Yeah I definitely agree, and I thought of that scene too with this recent chapter. When I first read and reread this manhwa, that scene in the car is so difficult to get through.
it’s definitely possibles others have forgotten about it, and also possible they didn’t register it as SA(which of course isn’t great, but unfortunately wouldn’t suprise be).
Dubious consent is so normalized in BL that a lot of readers barely react to it. I think it’s why ppl might not react to scenes if the mc “gives in”. Specifically in this manhwa, other than the car scene, there were smut scenes that made me uncomfortable.
I’m not sure if you’ve read the raws, but this scene felt way worse than the car scene. As in je-ohs reactions and face. I am not rereading the other chapter, but in the recent raws we see je-oh crying, and the entire time he is telling seong-rok to stop. I’m not saying this means the car scene wasn’t bad, just that I understand why readers are reacting like this. Even using BL logic (which normalizes SA), it’s difficult to excuse what seong-rok did
I just feel bad for je-oh, the author keeps making him suffer
Yeah, I figure that's what's happening for the most part, that people think because he started to enjoy himself that it made the first part okay. I wish we had better general education about assault, PTSD, abuse, etc. She really does like to make Jeoh suffer, and that's fine, like I love the trauma as long as we get a happy ending. But when it's the person who's supposed to love him, it's just so gross. Who's there to save him now? No one. And yet, you know they're gonna reconcile. Whether they live or die, I imagine they won't just part ways and allow Jeoh to have a happy life. Though maybe at this point I'd tolerate Seongrok dying in order to give that to Jeoh. Normally I hate that type of conclusion, but it'd be the ultimate show of love after what he put this person he supposedly loves through.
It mostly irks me because it's unnecessary and unfitting of Seongrok. Like he hates that sort of thing and kills people because they do it. He's supposed to love this person, and it just doesn't make sense beyond an author kink. And I'm not kink shaming at all. As long as it's fictional, people are allowed to like SA between the main couple that somehow still ends in love. But I hate that crap so much, and it makes me really sad to have gone all that way thinking I wouldn't have to deal with that.
Seriously, though, it's a shame. I did see the raws, and I figured the fact that he stays upset is why people are freaking out. It just doesn't sit right with me that people seemingly were okay with the earlier assault. But you get what I mean. We clearly are seeing the same stuff. It's a shame. I hate that I'm not even sure I want to completely drop it because I liked the first half so much. This sort of story, with this kind of art, is so rare in MM stuff, especially with a bottom who isn't "pure," "innocent," weak, and "selfless."
I'm legitimately confused by the way so many people are responding to the raws in the comments. Did people just block season two out of their heads?
SPOILERS BELOW:
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
This isn't the first time Seongrok has raped Jeoh. Right after Jeoh was attacked by a different rapist, Seongrok assaults him in the car, while Jeoh screams for him to stop. He says, "Do I look like I'm in the mood to fuck?" and he fights while it's happening. He says that it hurts and he asks him, "Why are you doing this?" He tells him to stop again, and Seongrok coldly says, "No," and proceeds to keep going. Then it never came up again. It was like it never happened.
I'm not surprised at all that the artist is bringing it back, but the fact that no one is referencing the first SA between the leads is really weird to me. I stopped reading for a long time because of that scene. Seongrok was the only one who ever treated Jeoh as human, not as an object. He didn't just see him as something to use. Then the author undid all of it with that scene in the car. And it was clearly just for her own kink, as it never came up again.
I'm honestly willing to bet that even the second time won't really be addressed either. Maybe Seongrok's jealousy, but this just seems to be an ongoing thing. I really, really hate how common it is to have SA between the main couple. Why do people want that between two people who are supposed to love one another? Clearly there are millions of people lining up to assault Jeoh, so why does it have to be the one person he trusted?
The author lost me with that scene, but after a long while, I came back, hoping it got better. But it looks like it's just more of the same. I was just shocked no one else was bringing it up, so I started to think I was going crazy. But nope, the scene is there. Chapter 33. I'm guessing people think it's fine because he stopped resisting and eventually seemed to physically enjoy it, but that's not how assault works.