This fucking arc oh my god. Speechless. I'm too emotional, tired and lazy to rant on why it's so fucking good, but to anyone who loves this manwha PLEASE i beg you read no home. The past arc is LITERALLY so similar to the mc's relationships, eunyung and haejoon, and the problematics as well.
Though, not to be that person, but i do like that the author didn't show mc and songrik ? (i'm sorry i'm not good with names) on equal footing in terms of what they did. Like, i'm sorry but what jinhyeong did was worse than what songrik did. While he grew up being verbally abused and controlled h24, songrik grew up being beaten up by one of his parent, abandonned by the other and all of this while living in poverty and being looked down on by everyone. I'm not saying it justifies everything he did, but this context is literally so important to their relationship because they both said the same things, but due to their different lives they didnt MEAN the same things.
What i mean is perfectly illustrated by when songrik said "the 50 000 won you spend on me don't mean the same thing as the 50 000 won i spend on you". This sentence absolutly shattered me, because the same could be said about their family thing. Jinhyeong said they'd live together forever and be a real family and this and that, but that was more of an in the moment thing than a real thought he has been harboring for a long time. He says himself that he's an impulsive person.
On the other song, songrik has been wanting to escape this life for as long as he has lived. It's not a momentary thought that he came up with because he was at a bad point in his life, that's an actual decision he had made. They both said the same thing but ir didnt mean the same thing. Another good thing to show this is the scene where they sleep in the same bed. Jinhyeong is turned towards songrik, but barely holds him, while he is whole heartedly hugging jinhyeong. I could also talk about the way he's lower than jinhyeong symbolizing their different social class but thats not my point.
Not only this, but songrik even offered to work to pay gor jinhyeong's education and was honestly ready to do anything for him despite being so looked down on by his family
Anyway, all of this to say, in this context, imagine going to see jinhyeong just for him to tell you that you should be realistic and actually you cant cut off your violent dad and that he wants to keep talking to his family, the one that hurt both of you so much. Imagine being left alone for the second time by the person you love the most in the world because what they meant was impulsive, while what you said was definitive.
Due to this and his upbringing, it just makes SENSE for songrik to have leaked jinhyeong's familial issues. I'm not EXCUSING IT, but i'm saying that this reaction isn't overexagerated considering all the context. And like he said himself, he didn't directly bully jinhyeong and he stopped his "friends" from beating him up. (+ what he leaked was hurtful but not as hurtful as what jinhyeong said). That was painful for jinhyeong but most definitly not MORE painful than how songrik felt.
Then there's their argument. In this honestly i feel both sides because they both have valid points that make sense in the context. Jinhyeong feels like his problems are the end of the world because he's been so sheltered, and songrik puts up walls and doesn't communicate because of his self hatred and inferiority complex. I really liked what he said in the beginning of their argument because, despite being so extreme this way of thinking just makes sense for him.
I'd say at that point they're more or less on equal footing, but songrik fucking explains himself for once and jinhyeong fucking LEAVES, then says in front of EVERYONE THAT SONGRIK WAS BEATEN AND ABANDONNED. TO THE POINT THAT MADE HIM CRY. like
The excuse that he also leaked secrets doesnt even fucking work for me im sorry because there's such a huge difference between "his father thinks his way of talking and walking are weird" and "you're like your violent father and you don't deserve your mother or a family and you're the trash you've always believed you are."
Songrik is so fucking kind hearted for going to see jinhyeong years later and even wishing him a good life and being so physically gentle with him i'm sorry i could never. And i'm so glad he got a good life. And i'm also so glad that while admitting what he did wasn't correct, the author also subtely showed that the wounds jinhyeong gave him ARE in fact worse and that he has to work on himself more than songrik has. (No but the way songrik even said they should see each other again when they're both tldr happy...cries)
So uhhh yeah tldr this manwha is so fucking complex and the relationship between jinhyeong and songrik has been masterfully executed with both characters acting appropriatly for their contexts while still not excusing them and not equating the violence they've done and been through
I honestly love the fact that songrik didn’t escape his life with the help of jinhyeong. Their relationship was so toxic and codependent that it wouldn’t have been healthy for anyone, and Jinhyeong wasn’t what songrik needed in that moment. They were just licking each other’s wounds and jinhyeong wouldn’t have been able to help with songrik’s situation. I really liked how songrik got help from his neighbors and an actual loving adult figure. And it was only after he got out of his own toxic environment that he could look back on their relationship with a clear head and truly break off their toxic relationship with each other.
