
hello i am asking a genuine question, does the mc being "tempted" and having those thoughts be considered cheating?

Well, tbh I'll consider it as CHEATING not literally but mentally. Imagine this yourself: Your partner thought of cheating or got tempted to cheat on you with someone. He created that opportunity by involving himself with that kind of people who will or might in a way tempt or lead you to cheating. Doesn't that make your partner partly at fault??? Doesn't that make him someone who literally seeked out that opportunity to CHEAT, even thinking or tempted to do so.

Not really. Although I can understand why some may think it is. Jiho’s momentary “temptation” when Chung confessed was just a fleeting, human “what if” moment. This occurred as Jiho was coming to terms with the hard work and complexity involved in his relationship with In Woo. In Woo’s strained relationship with his mother, his childhood trauma that caused his disorder, and his divorce due to this disorder make their relationship particularly challenging. For a second, Jiho considered Chung because it seemed like an easier option, given the lightness and simplicity compared to the difficulties he faces with In Woo. However, this brief temptation didn’t reflect any genuine desire to be with Chung; it was merely a moment of contemplating an easier path, quickly overshadowed by good reasoning. I think we’ve all been in these types of scenarios.

Well, i don't disagree with you on that. It is complex. Lets give him the benefit of the doubt cause he didnt act on it. But he was still tempted to it wasn't a what if I'd dated him bit more like I'm tempted to. But everyone has a different perspective on this... I'd break up with my partner if my so called partner spend the night over at his ex fuck buddy/situationship or at his friends with benefits place. Sure, they had a disagreement or argument & they're both at fault but it just leaves a bad taste when the other is being tempted & is sleeping over at an ex'es place with the excuse of not having anywhere to go.

Absolutely, I agree with you. If my partner chose to go somewhere else after a fight—especially to someone they knew had feelings for them—I would definitely consider breaking up. Even if they see the relationship as platonic, it's a serious breach of trust. While Jiho didn't technically cheat, his insensitivity alone is enough for a breakup in my view.

i'm actually not content with how they glossed over the 8 year time-skip without filling us in about the murder case since it was a key part in the story. (why was joon forgiven? who was the actual murderer? what did dukgwang tell sungho in the cave? is dukgang innocent?) i have these fucking questions that the sex scenes didn't answer. is there a novel? can anyone please enlighten me(╯°Д °)╯╧╧

I can answer some of these questions with what I deduced based on implications in the story if you would like?
It was strongly implied that Joon was probably the murderer.
Duk-gwang was innocent of the murder (although he did beat the guy up beforehand).
That whole murder suspect fiasco/life story was what he was telling Sungho about in the cave.
Your first question takes a lot more explanation, but I'll try to sum it up as well as I can...
So... Joon was "forgiven" because Sungho basically bartered his life away to his father in order to get his father to stop going after Joon. Doesn't make sense at first, right? UNTIL you realize that Sungho did THAT because he was also bartering with Joon, getting his father to stop persecuting him in exchange for the knife that Joon had been planning on giving to the cops that had DG's finger prints on it from when he found and was trying to help the murdered guy. Joon was trying to frame DG, but stopped and traded the knife. So Joon never faced any consequences for his actions, but DG didn't get tried for murder. Sungho left DG on the island in order to save him from that.
this is similar to uncanny charm, BECAUSE IT MAKES ME SOB AT SIDE CHARACTERS' DEATHS OR WHATNOT