I feel like an important plot device gets overlooked in discussions and that is of the torture/curse-mark by Seju's brother/uncle/family-friend (Been a long time since i read this and can't remember his exact relationship)

I'm not sure if it's how the plot device was executed by the author or if readers just don't think it was that important but i always felt it had a big impact on why the story took the route that it did post-cheating.

last edited at Apr 6, 2019 5:47PM

I feel like an important plot device gets overlooked in discussions and that is of the torture/curse-mark by Seju's brother/uncle/family-friend (Been a long time since i read this and can't remember his exact relationship)

I'm not sure if it's how the plot device was executed by the author or if readers just don't think it was that important but i always felt it had a big impact on why the story took the route that it did post-cheating.

Exactly! Maybe people just don’t see it as a big deal because Seju is their fave.

They also overlook the fact that Sumin’s parents just freaking died and Seju was pushing her instead of being there for her yet Sumin was the first one to actively try to mend their relationship while Seju got drunk instead of admitting her fault.

The whole debate about Seju being raped or not further proves that she has a strong following. I really think if she were raped, that definitely would have been addressed by Team Gaji. But like I said, she never says the Bartender raped her. And besides, Seju’s manipulative. That excerpt they show after Sungji catches them, where Seju tells Sungji Sumin can’t love her, just shows she’s not above lying to get what she wants. Also, she told Sungji to go to her office knowing that Sungji was going to catch her and Sumin in the act. Like Seju, why do you have to hurt Sungji’s innocent heart just to get what you want?.

I know it seems like I hate Seju but I don’t. I recognize she has no idea how to love because of her upbringing. I just don’t think Sumin should be vilified either when they both made mistakes that caused each other pain.

The point of the story is that all the characters are flawed.

Seju messed up first. Then Sumin retaliated. Seju just let it happen because she felt guilty for what happened to Seju. Seju was so angry but when she realized how much pain she was causing Seju, she too felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. They were trapped in this destructive cycle. They were no longer bound by love but instead, guilt and pain tied them together until Sungji came along.

Sungji herself has her own flaws, granted much less serious than Sumin and Seju.

Why would they break up when Sungji already knows that Sumin is absolutely in love with her and Sumin has completely gotten over Seju lol? No matter what type of shit Seju pulls, they won't work after Sungji finally knew Sumin's heart.

It's not like I couldn't agree with anything you wrote, but I felf like that was not about the Sungji in wdtfs. She said Sumin gave her her heart, but then they broke up twice after that. I find your "Sumin is absolutely in love with her and Sumin has completely gotten over Seju" greatly exaggerated.

You sound like you want them to break up so bad lmao.

What I sound like has nothing to do with the story.

Apparently, Sumin x Sungji is insecure, so I don't find their breakups out of ordinary. As the manhwa only showed Sumin X Sungji relationship worked out while Seju left, I still doupt that everything really has changed.

(Also, how many accounts are you gonna use to reply to me "ddd" , "ee" or perhaps "yoonie"...??? )

Two of the accounts you mentioned above were mine. I didn't create accounts to reply to you though. Creating a new account didn't take more time than trying to recal my old password, so.

Seju/Sumin ain't gonna happen ever again. Even Seju already let go, you should too.

Look at your comment. -.-

I feel like an important plot device gets overlooked in discussions and that is of the torture/curse-mark by Seju's brother/uncle/family-friend (Been a long time since i read this and can't remember his exact relationship)

I'm not sure if it's how the plot device was executed by the author or if readers just don't think it was that important but i always felt it had a big impact on why the story took the route that it did post-cheating.

Exactly! Maybe people just don’t see it as a big deal because Seju is their fave.

They also overlook the fact that Sumin’s parents just freaking died and Seju was pushing her instead of being there for her yet Sumin was the first one to actively try to mend their relationship while Seju got drunk instead of admitting her fault.

The whole debate about Seju being raped or not further proves that she has a strong following. I really think if she were raped, that definitely would have been addressed by Team Gaji. But like I said, she never says the Bartender raped her. And besides, Seju’s manipulative. That excerpt they show after Sungji catches them, where Seju tells Sungji Sumin can’t love her, just shows she’s not above lying to get what she wants. Also, she told Sungji to go to her office knowing that Sungji was going to catch her and Sumin in the act. Like Seju, why do you have to hurt Sungji’s innocent heart just to get what you want?.

I know it seems like I hate Seju but I don’t. I recognize she has no idea how to love because of her upbringing. I just don’t think Sumin should be vilified either when they both made mistakes that caused each other pain.

The point of the story is that all the characters are flawed.

Seju messed up first. Then Sumin retaliated. Seju just let it happen because she felt guilty for what happened to Seju. Seju was so angry but when she realized how much pain she was causing Seju, she too felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. They were trapped in this destructive cycle. They were no longer bound by love but instead, guilt and pain tied them together until Sungji came along.

