Even with the fucked up ending, I don't exactly believe that this story romanticized violence

I saw other readers stating how they hated this manhwa cause it "romanticizes abuse." Although I agree that romanticization of violence is pretty prevalent, especially on Korean manhwas and Japanese mangas, I don't necessarily agree that this story nor the author tried to romanticize abuse for these reasons:

(Ps. This is also my analysis of this manhwa, so yeah)

To be completely honest, this manhwa gave me lots of mixed emotions throughout reading the whole story. First, pity. I felt immense pity towards the main character, whose neck is bound to a chain that he can never remove. His freedom was taken away from him, like a bird in its cage, while it looked upon the sky and saw the other birds around him soaring high and mighty. He was repeatedly taken advantage of by the man he used to admire, which sucks. Though, based on his reaction to the scenario alone, we can already tell two things:

a. He didn't agree with the abuses he kept facing, nor did he try to justify it throughout the story. Mc, even in his new lifetime, didn't believe that Narye did the right thing towards him. More importantly, the story depicted the fear and anguish he felt towards Narye.
- If we're going to observe manhwas or other kinds of literature romanticizing abuses, it's evident in the storyline how the victim justifies the perpetrator's violent tendencies. For example, in roses and champagne. Leewon, despite being r•ped and almost killed by Caesar, still forgave him, because even though his experience left him traumatized, his 'love' for his man was still greater than the abuses he faced. That, my friends, is the ROMANTICIZATION OF VIOLENCE itself.

You can observe these patterns even in other shitty novels that romanticize violence like Colleen Hoover's works, and you can even observe this on manhwas like codename anastasia, and more. This pattern wasn't evident in this manhwa, and the author even showed how Seoyo's (Mc) trauma affected his personality and outlook in life, and the author was able to depict a 'natural' response from trauma, which already SCREAMS into the reader's mind that "Oh, I'm not romanticizing the ML's behavior. Cause I'm still showing his intentions and how the consequences of his actions should be held accountable."

b. His response towards being taken advantage of by the person he used to admire. Unlike other manhwas who depict these scenarios as "hauntingly hot, sexy, and attractive," Seoyo responded to this by showing disgust and hatred on ml's action. This was consistently shown in their past life. He never liked having sex with Narye cause he felt like he was being violated. However, current Seoyo likes sex with Chaheon, because he still THINKS that THEY ARE DIFFERENT PEOPLE. This alone depicts natural responses from real-life situations, and even though he shuddered or moaned or whatever, there weren't lines like "Ugh more please!" Or whatnot from the mc. Sure, he's blushing or whatever. That's a natural, biological response. Even though it may feel good physically, mentally, it sickens him which makes it unsatisfying for our mc. If this was romanticized, then the mc could've GENUINELY liked intimacy with ML. But no, he wasn't satisfied, but he also couldn't say no out of fear.

Next, Narye's killings against Seoyo's servants and doctors who "failed to do their job." Seoyo didn't find this romantic, the whole "omg he burned the world for me, so romantic!" Narrative commonly seen in media depicting romanticized abuse was thrown through the window. Seoyo didn't find that attractive or romantic. Instead, he was traumatized and bound by guilt out of an action he couldn't control. He tried to stop Narye multiple times, and he didn't find this action flattering, which, again, depicts a natural response a normal, sane human being would also make. Romanticization exaggerates abuse and narrates as if it were a romantic ballad you would hear your English teacher read, and Seoyo narrates the story as if he was truly horrified witnessing a murder in front of his eyes, in which he actually did. The author tackled how this scarred Seoyo, which led to him being drug-dependent since that drug would make him forget everything that had happened, depicting an illusion as if everything was okay. This psychological effect then led to him k-lling himself. The author was able to show how each action has its corresponding consequences, and how emotional torture and physical abuse affect one's mind. A depiction you wouldn't see in Haunting Adeline or Darkfall even after going to different multiverses.

Now, Narye's perspective. He knew damn well this was wrong. He knows that his actions have it's punishment based on the code they have in their kingdom. He knew how much he was tormenting Seoyo, yet he didn't stop, since his obsession warped his vision of reality. Out of the belief that Seoyo's existence is the only good thing in this world. Male leads in romanticized abuse never dared to make such claims. Male leads barely believe that their actions are immoral. And even if they do, authors would hit you with a "deep, heart-wrenching past" out of the belief that it would deepen the narrative of the story, but all it did was romanticize and justify their violent tendencies. Instead, Narye knew he was wrong, but he just couldn't care less if he was. "So what? At least I have Seoyo." A thought he would have thought about in my headcanon.

The modern Narye and Seoyo. Even with their "seemingly wholesome interaction", Narye's vision tainted the narrative, while Seoyo's unawareness of this situation could be pried even deeper. If this were romanticized, the open ending would've not been depicted menacingly. At the same time, Seoyo's trauma from Narye still lingers through the air, not even justifying Narye's actions, as he accepted Chaheon with all of his heart out of the belief that they are "different people." However, based on the story construction alone, if ever Seoyo finds out the truth, he will surely run away. This is something you wouldn't see on Twilight or something (idk I'm losing examples lmao)

Pretty long, my bad. Thanks for reading !