Yes, this manhua was soul crushing and I loved the angst. However…
I don’t get where the story was going with the whole cheating and suffering thing. And by that I mean overall “lesson” or “meaning” behind this work. Was the whole meaning of this story just “don’t cling onto bastards when they treat you wrong”? Pretty weak for such a heavy story.
The whole plot is just MC suffering from cancer and clinging onto his first love who treated him poorly and cheated (which I perfectly understand why and I’m not blaming MC). He only let go of the bastard at the very end when his life was basically on a countdown. It just felt like author was just adding more drama and suffering just for the sake of it. To make it more teary, which I find very cheap.
I’ve read a lot of heart-wrenching books/novels/comics, so I can say that it was not strongly written. Yes, it was very sad, but just throwing one sad thing after another won’t make me feel that sad for MC and bawl my eyes out. I wish MC was developed more to show more of his personality, motives, wishes instead of making him a “poor mistreated wifey that lives for his hubby”. That would have made the descend into despair much more crushing. There was no contrast. MC was so… plain that I couldn’t feel much except for pity.
MC was so miserable most of his life that by the end of the manhua I was just thinking: “Let the poor guy die already. He’s suffered enough. Let him rest.” It’s not heart-wrenching if death actually seems like the best way out that will put character at peace.
It is a good angst and tragic story, but I am just disappointed, because of the cheap tricks from the author and wasted potential. It could’ve been done so much better.
(It’s my personal opinion. I am not criticising people for liking this manhua.)
I get what you mean, so much of this manhua is catered to having readers pity the MC since it's a tragedy. I'm familiar with that feeling of everything being repetitive after a while of reading heart-wrenching media, so I like to think in the perspective of text-to-world and text-to-self when I'm reading something like this.
After the first time I read this, I was just a hot mess because of the suffering I had to see him go through. There was no interpreting, no 'what was the point of it? The point of his suffering?' The second time I read it, it was like a bitter ache, because this time I tried to really understand what the author was trying to say.
In the end, the message I felt was conveyed to me was that life is precious, life is short. "Don't take your loved ones, the ones who loved you when you were nobody, for granted". It's such a simple message, yet so overlooked. And maybe that's why it makes many people sad. The most tragic part of it all is his unceasing and unconditional love for his husband, despite the cheating, the abuse, the neglect. To the very bitter end, the one he loved most was him -- even his last words paint to us a fragment of his favourite memories, spent with the one who we as readers hate most of all.
And to make it worse, the very same husband who was the source of all his suffering, the very same one we are incited to hate, is at his core, a wretched and pitiful person. One who loved his husband but was blinded by greed and material pleasures. Nothing can excuse his actions, yet so tragically we are forced to witness his grief and denial of his husband's death. His letter illustrating in our minds the implicit image of him waiting his entire life for someone who will never come. It is through him that the author warns us this, "regret is the worst punishment".
Ultimately, it's a cliche tragedy. But in its own way it is complex and still evokes the necessary emotions for such a text. Even so, everyone interprets texts in their own way. From my understanding, I believe that the reason many people find this manhua so though-provoking is the fact there is no antagonist. It's just people. People who are bad, people who are fucked up, people who are given the short straw in life. Life -- it's just life, as it is. And that is what makes it the tragedy that it is.
Oh I also forgot to mention this, but it's also a great depiction of how relationships change over time. As such it is called '10 years where I loved you the most'. As they both start entering different stages in their life, where the MC still appreciates the small things in life while the husband's bitterness towards their past poverty has changed into the aforementioned greed for materialistic pleasures. The love was there, but strained and ugly. Which is often at times what happens to long-term relationships. I think it portrays the difficulty of leaving such a relationship very well.
This is a beautiful response and thank you for sharing your view and opinion.
I completely understand and agree with your point and with things you pointed out, so I did change my opinion on the “meaning” and “lesson” from this manhua. It is simple, but still a lesson.
I got so desensitised to tragedy genre that this work didn’t make me feel much but pity and a small heartache, so I wanted to understand exactly WHY it didn’t hurt as much as it supposed to.
I still think it could’ve been written so much better, but with your reply I understand that it was probably author’s intention to make story that way.
Thank you for your reply. It was nice to read ^^
to be fair, the manhua didn't hurt me as much as the novel did. I've read this manhua many many times but I'll never forget the way I felt when I read the novel for the first time. I guess it's the author's way of telling the story that got me crying like a newborn baby. I read the novel first before I found out it has a manhua.
