Could we please stop with that "the age of consent in *insert Asian country* is a lot lower so it's okay" nonsense?
The age of consent is 13 in South Korea but that's only technically true because it's also not allowed to have sex with children and a child in that case is everyone who isn't an adult. Which means that blondie having sex with him would be illegal.
As for the rest, yes he was in middle school and there's nothing in this story that suggests that he's not preying on minors anymore and just happened to fall in love with one.
He still talks and behaves like a predator. He hasn't changed.
I see you're ignoring everything else i said. The reason i bring up the legal age of consent is to point out cultural differences, it seems iffy to Americans, but maybe not so much over there. So, it actually still hasn't been confirmed if he's preying on Seunghee, it just confirmed what we all knew, that he was a creep in the past. You're saying he hasn't changed, but we don't know yet. If he hasn't, good riddance. Anyways, do you remember how you were at 17? I remember how i was and i would've loved consensual sex with anyone i found attractive. I was 15 when i had sex (no penetration) with a 19 y. o., did i or do i now view that guy as a predator? No. I wanted it.
The age of consent in the USA can even be lower than 13 ( 12 if the partner is young enough). There are no cultural differences between (wealthy) Asian countries like South Korea or Japan in that regard. It's simply a myth usually brought up by people who are into shotacon and lolicon stuff because they feel the need to justify their kinks.
And I didn't ignore the rest you wrote. I answered your question and said that nothing in the story suggests that he has changed and that the last few chapters actually proved the opposite (his friend's reaction, his desperate behavior, the things he said and how he said it). There has been no change.
I'm pretty sure that at some point it will be explained why he's only into minors and it'll be emotional, we'll feel sorry for him and then he won't prey on them anymore but right now he's still the same old creep he was when he was first introduced.
You can decide to see it differently but that's how I see it.
Btw I lost my virginity when I was 13 because I was horny (I looked a lot older than 13) to a 19-year old guy who had feelings for me (I still feel guilty because it was just a ONS for me). I'm also not American. So it's not like I'm saying that teenagers under 18 can't have consensual sex.
But that doesn't make blondie any less of a creep or some of his actions less criminal.
Also, you say it'd be illegal, but i'm not so sure you're interpreting the laws right. The fact that there is a "legal age of consent" (15) AND a legal adult age (19) implies to me that sex is allowed IF it's consensual. While as raping someone under 19 there will charge you with raping a minor. Think arranged marriages, isn't it customary to consumate your relationship immediately after? You're telling me that's illegal? I don't think so.
Arranged marriages aren't really a thing in South Korea anymore. Maybe the parents arrange a date for their children but they still make their own decisions.
I had to look up the age to get married. It's 18 (I'm not sure if it's the Korean age or or not) when the parents allow it and 20 when they don't.
Again, please stop with the *in Asia...* myths. I'm not even Asian and even I'm already bothered by it.
Anyone flirting with kids can fucking catch these hands. Legal = /= right. Normal healthy adults dont try to have romantic relationships with kids. Idk how old you are but like, as an adult, I can barely see 18yos as adults and therefore seeking relationships with people younger than that is fucked because the dynamics are WRONG from the start. Why would someone want to date someone who is less mature (aka vulnerable) than them and cannot be part of their world or understand it? Because they need to have the upper hand.
Now ONLY SEEKING young boys??? G.R.O.S.S.
I mean I dont understand why its even up to debate. And idgaf if the kid is happy, it still makes the adult a bad person.
Age of consent laws that have ages lower than 18 are meant to cover minors who have sexual relations with each other. Not sexual relations between adults and minors. And in the case of Japan at least, the commonly cited age of 13 is only the minimum age that prefectures can set their age of consent to. In practice, 18 is still the age of consent. Asia is not your pedophile's legal haven. Even if the laws feature ages as low as 13 there are still people in those countries who find relationships between adults and minors morally repulsive. There are people who are vocally against the sexualization of schoolchildren over there. Don't project your pedophile apologia on them.

Was that dick pic to Seungtaek from when he was younger or was it while he was in high school by American terms? Also, this chapter doesn't really change anything all of us were saying, none of us were arguing that he wasn't a predator in the past or that it's okay. We were discussing his interactions with Seunghee specifically. Yes, he's been disgusting in the past, we all kinda knew that. What we need to know now is whether or not he's preying on Seunghee or not. I mean, now it probably doesn't matter since it looks like Seunghee might not be interested in him anymore. What everyone was arguing is that, in the scenario in which Blondie actually fell for Seunghee and wasn't preying on him, it's just that he fell in love with a younger guy. If their love was portrayed as pure and innocent, it wouldn't matter. If he properly took care of Seunghee and Seunghee loved him back. This scenario might have been good for him, if it kept his eyes on Seunghee, who is more than of legal age of consent where they live. 1 year and he's of international legal age.