Nah I think the author isn’t trying to garner sympathy for Harold through the flashback he’s kinda portrayed as a psycho even in the flashback in the “I’ll have him” part so that’s a relief. I’m sure Hanyul is gonna end up with black haired dude
I do hope you're right. It doesn't seem like it would be that kind of story, and Hanyul would as mentally twisted himself if he were to accept such a relationship in the end. So I'd really hope this is just the usual 'insight into the villain' sort of thing. The only other thing that worries me is the cover, which is slightly more suggestive of a triangle than the story should warrant. Sure Harold may be a driving force in the story, but wouldn't the cover normally have emphasized the love relationship and put Harold a bit further back (if at all)? Though it could just mean we're going to get Harold trying to do things, while they try to take revenge on Harold. A strange and weird sort of triangle.
I totally agree with you on the cover page thing, it might be a bit misleading. A lot of BL cover pages that have love triangles tend to appear like that but hopefully for this, that isn’t the case. Although I’m a bit hesitant when I say that because I was reading through the comments and did see some spoilers about Harold which I won’t reveal obviously but, like you said, hopefully the love triangle is not the case and Hanyul isn’t even considering that psychopath as a potential love interest.
I'm not sure of what to make of this trip down Harold's memory lane. Am I now to think "aw poor Harold" and forget all about how he organized for Dolph to be gang-raped and killed just to have him out of the way? As if just killing him wasn't enough? And even in the present doesn't get that he did anything wrong or hurt Hanyul in doing so?
So I get the character but not the author's intentions. I seriously hope that the mangaka (for lack of better) doesn't expect us as readers to now suddenly feel sorry enough for Harold that we think he is acceptable as a love interest. I mean that would be kind of sick. This just isn't that kind of story, nor quite the kind that can easily pass off dismissing what happened when it becomes inconvenient to the story.