I read this years ago when it was still serialized in webcomics, so 5 years ago. It was a very unforgettable story. Re-reading now and it's just as good. This is def one of the most solid plot manhwas in mystery-BL genre. Tho i wonder if it came from a webnovel bcs i think it'd be even better as a novel. The plot is not just solid but also paced right. Given that there are very few mystery+BL genre manhwas that can top this, it's def one of the best. However that doesnt mean it's flawless. I remember now that the last time i read i was quite furious with how Baron's arc concluded. For some reason, i entirely forgot abt his ending before i re-read. Looks like my brain entirely wiped out only that particular memory bcs i remember almost all the bigger plot except Baron's ending.
That is to say, im still disappointed with his arc now too. Bcs Baron was one of the most important characters here and held many keys, yet he was literally just treated as plot device even more than Jerome. And im not saying that he didnt serve his role in the narrative well, he did, just that he was mostly not even appearing as doing something solid when everything we knew of what he did was through memories of Jonathan & Robben while the man himself was still running around. He was completely overlooked which I think could've done better. Just show him more chapters or scenes of him actually investigating and the results. But nope, most of them, we only see his side profile at the end of chapter which not even elaborated bcs next scene is already changed to another character's arc. We only get most of him when at the end when he just, quite literally, pathetically ran away to his own demise. For dramatic effect, since this story is not based on rl events, at least let him able to defend himself a little against Cicero, and to at least make him see Jonathan at the end just like he had promised. We literally get to see him clearly only at the beginning and the end when all his actions in between are nothing but background plot. Next flaw is how chill Jonathan and his parents acted after literally their family that had been missing for months just found dead like that. We dont see the mom & dad grieving at all and all they said was: at least you (jonathan) are okay, and then they all smiled like?? Tf, my guy Baron, that was so pitiful of you T_T even the funeral was not seen and also Robben, who was close to him, was also not seen to even process Baron's sudden demise at all.
The background story for Cicero and Kister's past and how the murderer started and this start of chain tragedies are told in a rush which should've been slowed down in the narrative bcs it dumped too much information and too fast in one go which makes the readers not deeply process how tragic & sad they are, the twins' stories. Prob they rushed it due to serialization quota, hence i say i hope theres a novel for this. Cicero's obsession for Kister was valid however the way the storytelling went cut many emotional paths for it to affect readers more or to make Cicero even crazier or if they wanna give him some redemption arc or smth. if only they invest more chapters for that, then what happened between kister and cicero and how they ended up would feel even more tragic. It already is, but i feel like the emotional part, which should've been very painful due to the nature of that particular plot, become quite dull due to the way of storytelling here. They also could have given us more pictures of how enamored Kister with Jonathan way back before the case even started, enough to make him able to kill a guy and risked his freedom for him. But other than their first meeting and that 1 time he saw Jonathan passed by, there was nothing, which makes it hard to believe his feelings for Jonathan could be that deep. If they had more interactions before or Kister observing Jonathan closely for months before, that would be more logical and believable. One of the most flawed character's arc i think was Robert. He was there from the beginning, got a glimpse to his bg story as well. He was such an interesting character and has a great potential to be developed further in the story. The author built up his arc gradually in a good pace as if to direct us to think that he might be the culprit or another obsessed stalker case, only for all those build-up to amount to nothing ans has the most anticlimatic end, or should i say, lack thereof, of his closure to the story as a character that is close to Jonathan. There is not even any conclusion of why and what is he so obsessed for jonathan about?? His motives become absurd and unclear bcs its as if towards the end, the author suddenly forgets that he also needs to explain his rationale in the story. The author also seemingly couldnt decide whether robert needs to still be seen as a good character or not, even after showing that many red flags to Jonathan. There's just so many ambiguity abt his character and plotline & ending that it is such a waste bcs he has so many potentials.
