IKR? I am pretty sure the author wants us to dislike Geumsun, at least for now. There have been times I wanted to wring his neck, honestly. He's just so fucking mean! He's barely even nice to San, who is like everybody's puppy dog. Yama, too, dang. They're like, a cruelty tag-team duo. I even dropped this comic for a while (twice) 'cause I'm too soft for this shit and the way 704 gets treated was making me table-flippin' mad. Yet for some reason, I just kept feeling like maybe I was missing something, and part of me even kept shipping them. I was like, yikes, do I need a Harada break or something? LOL.
So, mostly to figure out what the heck was wrong with me (haha), I thought about it and wondered, what would be the one thing, the *only* possible reason that would make Geumsun's horribleness even come close to being forgiven, and/or justified? And with that reason, which is probably the same for most people (tho I would be even more spoilery if I said exactly what it is), in mind, I checked out the raws and spoiled myself... and, well, I know it may still not be enough for everybody--and that's totally okay and good, everybody has their limits!--but the revelation was at least enough to melt the ice around my super soft and squishy heart. Even though I generally don't like it when authors pull the "make the readers hate this guy to the bones and then pull the old switcheroo" or the "he's an asshole--but there's a good reason!!" games. They're so obvious and cheap and make me feel manipulated! (≧∀≦)
In this case, tho, I think it was handled pretty cleverly and I realized the author had been dropping hints all along. I'm not trying to convince anybody to jump on board the ship, but I do want to extend a little comfort to any other readers like me who find themselves unable to totally abandon it despite how supremely uncomfortable it is. By all means, friends, loathe Geumsun! The author wants you to--it will increase the tragedy feels later, and if you enjoy suffering beautifully as much as I do (isn't that one of the reasons why we are here, lol), you're in for a huge treat. I mean it is really delicious. I'm enjoying this superior dessert right now through my anguished tears. But that's not everybody's jam and I understand. It is a really, really difficult ship and I still want to incinerate Geumsun with my eyes when I re-read it, LOL. I can happily join the antis with my pitchfork. Skewer the bastard! Yet now that I know more of the story... I actually kind of love him??? I am so angry/super happy with the author for doing this to me, LOL rude. Maybe I am simply really weak to manipulation (≧∀≦)
But the thing is, even tho I understand that there's prolly a jillion reason why Geumsun is the way he is with 704, I just can't shake my dislike of him neither can I bring myself to accept that his actions are justified