beta
To start off, I'm not defending Heeseo at all. Sure, he's a really troubled guy with a tragic past but the same could be said of Taekyung. Nothing about his past excuses the manipulation and sexual/physical assault committed by Heeseo. Period.
With that said, up to a certain point before all the literal crimes, I understand the feeling. Wanting to be needed by the person you love so badly that you want to suck them into your own little world - just the two of you. And feeling a twisted resentment toward them while loving them absolutely.. because you know they have people to fall back on, even when you're not there. And you don't have that in anyone but them. It took me so much therapy and self reflection and screaming arguments to figure out how fucking unhealthy and obsessive I was.
And the thing is, it's so irrational. A big reason why I could overcome it is because I had someone who was honest with me, who loved me enough, and that I trusted to tell me I was WRONG. And as hard as that was to accept, I was able to because it came from that person.
I'm not saying Taekyung deserved what happened to him or that he's emotionally responsible for Heeseo, though. I just think that what they really needed was trust. They couldn't trust each other at all. And I think a big part of that was Taekyung's desire to be a savior, to make "amends" (whatever that meant for him), in order to make himself feel better. I think in some way Taekyung always treated Heeseo like a child and a stranger, despite wanting to be his benefactor somehow. Everything he did was contradictory.
Ultimately, this is just a tragic story that I can painfully find pieces of myself in, at least in the past. I reeeeeally hope the author won't do incest as a subplot though (I know they aren't blood-related but it's still incest, idc). If it were mild codependency, that's one thing, but after everything, I hope Heeseo and Taekyung don't end up together.