Still this is one of the best manhwas i've ever read. And idc that others complained abt the lack of romance or smut bc obviously just bc of the tag: BL or shounen ai and then be given a synopsis like that, the focus is clearly abt the psychological thriller and not romance. So i wasnt expecting they'd be full on lovey dovey let alone smut. I did really crave for fanfiction tho, to fill in all these plotholes i see and to imagine how their future are bcs the ending is a hopeful one. But manhwa community is not big on fanfiction stuff unless the source has been animated/adapted to live action to make it more popular T_T i wish this story is more popular
If anyone knows where to read more fanfiction of this manhwa (other than ao3) pls lemme know
I read this years ago when it was still serialized in webcomics, so 5 years ago. It was a very unforgettable story. Re-reading now and it's just as good. This is def one of the most solid plot manhwas in mystery-BL genre. Tho i wonder if it came from a webnovel bcs i think it'd be even better as a novel. The plot is not just solid but also paced right. Given that there are very few mystery+BL genre manhwas that can top this, it's def one of the best. However that doesnt mean it's flawless. I remember now that the last time i read i was quite furious with how Baron's arc concluded. For some reason, i entirely forgot abt his ending before i re-read. Looks like my brain entirely wiped out only that particular memory bcs i remember almost all the bigger plot except Baron's ending.
That is to say, im still disappointed with his arc now too. Bcs Baron was one of the most important characters here and held many keys, yet he was literally just treated as plot device even more than Jerome. And im not saying that he didnt serve his role in the narrative well, he did, just that he was mostly not even appearing as doing something solid when everything we knew of what he did was through memories of Jonathan & Robben while the man himself was still running around. He was completely overlooked which I think could've done better. Just show him more chapters or scenes of him actually investigating and the results. But nope, most of them, we only see his side profile at the end of chapter which not even elaborated bcs next scene is already changed to another character's arc. We only get most of him when at the end when he just, quite literally, pathetically ran away to his own demise. For dramatic effect, since this story is not based on rl events, at least let him able to defend himself a little against Cicero, and to at least make him see Jonathan at the end just like he had promised. We literally get to see him clearly only at the beginning and the end when all his actions in between are nothing but background plot. Next flaw is how chill Jonathan and his parents acted after literally their family that had been missing for months just found dead like that. We dont see the mom & dad grieving at all and all they said was: at least you (jonathan) are okay, and then they all smiled like?? Tf, my guy Baron, that was so pitiful of you T_T even the funeral was not seen and also Robben, who was close to him, was also not seen to even process Baron's sudden demise at all.
The background story for Cicero and Kister's past and how the murderer started and this start of chain tragedies are told in a rush which should've been slowed down in the narrative bcs it dumped too much information and too fast in one go which makes the readers not deeply process how tragic & sad they are, the twins' stories. Prob they rushed it due to serialization quota, hence i say i hope theres a novel for this. Cicero's obsession for Kister was valid however the way the storytelling went cut many emotional paths for it to affect readers more or to make Cicero even crazier or if they wanna give him some redemption arc or smth. if only they invest more chapters for that, then what happened between kister and cicero and how they ended up would feel even more tragic. It already is, but i feel like the emotional part, which should've been very painful due to the nature of that particular plot, become quite dull due to the way of storytelling here. They also could have given us more pictures of how enamored Kister with Jonathan way back before the case even started, enough to make him able to kill a guy and risked his freedom for him. But other than their first meeting and that 1 time he saw Jonathan passed by, there was nothing, which makes it hard to believe his feelings for Jonathan could be that deep. If they had more interactions before or Kister observing Jonathan closely for months before, that would be more logical and believable.
One of the most flawed character's arc i think was Robert. He was there from the beginning, got a glimpse to his bg story as well. He was such an interesting character and has a great potential to be developed further in the story. The author built up his arc gradually in a good pace as if to direct us to think that he might be the culprit or another obsessed stalker case, only for all those build-up to amount to nothing ans has the most anticlimatic end, or should i say, lack thereof, of his closure to the story as a character that is close to Jonathan. There is not even any conclusion of why and what is he so obsessed for jonathan about?? His motives become absurd and unclear bcs its as if towards the end, the author suddenly forgets that he also needs to explain his rationale in the story. The author also seemingly couldnt decide whether robert needs to still be seen as a good character or not, even after showing that many red flags to Jonathan. There's just so many ambiguity abt his character and plotline & ending that it is such a waste bcs he has so many potentials.
Still this is one of the best manhwas i've ever read. And idc that others complained abt the lack of romance or smut bc obviously just bc of the tag: BL or shounen ai and then be given a synopsis like that, the focus is clearly abt the psychological thriller and not romance. So i wasnt expecting they'd be full on lovey dovey let alone smut. I did really crave for fanfiction tho, to fill in all these plotholes i see and to imagine how their future are bcs the ending is a hopeful one. But manhwa community is not big on fanfiction stuff unless the source has been animated/adapted to live action to make it more popular T_T i wish this story is more popular
If anyone knows where to read more fanfiction of this manhwa (other than ao3) pls lemme know