dark psychological romance done right

mi-kun October 27, 2024 7:32 am

just finished reading (found the other chapters on a different site) and i can’t believe it but i… like it. i don’t usually read manhwas especially long ones like this but this didn’t disappoint at all.

the pacing is great and the plot points were resolved properly [more on this later !!] it kept me hooked and i stayed up until morning wanting to know what happens next. it’s written in such a way that if this were a book i’d still want to read it. the thing with the senator, nikolai’s case, dimitri’s meddling and the sniper. much more. i think they were all handled pretty well except for one thing, which i also have pretty mixed feelings about.

most sentiments about this work is how quickly the shooting and r*pe scene was resolved. seeing as how leewon even wanted to go back to caesar, what he did to leewon the following scenes is rather bewildering for the readers. but what’s interesting is that, this is what’s expected of him as a character. he isn’t a good guy, he’s inhumane, and is extremely capable of violence. yes the scenes were hard to watch and my forehead hurt from how much i was frowning as well, but what readers have to understand is that this is what it means to stick to a character. i’m not excusing what he did but i’m saying it made sense in light of the story. that’s the kind of person he is. i’m saying this because i’ve seen people say they felt confused when they were reading those scenes because caesar was “such a green flag”… when he wasn’t. in terms of endearment, yes. but as a human? no. it’s specifically stated countless of times that he’s a brute. i actually like his character a lot, the characterization of this story is insanely good. so this is what i have to say to those who say caesar’s a green flag—you are colorblind.

people are also saying how they can’t take seeing leewon be a victim because of those scenes and how quickly he was able to forgive caesar. and to that i ask, were we reading the same manhwa? that’s a grown ass man with dick and balls, and has never been shown to be some helpless damsel. he’s a headstrong character that fights back, and is a freak !! (cue the battle royal chapters) they’re both freaks, they’re like if matching each other’s freak were personified. however, i do agree that because the author mentioned his trauma seeing as how he was having nightmares about being shot (though it was only a few panels) that at least should have been fleshed out a bit more. it could’ve also been a way to humanize caesar a bit and develop his character further though i also may understand that’s not what the author might intend to do.

as such, it might be obvious that i’ve been thinking about this a lot. i, too, was complaining after every chapter. “HE ACTUALLY SHOT HIM?” “what the fuck is happening” “bro this shit is so ass” “what just happened”. however, further on in the story, the author actually gave us the resolution we were all waiting for. though i do understand why it might not be to some people’s tastes because similar to how quickly leewon got over those scenes, they reconciled just as quick in their own way. and i loved every single bit of it. i wouldn’t say it was rushed, i think that sentiment just comes from wanting to see more of them and wanting more chapters. but the end being short and sweet works. why? they’re fucked up! this isn’t a normal mafia au you would see on wattpad back in 2013. like these are grown ass men acting like grown ass men, acting like how real people would if put in this situation.

anyways, i love it. it was a really interesting read that i didn’t expect to see from a manhwa labeled as yaoi. it’s more than just smut really, though the smut scenes were… insanely great and did not disappoint. this is dark psychological romance done right. kudos to the author and i hope we see more from them!

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