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SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!
The start of this was really nice, and I liked how they communicated well. The problem is that by chapter 70, I'm not really rooting for them to get together or grow. At the end of the story, I am not happy or satisfied with the conclusion. It's honestly frustrating.
Maybe it's because of personal preference, but I hate stories where one party has to make the other party like them. It's annoying because if it were a genuine relationship, or if not, the parties mutually wanted to be together, it would work. In this, however, that's not the case.
I don't think Si-eon is an asshole or immature; he's quite the opposite. He communicated well, was patient, and he made it very clear that he doesn't like Namwoo like that. Namwoon started wanting more and wasn't satisfied with the relationship when he realised that Si-eon wasn't going to force it or lie to him; they broke up. When Si-eon explained that this happening was common for him and that Namwoo isn't much different from his exes. Now Namwoo is desperate to keep up the appearance that he is different from them.
Namwoo’s naivety is apparent and leads him to do some pretty embarrassing things. He is young, so it's okay. I just wish that the story followed its own advice and Namwooj found someone who truly liked him, where he didn't need to feel the insecurity that he felt with Si-eon. Towards the end, he is even trying to find reasons as to why someone would like him, and it's sad but understandable. In the moment he feels comforted by Si-eon, but in the long run, he almost realises that he can find better.
This story isn’t bad per se, but seeing how Si-eon is as a character and Namwoo as well, their relationship overall and dynamic don't work out. I live for a good yearning story, and that is maybe what the author is trying to convey, but it just doesn't come off that way. It just seems like I'm reading about a guy who is trying to make a relationship work when it doesn't. They just don't seem right for eachother.
To clarify, I did not hate this! I really enjoyed the writing and the way the author depicted some topics. The problem is, I like the MC’s and characters, just not as a couple!
I also want to clarify, I DID NOT HATE THIS!!! It was objectively very well written. I loved the way the author depicted some topics, and I would read some of their other works as well. I just don't think that Si-eon and Namwoon are a couple by the end that I could say “Im so happy they worked it out,” instead, all I thought was “At least he's running those pockets.” Namwoo is young nd naive, and it shows. His naivety leads him to pester the relationship into happening instead of naturally letting it fall into place or finding someone who would like him for him. After reading, I realised that he was just desperate for love: his parents didn't like him, and he hadn't dated anyone to prove in his mind that he is a likable person. It's relatable and realistic. I just feel bad that he ended up with Si-eon, someone who clearly struggles with forming and upholding lasting attachments. That's a him problem, not something Namwoo can fix. The story does talk about this, but instead of following its own advice, it goes ahead and has Si-eon and Namwoo stay together.
TLDR; I like them as characters, just not as a couple
Exactly this!!! I'm not done with the story yet, but the lack of self respect Namwoo has for himself sometimes gets quite annoying in the story! He is young yes, but I especially dislike the part where he kept mentioning how he was different from Si-eon's exes and came off as extremely desperate. It just makes my heart really cringe seeing how he keeps chasing Si-eon in the parts of the story where he clearly cannot give him the love he wanted.. But oh well!!!
It's definitely unfortunate because Namwoo was no different. Si-eon has a type, but not the emotional capacity to go beyond a surface-level relationship. Namwoo wants more, but settles for Si-eon in the end, which really sucks because there is the college friend who admits he liked Namwoo, and I honestly think they could've worked out. The story says that they wouldn't, but everything I have seen of them, they would've done fine if not better. I think the author realised towards the end that they weren't that great together, and instead of deviating and giving them an appropriate ending, the relationship is forced. It just felt like it was shutting down other possibilities so that they could work.
This comment makes me feel sad for the mc, damn he should have left and find himself a better man. It sucks…
Honestly, I feel like that's where it was going to go, but then it did a whole shift where Namwoo goes out of his way and comfort zone to make Si-eon like him.
So at the end sieon didn’t reciprocate the love?
