Ariest's manga / #Webtoon(102)

The storytelling, character dynamics, and overall development in this story are quite solid. The interactions between the characters felt genuine, and the relationships were heartfelt and engaging. That said, the early chapters included some disturbing ghost rape stuff that really put me off. It was a major turnoff and made it hard to stay invested at first. Thankfully, once the narrative shifted to a modern-day setting, things significantly improved. The two secondary couples were by far my favorites. I rate the first half of the story 3 stars, and the second half 4 stars.

I'm so disappointed with this story. I really like the art and definitely fell in love with the uke. But the romance is so damn toxic and abusive all bc of the seme, but the author has the audacity to blame the victim instead and try to make a romance out of it. Just no.

Ok let's start with the good things: I love the idea the story is based on. I love angst and romance which this tragic curse setup is perfect for. And I absolutely love how the story ended, including the epilogue chapters. I also like the art, and the uke won my heart fairly early on. Part of me wants to give this 5 stars, because I definitely enjoyed it more than most BLs I've read, but I decided on 4 because there were definitely a couple frustrating things about the story. Now for the negatives: The story gets confusing at time. I feel like there were quite a few times where the characters' thoughts and motivations directly contradicted the logic of the curse, or where it was just really hard to understand what they were trying to say. And the curse logic itself got a little too convenient and illogical at times, making it seem like it shouldn't be such a big deal. This seme is also one of the greatest assholes I have encountered in BL. Not only does he say things that gives the uke insecurities and complexes for life, he's also a shitty friend who breaks his promises and forces himself on the uke in more ways than one. He has zero respect for the uke's feelings. Usually most jerky semes have some kind of redeeming qualities about them, but this one is just a terrible person through and through. He's horrible to every character in his life. He cheats on all his lovers, but then blames THEM for hating him or looking down on him for it. At the end of the story he does finally improve and win me over, but I really wish there had been more balance and redemption for him throughout the story, because the first 2/3rds were pretty frustrating to read bc of it.

Refreshing to read a yaoi where the characters actually have a wholesome romantic relationship, and it's really nice that there's an actual plot instead of just smut. Also the ending is a real roller coaster. All in all a very good webtoon.