I agree, and I think it would rly work if mc wasn't so damn stupid and naive, she is lacking self preservation instincts, and makes everything worse for herself.
She didn't want help from her friends who proved to her time and time again, that they are good ppl who care about her, and decided to trust the most shady guy ever, like she sees this other girl with her own eyes, it's basically her in the future if she stays.
Honestly think arc could have worked if it was earlier in the story, mc trying to do something herself because she's a teenager who raised herself so obviously her idea of trust are screwed and maybe she feels bad for always getting help from the guys or feels like she's being pitied and makes an impromptu decision of trusting this creep. It could have also worked as a plotline about grooming where the guy actually worked to get mc trust
Then again, she is a teenager. They hardly make sense or working with common sense.
Also it's not like she's had good role model to look up to, and has been forever in a survival mind of mindset.
Is there a stable foundation to fall back to?
And she was frequently shown that mother, police, society does not particularly care for her situation.
She is a kid, a teenager that has been failed by the adults in her life.
While yes teenagers are know for their stupidity, because of immaturity, they still know at that age what is right and wrong, and that they should not put themselves and others in danger. I was a teenager quite a while ago, and I knew all kinds of ppl, some with even worse background than we see in this manga, but still they were clever enough not to put themselves in dangerous situations, or do something that could make their lives harder.
I very much respected those ppl, especially one of them, who despite very bad family situation was thriving in both school and social life, and grew up to be very successful and respected person, and by knowing that person I also learned that we always judge a person by the content of their character, not looks or background.
So saying that she makes those kind of decisions because of her age is complete bs, she is not an example she is rather an exception, because time and time again she make wrong decisions that put her in real danger, and not even once or twice, especially when this new guy showed up.
She was traumatized because of her mother's bf, and was scared to interact with men, but with only few interactions with this super shady guy her defenses went down.
Sorry I'm not buying it.
I understand what this story is trying to do, i genuinely think the author is trying to send a massage about lost childhood, and how teenagers are taken advantage of in this neglectful society that forgets them but i don't think they are showing it in the best way. I truly hope this story helps the author improve because i can see that they want to tell meaningful stories but aren't quite there yet in writing skills