He did, but it felt disconnected from the story and his character overall. His feelings for Namwoo were only ever superficial
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Idk if it’s just me but low key wanna start a (BL/GL) scanlation group....anyone want in?
I would if I knew how
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I could fulfill some of those parts like PR, QC, and raw provider everything else is a little out of my zone...
Definitely not me. I know some Japanese, but I'm still learning.
Oh translating I know Korean but jp I'm still learning too
I would still like to help as much as I can
You would~~(=・ω・=)
You would~~~
Of course, I've wanted to do it anyways
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Oh no, I can't see what was replied
I still want to join though
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heyhey#6426 that's my discord name
If they didn't spend so much time fucking, the story would've ended 80 chapters earlier. Deadass, they screw so much, I got bored by season 2. STOP FUCKING. I get it's to move the relationship; at first, it was plot-relevant, but now it's just too much. I believe the dick for brains got to the characters and the author. They might've lost sight of what was going on and realised by 90 they needed to get shit moving. Unfortunately, what was set up for the ending, foreshadowing, and plot points was lwk abandoned because they spent too much time drawing dick up the ass. It was too late, however, because I got bored.
There were new characters introduced, but the way it could've gone that made sense just didn't happen. I was left confused and honestly wondering how they reached that conclusion. Suddenly, Si-eon, a criminal, doesn't work with the cops, does because Je-oh said so??? The new nice character sees all the good in people, and just so happens to be the love interest for the sick fuck that is Si-eon. Get that “teach me how to love” bullshit out of here. I could see how both characters could be useful to the story, but by the end, or the point I got up to, they were just useless. They literally did nothing and served 0 purpose to the story. Tbh, no one did during the last season.
My main problem is that the story lost sight of what it was supposed to be doing. In the beginning, I was into it and wanted to see where it would go. It left motives vague, possibly so the author could use them as they pleased. That's fine, but contradicting crucial things and reconning them the next season like I didn't just read it, is what pisses me off.
The most disappointing character by far is Hee-seong, it's obvious her plan would've worked out if she wasn't a woman in a man's story. Everyone is enticed by Je-oh and does what he says, yet he's naive, temperamental, and impulsive but his plan works out fine. There are no true stakes and I don't feel like the characters are in any true danger because the story gives Hee seong 0 agency. She has all this power but can't just get Je-oh killed like she wants. I get that she just orders people around rather than doing it herself, the story tries to tell us it's bad, but IT'S SMART???? What she does makes sense. It makes us believe that she doesn't truly care for Seong-rok and only uses him to escape only to reveal later that she does love and want to create a life with him. So everything that led to Seong-rok’s doubt was unwarranted. It just makes me feel bad for her and that the plot is making her seem reckless and stupid when it's just not true. She's smart as hell and deserves better.
I did not hate this, obviously if I got this far. I just think it starts off really good and interesting but by the last season nothing makes sense and the characters that once had a genuine threat to them suddenly don't. If Hee-Sung were written differently or hell if she and Je-Oh weren't so similar in motive and personality, I would feel different. Unfortunately, they are two sides of the same coin, one just got lucky enough to be a man.
To give you answers on what I've understood of the story is- Si-eon was never a bad person. Everyone around him fell to their knees and said they loved him whenever he showered his money on them. Ji-Oh was the only one who didn't. And that made him feel like he could finally find a person who could love him regardless of the fact if he had money or not. Like he said, "Wildflower in the greenhouse." But he saw Han-gyeol then, the new nice character who seemed to like him and so he took him as the 'substitute' of Ji-oh. But guess what? Han-gyeol didn't grovel in front of him either when Si-eon was willing to give him money. The only person who believed in Si-eon was Han-gyeol. Ji-Oh told Si-eon that, "You treated him as my substitute yet he was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. He believed you were a good person". All Si-eon wanted was to be truly loved- it was obvious ever since his entry in the story. Especially his backstory. And sometimes people understand their feelings when others spell it out for them and just what happened with Si-eon.
