Okay, I understand that her family felt uncomfortable/hostile towards her because their souls were switched, but do they feel any shame?
They straight up neglected Camilla and let her be bullied, isolated and made into a joke by society as well as always assumed the worst of her (and then later found out they were completely wrong).
If you realized your perception of her was wrong, and you changed your behaviour toward her as a result, how can you avoid feeling guilty about the way you treated her in the past? How can they act so shamelessly and expect gifts from her without even properly apologizing to her for everything they put her through?
I would've liked a real apology too... I guess at least she can breathe easy now ever since the duke did a thorough "cleaning" of the household servants conspiring to frame her inside the house (after the theft of her mom's ring came to light), and the stepbro punished those boys harassing her and the Original blondie FL at school, for her, both things sending a message that they're not gonna ignore random people mistreating her, anymore.
But yeah, it'd have been nice if they'd been more vocal.
Hmm, I've been enjoying this story, but some aspects bother me. Hikaru's backstory aligns with the trope of a traumatized child turned vengeful adult due to exploitation. It's clear that his experiences with an older woman as a child shaped his twisted outlook on life, leading him to target successful women in his quest for vengeance. The core reason for Hikaru's penchant for 'stealing talented women's potential' stems from having his innocence taken by a talented/successful woman.
On one hand, I appreciate the attempt to draw parallels between Hikaru and Ai, both victims of predatory adults who coveted their beauty and 'shininess.' Both had to carefully curate an innocent and untainted image to survive, akin to polished gems hiding imperfections. Yet, internally, they grapple with twisted emotions and misplaced blame for the trauma inflicted upon them. This stark contrast between their outward presentation and inner turmoil is where the metaphor of 'lies' arises. This is also why I would argue that the person who knew Ai best was Hikaru as they both shared similar backgrounds and experiences.
While I appreciate the use of the gem metaphor, its application troubles me. It's problematic to suggest that these children were targeted solely based on their attractiveness and that their 'shininess' compelled others to covet them. This notion, coupled with the excuse of 'lookism,' almost absolves perpetrators of their actions (“the power of lookism, turns people into monsters” Why are we acting like this out of one’s control?). I believe focusing on the violence and malice perpetrated by adults, rather than solely on the children's beauty, would have been a more appropriate approach.
I think what the author was trying to imply when comparing Hikaru and Ai with a gem was something similar to that of blood diamonds, where the conflict arises from human greed and exploitation rather than the inherent value of the gems themselves. Both Hikaru and Ai are victims of circumstances beyond their control, stained by the actions of adults who sought to possess them.
Then again it could just be a translation issue, as sometimes things don’t translate well or the meaning/nuance gets lost or not conveyed as accurately. Future chapters could also delve deeper into this subject or I could have interpreted this wrong.
If anyone else interpreted this differently please share your thoughts in the comments, as I like to hear others thoughts and opinions.
I think how the author made it about their attractiveness is valid. The showbiz industry works on how charming a person is, also we the audience only knows them through what they show which is basically a made up character and their polished appearance which again is their looks. And when it comes to representation, do we even want to know the perpetrators side? The victims are who that needs justice. If the author focused on the perpetrators malice, there wouldn’t be the story of the victims suffering and their subsequent actions and it’s consequences. Now that we have Hikaru’s story we feel the weight of what he has done reduced. He was a victim and a perpetrator later.
So I got lost in my own text . I hope I passed what I was trying to say….
Please, my man is selling his pride for some unseasoned chicken breast
Yes, but it's also a matter of how much effort or difficulty the dish requires, as well as how good it tastes. Everyone wouldn't have cared if the ML made the MC chicken congee (known for being lightly seasoned), but the fact that he had a chef make it is what matters. Not only did this guy have someone else make the dish, but he also failed to instruct them on how to make it well (this guy even failed to play into nostalgia and make the dish that MC's grandma used to cook). In terms of effort, he put in the LEAST amount, which is insane since it equates to a sentence to the chef
Wait. How do you know what went in it or how it's made?!?
And also, you're comparing something that's been made by Yi-Hyun's MOM. And they've been friends since FOREVER.
Like, while they were hanging out, did YeJun cook that chicken the SAME way as how his grandma had made it for himself?!? Cuz how ELSE would Ian have known what kind of chicken it was!?? They knew each other for less than a year at school....
Bruh, time isn't a factor here, it's consideration. The ML is and has always been an a**hole so of course the only thing he noticed was chicken and not the small details. If he even half what cared he would have asked questions about the MC or showed interest in him during their time together. And honestly, Idc, if that's what he wanted from the relationship fine. This last chapter, however, is a joke since it's just an attempt to force chemistry between 2 characters without any chemistry at all. The author is trying to play the 'see he's always been secretly watching you' card (and maybe a good person!) and it's just lazy writing. In my opinion, a shamelessly terrible/blatant red flag is better than when they try to sell and pretend a red flag is a green one or suddenly (and poorly) change things up because they realize everyone hates the ML.
As for the chicken, there's a certain level of inferring/reading between the scenes that's done in literature. Knowing the ML and his family background you can easily piece together they have various staff who serve them, this would include a chef. Pair that with the sister saying the chicken was 'requested' for the main course means the ML gave some level of instruction to the chef to prepare the meal for the MC. Then looking at the drawings you can see a lack of colour in the piece of chicken given to the MC (roasted chicken tends to be slightly golden/brown and any seasoning would have given some sort of speck in colour including pepper). So while you are right to say there's no concrete evidence this chicken is bland asf, there's also no concrete evidence stating the chicken is NOT bland asf
I have a feeling that it has something to do with pheromones. But if he does know how to cook, it makes the reader wonder why THAT wasn't the badum badum moment. The ML personally making the MC's favourite food or learning to make his favourite food would have had more emotional impact than him half-heartedly instructing a chef to prepare a super common/sub par meal.
