Well, Doyak confirmed twice at the signing event that Ian did love Jo. Someone asked her if Ian loved Jo a lot, and she said, “Of course.” She also told another fan that Ian and Jo truly loved each other.
At first, I didn’t really want to believe that Ian had genuinely fallen for Jo. Even though he did admit that he loved him in chapter 98, Doyak also said that she cried while working on that chapter. Because aside from chapter 98, the story didn’t really convince us enough that Ian had genuinely fallen for Jo. But I can understand why it couldn’t be that evident, since he still loved TJ.
Anyway, my point is that since Jo wasn’t endgame, a lot of people would disregard Ian’s romantic feelings for Jo and cope by saying that he only cared about him and liked the idea of an ordinary life that Jo introduced him to. But according to Doyak, Ian truly did love Jo romantically. She herself has said before that she doesn’t believe in “the one and only,” and Jo had too much of an impact on Ian’s life for his feelings to be dismissed like that. The life he’s living now is also heavily shaped by what he learned from Jo. Jo will always be in the back of his head.
Ian is a complex character and the only complex character in the story, tj is a useless one dimensional character, can't believe he is a male lead. But you are trying to make them look like they were equally toxic to each other. Ian being a complex character doesn't erase his victimhood, and doesn't erase that their relationship was unbalanced and built on lies and manipulation.
It's canon that ian was manipulated by tj to join the gang, ian never wanted to be there, and was always thinking of leaving from the beginning but TJ always told him "i need you don't have any ideas of straying"
And mind you, the last thing ian did for useless tj was building him a house, and he only did it bcs tj manipulated him into it, tj literally used the same words he told ian when he picked him up from David Kim's house "let's go home" he deliberately reminded ian that there was a time he took him home, so ian felt responsible to do the same for him, and ended up building him a house bcs TJ asked for it.
Ian is way more complex than TJ, his character had many layers, tj can only dream to be complex like that. But that doesn't mean he wasn't a victim of tj's manipulation. He barely had any agency throughout the story, bcs he was never allowed to develop beyond his guilt and responsibility toward tj. Even the last act he did for tj was more about responsibility than a great gesture of love bcs tj made him feel like he is the problem (im scared of you youngwoo), that's why ian had the sudden decision to leave to heal himself.
You are the one that's making ian one dimensional who is only thirsty for tj's musty dick. You erase his victimhood and you erase the complexity of his feelings and his decisions that are driven by many reasons. And you only reduce whatever decision he makes to "bcs he loves tj's dick so much" lmao
LMAOOO you are so bitter. I never said ian loved jo, I said he stopped sleeping around out of respect for Jo's feelings not bcs he fell for him. And don’t speak on low standards for love, when you believe what tj did for ian was love. And stop bringing Jo in every conversation when this's about ian and tj. I don’t care about these two horribly written male leads, I only care about ian, he is the only well written character in the story. You guys need to stop stripping ian from his victimhood and babying that manchild. Just bcs ian knew all along and just bcs he found validation in tj's obsession, wouldn't change the fact that TJ was abusive, a parasite and a predator. Go pick a psychology book.
Ian will never be the worst among the three, and you guys are seriously stupid for taking the author’s words so seriously. She clearly just randomly picked Ian as the worst because she can’t choose one of the male leads without getting hate, so she’d rather take a neutral position by picking Ian. You don’t need the author to tell you who is the worst; the characters’ behavior throughout the story speaks for itself, and TJ is clearly the worst.
You’re seriously not going to compare Ian being selfish at times, indulging in the male leads’ obsession, or being avoidant at times to TJ’s extreme abusive behavior: sending Ian to jail, lying about the reasons he joined the gang, dragging Ian into the gang by using his guilt, keeping the scar for years to remind Ian of that horrible day, putting him in debt, ruining his chances at having a normal life and finding a clean job to support himself, and making him deliver drugs to make him relapse again. I need you guys to be serious. But I guess it’s fine to ruin your partner’s life as long as you act like a yearner lover boy from time to time.
Also, it wasn’t Ian who was behind their open relationship. It was always TJ. We know Ian didn’t confess his feelings either, but he wasn’t the one who started their open relationship. After they slept together, Ian clearly mentioned that they had made promises, and Ian wanted more after their first time. But TJ started sleeping with other women to rank higher in the gang, which pissed Ian off, so he started sleeping with other guys too because TJ was literally hurting him and showing no respect for his feelings. TJ was making out with these girls in front of Ian, so Ian started using sex to cope again because TJ was neglecting their relationship and using these women to hurt him.