I remember going into not expecting anything because just like you, I have become desensitised to tragic novels/story that this sounded like any other stories that has a tragic ending. But the novel was a lot more painful than I imagined. For me, it was the author's way of conveying MC's pain and emotions through words that I felt like I was experiencing them myself. It felt like I was the one going through it. The novel had this atmosphere that the manhua did not capture for me. The translator did a good job too because I know it is much much better in its original language.
The message did not matter that much to me! The experience did. It made it me feel things I would otherwise not feel, hopefully never in my entire life. But still, it made feel something and it's so beautiful and it reads like a painting, honestly. Or maybe I'm hyping it up too much. I can't clearly explain what I felt when I read it but I preferred the novel than the manhua, those this still does a very good adaptation of the original source.
Oh, for sure the novel would be better. I didn’t even know this manhua was an adaptation, to be honest. And I always lean towards the novels and books, because it’s harder to convey some emotions and impactful moments in comics/manhwas/manhuas/mangas.
I’m sure my opinion would be different if I read the novel. My opinion is solely for this manhua.
That's fair! If you ever plan to read the novel someday, good luck and have fun! Hahaha
I don’t mind sweet and innocent guys, but MC acts too much like a child it’s making me uncomfortable. Especially with the ML who is MUCH older than him (like thousands of years old)
And even when it was revealed that MC is a demon as well and is around 200 years old - he is still a baby in demon years??? They all say that he is still in his “growing period” and only recently (~18-19 years ago) gained consciousness???
So basically, barely legal teen, who is still not emotionally and psychologically mature, is being pursued by a demon who lives since ancient times because MC is “really innocent”. Got it. Don’t see anything weird or concerning at all.
In the end, I couldn’t finish this manhua because of the reasons listed above. I dropped it on chapter 56, because I just couldn’t stand MC and really uncomfortable relationship with ML. The story is really cute and interesting, but I can’t close my eyes on the obvious problems.
I’m not a teen, but a grown adult, so maybe that’s why I’m so repulsed by this.
I am a grown adult, so seeing shotas/lolis legit makes me feel uncomfortable and disgusted. Especially when one of them is in a romantic relationship with a TEACHER (who is also a demon and is much older than he looks).
I understand looking young, but NOT that young. The principle looks like a child (with his height and appearance he looks like he is 8 years old), which I hate, because he is also acting like a child + a little perverted? Then the human helper also looks MUCH younger than he is suppose to be, which is like 17-19 years old (he is also acting like a child, but, in contrast, also has/uses a dildo, which is VERY sus??), and in a relationship with a teacher? Furthermore, with a teacher that watched him grow up/raised him??? I almost threw up.
Then there is Theo and his servant?? The servant literally watched him grow up since Theo was a little kid. And he had feelings for him? For a child he basically raised? Beugh… What the fuck is wrong with the author…
I see author’s fetish and I legit cannot enjoy this manhua. This is disgusting and disturbing. And I’m not even starting with an age gap between 19yo MC and 50+ yo ML. That makes it THREE really concerning relationships and all of them are important and semi-important characters??
Btw, they say in the beginning that ML (Fu Yu) is 50+ years old, but later in the manhua they visit his mom and his sister (who is a few years older than him and a human) still is pretty young. Meaning, his mother should’ve died a long time ago and his sister should’ve been an old woman by now, but no. Just a big plot hole I want to point out.
The itself plot is mediocre and has so many dumb and unnecessary moments that were making me roll my eyes (like when human helper purposely sent MC to gay club to get assaulted(?) or get in trouble just because MC was coping better about not having a full family… What…?). Furthermore, the plot development is cringy and clumsy. For example, the plot line with Theo and MC. So much build-up just to end it so abruptly, which was underwhelming. Dude was looking for MC for a decade or more just to suddenly give up because MC started to develop feeling for ML and go straight to alcoholism? Like… what? It all started and ended so quickly that Theo’s reaction feels overdramatic and made me roll my eyes. And it’s just one example out of countless.
The final battle with BBEG was also very disappointing. The whole manhua it was very vague what exactly the bad guys wanted. They kept feeding the special poison to demons just… because (they never explain it properly how it adds to their overall plan. i think they were doing it just to test it but idk)? They also attack the ball to… erm… just cause chaos? Then suddenly they just throw everything at the reader without any build-up, introduce THE BBEG out of nowhere and defeat them (the BBEG is sexless/could be a man or a woman) in few chapters. Very underwhelming and disappointing.
