I finished reading the novel in 2 days and I feel so empty now. I really loved the story and how the author depicts trauma, healing, love, and care between people that become each others strengths while also becoming their greatest weaknesses. I cried seeing how much the original Revengers and Kwon Jihan care about Yoon Seo and desperately want him to live, even though he doesn't think he deserves a happy life. I loved seeing our main leads change as their beliefs are challenged. I was so happy that they ended up together--scars, trauma, and all. The story, Kwon Jihan, Yoon Seo are all so lovely, complex, and heartwrenching. How must it have felt for Yoon Seo to live in that hell, survive it all alone, for so long? How must it have felt to do it all again, remembering every single second, knowing that the deaths of all his precious comrades were so simply preventable through modern advancements? How must it have felt to gradually let go of the survivors guilt, while underneath it all, stubbornly sticking to his conviction to sacrifice himself alone? How must it have felt to watch that all from the outside? How must it have felt for Kwon Jihan in that moment of utter despair and desperation? How must it have felt seeing someone so broken be so burdened by the responsibility to keep the world safe? How must it have felt being crushed by the anxiety that this person could turn to dust at any moment--by physical limitations or by choice? I loved their characterizations. I loved their contradictions, their struggles, their interactions, their joy, their depth. I loved that Kwon Jihan cared for Yoon Seo while also respecting his strength, wishes, and autonomy. I loved Yoon Seo's insistence on not being a hero, only to emerge as a hero anyway in his own flawed, traumatized way. I loved how good but complex these characters were. I don't usually comment on anything but I'm so sad it's over and I needed an outlet for these thoughts and emotions. I think this is a story I'll remember for a long time. I wish there was more.
I finished reading the novel in 2 days and I feel so empty now. I really loved the story and how the author depicts trauma, healing, love, and care between people that become each others strengths while also becoming their greatest weaknesses. I cried seeing how much the original Revengers and Kwon Jihan care about Yoon Seo and desperately want him to live, even though he doesn't think he deserves a happy life. I loved seeing our main leads change as their beliefs are challenged. I was so happy that they ended up together--scars, trauma, and all. The story, Kwon Jihan, Yoon Seo are all so lovely, complex, and heartwrenching. How must it have felt for Yoon Seo to live in that hell, survive it all alone, for so long? How must it have felt to do it all again, remembering every single second, knowing that the deaths of all his precious comrades were so simply preventable through modern advancements? How must it have felt to gradually let go of the survivors guilt, while underneath it all, stubbornly sticking to his conviction to sacrifice himself alone? How must it have felt to watch that all from the outside? How must it have felt for Kwon Jihan in that moment of utter despair and desperation? How must it have felt seeing someone so broken be so burdened by the responsibility to keep the world safe? How must it have felt being crushed by the anxiety that this person could turn to dust at any moment--by physical limitations or by choice? I loved their characterizations. I loved their contradictions, their struggles, their interactions, their joy, their depth. I loved that Kwon Jihan cared for Yoon Seo while also respecting his strength, wishes, and autonomy. I loved Yoon Seo's insistence on not being a hero, only to emerge as a hero anyway in his own flawed, traumatized way. I loved how good but complex these characters were. I don't usually comment on anything but I'm so sad it's over and I needed an outlet for these thoughts and emotions. I think this is a story I'll remember for a long time. I wish there was more.