I think what really sells this for me is how insane everyone becomes. Abuse is a rlly hard thing to depict and (while I’m not at all saying this manhwa did it well) one of the many things it does to ppl is make them lose it. I think the characters r rlly… relatable. They rnt good but I can understand them well. I think the author had a lot more intention with their portrayal of this kind of insane situation. The mc for example is aware that the ml likes him. Very aware. And normally the mc is clueless and idiotic and stuff, but the author backs up this kind of naive mc with the very real reasoning of grief. The anatomy of mcs grief, so to speak, almost becomes hatred for the ml. But it morphs into guilt as well. The ml becomes quite literally the only living thing left from the mcs dead fiancé. The ml bears both an uncanny (intentional) resemblance and also the memory/connection to the dead fiancé.
So when the mc gets super dumb and super avoidant of what normal people would consider like horrible things, it’s somewhat understandable. Grief can make people go insane. I don’t think I’m wrong to say the mc didn’t ever rlly love the ml either, whether or not he knew it. The mc I think loved the image of the dead fiancé and so loved the ml. And at some point, that love interlocked with the grief and shame he felt post funeral, becoming his attachment to the ml, the only living remnant of his dead fiancé. And while in captivity he’s forced to confront this guilt, but he doesn’t. As the ml calls him, he’s a coward. Mc sees this horrible terrifying guilt and looks for the one thing that soothes it, an alive version of his fiancé, one that does not hate him nor blame him nor leave him alone.
For the ml, his story I think was very concise and very clear. I am curious why he liked the mc over the dead guy, and my only answer is that the mc resembled his mother while the fiancés taller build resembled his fathers. But idk if that even holds up. I really liked seeing the ml unravel near the end, lose his cool and his grip. Oftentimes, the victim is shown to have no power, to be the only one going insane while the abuser stays sane, maintaining this image of calm vs panic. However, seeing the ml genuinely get angry and reveal the “true” nature of himself was so liberating. Him lashing out at the mc and calling him stupid and all that shit, no yeah I do really think that’s the real ml when the dead fiancé act burns up. I think his act of kindness helping nari was bullshit though. I think he did that js so that when mc met her again, he wouldn’t hate the ml. But tbf idk. I think I come off rlly mean towards the ml and I wanna say I don’t mean it all. His abuse wasn’t chosen and some ppl rlly get overlooked by the system meant to help them and I think mc had a serious hand in how the mls personality was shaped. However it’s rlly hard to talk positive abt a guy who I js saw ejaculate all over his legal guardian's face so bear with me.
I think they both should’ve died. Either that or attended therapy on screen for several years. I’m very ml in the way that I think we should put things out of their misery. I don’t wholeheartedly agree with it, but sometimes confrontation is so much more painful than stalling. I think both the mc and ml embody that.
As for the side characters, I think nari is rlly interesting. I think if my friend was at risk of getting assaulted by the child they raised, I wouldn’t ask for their permission. I’m kidnapping them and never letting that happen. I appreciate her being so forward abt her hatred for the ml and also sensitive abt the MCs relationship to him. Not with the ceo guy. I understand that it’s hard to intervene in abusive situations, especially ones as complex as the batshit story I just read so sometimes it seems better to just bide ur time until the writing on the wall isn’t doom and gloom. But I don’t think that was the right move. So many people failed so many people in this story. Like finishing this felt like finishing hogu hagyeongsu. Everyone’s insane.
Would I reread it??? Not unless I get insanely bored. Would I read it for the first time ever??? No. I wanted to drop it when the plot slowed so that should tell u all abt the pacing and side stories.
I think what really sells this for me is how insane everyone becomes. Abuse is a rlly hard thing to depict and (while I’m not at all saying this manhwa did it well) one of the many things it does to ppl is make them lose it. I think the characters r rlly… relatable. They rnt good but I can understand them well. I think the author had a lot more intention with their portrayal of this kind of insane situation. The mc for example is aware that the ml likes him. Very aware. And normally the mc is clueless and idiotic and stuff, but the author backs up this kind of naive mc with the very real reasoning of grief. The anatomy of mcs grief, so to speak, almost becomes hatred for the ml. But it morphs into guilt as well. The ml becomes quite literally the only living thing left from the mcs dead fiancé. The ml bears both an uncanny (intentional) resemblance and also the memory/connection to the dead fiancé.
So when the mc gets super dumb and super avoidant of what normal people would consider like horrible things, it’s somewhat understandable. Grief can make people go insane. I don’t think I’m wrong to say the mc didn’t ever rlly love the ml either, whether or not he knew it. The mc I think loved the image of the dead fiancé and so loved the ml. And at some point, that love interlocked with the grief and shame he felt post funeral, becoming his attachment to the ml, the only living remnant of his dead fiancé. And while in captivity he’s forced to confront this guilt, but he doesn’t. As the ml calls him, he’s a coward. Mc sees this horrible terrifying guilt and looks for the one thing that soothes it, an alive version of his fiancé, one that does not hate him nor blame him nor leave him alone.
For the ml, his story I think was very concise and very clear. I am curious why he liked the mc over the dead guy, and my only answer is that the mc resembled his mother while the fiancés taller build resembled his fathers. But idk if that even holds up. I really liked seeing the ml unravel near the end, lose his cool and his grip. Oftentimes, the victim is shown to have no power, to be the only one going insane while the abuser stays sane, maintaining this image of calm vs panic. However, seeing the ml genuinely get angry and reveal the “true” nature of himself was so liberating. Him lashing out at the mc and calling him stupid and all that shit, no yeah I do really think that’s the real ml when the dead fiancé act burns up. I think his act of kindness helping nari was bullshit though. I think he did that js so that when mc met her again, he wouldn’t hate the ml. But tbf idk. I think I come off rlly mean towards the ml and I wanna say I don’t mean it all. His abuse wasn’t chosen and some ppl rlly get overlooked by the system meant to help them and I think mc had a serious hand in how the mls personality was shaped. However it’s rlly hard to talk positive abt a guy who I js saw ejaculate all over his legal guardian's face so bear with me.
I think they both should’ve died. Either that or attended therapy on screen for several years. I’m very ml in the way that I think we should put things out of their misery. I don’t wholeheartedly agree with it, but sometimes confrontation is so much more painful than stalling. I think both the mc and ml embody that.
As for the side characters, I think nari is rlly interesting. I think if my friend was at risk of getting assaulted by the child they raised, I wouldn’t ask for their permission. I’m kidnapping them and never letting that happen. I appreciate her being so forward abt her hatred for the ml and also sensitive abt the MCs relationship to him. Not with the ceo guy. I understand that it’s hard to intervene in abusive situations, especially ones as complex as the batshit story I just read so sometimes it seems better to just bide ur time until the writing on the wall isn’t doom and gloom. But I don’t think that was the right move. So many people failed so many people in this story. Like finishing this felt like finishing hogu hagyeongsu. Everyone’s insane.
Would I reread it??? Not unless I get insanely bored. Would I read it for the first time ever??? No. I wanted to drop it when the plot slowed so that should tell u all abt the pacing and side stories.