Your analysis is so satisfying i started tearing up because it really is all valid and their relationship was so well portrayed... I will forever look back to this arc and appreciate it
yesyesyesyes this analysis of their relationship is sooo spot on like EXACTLY! also the bit about the different way and positions they were hugging each other in bed omggg i didn't even catch that and think about it in this lens until you explained it god you just really nailed the explanation of their arc so well!!
this also just once again really highlights a strong point of the story i greatly appreciate, which is that the author and narrative isn't afraid of hammering down when jinhyung is truly in the wrong and when he's done something bad without trying to baby him, or paint it as something that's not so bad actually, or justifying his actions. they show the readers this and still has enough compassion in the writing to give jinhyung an opportunity to learn from his mistakes and better himself as a person when he puts in the effort. like urbfghehfhej crazy how this story is actually deceptively PEAK
This manga is so fucking istg every single chapter makes me feel so much emotions but the two last panels. Hirano's face. The way he was worried that, aside their feelings, they had nothing in common. The way he didnt want to kiss kagi or be touched by him much. The way it happened without him even seeing it coming. Oh my god
As an aroace person i can emphasize so much with hirano and i'm so damn STRESSED about how this will turn out
The one where people go like "i started to read this in school and now i'm an adult !" Hit so hard, its so real. Litc has never been a huge obsession of mine but i started reading it maybe 1 or 2 years after it started, and never stopped. It's been with me for years and now it's finished. Wow
Like. Not to be that person but it's kinda weird for reyong to RAISE his first love and see him as a child for like,,, almost all of the story. I hope somehow the author finds a way to kinda "fix" things. I mean, even when reyong was a child, he thought of Jae as a young child but in the body of an adult. I guess we'll have to see !!!! I screamed my lugs out when he said "my first love" Omg
have you read tgcf? did you see how they handled it cause its pretty much "excused" cause they're gods in the end. i think it doesn't really matter cause in the end if you rly wanna get technical, jae is older than ryeong
I'm not comparing with tgcf, and yes i did read and remember some of it. There's a huge difference between saving a kid and literally spending like 5 minutes with them and raising them.
Also i don't really see how this changes anything ? Just because something else was or wasnt excused doesnt mean paljae is okay LOL
no no i think you kind of misunderstood my response...no need to be so pressed?
i was trying to say that it isnt uncommon for this kind of "troupe" and that the author will probably go the same route.
and yes, i would say you're right, but they're basically the same age. but...you did read the first few chapters, right? where he said that they're friends because he knows that paljae is older than he looks? yea haha so I think it was less of a "child-father" relationship.
OH sorry for the misunderstanding, i'm just so used to people saying this type of thing is okay or people who say "why are you mad about this while in tgcf....". I think ultimatly it's not THAT creepy bcs ultimatly they met when paljae looked like an adult man and jae fell in love with reyong when he was an adult as well. Also about what you said for their relationship, i do agree that they're REALLY not like father and son at all. But reyong (when he didnt have his memories at least) did see jae as a child so....i'm just curious how this is gonna go !! The author is extremly talented so i don't doubt they'll find a way around this
oh no worries ur right abt the part where he saw him as a child so idk how author will handle that...anyways have a nice day lol
While he did raise Jae, at the time ryeong didn’t know who Jae was since his memories of his life as a human were sealed by his master. So there’s still the raising part but didn’t know Jae was his first love
Ty ! Have a nice day as well
No yeah it's so complicated LMAO
I think the author will find their way around this, theyre really damn good
Something so tragic and romantic about how they always reunite but have to leave each other again
Or did chapter 91 was posted before ??? I have a clear memory of reading it so was it deleted and reposted or smth ???
yeah this is a repost
Can someone explain to me the plot.....i mean. From what i got, a demonic entity from another world (Qin xian from school hunk) took over Master, then Wang yi got into the entity's illusions to help it not die, then when he saved it Master became normal again and the entity disappeared ? But does Master know about Wang yi and his past then ??? And why is Wang yi trying to seduce master ????? Plz help...
He seems to know about Wang Yi, but I'm not sure how much he knows about him, he wants to seduce him because Wang Yi has accepted his feelings for him, and for as long as they exist there he wants to "enjoy him".
But does master knows wang yi is the disciple ? Or does he just see him as another person that belongs to the demon's past ? Ty for the insight tho !
He seems to see him as his discipline.
He said smth about reincarnation so i think he sees wang yi and the entity as their past selves/lives
Like. I've seen some people say this is getting dragged out, or that this chapter was disappointing bcs you expected more, but honestly i feel like that comes from a misunderstanding of Hirano's character. The reason why it took so long was bcs Hirano never felt this way abour someone, and because everyone around him told him things people feel when they're in love that he doesn't feel bcs of his asexuality. He likes kagi's smile but doesnt want to kiss him and doesnt know about asexuality, what was he supposed to understand ?
I also love this chapter PRECISELY bcs nothing big happened, again bcs of hirano's asexuality. I'm really glad Hirano didn't kiss kagi to make him happy, to his own detriment, like a lot of media would do. Doing things you dont want to do for your partner shouldnt be normalized and i'm glad this isnt what happened. Hirano is ready to make some sacrifices here and here, but he knows kagi loves him no matter what, so he's not gonna force himself to kiss if he doesnt want to kiss !!
Hirano's asexuality is literally one of the main themes of the manga so please pay attention !!!
YOU ARE SO RIGHT!!!!! Hirano's SO valid everytime he's in between of liking Kagi or not and that feels honestly so realistic to me
FRRR as someone who's aroace i looove how the author didn't depict hirano as a "no touch ever" guy but also didn't make him suddendly want to be touched bcs he's in love. So good