Yukinno

I’m very confused by people who say Ian had character development... no, he did not!!!
I’m also one of the people who think Ian and TJ as endgame makes sense, but it only makes sense because Ian never had any character development. If Ian had actually developed as a character, Ian and TJ would never have worked out.
Throughout the whole story, we see Ian mainly defined by his guilt, self-loathing, self-blame, and sense of responsibility toward TJ. Ian has talked several times about how TJ is ruined because of him and how selfish and cowardly he feels for running away and leaving TJ behind. So a huge part of him wants to save TJ from the gang and even fix him.
Ian and TJ’s relationship was built on a lie, and until the very end, Ian never found out the truth about how TJ joined the gang. He still blames himself for it.


Later, when TJ chased Ian and asked him not to leave, he told Ian, “I’m scared of you, Youngwoo. Let’s go home.” TJ saying “I’m scared of you” only reinforced Ian’s belief that he has always been the problem. TJ even used the same words he had said to Ian when he picked him up from David Kim’s house. “Let’s go home” reminded Ian of the time TJ took him home, so what Ian felt at that moment was guilt and responsibility toward TJ.
That’s why he suddenly decided to leave and heal himself. what TJ said made him believe that he was truly broken and needed to fix himself so their relationship could work out. The same goes for his decision to build a house for TJ, because TJ had said, “Let’s go home.”
Ian decided to break things off with Jo because he chose to take responsibility for TJ’s feelings. And don’t tell me he chose TJ because his love for TJ was too great. I believe he does have romantic love for TJ, but I hate when people interpret everything Ian does for TJ as some grand gesture of love while completely ignoring the complexity of his feelings, especially his guilt and sense of responsibility.


The proof that choosing TJ was never mainly motivated by some great love for him is that Ian admitted he loved Jo and would like to continue loving him if he could. But he felt that he couldn’t because TJ’s speech hit Ian’s deepest issues and reinforced the guilt and responsibility he had always felt toward TJ, especially when TJ reminded him of how he had been there for him during the David Kim situation.
I don’t believe Ian’s great love for TJ is what made him choose TJ, because if his love for TJ was truly that great, he wouldn’t have been able to love Jo and consider building a life with someone else in the first place.
The story has never allowed Ian’s character to go beyond his guilt, responsibility, and attachment to TJ, or his core belief that he ruins everyone he loves. Every time Ian gets angry and disappointed in TJ (rightfully so), the narrative always forces him to retreat and make him feel guilty for the things he says to TJ.
If Ian had been allowed to stay angry at TJ without looking back or feeling guilty about it, they would never have ended up together. But the narrative never allowed Ian to develop beyond that because the story required them to end up together. Ian had to keep living with his guilt and sense of responsibility toward TJ, and he had to never discover that their relationship was built on a lie, so they could ultimately end up together.
So no, I don’t believe Ian ever had character development.

His guilt and responsibility toward TJ, along with his fear of ruining someone like Jo, were the driving forces behind his final decision.
And I believe the ending makes sense considering Ian was never allowed to develop. I also believe he is happy by the end because he feels that he made the right decision. He saved Jo from becoming a murderer and from ruining himself further because of Ian, he saved TJ from the gang and was even able to “fix” him, and he saved Toby from her abusive father.
His savior complex was fulfilled by the end. He no longer feels like he ruined the people he loved, and he’s finally living the normal, peaceful life he has always wanted.

Tjian has got to be one of the most disgusting endgames in history. The only reason they were able to work things out is because Ian is still ignorant of all the fucked up things TJ did behind his back. They’re basically living in a bubble that could burst at any moment. The author never addressed the past for a reason.


Poor Ian he’s nothing but a fool. He’s still in love with that version of TJ who saved him from his drug addiction when they were 18. He doesn’t know that TJ is the same guy who made him deliver drugs after he left the gang, because he wanted him to relapse. TJ deliberately tried to temp Ian to take drugs again so he would rely on him again and play the savior.


Ian doesn’t know that it was TJ who sent him to jail and put him in massive debt, making it nearly impossible for him to find a clean job. That way, Ian would have no choice but to crawl back to TJ and the gang to make money. If Ian had known, he wouldn’t have worked his ass off while TJ was in jail just to build a house for him, when TJ was the very person who did anything in his power to make it hard for Ian to make money through a clean job.


Ian also doesn’t know that TJ lied about his reasons for joining the gang, and that it was never Ian’s fault that TJ killed Mr Jang. Killing Mr Jang was a mission given by Jason so TJ could join the gang, saving Ian was just a pure coincidence.
He doesn’t know about TJ’s inferiority complex toward David Kim. TJ wanted power and money to own Ian, because David Kim was a man who had once “owned” Ian.


And don’t say TJ joined the gang to protect Ian, that makes no sense. How is putting Ian, who is openly gay, into an environment full of rapists and homophobes considered protection??? Ever since Ian joined the gang, his life became hell. He was constantly in survival mode, nearly killed and raped multiple times, and TJ was nowhere to protect him. Thankfully, Ian knew how to fight and defend himself, but eventually he became suicidal and couldn’t take it anymore, so he decided to leave.
If TJ truly wanted to protect Ian, he would have joined the gang alone, not dragged Ian into it and prevented him from leaving and ruined his chances at a decent life. But TJ never cared about Ian’s safety or mental health. He watched Ian suffer, begging on his knees to be freed, yet showed no empathy. Instead, he plotted how to pull him back in.


TJ is the type of person who only acted nice to gain something in return, because when they were teenagers, Ian wasn’t “his” But the moment they slept together, TJ realized that Ian is "his" now, as he said “Now you’re mine” From that point on, TJ stopped caring about Ian because he got what he wanted, because he believes Ian wouldn’t be able to leave, since he can chain him through guilt and manipulation.


Ian blames himself for TJ joining the gang. He can’t move on as long as TJ is still in it, knowing TJ could die at any moment. He believes he ruined him, so he feels responsible for saving him. He wants TJ to live a normal life. He already felt too guilty for leaving the gang because he believes that he betrayed TJ who was patient and stayed by his side during his drug addiction days. But he doesn’t know that TJ joined the gang willingly just to control him.
To this day, Ian believes Jason was behind the cruel treatment he received after leaving the gang, when in reality it was TJ. The only things Ian knows about are the scar and the leg injury, things that are easier to forgive.


I don’t believe Ian and TJ could work out if Ian found out the truth. It would destroy the idealized image Ian has of TJ, the caring, patient person who saved him from addiction. That’s the version of TJ Ian fell in love with.


When TJ said “I’m scared of you, Youngwoo” it only reinforced Ian’s belief that TJ is his victim. That’s why Ian chose to leave, to heal himself and become a better man for TJ. But in reality, TJ should have been the one to confess everything, apologize, and leave to redeem himself.
Instead, TJ used Ian’s guilt again and made him feel like he’s the problem.

Too bad Ian is so ignorant and a fool, It’s too late for him to realize what kind of man TJ is, and that he should move on without ever caring about how TJ feels, because TJ never felt the same way about him. TJ has always only behaved selfishly and to gain something, he never genuinely cared for Ian the way Ian believes.