beta
I hate how people keep reducing seo-in to red flag and yeongwoon a pushover. The author has provided us a lot of backstory and context behind their actions. People in the real world do experience these things and their manhwa is simply trying to show a glimpse of how broken people act in these situations. Seo-in’s trauma, which clearly stem from his abusive family background, is clearly manifesting in his actions. Nothing is ever his and for the first time, he’s found someone that he wants to keep only for himself. Seoin doesn’t even have a birthday for himself, even that was taken away from him. So it’s clear why he’s very possessive of the things he value, especially yeongwoon. And yeongwoon acts that way because he’s always had to just take abuse from people he loves. His dad and now even Seoin. Not to mention, he doesn’t want to lose Seoin again. He’s clearly very traumatized, like buddy was out here having panic attacks and needed medications to get through it. I feel like the author is really working hard to show the psychological aspect of the characters and here we are, so focused on just their actions and not trying to put over selves in their shoes.
I wanted to add that most of the time obsession stem from fear, not love. Seoin had lost everything the moment he was adopted. He thought he had gained his mother’s love but even he realized it was never there to begin with. The fear of losing loved ones often cause people to distance or isolate themselves but at the same time, constantly monopolize or obsessed over that individual. It seems like Seoin is experiencing this behavior. He very much love Yeongwoon but the lines start to blur where love begins and obsession begins. This is why his love is very toxic because it’s mixed in with fear and obsession. Whereas YW’s love is a lot more pure as he’s never had to experience the loss of someone (when he was younger) but now that he’s older, he’s experiencing similar behaviors as Seoin (since he’s experienced loss).