I think this story is really good at depicting how a man like Mokhwa might still end up ha...

I think this story is really good at depicting how a man like Mokhwa might still end up having some sort of affection for a rapist like Nakwon. Even Nakwon had pointed out in earlier chapters that other people wouldn’t be able to sit in the same room as their rapist, but Mokhwa is so conditioned to violence that he views rape as the same as getting beaten up (meaning, he’ll be fine as long as he doesn’t die) and he’s so starved for any affection that while he isn’t going to deny the horrors someone’s done to him, Mokhwa won’t push them away if they come back to him. Essentially Mokhwa’s desire for someone to stay beside him is stronger than his need to push terrible people away, and so he will even let Nakwon, his rapist, come into his flower shop and stay until he ends up as a constant presence in his life.

As for Nakwon… While I think he does love Mokhwa now, I think deep down he fundamentally hasn’t changed and he’s really only experiencing regret for raping Mokhwa because it’s really given him a disadvantage at trying to get Mokhwa to like him. I think he’s interesting, because he’s really aware that what he did was messed up and vile, but he’s also looking at it more like a misstep towards what would’ve been a smooth courting (in his messed up head). I find myself liking him as a character (not as a person lol), because compared to other semes that like to pretend they’ve changed after assaulting their lovers, Nakwon still knows he’s a scumbag that raped the man he loves and he’s not expecting to be forgiven but is instead trying to win Mokhwa over. Nakwon’s just really lucky that Mokhwa’s own issues haven’t gotten him kicked to the curb.