Based on the upcoming chapters, I disagree with a few things (without spoiling ot for youl Jowoon is happy with how things are currently, not really established a true relationship with Heasoo. He doesn't want to change or admit anything. Also, the ring isn't a romantic symbol as you think (not going to go into detail but even the author discusses this in the epilogue of the season finale). Also, I believe that Taku is actually falling for Heasoo for real. Based on not actually being in love before and not truly understanding his feelings. For example when he says he doesn't see the difference between a artistic subject and pursing someone romantically. He's never been in love or in a deep relationship with anyone and one of the reasons why will be explain in chapter 38. If it does turn out that he was just using Heasoo, than I wouldn't be super surprised but I like to give characters the benefit of the doubt.
I agree with you on somethings and differ on others. Here me out. ^_^
Agree
- Joowon cares about Haesoo
- He is not faking how happy he is with Haesoo
- Joowon is immature
- Damn right. He has hasnt given enough thought to how worn down Haesoo is because of this thing he started. I don't think he is completely unaware of it though.
- Taku is upfront and blunt
- Taku knows how to be gentle and how to care for people
- He does not care for Haesoo in a serious romantic way.YET. But he did tell Haesoo that he likes him, no? Love at first sight or falling in love as soon as they have sex is not exactly realistic is it?
- yes, he does not seem to understand the difference between a photography subject and romantic Interest. Why? He has never been in love. He tells Haesoo in the coming chapters that he has never been hurt by someone.
- it is possible Haesoo is an exception to Taku's view on dating.
Disagree
- Of course Haesoo see's his cheerfulness as him not taking anything seriously. damn it. It was who Joowon down right told him not to fall for him, because he won't. isnt that him basically saying he isnt serious about them?
- Joowon will come see Haesoo whenever he feels like it, out of nowhere. He expects Haesoo to be there for him always, but this is toxic as af don't you think? Haesoo WANTS TO DISTANCE himself from Joowon, he has been determined to do it. he wants to put an end to it. He isnt doing it without REALIZING it.
- Haesoo finds nothing reassuring about their relationship which has no beginning or no end. It has confused and traumatized him.
- Their RELATIONSHIP has not been forced to evolve because of Taku. BUT for sure it is doing good to HAESOO. Joowon realizes something is off, but he hasn't done anything about it as of season 1.
- He was interested in Haesoo from the VERY BEGINNING. AT FIRST SIGHT. His first encounter with Haesoo was at a bookstore in Seoul. His face stood out to him. He could SEE it. ( Taku has face blindness. He tells this to Haesoo in upcoming chapters) It wasn't Haesoo's relationship with Joowon that piqued his interest in Haesoo. It is the other way round. He was Intrigued by haesoom so he wanted to find more about this person. That is how it started.
- As for Taku's analogy comparing the people he has dated to candy, i think that it means he just hasn't met someone special.
I completely agree on everything you said about Joowon! Taku makes me swoon and I like him a lot so far but I can’t ignore the history Joowon has with Haesoo and act like that’s so easy to walk away from. Joowon has a lot of faults but Haesoo also has been playing the emotional manipulation game, they both do. They’ve been dealing with each other for almost a decade. And I find it interesting that we haven’t seen Joowon with anyone else intimately and we’re 38 chapters in.
I completely agree on everything you said about Joowon! Taku makes me swoon and I like him a lot so far but I can’t ignore the history Joowon has with Haesoo and act like that’s so easy to walk away from. Joowon has a lot of faults but Haesoo also has been playing the emotional manipulation game, they both do. They’ve been dealing with each other for almost a decade. And I find it interesting that we haven’t seen Joowon with anyone else intimately and we’re 38 chapters in. (๑•ㅂ•)و✧
Hey, thanks for your thoughts! Wanted to respond to a couple of specific points.
"It was who Joowon down right told him not to fall for him, because he won't. isnt that him basically saying he isnt serious about them?"
If I recall correctly, Joowon looked slightly pained while saying it. As far as I can tell, they both have a sort of unspoken rule where they never admit to caring about each other, which again, I think is because Joowon's worried that trying to tie Haesoo down will make him run away (plus Haesoo originally encouraged Joowon not to admit how strongly he feels, e.g. by deliberately making Joowon angry and jealous when they were kids.)
It's also clear Haesoo was really traumatized by his mother's reaction to the two of them. That's when we see Joowon say they aren't in a relationship, perhaps for the first time. Based on the desperate look on Joowon's face and the way he was trying to deescalate the situation, I think he was lying about how important Haesoo is to him. But those words might have solidified the idea in Haesoo's mind that Joowon doesn't think much of him.
"Joowon will come see Haesoo whenever he feels like it, out of nowhere...He isnt doing it without REALIZING it."
Joowon expecting to be prioritized is what I meant by him being immature! I disagree that he knew that Haesoo legit wanted distance, though, or how upset Haesoo was in general. Again, the two of them have never been honest with how much they care about each other, that's their game. So when Haesoo says "leave me alone," Joowon assumes he's just playing hard to get.
"Haesoo finds nothing reassuring about their relationship which has no beginning or no end. It has confused and traumatized him."
