This is horrible... It's practically torture. Rian is essentially coerced into going along with Enzo's demands because Enzo holds all the power and is more than capable of destroying his life. He's giving in out of fear, to the point of letting himself be humiliated through the master-play dynamic and even taking the submissive role a second time without complaint (something the old Rian would have rather choked himself than ever do !)
So the sex scene isn't erotic per se, it's deeply unsettling. It's just another instance of Rian sacrificing his dignity and autonomy to endure a situation he feels trapped in.
And honestly, I waited so long through the hiatus for Season 2, but so far it's really not hitting the mark. Their enemies-to-lovers dynamic had so much potential, but the power imbalance is now so extreme that it ruins the tension. Instead of two strong personalities clashing and creating a compelling push-and-pull between rivals, it feels like one person has all the control while the other is just trying to survive.
Just look at you, Uno, poor thing...From a womanizer to being practically cock-ringed, how low have you sunk ?! ╥﹏╥
Enzo doesn’t even love him yet, and he’s already keeping him trapped out of pure obsession. Makes you wonder what he’ll do when he actually falls in love...
Sending my babe Adrian all the luck he's going to need :'(
The girl is defo his ex's sister !
Like, it's so obvious— they look alike...
YOUR HONOR, THEY ARE SO IN LOVE
ლ( ╥﹏╥ლ)
The domestic newlywed vibes this chapter ??? I SWEAR !!
Jooeon basically appointing himself as Pilsang's guardian, you're telling me this man was supposed to be focusing on the biggest project of his career, and instead he's spending his time hovering around Pilsang, worrying about him, watching over him... AND MASSAGING HIS ANKLE WHILE WORKING ???!!!!
For goodness' sake, YOU DO NOT DO THAT FOR A TEST SUBJECT ! JUST ADMIT YOU'RE IN LOVE ALREADY !!!! （/TДT)/
He really is a stubborn, emotionally repressed, cold-hearted chairman ! That little "Pilsang, please don't get hurt" was so ridiculously sweet and wholesome, but of course he only said it after Pilsang had already fallen asleep èwé
And then that cliffhanger ugh ! Jooeon asking if Pilsang is thinking about quitting the loan shark business because he's worried about him getting hurt again (his poor lovesick heart can't take it), while Pilsang is literally in this condition BECAUSE HE ALREADY QUIT, lol !
Now we have to endure the hiatus after THAT cliffhanger ??? Ugh.
Also, THERE ARE ONLY FOUR CHAPTERS LEFT BEFORE THE END OF SEASON 1 .·°՞(≧□≦)՞°·. NOOOOOOOOO, I can't— ....*Throws myself on the floor and sobs *
Yes yes yes! Not to mention he did research on how to heal his bruises and has been massaging him all over in the chibi
Jooeon really went from watching Pilsang get tortured and nearly killed and calling it "funny" and "interesting" to being completely unable to stand seeing Pilsang hurt and wanting to demolish anyone who dares lay a hand on him. If that's not falling in love, then I don't know what is ! Mr. Chairman, you can stay in denial all you want...!
Also, can we talk about how Pilsang's last real heat was all the way back in Chapter 18 ?!?! Can you imagine ?! Every heat after that was faked, and honestly, I'm genuinely concerned about his physical condition. Like, what is actually going on ? Especially after everything his body has been put through...
And lastly... ONLY 6 CHAPTERS LEFT!!! OH MY !!! I am so NOT ready for this story to go on hiatus. Noooooooooooooooo !!!! (/TДT)/
I was actually SO genuinely happy when Jooeon didn’t just send Pilsang to the hospital through Cube, but also left after his conference in the middle of such a huge project just to go see him (/TДT)/ And then my heart started FLUTTERING when he told Pilsang he came because he was hurt aaaaawww (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) .ᐟ.ᐟ
ONLY FOR THIS ABSOLUTE IDIOTIC, EMOTIONALLY REPRESSED MENACE OF A CHAIRMAN to ruin the moment by adding that it was “because he’s a test subject” and his injuries would affect the research ?????????????? I WANT MY MONEY BACK !!
SIR, BE SERIOUS FOR ONE SECOND, Pilsang ended up in that state BECAUSE HE CHOSE TO PROTECT YOU !! .·°՞(˃ ᗝ ˂)՞°·.
I genuinely can’t imagine how crushed Pilsang must’ve felt hearing that… poor baby must have felt his heart sink all over again T^T He probably accepted it immediately tho because deep down he's always self-deprecating...*Sobs*
Jooeon, pull your head out of your ass and GET A GRIP before you push him straight into a runaway arc because that is EXACTLY where this is heading !!!! Aaaah the angst (˃ᴖ˂)
Like PLEASE stop acting like your feelings are classified information ! You were literally itching to "cup his face" during the conference, and the second you reunited you went straight for the cheek caress SO WHY ARE YOU STILL IN DENIAL HIDING BEHIND EXCUSES ??? Just own up to how much you like him and care about him already ugh !!!
