I KNEW IT. The stable, kind, objectively great love interest with zero emotional baggage ALWAYS gets randomly nerfed with secret degeneracy or closet skeletons to make the FL get back with the toxic trainwreck OG ML
This is really interesting because Luhan is essentially written as an undercover nice guy. He became obsessed with her over a single interaction (with one sided emotional significance on his part).
He deliberately waged an elaborate information war to sabotage every other marriage option she had, to the point it became so well known it negatively affected her reputation in society. Even while this was happening throughout an entire decade, he never actually stepped up to put his hat in the ring. He never tried to court her, confess his feelings, or win her over.
His entire game plan is just controlling her environment until he’s the only option, and once he got there he still didn’t try to make an honest attempt to win her over. He came up with a plan to manufacture a trap to allow him to socially blackmail her family to force a marriage with him.
He gets to the altar and surprise, surprise, a marriage certificate doesn’t magically create romantic affection. He doesn’t understand the most basic realities of relationships. He only knows her superficially and objectifies her while trying put on a “husband performance” to secure her affection. He isn’t actually trying to get to know or connect with her, but panics constantly over her lack of interest/commitment.
He thinks the issue is that he needs to do a good job as her husband when the reality is that she just doesn’t know him and isn’t terribly interested in sparking a relationship beyond what is mandated by their marriage itself. He has a very superficial understanding of what actually creates a relationship.
He puts so much effort into limiting her choices and looking “successful”, but doesn’t bother trying to get to know or connect with her, then gets upset that she’s not head over heels for him.
He’s panicking over the potential for divorce and where are the first places his mind goes to prevent it? Physically imprisoning her and using magic to brainwash her, not trying to get to know her more, not going on outings, not actually pursuing a real relationship like he should have from the beginning.
Luhan does not love her, he does not have a crush on her. He wants to possess her and mistakes that desire for love. He has no regard for her opinions, emotions, or autonomy. Almost every single action he has taken or considered taking to secure/solidify this marriage has been at her expense. He has risked nothing of his own, but done plenty of damage to her.
His interference with the suitors was so well known that she became a laughingstock because she was perceived to be so undesirable that literally not a single person in high society would even consider courting her. She had no choice in her marriage to him because he manufactured a situation that would be extremely harmful to her and her family if it got out, so it really was her loss.
He casually considers chaining her up, preventing her from going anywhere without him as well as full on brainwashing her with magic to be loyal/loving to him. Problematic for obvious reasons, but I think really illustrates exactly what he thinks of her. He has said that he admires her strength, competence, and upright actions, but the second she might slip away from him, he’s considering destroying all of that as long as she can stay in his possession. He’s not interested in a genuine connection because if he was, forced confinement and mind control wouldn’t be on the table.
He wants compliance with his fantasy of a relationship more than he wants an actual relationship. The only reason he has largely gotten away with it is that he has ML privileges. In most stories he would be the villain in opposition to the ML.
He is a chillingly realistic, menacing, and manipulative nice guy character. He is not the type to throw a tantrum after not getting his way and this be rendered unable to find a relationship, but rather the kind whose relationship explodes 10 years in after his SO discovers his grievous deceptions and manipulations.
All I hear is him whining about the predictable consequences of his own actions
I don’t like this trend of using amnesia as a plot device to excuse abuse. The fact that he is an abusive rapist doesn’t magically change once he can’t remember what he did and acts differently. In the end, they are willing and capable of acting like that, so no matter how nice, innocent, vulnerable, sensitive, or cutesy they act once their memories vanish they’re still ticking time bombs.
I’ve also seen at least a few comics where the main characters were in a normal/healthy relationship until one of them (always the top) gets amnesia and proceeds to be very hurtful, toxic, and abusive to their partner who is just doing their best to stick it out until the memories and their living partner come back.
Sometimes I wonder if Korean authors are cursed to suffer excruciating agony if they attempt to write a “relationship” with no toxicity, abuse, or SA.
I think this is a unique take because Taebeom is clearly sneaky and manipulative in his scheme to get with MC, but at the last chapter it’s revealed that MC suspected and basically didn’t press it because he didn’t mind since he also got a relationship he wanted.
Usually the MC in this position is written as a naive doormat in the palm of the manipulator’s hand, but in this case he retains his autonomy by being at least partially aware of the scheme and deliberately choosing not to press it since he liked the result.
Now their entire game plan is going to go into the shitter because they couldn’t even pretend to be slightly nice to her. They couldn’t even just not be mean to her. Now the crown prince is humiliated, the Madeline’s are pissed and embarrassed, and Estella is going to be served up to the royals like a roasted pig.
