Emperor Minato's Favorite

I get why people are uncomfortable about Geumsun and 704's toxic relationship but when you consider all the clues about their hidden history it really puts Geumsun's behavior in a different perspective. Yama is straight up using 704 to control Geumsun and it's making me hella nervous. Remember this exchange from chapter 51?:

YAMA: I could search the world and I wouldn't find anyone who knows Hwan as much as you do. Why else do you think I went through such lengths to keep you alive?
GEUMSUN: Who said I wanted that?
YAMA: Well, child, you need to stay alive to catch Hwan. At all cost. Whatever it takes, you must get him. You have a very good reason to, don't you?
704: *enters*

Geumsun remembers this exchange precisely when he's spying outside San's house. He implied he didn't want to be kept alive but still follows Yama's order to kill Hwan by killing San. It's clear 704 is what motivates him - going so far as attempting to do something he ultimately is unable to do - and Yama knows it.

I have a feeling Hwan is directly involved with Geumsun losing 704 the first time. While they face off in chapter 53 Geumsun tells San/Hwan that he's the 2nd person he's met with strong spiritual powers. The first died a long time ago.

Then this exchange:

SAN/HWAN: ...I'm not really interested in that.
GEUMSUN: Why not? You should be. Because they also happened to tell me, "...when the host dies so does the monster."

If 704 is the human with strong spiritual powers who could act as host and the one to realize this was the only way to kill Hwan, he might have tried to sacrifice himself to try to do so. Possible reason why Geumsun would want to cut Hwan's head off.

More evidence when Hwan taunts Geumsun the next chapter:

HWAN: Those who hold weapons get to choose who is sacrificed. Those without weapons become the victims. You haven't changed a bit, I see...despite losing everything because of that arrogance.

Everything = 704 ???

In chapter 4, right before they Bang for Yang Geumsun says to 704, "Who do you think is holding the handle of the knife right now? The people who are "right" don't matter. It's the people who hold the knife that matter."

Weird foreplay, bro. But also too eerily similar to what Hwan said.

If Geumsun thinks of himself as the one holding the weapon, he is choosing to sacrifice a great amount to protect 704. His very will to live has been wiped of all emotions, memories, and now resents him. Like, damn, that sucks??? Yet, he continues to keep 704 in the dark to protect him. We've seen him get angry at both Yama and San in the present timeline for involving 704. He tells Yama to "Keep him safe. Until I go get him again." like those are his end goals. Fuckkkk I wanna cry.

What worries me is that 704 is super intuitive and has figured some stuff out on own already. He already suspected from the beginning that San was not his mistake. I'm guessing he's picked up on how strangely Geumsun treated him too. Yama probably knows 704 isn't that easy to fool. If Yama is using everyone to kill Hwan at all costs and getting increasingly impatient, who's the better pawn? Geumsun - who Hwan refers to as an immortal sacred being and can't live with the memory of killing a human for all of eternity? Or 704 - who is a 'sinner' by definition of being a reaper and not bound by the same ethical and (I'm assuming) mortal restrictions?

Yama has been controlling Geumsun by manipulating 704 from the very start. He knows 704 is someone who wants to bare the burden of responsibility. Now that 704 is in his custody and asking questions, he could easily tell 704 everything. Geumsun would be forced to do everything to keep 704 out of it and 704 would probably do everything to get involved. That's a win/win for Yama.

On top of everything, the amount of times it's been mentioned that reapers and ghostly creatures are "natural enemies" is also worrisome.

In this essay, I will