Sungji herself has her own flaws, granted much less serious than Sumin and Seju.

Well, I'm not going to lie. Out of the three main characters, Seju is my favorite. She's the one I find most intriguing to read about. Admittedly, I didn't like her at first. Thought she was just a manipulative bitch, but as the story unravels, it turns out she does have some redeeming qualities, namely her love for Sumin even if she went about it the wrong way.

I still find the cheating incident to be vague. Nobody is wrong to make the assessment to think Seju had willingly cheated on Sumin. The signs do seem incriminating: being lucid enough to give that bartender her home address and how the guard would have stopped her if she's too drunk out of her mind. But then, there are other signs throughout the course of the story that suggest differently about Seju: how she's not interested in men, Nami implying she's not the kind of person to sleep around with others, Sumin making wrong assumptions about her on two occasions. I prefer to be openminded and don't jump to just one conclusion.

It's easy for folks to blame everything on Seju, making her the fall girl. She shouldn't have been insensitive to snap Sumin out of her grief after her parents' deaths. She shouldn't have gotten herself drunk. She shouldn't be clingy and possessive towards Sumin. But if one takes the time to understand her character, just imagine yourself in her shoe, then you realize it's not that simple.

last edited at Apr 6, 2019 8:51PM

I still find the cheating incident to be vague. Nobody is wrong to make the assessment to think Seju had willingly cheated on Sumin. The signs do seem incriminating: being lucid enough to give that bartender her home address and how the guard would have stopped her if she's too drunk out of her mind. But then, there are other signs throughout the course of the story that suggest differently about Seju: how she's not interested in men, Nami implying she's not the kind of person to sleep around with others, Sumin making wrong assumptions about her on two occasions. I prefer to be openminded and don't jump to just one conclusion.

I’m not trying to change your mind. I just want to say my piece because I’ve only been venting for like a few months on the forum and I have a lot to say.

Nami made that implication ten years after Seju’s cheating incident. She also says Seju 10 years later refuses to drink and even asks why she’s blaming alcohol so it’s possible Nami also believes Seju cheated and was not raped. Seju changed after what happened. Maybe 10 years ago, Seju would have slept with someone else when she thought that Sumin was going to leave her. Seju 10 years later has the mentality that Sumin’s entering fucked up relationships and will always come back to her so that’s why she doesn’t sleep with anyone else.

Nami also says that when Seju revealed the fiancé thing with Sumin’s ex she could have chosen a less hurtful way to do it so obviously the cycle of hurt is perpetuated by both Sumin and Seju. Furthering my point that they’re almost equally each other’s emotional punching bags.

It's easy for folks to blame everything on Seju, making her the fall girl. She shouldn't have been insensitive to snap Sumin out of her grief after her parents' deaths. She shouldn't have gotten herself drunk. She shouldn't be clingy and possessive towards Sumin. But if one takes the time to understand her character, just imagine yourself in her shoe, then you realize it's not that simple.

Like I said, I don’t blame Seju because she made mistakes. Sumin too made a crap ton of them. I reiterate that if Seju’s brother never hurt Sumin, they probably would have had a chance to heal together instead of constantly outdoing the hurt.

Timing really was just not great for Sumin and Sungji.

In my opinion, cheating is not the worst crime ever. What Sumin has been doing in the story so far (I'm only 60% through), which is treating this person -- who she supposedly loved so much in the past and who obviously still loves her -- like total garbage, is extremely cruel. And she does it FOR TEN YEARS. What's worse? A one-off bad decision which was immediately regretted or a prolonged period of treating another person cruelly?

What Seju did was wrong, yes. But people don't seem to take context into consideration. Are all types of cheating the same? What Seju did was cheating out of extreme insecurity, and an obvious act of self-sabotage and self-hatred. Which of course with her background makes total sense. She regretted the act and has been trying to atone for it for a freaking decade, while Sumin takes advantage of her and uses her. She acts ungrateful and spoiled, totally taking not only Seju's love but even the friendship for granted.

Others talked about how bad it was that Seju tried to snap Sumin out of her depression by saying she needs to get over it. Well I don't know what snowflake world folks live in, but it's very usual for people, when they are worried about their loved ones, to go on "tough love" mode. It makes even more sense, again, in Seju's context because her family is not exactly sensitive. So she was desperate, frustrated, afraid of losing Sumin, and trying to help her. Doesn't mean what she said was right, but Sumin completely overreacted. And she knows she did, because she went to try and make amends, by which time it was too late. Also she was clearly blaming Seju for her parents' death, which was unfair and immature on her part.

