Yes! I agree! I was groomed too and this felt consensual throughout the whole thing.
Good explanation, and you said exactly how I feel about fictions role in shaping norms.
I agree that it isn't grooming. My only quibble about Sei is that it was not good to confess to Ryou when Ryou was at Sei's home. He might have felt trapped or pressured if he hadn't already felt affection toward Sei, and if Sei had been a bad person, it could have been dangerous.
It’s fiction. Not real chill. Fiction means not real, and it doesn’t shape norms because it’s a fake story and if a child is on here reading it then that is not the authors fault. It is an illegal website with 18+ material with farrrrrr worse content.
So we all have to kinda admit that the age gap is kinda weird since the relationship started when ryou was still a minor :p but I wouldn’t call their relationship grooming (as someone who has been groomed before) grooming happens when the groomer keeps pushing romantic ideals on a person and makes the other person feel loved in order for the groomer to fulfill their desires. In this case, sei had a lot of self control, he didn’t push his feeling on ryou and didn’t force him or manipulate him into doing anything. It was an overall consenting and wholesome relationship
And I know many people are bringing up that this is just a work of fiction but fiction can have a big influence on a persons behavior in the real world :) so I just ask to pls be careful when reading certain things because many horrible acts can be normalized through fiction (not this story though)