He was so brave to come clean and be honest with his new employer, that really could have been his moment to start rebuilding his life and he knew it. The way he cries after realising wookyung ruined that for him too ugh so good, the artist went crazy with all his crying scenes.
The saddest part is realising he had no reason to be such a conniving, insecure person to begin with, he worked his way out of childhood poverty to become a university lecturer, he has enough practical skill to clinch a translation gig pretty easily and they immediately wanted to expand his workload beyond manuals into fiction. His employer mentioned being impressed with his lit crit so he's not even untalented as a writer, maybe he's just not meant to write great fiction like he dreamed of. He and Doona could have been an iconic team of a novelist wife with her literary critic husband, his inferiority complex poisoned what could have been a really good life.
I can only hope kabu's getting stronger because he's getting ready to wake up now, he did say he's been going unconscious when tsubaki goes to sleep.... it was very weird that no one seems to know for sure that he died, just that he stopped showing up, I feel like a school would honour a deceased student in some way, no? orr he really is just siphoning energy from tsubaki lol but I fel like he would be chill with splitting his vitality with kabu even if it means a shorter overall life, he's the one who made tsubaki's life fun and worth living after all.
also we now know why kid tsubaki stabbed the man, wonder if we'll get the whole story as to why he beat up his dad and moved out of his family home, my guess is he was abusing the mom and tsubaki defended her but she got scared of him too so he left. Also the first thing he said about kabu is how handsome he is lol they are too cute//// need to see them happily ever after soon please
The exact omegaverse I love, that "I've been looking for you my whole life" I eat it up every time. But it kinda makes me laugh how it looks like they're aura farming literally every shot, extremely dramatic like an old school k drama. I'm loving the cautious dynamic between them, can't wait to see the chasing arc + more info on the bite, is ts still there or nah
Can't help but wish the story was drawn out a little longer, things were happening way too fast lol. Having the mystery and suspicion linger before the confession would have made it more impactful imo. I can understand the limitations of having one volume to work with but I think it says ongoing? So idk if the author has more in the tank for this one. I feel like 2 volumes would have really helped this story out, one for the initial reunion + unraveling the mystery behind the murder + william's backstory then the second for the confession and everything else.
The art is gorgeous, especially the way Nine is framed in most of his shots, the angles, the lighting, his expressions, they were all so cinematic and impactful. That may be my bias for black hair characters though lol.
Cause it says they can move and talk "until a customer buys them," that bums me out... I'm gonna go take better care of my stuffed animals TT__TT
It's rare that a story as ambitious as this one has a satisfying ending, the author knocked it out of the freaking stratosphere my gosh I can't rave enough about it. It really crystallised the bittersweet experience of youth, that mix of uncertainty and hope you embrace as you face the world and develop your sense of identity and who you are.
I love how the story blooms out of the sudden trauma of Hikaru's death, walks us through the generations of fear and bad choices that brought them to this point, and ultimately leaves us with an undeniably hopeful message. It would have been so easy to destroy the boys and crush the readers with a sad ending but instead she gave us rebirth and new beginnings after trauma and loss, the transformative power and persistence of love, and above all, hope. This is such an important message and story to have in a world that feels increasingly bleak, I'm glad it exists and I'm grateful to have read it.
The only thing I found a little corny was the title drop lol "I'll never forget the summer Hikaru died" lmfao that kinda took me out of it. Still 10/10
Idk I usually like tsundere characters but he was kinda pmo, it felt like Hikaru was begging for scraps at times.
I need closure please omfg
Just one little side story or bonus chapter when they meet again please I beg you
Even though one of them is naked half the time lol. Their date fits to the zoo were sooo cute
Top fucks men because "a guy is just better" than "some controlling woman with a loose xxx" lmfao that's what this author's serving to the majority female audience that's gonna be reading this shit.
-Okay so more than the art itself per se I love the storyboarding/composition of the scenes, very cinematic and would make for a killer movie or drama.
