I totally agree except for the ending, I'd actually have preferred a sad ending, something like December rain; at least it would have offered ways to cover the huge hole in the plot (the assassination, the boss madness and the underling covering for them).
This good ending doesn't really fit with the atmosphere of this story, it's too easy, it feels rushed to avoid unraveling the rest of the story.
But aside from the end, I really loved the story. Gotta buy a copy, if anyone has a link to buy it, I'd be grateful (^=◕ᴥ◕=^)
Sorry I don't know what this creature is suppose to be, I couldn't find the right emoji.
I do agree that a happy ending does seem a little inappropriate for the story as presented. Given the ending we did get, it feels like the author wanted it to be a happy one though, she just didn't have the time or something to properly wrap everything up. I'm ok with either type of ending as long as it would've tied up more of these things left dangling.
Nooooooo you're wrong. Noooo happy ending. Because the sad would only happen if he stayed.
One theme I saw was that Jiwoon wasn't really living. More like an empty shell. Yoonshik, by giving him a knife, gave him a purpose. It wasn't his own purpose, it was for someone else (Yoonshik) Yoonshik also said that he thought Jiwoon was just like him. But I think his emptiness made him like a blank canvas. He showed signs of being caring (like with the dog) but circumstances made him hollow and withdrawn. So when he gave the knife back, it's him finally saying, this isn't me. It's you. I may not know who I am, but I'm not doing things just because you say so.
After the Red Road and meeting Soohan, he realized he doesn't have to live that way. Soohan gave him the courage to change.
Yeah, I wanted to know more about what happened with the kkangpae (organized crime group) but ultimately it didn't matter because the focus was the couple.
Sorry for fangirling but I'm so in love with this story. Even the weak ending. Because it is peace, which neither of them had.
Also I bought this story on kindle a few years ago. It's on Amazon.
The art, mood, characterizations, and plot were strong up until the very end. The ending falls flat for a number of reasons, but at least it's a "happy" ending (sort of).
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The ending of this is "happy" in that the leads are together and both alive, but the situation also leaves you wondering if these two can really make it due to Jiwoon being disgruntled and Soohan being possessive to the point of obsessive. I choose to view the situation charitably, in thinking that Soohan is concerned that Jiwoon is too visible this close to their escape from the Korean yakuza. If in a year or more Soohan is still trying to prevent Jiwoon from going out and getting a job or talking to other people or otherwise doing reasonable things he wants to do, then it's probably time to be concerned.
I do think Jiwoon is taking the situation a little too lightly considering Yoonshik (yakuza-boss-guy) was gonna have him murder a high profile politician, and he really should lay low for at a minimum of six months. Also, they should probably move somewhere else where chica-who-came-by-to-bring-their-stuff doesn't know they've gone so that there really is no trace left to find them. If she knows, she can be interrogated if Yoonshik cares enough. Just clean up your full trail and then Jiwoon should be able to go outside without worry.
General problems with the ending:
- Yoonshik being in love with Jiwoon is not really resolved. It kind of is if you read heavily between the lines, but he never admits it on screen.
- What happened with the plot to kill the politician? Did the Yoonshik's group go through with it? Did it succeed or fail without Jiwoon?
- What's going on with the disgruntled underlings of Yoonshik now that Jiwoon is out of the picture? Did Yoonshik straighten up his behavior and decide to let Jiwoon go, so now his underlings aren't disgruntled anymore? Did Yoonshik have a meltdown after Jiwoon left and loose his position of power? Did he punish the underling who ignored his order to search for the boys and continue prepping for the assassination?
- Did Yoonshik in general decide to let Jiwoon go and never search for them again? It'd be nice to know if they have to be on the run forever or not.
- Plot threads are introduced at the 11th hour that are then not resolved or shakily resolved: Soohan's possessiveness, Jiwoon being disgruntled that he can't go anywhere or do anything while Soohan is gone for 12+ hours a day, Jiwoon wanting to find a career of his own, Soohan accepting Jiwoon wanting to get a job and not being sh!tty about it, Jiwoon leaving Soohan because he's never there and won't let him go out without yelling at him, etc etc. This stuff was all introduced in the last 2 chapters and almost none of it is resolved.
Jiwoon wants anyone at all to care even a smidge that he exists to the point he's almost suicidal about it; and Soohan wants a relationship where he can carry all the weight in the relationship so badly he can barely stand it. Their neuroses certainly have a synergy to them, but if they don't develop a true respect between them, Soohan is probably going to end up dead at Jiwoon's hands (Jiwoon is a trained killer, recall).
I think the ending would've been much better and more solid if:
- The two escape and don't meet the girl who gives them their stuff, or if they do, they meet her before they hop the bus/train. This would mean they could be a bit safer in letting Jiwoon go outdoors since that zero people know where they've gone. Honestly this is a level of detail we didn't need in the story at all; it's just assumed that they can get by for a few days while Soohan and/or Jiwoon wrestle up jobs in a new town.
- The two escape to whatever-town and are happy being completely obsessed with each other; cut all the angst about Soohan not letting Jiwoon do anything. This would have the effect of still giving it a dark ugly feel because they're co-dependent with each other and still basing their relationship off of their own particular neuroses, but would remove the dangling plot threads introduced at the end that don't need to be there (Soohan's possessiveness). Let them have a true happy ending.
- The two see on the news that politician guy was nearly murdered but escaped with injuries, implying Jiwoon was definitely necessary for the success of this mission, which would give his character much more weight in the story than the alternative. This would wrap up the dangling plot of how the hit went, and show that yakuza-underling was wrong about Jiwoon being unnecessary or more trouble than he was worth.
- A few days after the failed hit on the politician, the boys see on the news that Yoonshik has been found dead from apparent suicide, and is to be replaced by underling-who-let-them-go. The official story on the news implies it's because Yoonshik was depressed because his lover left him, even if it's not necessarily true or completely true. This would wrap-up the dangling question of whether or not they'll be pursued forever (they won't be), and add a little more credibility to the idea that Yoonshik was in love with Jiwoon.
All that said, I still liked this one a lot and feel it has enough positives that more than outweigh the lackluster ending. I still give it a 5/5.