So both in my opinion had equal fault in the split that happened, but only Seju accepts blame and is tortured by this selfish girl Sumin for this entire time. If it's true that Sumin and Sungji ended up together, good riddance because Seju deserves someone better. Maybe it's a "story of healing" for Seju not Sumin lol

last edited at Apr 6, 2019 9:49PM

Unrelated to this whole Sumin/Seju debate: one of the bad parts of this story is that I have grown to like Sungji a lot too, not only Seju...but since I am starting to deeply dislike Sumin as a fictional human being, her relationship with Sungji makes me kind of sick lol So even the supposedly happy part of the story is turning out to be dark for me.

last edited at Apr 6, 2019 9:51PM

So both in my opinion had equal fault in the split that happened, but only Seju accepts blame and is tortured by this selfish girl Sumin for this entire time. If it's true that Sumin and Sungji ended up together, good riddance because Seju deserves someone better. Maybe it's a "story of healing" for Seju not Sumin lol

I don’t know how far you are in the story but both parties participate in the cycle of hurt. Sure maybe Sumin tipped the scales in her favor but later on I think Seju kind of behaves even more poorly. I’m talking about how Sungji gets purposely dragged in the crossfire by Seju when she’s totally innocent and didn’t deserve to be hurt like that. Like Nami said, there’s a way to get truths out but Seju seems to choose ways that are most painful for Sumin to accomplish her goals.

last edited at Apr 6, 2019 9:54PM

Why would they break up when Sungji already knows that Sumin is absolutely in love with her and Sumin has completely gotten over Seju lol? No matter what type of shit Seju pulls, they won't work after Sungji finally knew Sumin's heart.

It's not like I couldn't agree with anything you wrote, but I felf like that was not about the Sungji in wdtfs. She said Sumin gave her her heart, but then they broke up twice after that.

Oh good lord, did you even read my long post about the massive difference between the break ups and why it wont happen for the third time??? Youre clearly just looking for weak excuses for them to break up lol.

I find your "Sumin is absolutely in love with her and Sumin has completely gotten over Seju" greatly exaggerated.

Except it's not an exaggeration. It's a fact. I'm sorry that it hurts your feelings -shrug-

You sound like you want them to break up so bad lmao.

What I sound like has nothing to do with the story.

It has and youre clearly projecting.

Apparently, Sumin x Sungji is insecure, so I don't find their breakups out of ordinary.

So you finally acknowledge that Sungji has a flaw. Great. And now your ignoring the fact that Sumin finally showed her that she's the only one for her, making her feel secure that she loves her and only her. Thus , a break up is an impossibility by this point.

As the manhwa only showed Sumin X Sungji relationship worked out while Seju left, I still doupt that everything really has changed.

Omg, thr desperation and denial here tho...

(Also, how many accounts are you gonna use to reply to me "ddd" , "ee" or perhaps "yoonie"...??? )

Two of the accounts you mentioned above were mine. I didn't create accounts to reply to you though. Creating a new account didn't take more time than trying to recal my old password, so.

Nah, just admit you lost the argument and went to create an account. Plus, how can you forget your old password when you created an account only a few hours later lol. Another lie from you. (Is matsuri_wins your accnt too? Seems like it lmao)

Seju/Sumin ain't gonna happen ever again. Even Seju already let go, you should too.

Look at your comment. -.-

Yep, you should let go.

last edited at Apr 6, 2019 11:05PM

So both in my opinion had equal fault in the split that happened, but only Seju accepts blame and is tortured by this selfish girl Sumin for this entire time. If it's true that Sumin and Sungji ended up together, good riddance because Seju deserves someone better. Maybe it's a "story of healing" for Seju not Sumin lol

I don’t know how far you are in the story but both parties participate in the cycle of hurt. Sure maybe Sumin tipped the scales in her favor but later on I think Seju kind of behaves even more poorly. I’m talking about how Sungji gets purposely dragged in the crossfire by Seju when she’s totally innocent and didn’t deserve to be hurt like that. Like Nami said, there’s a way to get truths out but Seju seems to choose ways that are most painful for Sumin to accomplish her goals.

Also Seju admits in chapter 27 to using Sumin as well. Among other things that make it hard for me to agree with the "she was being tortured by Sumin" argument.

last edited at Apr 6, 2019 11:03PM

Of course Seju is being tortured. Look at the difference in how she treats Sumin vs how Sumin treats her. The reason why she accepts such treatment though is that she is already used to being disliked/hated. In a way, she might even "provoke" it because people usually feel compelled to recreate their childhood situations with adult lovers, it's the whole self-sabotage concept.

Anyway...the writing in this story is very good, though I feel at the point I am reading the authors already realized they made Seju so interesting that they basically now have to make her unrealistically forceful and manipulative lol So as to try to give the SuminxSungji pair some cred. It's painful to watch Seju humiliating herself for love, while Sumin is clearly not into her anymore. People who would still want these 2 to be together are wishful thinkers.

last edited at Apr 6, 2019 11:15PM

Of course Seju is being tortured. Look at the difference in how she treats Sumin vs how Sumin treats her. The reason why she accepts such treatment though is that she is already used to being disliked/hated. In a way, she might even "provoke" it because people usually feel compelled to recreate their childhood situations with adult lovers, it's the whole self-sabotage concept.