Also, hopefully the Hyung gets what he deserves !
omg where did u read the raws?
Jooeon really said:
“I was worried sick about you.”
“…for research purposes.”....
LIKE WHO DO YOU THINK YOU’RE FOOLING ???
He looked like he was about to combust from worry then pulled a CLASSIC jerk-Jooeon move *Shakes head in disbelief*
Oh it's on the official site, on Ridi !
tyyy
NO NO NO NO NO — WHAT DID THEY DO TO MY POOR BOY ?! (˚ ˃⌓˂ )
I’m genuinely so devastated for Pilsang ! Not only did he sacrifice himself for Jooeon so his hyung wouldn’t go after him, but he still acted like everything was fine while he was suffering so badly. And the part that absolutely shattered me was when he said it was “okay” because he’s used to it… *SOBS*
No baby, it’s NOT okay ╥﹏╥ You should never get used to being hurt like that. You deserve love, tenderness, and someone who cherishes you — not to be treated this way !!!
What makes it even worse is that this is the first time Pilsang has ever truly fallen in love, and it’s with someone who’s been playing with his feelings the whole time, and now it’s costing him so much !
He even got all shy and flustered over the hickeys Jooeon gave him because it was his first time experiencing something like that… but now the only marks left on his body are bruises....That genuinely breaks my heart (˃ᯅ˂)
And I KNEW IT. I had this horrible feeling from the very beginning that something terrible was going to happen to Pilsang. Now he’s been missing for two days after getting beaten up, and I’m seriously freaking out !!!! I swear, if anything happens to him before the season ends—....
Jooeon, PLEASE. You still have a chance to make things right. Go save your Pilpil. SAVE OUR BABY
(੭ ;´ - `;)੭
If the whole next chapter is solely from Jooeon’s point of view and we don’t get to see what happens to Pilsang next (to maintain the suspense and all that), I’m gonna lose it !! èwé
Σ(╯°Д °)╯╧╧
Too short and not much of a cliffhanger for a season opening chapter, but I’ll take it since I missed Adrian so much ♡ !
Enzo is really toying with him as he pleases, pulling every string just because he can ╥ᴗ╥
Now I just need the story to make the most of their chemistry because the tension between them has so much potential and deserves a little more impact !
To the people nitpicking those of us who aren’t enjoying this shift in dynamic: it’s not about Enzo being “out of character” or a “red flag.” It’s about what the story feels like it has become compared to what originally pulled people in.
The appeal was supposed to be two powerful enemies-to-lovers characters clashing on relatively equal footing. A lot of readers were invested because it was framed as a genuine power struggle, where both sides had weight and influence in the conflict.
But since the end of last season, that balance has steadily eroded as the gap between them keeps widening. What started as a clash between two strong personalities now feels increasingly one-sided.
Right now it feels like Enzo holds all the power, while Rian is repeatedly put in situations where he’s coerced and has no real ability to resist or change the outcome. (He says he’ll never bottom for Enzo again, yet still ends up being blackmailed into it. He talks about wanting to punch Enzo and push back, but the narrative itself never allows those intentions to turn into action — the setup is written so that any attempt to resist leads to consequences that force compliance...Even things he would have never tolerated earlier in the story —the humiliation, the imposed punishments, the c*ck ring, etc — are now just happening without any real ability to stop them, which highlights how extreme the power imbalance has become.)
And when that back-and-forth disappears, so does the s*xual tension that made the dynamic compelling in the first place.
That’s why it no longer reads like the enemies-to-lovers dynamic people signed up for, but more like the familiar dominant top / powerless bottom trope that many of us are getting tired of.
I do agree about the lost tension because of the power imbalance but I think it was clear early on that Enzo is a fucking sadistic psycho who is into abuse and Rian had no real footing in this fight other than running away...
hopefully we move onto a more equal footing relationship.
I want Enzo to go soft and also suffer a bit before hmmm and Rian to actually get a little overpowering Enzo moment...
Preach twin. You've captured my thoughts down to the very last detail
I think from a writer's standpoint there needs to be a dip for there to be an up. If we imagine every single story beat to be the same small "win" for the other side it becomes constant and homogenous. Like a music note that just goes 2-2-2. But introducing a harsh drop creates a new rhythm that has to be given an equivalent height. Then it can be 2-2-2-"30"-1-1- and then finally, after a while, in which I trust this author, another "30" on other side.
Just let it marinate.
I think the harsh scale tip is actually a good thing. When the scale tips again the other way, it will be like a tidal wave. In this example 30 is just an arbitrary number that's just me denoting something big, versus all the little wins they had back and forth.
I do not think Hanse is the type of author that will let it stay that way. I think that's just not her style.