Sweet delicious angst! Season 2 can’t come quick enough! And yes, I do think this rape scene was absolutely necessary to tell the story the author is wanting to tell. Their relationship is totally damaged, which is why it will be interesting to see how they reconcile.
Now that i read the translation I can see that S2 will bring on that rival from the north. He looks like an alpha character that will most likely have a huge role in Yeonjo's salvation at some point. He's described & represented as a powerful man. He may further separate them before contributing to bringing them together for good. Exciting!
JK is angry with himself. He knows Dan enriched his life and he doesn’t want to admit he was wrong. Now his fight is internal. He has lots of experience fighting externally, but not much with internal struggle. Ultimately the alcohol and inability to train is setting Dan up to have an uphill struggle when he does come back. JK is ruining himself and if Dan does fix him and he wins another fight it will all be because of Dan’s efforts, not JK’s. Can’t wait for the reunion!!!