My feelings on the side couple here are similar to the side couple in that one pantyhose manga. Let's just say I'd give it 5 stars but because of the side couple I gave it a solid 2.
I loved the novel, like I said in another comment, so here are all spoilers:
Mc & uke = ki seojung, air traffic controller, 31 y/o
Ml & seme = Cha Yoon, pilot, 29 y/o
The pov changes so we get to see both their thoughts and we get a lot of viewers reactions.
This is FULL spoiler for the setting, including things revealed much later.
So, cha Yoon and seojung were celebrating their 7th anniversary when they got in an accident. Yoon turned the car to protect seojung, got the brunt of it and lost his memory.
Yoon is back to his 22 y/o self, before he developed feelings for Seojung. Yoon was raised by VERY catholic parents, so when he is told he is dating seojung, as soon as he wakes up from a coma, while amnesiac, he lashes out, says he'd never date a man, tells seojung not to call him affectionately. Seojung leaves, and while Yoon gets used to his new reality he thinks "well, if I were with a MAN for 7 years, then it must have been a great love" and starts to open up to the idea, gets excited to ask things about their realationship and all. So he's happy when seojung schedules a visit later that week. But as soon as they meet, first thing seojung says is "lets break up".
Thata because Yoon's parents told him to leave his son "you already made his life harder once, he got hurt before you, will you still keep this pretense even now that he doesn't remember or wants you? Don't use excuses like caring for him, the best care you can give is leaving" when he said he'd take responsibility for the accident and protect Yoon for life.
That angers Yoon, who has a young and fiesty mind. He thinks "this guy must have been planing to break up with me since before the accident. Great love my ass". He's really hurt and confused and most of all MAD.
Fast forwards, Seojung's Ex, Dabin, was cheated on by her fiancé, so she calls Seojung and asks him to join the X show with her, so they can pretend to be the final couple at the end, and she can get revenge on her ex. He realized he was gay while dating her, so he feels indebted, and he wants to get his mind off of Yoon so he accepts.
On the other side, Yoon's Childhood friend, JooAh, LESBIAN, was caught by her CHURCH LEADERS parents and people from the church, with her girlfriend. She decides to leave Korea but her family wants her to clean her reputation first so she asks Yoon to pretend to be her ex on TV so she can play straight for one last time. Yoon refuses, but she says Seojung will be there. Yoon is baffled, they dated for 7 years but he's got an ex to go on that show with? A show with the premise of wanting to get back with your ex??? He accepts, they produce a relationship and get into the show.
Yoon hadn't realized yet, but he was full of jealousy
Holy im excited now thx
OK, so, now, spoilers for the further along the story, for the show itself.
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Yoon goes to the show and is dead set on antagonizing seojung. Seojung recognizes jooah, but he thinks that, when in the past Yoon said jooah was really jsut a friend, he lied, so he's jealous of them both together.
Seojung is a good gentle mature adult who treats people well, so when he's nice to another contestant, Minah, Yoon starts to butt in, making uncomfortable remarks and provocations. He stays around wherever Seojung is, monitoring his interactions, and they are roommates.
Because Yoon is mentally back to his rebellious edgy brat phase, he constantly tries to pick fights, but seojung doesn't cave in. Seojung thinks Yoon is jealous of him being close to jooah (the lesbian).
When jooah visits their room, Yoon is like "this is OUR room, for US, don't do things that will make people think it's OK to come visit you" full unconscious jealousy, while seojung thinks it's like "he wants me to not be friendly with jooah so she won't come talk to me".
Yoon gets a big lavender plant to help Seojung sleep, because of the messy work schedule + filming schedule, but it's so big that it covers his face when they lay on their beds. Seojung thinks Yoon hates him so much he doesn't even want to see his face, lol.
They have a small discussion and Yoon didn't want seojung to leave him, so he held his hand, but held too strong (his body is bigger now than at 22 so he doesn't really knows his strength), so he went out in the middle of the night and bought medicine. Seojunh thought it was another female contestant and bought macaroons to thank her. Yoon thought "wow, so you got medicine FROM HER and thought it was better than mine, ok" and 1- ate all macaroons (with the girl's permission, all chocolate, his disliked flavor) and 2- threw the medicine he gave in the trash. Yoon saw the medicine in the trash and thought Yoon hated him so much he didn't want to see him well.
The show has daily messages that can be sent and read only at specific times. Yoon always send to seojung. Seojung doesn't know men can send to messages to men and he doesn't ALWAYS check so when Yoon asks stuff like "hey, when you come home, I wanna talk to you" he doesn't see it at all.
And other misunderstandings.
