You really voiced all my thoughts.
I disagree. It makes sense that the start between Joyoon and Kwonjoo has not been super romantic seeing as Joyoon is still in love with his ex and still sees his ex as his lover. It wouldn’t make sense for him to quickly become romantic with someone else. As someone who knows people who broke out, starting relationships with just sex makes sense. I am thinking the story is not long and there would be a lot more chapters to make the transition to romance more realistic.
The story is long*
I'm not talking about "super" romantic, I'm talking about just any tiny little thing to actually make you root for them as a couple, like a little blushing here or there, or even something as subtle as them not being able to leave each other's minds. Even when you write slice of life it's important to steer the readers in the right direction to make them support the romance you're planning. And I feel as connected to their romance as I do to a dead fish.
Also I forgot to say that one of the reasons this lack of ANY romance in their relationship makes it so hard to support them as a couple is bc Joyoon is deeply scarred by what happened with his ex. He needs love and companionship, not someone who makes him feel like they only want sex from him.
If he wasn't as scarred as he is, I wouldn't have a problem with a sex-to-love story.
i agree. the plot is amazing, but i feel like it would be better if we had both/all sides of the story instead of one. i don’t think his ex is a bad guy, but definitely plays the part when we know little to nothing about him.
you say you love slow-burn, so pls just wait. around almost 20 chapters you'll see why the director is a better match. besides the ml rubs people the wrong way because of his choice of words, but his actions reveal that he actually cares. (he's quite the tsundere) and i think someone who seems callous and doesn't care fits joyoon more than a guy who cares/loves him, because just as you said, joyoon still can't move on, and when one exits such a long relationship as that, casual sex with strangers unexpectedly helps them cope and forget, so yeah. maybe stick around for chapter 25-ish and you might like it more.
I do love slow-burn, but that's not what this is (even though that might be what the author is attempting?), and that's why I'm disappointed. Because in order for you to have slow-burn, you need to have characters that are actually longing for each other romantically, but for one reason or another can't be together the way they want to.
I just think the story had more potential that's all.
We do see them sneaking glances at each other and I like that Joyoon tends to stare at him and thinks how good he smells. I think this is one of those things that takes time. Like you said, he is scarred so it makes sense if the romance is not super quick.
I totally agree with everything you said. The director has shown that he cares, he just has an aloof exterior.
oh so your slow-burn is different from mine then, i can see why you're disappointed. my slow-burn is when two characters take forever to fall in love, especially if it's the enemies-to-lovers genre. so if you expect the ml and mc to already show romantic affection then i guess it won't fit your slow-burn, but it definitely fits mine which is why i love their chemistry so much. for me every time they interact there's just so much sexual tension idk why
Excuse my small rant, but I'm just really disappointed with how the story is developing bc at first I was super excited for this plot. A story about people breaking up and moving on sounded really fresh and angsty to me (I love a good slow-burn).
My first critique is that the author isn't doing a very good job at giving us both sides of the breakup story and painting Taejung in a sympathetic light, even though it feels like they want us to feel bad for both of them and not actually hate Taejung. Which is really important bc it's obvious Taejung's role in the story isn't over yet. He's still in love with Joyoon, but feels emotionally indebted to his new lover Youngwoo (whom he doesn't actually love) and I assume that's why he's pushing Joyoon away.
The problem is that we see the Joyoon suffering so much, but don't really get to experience the pain the ex went (or is still currently going) through. We only briefly hear about how it was hard for him to move on without Joyoon, but that's just not enough when we repeatedly see him treat Joyoon like absolute shit in the present day. We're talking ZERO concern for Joyoon's feelings every damn time they meet. And it makes me hate and despise him, even when that's not what the author wants.
My second and biggest critique is of Kwonjoo as a romance candidate.
His character design is great, at first glance you'd think he'd be the perfect candidate to take Joyoon away from all the ex bullshit, and give him the love and respect he deserves. BUT, the author is imo making a great mistake by not setting up a romantic connection between the two of them from the start, and instead just has them jump into a sex-without-strings relationship to get over their exes.
I love a good slow-burn story as much as the next, but this one is already super unsatisfying because of the lack of romance. Joyoon is still completely in love with Taejung and not romantically interested in Kwonjoo at all, he's just using him as a rebound. And the same thing seems to be true for Kwonjoo. It doesn't get more unromantic than that. And what's worse is that I don't think it's doing any good for Joyoon, I'm pretty sure it's only gonna end up hurting him more. How am I supposed to ship that? Almost makes it easier to root for Joyoon to get back together with his asshole ex.
I really wish the author would have set up their relationship differently. Like instead of making Kwonjoo an old acquaintance Joyoon was never attracted to, making him a new face that enters his life when he most needs it, and for the two to develop at least a small secret crush on each other before starting their sex-without-strings relationship.