Anyway...the writing in this story is very good, though I feel at the point I am reading the authors already realized they made Seju so interesting that they basically now have to make her unrealistically forceful and manipulative lol So as to try to give the SuminxSungji pair some lipcred. It's painful to watch Seju humiliating herself for love, while Sumin is clearly not into her anymore. People who would still want these 2 to be together are wishful thinkers.

Yeah but i may see Seju treating Sumin like shit too early on but you might not. But hey, the best stories leave a lot to the readers interpretations which is why we don't all see things the same.

Mind you i am commenting on something i feel like i read 2 years ago so it's not fresh in my memory. I just remember disliking Seju for most of the story until she redeemed herself near the end.

last edited at Apr 6, 2019 11:36PM

Of course Seju is being tortured. Look at the difference in how she treats Sumin vs how Sumin treats her. The reason why she accepts such treatment though is that she is already used to being disliked/hated. In a way, she might even "provoke" it because people usually feel compelled to recreate their childhood situations with adult lovers, it's the whole self-sabotage concept.

Seju and Sumin both self sabotage and are both victims of unfortunate circumstances. Seju because of her upbringing, Sumin because of her parents death, Seju’s betrayal, and Seju’s brother mutilating and torturing her. So I sympathize with both of them even if they’re both immature with how they handle things.

Neither one make a move to change the dynamics of their relationship. Sumin holds onto her rage and like Seju says, Sumin puts herself in situations where it’s certain that she’ll get hurt, just like Seju does. The thing is Sumin allows herself be hurt by others while Seju is only letting Sumin hurt her. Occasionally, Seju also finds ways to hurt Sumin because their relationship becomes so twisted that I think Seju believes Sumin will only go back to her if she’s hurt.

Skip this if you’re not at the end yet. Even Sungji calls Sumin out on the fact that she was closed off because she was always ready to walk out on their relationship. Sumin clearly knew that she felt differently about Sungji at this point, hence why she womaned up and completely wanted to break things off with Seju, yet she still agreed to sleep with Seju so Sumin clearly knows all about self sabotage.

Anyway...the writing in this story is very good, though I feel at the point I am reading the authors already realized they made Seju so interesting that they basically now have to make her unrealistically forceful and manipulative lol So as to try to give the SuminxSungji pair some cred. It's painful to watch Seju humiliating herself for love, while Sumin is clearly not into her anymore. People who would still want these 2 to be together are wishful thinkers.

I don’t think her actions are forced in order to arouse sympathy for Sungji and Sumin. It fits her character archetype well enough.

Seju’s easily the most damaged character but I don’t think it’s enough to excuse her behavior. Sumin’s trauma for that matter doesn’t excuse her actions in the long run. Both of them needed to grow up in my opinion.

Skip if not finished Sumin in my opinion does it first because she wants to be with Sungji.

Like honestly, how can either of them have a healthy relationship if they aren’t able to properly communicate with their partner?

Ultimately, I believe Sungji’s the one who deserves a happily ever after so Sumin is freaking lucky that Sungji loves her enough to forgive her after everything she had to put up with.

last edited at Apr 7, 2019 12:13AM

Yeah but i may see Seju treating Sumin like shit too early on but you might not. But hey, the best stories leave a lot to the readers interpretations which is why we don't all see things the same.

The characters are well written that everyone can sympathize with someone. I didn’t realize that Seju was a crowd fave but I can understand why people are drawn to her. She suffered so much after all and was left with no happy ending (before the continuation).

I think if I had to pick, Sungji would be mine. I know she’s relatively boring but she brings such hope to this otherwise bleak and destructive tale.

Mind you i am commenting on something i feel like i read 2 years ago so it's not fresh in my memory. I just remember disliking Seju for most of the story until she redeemed herself near the end.

I’m glad she realized that Sumin and her are a lost cause. It’s a step for character growth.

Seju is a Top in the street and a Bottom in the sheets.

last edited at Apr 7, 2019 12:35AM

Seju and Sumin are kind of like oil and water. They just can’t mix. They were once in love yes, but their actions and words keep hurting one another because of miscommunication. Like they choose ways that give each other more pain than trying to simply resolve it by apologizing and moving on. I see a parallel between these two and another shipping from a favorite anime series of mines, “Revolutionary Girl Utena.” Like how in that series, Shiori and Juri hurt one another because they could not express how they feel about one another and consistently miscommunicated and found the wrong ways to get noticed or deny their feelings.