Yoon doesn't know he's jealous, he thinks "I just don't wanna see my ex happy with other people after how he left me!" but Yoon feels happy when seojung doesn't seem hurt by dabin being into another guy "but didn't I want him to be unhappy?" well, surprise surprise
Yoon is still into seojung, to the point of feeling jealous of jooah (the lesbian! "do you know who I am?" she asks, at jealous Yoon, her childhood friend who knows her girlfriend) even if unknowingly, so he keeps doing things for him or to get his attention, but seojung thinks Yoon is into jooah. When Yoon asks why isn't he getting any messages (from seojung), seojung thinks" how is this my fault that you aren't getting any messages (from jooah)"
Anyways, we get some nice scolding scenes as well, and it's all so funny it doesn't feel too frustrating, and the fans reactions make a good balance so it doesn't feel like circles for the first half. Also, we get to see seojung break every now and then (his ex-soon-to-be-husband doesn't remember him and is pursuing a girl in front of him for all he knows) and it gets really funny once Yoon realizes (with Jooah's help, cause she does it ALL) he loves seojung.
Other competitors are super fun too, sujo, my dearest, I'll put you in my pocket.
There's more for the second half (once Yoon realizes he likes seojung) but I'm sleepy, so wtv. Anyways, it's a good ending, it's really fun, Yoon is really mature once he gets his memories back and it's just one of my favorites and most consistent, character-wise, from the light/silly/not too long modern BL novels
BTW, do not read the second round of spoilers above if you don't want DETAILED chapter by chapter content spoiler, it WILL take away much of the fun, imo
Oh myy thank you foe the spoilerrr, but where did u rrad the novel?? I wanna read it jsksks
Girl i already read it and its so fun omg im so excited ヾ(☆▽☆)
what chapter ml regained his memories?
wow thanks
Thank you for this! This type of plot could get old/ frustrating fast so it’s good to know it’s comedic and not too serious. Also it sounds like Jooah is the dang MVP. Hope she gets to live happily with her girlfriend!
I love u omg. Is it completed by any chance??
It is completed, the girlie are lovely and our ML takes A LONG WHILE to regain his memories, it's on ch. 123. It makes you think "we won't have time for all that$, but we do, and it's a neat ending, not too rushed
oh thank you so much
Does our girlie have some in the end cause u know she a lesbian? And theres like 2 more other girls in the show
Someone , relationship >_<
Jooah gets back with her girlfriend, but we don't see, we know because of the time skip and they are public, but we are told she's a lesbian pretty early on. Dabin gets with a nice guy from the show, like love at first sight, and she's the one who tells seojung to forget their plans and be with the people they actually.
There are other girls and other guys in the show but they don't get romantically involved with the MCs and their "X". It's pretty wholesome the in-house relationship, only good people!
Ohhh thank you (≧∀≦)ヾ(☆▽☆)
Just binged the novel, I love them!! And I'm a sucker for stories where we get to see fans reactions, lol
Wait plssss link
Also also also, uhm is the ML green flag?
Pleaseee spill the link for the novell, also who is the seme in this?
The seme looking guy, Cha Yoon, is the seme
Well, ml loses his memory so he's mentally very young, back to when he didn't know he was queer, he was also raised VERY Christian, suddenly told he was engaged to a man, so he doesn't deal well with this reality, his feelings, and specially the jealousy, he was super rude and selfish at 22. But he is not a bad person, he's just in a bad place, the 29 y/o version of him has matured enough, is nice to people, caring, loving, and gives Mc space, doesn't get over taken by jealousy, etc, a proper green flag. He's just… not there yet.
I hope that rabbit eats YOU up, and then buries you, you pós. God, he REALLY doesn't deserve a happy ending, fuck
Insane that the same person who did this, one of the best crafted plots in recent BL history, also wrote Profundis (which I consider the worst out of the mainstreams BL, even worse than potn, because at least /that/ was consistent with how it presented rape)
Nah, the novel is very good. It is just that webtoon version focused on sex.
Went looking for the novel only for the translation to be further behind
most manhwa adaptation now have delayed novel updates... it is rare to find the novel far behind adaptation..
Tried reading the og story because I'm invested in the girls' parents but holy fuck. Was the author struck by lightening? It is soooo garbage, specially byul's omega parent (who must have some intelectual disability because he just doesn't act like an adult man at all), like, why is there so much cheating and then the scorned husband is made to be the villain? Damn, thank fuck this one is actually good. Usually I'm crazy for beta x aloha/ beta x omega, but yeah, I not hungry. Tf was that, ew.
The story is so healing and the characters so nice but the art…