Love your comment because these are my exact thoughts, especially with how lonely Monkyeon actually is. He really gives off the vibe of someone who is afraid to be vulnerable, like all he really wants is to be loved but he somehow became jaded and is now trying to find real actual love again with Nanjo. We have the exact same thoughts with the piercing too! Monkyeon is incredibly insecure and is insecure of Nanjo’s feeling for Seonwa 24/7. He wants the piercings as some sort of claim that he belongs to Nanjo too. This story is so interesting because there are so many psychological layers to Monkyeon’s character and so much emotional repression that devolves into deluding himself to protect himself. Now that he’s aware of his feelings, I completely expect him to not want just sex, he wants to prove to Nanjo that he actually likes him and not his body.
Like I said, this is the point where I side-eye Monkyeon for hurting Nanjo cause now he admits that he cares for him. I know it’s not such a big difference for some people but there’s a big impact when you “hurt someone you claim to love” compared to just plain hurting someone.
Ok so I wanted to save my comments for the next chapter before the last one and here are my silly little thoughts:
1 - monkyeon is whipped, and I'm glad he finally recognized his feelings other than dismissing it as lust.
2 - nanjo is still so very much a mystery to me. why let monkyeon come into his house? your house is a especial space, you don't just let someone in. i wonder to what extent he's doing this for sw, because atp it feels like he's doing it per pure curiosity. he's a business man, how can he be so easily manipulated? it just doesn't make any sense to me. he's either into monkyeon and haven't noticed, or he's plotting some shit.
3 - monk and nanjo's relationship rely, obviously, on sex. however, considering chapter 21 and 22, now there's been some kind of shift on both parts. monk doesn't see nanjo as a prize anymore, and nanjo seems more willing to play along.
4 - bro, it hurts to see how much monkyeon just wants some attention and affection, something that is unrelated to sexual. he might be a little perv, but deep down he is very romantic.
5 - the earrings. monk's request for a piercing felt very symbolic to me. it's like he's trying to equal his relationship with nanjo with the one nanjo has with sw. nanjo "displays" his affection by showering sw with gifts, which is the only reason the little evil twink is with him, and monk knows that. for me, it felt like by asking for nanjo to GIVE something to him, he was claiming that he too has a least a little spot in nanjo's life/heart.
6 - lastly, i hope there's no sex for some chapters lol i wanna see real development now. wanna see how they behave and act with each other outside the bedroom.