Still waiting for the part where she avoids the heavenly emperor...
P.S. Wtf Hae Oreum?
I honestly think this is one of the best psychological BLs out there. It's so common to see obsessive top characters just use physical violence or for them to force acquiescence by leveraging their wealth and status differences, but the way Jihwan operates is honestly much scarier. He meticulously unraveled Sooyoung's whole social support system and sabotaged his future prospects so he wouldn't have the opportunity to become independent. He did this all behind the scenes with the intention of letting Sooyoung believe that he was simply being rejected, not just by his former friends and his top-choice school, but perhaps by the world as a whole. He set everything up so that all there was left to do was to wait with open arms for the poor, lost Sooyoung to naturally turn to him.
But what's even more interesting is that he doesn't seem to actually understand that his actions were harmful to Sooyoung. When Jihwan got caught, he didn't think it was a big deal at all. Jihwan truly believed that everything he did was for Sooyoung's own good; that he was only removing useless people and obstacles in Sooyoung's path so that Sooyoung would forget all his petty struggles and just live comfortably under his care. We see him get increasingly frustrated while failing to grasp why Sooyoung is unable to forgive him and move on, and when Sooyoung tries to end their relationship for good, he simply dismisses it as nonsense because he's unable to reconcile Sooyoung's rejection with his internal perception of reality and how it should be. Jihwan is a truly delusional and psychopathic character.
People seem unhappy with the current pacing of the story, but I think it really emphasizes Sooyoung's current situation and his state of mind. His days are dragging on dully, and he's forced to live in uncomfortable suspense while Jihwan constantly whittles away at his defenses without making any big moves. Sooyoung already seems to have lost his will to put up any meaningful resistance, and he's only waiting in hopes that Jihwan will get bored and eventually let him go. In the meantime, Jihwan controls every aspect of Sooyoung's environment, including his access to privacy, to entertainment, and to sex. It's a battle of wills, and at some point, something is going to have to give.
For the record, I do NOT see this as a "romance" story, so if that's what you're hoping for, I see why you would be disappointed. To me, this is a very compelling psychological drama, and I'm looking forward to seeing how things will unfold from here.
You said a whole word. Exactly!
(づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ♡
i fully agree with you ! this isn’t a bl romance as much as it is a psychological soft horror. sooyoung’s situation is terrifying and i feel stifled just reading it. the author executed it so well.
needless to say i am not rooting for them to get together but i know how these types of stories usually go ヽ(´ー｀)┌
Exactly
For all the U S of A readers… anyone else feeling like this right now? Like… being held captive by the country against the will by a psycho dismantling our connection to the community and apathetic asf waiting for it to be over? It’s definitely not romantic
I agree with most everything you said except i think Sooyoung will try different manipulation tactics and gain jihwan’s trust so he can escape. I love how Sooyoung looks innocent & naive but he isn’t as naive as he appears. He doesnt just see the good in people, he is cautious & his trust has to be earned. I get that he doesnt fully grasp the depths of Jihwan’s broken mental state & does try to rationalize with him multiple times unsuccessfully. But i also think its b/c he did genuinely care about him & harbors residual feelings for the person he thought he was.
If you look at how Sooyoung interacts with the loan sharks, he is stoic & you can see his resilience.
I think he will learn Jihwan’s weaknesses & use them to his advantage.
And the ml is a scary manipulator, it is indeed a good psychological story cuz it keeps causing disturbing emotions on us readers, and I think that's the author's intention
Honestly I don't expect it to be god tier plot like the level of Hwang Young's Misery, but it intrigues me cuz I can't guess how this story is gonna end. I mean, I have a few ideas, but I hope it will surprise me and won't go the cliche way
That would be AMAZING cuz in the bl world there's not that many mcs who can put up a good fight against their abusive and toxic mls
Right! I love the soft slow burn with a sprinkle of smut BL- gives me my oxytocin & serotonin boost, but i recently read this & another similar psychology thriller & I’m officially hooked. I’m excited to see what happens next.
Another similar psychology thriller? C'mon, share the treasure, I love a good psychological bl ヾ(☆▽☆)
Its called “Gig of the Day” but its a rough one IMO. Not gonna lie I was a little traumatized after reading it. However I’m so invested in the MC & his story, so I think thats why. I just adore the MC. If u get hooked I’ll send you the link for the untranslated newest releases. I use the translation feature on my browser- it’s rough but i can follow it.
Not psych thrillers but check out “Lover Boy” and “Dangerous convenience store” they are 2 of my favorites.
Oh I'm reading "gig of the day", don't even tell me about that ml, he's pissing me off so much with which passing chapter, the mc is a baby, I feel like a mother around him, I just want to protect and take care of him （/TДT)/
I didn't read lover boy yet but it's on my list, and I LOOOOOVE DANGEROUS CONVENIENCE STORE SO MUCH ;-; I go back to reread it every single month, I swear
Omg TWIN! agree with everything u just said!
For the past 3 days I have been stalking the untranslated site of “gig of the day” for the next chapter to drop. I NEED to know what happens to my sweet baby angel. Its ridiculous.
When u read “lover boy” prepare to experience every emotion possible. I binged it b/c i cld not put it down.
I just read “Dangerous convenience store” on Saturday & i have already reread it. I’m also obsessed with the chibi in there. Idk y, but i love them. Not gonna lie, i was sad when I finished it b/c I’m not sure i can find something that will top it.