-ha kyung's hairstyle took me out of some scenes cause it's just so bad lol my boy needs to get a side part or something cause this is not working for him
-the smut scenes were lowkey unnecessary and honestly kinda detracted from the ambiance. This is one of those series where the all ages version would feel like a more cohesive version
-the wig physics kinda pmo lol ain't no way bro's wig wasn't flying in the wind when he just plops it on top of his real hair, nary a cap or glue to be found
-I kinda wish they would've played up the moment when he called him after his mother died and bro didn't remember him more, that part shook me to my core
-i realise this is sounding haterish, I'm nitpicking cause everything good has already been said I guess lol. Also this is the first time in a long time that ive liked a top more than the bottom so good for you yoonsung. 10/10 yearner
Omg their summer together when he was pretending to be jiyoung was so romantic wtfffff I was falling in love right along with them
Can't believe we were cut off right before the feast
Also haeil's character design is really appealing to me, he's not really the cutesy type but he's extremely cute at the same time? Haeil I love you come back soon
I'm sorry for doubting you, you are platinum my man. I'm actually flabbergasted by the state of his love for yeonjo, like actual unconditional, no strings attached, if you love something let it go ass love, I'm shocked to see it. I'm a sucker for "as long as you live, nothing else matters" so moonwon is my goat from now on, fuck the ML lol.
And I just know I'm gonna eat my words but Moonwon surprised me with his sincerity to Yeonjo? Like he was deadass about to give up his position for him, you gotta respect the courage at the very least. I have a feeling he had something to do with Yeonjo's father's framing or some other evil shit cause they gotta make room for the ML lol.
Professor Byun Minho doesn't seem to have a future after his fateful encounters with wealthy sa...
- Author: Lee Geumsan
- Genres: Mature / Drama / Yaoi / Smut / Webtoons
Not exactly "to lovers" but 1000000% enemies
Had to catch my breath at times, shit got so intense. Scattered thoughts:
-love how minho was very much an "unlikeable" victim who had his own sins to account for, it complicates the narrative and it was a weakness for wookyung to exploit. He didn't manipulate people to turn against minho, Minho did that to himself by being an asshole to everyone and the culpability he had in his own final loneliness was part of what broke him.
-maybe I should read sadistic beauty for full context but from what I can see here I lowkey understand why minho felt so insecure and inferior that he did all those horrible things to the people who loved him. Growing up poor and becoming a university lecturer was no small feat and he should feel proud of himself for that, but it's not enough, he'll never feel good enough. In another world, he could have hit rock bottom, worked his way back up and reflected on everything to eventually apologise to the people he wronged and make peace whether they forgive him or not...
-out of all the crazy violence and rape and evil shit, disturbed my heart the most were really the crushing emotional defeats, like when wookyung ruins the translator job and minho cries over how much courage it took for him to step into that world again. Or when he drunkenly rambles about he should have realised the boundaries of his own mediocre talent and how that was at the heart of why he treated others so terribly. Or when he finally breaks after calling his dad with the hidden phone only to be told never to call again.
'-this artist reaaaallly knows how to express emotion, I felt every bit of minho's despair and defeat. If wookyung and I were ever to agree on anything, it is that minho's crying face is indeed the best
-the ending felt a bit rushed compared to how thrilling and tightly written everything before it was. Feel like the suicide attempt should have come earlier in the story and the ending should have progressed beyond it, it felt like an inevitability for so long and would like to have had my expectations subverted. But I don't hate the ending for what it is.
-the spiral into depression was really well executed, I could feel the strength being sapped from minho until there was nothing left, until even the possibility of escape was "too annoying."
Overall very interesting read, obviously not for everyone but also not "rape slop" or whatever it is people are calling it.
But the crotch sniffing caught me off guard like damn wtf lol.
But also it lowkey didn't make sense to target haruki, he was just a random street scout who didn't care that much about debuting, blacklisting him from the industry wouldn't mean shit to him so the producer guy has no leverage over him? I guess the threat of having the rape film exposed would be enough to pressure him to keep quiet but idk it just seems like an unnecessary risk to target normies like haruki vs preying on the ones who are desperate to stay in the business.
Idk why this was what broke my immersion out of all the ridiculous shit this series threw at us lol I guess cause all the other predators were at least somewhat believable in terms of proximity to haruki? This guy just blasted in out of nowhere