I wasn't inferring the chicken wasn't bland. It didn't look appetizing at all. That's why I lol's at your comment. I just meant that since it's a family gathering and they went to the (family) home that chefs are a given so for the chicken to be so tasteless (from the coloring)....who knows. It wouldn't be possible for him to go and cook at their kitchen. They were just guests. Ofc, if DoYoon had never had to wait hands and feet or cook for himself then he's prob not good.
But what threw me off is the phrase where YeJun said (to himself) that he couldn't eat anything that wasn't made by DoYoon. So that means DoYoon DOES know how to cook the (chicken)/food like how YJ likes it?!?
Let me tell you something funny. My parents aren't good cooks.
My mom worked a lot. And following recipes is hard. But with the advent of YouT*be and retirement, she's gotten a lot better. Like being able to see it being made does help. And she had more time after retirement. But she doesn't know how to season food very well. Sometimes it would be very salty. And sometimes very bland (under salted). Or overly seasoned or undersea seasoned. She just doesn't have the knack for it. So it requires a lot of time and dedication. I don't think, without practice and dedication, he wouldn't spontaneously get good. I'm sure he didn't plan all that time to get married and thought about cooking for him. But if the inner thought bubble was correct then DY did indeed knows how to cook for YJ. Just not when others make that dish?
Honestly, the funniest thing about all this drama is there is NO future in this relationship. If Dan gets with Jaekjung, then what? No seriously, then what?
I'm going to crunch some numbers real quick:
Jaekyung is 26 yrs old.
If he continues to have a good career he will retire around mid to late 30s (avg age for boxers is 35 because after that they physically break down).
If he blows out his shoulder it will be way before that.
So that means at most Dan is expecting 10-15 years more of this crazy-ass, violent behaviour (as well as messed up power dynamics).
But I'm not done. CTE kicks in the early 40s if you are lucky, early to mid-30s if you aren't lucky and could even present prior. This means even AFTER this guy retires he's still going to be beating the crap out of Dan and most likely going to become less coherent and more violent (essentially he's going to become a violent dementia patient). Finally, CTE takes years off of your life expectancy so Jaekjung will probs die around 60-65 yrs of age (if he doesn't succumb to suicidal thoughts (symptom of CTE) or if someone else doesn't take him out first)
So like why are we staying? There's nothing to look forward to. And they are in Korea so it's not like he can marry him for his money. It's funny in the way that Dan is going through all of these trials and tribulations for literally nothing. Like girl, it's a lose-lose situation
Dang not the intellectual play by play! But yea, I get what you’re saying. It’s kinda hard to imagine them together at this point in the story, but even in the end, I still can’t see them together without getting the uncanny valley shivers.
Maybe it’s not the type of story where the author wants them to be a thing in the end, or maybe kill one of them when they just start being happy, idk and idc, fr.
What's CTE btw? And I assume. Like, assume. Jk's violent behaviour will stop when...if. he gets together with Dan.
Damn, even typing this I can't believe how unlikely and unreal it sounds.
Lol if you've read BJ Alex you'd know. It's the same author and the stories are somewhat similar. They follow the same formula: seme sucks at the start everything's bad nothing is going well then sudden change of heart and they understand eachother then seme is the sweetest man to even exist.
Bro atleast Alex was somewhat decent. He knew how to act normal...plus that story's development was faster. This is just trudging along somewhat
I can’t help but feel this is different this time tho.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. It’s essentially brain damage from high contact sports like boxing and football. Netflix has a documentary about Aaron Hernandez, an infamous NFL player who had CTE and eventually killed his peer and himself later on. I cannot think of an ending where Jaekyung does not develop CTE and end up hurting Dan bc ain’t no way
H-holy- shit... You're factually correct. But this is fiction in the end so it's genuinely unpredictable
Looking at Jaekyung's attitude towards injuries, he'll definitely retire early like that. I seriously can't understand how people are expecting for this relationship to work out. This had potential to be a psychological Manwha and show the consequences of CTE, instead of a ''romance''. What a bummer.
I can't help but feel it'll be the same it's very much like every other yaoi it's only enjoyable cause the author knows how to blue ball us into reading the next chap
FR. CTE is so scary. I've taken several classes on it and written a few papers about it and shit is crazy. The best-case scenario I've seen was with this guy who worked at my university as a sports coordinator (he was briefly an enforcer in the NHL). AND HE LITERALLY CAN'T COUNT ANYMORE. He lost the ability to count. Moreover, his baby hit him in the head and because he was so messed up, it knocked him out and severely concussed him. As a result of this incident, his doctor warned him that if it happened again, he could die. The only way this is going to end 'happily' is if Jaekyung turns into a vegetable and Dan gets it take care of him for the rest of his short-lived life
I feel like Alex didn't actively manipulate the uke though. Like yes he was a jackass, but he was straightforward with what he wanted and didn't hold a position of power over the uke. Meanwhile, Jaekjung may be open about being a d*ck but he holds both financial and positional powers over Dan and actively exploits him because of it.
ahhh I edited a typo and I didn't realize that it deletes the replies. I'm sorry to everyone who replied in the comments
Wait it's back, we're good. Idk why but this website always glitches on me
Yeah but to me it only feels like the author is taking it a step further to make it more interesting. I don't expect it to end any differently. They're gonna be lovey dovey soon. The author hinted it at before, I don't remember exactly what it was but in one of those "Q&A" chapters someone asked when they'll get to be happy and the author said it's gonna take long, therefore implying that it will end the same way .
honestly we all know it gonna end like bj alex but i feel like jae is so far gone… like i can’t even imagining him missing dan when he inevitably fires him or dan leaves. the only thing i could see jae missing is the sex…..