Characters are not enjoyable too. I love our MC and ML is… okay ig. He changes towards the end of manhua, which is good. Love that for him. The rest are just so plain or actually annoying and just straight up bastards. Other characters appear like 3-5 times the whole manhua and I just don’t understand why even waste time giving them screen time when they are not even relevant. And I’m not talking about MC’s mom or actually important side characters. I’m talking about characters like the butterfly demon girl that first appeared for the ball. I mean, I love her. She is one of the only characters who is in a normal relationship with her girl best friend, but she appeared two times the whole manhua. Why even add her and tell her story when she is NOT relevant to the plot whatsoever? Instead of actually flesh out the characters, their motivation and main characters’ relationship - author just wastes time on unnecessary things.
I wish that author, instead of throwing countless characters and developing problematic relationships, actually focused on the main couple and the story.
Anyways, throw tomatoes at the author. I know what you are.
you are right bro...you are right ....
I actually loved both MC and ML. The whole thing was done so well.
Many manhwas/manhuas do redemption of MLs so poorly and don’t know how to write it to make it satisfying, but this manhua did such a great job.
ML didn’t make the whole redemption about himself and walk around like “boohoo poor me I’m dealing with the consequences of my own actions boohoo”. No, my man actually went to therapy, made so much effort to change/address his flaws for MC and then went back to fix everything without making it about himself. He actually showed so much patience, effort and understanding, which ultimately showed how much he loved MC and wanted to be the best for him.
My man knew he fucked up and didn’t try to win pity points to manipulate MC to come back to him. And MC, my badass baby, was standing his ground and make that man work for forgiveness and setting up boundaries. Love that for him.
Chef’s kisses ლ(´ڡ`ლ)
I cannot stress ENOUGH how rare it is to find a good chasing/redemption story where trash ML comes crawling back and begs for forgiveness. This manhua should be a good example of what trash MLs need to do and SHOULD be like (in healthy relationship dynamics that is)
P.S. I do want to point out that ML was trash in the beginning with a good and understandable reason (not excusing his actions btw), but wasn’t a hardcore trash like most of MLs in these types of stories. That’s also one of the reasons why this manhua so satisfying and doesn’t fill me with so much hatred and rage towards ML.
You know that meme like “anime so good and then author decides to add unnecessary incest trope”? It’s this, but for this manhwa.
It started so good. The supernatural, MC’s personality, the mystery of the drug case, ML - everything started so good. I gobbled that shit so fast like a man starved. But then the plot just… got all over the place.
First, I don’t get why write such a good premise and turn it into just a pure porn. I don’t mind sex in manhwa, but like… if I wanted to read porn - I would have gone and read it. I came here for a good plot, but most of it got shoved under a rug, because most of the time MCs would just fuck and the plot became something that pushes *itself* in the background.
Again, nothing wrong with sex in BL manhwas, but if you set up such a good story - why just make it about sex? But it’s my personal opinion.
Second, we need to address the elephant in the room. What the fuck is up with incest in this manhwa. It was NOT necessary. And not only MCs brother wanted to fuck him, but then turns out their UNCLE was in love with their FATHER (aka uncle’s brother). Like… WHY WAS IT NECESSARY TO ADD TO THE STORY??? It wasn’t even frowned upon in the story??? Literally no one in the manhwa was like “Ayo, that’s really fucking fucked up. Why are you still LIVING with your brother that tried to rape you???”. Also, why is MC so chill about it??? WHY IS ML CHILL ABOUT IT???????
When I found out about their father and uncle my jaw was literally on the floor and I needed a minute to process this whole plot. Again, it wasn’t necessary. And what repulses me is how author makes it… normal?
In the end, nothing wrong with liking the manhwa, but I am side-eyeing people who ignore incest in this/justify it or even worse… find it hot. You CANNOT justify it or argue about it.
I just don’t get it why it has such a high rating and why people call it “underrated” or “masterpiece”. Like girl… Let’s face it. It is porn with lazy plot and a lot of fetishisation of incest. There is nothing genius about it.
And for people who think this is actually masterpiece… Please go read more books, novels and manhwas to broaden your horizons.
i haven't read this manwha yet, but after the incest relationships, i most likely won't. i feel like the author is trying to normalize incest realationships, but no one says anything about it. it was the same in their manwha "love shuttle" between a side character. no one said shit about the incest in that manwha but "love shuttle" was overall such a good manwha.
also- why the hell don't they they put the tag "incest" ??
