no problem! i dont like to conflate the seme/uke terms with the mc/ml roles because i think its problematic. i consider jooheon to be the MC because he's the one whose events we follow for most of the story and we also look into more of his emotions/thoughts than bitchan. in any case, here's to hoping the eng tl catches up to the raws~
Wait this is an extremely coherent and well rounded, perfectly captured essay on Bitchan's psyche, your professors must love you. Bitchan as a character kinda different from the usual flavor of 'obsessive psychos' that populate the bl tag simply because he's not really obsessed with the mc as a person but rather, he's obsessed with his idea of perfect love and devotion.
Also, you were able to access chap 30 and 31?? My bomtoon account is malfunctioning idk and I only read up chap 29 and I've been agonizing because this manhwa has become my new personality and obsession and I desperately need a buddy I can talk/yap essays about this with srsly.
lolol if only i could give half the analytical mindset i give to bl to my academic papers >_<
you put it quite succinctly, i agree w u completely that his obsession is toward an ideal rather than a specific person (for now?) also, i read the spanish raws u provided in a previous topic then google translated just ch30 on a kr raws site, i didnt even know ch31 was out yet
omg send me a msg n i'll hear you out 100% i have a lot of NORMAL thoughts about this pairing and need to know what other ppl think about them!!
spoilers!!! I read up to the most recent chapter (30) and I think I'm starting to understand why ML decided to abduct the MC:
apparently the ML witnessed MC breaking up with one of his gfs (shown in MCs perspective in the start, then MLs perspective on the rooftop)
ML must've pieced together how much of a jerk and cold hearted MC (egotistical too) really was. not to mention, ML is friends with (I think) MC's sister (dooyoung?) and we know that MCs sister hates him because he is favored more than her (gender norms) in the family, he even took away the money for her college funds after pleading with his parents (cuz he kept failling to get into university and depleted his funds ig)
MCs sister doesn't disguise how much she dislikes her brother, not even bothering to file a missing person request that MCs only friend Jinsoo begged her to do. MC doesn't call her at all n vice versa. ML is close to the sister so it's safe to assume he knows how much of a shitty and selfish brother MC is too.
ML was brought up with a lot of love around him. his mother and brother, his nanny, and babysitter. he was coddled a lot. In one scene with his babysitter, he asks her to stay with him because if she loves him, then the thought of leaving him shouldn't even cross her mind (that's my assumption).
when he gets a girlfriend in high school, he willingly follows her demand to not hang out or talk to other girls, he agrees. his friend sees it as him being a fool in love, but there's more to it. though it's a short relationship, we see that ML is perfectly happy following the demands of his partner, the notion of killing someone if his partner asked is definitely something he seems willing to do.
from his childhood, I can guess he's someone who idealizes love and can devote himself to his lover. however, just as he is willing to do these things for them, he also expects them to be loyal and only think of him. leaving him should never be considered. (hence why he asks MC, "Do u love me?" in the beginning of the story and why he continually tests and punishes MC for attempting to leave him.
now we get two characters. one who pushes away his partners and cares for no one but himself, and the other who has unrealistic demands for love and believes in reciprocity. ML is definitely crazy and he likes a challenge. I think he chose MC because he wanted to mould this seemingly selfish person into a partner who would never leave him. it could also be that he wants to punish the selfish MC to become someone desperate for love, given the MCs past records of failed relationships. it doesn't help that MC is also ridiculously handsome and aloof
as for whether or not the ML actually loves to MC, I think he absolutely doesn't. I don't think he loved his past partners, he just romanticizes the idea of love and wholehearted devotion (to him)