Notice how Ian simply stopped sleeping with other guys for the first time when he met Jo. Jo wanted a monogamous relationship with him, so Ian stopped sleeping with other guys out of respect for Jo’s feelings. Ian simply didn’t respect TJ’s feelings because TJ didn’t respect his first. Why would Ian keep waiting for TJ like a loyal dog when TJ was out there fucking other women and putting the gang before their relationship?
It was TJ who broke the promises they made in that hotel room because he chose the gang over his relationship with Ian. Yet Ian still stayed by TJ’s side for years, hoping TJ would eventually give up the gang and pursue the promises they had made.
And I don’t see Ian doing anything that would make TJ feel unloved. Ian sacrificed his mental health and the life he wanted in order to be with TJ. He always comforted TJ when it came to his trauma, always ran back to TJ whenever he was in danger, and even when he slept with other guys because TJ had started doing it first, he still respected TJ’s feelings and kept it behind closed doors. He never threw it in TJ’s face. Meanwhile, all TJ did was use Ian’s kindness and guilt to trap him by his side.
TJ feeling unloved was ultimately just his own delusion and selfishness. He was basically like, “If you don’t stay by my side in this gang forever, even though it’s making you feel like you want to kill yourself, then you don’t love me.” Lmao. He felt unloved because he’s selfish and self-centered manchild, and that was never Ian’s responsibility. Ian is the one who has every right to feel unloved. It was never TJ.
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.
Well it does seem like TJ is the endgame. But my problem is how unrealistic the story and their relationship feel. The author basically downplayed all their problems and trauma and turned their relationship into “the gang is the problem, once TJ leaves, everything will work out” and “love conquers all” kind of cringe narrative. But love has never been enough to make a relationship work.
No matter how I look at it, a 20 year toxic relationship could never suddenly become healthy. Toxic relationships don’t just get better. In real life, when a relationship is toxic for that long, it usually gets worse over time until it finally ends. There’s no magical saving a relationship that’s been unhealthy for 20 years. It’s not just two or three years. And now we’re supposed to believe it will simply work out and turn healthy just because TJ left the gang???
From a narrative standpoint, if TJ and Ian were meant to be endgame from the start, then the author did a horrible job executing their story and development. I’ve never seen an endgame couple whose interactions in the present timeline are 90% sex chapters. Then they didn’t interact for an entire season (Season 2) because the author was giving Jo and Ian space to develop.
Even if I wanted TJ and Ian to be endgame, I can’t even be happy about it because of how badly their relationship was handled throughout the story. Their interactions were limited to smut and flashbacks. And the worst part is that the potential of their story was wasted by adding a third main character who ended up being irrelevant. If they were always meant to be endgame, the story should have been TJ and Ian’s story only from the beginning.
Another problem with this kind of ending is how the author clearly romanticized and eroticized Ian’s trauma. She seemed to lack empathy for him while constantly babying TJ. If TJ is the endgame, I really wish she had made him suffer so I could actually feel sorry for him and accept the ending. But no, he was selfish, hypocritical, and manipulative. He was still willing to drag Ian back into the gang.
People always bring up TJ saving Ian from drug addiction. Yes, he was a good friend to Ian before they joined the gang. But he changed so much after they joined. The moment he said, “Now you’re mine” you could see the shift. He stopped caring about Ian’s mental health and constantly looked down on him for leaving the gang and not being able to endure it, as if Ian didn’t become suicidal because of it, and as if he wasn’t constantly harassed for being openly gay.
I just can’t accept TJ having Ian so easily just because he finally asked for it. He wasted so much time and lacked empathy for years. And now they’ll end up together because Ian is too mentally damaged and spineless. I hate how TJ never truly suffered or experienced truly losing Ian, because Ian will always accept him if he just chases him. It was easy for him to leave the gang, and now it’s easy for him to get Ian back, and he will even avoid jail basically, he got away with everything bad he has done, and never faced any consequences.
It feels so unrealistic that someone could waste 20 years being selfish and a coward and still end up so lucky, finding the person he loves still waiting for him and accepting him after all that time.
