This comment needs to be pinned, so so good, you identify the exact problem. Thank you!
This! I always talk about the importance of consistency in any fiction.
Any major shift in character or dynamic needs to subtly develop over time throughout the story, with enough buildup for us readers to understand how it got to this point.
This to me is biggest telltale sign of bad and lazy writing
I'm a steel under silk super fan but like you said i knew what i was getting into when I started it, you usually understand things will progress from the pits of hell but when you're suddenly there with no past clues it's like ?? Like even with passion and roses and champagne we already knew how they were so it can be upsetting but not surprising, here the turn is just for.. shock value?
I don't mind stories that have toxic elements like SA, confinement, and other types of abuse; I absolutely DO mind when a story that did not have them (or had them to a lesser degree) does a full 180 and jumps into the pit of toxicity.
It's about being clear and upfront in creating expectations about the kind of tone and content a story will have. I want my fluffy stories to be fluffy, my angsty stories to be angsty, and yes, my toxic stories to be toxic.
THIS feels like a bait and switch. Aaron was never a green flag, but the story never portrayed him as being anywhere close to this.
The plot has gone way off the deep end, and all of my anticipation to seeing when and how Aaron and Yujin truly get together has gone with it. I no longer want them to, and this story has gone from being one of my favorites to being the most recent addition to my trash heap. Shame.