So after all the comments about Jihyun, I thought his portrayal would be somewhat sympathetic, but he's basically a textbook abuser? And I know that gets said a LOT about characters, but I think the author might have literally made a checklist using Why Does He Do That? or something. Which is honestly kinda a teachable moment, so here we go:
* Always shifts the blame onto the victim in the relationship * Asks why the victim is "making" the abuser hurt them, assault them or belittle them and implies they'll stop if the victim just behaves the way they want * "Gaslighting," or acting like the victim is being emotional or irrational over legitimate issues * Angry or violent outbursts when the victim tries to put distance between them, resist, or establish boundaries * Isolates the victim and destroys their chances of making friends * Gets irrationally jealous * Makes the victim live in fear of upsetting them because they don't know the consequences * Manipulates the victim using public pressure or fear of "causing a scene" (like when Jihyun kneels in school to "apologize," even though Chiwoo says he doesn't want that). * Apologizes after outbursts but never actually changes their behaviour * Alternates between "lovebombing," where they tell the victim how much they love them, treat them well and/or act like they're really regretting what they've done, then go back to assaulting, belittling, or beating their partner in cycles
NOTE: It's fiction. If Jihyun's hot to you or you like him as a character, that's fine. He's not real. Just understand that this is classic abusive behaviour, learn to keep an eye out for these signs, and don't ever justify this kind of thing IRL.
So after all the comments about Jihyun, I thought his portrayal would be somewhat sympathetic, but he's basically a textbook abuser? And I know that gets said a LOT about characters, but I think the author might have literally made a checklist using Why Does He Do That? or something. Which is honestly kinda a teachable moment, so here we go:
* Always shifts the blame onto the victim in the relationship
* Asks why the victim is "making" the abuser hurt them, assault them or belittle them and implies they'll stop if the victim just behaves the way they want
* "Gaslighting," or acting like the victim is being emotional or irrational over legitimate issues
* Angry or violent outbursts when the victim tries to put distance between them, resist, or establish boundaries
* Isolates the victim and destroys their chances of making friends
* Gets irrationally jealous
* Makes the victim live in fear of upsetting them because they don't know the consequences
* Manipulates the victim using public pressure or fear of "causing a scene" (like when Jihyun kneels in school to "apologize," even though Chiwoo says he doesn't want that).
* Apologizes after outbursts but never actually changes their behaviour
* Alternates between "lovebombing," where they tell the victim how much they love them, treat them well and/or act like they're really regretting what they've done, then go back to assaulting, belittling, or beating their partner in cycles
NOTE: It's fiction. If Jihyun's hot to you or you like him as a character, that's fine. He's not real. Just understand that this is classic abusive behaviour, learn to keep an eye out for these signs, and don't ever justify this kind of thing IRL.