Killing Stalking
an absolute classic. loved it.
After Killing You
I really wanted to give it five stars because for the most part, I really liked the story. It also ticked off most of the boxes I have to consider something really good. But when I was still reading and there were only two or three chapters left, I knew I wouldn’t be able to give it such a high rating. I really liked the premise here: a dying, dysfunctional relationship between two people that shouldn’t be together in the first place. Eunsung, with all his insecurities and fear of abandonment caused by neglectful parents, can’t stop obsessing over Hyunwoo, who became romantically involved with him just because of pity and his own sense of loneliness. But Eunsung’s obsession is so strong that it quite literally keeps him alive and makes him want to change the course of their relationship. The flashbacks show how they met and how all of it started, and how it was meant to fail the moment Hyunwoo agreed to be together. Yet they kept being with each other, despite Hyunwoo’s lies, his feelings of shame for dating another man and his aversion for Eunsung’s clinginess, and Eunsung’s low self esteem and clearly manipulative tactics. But it was fear of being alone that glued their relationship no matter how many cracks had shown on the surface. I really liked seeing it all for myself and, to some extent, experiencing the things each side did that caused the other pain. Though it’s pretty obvious that it’s Eunsung who the reader should root for, because he is shown actually having some genuine feelings for Hyunwoo and caring for him. Despite deciding to control Hyunwoo’s life and manipulate him to stay, it’s still much easier to feel sympathy for Eunsung rather than Hyunwoo, who doesn’t really seem to have any feelings for Eunsung, or at least not when he sees how pointless their relationship has really become. And while I really wanted to side with both of them, Hyunwoo was just difficult to like. I could understand his point of view but it was hard to sympathize with him when he did all these shitty things to Eunsung and at no point felt any remorse. He also lacked any positive traits that would’ve made it easier to sympathize with, if only a little. I honestly hoped there would be some more explanation for Eunsung’s raise from the dead. It’s shown how it’s him who kills Hyunwoo, yet it’s his own body that he wakes up next to. That in itself was interesting enough to add something unique to the premise, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t really elaborated on. The only semblance of explanation was at the very end, when they killed each other again, with Eunsung’s words indicating that they are in a never ending cycle of staying with each other, betraying each other, and ultimately murdering each other—all of that because they’re meant to be together. I saw it also as a metaphor of a toxic relationship; there doesn’t need to be an actual murder involved to experience the feeling of being slowly killed by each other’s toxicity, yet there’s always a reason to stay together, even if it’s ultimately pointless and destructive. Nevertheless, I was disappointed that there wasn’t any explanation how all of that really worked or why Eunsung’s got killed even if he strangled Hyunwoo first. Was he actually brought back to life in another universe as he himself suspected? We will never know, because that part of the plot was clearly more of a simple metaphor never meant to be explored some more. Still, I really liked all of it, but when the ending was nearing, I felt that something was missing. The story was simple and told in a very straightforward manner, which I personally think was a good thing—it never strayed off the path it set for itself and instead went into some unnecessary territory. And yet, I just can’t say it was very good. I just know something more should be there so I could feel more satisfied, but I just can’t pinpoint what exactly it’s supposed to be. Maybe everything would be better if Eunsung was the manipulative bottom— The artstyle was really nice, I liked the character design and everything felt polished despite being quite simple. I liked Eunsung the most and genuinely felt sorry for him, even when he did some questionable things himself. I still might lower my rating after I let the story sit with me for a while, but for now I can’t make myself rate it higher than 3.5/5. It was a nice story but nothing more.
Blind Play