taekang is still not humbled. the audacity to be shocked that he’s also a villain in yig...

Yeah, he only realized the gravity of his past actions in this chapter. What Taekang said also serves as a good slap in the face for those readers who used to justify his actions behind the "they were only in a contractual relationship" excuse. Like no matter the nature of their past relationship, he has no right to be cruel to Yigon

he's got so many things to apologize and atone for, which is not just him telling yigon he's delusional and that he's annoying. he also raped yigon, manipulated him, and didn't have the courtesy to treat him as a human being. he's essentially no different than yigon's brother for exploiting yigon's vulnerability for his own gain at all costs. he's so close to recognizing it, but he doesn't bc he doesn't want to take responsibility and admit how shitty he actually is.

the comments section here is so brutal towards yigon and it feels like a broader social commentary on victims and survivors of violence and abuse. why can't you just tell someone about it? why can't you just leave? why can't you fight back? why can you operate in this capacity but not that? without knowing how much strength it takes to fight back against an entity that's been actively working to erode away at every safety net that could be available for you so you have no place to go.

I remember Taekang thought to himself that he should thank Hakyung for giving him the opportunity to use Yigon, so yeah I do wonder why people used to defend him, while in the same breath victim-blamed Yigon and called him stupid for obeying his brother. What you said is right, I've lost count on how many times people belittled victims of abuse–especially domestic abuse, because they kept going back to their abuser every time the abuser 'apologized'.

What these people don't realize is that the abuser wasn't just physically tormenting the victim, but also made them emotionally or financially dependent on them that it's hard to break away. Yigon's case is pretty similar, imo. His mental state and trauma response is a product of YEARS of abuse. Even after Hakyung spelled it out for them in this chapter, I still saw some comments questioning why Yigon can only act brave against Taekang and not his brother, or even demanding that Yigon can be a 'smart PTSD character'. Really shows you how they don't understand what abuse did to the victims.

Moreover, Yigon never had an adult to rely on and support him during his childhood. The only person whom he thought cared for him turned out to be a manipulative abuser who always watched his every move and would kill him if an opportunity arrives. It doesn't take a genius to conclude that of course Yigon would have tremendous fear towards Hakyung and find it hard to refuse him.