If you are uncomfortable with incest - don’t read it. This manhwa has A LOT of it. And yeah, I agree that when I was reading it, it felt like author was trying to normalise it, because NO ONE addressed the fact that it’s not normal to love your sibling that way and try to r*pe them. Absolutely no one bat an eye to that information. They reacted to the SA, but not the incest. Everyone was chill with it or not giving enough reaction (like they would go “what? really? weird. anyways…”)
Honestly... I wish it didnt have incest, you're right its not necessary. I could understand up to the brother (wouldnt be the first story with a incestuous antagonist) but yeah the whole "it runs in our blood" bullshit is insane, the only thing running in that family is mental illness and abuse. I'm glad the ml wasnt the brother and that the brother stopped being obsessed but uff.
All in all, I think its the best story Ive seen so far from this author but the bar is low. I dont personally get triggered with incest, specially reading manwha's and such because they dont always TW so I try to never be surprised but yeah, decent story, too much incest.
Right???
I don’t get triggered easily, but I got repulsed by how everyone treats incest as something normal in this manhwa and even try to make readers feel bad for them??? I also don’t get how that guy (I read it long ago and bad with names) fell in love with the MC’s sibling KNOWING and even SEEING that guy try to r*pe MC and just being obsessive with him. Like HOW. WHY.
I completely agree that the story (in the beginning) was really good. That’s why I got upset and wrote this review. It’s so rare to find a good manhwa that is not a copy-paste of other manhwa plots, which just ruins the market ngl, because they sell the most. So it physically HURTS to see a good plot idea with decent art style just flush it down the drain in the second part.
I forgot about Eugene watching them, its been so long since his power was even acknowledged I could've even got it if it was attempted rape (still súper fucked up, but in the context of the abuse its not that weird that he developed an unhealthy relationship with him) SINCE HE SEEMS TO AT LEAST REGRET IT AND ALTHOUGH STILL TRAUMATIC IDK IT WOULD BE BETTER THAN THAT WHOLE "he needs my comfort" SCENE WHICH UGH
Uh idk if you only read this story recently, but when the manhwa was still ongoing and ppl were reacting to every update/new chapter, of course there were many who hated the incest and called it out. Idk about the people who normalize it or justify/go along with it, but those who never mentioned anything about it at all are %100 focused on only the main couple.
thank you. you saved my time : )
Came back and reread and wanted to point out somethings:
The only ones who knew what happened between them was MC, his brother, and Eugene. The parents who saw what happened are gone, and ML never was told about it. I would defend ML being chill about it because literally no one ever told him that the MC’s brother did all that and liked him. If MC DID tell the ML, knowing how the ML is, he would definitely do something or at least been super angry when around him. He already hurt Eugene due to getting MC involved/hurt, if you remember at the end. You can tell he has no clue about it because whenever the MC mentions his brother, he hardly thinks anything of it and has no interest.
For the MC’s reasoning as to why he’s so chill about it may very well be due to the abuse they suffered. Had they grown up in a normal household, I’m sure MC would have been able to genuinely hate his brother for all that. But because they both were abused and neglected by their parents, he could only ever depend on and protect his brother, making him look like a child in his eyes. MC believed that the only reason his brother ever liked him was due to his own fault, which made the brother solely dependent/crave affection on him that they never received from their parents. The brother seemed to be normal as a child until the father started beating them. The bro was MC’s only family growing up- so MC being unable to hate him makes sense.
When ppl are stuck in a traumatic or terrible environment, the relationship between them can be much more complex and it may be harder for them to separate or fully have just one emotion for each other. It’s likely there would always be mixed feelings. Unlike those of us who were probably raised in normal environments, it’s easier to separate emotions/feelings and hate someone fully.
As for Eugene, can’t really defend him lmfao. His taste is odd, but who knows what’s going through his head. He had the most mystery around him right next to the ML. All I can guess is that he’s twisted himself seeing as he was working together with the masterminds.
You described it perfectly. ML definetly doesnt know, otherwise he would've killed the brother probably. Also Eugene is fucked up for similar reasons, His mother abused him (she was going insane) and maybe that screwed up his view of love? But that doesnt explain why when MC sees Eugene for the first time he Said he has seen him and the brother like its a bad thing (it is).
