What??
Did you read ch 11? This is the exact opposite of the plot.
As much as I would totally agree if this was literally any other character. Soorim is the one that is trying to get ml to sleep w him, literally demanding, not even begging. And you saw how Soorim prevented getting sexually involved with his captors, he even said it himself that he never had sex before. When his captor did get close, he fucking stabbed him lmfao. Dudes a badass even when he first got kidnapped by the ml, if he saw the ml was taking advantage of him bro would most definitely retaliate and make sure ml regrets it. Saying the ml is taking advantage of Soorim is basically denying How strong and capable Soorim is. Even if bros kinda dumb. But I also agree with a lot of what you said
I am aware that Soorim is pursuing him and has made several overtures, but my problem is how the ml went about it. There wasn’t any flirting or giving in to Soorim’s offer. It was very deliberate and manipulative. He’s just trying to put all the responsibility on Soorim for offering even though he corralled the situation in such a way that it was clear he was trying to elicit sexual favors. Soorim has been imprisoned for almost ten years since childhood and he still is, just in a nicer cage, so dangling any freedom, rewards, or reunifications is incredible manipulative and would likely result in a desperate offer.
I am not denying that Soorim is a consenting adult who has defended himself against unwanted advances, but my issue is that the ml has stated that he knows how psychologically vulnerable he is, and still chose to leverage finding his mother to get him to make a sexual offer. He is technically holding Soorim against his will. Soorim cannot leave if he wants to, and if you make a vague offer in exchange for undecided compensation to someone who you know has no money, possessions, education, marketable skills, or valuable information and refuse future monetary compensation it’s pretty obvious what you’re angling for.
This is only tolerable because Soorim had already tried to come onto him, but the situation would have put a lot of pressure on him to sleep with the ml even if he didn’t want to so he could find the only person who has ever loved and protected him. Another issue I have is that ml has no idea whether she’s dead or alive, or somewhere they could get her, but still made the deal as if he would definitely be able to bring her to Soorim, which again, is not necessarily sociopathic, but speaks to a lack of care and manipulation.
Yeah, thats what I agreed with, I think the ml should've been able to hold off on mc's advances due to what the mc went through, it was really disappointing how easy it was for him to basically lose control. And it was weird to use his mother to make him stay, no matter the reason for why he has to. I mostly think he should just tell Soorim why he's holding him against his will, because from the backstory and how hostile he is against his father it seems like it's not just pure greed and shit. And I mean, ml seemed to be raised by his dad.... I wouldn't be surprised if he inherited some of his.."traits". I think most of the problems stem from a lack of transparency from the ml.
Yes, he apparently considers mc mature and stable enough to consent to sexual encounters, but not to know the truth about why he has been, and still is imprisoned, the nature of his body, and why he needs to be “protected”. I think it’s just laziness. Ml just doesn’t want to go through the trouble of having these unpleasant, complicated conversation, and as long as Soorim is in the dark, he doesn’t know enough to make informed decisions that may be counter to what ml wants. I just think it’s very toxic, the way the only thing mc is somehow qualified to decide is to sleep with the ml, while he is deliberately kept ignorant of everything else and not consulted in the most basic discussions/decisions about his life. They don’t want him doing this or that because he doesn’t know anything and hasn’t recovered from the trauma of imprisonment, but they’re all just excuses to disrespect his autonomy because ml had no problem soliciting and receiving quid pro quo sexual favors from that same person
Have we been reading the same thing?!? Soorim is the one making ALL the sexual advances....
He was just kidding around with Soorim when he said to him so what can you offer me. And Soorim, still wanting to sleep with him, from the get go, said I'll offer up my body. He's been wanting to sleep w/ the ML from the beginning. The ML held off all of his advances. And ML would never let MC be hurt so he kept him there. If left to his own devices his father would have gotten a hold of him. And sex will be forced.
I don't think ML was raised by his dad.
