Well, they both have problems that stem from the past like the majority of people, so this story seems fairly realistic.
Sooha has a fear that Taesoo will leave her like her father had (in a different way) and Taesoo has a deep sense of insecurity, which probably appeared long before he met Doh. Being in a relationship with Doh most definitely exacerbated Taesoo's issues with his sense of self-worth after being constantly verbally abused by her. He was fine with Sooha in the beginning, but eventually the cracks began to come clear as Sooha found herself doubting Taesoo's willingness to stay with her and Taesoo felt worthless after he got injured.
I agree that he has some mental blockages that keep him from doing all that he can. I think he's still comparing the money he can make from his work (as he had before he was fired because of Doh) to what he can make with jobs with minimal pay. He probably still cannot forgive Doh for causing him to lose his self-confidence in himself and his work, and he feels pressured even now to provide income with Sooha and his family, which he returned to in this recent chapter. I think that can make any person—man or woman—feel worthless.
ohh, preach sister
you've said it all
The more I read of the relationship, the more I feel that Tae has this really crippling self-defeating tendency. He always seems to make the decisions that make him feel the absolute worst. Maybe it's from being unemployed or his unhealthy relationship with Ms. Doh, but he genuinely needs help or therapy or something because “love” is clearly not healing him.
I always found his unwillingness to pursue less than ideal jobs a little strange. He won’t even entertain them while he looks for a better job, then at least he would have some money coming in. Which, seems like a huge part of his self esteem issues. He never opens up to people or tells them that he’s struggling, and would prefer to sacrifice his own mental and physical well being for his family. It’s clear to me that the thing Sooha wants is companionship but he has this need to prove his worth all the time. I don’t think Sooha is in any way wrong for wanting to take care of him while he’s injured or that she should’ve understood his feelings when he just keeps quiet until an inevitable explosion.
Unfortunately, I feel like this is plaguing their relationship and has been since the beginning. I don’t think that they’ll end up together in the end if things keep on like this. It feels like it’s been a long time since either of them were really happy with each other.