Correct me if I'm wrong...

R u reading a diff story?? what context r u talking abt "missing", when all context needed to see that a FULLY GROWN adult ass dude directly involved in the criminal business that had a hand in ruining yw's father was eyeing the kid since he was a minor (he's being shown to doubt his intentions of helping him and why he's getting attached to him, literally) and was influencing him along the way? "he didn't act on it until yw was in college" AND??? How does that make his influence and his lies any better? How do you CHOOSE to interpret that this same guy chose to kiss him to begin with, let alone that he chose THAT PARTICULAR MOMENT when there was no fuckin way he'd be able to consent. What? To bring him back from the edge? Are you playing dumb on purpose here? That's fucking assault and in no way how THIS MUCH older of a person would act if they truly had good intentions. He was straight up taking advantage of him. He's feeling "at least LOVE" ?? just bc he might be having twisted feelings of attraction towards him that don't mean its love in anyway when he's in such a position of power over yw and he keeps taking advantage of that fact!!! nor does it mean that yw has EVER reciprocated or given ANY fuckin consent to be physical with him. u r trying to analyze these characters and their behaviors realistically but u r failing with every single sentence to actually see what's being portrayed. if u dont care abt what happens cause its fictions, that's fine. but trying to twist things that are so freaking obvious is pretty messed up. tg might not be a pedo from the evidence we have so far, but he DOES manipulate and attempt to groom him!

I would agree. With the increase in discourse around inappropriate relationships and child sexual abuse, there's inevitably this shift to....less nuances more black and white takes. It really, really bothers me when people use terms like 'grooming' in this glib manner.

I remember I read an interesting comment on a subreddit on how all this discourse has weirdly conflated age gaps in relationships with sexual abuse itself. Also this weird obsessions with minors, which sort of spirals into infantilising young adults or the younger person in the age gap (regardless of their actual age). All this concern in how they speak, how they dress and all this talk of sexualisation. It almost comes across as purity culture, the 'won't somebody think of the children', rather than actual concerns for abuse itself.

Should adults engage in sexual relationships with teens, no. Is it weird, wanting to hook up with someone you knew as a teen - yeah. But MC is....an ADULT MAN?! He can reject him.

Its literally implied he has been having these feelings when YW was still a minor. I fail to understand how that doesn't count as grooming and what this nuance you are speaking of is

What do you think the act of grooming is? I'm curious if he acted on these feelings while Yeonwoo was a minor, or are you more concerned he had these feelings at all.

I would agree it was inappropriate and it's relatively clear whatever romantic feelings he does have are not reciprocated by Yeonwoo and he should be respected in that. I don't want it misinterpreted, that I think his actions are okay. But I do feel very strongly about the topic of child sexual abuse though. Using terms correctly, like grooming is important.

No, he cannot just "reject him". He's very young, not some experienced, healthy adult, still in a tumultuous situation and reliant on a much much older adult who had financial and emotional power over him, as he's been dependent on him since he was a minor in life-threatening circumstances for which Taegu was also partly responsible for. Are you and the OP being obtuse on purpose as to why his actions are very harmful?
Power imbalance plays a huge role in abusive relationships (not just romantic) and like the other comments have pointed out, please look up grooming, because that's exactly what Taegu's actions towards Yeongwoon have been, grooming isn't only sexual. But look at that, he wanted to manipulate him into becoming depnedent on him, so that he wouldn't react when he'd eventually turn his approach to a sexual one, as we see in this flashback. Worst of the worst scum.

What a lame condescending tone.

No, I'm not being deliberately obtuse just reacting the the comments around how these discussions go. Yes, he can and has rejected him - through his words and actions, it's evident he does not reciprocate. And yes, power imbalances do play a major part in abusive relationships. Which is what we're seeing between OP and his main love interest.

I would say there was a lot of presented ambivalence and confusion on Taegu's end that doesn't really play into the pattern you're suggesting. I'd label this as inappropriate and unhealthy relationship.

Yes, he can he the worst of the worst scum and not have engaged in child sexual abuse as people are suggesting.

Grooming (Manipulation and Exploitation)
In the context of human behavior, grooming is the act of building a relationship, trust, and emotional connection with a vulnerable person (such as a child, an at-risk adult, or a potential victim of trafficking) to manipulate, exploit, and abuse them.
Purpose The ultimate goal is typically sexual abuse or exploitation, but it can also be for financial fraud, human trafficking, or other illegal acts.
Process Grooming is a calculated and gradual process, not a single event. Perpetrators use various tactics over time to gain a victim's trust and compliance while isolating them from support networks and minimizing the risk of being discovered.
Tactics This often involves giving special attention, gifts, or favors; sharing secrets; pushing boundaries; and making the victim feel unique or loved. The groomer often appears charming and trustworthy, sometimes even building trust with the victim's family or community members.
Context Grooming can occur in person or online (via social media, gaming apps, chat rooms), and the abuser may be a stranger or someone the victim knows, such as a family member, coach, or teacher.

