I feel bad for the ex boyfriend. He was definitely a jerk for what he said but it seems like he just said that in the heat of the moment and was afraid to stand up to his friends in high school. He regretted it for 10 years after that and then some guy throws food at him and makes him feel even worse about what he had done in the past.
Just looked up the novel on novelist.com and the hashtags are on point. #A Spoonful of Traditional Tale #Imoogi Gong #Tsundere Gong #Cross-dressing Gong #Pretending to be a Widow Gong #Virgin Gong #Crazy for the Scent of Water Dropwort Su #Woodcutter Su #Human Water Dropwort Su #Wanted to Get Married Su #Virgin Su #Low Self-Esteem Su #Potato Su