What you said is the truth...... People sometimes don't read to understand what you the author is trying to portrait. Not everyone is nice and not everyone has that privilege to be taught how to behave and be nice people. Both omegas aren't even loved by their family. Personally I like both of them, they are strong unlike other omegas.... I like how fargo portrait her omegas.
really well said... lots of people don't like chowon, and honestly i didn't either from the start. but after i saw how his family and dojun treated him i liked him better. even if he's talented and perfect, he's never loved or appreciated for himself. i remember a no face said"it's only his pheromones" and that really sums up his whole relationship with his family and dojun.
Just sayin, Hyesung's past isn't an excuse for him to treat Dojin like complete trash. (〜￣△￣)〜
I've always thought that the worst in this manhwa are Dojin and Dojun. Dojin at the beginning took advantage of Hye-sung. Dojun well..... he transformed Chowon into an unhappy person with really deep emotional wounds
Thank you for writing such an accurate analysis. I totally agree with like everything... I love both characters, I think it’s because usually a character not too perfect or broken is more interesting to me. They have lot of potential and the possibility of redeem themeselves to become better. I like a lot chowon for all the reasons you said and I see in him a bit of myself... the strong high-confidence as a facade and a lot of pain and insecurity inside... I kinda know how he feels and trust me that hurts a lot, this also negatively influences relationship with people. I’m not justifying his bad past actions... but, they’re just in the past. Let’s move over, let’s read a bit more under the surface. Im sure people keep complain here because most of them are very very young and want to read about perfect characters and perfect love, but man, that’s not real life! I prefer comics with realistic characters. Anyway I can’t wait for the next chapter ヾ(☆▽☆)
imp as much Dojin and Dojun made mistakes in the end their intentions were anything but bad. People have the choice to stand up from becoming fuck-ups. Hyesung's personality was formed from rebellion and frustration for his father while Chowon was probably well messed up in the head because of his family and the growing obsession with Dojun only made things worse. Blaming people for your mental illness isn't black and white.
As I said their actions may or may not be justified by their past however there is a reason behind it. Nevertheless, Dojin wasn't a complete saint at the beginning but he grew as a character and tried to make himself better for his son and Hyesung. Just like anyone else Hyesung needs a chance to redeem himself. It's not like he's unaware of his past mistakes, he is trying his best to be better for Dojin and Byul and he needs time to do so.
[At the end of the day it's your opinion that matters, all I'm doing is pointing the things that I noticed out. Please don't feel pressured.]
Though I won't say He willingly turned Chowon into someone who's unhappy, nonetheless his ignorance did effect him
I totally agree, the fact that the only reason that everyone 'uses' him because of him dominant pheromones is sad by itself
Ok, I agree with you.
yes, but dojin raping him /is/
Ever since the new season (or well the second series of side stories) came out, I’ve been noticing a massive backlash against Chowon; similar to the hate Hyesung faced (and is still facing) which is why I wanted to bring forward some facts.
Gender: Male Omega
Kim Hyesung: Recessive
Lee Chowon: Dominant
Kim Hyesung:
From the very first chapter Hyesung is seen a rather ‘bratty’ character; an omega who strongly believed that he was an alpha & as the story progresses he keeps showing the same set of characteristics: Bratty, selfish and somewhat naive in his own way.
Growing up Hyesung had a firm belief that he was an alpha (because they were ‘tested’ at school around the age of 12-14). To him, an omega’s life was ‘horrible’ while he didn’t really care if he was an alpha or a beta. However, when he finally faced the fact that he was, in fact, an omega, the belief he built his life on shattered overnight.
Hyesung grew up in an abusive household, where his father abused him along with his mother (who eventually ran away when he was 5). For almost all his life he was never truly ‘loved’. He never wanted to manifest as an omega because he knew that his father would use him like he used her mother and sell him out like he gave his wife (Hyesung’s mother) to an alpha client. When his father abandoned and left him with his grandmother, he didn’t mind it though she didn’t care for him; to him, it was as if he’d finally escaped from the nightmare his father made him live in. Nevertheless, when she met his father at his grandmother’s funeral; his mocking sneer made his fear of being recognized as an omega resurface.
Him believing that he was an ‘alpha’ was his freedom, hence when he came face to face with the truth; he tried his best to either deny/change it. His childhood played a pivotal role in his behaviour. This was also shown when he learned that Dojin gets inspired every time they have sex, making him believe he was used.
As the story progresses it is shown that he’s very self-conscious, which is also deeply rooted in his past. He’d often question why Dojin liked him because he was made to believe that he was not ‘good enough’ for such a dominant alpha, like Dojin.
As mentioned before Hyesung never received genuine affection, thus feared it’s true nature. In short, he didn’t believe in love at all, since he witnessed his so-called family fall apart. Though not portrayed as such, Hyesung is extremely vulnerable, he protected himself by building a wall around his heart. His fear of abandonment made him try his best not to get swayed by Dojin’s act of love, consequently, his way of doing so was running away.
