THIS
I love how you say this but I'm one of the people who is reading this for the asshole misery I already knew what will happen from two chapters spoilers and called it a day until I found out I was right about the ending being either a cycle of accepting or accept and here I am loving my show with this dude getting pissed off and makes me happy. The story predictable but that might my Readaholic talking.
me too lmao. I absolutely love when shitty mls have to live with the truth and misery of what they have done and then make it up to their resigned bottoms. Moran, Taeju, Zhenya and Jk are my fave genre of mls lol
im here bc i thought jk would actually reflect on himself before going to find kd, but he doesnt do that AT ALL, not even a bit. he doesnt have an apology, hes STALKING kd, and crossing his boundaries like he always has. ig we were all just hoping thered be some semblance of humanity behind jk, but now its starting to get annoying and hope is being lost. yes, redemption always has to start somewhere, but hes starting too late and is being willfully ignorant, thats why we're upset and i feel like we're valid for feeling so
just because the author didn't follow YOUR preconceived ideas and notions about a character doesn't mean that the story lacks substance. We're not writing the story. Can you have opinions about it? yes sure. You're even free to drop it. Be critical. However, if you want a story to go exactly as you want, then you'll need to write one yourself.
Regarding your comment about self reflection. I'd rather jk realises the loss of Dan as a person after getting to KNOW him outside the context of their highly exploitative contract. Instead of him fearing losing Dan as an extension of his Jinx. I'd prefer if jk actually gets to know what he has lost. All the truth. But that's just me ig
i completely agree with ur statement of wanting jk to get to know kd outside of their contractual relationship, but forgive me for getting upset over a plot point that could've been done better. he didnt need to cross boundaries and stalk kd to get to know him, there are so many other ways this could've played out- ones that dont romanticize stalking and self obsessed toxicity. does that mean I'm completely disinterested in the story? absolutely not. i want to see kd thrive, even if the process to getting there is literally torturous and grueling to read. Im invested im his character and his character alone bc I have been given no reason to sympathize or give chance to a character like jk. just because I'm not the one writing the story, doesn't mean i can't criticize it as a reader. what is a story without its audience, right? either way, we're both entitled to our opinions but dont be surprised when people are upset to see a character they like go through shit and have their hopes crushed by a typical toxic male lead
Like I said in my comment, you are well within your rights to criticise, but with that should come the acceptance that the story will never go exactly the way you want. I never wanted that cursed sex scene with heesung present. but it did.
In relation to jk and sympathy. That's precisely what Mingwa wants tho, atleast acc to my pov. We don't know anything about Jk, don't know his motives, he's a shallow character at best and a foil to KD's kindness at worst. We're not supposed to like him, to support him or even tolerate him because we don't know him.
Additionally wrt to the toxic male lead thingie. Jk IS toxic, has been, it remains to be seen that will he remain toxic tho. If he would have come back to Dan after a miraculous dose of self-reflection without any reason (he's in denial abt his feelings rn) then wouldn't that be too ooc or convenient? This isn't his absolute lowest point at all. Because if I was a top of the world, handsome MMA fighter that had never suffer any loss and had never been told no, it would take A LOT for me to actualize my own feelings.
Ps: I don't even like Jk I can't believe that the polarity of comments here is making me defend his brainless ass
Are we reading the same manhwa? a redemption arc comes AFTER realization of the feelings. JK doesn't even realise his feelings now. A redemption arc starts from SOMEWHERE. for there to be redemption, there is a need to have a deeper connection. and tbh what do Dan and Jk know about each other apart from superficial stuff? This is the realization arc, where Jk realizes his feelings, evolves and introspects about his feelings, comes to term about how shitty he was to Dan and THEN GROVELS. For us readers, we know both sides, but Jk and Dan don't, a lot of time Jk did take care of him (not excusing his shitty actions, he was unbearably toxic to Dan). The chasing and redemption arc comes AFTER. he's SUPPOSED to be a piece of shit. this is the build up to the redemption arc.
Secondly, Dan and Jk are the leads. It's a story about 2 people, there isn't even a potential second lead here. Everyone knows it, so if people absolutely despise them together, why put themselves in this misery? just don't read.