While I feel like Sumin cheating did make her a hypocrite like matsuri said, she was more forgivable than Seju because she didn’t try to hide that shit or blame it on someone else. She admitted it and was ready to break up if Sungji were to get upset about it, based on her choice to tell her what went down.

I don’t know if it was because they were young at the time, but after Seju cheated on Sumin, she blamed the situation and Sumin for not being attentive to her. She was somewhat selfish in her reasoning at the time (keyword being “at the time”). This selfishness took a heavy toll on Sumin because her folks just died, and on top of that her girlfriend didn’t even have the decency to give her space and time when she needed it. She instead chose to act like a crybaby and run to a bar. Sumin did regret that she was unreasonable and went to visit Seju for forgiveness, but she finds her butt naked with some guy. What Seju should have done was to go visit Sumin after her head cooled and apologized, fully admitting everything was her fault. But since she chose to blame it on Sumin, that’s when Sumin knew their toxic relationship couldn’t continue.

I guess Seju couldn’t be the lover and say the things that Sumin wanted because she’s from a family devoid of love. Sungji and Seju are polar opposites, in which Sungji must have been raised to be a cleric and forgive people and teach people about love, while Seju as shown was from a very toxic family who verbally abused and neglected her. So Seju might not have known exactly what to do in that situation either because she wasn’t brought up to say the best things I guess. Sumin is also an opposite to Seju totally because Sumin actually does admit her faults and admits that she is wrong. And she does show those traits throughout the series. She is a person capable of accepting consequences, while Seju is a person who seems to want to be bitter about them. With Sungji though, she develops that positive side even more, so Sungji is the right person for her.

I think everyone is well aware that Seju is hurt because of her family issues, but she’s the one who is at fault for hurting Sumin because unfortunately, she was already too late.

last edited at Apr 7, 2019 12:37AM

Seju and Sumin are kind of like oil and water. They just can’t mix. They were once in love yes, but their actions and words keep hurting one another because of miscommunication. Like they choose ways that give each other more pain than trying to simply resolve it by apologizing and moving on.

It was getting lonely on the 'Both Sumin and Seju messed each other up' boat. It's like people just have blinders about everything Sumin suffered through because they sympathize and love Seju so much.

I know Seju suffered massively at the hands of her family because her father was a coward who couldn't defend her or her mother, thus driving her mother to kill herself/ignore that she was murdered but the psycho brother recognizes that her father doted on her the most because of this. I'm sure that means he showered her material wealth so that she would have a reason to live. Seju also showers Sumin with material wealth out of a mixture of love and guilt. But it's not like Sumin just lived off of them. Yes she worked for them but I don't remember hearing that she's bad at her job so I'd say she tried to earn whatever she got even though she didn't need to in my opinion because it's basically bribery/hush money.

Also, Sumin's previous attempt at moving on the right way were thwarted when Seju's brother cursed her. But I feel like this doesn't create enough of sympathy for Sumin even though Seju's brother admits he also did it so Sumin would take revenge on Seju. Essentially, Sumin was used by Seju's family. Chairman wanted her to be indebted to them so she'd stick around Seju while the brother hurt Sumin so she wouldn't escape Seju.

Sumin starts to redeem herself when she herself recognizes that she feels guilty for hurting Seju so she starts sleeping with her to comfort her each time Seju visits the family house.

Why does no one feel for Sumin, who was used to a world of love and affection, but then had to forcibly adapt herself to her new harsh reality filled with pain and loneliness? Sumin was used to having people who loved her and then she was left all alone.

I know @matsuri said that people snap during times of crisis because of 'tough love' but Seju herself admitted that her actions had been motivated by fear. Ultimately it was selfishness that made her push Sumin's buttons and even then, Sumin had the forethought to try and make things better. They'd been together for years so I can understand why Sumin was so hurt by what happened. I mean, this was the first time she ever truly needed Seju and Seju hurt her.

And as I said, I can also understand why Seju reacted this way. I'm just saying that no one seems to get why Sumin is so damaged and incapable of forgiveness.

Yes, Sumin hurt Seju but Seju also hurt Sumin in those 10 years, especially after Sungji came in the picture. Seju also hurts Sungji. Pure and kind Sungji who only wanted to love Sumin. But I feel like that part of the story gets lost in translation or something because people just sympathize and love Seju so much. Which they're entitled to but I just feel like Sumin's getting thrown under the bus too much.

last edited at Apr 7, 2019 3:38AM

@anim8tr: I did defend Sumin. More explanations can be found on the extremely long post lol.

And yep, although I do feel bad she was abused by her family, it was kinda her fault for blaming Sumin instead of admitting she was wrong and asking for forgiveness.

My post was a response to matsuri btw apologies for the confusion

last edited at Apr 7, 2019 3:05AM

@Blair I know you defended Sumin. Also know the post wasn’t directed to me. I was just glad that I’m not the only one who doesn’t think Sumin is the ultimate villain in the story.

