Even so, they did alter the drawing and characteristics of the characters to still fit in with the uke and seme stereotyping, so it seems like the story would still be rather cliche. Back to the actual plot, the notion that DG actually loves Ji-won hasn't really been conveyed. He hardly knows him, and the "Alex" who he has known, has sexually assaulted him, gotten angry and doesn't seem that egalitarian. As readers we can now understand Ji-won's behaviour and his perspective, but DG is out of the loop and understandably done. Hopefully there will be a fair few chapters spent on developing the characters, both reflecting and learning from the mistakes in their early relationship and developing better communication.
Yep and yep. Why there this idea that Ji-won as the "bottom" would have to be this meek, smaller man (like DG) is odd, so either pitch of the plot would still be rather cliche. Reversible/realistic couples in yaoi are rarer than unicorns, even if such would pave the way for less stereotypical plots, but apparently editors seem to want to reinforce the uke and seme thing going on the q&a.
The author's original idea of DG being the top and Alex being the bottom looks interesting imo.