Firstly, I've heard people say that Candy isn't dumb per se, the reason why he acts so obvious despite the fact that he's supposed to be on a secret mission is because he's never been in a "relationship" with a guy before.
Secondly, the author says that Bad Apple and Red Candy at their core are similar stories because they both consist of one party running away (Candy/Uno) and the other party chasing them (Hajun/Lorenzo) so maybe you'll like it if that is your thing.
Thirdly, the reason why I come back to this is actually to read about Uno lol
This is a really comprehensive reply, thank you!
Your last point made me lol though - not that I think it's a bad thing XD
I think I'll give it another shot!
As someone who read Red Candy purely because of Uno (even long before the Bad Apple release was announced), I can tell you Candy is really bad at his job. My poor Uno has to take care of everything—hiding Candy and his lover on his private island, providing them with information, and dealing with the organization that’s chasing after Candy. Read it for Uno, girl. Things get way more fun when he shows up
Haha thanks for the heads up - I'll go into this with lower expectations and look forward to seeing Uno get his screen time
im late but i need to complain so. no ur totally right, candy is so fucking bad at his job it’s actually infuriating to read
No, no, I feel the same way. I dropped Red Candy because the writing was frustratingly bad. Then I gave Bad Apple a chance and am loving it, so I tried to reread Red Candy and it just isn't as good. The story and characters are confusing. I definitely prefer Uno as a main character.
Yeah I binged Red Candy in a couple of days and it did get better as I grew more attached to the characters, but Uno is the definite MVP and I had to force myself to forget the fact Candy is supposed to be the number 1 agent lol. Honestly, the beginning still makes little sense to me with how they ended up living together and even how ML fell in love? But I'm not invested enough to think about it any more haha
May I join? lol. I just want to give a reminder that Candy’s job was never easy. His mission carried a life-or-death risk and in many ways it was heavier than Uno’s. Both of them are SS Rank, which is the highest rank in Vulture. Candy’s task was to collect and report data regarding Professor Park’s missile project that was being used by General McClane in connection with an illegal auction scandal. The transactions were directly tied to Hajun’s father. If this data had leaked to the public, Candy could have been eliminated by political or higher powers at any moment.
I don't fully agree with the idea that Candy is “bad at his job.” He is not as aggressive as Uno, but he is more meticulous. He showed that he could socialize well and remain undercover for a long time in the target’s environment without being easily exposed. Vulture already ensures every agent’s safety in worst-case scenarios, even tracking what happens if an agent dies. Candy only calls for help from Vulture when he is truly desperate and close to death.
Candy is not as wealthy as Uno, which is why I believe Hanse will explain more details about Uno in Bad Apple, possibly showing that he was born into wealth. Uno voluntarily provided his private island as a safe house for Candy, Hajun, and Professor Chol Ho to hide for a while. Both Candy and Uno knew this was the safest option. Bringing Professor Chol Ho directly to Vulture or into its property would not have been as secure, especially since Coleman was also manipulating General McClane in order to dig deeper into the information.
In conclusion, Candy’s mission was tied to political interests that could have exploded into a massive scandal involving illegal auctions at the state level. Uno’s mission leaned more toward business interests with mafia-like methods through Enzo. Both of them were risking their lives, whether Candy or Uno, so I don’t think it is fair to judge who is better or worse at their job.
That's it. Thank you (๑•ㅂ•)و✧
You have a point, but I still think Candy is kind of out of character because of the plot armor or the "bottom’s armor." He had a pretty badass introduction, but then he made amateur mistakes in his mission, which feels really OOC. And I said Uno is better, because he has his own connections and backup plans, he doesn’t fully trust or rely on Vurture. He made his own way into Candy’s school as a professor and provided him with important information throughout the series. I also think Shadow is working for Uno, like a two-sided hacker and informant. So it’s not really because of Candy, it’s just that the character development doesn’t feel right.
It’s fine if you see it that way. I can’t fully judge Uno yet in Bad Apple, maybe I can when it’s complete, since Hanse keeps teasing us by gradually dropping the "tea" on Twitter. Uno is definitely unique in the way he solves problems, with a bolder approach, so when it comes to seduction techniques, he’s clearly more experienced than Candy. This mission feels like a big challenge for Candy because it’s his first time using a honey trap on a guy, so he seems clueless. Maybe it’s because his missions here are more civilian-friendly, so he has to be extra careful. Hanse said Bad Apple is lighter than Red Candy, and I totally agree, Red Candy's plot itself is heavy, which is proven by the fact that some readers are still confused. So I think Candy’s mission is much tougher, especially considering he literally went alone to the target location to take out so many people under tight security. He fought alone, literally alone, and almost died (Ch. 67), which even made Uno secretly put a tracker on him because he didn’t want to lose Candy. Uno genuinely cares, since he once had feelings for him, though Candy is super independent. Oh!! About Shadow, he works for both of them. Since Candy is currently on a break, Vulture assigned Shadow to focus on Uno for now. As for Candy’s past missions, Hanse never really explains them in detail or maybe those details are hidden in Hanse’s Twitter posts.
Wait has Hanse said that Bad Apple is lighter than Red Candy? Uno's love interest just murdered a dozen people two chapters ago lol
Yeah, she did. I don’t remember which post, but you can scroll through it lol. Since it’s in Korean, I’d have to translate it one by one if I want to search :(
Just went through a scroll lol and I'm pretty sure Hanse actually said that BA is the one that's more intense/heavy than RC.
https://x.com/loveladyhanse/status/1927713970493755464
Ahh I’m sorry then, my bad for reading it too fast. So it's clear that BA is tougher than RC, next time I’ll read Hanse’s tweets more carefully. Thank you so much for correcting me (๑•ㅂ•)و✧
hahahaha this is so trueee and it makes me laugh so hard
Okay guys I don't know if yall still care but I think I've cracked the code on why Candy acts so stupid. One of the author's first tweets ever was that Red Candy would be "90% romantic comedy, 10%, no actually 1% espionage". In conclusion, Candy is stupid because it's funny to see him fail. The author probably just decided to make the story more serious halfway through.
Def more of a hot rom-com with quick emotional beats and an excuse for hot spies running around in tight suits and blood hehe
Kind like how if you read Catch22 too seriously you'll be upset and confused but if you read it as a satire comedy, as it was written to be, you can get through it LOL
Love Red Candy, Bad Apple has me HOOKED
I appreciate everyone's input here for or against the plot, it was all insightful and explained things I missed (Ive read this story 7+ times)
I remember dropping this because Candy was ridiculously bad at his job and it was frustrating as hell, but I came back because Bad Apple is currently too good and now I'm wondering why I have that bad impression of this when the rating's so high?? Were my standards just higher back then and Candy isn't that dumb as a secret agent? Or is he but the chapters afterwards are amazing enough to balance it out and make it worth sticking with?
Tldr, should I give this another go