Like I said, I don’t know why people turn a blind eye to Sumin’s suffering. What more had to happen to Sumin to justify her reactions?

Apparently getting betrayed by your partner of several years after your parents death and getting mutilated for trying to move on isn’t a good enough reason for her to be bitter and want to hurt Seju but Seju’s brothers being dicks to her and society looking down on her makes Seju the ultimate sacrificial lamb and gives her the okay to try and break up Sumin and Sungji instead of just actively trying to talk to Sumin after she felt that Sumin was falling for Sungji.

last edited at Apr 7, 2019 3:35AM

Gosh, I finished the first series last night after binge-reading it. What can I say? It was a roller-coaster ride. No wonder once I started reading it last year, I had to stop because some of the situations hit home too much. Now that I'm done, I'm literally in a state of emotional hangover lol

So below are my main impressions...

First of all, I think this series was written by people who have lived these situations, even if of course not literally as shown. The way the story unfolds, the dialogue, the subtlely etc. If you haven't lived through drama like this and survived to tell the tale, I don't think you can go in this much depth about them. I don't have time to read a lot of stories anyway, but to me at least this was pretty far from the formulaic stuff I have previously seen. I prefer manhwa than manga exactly because they are not so fixated on "High School girls", but still this is another level. It's definitely a story by adults for adults so to speak. Even if I had read it say on my late teens or early 20s, without having gone through many heartbreaks, mistakes and regrets, I don't think I could understand how realistic in terms of its emotional content the story truly is.

Even the art style helps with the realistic/adult impression. For example, the characters' expressions are many times hard to read; far from being a problem, in my opinion, it helps with the realism because in real life that's exactly what you get.

So I want to thank Team Gaji for having the guts to create this story, and also whoever translated it. Thank you so much, seriously. I will keep giving you my hard-earned $$$ to write this and other series.

As for the whole debate of "who is the biggest asshole, Sumin or Seju?" here is my take after finishing up the story:

To put it simply, I think people will empathize with Sumin or Seju more according to their personalities. In my case, I really get Seju. Because for me, intense and possessive love is always better than cruelly taking others for granted when you know they want/need you, which is what Sumin represents.

Yes, Seju is manipulative, she is jealous, she wants Sumin all for herself and at times went overboard in not considering Sumin's feelings. But this became a real problem only when she felt threatened about Sungji taking Sumin away from her: again, for 10 whole years she was letting Sumin live her life as she pleased and accepting to comfort Sumin and being there for her whenever needed. She is simply someone who loves super intensely, and due to low self-esteem, rather than letting go when appropriate she accepted to be dragged along in a game that was Sumin's own creation.

I say Sumin's creation, because it was Sumin who would seek Seju over and over. And not out of concerns for Seju's well-being, unlike what a poster above said; the story makes it pretty clear that Sumin would seek Seju for only 2 reasons: (1) When Sumin needed to be comforted due to losing yet another lover, which is obviously selfish. (2) Out of guilt because of Seju's family problems. Which is also selfish, because doing something that ultimately hurts someone just to assuage your own guilt, is as selfish as can be. That's why people should break up with others cleanly, it's actually out of respect for the other person. They could have simply been friends after a long cool-down period.

Sumin lacked respect for Seju and that never changed, that's made clear in literally every dialogue and it becomes more unbearable over time. Sumin's words towards Seju are always laced with spite, which Seju is used to because of her family situation. If she was a normal person, that would trigger her defenses and she would run for the hills and never look back at this girl lol And Sumin actually treats Sungji badly in the beginning too, until she falls in love. And if you think about it, she treats Nam Mi like crap too, even though Nam Mi worries a lot about her. This is literally who Sumin is. Maybe she wasn't like that as a young person, but the impression the story gave me is that she treats Sungji well now only because she is in love with her, but if she is not in love with the person she treats them like shit lol You can know a person's personality based on how they treat those who are begging for their love and attention, when they have "power" over them. Sumin totally fails that test, it's clear that when she feels she has the power, she abuses it.

While Seju, considering all the actual material power she had over Sumin's life, in the end, abused her power only once: when she was desperate and staged the whole situation of Sungji catching Sumin and her in the act. Just think of everything she could have done to prevent these 2 to be together, and she didn't. In fact, considering how much she invested her emotions in Sumin, she let go as soon as it became clear to her that Sumin is truly in love with Sungji.

Ironically, after all this my desired outcome for the story would have been Sungji with Seju lmao I know it's impossible, but if you think about it, Sungji actually showed more empathy for Seju than Sumin ever did. She actually tried to understand Seju's context and tried to figure out what she needed even in the limited interactions they had, which blew my mind because it contrasted so much with Sumin's treatment of her. That part of the story where they were all together and Sungji planned Seju's birthday party was my favorite, and just made it all too clear that Sumin is a shitty person.

