I understand what you mean and I think on some level yes it is a kind of manipulation. I think the reason why I give the MC grace is because when I think about his emotional intelligence I think of it as still developing where Hyung has been loved and cared for properly to understand how to show up and reciprocate that. The MC didn’t move in to manipulate him, he moved in because he was looking for companionship. Before people were using him for his body and never actually cared about him so he learned to stop reading emotions and view everything as a transaction. Human beings are living walking experiences. It isn’t until you knowingly experience something different that then changes how you handle situations ESPECIALLY love. Hyung has his cross to bear in this as well. I think he should have been honest immediately and DIRECT! He should have set up clear consistent boundaries and left room for communication and agreement. AND space for rejection that doesn’t cost the MC his home and his chosen family. So in his own way Hyung is also manipulating MC.
we will have completely different perspectives on mc because as you say you give him grace because of his lived past and emotional intelligence, but to me no matter how you lived the moment you become aware of your mistakes it is your responsibility to correct it, and because the mc obviously knows what he's doing but it refuses to fix it out of convenience there is no grace for me to give the mc. As for the hyung well i will not say he is a perfect man but atleast i do not think he moved in a way that's exploitative or coercive unlike the mc
"Hyung is also manipulating MC" girl, what??? i get where you're coming from; Yeonseung should have communicated his feelings more directly. but it's just laughable because whatever UNINTENTIONAL manipulation hyung was doing is basically NOTHING compared to the shit geonpil pulled and IS STILL pulling with FULL KNOWLEDGE of what he's doing and the consequences !!!
you give geonpil grace, so give it to Yeonseung, too. he's in love, an unrequited love that he holds on to in the hope of reciprocation BECAUSE geonpil wants it that way. he can't tell geonpil how he feels because he's likely insecure, scared of rejection, and terrified of ruining their friendship. he probably fears that if he confesses to geonpil and is rejected, geonpil might feel uncomfortable enough to leave the house/restaurant, thus heralding the decay of their relationship and putting geonpil in a very hard position financially. similarly, Yeonseung may think it's unfair on his part to confess to geonpil because he owns the house geonpil lives in and is his boss, and thus he fears geonpil might feel forced to "reciprocate" his feelings even if he doesn't like him back
you give geonpil grace, and expect Yeonseung to be Mr. Perfect Communicator with +50000 emotional intelligence? hah. if you give both of them grace, Yeonseung's clearly the more sympathetic character. on the other hand, even though i was nearly brought to tears over geonpil's backstory because i felt so sorry for him, all his actions afterward completely erased my sympathy for him because he's such a POS! I can't remember the last time that happened!
Geonpil not obliged to reciprocate his feelings isn't the issue, it's the fact that he does know he doesn't need to reciprocate it and is weaponising it. He is using another person's emotional vulnerability, trust, or love as a tool for his own means, sure they are two adults who consented to having intimate relationships with each other, but if you are not seeing the emotional exploitation and sexual manipulation he has done towards the hyung heavily implied in the story that's quite a huge miss, there's a reason he is being highlighted as a heavy sinner youknow, it's not just his gang life. Anyways this is my last comment for this comic lol, it's just triggering me abit cus it feels quite a bit close to reality, I've seen a few real men like this, stay safe out there ciao