I can’t fully describe how I feel after having just finished this. I will eventually write an essay on this manhwa (I seem to be doing that a lot on Mangago). In a sea of smutty manga that basically rehash the same tired plot, this story stands out like a diamond in the rough.
This story is a prime example of how elevated a manhwa can be. This shows us how manhwa as an art form can beautifully express the human condition and touch readers’ hearts.
When it comes to stories, sometimes you just want to feel something and be moved. I’m so grateful to have read this manhwa.
This is such a masterpiece. In terms of storytelling and even art, it feels more like a Japanese manga.
So many manhwa nowadays feel superficial and prioritise smut and shock value over originality and naturalistic human behaviour. They have the same old boring tropes (sexually experienced rich toxic seme, weak virgin uke, seme is abusive, redemption arc, happy ending)
This manhwa has much better quality storytelling and naturalistic characters that behave like ACTUAL human beings. It has the ability to make us feel the characters’ emotions and the reasoning behind their actions.
It can even make a simple kissing scene so full of erotic tension that it makes me doki doki
yes yes yes!!!
Amen
You described exactly what I thinkkkk, I love comics that feel human like that, not just a predictable remix of tropes that don’t even bother to make you care through human elements, just shallow caricatures of characters
Do you have a list of such comics?/? That feel like an actual human story?/ <3
Omg if that list exist send it to me too please
Spoiler-free review in terms of story, but contains a discussion of themes.
This is a review for the Boss side story. Trust me. You don’t want to read it. For the love of God I wish I hadn’t. I don’t know why the author wrote it. I don’t get how we’re supposed to get off on the smut. I don’t get how we’re supposed to cheer the couple on. I don’t get why the standards for semes are not just low; At this point they are NON-EXISTENT. Seme’s can get away with ANYTHING, Fucking anything and the pathetic ukes just take it because “I know deep down inside he really loves me “ or “I can’t live without him” or some fucking bullshit. And yeah. Redemption arcs IF THEY EVEN EXIST are not worth it for semes are terrible as these. They never get their just desserts. Their supposed suffering never comes close to what they put the ukes through. And that’s the tragedy. Not the rape and violence (which is horrible in and of itself), but the lack of accountability, and lack of punishment being proportional to the severity of the crimes. These ARE crimes. Besides being immoral, these are illegal. If their faces were less pretty they would be in jail. But audience sympathise because handsome. Audience sympathise because traumatic childhood. Rinse and repeat.
And don’t get me started on snivelling, absolutely PATHETIC ukes so desperate for love that they will put up with sexual assault, rape, absolutely violent sex even if it’s consensual, torn anuses, humiliation, torture, stalking, control, emotional and psychological abuse, social isolation and codependency. These ukes acquiesce to EVERYTHING and anything the seme wants because love, because me no want to be lonely.
Honestly their need to be with these semes almost seems like a form of self harm. Of course, it also is akin to domestic violence so I don’t necessarily want to victim blame. But if you are not married to the love-interest, and your first sexual encounter is a rape, why would you want to spend the rest of your life with your rapist? In real life this is NOT his gay relationships work.
I completely understand the desire for the smut aspect of rape, and using fiction as a means safely expressing rape fantasies, but I HATE the trope that this eventually leads to a loving, fulfilling, equitable and stable relationship.
1. It’s actually against University rules (at least the ones I l known of) for a lecturer to have a personal relationship with a student and that student is in the same class. This is a conflict of interest and the lecturer will be subject to a disciplinary hearing. So, that guy actually wasn’t wrong.
2. Nevertheless I still hate that guy and of course the piece of shit brother.
3. It’s probably just me, but I feel like there’s too much smut and I have scroll past it to get to the actual story.
4. That blonde architect lady was sexy AF. I’m not even into girls but I’d let her top me. (Yes, she’s a top obviously)
5. The uke lacks communication skills and is pretty dim witted. I will not accept trauma as an excuse, or sacrificing yourself for your lover, for him to back to the person that caused the trauma in the first place.
6. The brother could have easily overpowered him and raped him. Going to live with him was the stupidest fucking idea.
More than too much smut, I think the real issue is that the smut is just extremely repetitive. There was only one smut scene that was different than all the others
I’m going to make up my own ending:
After they kill all the bad guys, the MC gives birth but refuses to get back with the ML. The MC and ML agree to get joint custody. After a few years, the MC finds his true love and they get married. The ML never marries. 50 years later, the MC dies of natural causes having lived a rich, fulfilling life. (His husband died 5 years before).
The son, his grandson and the ML are standing over his grave after the funeral. The son, seeing his father tearing up, takes the grandson away. The ML falls to his knees in front of the tombstone, weeping, and apologising and saying that he loves him.
The ML confesses that he wanted to commit suicide many times, but what got him through was seeing the MC once/ twice a week when they dropped the son off at each other’s houses. And he would wait for significant milestones in their son’s life like graduation, marriage etc just to get a glimpse of him.