Even if he tried his best to act like he didn’t care about Byul; he truly did love his baby, and he feared that his child would meet the same fate as him. Some fail to realise the uncanny similarities his relationship with Dojin and the relationship of his parents. Both the couples had unplanned children (hence forcing them to stay together). It wouldn’t be surprising if Hyesung is revealed to have noticed the similarity; hence making him stay on guard.
People tend to forget Hyesung was only 20 when he got pregnant. Not only wasn’t that very young, but he also didn’t know what to do if he gave birth to a baby moreover he didn’t know how he’d provide for his baby. He loved Byul dearly but was unaware of how to express his affection even after his birth.
He ran away after overhearing because:
He thought that Dojin would restrict the freedom that he found after such a long time
He was afraid that he was being used
He feared Dojin going back at his words & abandoning him and Byul
Even if he hid with Heeso’s help; he couldn’t forget about Byul. He didn’t want to believe that Dojin would abandon their baby, though he was forced to believe so because of Heeso’s lies. His maternal love towards Byul was strong enough for him to not tell and Heeso and see if Dojin has truly abandoned their baby or not.
Other than being headstrong Hyesung is also very observant; he was aware of his flaws and slowly started to try his best at being a lover and a parent. Nevertheless, no one is truly perfect and the same goes Hyesung; however, I believe that his flaws are the things that make him ‘Hyesung’, and all that matters, in the end, is their happiness.
Lee Chowon:
Though Chowon and Hyesung are both omegas, they’re very different. One is dominant, one is recessive, one comes from a rich background the other doesn’t, etc. Nevertheless, they do share some similarities, such as both are headstrong, both have a tsundere personality and most importantly both were never truly loved.
Chowon was born as an extremely dominant omega, hence often believed to be superior to the others. His pheromones are strong enough to surpass his brother’s (who is an alpha), however, due to the omegaverse hierarchy, his brother became the heir to their family.
Just as I mentioned for Hyesung, childhood is a pivotal point in one’s life. Same goes for Chowon; ever since he manifested he was praised to be perfect and so he was. He had everything he one could ever ask for but was he really happy? No. Just like Hyesung, he was used from the very beginning. His family never wanted his consent when marrying him off to Dojun; nonetheless, he played along because he believed Dojun was a perfect partner for an omega like him.
Though he was married his husband never looked at him. Dojun never truly loved him but he never said anything for his cowardice. The gap between Chowon and Dojun made him restless, making him very sensitive and untrustworthy. He was afraid that ‘his alpha’ would abandon him.
According to the manhwa (or almost any other omegaverse), alphas and omegas need each other to survive & hence just like how alpha can be possessive of his/her omega; an omega can also be possessive over their alpha. All his life Chowon believed he was superior to others (or even too good for others) thus he couldn’t bear to lose his husband to someone else, eventually leading him to get progressively aggressive and harassing.
2 years after their divorce Chowon learned that the alpha he couldn’t forget moved on, however not only that but also Dojun loved a beta. The truth crushed him eventually making him irrational. Though his erratic actions can not be justified; his actions weren’t without a cause.
The recent chapters have been giving us insights on his side of the story. He’s beautiful and talented yet he was abandoned. When he was married to Dojun he had to live in the fear of being left behind and so he was. Dojun was a turning point in his life, someone who made him realise no matter how perfect he is he’ll never be loved.
Other than being the son of an influential family Chowon is also a public figure, and performer (violinist); hence he faced a massive backlash. Even though he acts like he doesn’t care, it still affects his mind in some way or other which hampers his stability.
Kyungsoo and Chowon are a good pairing. Yes, Kyungsoo is rather naive but his company is slowly healing Chowon’s emotional scars.
[Not much is known about Chowon yet, but I might end up updating this as we get to know more about him.]
Some other thoughts:
Yes, Hyesung and Chowon have their flaws, but flaws build characters. Someone is never truly perfect and the same goes for them. Both the characters are very sensitive due to their ‘pasts’. People hate on them yet the Park brothers (Dojun & Dojin) are no saints either. Other than that, I feel like redemption arcs like this should be appreciated more.
Though omegas are supposed to be delicate, Fargo portrayed the omegas rather uniquely. They just need time to grow as characters.
Honestly when Chowon was quite infuriating when he was first introduced, mainly because of his narcissistic antics and immense pride but as Dojun tells his story, Chowon wasn’t entirely at fault. Even Dojun admitted his guilt because only if he had done something things wouldn’t have been so out of control. On the other hand, Hyesung’s stubbornness was quite amusing to see.
The most important thing is that both the characters are growing, and learning new things. I hope for a happy ending for both of them and wish that their scars heal with time.
All the things mentioned above are written from my reading experience hence no one is obliged to agree with me, however, I hope you don’t see them as one-dimensional characters since a lot of thought has been given to them. Character building has many layers which are why one needs to notice small details to understand the characters completely.
‘Love is an Illusion’ is the first A/B/O manhwa I’ve read, since then I’ve completed it 5 times. I just want the readers to enjoy the story as I did and appreciate the character along with the author’s work.
{At this point, I might even end up analyzing other characters from ‘L.I.A.I’ too.}