If he was kidding around, he would have immediately shut it down when Soorim took it seriously. And also, if that’s the case, he’s still horrible for jerking Soorim around about finding his only family that he has no means to find himself and hasn’t seen in a decade.
My issue is that there are very obvious discussions with other characters where ml is clearly aware of all the abuse, grooming, and sexually inappropriate behavior Soorim has endured from a young age. It’s this awareness that makes him an exploitative asshole.
Soorim has made many advances, but are they genuinely of his free will? He is ml’s prisoner. He is not allowed to leave. He doesn’t know anything and is not given the respect and consideration of an adult for his “protection”. He is being treated well for now, but that could change depending on ml’s whims, and Soorim knows it.
He hasn’t been socialized or had healthy relationships at all since he was a young child. He is very vulnerable mentally, which means he is not able to properly protect or advocate for himself, even in basic social situations, much less one as messy as between him and ml. Again, my problem is that the ml is aware of these issues and is still happy to take advantage.
Him trying to initiate with ml is more of a subconscious survival mechanism. Whether he understands it or not, he’s trying to curry favor with the one who has all the power over him. And whether ml is aware of it or not, he’s capitalizing on Soorim’s past abuse/trauma and current imprisonment in a roundabout way to obtain sex.
The ml knows how vulnerable he is and whether he took advantage, though he doesn’t want to acknowledge it. Offering a desperate person who you have absolute control over for a quid pro quo favor in exchange for the thing they are most desperate for is not a “joke”. Ml was leading him into the offer. He knows that Soorim has nothing else to offer and ml’s imprisonment/isolation of him makes it impossible for him to find her himself or obtain anything but sex to bargain with.
Ml knew what he was doing and what he wanted. He would have been a nasty jerk even if he had immediately turned down the sexual favor. The fact that he accepted says everything.
If he finds himself attracted to Soorim, why do you have so much against that?!? He has time and time again refused him. He never considered him more than a baby brother at the beginning. See him for what you want. I agree he shouldn't have kept him in the dark, but maybe he was trying his best to protect him in his own way.
I don't think ML is trying to take advantage in anyway. He literally is just trying to keep MC safe. I don't see where is he trying to take advantage. I don't remember but I think that was the first time MC had made physical sexual contact by kissing him. Maybe the kiss was very alluring. And that broke him. Idk
We don't know how much time has lapsed for him to have grown up/mature/understand things/heal. It wasn't indicated in the story.
Whether Soorim feels legitimate attraction or not isn’t the issue. They keep every bit of important information from him for fear that he won’t be able to handle it. They don’t let him exercise freedom because they don’t trust him to make good decisions for himself. The ml uses his trauma, lack of experience, and psychological issues to justify why he can’t be informed about the most important things that affect his life or allowed to make serious decisions for himself. They note his childish, emotionally stunted mentality
, but somehow the only thing he’s mature enough to decide for himself is to have sex with the person who holds complete power over him? And if this was a matter of ml just feeling legitimate atttraction, why would he even make the offer? As people keep mentioning, Soorim has flirted with and tried to proposition ml several times. If he wasn’t trying to be manipulative, why wouldn’t he just do the same?
This is honestly gross. The ml is no better than his father who tried to buy Soorim as a sex slave. He knows that Soorim is emotionally vulnerable, traumatized, and has been groomed for many years, so he takes advantage by dangling his mother in front of him to get him to offer up sex (the only thing he has to offer), and consistently pressures him for more than he is comfortable with during the encounter.
He’s essentially just knowingly taking advantage of all the abuse, brainwashing, and grooming his captors inflicted on Soorim to get him to sleep with him, all while pretending that he’s somehow better than the human traffickers.
He made an offer to find the only person Soorim ever loved after he has been a captive since childhood (and even now) knowing full well that the only thing he could possibly have to offer is sex.
Just disgusting. What makes it even more disturbing is that he knows that Soorim has been manipulated and is emotionally/psychologically stunted due to trauma. He understands how vulnerable and damaged Soorim is and proceeded to use it to his advantage almost immediately.