Things That Deserve To Die [BL KR Novel]

a lot of my readers and friends recommend me to read this one as it’s one of those popular BL novel and it just got a webtoon adaptation on RIDI recently so i jumped in with a very, very high expectations. i read both raws and (somewhat) ass english mtl.

and sadly, my expectations got crushed like….. 15 chapters in. this is another overhyped stuff ㅠㅠ

tags + TW: violence, mafias/gangs, assassins, bloody, gore, r@pe, SA, torture, obsessive characters, psychological, psychopaths, morally ambiguous characters, time skip, enemies to lovers.

completely translated, 152 chapters (main story - 108, Side Story 1 - 22, Side Story 2 - 22) read here: https://www.novelupdates.com/series/things-that-deserve-to-die/1000/?pg=9#myTable

About MC (ja-kyung): ridiculously gorgeous + pretty face (manhwa illustration did him RIGHT, he’s gorgeous asf), younger + bottom, morally ambiguous character, he’s a skillful assassin, currently live in thailand but moved back to korea after he got a new mission. i want to say that he’s a perfect kind of a killer but honestly he’s clumsy.

About ML (Il-hyun): good looking but still can’t top ja-kyung’s face card (now that’s what we talking about, gorgeous mc and somewhat basic ml rather than the other way around like usual BLs lmao), a damn psychopath, morally grey character, possessive and obsessive, older + top, rich rich rICH ceo. honestly…..his character was made to simp over ja-kyung, served face card sometimes, and punished ja-kyung. that’s it xD

summary: ja-kyung got a job to k word someone and he did the job right but didn’t get his money (mf was scammed right from the start i’m screaming). so he went to retrieve the money (badass) but (not so) plot twist later, he was offered for more money and a job to k word a “VIP” too, which is Il-hyun. bcs the commission was added from previous scammed money and ja-kyung looove more money, he accepted it. he got 2 close friends (lun and han, both chinese and they took care of ja-kyung since he was a little kid + abandoned), 3 of them are a pro assassins and work in team. ja-kyung returned to korea disguised as a chinese young master that was send by the rich grandfather (this grandpa is an important figure for Il-hyun to gain favor and become the next CEO) for Il-hyun to take care of for a month.

so to keep everything blunt, what disappointed me the most is the weak, weak writing. like i can’t believe the author made mc’s character (an assassin mind you) that sloppy and clumsy. that was the first weak point. the overall genre is definitely interesting, the plot is right there but oh lord, it’s kinda ruined with how the author can’t seem to connect everything properly and that resulted in a poor novel structure. the time skip (almost 1 year) is somewhat sudden too and i have to mention that the time setting is definitely out of place, it’s just messy.

it got to a point where i started to scroll it fast just to see how long it will goes on instead of reading it properly. i like morally ambiguous/grey characters and i especially like psychopaths (don’t judge) but for this novel it really feels…..lacking. i feel like i was reading a 17 y/o wattpad story and that disappoint me sm bcs a lot said this novel is so damn good ㅠㅠ the potential is definitely high and the genre is definitely intriguing but maybe my expectations was too much for a popular novel.

the gore scenes, the killing, the fights and everything, all of that screams VERY sloppily written and mind you i read raws and koreans comments; they said similar things as well like how most scenes are too unrealistic, too exaggerating and didn’t come out well enough and i fully agree with them.

i honestly go through the story just to see their relationship progress, like idc about the plot anymore bcs it’s just not entertaining enough and thank god both mc and ml are actually interesting that it gets me going. for TW i already expected it to contain stuff like SA or r@pe so that didn’t faze me at all but can i mention it again how the writing is really weak?? even the smut scenes got randomly cut off and moved to next present scenes like nothing happened i was like hello?? are we deadass…….

nevertheless, smut is basic as well, it’s not that hot (despite both of them being hot) and those smut are definitely repetitive. feels like reading the same smut over and over again OR first smut was just copied over and over again, they just add some spice here and there lol.

i was wrong to put a high expectations for this one, i spent 2 days reading all 152 chapters and can safely give 4/10. it really feels lacking and most of those points that i gave is honestly just bcs i like both characters and their relationship is cute. but for the plot? wattpad dramas, overused amnesia arc, and this is what cackling me up the most; LONG LOST SIBLINGS give me a break are we in telenovela or something..

i’m not lying when i told you that this novel just blatantly copied wattpad but got randomly popular for the exposure instead (and now popular for the gorgeous art style). i usually hate gore scenes tho but even gore scenes in this novel make me fucking laugh instead. that’s how weak the writing is.

read this novel if you simply want to see an obsessive ML that keep chasing MC. at the very least, that’s cute and got me giggling sometimes. bear in mind that i don’t judge anyone that read this and like it, i’m judging the novel so my opinions will always be mine alone ^^ i’m going to hunt for more similar genre that got a better writing :3