she was essentially in the relationship with ml due to her position in her life, as a noblewoman with expectations of marriage on her. she tried to fulfill those expectations and tried to become closer to her fiancee, but ml is a loser who doesn't have a decent amount of emotional intelligence & maturity. she was so tired of the hurt and pain of trying that she stopped trying altogether, and she realized a life like that fits her better.
she realizes that she enjoys a life where she can do what she wants instead of achieving the expectations people have for her as an aristocratic woman. because she sees a way out now i.e. studying abroad, she realizes that she doesn't need to be held back by the same expectation put on her any longer.
and her desire to be independent and to lead a life that she can call her own, a life where she is trying for herself and not for others, she must've thought, why even stay in the relationship? in her mind, the ml is not interested in the relationship anymore because she has tried for so long and he has never shown any commitment to it. his actions now only feel like he's trying to save the relationship that was built on the expectations of their families, and not because he truly loves her. so to her, the relationship doesn't matter anymore because she has tried.
to her, why even try anymore if there's no results to expect? the ml may be trying right now, but what if he stops doing so? at the end of the day, she is tired of being disappointed by her expectations of ml and is tired of trying so hard for naught. i truly think the only good ending for her would be to free herself from the relationship and to pursue her life. the relationship is holding her back, and she doesn't want to be held back.
the ml is suffering right now because he sees that. he knows full well that fl is pursuing a different life, and he realizes that fl doesn't care about the relationship anymore except for polite conversation and greetings. but that's why he's trying now, and he's trying hard. he really is. it's just that she doesn't want to try anymore. and if one person in a relationship doesn't want to try anymore, might as well end the relationship because one person trying so hard would not lead to anything.
i think the only way ml and fl could end up together is if fl chases her dreams, and ml tries to court her till she truly and fully falls in love with her. there is no other way. if she returns to the relationship after her studies, she would feel unsatisfied with her life as she couldn't chase her dreams. ml has to pine for a very long, long time — that is the only way that i think would work. this is, i guess, the punishment for his immaturity. but i think an ending like this would be more refreshing and more consistent with her development as a character.
chasing your dream while maintaining a relationship is harder than you think it is, especially if your partner wants to stay together. nobody is really at fault; it's just a conflict of interests. i was in a similar situation where i had to sacrifice my dreams to maintain my life with my partner. that relationship ended (my ex was a POS showing signs of manipulative and abusive behaviors, very obsessed to the point of wanting full control), and i feel much lighter than i've ever been in years.
i think i would be resentful of my partner (now ex) in the long run if i couldn't chase my dreams. i don't think you should ever sacrifice your dreams for someone else. i really don't. it haunts you even though you haven't even made any steps to achieve the dreams. you're haunted by the fact that your future is now set in a direction that doesn't have your dreams in it. it feels safe, but bleak.
that's why i really am rooting for fl to leave the ml for a long, long time to chase her dreams. i think ml has to choose whether to wait or not, but fl should be able to choose her life. love the writing in this manga so far!
This has to be one of the best character analysis I’ve read
omg thank you smmm
can't believe there's a day where i'm rooting for a situationship...and with a fuckboy at that like this is only cute in fiction, in reality PLEASE LEAVE MEN LIKE THESEEEE THEY'RE SO TOXIC AND EMOTIONALLY CONSTIPATED
i haven't read this for a while but ig the plot didn't move that much because i had to catch up with like ten chapters only LOL.
love the brothers and how they immediately beat up mincheol HAHAHAHAHAHA YES BEAT SOME SENSE INTO HIMMMMM. also the eldest is so hot i love short kings + he got money + mature & probably protective from what i'm seeing
because the fl is so hot and smart and graceful like hello!!!!! so far i'm not sold on the ml. but since the author is doing really amazing at writing the characters, i'm going to trust that this would work...somehow. i'm still more into the king honestly, but i get how a pushy character might not be fl's type considering she's super calm and reserved
bruh this webtoon is so hilarious sometimes like was the author on crack when they wrote this lmfao WDYM HIS DICK AS A HOT PACK LMFAOOAMALAMAKAMAMAMANABAB
"i love you as much as our pay gap" is actually a webtoon title i would LOVE to read
i just got out of a manipulative relationship and yall the way i understood seonu DOWN the thing about manipulative/controlling people is that sometimes they're not aware they're being manipulative. they truly think that they are right in doing something and justify it through jealousy, anxiety, basically insecurities that they project towards their partners. in the case of sion, i think he's self-aware and that he realizes that he's manipulating seonu and he doesn't care. my ex twisted so many narratives and stories to her own benefit, and i called out on her bs every single time and she'd apologize like to the point of tears and everything so i ended up comforting her this chapter gave me chills because sion truly manipulated seonu in a way that reminds me of my ex like girl are you listening to yourself!!! i got sick of being manipulated and so i ran away as far away as i can because there is no fixing these mfs yall do not fall for manipulators like they could literally make you lose your sense of identity
I really cried because sion acts like my ex and that really triggered me yk, and the story itself is very refreshing to see the uke fight and stand up for himself
right agreed!!!! it's so hard to read but i love the story for now
this manga had such an interesting start and i really was hoping it could be a great shoujo, but man the ml is just so...useless like i understand why he would love chiaki like i would def fall in love with chiaki if i were him. if i were chiaki i dont think i'm gonna like him cuz he's really serving nothingburger with a side of face
it's bl but it's also more than that. it's about the characters growing together, and moving forward with the love they receive from each other. even in this most recent volume, we can see that they both were supported by each other in such small ways that make such a huge impact in their lives