table salt

me going into season 2 remembering nothing but that sex scene

I just finished bingeing all of this in a night, and I wanted to share my review in case you all have similar opinions.
It was a good read, but I found the beginning to be a very rough start and didn't like the writing or creative choices that the author chose to go with. I see what they were trying to do with the two main characters, but it was honestly very reminiscent of the basic, uninteresting straight couples that you see all the time in popular media. You have the shy girl who isn't very confident and cannot stick up for herself, paired with the popular, loud boy who isn't afraid to speak his mind and defend her. Jiwon's character eventually grows to be more unique, and the story still has a lot to develop from here, but the beginning was annoyingly stereotypical.
It was almost like the author was trying to speedrun EVERY SINGLE POPULAR TROPE in media. You have the shy character x the confident character, the one where Jiwon gets drunk and reveals his cute/vulnerable side, the one where Jungwoo already has a girlfriend that he has a rocky relationship with, the one where he gets sick and needs Jiwon to take care of him, the time where Jiwon needs Jungwoo to step up and defend him, the trope where they keep bumping into each other randomly, the one where Jiwon gets injured and Jungwoo takes care of him, etc, etc. I know pretty much every single manga and manhwa use these tropes and they get annoying fast, BUT Ballboy Tactics straight up spedran all of them within like the first 5 chapters. It was exhausting to read through popular trope after popular trope where you know exactly what is going to happen next. I nearly dropped it multiple times within the first 5-10 chapters because it was so freaking hard to get into. I skipped a lot of dialogue--some of which wasn't written the best, anyway.
Now, the reason why I changed my mind happened during the shift from them being friends to when they started taking interest in one another. I will say this over and over again, but it is so difficult to find a manhwa where they actually have good chemistry going back and forth for A WHILE before either of them decides to do anything about it. They both like each other, and I loved the playful banter between them because underneath it all, you can see true male yearning. It was wonderfully written. I love seeing two characters truly pine for one another and want something so much. I also appreciate that Jungwoo remains unapologetic about who he loves, while Jiwon is more cautious. Their awkward situationship to boyfriends was an incredibly smooth and natural transition; nothing felt forced between them. Also, and it's so terrible that it even has to be mentioned, but Jungwoo truly cares about Jiwon's comfort. There were multiple times when he said "no" and shoved him off, and Jungwoo respected that. It's the bare minimum, but most BLs don't even provide that.
So yes, while it started off as just the most average romance imaginable, I'd say it redeemed itself in the more recent chapters, and I am excited to see more. I need expansion on Jiwon's backstory and development on their relationship. I hope they tell the guys soon. I'm sure they will be accepting.