
I dunno guys, Jaekyung acts on misguided instincts, so I think he’s just gonna scoop him up, kidnap him, and lock him up in his penthouse. I would be so annoyed if they just have sex next chapter, because that would be typical but would also just be a waste. I don’t wanna see them do it again. I want Jaekyung to take care of Dan. I want him to call a cleaning service to remove all alcohol from his penthouse before he gets there, so that it’s clean when they arrive, and then I want him to hire a therapist or someone to watch Dan while he’s at the gym, and I want him to hire a chef to feed Dan…
Mind you, Dan will hate anything Jaekyung does, so he’s going to fight everything. It doesn’t matter if Jaekyung is nice or mean, because he doesn’t want any of it, but he needs help and he’s not willing to help himself. I bet those are two full bags of booze…

How does someone who’s emotionally and physically unstable help themselves? Fixing isn’t really the right word (that’s the word Jaekyung used cuz he’s dumb), because there’s no “fixed” baseline, but Dan needs help to stabilize his mental wellbeing. That’s quite literally the reason for therapy and doctors.
Anyway, I don’t expect anything, I’m just wishing for it.

Oh yes, if this wasn’t fiction, I would certainly be an anti-fan, but because I know it is, I need to see this nonsense twisted into something with possibility. But you’re right, maybe jaekyung will have foresight (ha!) and just rent another apartment for the both of them to avoid retraumatizing Dan. And then I want to see his gosh darn backstory. It better be AMAZING. lol. I live on hope in fiction because the country I live in is a little hopeless right now. JAEKYUNG, YOU’D BETTER SHAPE UP!

Looking back at the first chapters, I think Mugyeong might survive. He says, “I still remember…” and “… at my youth’s edge…” Since he’s currently still at his youth’s edge, the beginning seems like a reflection of an older person.
Will it be Mugyeong dying an old man and reflecting? Or maybe just a few years ahead, living the life of a refugee with a new start? Or will he be touching or picking up a cherry blossom; elderly, sitting on a bench, wrapped in a blanket, and looking up into a Sakura tree like how he started out?
If so, it might read backwards, ending with something like: “Perhaps I’ll meet him again, in another life…” “… the boy with a picturesque face…” “… The boy I learned to love.”

What was that expression when he came Dan’s face? Well, he’s blushing every time now. I think his braincells may have achieved friction! He’s admitting that he doesn’t want Dan out of his sight. Not a hug, but getting closer.
But there’s something missing. Currently, there’s no reason for Jaekyung’s progression to caring for Dan. So, I predict that, within the next 3 chapters, we will be introduced to the man who ruined Jaekyung. I don’t think there’s any other inciting incident that would bring them together since Dan’s tears never moved Jaekyung before (I think grandma’s got more time).

Alright folks, time for us to create some hypotheses:
Will the Crimson Bird and the prostitute (I’m so sorry, I am not going back to find their names) get revenge before or after Inu makes a decision?
Let’s look at the facts:
Inu - silenced by violence and oppression in his youth, free to work outside of the Kuroda family but haunted by his past with Jun, he is given the choice to rise above his true lineage. Another set of chains it may be, but he could have more movement in his career and honor to his name. He’s never been free of the Kuroda family and admitted that his body was broken by Jun, but he can still salvage his honor in the face of the pervading ideals during the Japanese occupation. His face is always half covered, his mouth never smiles, and his sense of self is tied to passing fair judgement despite being mired in oppression. Does fairness matter? Will anything come of his attempt at equity? Or would it be better to grab honor when offered and accept that resistance is useless?
Jun - clearly shooketh by his conversation with Mugyeong, he’s grappling with self-hatred that has long been stabbing at his insides. He’s known he was never the head of the family and lashed out at everyone weaker than him - Inu, Mugyeong, Yukio. He doesn’t actually hate Joseon people, but because they have less honor than him, he collects and abuses them to make himself feel like he has control. He won’t kill himself, or he would’ve shown something of that earlier, but rather he’s so sure of his superiority over Joseon people that he regularly exposes his vulnerability in front of them, almost asking to be betrayed. But will he be betrayed or will he voluntarily turn himself in? What will he do if Inu takes the proposition?
Crimson Bird and prostitute:
These two have been plotting revenge for over a decade it seems, and CB has been consistently successful in his campaign against the Japanese. Unlike Jun, who chooses specific targets but is rather more involved in his personal drama, CB sees all Japanese people as the enemy. His goal is to regain Joseon independence by forcing the Japanese people out through terrorist attacks on their government. The prostitute, bullied by his own people, chose to regain a sense of independence by trading his body for money and revenge by betrayal. The only person he cares about is CB, so those two will go the path together until they either succeed or die. Will it happen before Inu makes a decision? Will CB target Inu if he betrays Joseon?
Mugyeong - he’s a tough nut to crack, but he’s still a boy, still impressionable, still full of feelings that he has no idea how to interpret much less express. He’s given up on being pardoned because he refuses to betray Yukio’s wishes. He had no hopes or dreams, rather he existed previously on the euphoric sensation of running and preserves his sense of self in quiet resistance. He’s very sentimental, loyal, and has pride in being a Joseon person. He’s not attached to the world in the same way that Jun is or Yukio was, and refuses to be exploited by others, even if he dies for it. I’m sure he mourns Yukio, but more than that I think he is sitting with the realization that Yukio showed him a pureness uncommon to most people, especially “the enemy”. “Not everyone is as uncomplicated as you,” he told his hallucination of Yukio. Even if he is pardoned, what will he do? Where will he go? It looks like it’s the end of the road for him, but is it?
That man has strong genes