I mean if this was framed to be a dark, grim, very toxic psychological story then I'd be fully on board (that's my typa jam) but it's obvious it's trying to lead into being a romantic one which is just very baffling considering all things...
Furthermore, those aspects of the characters sound very interesting but they are not well executed and everyone feels very bland, they do not have any depth. Jaekyoung is just an asshole who did like 2 nice things for Dan, maybe there's more to him but I don't get why that "more" doesn't shine through even a bit. Dan is just a cinnamon roll uwu angel, him not fighting back makes a lot of sense for his typa character but what doesn't make sense is that through all this abuse and hardship, we have not seen him break even once or go further into what his grasp of the situation is except for surface level thoughts that usually conist of pity for JK or "what does JK think". We never see a visualization of him spiraling down the deep end with his thoughts except for surface level stuff which makes his character feel like a cute cardboard cutout.
As of now, both these characters would be boring as hell outside of their relationship.
Honestly rather than feeling like the story as a whole is bad I rather feel like it's just very badly handled because imo a story like this does have potential. It's not finished yet tho so who knows the story might take a better/different turn sometime.
Killing stalking did that extremely well without romanticizing it. This one however i think the author has a rape with abuse on the side kink. She did the same with bj alex
real, I think you verbalized it very well! I like psychological horror and toxic written relationships ( I had a time with the Sadistic Beauty side story). But these characters have been very flat so far, Jaekyung's little tantrums feel almost out of character??????
On top of that, I think it's being poorly written as well, 38 chapters and we're practically getting worse story and characterization choices.
I don't know how to describe it but Chapter 7 Jaekyung was more interesting and bearable than Chapter 38 Jaekyung. And it also feels comedic in nature when Dan always sings pity songs for Jae while Jae is cussing him out and calling him worthless like Dan isn't legitimately the key to his success. It's just pathetic that this story is being set up in an " Aww, he's abusing you bc he likes you!!!!!" way instead of the " bitch, RUN" approach. All I can do is wish the author good luck bc wtf is bro doing.
I completely understand that it's not gonna be everyone's cup of tea - every piece of media isn't gonna be for everyone, but I really don't think it's a bad story in and of itself.
aside from a complete and total lack of lube at times, nothing so far seems out of place within the confines of this story. jaekyung is a brash and bullying yet self-deprecating and isolated figure who's risen to the top of his sport through sheer aggression and perseverance. dan is a tenacious, immensely skilled hardworker with a history of exploitation (sexual, financial, and physical) violence, and a clear fear of abandonment (i think he's a orphan? idk but he grew up poor with only his gran). Nothing Dan has, has ever been handed to him, he's had to work and struggle for a pittance.
you put these two into a world where money is king, and so the power dynamics are entirely imbalanced in favour of jaekyung. and yet, both characters are actually dependent on each other, although one party (jaekyung lmao) refuses to acknowledge that.
then you throw jealousy, lust and love into the pot???? fucking hell, what a banging mix! not only does the author (imo) brilliantly explore the socioeconomic differences between the two, and how that affects their relationship, but they also show how these two change each other.
is a lot of this explored through dark, grim, and non-consensual means? absolutely! and if that's not your cuppa tea, that's so understandable!