And now about why everyone seemed to listen to Ji-oh. His character is one hell of a smart one. Ever since the beginning he had proved himself that he was smart. Worked with Seong-rok, totalled Seong-rok's car to get rid of the evidence. Found evidence against everyone because of the work he did, met all sorts of people. Hee-seong was the problem since the beginning. She used Ji-oh to get some sort of freedom back in her days of being a prostitute. She gave Ji-oh the knife, yeah, she didn't expect him to actually do it but she had hoped for it. Her intention behind giving Ji-oh the knife was so he would end up taking all the attention away and she would play the 'nice' part. She even admitted to it in the story. And that's when we get to know that her character is actually an evil one. And the fact that she really loved Seong- rok? That's where the problem comes. She believes she loves Seong-rok in her own twisted definition of love. All she wanted was to be free and grow a family with him. But where was she when he was taken into custody? Where was she when he was rotting in his cold house calling her day and night? She was with Ji-ho, the chief of police. That's where she was. Exactly why Seong-rok started having doubts. If her entire plan was that, she could have told Seong-rok about it. But she didn't. She didnt tell Seong-rok that she was planning on marrying Ji-ho, she kept him in the dark and that's where his faith in her completely faded. Before, he had his doubts, since he had back-up since the beginning. Seong-rok didn't like when people didn't keep their promise and that's what Hee-seong did, the only one who kept his promise when it came to Seong-rok was Ji-oh. She never loved Seong-rok, she just liked that Seong-rok was an innocent guy with no one to turn to and she could exploit him. And the reason why she dreamt of having a family with him was precisely because she knew how much he had loved her and not the other way around. And the reason why she can't get Ji-oh killed is because he's always a step ahead of her. When he knew she was going to kill him? He got a position of chief in the new area where he meets Han-gyeol. Gets a duplicate phone. It was all him. His idea. He was the brain of this entire revenge plan. Meanwhile, all Hee-seong did was order around without getting her hands dirty. Anyway, and eventually I did feel bad for her. She too had been a prostitute how was she any different from Ji-oh? Well, that too gets answered when Ji-oh sees Han-gyeol in a similar situation as him, he smashes the glass bottle on the head of the man trying to assault Han-gyeol. And what does Hee-seong does? Gives Ji-oh a knife in hopes he would stab one of the person and take most of clients so she could be free.
And had her entire plan on getting revenge only been limited to the people who actually exploited her, maybe things would have been different. But her obsession with Seong-rok was so bad she was willing to get Ji-oh killed just because Seong-rok and Ji-oh fell in love. She didn't even love Seong-rok, she just hated that a 21-year-old managed to take her puppet away from her.
I agree, the last season was lowkey ass compared to the earlier ones and both jeoh and heeseung were nerfed tbh.
Jeoh randomly pushing seungrok away cause he's sCarEd tO bE lOveD erased that single-minded manic obsession that made him so interesting and was the key to winning over seungrok and stealing him away from heeseung. I expect that from generic MC from any mid BL, not je oh who was crawling all over someone he witnessed kill a guy in cold blood lmao.
And youre so right about the nice guy foreign nepo baby who pours money into literal brothels and tried to rape jeoh is shocked by how poorly prostitutes are treated? And all he needed to become a stand up citizen who snitches to the cops was a speech from his boy lover about true love? They were playing in our faces with that one smh. And don't even get me started on the cop guy's brother who got evidence on heeseung by hiding outside their place and recording through their open window LMFAO
And unless I missed something, heeseung whole plot line didn't even make sense, no serious politician in korea is going to knowingly wife a prostitute, they didn't really expect that to stay buried for long did they? Even without jeoh and seungrok gunning for her, any political adversary would sound the alarm and ruin his reputation before his campaign was even over. Would've made more sense to be sleeping with him and feeding him information to destroy the red light district and secretly having his baby to control him behind the scenes while he married a "regular" woman with a clean background.
Idk what else to say, I walked away from this manhwa feeling like my girlies were done wrong, both hee seung and je oh deserved a more worthy final battle of wits than what we got.