So at what point did he actively do any of these things with the purpose of sexual abuse or exploration? He became his caretaker. I am fully aware or the definition of grooming, which I why I politely asked every to respectfully explained if I missed their perspective on why they chose to immediately call Tae a pedo. My concern is people constantly slapping labels onto situations that don't meet the standard of the definition. But to each their own. I'm not about to get up in arms over some fictional story.

Grooming (Manipulation and Exploitation)
In the context of human behavior, grooming is the act of building a relationship, trust, and emotional connection with a vulnerable person (such as a child, an at-risk adult, or a potential victim of trafficking) to manipulate, exploit, and abuse them.
Purpose The ultimate goal is typically sexual abuse or exploitation, but it can also be for financial fraud, human trafficking, or other illegal acts.
Process Grooming is a calculated and gradual process, not a single event. Perpetrators use various tactics over time to gain a victim's trust and compliance while isolating them from support networks and minimizing the risk of being discovered.
Tactics This often involves giving special attention, gifts, or favors; sharing secrets; pushing boundaries; and making the victim feel unique or loved. The groomer often appears charming and trustworthy, sometimes even building trust with the victim's family or community members.
Context Grooming can occur in person or online (via social media, gaming apps, chat rooms), and the abuser may be a stranger or someone the victim knows, such as a family member, coach, or teacher.

So at what point did he actively do any of these things with the purpose of sexual abuse or exploration? He became his caretaker. I am fully aware or the definition of grooming, which I why I politely asked every to respectfully explained if I missed their perspective on why they chose to immediately call Tae a pedo. My concern is people constantly slapping labels onto situations that don't meet the standard of the definition. But to each their own. I'm not about to get up in arms over some fictional story.

The condescending tone was intentional, as I can't fathom someone trying to defend consistent manipulative tactics towards a minor - especially in their specific circumstances -, because they're done under the pretense of "being their caregiver" and not acted upon sexually until after technically becoming an adult. I find it strange that you didn't address a single context point in their minor-adult relationship that I and others brought up, which contribute to the grooming conclusion.
"Yes, he can and has rejected him - through his words and actions, it's evident he does not reciprocate." Partially false and you prefacing this by saying you're not being obtuse is quite an interesting claim. I was talking specifically about the instance of him being kissed by his supposed caregiver, without any consent shortly after becoming an adult (and - again - for someone in his situation, you must know perfectly well how the semantics of being of age mean very little, as there are many established reasons why they're commonly seen as easy prey due to being prone to manipulation), much more fragile and at a place of great pain and confusion. What Yeongwoon did could hardly be considered a rejection apt for the situation, he seems to have simply momentarily rejected his advances, without ever actually addressing the wider issue nor the actual much older, more powerful adult ever explaining himself and making actual amends for what he did. Why? Because he had been groomed since he was a minor to depend on Taegu and the latter has been using the excuse of "oh I'm uncertain of what my intentions and feelings are towards Yeongwoon" since he was A MINOR to avoid the responsibility of an adult man in his position to work through them, face what the potential danger for the minor was to stay so close and form a bond with him and then act accordingly to prevent any of that happening.
Yeongwoon has always been unable to reject his influence and presence in his life as a whole, which is what the right and healthy action should be for someone in his shoes. Do I need to repeat every single harmful act and tactic Taegu had employed since the other was a kid to keep him close and dependent on him?
Grooming: Taegu lying about his full involvement with his father's situation to Yeongwoon, getting close to him for very ambiguous reasons from the start presented as "interest and pity" for a kid who has it rough as someone very powerful in comparison, reasons that started to change consciously as early as when Yeongwoon was still A MINOR, he played the role of a caregiver by emotionally and financially supporting him and inviting YW to see him as a family figure when all the rest of his family was gone in extremely traumatic ways, all while he never addressed his own feelings and intentions bc he KNEW they were harmful, he just let them fester cause he ultimately knew he'd want to act on them and so did absolutely nothing to help Yeongwoon become independent of him and to stop influencing him in any way and still also kept lying to him -> What does this all result in? A kid who cannot easily reject the terrible things that could come from such a figure in his life, who could reject a sexual advance if he didn't want it, but the debt he thought he owed him and the bond he'd unavoidably formed with him would make it extremely difficult to reject personal life/employment choices, let alone considering whether he actually wanted to be close to this person who'd played a part in the most painful times of his life. What did Taegu gain from grooming him in this manner? Exactly that, a person indebted to him emotionally, mentally and financially, who saw him as someone he'd cry out of fear of losing, someone who'd hardly reject all his manipulative actions and interference, who'd follow orders presented as "suggestions" or "requests for his own good" or he'd even hoped that when the time came to act on his sexual desires towards Yeongwoon, his dependency on him would keep him from rejecting that, as well. Is that clear enough for my reasoning? I don't agree that what he did was act on a pedophilic disorder, perhaps he does suffer from it, it's unclear though. But I 100% view this as grooming for all the above reasons.