i kinda like the love triangle. this renewed the reason i started liking love triangles subplots in the first place. it gives the story that extra spice, and it's actually well-developed enough to make fuji a viable option, even if it's at 1% chance. considering ml's circumstances, it makes me eager to know how this subplot will end. hopefully it doesnt disappoint and get swept under the rug.
not to diminish the manhwa or anything, but it doesn't do the novel justice.
oh it's going to get worse in the novel. but I'm mostly talking about the prose that makes the story better. it gives the story that "angst" flavor without overdoing it, which IMO makes it more heartrending. idk, maybe it's just me. if you want full spoilers:
HUGE ASS SPOILERS
the mc goes out to sell jewelry, and then gets shot. she has surgery in the hospital, and she and ml are told that she was pregnant, but the injury caused a miscarriage, and rendered her infertile. ml is distressed, but is just no help to her, and makes it worse by suggesting adoption. after they leave, there is a mob of reporters, and mc is called out by a woman she vaguely recognizes, who is the sister of the shooter. mc is driven by curiosity for this woman, and where they crossed paths in the past, so they later have a meeting. the woman reveals that the shooter and she were siblings of a man part of the govt resistance group, but was tortured by mc's father. what makes it worse is that this incident happened on the day of mc's piano event. mc had seen the woman making a commotion outside in attempt to reach the marquis to save her brother, but thought nothing of it. the woman failed, and the man had an unfair trial and died. the story shocks mc, forcing her to realize her naivety, and that her beloved father was actually a horrible person, and in guilt and shame, she keeps apologizing over and over to the woman. mc had never empathized with the commoners, but now she is confronted with the fact that the revolution and deaths of her family were justified, and her comfort and luxurious life were maintained with the oppression of the common people. later, she writes a letter of mercy for the shooter's trial, meets with ml one more time and apologizes for her ignorance, and then tries to kill herself by slitting her wrists in the bathtub. and to shorten the next events: ml saves her, she wakes up after a long coma, is in despair that she's alive, ml wants her to live and tries to help her broken depressed mental state but to no avail, mc attempts to kill herself again by hanging, ml saves her again and finally grants her the divorce if she promises she will live. ngl the author did a great job. i hope those emotional moments transfer well into the manhwa.
what happened to the blondie? did he eventually get into a loving relationship, hopefully with a rich man so he don't have to sell his body anymore? also, i hated how he was treated in this story, in contrast to mc who was treated like a baby bird. i don't think i ever pity a chara so much that'll i dislike the mc. also, i don't understand the reason why mc ask chisoo to run away with him, bc he doesn't seem to be the moral type to be so torn about his being a violent gangster, to the extent of asking him to leave his entire career behind? this is supposed to a big moment that underscores their clashing ideology, the reason why they cant be together despite loving each other. but I'm not feeling it, bc there's no lore behind this logic. also, the fact that he cheated on him too, but there's no self-reflection afterward... ugh. the narrative never acknowledge his flaws or criticize him, always lets him get his way without major consequences for him, never struggle on his own or is forced to grow because the mls are there to save and love him, and never had him sell his body desperately like blondie. the only time he did anything drastic was looking for jungkwon, but even then, he had someone to wipe his ass.. When his association with jungkwon came to light, he didnt suffer from consequences bc chisoo is so in love with him. that's not to say he didnt suffer, but he feels more like a plot device than a character honestly. as for chisoo, i like that he fell for mc. Still, it feels so mundane. he wasn't a jerk to begin with, and pretty much indulge in mc, so his absolute love for mc didnt feel cathartic or sweet, but instead shallow bc there's no basis.
while i understand that he's nuanced, the ml's not hot or charismatic enough to be this much of a jerk to mc. the best aspect of the story is the intricacy and details about the legal system, but it's not compelling enough to overshadow or diminish the asshole-ness of the ml. the mc is okay, but not endearing enough to make the unequal power dynamic any less infuriating. it's also quite annoying seeing mc developing concern and the beginning of feelings for ml when he's been no less of an asswipe to him so far. when i checked the reviews on the novel, it was well-praised, but the story falls short of the praise IMO. still, i have a sliver of hope. does it get better, and does the ml actually ACTUALLY redeem himself?
The way I understood, it was love at first sight for both of them just Yunshin figured it out first.
I don't really think there's anything for Sehun to redeem though. Yunshin is the one chasing after Sehun, and he's also the one to instigate everything in the novel. Sehun is just a jerk with a heart of gold (for only Yunshin).
I can understand why his personality may be dislikable but personally for me, Sehun ended up my favourite character in the novel. I did think he changed a lot from the beginning of the novel to the end of it.
ah, that explains why he's so cold yet also kinda touchy with mc. idk about heart of gold, but if someone humiliated me and strangled me with my tie i would kinda want to do the same to them (i cant believe mc liked him after all that; ml really lucked out). does it ever get touched upon later after those incidents? or does it get swept under the rug?
I think maybe I'm not explaining well. Sehun is like a wild tiger; and Yunshin is the trainer who is actively edging and closing in on him, knowing he might get hurt (I'd say Yunshin is a bit of a masochist). It's not that Sehun means to be rough with him, but rather that he doesn't really know how to handle Yunshin because being in love or being kind to another person is all new to him; and he's attracted to him but is extremely on edge because he doesn't know if Yunshin is just out to use him. There is a part in the novel where Sehun is extremely rough during sex, but that's only because Yunshin purposely egged him on despite knowing Sehun wasn't in a good mood, and Sehun had already warned him about it to back off. --- So, the thing is, yeah Sehun is sometimes a bit physically rough, but I think the fault lies partly (or mostly) with Yunshin who instigates it. So, like...basically I'm saying Yunshin doesn't mind because he's a bit of a maso.
Personally I really liked the novel enough to actually buy some of its chapters. I think the manhwa suffers from the problem that not every details from the novel is translated well in the adaptation. There are many character thoughts and little details that gets lost or just not in the manhwa at all. Also regarding their dynamic, I think it's quite equal in terms of status. For now, it's just Yoonshin being very upfront with his feelings and Sehun not knowing what to do with it but I personally think it gets better.
that's some weird leap of logic to lure the ml to "rape" her when she could've gone directly to his father and pleaded to remove his son... also the child feel more like a plot device to force mc to tolerate ml's presence in her home... is this all kids in this trope amount to? i was kinda hoping mc will reveal some distress to the kid, and the kid will side with her and agree to kick the ml out or smth.
Yes, kids in these tropes are some form of plot device, not all of them though
Most times, the parent and child having a unique bond, that let's the ML identify them as theirs and as a way to insert themselves back into the omega's life