So looks like One is going to end next week. A relief to be honest. At least this last chapter was cute.

Wonder what the SuminxSungji story is going to be about. Is it wrong that I want it to be a breakup story? Those 2 are annoying af

Either those two break up or an assassin come by and finish them both off lol. Nah, who am I kidding? This boring ass couple will have a happily ever ending. They're gonna get married, adopt pets and continue to be sweet on one another for the rest of their lives. Wouldn't be surprised if the next side story about Sumin's lawyer ex and Sungji's friend was also canceled just so they could rush over to them. Hell, their side story could even be the longest of all, despite the fact those two already have like 90+ chapters worth of moments together...

last edited at Aug 28, 2019 3:47AM

Well, but about what? I would be totally fine if next chapter Won gets revealed as an assassin after all, and Seju sends her to "erase" Sungji as revenge and proof of love. But Seju turned out to be mostly a good person rather than someone truly selfish (boooring), and Won...doesn't seem to be much of anything at all. So I guess the Will story is going to be just about Sungji and Sumin having tea.

BTW I am technically still waiting for the ending foreshadowed by Sumin and Sunhwa's conversation, which implied Sumin and Seju would go back to being friends or something once Seju no longer cared. That's not what we got in One, they just ignored each other. It's possible the author forgot about it long ago though, not like their story-writing has been any good.

last edited at Aug 28, 2019 6:39AM

Well, maybe it's like you said and someone else did, we should probably stop overthinking or deluding ourselves that the author cares about writing good story and character development. Maybe all she wants is write cute and fluffy moments, where couple simply acts all lovey-dovey like something out of a teenage romance movie. Perhaps the Korean readers (mostly young folks) she's catering to want exactly that.

And besides, the opinions of us foreign readers, who feel differently about their story and characters, don't matter much to them apparently. According to the author's tweet response to the international fans asking for an extension of One, we're illegal readers lol, basically saying we're thieves stealing her work and don't deserve to request anything. I mean I can't fathom how she could come up with that response...

last edited at Aug 28, 2019 7:54AM

Well, maybe it's like you said and someone else did, we should probably stop overthinking or deluding ourselves that the author cares about writing good story and character development.

Well, I’m not the fans of deluding self... prefer to follow what the author actually told us, even it doesn’t go as what I wanted to be, it’s the authority of the author.... yet, it’s my freedom to “trash” it and give a good/bad feedback... lol

And besides, the opinions of us foreign readers, who feel differently about their story and characters, don't matter much to them apparently. According to the author's tweet response to the international fans asking for an extension of One, we're illegal readers lol, basically saying we're thieves stealing her work and don't deserve to request anything. I mean I can't fathom how she could come up with that response...

Really? Is there any link? Hmm.. I assume the author might think that way based on sales data (profits royalty), But with delayed english version compare to korean one (lezhin), no wonder the outcome was that way. TG int fans might buy only the korean one and fill satisfied with the fans translation

Well, we must already know that TG cares about money... afterall, the battle with their pass agency (lezhin) is about the distribution of money. It isn’t something bad, just human, but not commendable

last edited at Aug 28, 2019 8:24AM

That's rude tbh, it's like saying I don't care about the fans who don't pay.
And even if you don't care about the fans as a community, the fans are still useful even of they don't pay. Because they will promote your story by discussing about it and luring in potential buyers.

But on the other hand, at least that means there won't be an extension of One lol. Which is good. You gotta stop at some point. They are probably tired of their own story at this point.

Well, maybe it's like you said and someone else did, we should probably stop overthinking or deluding ourselves that the author cares about writing good story and character development.

Well, I’m not the fans of deluding self... prefer to follow what the author actually told us, even it doesn’t go as what I wanted to be, it’s the authority of the author.... yet, it’s my freedom to “trash” it and give a good/bad feedback... lol

And besides, the opinions of us foreign readers, who feel differently about their story and characters, don't matter much to them apparently. According to the author's tweet response to the international fans asking for an extension of One, we're illegal readers lol, basically saying we're thieves stealing her work and don't deserve to request anything. I mean I can't fathom how she could come up with that response...

Really? Is there any link? Hmm.. I assume the author might think that way based on sales data (profits royalty), But with delayed english version compare to korean one (lezhin), no wonder the outcome was that way. TG int fans might buy only the korean one and fill satisfied with the fans translation

Well, we must already know that TG cares about money... afterall, the battle with their pass agency (lezhin) is about the distribution of money. It isn’t something bad, just human, but not commendable

https://twitter.com/alggumba/status/1165972333930012673
"불법업로드본을 보면서 외전을 시즌2로 만들어달라는 이야기는 안 했으면 좋겠군요..."

