Nooo, my baby Yeomin just can't catch a break! Even though he escaped poverty and no longer has to struggle just to survive, now he's about to experience an even deeper kind of pain, the betrayal of the one person who saved him from that life, and also his first and only true love.
I have no idea how Taeseo is going to win Yeomin back after this. He really managed to screw up absolutely everything!
I love this art! I’m totally ready to read smt like this: *seme* stop things first, after realizing the *uke* has caught feelings. But then, other partners just don't satisfy him anymore, and that’s when he sees the *uke* with someone else and realizes he’s lost him.
Wait, did he actually call Yeomin "baby" in the raws? He's down bad lol
Idk... But the angst is coming. I can feel the breakup getting closer.
And it's already looking really promising. ε=ε=(ノ≧∇≦)ノ I can't wait to see where this goes.
I'm genuinely obsessed with how this story is building its future drama, every chs feels like another tiny crack being added to the relationship and nobody seems to realize how bad it's gonna get.
I can totally see Taeseo hurting Yeomin way more than he ever intended and then standing there confused when Yeomin actually leaves. Bcs look at things from Yeomin's side for a second. He keeps reminding himself that they aren't dating. Taeseo was the one who drew that line. So Yeomin constantly lowers his expectations, doesn't ask for anything, doesn't demand commitment, and tries not to cling too much because he thinks that's the right thing to do.
Meanwhile Taeseo is over there acting jealous, possessive, getting involved in every problem Yeomin has, rearranging his life behind the scenes, and somehow still hasn't realized he's completely in love , this's so fun to read.
And Yeomin is such a refreshing character. He's sweet and vulnerable, but he also knows his own value. He puts up with a lot because he genuinely cares about Taeseo, not because he has no self-respect.
That's why I don't think a breakup would end with Yeomin running back after one apology.
If Yeomin reaches the point where he decides he's done, I think he'll really be DONE.
Honestly the secretary is the only person in this story who's looking at Taeseo like "sir... you're digging your own grave."
And that's why I'm so invested. The author isn't forcing drama out of nowhere. Every secret, every lie, every controlling decision is slowly stacking on top of each other.
The day everything finally blows up is going to be insane!
I already know I'm going to love the regret arc. Watching Taeseo realize what Yeomin meant to him after losing him? Watching him desperately try to earn back trust that he took for granted?
Yeah... inject that directly into my veins author nim!
I'm worried ML is already planning something to make sure the MC can't leave when the contract's over ╥﹏╥
I can totally see Kangyuke coming back home and instantly being smitten with Naeun (≧∀≦)
If you're gonna reopen a character's deepest wound, at least have the guts to treat it like one! The tone of this scene genuinely disgusted me.
But the author went for a cruel reality and didn't bother building any real redemption around it, and we're the ones left suffering through it.
And the ending made it worse. We're not seeing a remorseful mother looking at the sky thinking 'when will I see him again?' it's just shifted back to her desire, not her son's pain.
If this was real remorse, it wouldn't be about when she gets to see him. It would be 'how do I fix what I did?' or 'what did he go through?' or 'I don't even have the right to ask anything from him anymore.'
Finally! we survived 100 chs of emotional damage for approximately 2 chs of KimDan happiness and exactly 0 answers to half the plot points Mingwa left hanging.
Lowkey i don't need Mingwa to stop drawing, i just need her to discover the concept of a ghostwriter asap! the art can stay. Her plot, however, needs adult supervision at all times!
The room was painfully quiet.
Not the comfortable kind.
The kind where every breath felt too loud.
Hye-sung sat frozen across from his mother, fingers curled tightly around the untouched cup of tea. His eyes never fully met hers. Every time they almost did, it felt like something sharp twisted inside his chest.
She looked older.
Smaller.
Fragile, even.
And somehow that made him angrier.
Because he hated that part of himself still wanted to feel sorry for her.
"I…" she started, voice trembling. "I thought about you every day."
Hye-sung laughed.
A dry, exhausted sound.
"Don't."
The word cut through the room instantly.
"Don't say things like that."
His mother flinched.
"You don’t get to say that to me after all these years."
"Hye-sung…"
"No. Let me talk this time."
For once, his voice didn't shake.
That scared Dojin more than if he had screamed. Because this wasn't Hye-sung exploding emotionally.
This was years of pain finally becoming cold enough to speak clearly.
"When I was little, I used to wait for you."
His mother covered her mouth.
"I thought maybe you'd come back for me. Maybe you were looking for me. Maybe something happened and you couldn't."
He swallowed hard.
"But every year that passed made me realize the truth."
