My analysis *warning of long take*

I’ve read Chapter 38 and creator note like 20 times already because it’s fun, but also—and mainly because of my DLD (yes, the same as Mokyeon; I’m also diagnosed with it)—I have to read things multiple times before I fully understand them.

But here’s what I found, and again, this is just MY opinion.

When reading the creator’s note, she said:

“The title Borderline comes from the word migyeong, which means ‘borderline of delusion.’”

“Being so captivated by something that you can’t see its true nature.”

“Becoming so lost in delusion that you can’t make rational decisions.”

Then she adds:

“So yeah, the title basically sums up the characters too.”

So, if we’re going to talk about this from a character perspective, I think this makes a lot of sense.

Nanjo couldn’t see Sunhwa’s true nature. He thought Mokyeon was the one forcing Sunhwa into things, when in reality, Sunhwa is the freaky one and not submissive at all. Nanjo has this image of Mokyeon being manipulative and yada yada, while Mokyeon sees Nanjo as his saviour, the calmness in his world, etc. And I think all of those perceptions can be considered forms of delusion.

Basically, all of them have created their own picture of each other that doesn’t necessarily match reality.

For Nanjo, he has this rose-coloured image of Sunhwa, while Mokyeon has something similar with Nanjo. So, in my opinion, “Borderline” doesn’t necessarily mean that Mokyeon actually has borderline personality disorder. Instead, it could mean that all of the characters are living inside their own versions of reality, where they interpret and understand each other based on the images they’ve created in their heads.

And then we get to Chapter 38.

I actually don’t think Nanjo is mad or angry at Mokyeon. He’s definitely pissed off and irritated, yes, but I don’t think he’s genuinely angry at him.

And this is where I think the creator’s Q&A about Nanjo becomes really interesting. She says:

“He can show compassion even to his longtime enemy and will never give his left hand, even when shaking hands with someone he dislikes.”

She also says that he grew up as an ESTJ but is now an ESFJ.

Now, I know MBTI personality types aren’t everything, and obviously you can’t use them to explain an entire person, but I still think they can tell us something about how a character is written. And personally, I LOVE talking about this kind of thing and analysing characters through their personalities, so I find this detail really interesting.

Someone Growing up as an ESTJ, especially stereotypically, can mean having a strong need for control, structure, and stability. They tend to take matters into their own hands and can sometimes come across as controlling or overly involved. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re doing it because they want to control everyone around them. It can simply be the way their brain works and the way they create a sense of safety and stability for themselves.

And we’ve already seen so many people discussing how Nanjo seems like he needs to know everything, always wants to get involved, always wants to butt in, yada yada.

That is basically very ESTJ-coded.

Obviously, I’m speaking stereotypically here, but I don’t think Nanjo is necessarily butting in or trying to control things just for the sake of controlling them. I think it’s part of his personality and nature.

I also personally believe something happened during his childhood. I obviously don’t know what, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some kind of parentification involved, or if he lost someone important to him—maybe through death or something similar. I feel like there’s a reason behind why he has such a strong need to take responsibility and keep things under control.

And this is why, when I say I don’t think Nanjo is actually angry in Chapter 38, I mean it.

Because look at his eyes.

His eyes soften whenever Mokyeon admires him.

Which, by the way, is also VERY ESTJ soft-spot coded. they like bragging and someone to look up to them which *ahem* mok is doing good here. (I also see nanjo as a kuudere.)

And then we have that first statement from the creator saying that Nanjo can show compassion even to his longtime enemy.

To me, that says a LOT about him.

I think Nanjo is actually capable of understanding that there are multiple sides to a situation (might be his esfj side too?) He might be irritated, pissed off, blunt and absolutely done with Mokyeon’s bullshit, but I don’t think he’s incapable of seeing why Mokyeon behaves the way he does. He might just simply be done with this behaviour because maybe he has been through that before in his life with someone or just mentally exhausted since childhood.

You know it’s like when we are angry at something or someone but threw our anger on someone/something else instead, that’s how i see nanjo in this chapter. So there is something else rooted in there and mok might be the one triggering it for him