Here's the link to the author's tweet response and the rough translation: "I hope you don't ask to turn the side story into Season 2 while watching the illegal upload."

There's also this following tweet of hers afterward, basically saying she's angry how sharing the Kakao link to the series ended up becoming a source of illegal uploads. You get the picture.

I'm kind of lost for words here... The fans were only asking if it was possible to extend the side story since they feel it wasn't long enough to give Seju or Won the closure they need. That's all. And as a content creator, she should know fan requests are part and parcel for her line of work. If she didn't want to extend this story, all she could have simply said was: "Thanks for your suggestion. But I'm afraid we're not considering extending the story. I hope you understand."

There was no need for the callous response, implying those fans are illegal readers...

That's rude tbh, it's like saying I don't care about the fans who don't pay.
And even if you don't care about the fans as a community, the fans are still useful even of they don't pay. Because they will promote your story by discussing about it and luring in potential buyers.

But on the other hand, at least that means there won't be an extension of One lol. Which is good. You gotta stop at some point. They are probably tired of their own story at this point.

Yup. Maybe they're really are thinking about closing up shop, hence the rush to finish this side story. It would be a damn shame tbh.

I think TG needs to stay away from social media, she has tendencies to screw up with words.

Just like what you said, this tweet isn't necessary. It just shows how unhappy she is about the illegal distribution (which is every artist problem, yet many addresses this issues better). I think she is the type who think the only way to support her is by buying her work, money is a big factor here, and she doesn't care to continue a story if it doesn't profit.... at least that's what I got.

Well as a human, we want our hardwork to payoff, so I can understand it, but..
She actually could play with words and ordering the fans to buy it officially in more subtle way, like:
"I'm planning to continue the story just like all the fans wanted but it's hard without everyone support, so if you're really interested with this work, I kindly ask you to read on official site so it can continue."

Or whatever... Blaming the reader is useless lol

Hmm.. This makes me think that TG might only write the story to what majority want, especially on korean readers (where the money lies) and she might change the original plot, just to satisfy them.

last edited at Aug 28, 2019 12:25PM

Hmm.. This makes me think that TG might only write the story to what majority want, especially on korean readers (where the money lies) and she might change the original plot, just to satisfy them.

Wouldn't be the first one, you know?

Well that might explain why One felt rushed and didn't live up to the wdtfs level. They wrote what the majority wanted to see but it felt flat. It's the art that saves it from being average and cliche.
So why keep on writing for an audience that doesn't even pay? Since what artists get from their work is expressing themselves, money or both.
I imagine it must be extra frustrating to write about something you don't feel strongly for, only to not even get paid. Not saying that's necessary the case with TG though.

Wasn’t Team GJ a team of 2 people, the writer and the person who draws? Is “alggumba” a tweet for both of these people or only the person who draws?

I have the impression that the writer is no longer in the picture here, which might be the simplest explanation as to why the quality declined so rapidly. We might very well have another Sabu case here (author of Citrus): mad drawing skills, shit writing skills.

"alggumba" is the twitter account for the team rather than their own personal artist accounts.

The writer still uses the same twitter account so at the moment it would just be speculation that the writer has changed.

last edited at Aug 28, 2019 7:54PM

I have checked their twitter account and I only see a dog lol that explains a lot, somehow

last edited at Aug 28, 2019 8:45PM

Okay, look, I'm not going to justify piracy is legal. I get it. The creator feels hard done that all these efforts and time being put into the work which she expected to be paid for, has been leaked out freely. But then, she should understand by now that if you're going to share anything online, it has a risk of being exploited by others (in this case, illegal distribution). You can't stop piracy. It's a losing battle.

But what the creator can do is try to mitigate the problem. For instances, if the series was hosted on more platforms, there could be far more readers buying the series than the minority who are pirating off their work. Maybe sell physical copies of the series on Amazon and promote a monthly sale, giving less incentive to those willing to resort to piracy. And if they're desperate for even more financial support, there's always Patreon where fans wouldn't mind making generous donations to support their favorite creators.

It's at least better than lashing out randomly and blaming people on Twitter lol...

Anyways, I'm just hoping the author still cares enough about one of the main characters to finish this side-story on a high note. I am a tad disappointed how this story started off promising, only to fall off and wasted its potential. You'd think she would do justice to Seju - an important character who has been central to the main story. Apparently, that doesn't seem to be the case.

