Yeah the fact that their entire drama rested on the fact that they couldn’t admit their feelings even after 10 years and their parents divorce felt crazy to me. Not to mention the whole step brother drama. Literally that was the entire drama. Had they met at school none of it would’ve happened that way. Idk it felt contrived.
Exactly! Unpopular opinion but I never liked their dynamic. I didn’t see any real chemistry between them. It just felt like trauma bonding, sex, constant banter, and the seme’s overbearing protectiveness, which came off as possessive and annoying.
What really bothered me was the smoking part. The uke wanted to quit, and the seme was the one who taught him to smoke in the first place. It felt symbolic of their toxic relationship. I thought the uke quitting meant he was moving on, so when he went back to the seme, it felt pointless and anticlimactic. It honestly made me mad. What was the point of showing growth just to undo it?
People who like the ending will justify it, but a confession doesn't magically erase a toxic history. For me, this story is a solid 0/10
Maturing is realizing that both Joowon and Taekyung were terrible choices for Haesoo—just in different flavors of toxic.
Taekyung was pushy and manipulative in obvious ways, but Joowon’s toxicity ran deeper and quieter, wrapped in the illusion of care and history. What’s frustrating is how so many readers excuse Joowon’s behavior just because he’s the “familiar” one. It's like people believe that knowing someone for a long time gives you a free pass to hurt them, as long as you call it love.
But let’s not forget—when Joowon first met Haesoo, it wasn’t love at all. He wasn’t some knight in shining armor. He was just as emotionally distant, just as flawed, and just as manipulative in his own way. The only thing he had that Taekyung didn’t was time. And time gave him an unfair advantage in the narrative—something that's always irritating about love triangles where one pairing is already “established.” It skews everything.
What made the manhwa even more exhausting was the never-ending line of obstacles thrown at the main couple. It felt like emotional whiplash—one issue barely resolved before another slammed down. It was like watching a relationship built on pain and drama instead of trust and growth.
And listen—I used to root for Taekyung. I genuinely did. But looking back now, older and less blinded by romantic angst, I realize Haesoo deserved better than either of them. He should have ended up alone, not as some weak compromise between two equally flawed men.
Sending Haesoo to Spain felt like a cop-out. It was like the author was trying to throw a bone to the “Haesoo should be alone” crowd—only to yank it back and hand him to Joowon anyway. It didn’t feel like a confident narrative decision; it felt like trying to please everyone. And when you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one.
And yeah—let’s talk about that author’s note. It was weird. Not because explaining your choices as a writer is bad, but because no other author who writes love triangles feels the need to justify their ending like that. It made the whole thing feel less like a story and more like damage control.
At the end of the day, this story wasn’t about love. It was about emotional dependency, miscommunication, and a whole lot of missed opportunities for real healing. Haesoo should’ve chosen himself.