well...the weren't actually "together". they just sleep with each other some times. it was a one sided thing for the use from the start. so it wasn't cheating to begin with.
although I do praise the seme for not knowing he's in love ╮(￣▽￣)╭
I totally get where you're coming from because I thought the same thing when I first read it but a little time later I was in a psych class when we started discussing people who are narcissists. The seme is really text book
He does manifest a lot of narcissistic traits, but I would say that he's not fully narcissistic, but maybe borderline, because he showed to be capable of feeling remorse/empathy at the end when he recognized he fucked up, so in terms of Psychology I would argue that in his case it was most likely solid Self-deception, that's when our super ego and id are in conflict, or when our image of ourselves doesn't match who we really are which causes us to repress the cause of the dissonance and we become oblivious or blind to the "problem". In his case, he probably didn't want to accept that he was in love with the uke because it clashed with his macho philandering persona. But either way, whether he was just in denial or truly narcissistic, it doesn't change the fact he's a callous asswhole.
I will have to respectfully disagree with that for two explicit reasons. The first is that the seme was beyond pissed that the uke had left him and even coerced him to live with him when they encountered each other again, explicitly stating that he would not" permit him or forgive him" if he tried to escape again; now, I'm not sure about you, but to me that's not the behavior of a "sex" friend or regular friend. That type of ultra possessiveness or monopolization explicitly implies feelings as it is essential the demand of someone's total attention and love.
Which brings me to the second reason, which is that the idea of unrequited feelings of the uke was only a misunderstanding as the Seme finally admitted he had been in love but just hadn't realized it. So, based on the conclusion of the manga, and the actions of the Seme throughout, they were definitely in a consistent long term relationship which made them lovers. The issue here is that the seme had this expectation of full commitment from the uke that he was not willing to reciprocate and that is what makes him a callous ass whole.
the seme was pissed that the uke had left. To the seme, the uke is probably someone he feels like he can be open without getting judge. The seme Needed the uke, but he didn't know Why he needed him. he wasn't fully aware he was probably in love until someone gave him a hint.
there was one part where the uke said that he is afraid that the seme would stop having sex with him once the seme found out about the uke loving him. so the uke did not tell the seme about his feelings. the uke has also said that both the seme and uke are sleeping together but theyre not lovers. and that he was one sex partners among many.
They can't be lovers before because 1; the uke did not confess his feelings. 2;They did not go out with each other, they only had sex. 3; just because the uke is in love with the seme and the seme is unaware of his feelings for the uke, doesn't mean that they're together.
Let me ask you this, you may choose to respond honestly or not,
With what we read and how the Seme reacted throughout the entire manga, Did the Seme expect the uke to be fully committed to him or not? would the Seme have been ok if the Uke had slept with other men or women?
nope.
I get what you meant but they weren't dating
Wow i don't think the author thought that far to make seme's chara ... (⊙_☉)
LOL! the author doesn't have to, it's all in the level of critical/interpretive analytical skills of the reader. Most of us are taught the mechanics of critical reading and writing from high school and further developed in college, about the emotional response a piece of fiction elicits in the reader and the ideas, symbolism and feelings it inspires based on our personal experiences. If this weren't the case, most fiction (and art in general) would be static, boring and universally interpreted the exact same way or not at all or there wouldn't be any manga discussions in these yaoi forums at all, since this sub genre is not characterized by its literary depth. Any skillful reader worth his/her salt can infer a two page literary analysis from a three line prose. It's all in the skills of the reader, not just the intent or talent of the author. If interested, research fiction and literary (interpretive) analysis, reading and writing and even Reader Response Theory which is a bit more advanced (upper college level) but still very interesting :)
Three stars for beautiful art/characters and for giving the uke self respect. I typically suspend my disbelief as soon as I pass through that Yaoi door, but it was very hard to buy the fact that the seme didn't realize that cheating was not a normal thing or that it would hurt his lover, or worst yet, the fact that he didn't "understand" the uke was his lover. I mean, is the seme cognitively impaired or something? is he special? Whatever the case may be, his obliviousness wasn't sold well to me and he didn't do anything significant to justify the uke giving him a third chance.