I think the story has a lot of wasted potential, wish they had taking some subjects More seriously
Dude used MC and even abused him while they were “dating”, but he only chased for a little bit (~10 chapters, which is nothing compared to 40+ chapters of reading abuse). It wasn’t satisfying at all. 50% of his “redemption” was literally him just cleaning after himself (like dealing with the loan shark, the video of MC getting sexually assaulted and etc). The rest was just him taking MC on two(!) dates and suffering from consequences of his own actions (like when he told MC he couldn’t say that he likes him because it’s a lie literally a few chapters before and then showing a pikachu face each time MC tries to cut ties with him or doesn’t believe his words).
I wish he suffered consequences of his awful actions longer and chased longer. Or, at least, give us more POVs from him where he having dreams about MC and more yearning. Not the other way around.
I’m tired of MCs forgiving trash MLs so easily ╥﹏╥
(I see the dislikes. Don’t boohoo me. I’m right.)
(Take a shot every time I mention misunderstanding or miscommunication in this topic)
The manhwa had a potential and a good start, but the second part/ending of it were so rushed. Everything just felt so scrambled and poorly conveyed that I was getting confused why characters were getting upset/mad. One frame they say one thing about how they feel, but then say something completely different when “talking it out” with each other.
It’s felt like the manhwa was taking me on a leisure walk, but then suddenly just started sprinting like an Olympic champion and I had to keep up with it.
The miscommunication trope is a big problem in this manhwa, because it became a constant theme and so overused. It was just one miscommunication/misunderstanding after another. And I get it. Both of them are high schoolers. They don’t know how to communicate properly yet. Especially MC who has problems with self-esteem and panic disorder. But after like… third misunderstanding you would think that they would learn something from it… no? In the end I was just rolling my eyes because author was just putting misunderstanding for the sake of it to add angst to the plot. It was just too much.
I was especially annoyed/disappointed in the ending. ML explicitly said that he HATES omegas and prefers alphas, so it wasn’t a shocker that when MC presented as an omega - his first reaction was to hide it from him. Then after spending MC’s heat together, ML leaves in the morning without leaving a note or a message KNOWING about how MC is always anxious and overthinks. And then he was surprised that MC misunderstood and jumped to conclusions. Damn, I’m a grown adult and even I would have thought that I was ditched.
It was understandable why ML was hurt too and tired of MC not trusting him, but the way he decided to handle situation was just petty and mean. He knew that MC misunderstood him and why, but made no effort to clarify things or to reach out? And then he also got mad at MC for it? It felt SO out of pocket, because the whole story ML was such a caring and understanding guy. Wtf happened there.
Again, I perfectly understand both perspectives, but the ending made me sound alarms and wave a red flag.
Anyways, the manhwa was rushed and ruined in the end. MCs never learned from their mistakes (only in chapter 60 did they learn *something* but I’m still sceptical) and conflicts were never truly resolved and were just pushed aside the whole time.
(This manhwa is completed with 125 chapters + one Special if you are reading 18+ mature version / 109 + one Special for 15+ version)
I liked this manhwa (not a 10/10, but still has a place in my heart) because of the good romcom, cute characters and their dynamic. I loved both of the main characters so I didn’t mind some of the cliche tropes, because they were executed in a way that I found endearing and not cringe or annoying.
I wouldn’t mind this manhwa to have another 100+ chapters as long as it doesn’t drag out the drama with MC’s abusive family. But I also didn’t expect it to end so abruptly?
I don’t know why, but somewhere after chapter 100 (I’ve read 18+ version) author just started to rush and cut down on things. It felt like some of the chapters were cut, because one moment characters are talking and then it immediately cuts to another scene without proper transition. It sometimes made me confused and check twice if some panels were missing/not loading. But no. It was just like that.
(Example: moment when MC gets “stabbed”. Scene shows dude with knife, cuts to MC on the floor already bloody, MC gets taken away, only THEN shows ML who is just sitting on the ground shocked and the gangster dude who was hired by MC’s brother just appearing out of nowhere with a wound on his hand. Yes, the panels were in that order and I’m not missing anything. It feels like scenes were missing, but they weren’t.)
On top of that, it felt like the plot took speed pills, because everything got resolved so quickly and it felt anticlimactic. All the sweet revenge was shown as one-two panels that happened on the background, which is just upsetting. Then MC and his brother got only like ~10 chapters together after years of misunderstanding and being apart. And even in those 10 chapters they didn’t spend time one-on-one to talk things out. On top of that, we just get a time skip and rushed summery of some events (which is fine to do for an ending, but considering how fast plot just started to progress out of nowhere, I feel robbed.)
In the end, the manhwa is still pretty good, but I’m disappointed with the rushed ending. This manhwa definitely deserved better.