I also LOVE “10 things i want to do before i turn 40” by Mamita and Natsume wants to be trained” by Mamita. These are both very light, kick ur feet & squeal BL’s. I bought them off Amazon.
I'm afraid the ml is just gonna get worse, he's really showing his true self right now and going full toxic and psycho (╯°Д °)╯╧╧ I'm really curious to see what's gonna happen next
Omg thanks, you've made me so curious, I have so much to read I don't even know where to start lol
Ikr, this manhwa is absolutely addicting, it's truly a masterpiece. Others insanely good manhwas I can recommend you are:
- Tale of the Yellow Dragon
- Mayday mayday mayday!
- Rebirth (epic plot)
- Big Apple
- Cold-Blooded Beast
- Define the relationship (GOLD)
- 4 weeks lovers (GOLD)
- Gorani Jeon
- Dawn of the dragon (GOLD)
- You and I can't do this
- Bad friend
- Red candy
- Honey Bear (GOLD)
- The origin of species
- Taming the Tiger
- Why Are You So Kind To Everyone Except Me?
- Cozy Obsession
- Smyrna & Capri (GOLD)
- Our Sunny Days (GOLD)
- Love plan
- Don't Mess With the Puppy! (GOLD)
- Dear Door
- Perfect buddy
- On or off (it has a very similar vibe and characters)
- I swear I'm not a scammer
- Muhyeok and Naui
- Reality lover
- 1 to 10
- Unsleep (GOLD)
- Love sick dog
- Off-track crush
- The Boundary of Fragrance
- Golden pair
- Romance, but not romantic
- Candy yumyum
- How to survive as a player
- How can you be pure
- Please confine me!
- Eternal covenant (epic plot)
It's on my list too, thanks for the rec!
i read “gig of the day” again. The 3rd read wasnt as traumatizing. The ML is definitely emotionally stunted b/c he is incredibly privileged & has never had a non-transactional relationship. I think thats why he is emotionally unavailable. Whereas the MC expresses his feelings openly without expecting reciprocation or anything in return. The MC desires the ML for his perceived kindness & reliability. Opposed to the ML who sees the MC has something he thinks is easy to have, use & control. I think the ML exploits the MC’s naivety to the point of being cruel at times. I also don’t think the MC is as weak as the ML assumes. The MC definitely has some serious real life experience whereas the ML has never stood alone or gone without.
I’ll leave it there b/c i dont want to spoil anything. And i also wont mention how many times I’ve been to the other site today to see if the next chapter has dropped.
Thank you so much for the list! After we vibed i followed you & plan to check out ur lists on here too.
Damn, you described them and their relationship perfectly, I couldn't say any better, they definitely have VERY different world views and personalities, which makes it difficult for one to understand the other. But goddammit, that ml is testing my patience, I really hope he won't be so cruel to the mc, but I guess that's just wishful thinking （/TДT)/
You're welcome! I hope you find in this list something you didn't read it yet and that it'll make you addicted <3 Yes pls check my other lists, they're separated by tropes and are full of good stuff (づ￣ ³￣)づ
Thanks! I don’t think i have ever been this vested in a story. i did find out once “season 2” ends there will prolly be a 6mth break before “season 3”
I have been re-reading a few favorites so I’m gonna take a look today to find something new. :)
Yeah we'll have to wait quite a bit for the next season, but it's important for authors to rest so we can have a great story <3
Great, hope you'll find many things to enjoy!
You know what I noticed about this latest chapter? Joonmin had pointed out earlier that Yoogyul *always* chooses rock, and yet he still went ahead and chose scissors... Take that to mean what you will, lol.
Won Yooyoung definitely wins the Best Sister Ever award. Ch. 25 had me in tears, for real. Not to mention the impossible rescue and satisfying revenge she pulled off at the end, and all that done post-humously. Truly the most impressive character.
The "blind" thing seems like such a throwaway, and it doesn't even make sense. If he's actively having to use his powers to grant himself sight, why does he need to wear a sleep mask at night? Idk, the whole disabled-but-not trope seems lowkey disrespectful to actual disabled people.
Blindness is a spectrum, blind people don’t just see nothing most of the time lol
Of course, but they also don't use psychic abilities to simply not be blind most of the time, is what I'm saying.
Also, the whole point he was making at the time was that he was more used to the dark due to his vision loss, which would suggest he has reduced sensitivity to light, but a sleep mask tends to imply the opposite, so it seemed a bit contradictory, like they didn't think it through.
ive lost track of the story but, is he still blind to this recent chapters and is just using powers to see?
When he overuses his powers, he temporarily loses his vision again and it's shown to be blurry (not exactly "pitch black" as he had earlier described it). The majority of the time, he's able to see perfectly clearly by using his abilities to support his visual acuity.
ohh just like that time where he’s admited to the hospital and needs guiding and he got MC confused with wooju hyung while he’s at it
I bet if you look up the definition of "gaslighting" in the dictionary, it's just a picture of Seol Gongwoo's shameless face.
Idk. Sometimes Hoyeon's aegyo-sal looks cute, but other times he looks like that worm Toji carries around on his shoulder, ykwim?
I officially elect Duke Delphine and Duke Leon as Valeta's new mom and dad. Please let them all live happily ever after as a family~
They're married your honour