I'm sure it's love. Sometime love is not only about wanting to be with the other person. Also from the start he wanted to make wolfgang king because he wanted freedom but in the end because he loves wolfgang he stayed. Him sacrificing everything for the "crown" is pretty much the same as him sacrificing for wolfgang so not sure what you're trying to say there. And being an "ideal king" keeps wolfgang and his throne safe (the reason why shin is doing all of this)
yes shin's feeling is quite confusing because his way of thinking is complex and he's a genius. a real genius.
this is just my opinion but its love. shin loves wolfgang and vice versa. while wolfgang way of thinking is simpler like he loves him so he jsust love him (giving gift, make it obvious, sleeping together,) , shin thinks more complex like i said. his idea of ideal king is because he wanted to protect wolfgang in his own way. if wolfgang became the ideal king, he can worry no more. you know, you love someone so much that it scares you if anything happens to them and with wolfgang being the bastard kid, its dangerous.
that's why shin loses his shit whenever wolfgang get injured or being reckless. you can tell he's scared.
shin's a genius. he can always make another king. wolfgang was nothing but he made him a king. because he loves him.
its already clarified before, his deepest desire was wolfgang.
its just, shin is very hideous in showing his feeling.
there are times he's vulnerable when he's with wolfgang and i think for someone like shin who always wear a poker face, its enough to show that he loves wolfgang.
damn long write but i really love shin's character. its fresh and new
At one point, I thought it was love too, then somewhere along the way it started to feel more like an obsession. When I said sacrificing for the "crown" my thinking was basically related to my questions. Like if wolfgang wasn't king, if it was someone else, would shin still sacrifice himself to protect the king like he did. Or if wolfgang decided to leave the palace after the coup would shin have agreed to leave with him and not become a minister. My idea of shin making his "ideal king" was from wolfgang himself saying it, that after the public explosion incident shin became more obsessed about every single detail, from the clothes, garments, decors, color schemes etc to his conduct and the way he carries himself at official meetings, the private guards and even his to be queen. Shin was deciding everything to the point that it seemed almost manic. Even when shin was with Hainan his thought we always about protecting the "king" and the "throne". I don't remember him saying explicitly it was for wolfgang.
Sometimes I feel it has something to do with trauma of what he experienced as a child, that's why he isn't able to accept wolfgang feelings or show his own emotions/wanting. And like you said shin has his own way of protecting wolfgang, but why does his protection always include sacrificing himself, why does it also include finding a bride for the person he loves? Does his fear stem from his childhood, his freedom being taken? Wolfgang granted him the freedom he wanted, is that what he wants to protect? His freedom? Wolfgang as his king? Or wolfgang as a person?
Shin is a genius, I agree, but his extreme decisions leads me to think that maybe he's challenged somewhere. At times he seems to lack some common sense.
The gravity of his decisions weigh alot on wolfgangs mental and emotional capacity. Shin isn't simply doing a push and pull kinda move. His every action forces wolfgang to think more and more about shin which lead him to make decisions that make shin worry and stress, which then leads to shin's health to deteriorate, which causes wolgfang to worry and make more rash decisions, which make shin worry and this repeats again and again and again. That's basically the dynamic or the their relationship.
Somewhere in the future chapters I just hope that shin gets a wakeup call that wolfgang isn't someone he needs to protect on his own, that it's OK for him to show his affection even on normal days. That it's OK for him to not think about wolfgang as his king bit simply as wolfgang. Cuz honestly until then, it just feels like shin is trying to protect the "throne and crown" that allows him his freedom
Even before he was drugged I was confused by shin's motives. IDK anymore if he's actually genuinely in love with Wolfgang or if he's just obsessed with his idea of an ideal ruler. From the very start shin knew he could use wolfgang and wolfgang also agreed to being used just cuz he liked shin. Actually, I remember being blindsided by how their relationship progressed. Honestly, to me, I still don't understand how shin thinks and what he thinks of wolfgang. It seems like shin is able to sacrifice anything and everything for the "crown" and for his "ideal king" So it makes me wonder what would've happened if after the coup de ta, wolfgang never actually ascended the throne. Would shin still be by his side? Would shin still even look at him???