I also think the message of the story is depressing. It feels like the author kept punishing Ian for daring to leave TJ and try to build a life with civilians away from him. Ian formed a friendship with Toby, and she lost her baby because of her involvement with him. He tried to have a relationship with Jo, and Jo almost lost his humanity trying to save him. It’s like any relationship Ian tries to build outside the gang only brings guilt, fear and misfortune.
The message seems to be that he should never try to be around “normal” people because of his past. The only friend, family, and lover he’s allowed to have is TJ, someone just as tainted as he is. It feels like the story punishes him for being hopeful and trying something new, as if it’s telling him that TJ was always the only option, and that he should have just endured TJ’s greed and selfishness for longer until TJ finally decided to give him what he wanted.
TJ is clearly endgame. I used to think Joian was endgame because Jo has what Ian wanted, but when I reread the story, there isn’t any point where Ian stopped wanting TJ. Ian was forcing himself to move on because TJ didn’t give him what he wanted, he didn’t try to move on because he stopped loving TJ.
Ian never fell in love with Jo. At the beginning of season 2, Ian was ready to leave Jo just to be with TJ and fight next to him, but TJ rejected him and left him because he didn’t want Ian involved with the gang anymore. Throughout season 2, Ian was once again trying to force himself to move on, telling himself that TJ didn’t need him anymore and that TJ had truly let him go this time, and that this was most likely the end of them.
The little development Ian and Jo had in season 2 was only possible because TJ was out of the picture. If TJ hadn’t rejected Ian, Ian would have left Jo. Even though Ian tried to live a normal life with Jo, he still couldn’t be satisfied. He said it himself: he was miserable because TJ left him. He also ended up killing a man when it wasn’t even necessary, which shows that he is still mentally unstable, despite being around a good guy like Jo.
Then, when he met TJ again, he finally voiced what he wanted from him. He let all his frustration and fears out and cried in despair because of TJ’s rejection. Once again, he was ready to leave Jo if only TJ could be available.
Now TJ has finally had a wake-up call after seeing Ian cry because of him, and he has decided to leave the gang and be ready to give Ian what he wants. I don’t see any reason why Ian would reject TJ, especially since it was Ian who asked TJ to leave the gang a week ago. During that week, no real development happened between Jo and Ian, Ian was just following Jo because Jo was all he had left, so TJ is not in a situation where it's "Too late"
The huge difference between Tjian and Joian is that with Tjian, you can feel that they both truly want to be with each other. Ian is very expressive when it comes to TJ: he lets his frustration out, he shows insecurity, anger, fear, jealousy, and longing. He finally voiced what he truly wants from TJ, that he doesn’t just want a normal life, he wants a normal life specifically with TJ, or he will never be truly happy. He already tried a normal life with someone else, and he still couldn’t be happy.
But with Joian, their relationship is very unbalanced because Jo is the only one doing all the work. Jo is the only one actively investing in the relationship, while Ian shows almost no effort. He just follows what Jo wants and is very careful around him because he doesn’t want to hurt him. From the start, Jo was the one who pushed for a relationship, Ian only wanted a one-night stand, as he usually does with other guys. But seeing Jo being so clingy and openly expressing his desires and fears, he couldn’t help but keep him. I would even say that what he feels for Jo is more responsibility than love.
I also used to think that if you truly cared for Ian, you would want him to be with Jo because TJ doesn’t deserve him. But when I thought about it more deeply, I realized that most of us don’t really see things from Ian’s point of view. We tend to think that the top who worked hard for Ian or never hurt him is the one who should be rewarded, while completely neglecting what Ian truly wants.
If you look at it from Ian’s POV, he has endured so much to be with TJ. He joined the gang for him, and he stayed in a place that made him suicidal for years just to be with TJ. He even told TJ, “What else should I do for you?” This shows that he did everything in his power to be with him until he finally couldn’t take it anymore and decided to leave. Ian has invested so much in his relationship with TJ, emotionally and physically, and he definitely thinks it would be tragic if all his efforts went in vain.
I think it’s unfair to ask him to simply move on when he has invested so much in his relationship with TJ and desperately wants his efforts to pay off. It would be really sad if everything Ian endured to be with TJ went to waste, because he also deserves to see the person he truly loves finally prioritizing him and telling him that he loves him. After all, there is nothing he wants more than a normal life with the person he has loved since his teenage years, knowing that they have both been miserable for two decades.