I understand that Sooji shouldn't have said "I'll kill you" to the girl, but first of all, it was a manner of speech and OBVIOUSLY he wasn't going to do anything. As you see, he immediately checks out of the conversation and kind of zones out. It is not okay, but it's common.
Secondly, I relate to Sooji at this point, and this chapter hit so close to home because as an introvert who also has trauma from my family that mentally scarred me, I'm forced to smile and laugh with the same people or people who act in a similar way to them. In my mind, I say all the things Sooji says—and sometimes worse. The only reason I don't say it out loud is because if I said it, me and my siblings' life will be ruined. (Does it mean that I'm going to act on it? NO.) But it's anger, and humans are not machines. You can't control your anger all the time.
Sooji was forced to participate in the school festival that he DIDN'T want to attend in the first place, with people who mocked him, whispered about him, and BULLIED him—parading him around. And him already suffering from PTSD—obviously he's not going to be calm about it. He didn't raise his hand. He even expressed to the reader that he's not good with words because it never worked on his father before—only threats, which is understable. Again, does this make it okay? No. But it's not the end of the world. He's just a teenager who's dealing with a lot and makes mistakes like a normal human being.
Also, this makes me super mad: when all the characters were clearly making him uncomfortable and ordering him around and cussing him to his face, no one bats an eye. But when he retaliated, everyone called him a bully and a gangster. It's such an annoying double standard that even this comments section is suffering from. Even Jaehyuk suffered from the same thing with his stalker—he couldn't do anything because she's a girl, and he was clearly uncomfortable and expressed that, but no one cared.
And no, this is NOT pretty prevliege. I just related to Sooji so much—from his family life (mine not that extreme but pretty messy too) to his goals and social interactions.
Let me preface again for people who are gonna say "pretty prevliege" or anything harsh to me: 1 - I'm a girl who's an introvert and relate to most of the characters in this serious, mostly Jayu and Sooji. 2 - I don't think what he said is okay, but it's understable considering he wasn't going to follow with the threat and just wanted to protect him. Again, trauma response. 3 - Guys, I don't care if he's "pretty"—he's a drawing, a 2D fictional character. That doesn't work for me. Also, I'm very harsh and skeptic about men in general because all my trauma and problems are from them. So when even I see this and defend him, this means something (at least to me). 4 - In my eyes, both parties were at fault, but mostly this girl. Why is she calling a classmate a "bastard"? And she started it by shouting at him from the start. Even a normal guy would've shouted back (not a good response btw). Not to mention Sooji—like, obviously if you acted calm towards him and treated him respectfully, he would do so, like he acts with Jayu. (Yeah, he didn't treat her particularly well in the start, but you can see he's learning not to lash out at people as a defense mechanism, as per his entractions with the rest of the main characters.) 5 - Plz be respectful and kind, guys. He's just a fictional character, and people who are defending him are either people who understand him or people who went through something similar to him. So be nice.
I understand that Sooji shouldn't have said "I'll kill you" to the girl, but first of all, it was a manner of speech and OBVIOUSLY he wasn't going to do anything. As you see, he immediately checks out of the conversation and kind of zones out. It is not okay, but it's common.
Secondly, I relate to Sooji at this point, and this chapter hit so close to home because as an introvert who also has trauma from my family that mentally scarred me, I'm forced to smile and laugh with the same people or people who act in a similar way to them. In my mind, I say all the things Sooji says—and sometimes worse. The only reason I don't say it out loud is because if I said it, me and my siblings' life will be ruined.
(Does it mean that I'm going to act on it? NO.)
But it's anger, and humans are not machines. You can't control your anger all the time.
Sooji was forced to participate in the school festival that he DIDN'T want to attend in the first place, with people who mocked him, whispered about him, and BULLIED him—parading him around. And him already suffering from PTSD—obviously he's not going to be calm about it. He didn't raise his hand. He even expressed to the reader that he's not good with words because it never worked on his father before—only threats, which is understable.
Again, does this make it okay? No. But it's not the end of the world. He's just a teenager who's dealing with a lot and makes mistakes like a normal human being.
Also, this makes me super mad: when all the characters were clearly making him uncomfortable and ordering him around and cussing him to his face, no one bats an eye. But when he retaliated, everyone called him a bully and a gangster. It's such an annoying double standard that even this comments section is suffering from. Even Jaehyuk suffered from the same thing with his stalker—he couldn't do anything because she's a girl, and he was clearly uncomfortable and expressed that, but no one cared.
And no, this is NOT pretty prevliege. I just related to Sooji so much—from his family life (mine not that extreme but pretty messy too) to his goals and social interactions.
Let me preface again for people who are gonna say "pretty prevliege" or anything harsh to me:
1 - I'm a girl who's an introvert and relate to most of the characters in this serious, mostly Jayu and Sooji.
2 - I don't think what he said is okay, but it's understable considering he wasn't going to follow with the threat and just wanted to protect him. Again, trauma response.
3 - Guys, I don't care if he's "pretty"—he's a drawing, a 2D fictional character. That doesn't work for me. Also, I'm very harsh and skeptic about men in general because all my trauma and problems are from them. So when even I see this and defend him, this means something (at least to me).
4 - In my eyes, both parties were at fault, but mostly this girl. Why is she calling a classmate a "bastard"? And she started it by shouting at him from the start. Even a normal guy would've shouted back (not a good response btw). Not to mention Sooji—like, obviously if you acted calm towards him and treated him respectfully, he would do so, like he acts with Jayu. (Yeah, he didn't treat her particularly well in the start, but you can see he's learning not to lash out at people as a defense mechanism, as per his entractions with the rest of the main characters.)
5 - Plz be respectful and kind, guys. He's just a fictional character, and people who are defending him are either people who understand him or people who went through something similar to him. So be nice.