I don’t think I can stomach this. I know the ending but I mean are they happy in any way? Does she form a relationship with her son? Is the duke happy at the end? Or did he do all that to her to just get revenge? I mean I’m sure she’s miserable but I’m at least hoping her son isn’t…although I dunno how he couldn’t be partly miserable with his mom handicapped and basically chained to his dad….
I think manhwa doesn’t touch on the struggle of getting into a queer relationship and realizing how you navigate your relationship in public will be different from a straight couple’s because (obviously) manhwa takes place in Korea and most people don’t even think to be openly gay. So that turmoil you often see in gay characters in American media isn’t there.
In Korea, there’s too much at risk (not that there’s NO risk in the US). Queer Koreans aren’t as blessed with as much legal protection as we are in the US. If I moved to Korea, the only option would be to pass as straight. IMO the social suicide and the impact it could have on your career is not worth it. That’s the reality in most countries.
Whereas in the US, you have the legal rights to back you up and there’s media that portrays LGBTQ so you know you have the option to be out. But legal rights don’t equal social acceptance thus making it seem even more unfair for us Americans since it’s not at all a simple decision to be openly gay. I mean your close friends and family knowing about you is one thing but anyone else? It’s not like with straight people where any random stranger can know (like in this chapter).
I feel like everywhere in progressive American media, there’s the message that you should be out and proud. But the reality is complicated. It’s hard to accept that prejudice is there and still decide to be out with no fear of the consequences.
But for Korea, well I like to think they’re getting to the point they are struggling more to accept this prejudice.
Anyhow I think for a lot of Korea it’s very much a normal thing to accept your fate as a gay person. Even more so since it’s a conservative and heavily confucian society.
I mean gay people always existed yet throughout world history we see that not much was done to assert their rights.
Ofc there’s been periods where homosexuality was, maybe not largely accepted, but tolerated fair enough in certain areas and social groups. Which is where we are at rn.
I think it’s very normal for humans to just accept their fate and quietly live however they want (maybe even finding small communities) without feeling the need for society to accept them.
I’m realizing this sounds super pessimistic. But that’s the somber reality
Ok well at least Luke didn’t introduce him as his “roommate”. He let Andrew decide how he wanted to be presented as. However, clearly they need to have a talk. Is Luke okay with the general public knowing he’s dating Andrew? I’m really hoping that’s the case and that Luke was only hesitant to speak because he’s noticed Andrew’s past behavior show that Andrew is not ready to come out as a couple. At least that’s what I got from Andrew. I dunno, I suspect Luke had been ready to be open about their relationship if Andrew had been ready and had been slightly taken aback by how reserved he is.
But Andrew may also just be thinking that Luke -who before this had only been in hetero relationships- is not ready and is apprehensive to let others know that he is his boyfriend.
I really hope this is just a moment of miscommunication and that they are both on the same page and just need to discuss how they feel about the subject.
Wow Yujun didn’t have time to even get Jiho to chase after him. I feel like this means their relationship progress is wasting less time on the chasing arc but….kinda anticlimactic and doesn’t really allow Yujun to fully flesh out his feelings. I feel like the situation isn’t fair to him. It seems like the gravity of Jihos mental illness will always make Jiho come first for Yujun and not himself. Which sucks because the person who triggered his depressive episode was Jiho….idk I feel bad for Yujun. I hope Jiho comes to know about what he did to Yujun and the story shows how they deal with it and doesn’t just glance over it.
The author did a good job of distinguishing how JK physically looked as he grew up
Not Byul being bigger than most the boys in his school and people saying he looks like an omega lol
Seo-in’s lack of serotonin is killing me. See a psychiatrist for Christ’s sake!
Does anyone know why the author dropped it? Did they say?
Jiho just shows up and is probably going to destroy any sanity yujun has managed to restore T^T as someone who’s been depressed I can understand how it feels to come to face with your biggest trigger
Youngwoon always hides his true feelings from others so it was refreshing to see him let out his anger and yell at Taegu.
YW is a master at hiding his emotions. Whenever we have Seo in’s POV, I have no clue what he’s thinking (but I do know since this started with YW POV).
Seo-in literally goes crazy because he has always failed to understand the MC’s feelings and intentions. Anyhow it hurts that YW always masks his feelings because of the abuse he went through. He just smiles and doesn’t let out his sadness, anger or desires towards others.
That’s why to others he seems simple, pure and kind but he’s really so much more complex than that.( I hope those who get close to him don’t take his kindness for granted)
They’re both so bad at expressing their feelings and communicating due to their past traumas.
YW used his smiley mask as a way to pretend everything is good so he didn’t break. And Seo in was basically trained by his mom to pretend everything is alright even when their family was a dumpster fire. (Imagine just pretending everything is cool while your house and world is crashing and burning down-insane!) However, unlike YW, pretending everything was good is probably what caused cracks to form in Seo in’s mental state.
This duality is amazing and I just love how two very different people come together.
Moreover, it seems like he has a huge fear of abandonment and revealing his deep feelings seems wayyyy too vulnerable and terrifying. His brain is in survival mode and so he does things to protect himself although his actions are very questionable and unsustainable (i.e treating MC like a disposable sex toy or letting others treat him like one). It’s also especially scary to express his love given that his brother trained his brain to think he couldn’t have anything and once he did, it would be taken away. It’s why YW disappearance broke him. It was the final nail in the coffin. I mean before they met again he was spiraling into this kind of depraved sex life he used to cope/self harm.
This trauma is why he deluded himself into thinking he hated the MC-he’d rather reject first rather than open up and be the one who’s hurt and rejected first. Especially when he’s already given his heart out once only to have it crushed.
Anyhow I don’t think it should take too long. Seo in is too weak against YW. I hope the healing together arc is a lot longer than the angsty getting together arc.
Ah it breaks my heart how they both didn’t know just how much they meant to each other. YW never moved on and Seo in mentally collapsed.
Anyhow that was my rant.
To anyone confused on whether or not Taegu is the second male lead and don’t want to read ch 21.5:
In the official Q&A, the English question was:
“Is Taegu Seo-in’s rival?”
The author’s answer was:
“He is, and he plays quite an important role in the overall storyline.”
In the Korean Q&A, the question was even more direct:
“태구 씨는 서브 공이 맞나요?”
This asks “Taegu is the sub gong right?”. Sub gong 서브 공- secondary top/second male lead. The author said yeah to this question.
Also if you reread it the author already foreshadows
It and there are context clues one might have missed because why on earth would we think he could possibly be a love interest? Like, I thought I was tripping when I was reading the scenes between them.
It’s Jiho thinking he isn’t deserving of anything good that’s he’s so self destructive . And everyone thinks he’s also a pos, which is just reinforcing his thoughts
Well the author did say that from the beginning Taegu would be a love interest. Is it still shocking? Yes. I’m just trying to feel better knowing Youngwoon is an adult with adult responsibilities, body, face, voice. And the age difference is only 9 years. Taegu looks like an ahjussi so I can’t help freaking out. Plus he knew him as a kid. But like I said, Youngwoon is an adult…
Boy literally talks to his rock and gave it a personality
Lmao, all that build up and suspense only for that to be the reason? Hilarious
Also he’s lowkey actually crazy. Not scary crazy but goofy crazy. Should get checked out honestly
The more I read the more I love Malcolm
He’s best bro