I understand but I don't agree with the last part. Everything you said is kinda like what the tutor's boyfriend said, so the author could even believe what you're saying in that the vast majority of gay men is SK aren't living as a trajedy. I think this is a character thing where MC will never break out of his comfort zone like how he was thinking when he talked to tutor's BF.
This is a personal opinion but I don't think his friends are his friends, like genuinely they never talk about their interests or make MC happy in any way which I think the author did on purpose... Reading through all the friend's dialogue is so strange for both of them (Heechans' & Jinhyuks'). None of the friend are ever portrayed in a positive light other than when they talked badly about the bullies (but even then they were still bystanders), even sometimes making us dislike them (when they talked about Heechan in the cafeteria). At that time he could never defend Heechan publicly, and now his character has stayed the same where he won't defend their relationship publicly.
Unrealistic, yes, but I think his only true relationship is Heechan. I don't think the story ever mended his character of being brave enough to do what he wants and fit outside the norms (like how it predicted it would be). He would never come out to risk all that he had worked for (his friends, mom's pride, job prospects).
Sure he could find other queer people for solodarity but I don't think Jin Hyuk would do that honestly. I think it might even be hard for him to identify as gay since he only likes Heechan but that's a stretch.
Heechan just wants to make Jin Hyuk comfortable.
Sorry for rambling this comment just made me think about the manhwa more & more. It's also been a long time some I've vomitted my thoughts in the comments.
Actually what you say makes a lot of sense, I did not think of it like that, probably because also by the end I did not remember the full context of the story from the beginning anymore. I do think it is implied that his relationship with his friends from university and onwards got better and less superficial than before and it shows that they do have their good points (I mean no one of them was really a nice person in high school at the start), but I think you are right about the way you read it.
That makes me very sad though, it feels like a more bitter than sweet ending. One person being your only sanctuary where you can feel like yourself. :((( I do think it's still a bit romanticising "tragedy" but you are right that other characters point it out to him that he doesn't have to live this way. So I guess the romanticising tragedy is more about the tragedy of hiding your genuine self than the gay part of it lol.
I would be interested to hear the author's thoughts on why she decided to not change the mc's way of thinking for the better, which is what usually you expect from a story like this. Like they have both grown as people through each other, but the mc's central conflict never evolved. Ah, that makes me sad.
And don't be sorry, the reason why fans think so deeply and criticize or analyze media works (even if it's bl) is because we like them. If we didn't care about it we would not spend our energy here. At least in my case, I do it because I care a lot about this story and spent a lot of time following it. You should be proud that you can think with it and outside of it! Thank you for your contribution, made me think through stuff a lot!
Thank you, I thought my response would seem hostile ˵ˊᯅˋ˵
Yes, his friends weren't bad people really, I just felt no connection on a personal level between them and Jin Hyuk. But towards the end they even opened up to him about personal issues.
I am also confused on why Jink Hyuk never truly grew from his biggest flaw even though I think it's supposed to be a big callback to the movies his father wrote. Because even then, I am still unsure on the message or even theme the author is trying to convey.
Your comment also made me think deeper about this story so,
Thank You!
You just strongly verbalized the issue I had with the side stories. This was going so well until the side stories ended up inserting a "tragedy" into their relationship.
i mean sure it's realistic not to be out at work or with your parents, but I feel like if you aren't even out to your closest friends and have no queer friends so it's just the two of you knowing this secret then.. do you even have real friends? Is the only genuine relationship in your life your one partner? It's actually not that realistic imo. This isn't the 1960s, there are places you can go to where you can find solidarity and feel less alone and your best friends won't judge you for that. To me this feels like a straight woman romanticizing the "tragedy" of queer men in SK.