FuckedMyWayUpToTheTop

Nanjo - prince charming with a too good to be true exterior, however, in my eyes, repressed in his sexuality and identity around it; to an extent roleplays heteronormativity with a twink who checks the boxes for traits considered feminine, so he copes through him (he's not at all altruistic and simply concerned, I think he likes to have the upper hand financially and wants to feel better by playing savior; for some people, that's how they feel in control of themselves and the situation); Mok-yeon disrupts his cope and so is a perfect scapegoat for Nanjo to project his own savior complex and struggle with sexuality onto; we see how he feels drawn to Mok-yeon, yet denies himself that to the point of truly believing he does it just for the sake of Sunhwa. He was, indeed, coerced one could say, or if you see it more leniently, pushed, but he also did not refuse the pull from Mok-yeon (he could've ignored or changed the conditions Mok set up for him to stay away from Sunhwa), and indicated he was increasingly drawn, which ultimately scared him away.

Sunhwa - I don't want to pathologize his lack of emotional strings or needs, but let's just say he's rather detached, yet dependent on purely physical connection; it seems like he compensates a lot with his looks and has some sort of immaturity about him, yet he shows empathy in key moments despite his opportunistic ways; he's, both in bed, and to an extent within the triangle situation, a bridge; he did not ask to be that bridge, and many here don't see the vulnerable position he's in both as a person, and as a bottom, so the fact he was placed into that role while he just tried to have some fun and maybe cope with his own reality through physical intimacy, is what angered him at the end (the fact Nanjo and Mok-yeon became closer behind his back and him serving as the catalyst). He was all about that sugar baby lifestyle and an older Nanjo provided that for him, as we saw in the gift giving for example.

Mok-yeon - seemingly emotionally detached, but actually deeply wounded by early neglect, abandonment and unstable attachments in parental and foster care, making him guarded until he finds Nanjo, a person who challenges his trauma (Nanjo seems unapproachable and unpredictable with hidden sides to him, which is alluring to someone like Mok-yeon who has a disorganized attachment style - when you are either detached and afraid of emotional intimacy or very clingy and preoccupied). This makes Nanjo intriguing to him, leading to obsessive craving. Mok is pushy and boundary crossing, so just like the other two, he's flawed, yet desperate and almost helpless in his new found vulnerability by realizing he has developed feelings. For someone with, imo, bpd/disorganized attachment tendencies like Mok, developing feelings is scary, it's a very triggering life event, and can alter perception, self image, personality, and behavior. His tactics are, at first glance, very questionable, and they deserve condemnation, but they stem from pure desperation to get closer to a person Mok-yeon, on a deeper subconscious level, can relive and rewrite his past attachment trauma with. He feels like the only way he can be accepted by him and approach Nanjo is through deception, boundary crossing, and emotional leverage, because his experiences with attachment so far showed him that nothing, not even being a good, high achieving kid, can keep people around. The culmination of that realization was his emotional breakdown.

This assessment can absolutely change as we learn more about all three characters, but so far, that's how I see it. The story is about three very flawed people who do very flawed shit. Sunhwa isn't the villain (I'd argue he's pretty vulnerable even) , just like Nanjo isn't just the victim (despite him being victimized in a way through Mok using leverage against him) or Mok-yeon - the perpetrator (Mok is messy and pushy, but in many scenes, I see a wounded kid shine through who is more lost and desperate than malicious).

This turned from a guidebook of what to do to a guidebook of what not to do. I still think it's a step forward when it comes to BDSM representation, but there's still a long way to go and this story fell into the same BDSM traps I've seen in other stories - where consent and rules start to get murky and way too exploited for my liking. What a shame. I like the ML's unhinged facial expressions and all, but at the same time, he feels like wolf in sheep's clothing and despite trying to be educational and all about consent, kinda ends up being coercive or uses sub/dom to process shit he shouldn't be processing through BDSM alone. The fact he pushed the MC to give up his financial rights by exchanging a shit ass generic 'honey' pet name is also... A choice. Also, lemme be honest, the MC is kinda dumb lol. He's a himbo, that's not bad and all, I like me a cute, fun himbo, but he's a bit of a boring and annoying himbo.

The whole shitty friend + stalker subplot - YAWN. I can't anymore with that shit. We could've seen development within their actual relationship instead of whatever that was. A whole wasted season of fucking nothing, and it didn't advance anything because the plot here isn't that spectacular, so WHY try to force it. It's all about a BDSM dynamic and imo, that was the strength of the story and it should've been kept at that, not stirring up drama and pLoT. Challenges could've been introduced without the stalker+ shit friend subplot.