the water motif is super interesting in this story. i did a reread and whenever ideum starts to feel something towards jaeyi he becomes submerged in water. plus the whole jaeyi quitting swimming (related somehow to his brother) it’s so intriguing to me i can’t wait to see how it all plays out.
fundamentally ideum is a character that believes he isn’t able to love because he never experienced it, and now he’s being cared for by jaeyi and feeling things he hasn’t ever felt before (love? like? something more than lust?) and that’s displayed in the story by this recurring motif of water that shows up especially clearly in ch 19 (his dream)
jaeyi on the other hand has pushed aside his own desires so wholeheartedly that he sees himself as someone dispassionate and uninterested in anything around him, but he’s clearly really fascinated by ideum and has been from the start. also in the reread he’s kind of a pushover lmaoo he’s an asshole about it so ppl don’t notice but he lets people cross his boundaries and push him into things all the time. just thought i’d share my thoughts on the actual story bc i think it’s rlly compelling and well written :)
the water motif is super interesting in this story. i did a reread and whenever ideum starts to feel something towards jaeyi he becomes submerged in water. plus the whole jaeyi quitting swimming (related somehow to his brother) it’s so intriguing to me i can’t wait to see how it all plays out.
fundamentally ideum is a character that believes he isn’t able to love because he never experienced it, and now he’s being cared for by jaeyi and feeling things he hasn’t ever felt before (love? like? something more than lust?) and that’s displayed in the story by this recurring motif of water that shows up especially clearly in ch 19 (his dream)
jaeyi on the other hand has pushed aside his own desires so wholeheartedly that he sees himself as someone dispassionate and uninterested in anything around him, but he’s clearly really fascinated by ideum and has been from the start. also in the reread he’s kind of a pushover lmaoo he’s an asshole about it so ppl don’t notice but he lets people cross his boundaries and push him into things all the time. just thought i’d share my thoughts on the actual story bc i think it’s rlly compelling and well written :)