isn't truly broken; the story simply stops.
And that's why, after 53 chapters, I don't feel like I read a convincing love story.
I feel like I read a cautionary tale about codependency that accidentally thought it was a romance.
I finished all 53 chapters of the main story, and I genuinely don't understand how this is being presented as a healthy love story. To me, the biggest problem isn't simply that Haru is obsessive; it's that the story repeatedly shows us how unhealthy his obsession has become and then refuses to meaningfully address it.
For most of the story, Haru's entire life increasingly revolves around Jiseo. He puts aside school, his dreams, his plans, and relationships with other people because being with Jiseo becomes more important than having an independent life of his own. Meanwhile, Jiseo recognizes that this isn't healthy, he repeatedly tells Haru that he wants him to pursue his dreams, have his own life, and be happy, but his actions constantly undermine those words.
That's where the cycle comes in.
Haru crosses a boundary or does something unreasonable. Jiseo gets upset. Haru acts cute, apologizes, or gives Jiseo affection because he knows exactly how Jiseo responds to him. Jiseo gives in. They have sex. The underlying problem remains unresolved. Then Haru eventually crosses another boundary.
That isn't growth. That's reinforcement.
And the story takes that cycle to its most extreme point when Haru handcuffs Jiseo because he doesn't want him to leave. By that point, we're no longer talking about someone simply being jealous, clingy, possessive, or deeply in love. Haru has become so terrified of losing Jiseo that he is willing to physically prevent him from leaving.
That should have been the moment when the entire relationship was forced to change.
Instead, the conflict is essentially resolved within a chapter or two.
That's what I cannot get past. Someone whose obsession has reached the point of isolating himself, sacrificing his future, centering his entire identity around another person, and physically restraining that person does not have an epiphany and become emotionally healthy two chapters later. There needed to be consequences, sustained reflection, boundaries, actual behavioral change, or at minimum some acknowledgment that this relationship had reached a genuinely dangerous place.
And Jiseo needed development too. He isn't just a passive victim of Haru's behavior. He enables the cycle repeatedly. He recognizes that Haru needs a life outside of him, yet he continually rewards the exact behaviors that keep Haru dependent on him. Even after being handcuffed, there is no meaningful reckoning with his own role in allowing this dynamic to continue.
So when people say these two belong together, at this point I almost agree—but probably not for the reason they mean it.
Then the main story ends with Jiseo proposing to Haru.
A proposal isn't resolution. Marriage doesn't fix codependency. Love doesn't automatically cure obsession. And sex certainly isn't a substitute for communication or character development.
That's ultimately why this story didn't work for me. The problem isn't that the relationship is messy, toxic, obsessive, or morally questionable. The problem is that the narrative introduces extremely serious dysfunction, repeatedly escalates it, and then seems to treat the continuation of the relationship itself as proof that everything is okay.
It isn't.
There were so many opportunities for these characters to grow, especially after the handcuff incident, and instead the story rushes toward a happy ending without earning the emotional resolution required to get there. The same cycle we've been watching for most of the story isn't truly broken; the story simply stops.
And that's why, after 53 chapters, I don't feel like I read a convincing love story.
I feel like I read a cautionary tale about codependency that accidentally thought it was a romance.