
Jinhyeong was smart, but not emotionally smart there is a difference. Also can you notice how much he was hurt at first? He literally just did the same to songrik. Jinhyeong also was crying in the class alone when he noticed he actually developed social anxiety. And please anyone would seek his father approval; it’s not that he only wants his father to approve his existence; he wants to feel loved. You can’t imagine living without paternal love it hurts too much. Jinhyeong wasn’t a bad kid; songrik wasn’t a bad kid also. They both were hurt teenagers who were seeking love and acceptance. It really does hurt how this story went.

Mind you, he's still a child. They both are, and that "greedy little fantasy" was not just his. It was a shared fantasy that they built together as a means to escape both of their fucked up lives. Not everyone handles pain the same way and because of their shit parents they weren't taught any other way to handle it. It's just fucked up circumstances melting into their daily lives. Also his father raised him to crave his praise and acceptance. It would be extremely surprising if he decided to just ignore those feelings and run away with song rik, it's just not in the character of people who have been psychologically abused. Humans are inherently weak creatures who are usually not gonna choose the best option in a conflict especially not when they are so damaged, and this applies to both of them.

the greedy little fantasy im talking about is the one where hes fantasizing about ditching their original plan and thinking that songrik would be accepted by his father who HE KNOWS is close minded as hell and loathes, and i mean loathes people like songrik. Not an ounce of thinking and common sense happening there mate
Know what, im sick and tired of jinhyeong. Thought he was supposed to be a smart character but hes just some dumbass that keeps coming back to his father after every shit hes been through. He deserve every shit he experienced from this point on.