Silence.
"You survived by sacrificing me."
His mother burst into tears instantly.
"Hye-sung please, I was scared"
"I KNOW."
His voice rose for the first time.
"I know you were scared! I know dad was horrible! I know you suffered too!"
Tears finally gathered in his eyes.
"But why am I always the one who has to understand everyone?"
The room went still.
Even Byul lowered his head.
Hye-sung looked at his mother with an expression so painfully tired it almost hurt to look at.
"You were the adult."
His mother cried harder.
"You left me there."
Every single word landed heavily.
"You left me with him."
No one spoke.
Not even Dojin.
Because there was nothing to defend.
Hye-sung laughed bitterly again, wiping his face angrily.
"And the craziest part? Even after all that… I still wanted my mom."
That finally shattered her completely.
She fell to her knees crying.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
But Hye-sung just stared quietly.
Not hateful.
Not emotional.
Just… empty.
"You know what hurts the most?"
He looked toward Dojin this time.
"You."
Dojin's face paled instantly.
"Hye-sung…"
"You stood in front of me and promised that I would never have to survive alone again."
Dojin froze.
"You spent years chasing me. Fighting for me. Swearing that I was your family. Your home."
His voice trembled slightly now.
"And when we got married…"
Hye-sung looked directly into his eyes for the first time.
"I trusted you completely."
Dojin's breathing visibly faltered.
"That trust was the one thing in my life I thought was untouchable."
Silence.
"You knew exactly what she did to me."
Every word came slower now.
"You knew what my childhood looked like. You knew what kind of nightmares I still wake up from. You knew how terrified I was of being abandoned again."
Dojin looked like he couldn't breathe anymore.
"And yet you met her behind my back. Helped her behind my back. Bought her a home behind my back."
Hye-sung laughed softly.
Not amused.
Just hurt beyond words.
"Do you understand what that means to someone like me?"
Dojin's lips trembled.
"I thought… if things calmed down someday…"
"But it wasn't your choice to make."
For the first time, Hye-sung's voice sharpened into something genuinely cold.
“"You don't get to build trust with me for years only to decide later that my trauma is negotiable."
Dojin looked completely shattered.
"You made vows to me too."
The room went still.
"You promised to protect me, stand beside me, respect me."
His eyes burned with tears now.
"But the moment my pain became inconvenient to your idea of a happy family, you decided my boundaries were optional."
Dojin lowered his head immediately like the words physically hit him.
And they did.
Then Hye-sung turned toward Byul.
Byul already looked devastated.
But Hye-sung still spoke calmly.
"You know why this was easier for you?"
Byul froze.
"Because you’ve never had to survive without love."
The words landed instantly.
You grew up protected. Fed. Wanted. Safe.”
Byul's eyes filled with tears.
"You never had to wonder if your parents would come back."
His voice wasn't cruel.
That somehow made it worse.
"Byul never had to sleep scared of the person waiting for you at home."
Byul fully broke down crying.
"So when you say things like but ""she's family""…"
Hye-sung looked at him quietly.
"…you say it as someone who has always had one."
The guilt on Byul's face became unbearable.
"I-I didn't mean..."
"I know."
Hye-sung interrupted softly.
"And that's exactly the problem."
Silence swallowed the room whole.
Then he looked back at his mother.
And this time, his expression became almost frighteningly calm.
"You know what's ironic?"
She looked up weakly.
"You can sit here crying comfortably today because I survived."
Her face crumpled instantly.
"You have a roof over your head because of the life I built."
Nobody moved.
"You have support now. Safety now. Food now. Comfort now."
His eyes finally hardened.
"But when I was the helpless child depending on you for those things…"
A long silence followed.
"…you decided I was the sacrifice you could live without."
His mother sobbed violently.
But Hye-sung no longer looked angry.
Just finished.
"I don's hate you anymore."
"You gave birth to me. Thats true."
Hope appeared on her face.
"But I think the child who loved you disappeared a long time ago. That abandoned child learned how to survive alone."
Silence.
His voice remained calm.
Her shoulders shook violently.
"I don't want revenge. I don't want punishment. I don't even want you to suffer."
He looked at all three of them now.
"But I need all of you to finally understand something."
Nobody dared speak.
"Loving me while disrespecting my pain is not love. Its just an Ilusion."
The silence after that felt unbearable.
Because for the first time.
Hye-sung stopped being the one apologizing for his own suffering.
I’m manifesting this so Hard! I’m so happy bcs we’re finally going to get a blue-eyed baby drawn by C. R. Jade. That baby is gonna be GORGEOUS pls