beta
as others are saying this really is mature in how it handles its storytelling and i think the situation with the ex is a really good example of that. characters get demonised for being afraid of stepping out of the closet so much in storytelling and kimura went out of his way to acknowledge that he understood why his boyfriend balked, even if it hurt him and in the end it didn’t work with him. even to the degree of wondering if things could have been different if he was more accepting of his boyfriend than he felt he’d been and expressing regret for how he drifted away because of the situation…. being closeted is hard, and being with someone who’s closeted is also hard. it’s never easy, and some people aren’t able to handle that kind of situation and kimura understood he wasn’t someone who could (ans lamented that he wasn’t someone who could) and stepped away, while not holding it against his boyfriend. that’s a very mature outlook and i appreciate it.
popped in to advertise the novel again because i will truly never stop doing that, skimmed the comments and as always am disheartened by how people discuss jiwon. is it truly so hard for readers in droves to apply a modicum of nuance and understanding towards the child abuse victim and how that affects his behaviour even and especially if it makes him hard to deal with sometimes ╥﹏╥
anyways: as always for anyone who likes this, or wants to like this, i forever recommend the novel because it’s entirely from jiwon’s perspective and so gets more into his psyche and mindset and better portrays his internal struggles, it has some very nice scenes the manhwa cut out, and it even has a very sweet timeskip story several years in the future that also did not make the cut for the adaptation. good novel. do rec
Hey! Do you know where I could read the novel? I’ve been curious about it after a couple people, including you, mentioned it
i don’t publicly give out links / websites to respect the wishes of TLers who don’t want things spread too far, but i can dm it to you! alternatively you should be able to find it yourself by heading to novelupdates & searching “ballboy tactics” up there, it’ll pop up with its translator & site listed and you can search it further from there. (๑•ㅂ•)و✧
Thank you so much! I’ll do that
I know right... Like I hate how people are hating on him because of how he acts. For me, he acts exactly how I would imagine when reading the novel. Like I get how frustrating he is and honestly, there are some things in the novel that has been cut out in this manhwa. But they're treating his abuse and trauma like it's a child's play.
The fact that some people are like "I wouldn't act like that if I was in his situation." Then good for you. For someone like me, who has the exact level of anxiety like him. I would 100% act like that. Overthink and worry a lot.