Again, I disagree! See Chapter 35, where Haesoo reflects on Joowon telling him that, and says he "decided to believe him" because he was anxious. To me, that implies he found the thought comforting, perhaps because he'd find it too hard to trust a relationship that could end. Haesoo's VERY cautious about being hurt by other people.
I agree with you re: Taekyung now that I've read Chapter 38, by the way! His face blindness gives a clear reason for his budding interest in Haesoo. We'll see where the candy thing goes. It's been such a recurring idea that it must mean something; most optimistically, it might be the narrative's way of showing Taku's evolution into a person who can love. I do think he LIKES Haesoo and I don't believe he's deliberately manipulating him.
I'm 100% convinced at this point that Joowon's got no interest in anyone but Haesoo. I don't think he even likes people that much in general, really—he clearly hates the social aspect of being a celebrity.
I think if he were dating someone he'd rub it in Haesoo's face to make him jealous. The closest we've seen to him being with anyone else is when he told his dad "I meet lots of girls!" and then not-so-subtly glanced at Haesoo to see if he reacted, LMAO.
This is kind of a spoiler, but in Q&A at the end of the season 1, this is what author said about Joowon dating other people..
"Q: I'm curious about whether Joowon had any past relationships before this.
A: It seems as though it wasn't reflected well in the webtoon, but Joowon has dated a lot of people. Haesoo tends not to hide his relationships from Joowon, while Joowon tends not to talk about them.
In the beginning, it can be seen that both of them talk about Haesoo's relationships comfortably, and they talk about everyday affairs too.''
@lazulations on instagram translated it from Korean..
Aw, there goes that theory. Thanks for sharing! Funny, I really thought he showed no interest in much of anything else, but maybe that's because we haven't seen much of his interactions with people aside from his manager.
I reread the comic on Lezhin, and I've actually got a different impression of the characters now. Please note that I'm not trying to fan any shipping wars here, just figuring out where all the characters are coming from and how the story might play out.
Joowon is immature but fairly sincere in his dealings with Haesoo, I think—he's pushy and he's used to Haesoo putting him first, like a child, but it's also clear he cares about him. I don't think he was faking how happy he was to be with Haesoo, even though Haesoo tends to see that cheerfulness as Joowon not taking anything seriously. See: Joowon getting all excited to buy Haesoo the diamond ring, a traditional romantic symbol.
It actually looks like Haesoo's been the one enforcing the distance in their relationship without realizing it. Joowon seems like he's maintained their current relationship because he doesn't want to scare Haesoo off, particularly after what happened with their parents, but at the same token he hasn't given enough thought as to how worn-down Haesoo is from playing their game of cat and mouse. If Haesoo made it clear he wanted an official relationship, I think Joowon would be overjoyed and accept it. But instead they keep circling around each other, because neither's willing to make the first move and "lose" by admitting how much they care in case they get rejected. (Also TBH, I think they both assumed that their relationship would never change. It has "no beginning and no end," as Joowon put it, which Haesoo actually finds reassuring.)
Their relationship's finally being forced to evolve because Haesoo's formed a genuine emotional attachment to another guy for the first time. Joowon never cared about the other guys because Haesoo only uses them to make him jealous and was never serious about them anyways. Now Haesoo's met Taekyung. Joowon's confused that Haesoo's rejection of his advances is more than superficial now, and he's starting to lash out because of it. It'll be interesting to see if Taekyung brings them closer together by forcing them to be honest, or breaks things irreparably.
Taku's blunt and upfront in a way that makes him a lot of fun to read about. He knows how to be gentle and how to care about people, and so far at least, he's offered unconditional emotional comfort to Haesoo (right down to telling him it's fine to be "used"). I'm not totally sold on the fact that he cares about Haesoo in a serious romantic way, or at least not in a way that would register as romantic to other people. There's that scene where he's talking to his friend and says he doesn't see the difference between a photography subject and a romantic attachment. That implies he keeps a certain level of distance from the people he dates, emotionally.
He didn't set up the second meeting with Haesoo, or say he was *interested* in Haesoo, until he found out Haesoo was Jooson's brother from the photo Leo showed him. Often when he says he's "found something interesting" in Korea, it shows that specific picture. I've been wondering why. Is it just that Haesoo's vulnerability in the column made Taekyung sympathize and fall for him?
There's also been the repeated theme of Taekyung seeing the people he dates as "candy"—specifically cheap, artificially-flavoured, interchangeable candy, which implies something shallow and briefly pleasurable. After he and Haesoo have sex the first time, he opens a drawer of candy to take a lollipop out. Instead of savouring it, he crushes it between his teeth and it shows the empty wrapper and bent stick. Are we supposed to see that as him "devouring" Haesoo? Even in the most recent chapters, when they kiss Haesoo notes that it tastes like candy.
I'm worried this means that Taekyung's gentleness and support are fake in some way, although it would be nice if I'm misreading things. It IS possible that Haesoo might be an exception to Taekyung's view on dating—a few characters have commented that Taekyung's behaving unusually in regards to Haesoo, and we do see some signs of traditional jealousy and romantic interest when they're having sex. Guess we'll have to wait and see!