“Thank you. Thank you for saving me back then. Thank you for our son. Thank you for not cutting me out of your life after everything I did to you. Thank you for being able to move on and find happiness.
I’m sorry I hurt you… I’m so sorry. I never meant to… I just.. I just.. I just loved you so much. I didn’t know that my love was causing you such pain. I didn’t know how selfish I was. I didn’t understand that I was only thinking about myself. I never stopped to think about how you felt and what you went through.
I will regret it till the day I die. Goodbye Jing. Please rest now. I love you.”
Lmfao it you making me cry tf
Lmfao not you making me cry tf
Oh gosh. I wrote this after almost 24 hours with no sleep and I was over emotional.
I think I have to remind myself that this is fiction and I shouldn’t get too emotionally invested in these characters. But damn. I was so upset with the story last night.
That’s a mood pookie
Chapter 59 - that’s it???? That was his fucking redemption???
“From now on I won’t do anything without your consent”
And now all is fine?
And the ONLY reason he changed his attitude was because he found out about the MC’s traumatic past? Not because rape is actually wrong?
I can’t believe I read 59 chapters hoping for something, ANYTHING that would cause at least some harm to the ML. But I got fucking nothing. Except the message that it’s ok to overpower and repeatedly rape someone who saved your life just because you are obsessed with them.
I’m sick and tired of this shit. This is more than rape normalisation. It’s just fucking lazy writing and fan service.
Wow, this is so disappointing I'm considering dropping this... The story itself is actually interesting and the setting has so much potential, but the relationship between the MC and the ML is so disgusting and forced it's difficult to read. The author flunked this so bad
I agree. The plot and revenge etc is actually pretty good and I don’t mind the side couples (although that whole rescuing someone as a child and then having sex with them when they’re grown is kinda ick).
It’s sad that just this one thing (rape without consequences) ruined the story for me.
It would have easy to change it to the MC initially resisting his advances (and not having sex) but eventually giving in due to his puppy dog eyes or something. Then it would have been consensual (although with complicated feelings).
The ML could still have been an obsessed psychopath but the only person he wouldn’t dream of hurting would be the MC.
I find it so fucking RUDE for the non consensual release of pheromones, the forced marking, the wanting to completely obliterate the beta’s pheromones and the forced conversion of the beta into an omega. In terms of the omegaverse I’m sure this is considered to be rape. Imagine if your pheromones were completely destroyed by someone else. It’s such a huge part of your identity. I really hate the seme for this.
Not just rude, very rapey. Zuosen is absolutely unlikeable and shitty. I'm sure there will be a sad excuse of a redeem for him, but I won't accept it lol
I read up till Chapter 55, but I can’t read any further. Hajin is such a sweetheart… but he looks 11 or 12 years old. I wish the story was about Hajin’s brother maybe falling in love with Jiho, and now Hajin has a strong male role model to look up to. Or they could have aged Hajin up and made him taller, but still keep a few cute aspects of his personality.
But as it stands, he looks like he’s 12, behaves like he’s 12, but he’s actually 20 years old. I don’t find Hajin having sex with Jiho sexy at all. No 20 year old men, if any, look 12 years old in real life. It’s that old trope of an extremely underage-looking character actually being of legal age on paper. So this is how they get around an adult-looking seme hooking up with a child- looking uke. Such a cute innocent uke blah blah. I fucking hate it.
I wish the second story was about Jiho and an actual ADULT-looking handsome masculine bottom or something.
Ugh. It’s so unfair. He’s super hot and super adorable at the same time. And a crybaby. Honestly. My dream guy.
Actually, I think it’s a toss up between him and that ridiculously sexy top from The Hounds of Sisyphus.
I wonder if they’ll ever address the rape in the beginning of the story. Granted, the ML said in the redemption arc that he didn’t want to do anything the MC didn’t want anymore, but that specific incident with the bleeding etc? It was extremely callous and violent.
I doubt it. They’re Asians (kinda satire/ half not because many Asians culturally do not verbalise their apology, they show through actions and maybe some words, but not a full blown discussion).
Sure, but he apologised for everything else. He said he was sorry multiple times, but never about that specific incident. Which makes me wonder whether the author purposely glossed over it and his apologies were more geared to how the MC was treated in that old apartment they were staying in. And of course later about the debt forgiveness etc.
I think I remember him mentioning about something along the lines of forced down, but it wasn’t a discussion. And yes, he apologised but didn’t really specify to what he’s apologising for (or he did).
That’s the cultural part. Sometimes people won’t directly mention something due to guilt and shame, so I’m assuming that’s the case with Taeju.
As for the gloss over, unfortunately it happens a lot in BL and you’ll get shit for calling the author out.
I agree with your points.
Taking a slight tangent, personally I’d never call out the author. Like there’s all these weird people that call authors out on X/ Twitter etc - it’s so insane. Even attempting to cancel them.
I like to critique storyline, plot, characters behaviour, stereotypes, etc etc but I think it’s not always helpful to call out the authors, specifically BL authors. A lot of the time, they just write what sells/ what is “trendy” in the BL world.