
I think the scene of Dan coming out of the bathroom and immediately drinking the alcohol is perfect portrayal of what NOT to do when writing a story.
Look, I get what they're trying to do, but it's all jumbled and sudden. Dan just got the news that his condition could lead to DEATH, and it's BAD to mix it with alcohol. And yet, he goes and does it, saying that, "it doesn't matter, the condition isn't THAT bad."
IT IS. And I know what people would argue. "Dan is a doctor, he knows it's bad, but still chose to drink because of the situation." Well then, SHOW ME THAT. What they were critically missing was an in-between scene of Dan acknowledging and ADMITTING that his condition is severe, but believing he's incapable of going through with having sex with Jaekyung unless he's drunk. That he prioritizes having to be drunk over his well-being. The way this was formatted makes Dan come across stupid. I know he isn't, but this story isn't good at making me believe that.
This story never fails to suck at showing mental instability. They just follow through with the easiest portrayal they can think of. "Oh, Dan thinks he's a sex object, let's show no emotion." But you do that AFTER building it up. You could've had Dan SHOW IN HIS EXPRESSION, in the scene before they have sex, that he's believing and hoping, that JUST THIS ONCE, Jaekyung had changed. Maybe going through thoughts. "You're saying you brought me here because you're worried about me?" With hope in his eyes, but after Jaekyung says nothing, he turns away, upset. "That's what I thought." Then cue to sad sex. Maybe even adding Jaekyung with crippling with guilt.
But, NOOOOOO. Instead, you get no build up, no setting. God, even the scene where Dan wants to get out of the car, but Jaekyung keeps him in and continues driving shows the rush in writing and editing. In that car, as Jaekyung is driving him to his place anyway, you could've shown Dan being scared. Shaking, ANYTHING. Don't just show me him having a semi-flashback, GIVE ME REACTIONS. Tell me where his mind is right now! Don't just tell me his mind is in shambles without giving me a peek into it!
This is why the first part of the story was good, because the bad things that happened were already shown to us, so they didn't need to explain their subtleties like Dan having bruises. It doesn't work here because they actually need to explain to us in words instead of just their subtleties.
Is Dan hateful? Does he feel disgust during sex? Is he sad? Regretful? Accepting death? WE DON'T KNOW. PLEASE, I JUST WANNA KNOW. ToT