@Neurotech thank you for responding to me. I love reading the messages that have been posted, it's exciting to see how the story has been received!

I don't think I said that Sungji fell magically in love with Sumin at first sight (I looked in my first post but couldn't find it).

About the infidelity, some people can get over it, some can't. It depends on the context and history of the people involved. Sometimes infidelity happens in complex situations, it's not always black and white. Concerning Sumin's betrayal, Sungji does not forgive her immediately. She is hurt, she is angry with her, she tries to go with someone else before changing her mind.

Why does Sungji forgive her, for that and going to sleep with Seju? I think it's because Sungji is aware that the bond between Sumin and Seju is very strong and won't be easily cut. When Sungji tells her that, it shows some maturity on her part, she understands that there is a very substantial history between Sumin and Seju (to be honest, a relationship like Sumin and Seju's is not common, they share a very special bond) and that it will require a lot of work (Sumin is indeed a piece of work).

But Sungji will choose in the end to believe in their relationship. She feels that Sumin is ultimately worth it and makes the choice to believe in them rather than condemn their relationship. I think this is understandable. Some couples are strong enough to get past the betrayal, others can't resist it. Either way, it's understandable.

"New is always better", not so much. Sumin tries many times to go to other women (10 years is quite a long time honestly), but each time it's a failure, proof that new is not always better. Sumin even says to Seju when talking about one of these women after yet another breakup that "She couldn't do better than you". It's just that Sungji was the exception for Sumin. That being said, did the author miss something when transcripting their relationship? That's another debate (that I would love to have because I partially agree!).

last edited at Feb 7, 2022 4:39AM

It is true that Sungji seems underdeveloped compared to Seju and Sumin. When I read the story some time ago, Sungji seemed absent, almost anecdotal. Having reread the story recently, my point of view has changed a bit.

We are sometimes a bit hard on Sungji. As the differences are not so marked visually speaking, we can easily forget that she is ten years younger than Sumin and Seju. Therefore, she has neither the maturity nor the experience of Seju and Sumin at the beginning of the story. She has never even experienced love.

However, when she learns about Sumin's infidelity, she becomes more mature. Instead of making a decision on the spot, she chooses to take time to assess the situation, something that Sumin failed to do 10 years before when she faced a similar situation. In the same way that when Sungji learns that Sumin slept with Seju, she makes the decision to leave Sumin (again she has a different reaction than Sumin who has chosen an on and off never-ending cycle of love/hate/desire instead).

Faced with similar situations, Sungji makes different choices than Sumin and Seju. She is the youngest, the most inexperienced, but she is the one who puts them out of their misery in the end. It is thanks to Sungji that Seju realizes she hurts Sumin more than anything else by staying. It is also thanks to Sungji (but especially Nami) that Sumin realizes that keeping Seju close also means that she still loves her. That they both have to let go.

For these reasons, I think that the character of Sungji is essential, since she is the key to their liberation. Her character could have had more thickness, but I think the lack of it is due to the fact that she is young (as she has not experienced anything yet, she has nothing to tell). Sumin and Seju are her experience. She also doesn't seem to have had a difficult family background or any particular trauma (other than being pretty I think).

If the goal was to tell how a past story can still weigh on someone's present to the point of preventing them from moving forward and thus having a future, then the goal is achieved. All the flashbacks (and the fact that their relationship is still going on after all those years) show how strong Seju and Sumin's bond is, but also how it prevents them from moving forward. Until Sungji.

For me, it would come down to letting go of the past in order to heal in the present and thus have a future. From that regard, all three characters of WDTFS tell a beautiful story.