Sorry Sumin fans.

Anyway, considering that Sumin and Sungji are still working at Seju's company, I wouldn't be surprised if there are many twists to come in future seasons. My desired pairings: Sungji/Seju, Sumin/Truck-kun lmao

last edited at Apr 7, 2019 12:13PM

Well, guess it’s time to butt in and defend Seju even though this no longer makes sense as they both broke up and probably will never ever meet again.

First of all, I’ve got to admit that Seju was at fault that night when she cheated on Sumin only because of those misunderstanding and miscommunication resulted from the passings of Sumin’s parents. However, it DOES NOT give Sumin an excuse to treat Seju – someone she used to treasure most like a dog that can come and go whenever she pleases for almost a decade. Please remember, it wasn’t Seju who demanded her psycho brother to hurt Sumin in that terrible way, he did it because Seju was suffering all alone in her own bed that she even thought of committing suicide after the break up, while Sumin out there had moved on and was living her best life with other girlfriends of hers. He took revenge for his sister Seju, yet she DIDN’T know anything about that and was still willing to receive any physical or mental wounds from Sumin. Seju wrongly blamed the drink for her mistake but Sumin also put her anger on a wrong person, Seju cheated once when she was half-conscious, ok that’s wrong but Sumin consciously slept with a bunch of girls to only get Seju hear all dirty moans for revenge then the next second she got back to Seju because those girls couldn’t give her enough pleasure/happiness/right feelings or whatever. What now?

That’s not the way she should do to her most precious ex-gf. If Seju’s cheating and the scar left by her brother were that unacceptable for her then just CUT ALL TIES with Seju right away, act like a mature one even if it’s not easy. Just mercilessly draw the line like she did with her bff Sunhwa. Or Sumin took Seju’s love for granted? Or she still loved Seju? Then just get back to her or at least calmly sit down to resolve the problem. Seju didn’t ask Sumin to sleep with her anyway, if there wasn’t the first time Sumin got back to her, how could there be a second time and nth time up until now? Let’s not give her HOPE. Had Sumin ever stopped to ask her heart what it really wants? Or she also escaped reality like Seju?

It’s true both Seju and Sumin were at fault, Seju’s problems were her low self-esteem, insecurity, and obsessiveness. Sumin’s problems were her selfishness, spinelessness, and most importantly, indecisiveness. She shouldn’t go along with whatever Seju asked, but eventually she did, including that cheating on Sungji. Can you explain why Sumin has these problems? You all dislike Seju but have you ever put yourself in her shoes too? You know her for being bitchy but have you ever wondered why she acts consistently in that bitchy way?

last edited at Apr 7, 2019 5:23PM

Unlike Sumin who is loved by everyone in this world including her family, friends, teachers, colleagues, countless girlfriends and even the author. Seju has never been loved by anyone from the moment she was born, imagine yourself receive tons of hatred from almost everywhere without a specific reason just because you’re a mistress’s child as mentioned in the latest chapter 107. You were never treated like a human being, rather, as a business tool to satisfy everybody’s needs, you DID NOTHING wrong but still had to act as if you’re guilty of everything. Can you bear with that? She was never truly loved by anyone besides Sumin throughout her first 34 years, while Sumin who had lost her family at the age of 24, was loved by everyone prior to that and by Nammi, Sungji, 30 girlfriends even though she acted like an coward that never dare give her earnest love to them. Who’s worse? What did Seju do wrong to be treated so anyway?

Remember there were TWO times Seju suddenly burst out in tears, these were the signs she was mentally traumatized or triggered by the situation as she rarely cries, one time with Nammi she said “Nobody’s on my side” and one time with Sumin she asked “Why everybody so eager to leave me?”. The first two that need mentioned here are her PARENTS, one irresponsibly hang herself and let her child fight against the mess she left ALONE, one turned his back away when his daughter was humiliated by her siblings. This is where her insecurity and low self-esteem come from, how can she expect love from anyone when her own parents even mistreated her? A girl that was mistreated to the point that she couldn’t even notice her good sides now, that she thought it must be her own problems for being hated like that all along. She even defined herself as truly being useless, unworthy like they said. How much mistreatment Seju did get to be led this far?

Even when she was dating Sumin, she never did ask for more from Sumin, she was dead-insecure instead as she did wonder how long she could go with Sumin, afraid that her family will sabotage their relationship someday. While Sumin was the one who kept on promising FOREVER, Seju on the other side can only wish for a TOMORROW, that it would be enough if there is still another time (FOR US). If you watch closely, It was also Sumin who always drew out important decisions for their relationship, whether Sumin wanted Seju to stay in Korea, to go out, to have sex, to break up, to get back or to part ways, Seju all went along with her. She could never ask for a second thought from Sumin.

In short, Baek Seju lives for OTHERS for very long. Can you live that way for 34 years??

