i'm guessing that once he got praised by his father he strayed away from rik's plan of abandoning his father and even defended his father and rik wasn't happy bcuz he was returning to his previous goody-two shoes self... and they prolly got into a huge fight abt their values and future life goals and split apart for the good im so scared too because their friendship is so wholesome and they genuinely wish the best for eachother
i'm guessing that this will be the case as well, or it'll at least have something to do with why they broke off from one another. from the beginning of jinhyeong recounting this part of his past, he says he's extremely vindictive and immature, that he will get back at whoever hurt him twice as badly, and that he had done so even to songrik. so i've got a very bad feel about this one but we'll just have to see
dreading the next few chapters so so badly because what could have possibly happened to tear jinhyeong and songrik apart to the extent that they aren't even in contact with each other after a decade, despite promising to be each other's literal family. i almost don't want to find out i might kms
also this author's depiction of parental mental and emotional abuse/neglect is too real because leaving them behind and going somewhere they can never find you and making them regret it is all fun and games until they start loving you again and you think of all the times they weren't always a piece of shit to you lol