On top of that, it’s going to be way more difficult for the prince and Ethel to maintain their relationship because once Estella becomes his fiancée the Duke will use his power and influence to force him to treat his daughter properly and probably whack Ethel’s family to keep her in line
So not only did they mistreat him and sell him off into marriage once, but lured him back home with his sick/dying father so they could break the first marriage to sell him off again?! At first I didn’t understand why they couldn’t just send their unmarried princess instead to keep the first marriage intact and avoid political conflict over it, then I REALIZED.
The new country is an enemy “barbarian” nation which is likely underdeveloped and hostile towards people from their enemy nation. He just wants to dump the omega into a hostile wasteland while the alpha princess gets to live comfortably in the beautiful desert society.
I also feel really bad for Huey since it’s clear that he’s a good kid suffering from shitty parenting. Unlike with girls and boys, it’s not obvious at birth what trait, if any, a child could develop. And there’s no way to hide it once it hits. He may look down on omegas now, but he has no idea whether that might become his fate.
Recent chapter is very interesting in how it illustrates the relationship dynamics. There are some hallmarks of abusive relationships. Henrik pins Mason so hard his shoulder dislocated over false rumors about him and other women (they are not dating at this point). Definitely possessive, aggressive, and inappropriate behavior towards a potential partner (or anyone really).
Right after, Mason is gifted a hermit crab from him, a touching and thoughtful gift that sort of distracts him from what just happened. This is how cycles of abuse work. There is mistreatment, but also loving and supportive gestures that make the victim hesitate to judge or leave their partner. There are almost always good times sprinkled in that push the victim to tolerate the bad times, when in reality they are mistreatment
“He’s willing to shift his views on omegas for me” is not a flex. Congratulations, your boss decided to stop actively degrading and discriminating against the entirety of a specific demographic to date you, a member of that demographic.
He reminds me of guys who were raised by misogynistic fathers and hate all women because they resent their mothers for leaving, divorcing, cheating, or whatever.
Your mom being a cheater, crappy person, or shirt motherdoesn’t justify bigotry against all women or all omegas.
What MC seems to see as some grand gesture and proof of love is actually just Taeoh crawling up to the bare minimum
Harry is being so dumb rn I’m actually pissed off. “I wonder if they’re discussing something dangerous” yeah, gang warfare, hired hits, prison shankings, and murder right in front of you. Yes, you should be concerned
(╯°Д °)╯╧╧
We see Jay’s true motive come to light. He just wanted to rail shin in a police uniform
Imagine how many deaths would have been prevented if the chairwoman hadn’t raised her granddaughter to be a sadistic asshoke
I’m wondering if he hid Taehan’s identity to keep him separate from MC. He definitely has a personal interest, but this may be a sexist case of him not wanting Taehan to “drag down” a promising young athlete who will make money and build reputation for the gym. Even though Taehan was a medalist, he’s the mother in this scenario, so he’s “going down with the ship” no matter what. By keeping them separated, he could make sure MC focused on his career rather than supporting a family. MC could go on to make a lot of money, accomplish a lot, and raise the gym/coach’s reputation
Either way, it seems like he capitalized on the amnesia and strain of pregnancy, childbirth, and infant care. His reaction told Taehan what his real priorities were. It’s suspicious that he isn’t excited/happy at all to hear his mempries are coming back, but seems to want to know as much detail as possible. Probably for damage control.
The way they just left his corpse there ╥﹏╥
It’s an epic way to go out, but a hella embarrassing way to be found
Her boobs are so ridiculous that it actually messes with the story. I’m just trying to see how she finds her lost bracelet, but her chest is so distended in the uniform that she actually looks deformed to the degree that it distracts from the plot
Jupiter seems like just an overconfident asshole with a big ego at first, but the more I learn about him, the more sorry I feel for him. He has been isolated and undersocialized since birth. Guiding is likely the only thing he’s ever been evaluated by and built an identity around.
His callous words and actions are a lot less cruel when viewed through the lens that he has had very little normal interaction with people. Everyone so far has been KOd by his guiding to the point of irrationality, so when Caden rejects his guiding, it feel ps like Jupiter himself is getting rejected.
There is no doubt that his father did not raise him as a proper child, so I wonder how much he may realize as he interacts withCaden.
Just because he managed to manipulate his way into a politically obligatory arranged marriage doesn’t mean she’s going to magically be interested or affectionate towards him
╮(￣▽￣)╭
He only has himself to blame as a coward who tried to eliminate any other possible option to make himself the only choice rather than actually trying to build a genuine relationship with
The entire comment section barking for Felix’s heels… ヾ(☆▽☆)