Did you remember the first scene of her in Paradise in 1998? That expression in the car and many more throughout the side-story should NEVER come from a girl who has just turned 17. She was forced to grow up faster than people of the same age. Her world was full of darkness until Sumin came, so it’s easy to see why she held onto Sumin obsessively for that long. She was basically scared of losing the only light she may have in her entire life, that after Sumin, there would never be anyone who could love her in that sincere way. If only Sumin could be senstive enough to see straight into the problems and point that out for her, their past love would never be this ugly-broken.

Lastly, the cheating in the office was never 100% planned by Seju in order to hurt Sungji, it was Sumin who asked to come to Seju’s office in the evening, it was also Sumin who suddenly admitted her love for both Seju and Sungji and was ready to resign for good. Surely Seju can manipulate Sungji into seeing her together with Sumin in the office, but if Sumin never said those things, Seju would never be able to be emotionally provoked in that way which eventually caused her to rush into Sumin and ask her for 1 last time. Let’s never forget Seju has mental illnesses, if she truly want to hurt Sungji she could have stolen Sumin right away. People sometimes wear masks to prevent themselves from being hurt too, if Seju was acting like a bitch, it doesn’t always mean she’s truly bitchy.

last edited at Apr 7, 2019 12:53PM

I guess I’m the only one who empathizes with Sungji the most. Sure, I know she’s too good to be true, and her reasons for being the way she is are underdeveloped. But she’s smart without being cunning, passionate without being lascivious, and she’s insightful about other people and sensitive to their emotions.

Seju and Sumin are, or can be, raging assholes, in Seju’s case verging on sociopathy, and while we do understand the reasons behind their behavior, they’re still the kind of people I wish there were fewer of in the world.

And although Sungji is a weakly drawn character, the fictional person isn’t weak at all, and my absolute favorite parts of the story are when she utterly defeats Seju with the emotional jiu-jitsu of kindness.

Plus, of course, she’s blazing hot. (But let’s not judge people by their physical appearance.)

Like I said, I’m not attacking Seju. I understand her character motivations and am capable of putting myself in her shoes. The thing is, I’m also able to do the same for Sumin.

Both Sumin and Seju are flawed characters who had messed up things happen to them that they both don’t deserve.

They both developed into these selfish people because the world did what it does best and showered them with misery. Granted most of it was self imposed but nonetheless, life granted them sh*t cards.

That argument that at least Sumin had people who loved her for most of her life while Seju had no one but Sumin is a little flawed. Some can argue that it’s harder having to grow up in a world full of love then have it taken away from them at an instant.

Who are we really to say who deserves to be hurt more? And how can we judge the right way to move on or how much time is the proper amount to grieve and wallow?

Everyone reacts differently.

Even if we experience the same pain, there’s no guarantee we will have the same mentality that these characters possess after what they went through.

That’s just my take on Sumin and Seju though.

I wish Sungji had been able to experience a painless first love but sometimes pain is necessary. We learn more from our hurtful experiences than our happy ones.

last edited at Apr 7, 2019 1:33PM

Right, people reacts differently in the same cases. Pain is equal and you cannot say a broken arm is more hurtful than a broken leg to a football player. But what I mean is, losing parents is the experience that we eventually have to go through. Sumin still has Seju if she wants, Nammi and her 1st, 2nd...exgf. Yet she built up the walls, shutted her doors and pushed them out of her life even though they sincerely love her. What is that? Her world was still full of love but she never really gave them a chance. Like Sangmi said, treating people like toys, who can endure her if it's not angelic Sungji?

A normal person would never dive into an ambiguous love like that. Seju is not normal anyway. Moreover, it's really hard to find someone who has that much kindness like Sungji alive in this world.

I did put myself in Sumin's shoes, then I finally realize it's much better to live her life than Seju's. I also agreed with some opinions Matsuri gave out. Sumin only used her heart to warmly treat Sungji when she began to fall in love with her. What if she didn't love Sungji? The poor girl will be pushed away like others after her affection ran out. What if Sungji cheated on her like how Seju did? Another revenge? Simply said, someone like Sumin is somehow scary to me in real life. If you made a mistake and hurt her 1 time, she would hurt you back 10x harder. We know the best living-evidence here.

How I wish Seju's first love can be less painful too but well, it sucks in the end no matter how hard she tried. Sungji does have a much more beautiful first love than Sumin and Seju, some sufferings and she can have "forever". Well, never mind. Seju is flawed but she can be perfect if you are able to bring out the best in her, considering this, Sumin failed terribly since she just couldn't make Seju love her in a more proper way. I wish there will only be happiness for Seju's next love, NO MORE pain. On top of that, I'm looking forward to see the new (REAL) Seju. I have a feeling that ONE would show us many more sides of hers that we've never seen before.

last edited at Apr 7, 2019 4:53PM