I get the impression perhaps her popularity is overestimated, and the Korean readers (who makes up for the majority) do not see her in a favorable light compared to Sumin and Sungji. Different culture has different ideas on what they considered to be good characters, I guess. To them, Seju doesn't deserve pity or sympathy whatsoever because she made the first mistake cheating on Sumin. Plus, she's filthy rich and gorgeous with big breasts (which they probably perceive her to be a slut or a homewrecker that can't be trusted). While Sungji, on the other hand, is seen as more attractive because she comes from an ordinary background, she acts pure and innocent and always seem to do the right thing.

last edited at Aug 28, 2019 8:51PM

eikichi: you seem to have suddenly changed your mind about the story quality, since up to 1 or 2 chapters ago you had high hopes still? What made you change your opinion? Curious to know. I actually found the last chapter cute once I lowered my expectations.

As for the piracy issue, it is pretty unfair for the author to lash out considering just because you are an international reader, doesn’t mean you don’t pay; I paid in Lezhin and then all over again in tappytoon for the story. So it seems odd they would right away make this assumption.

Would they make another story only on Seju if she wasn't liked though?

From what I know, in Asia the smaller and cuter a woman is, the more attractive she is perceived. Guess this is why we see so many women acting "kawaii" and stuff, even when they're grown ups. They consider the more assertive women to be masculine. So I guess the more "passive" personalities are prefered.

Well, this entire story is ironic then since it could be said Sungji was the homewrecker. After all, she got involved with her BOSS, even after suspecting said boss already had a partner, as she admitted at some point in the story. I am highly suspicious of very innocent-acting women anyway...

BTW it depends on where in Asia. My gf is from northern China and over there girls are pretty tough, probably due to Russian influence.

Funny video for comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbiIu_EzuWk

last edited at Aug 28, 2019 9:24PM

Some interesting stuff in here.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/07/04/why-young-koreans-love-to-splurge-shibal-biyong-millennial-fuck-it-expense/

"According to Statistics Korea, in 2015 seven out of 10 young people believed inequality was a major problem—and with reason: Among countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), for example, South Korea ranks 31 out of 36 on income inequality, according to the latest available data. In 2018, youth unemployment reached its highest level since 1999, in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Part of the blame for these problems lies with South Korea’s chaebol—giant family-owned conglomerates—which still monopolize much of the country’s economy and stifle entrepreneurship, leaving young Koreans competing to enter the hierarchical and gerontocratic world of chaebol jobs for want of any alternative."

eikichi: you seem to have suddenly changed your mind about the story quality, since up to 1 or 2 chapters ago you had high hopes still? What made you change your opinion? Curious to know. I actually found the last chapter cute once I lowered my expectations.

As for the piracy issue, it is pretty unfair for the author to lash out considering just because you are an international reader, doesn’t mean you don’t pay; I paid in Lezhin and then all over again in tappytoon for the story. So it seems odd they would right away make this assumption.

I may have mostly expressed positive views on here, but that doesn't mean I haven't reserved any negative thoughts regarding certain elements in the story until now. I consider myself to be a cautious optimist. I mean yes, I was hopeful and kind of optimistic about a side-story revolving around Seju, whom I have made no secret is my favorite character, and how she moves onto her future. At the same time though, I consider the possibility the author could screw this up. So, I thought let's wait and see.

The beginning started off promising. Here we have, Seju meeting this mysterious, young caretaker called Won. She acted cold and distant to her at first but slowly began to warm up to her. It had that slow burn romance vibes: two people meet and talk to each other, share their thoughts, their feelings, their lives and finding love through those efforts. I was actually excited, thinking this duo would give off a different dynamic than the main couple who jumped straight to loving each other madly.

There were quite a few scenes that I particularly liked in this side story: Seju piercing Won's ears and constantly checking to see if she's healing, Won showing the innocent kindness when she demonstrated her swimming prowess to Seju and helping her to dip her feet into the pool. My favorite of all scenes, was where Seju and Won sat down together on the beach, drinking beer and sharing their life stories, especially the past relationship with their ex. It felt pretty refreshing to see these two women were being curious about one another and having this honest talk.

But then the first red flag popped up the first time they had sex and the flashback of Sumin appeared to stop Seju from going any further, causing her to feel sad and firing Won. I had to ask, was this even necessary? I mean, it just seems so repetitive imo having Sumin being the reason all the time for Seju not to move on. I feel like this was a waste of potential, where Seju and Won could have started an unorthodox relationship, being friends with benefits who are initially sexually attracted to each other before later developing their emotional attraction.

Anyways, moving on. I still remained open-minded despite this, being patient and positive. But another red flag popped up when they skipped over to Seju being back in Seoul handing over the reins of her company to purple-haired CEO, meeting Sumin once more before dealing with her bastard brother personally. Again, this seems like an opportunity wasted, where we could have seen Seju staying by Won and nursing her until she recovers while she's reflecting over her thoughts and feelings instead of just rushing to tie up loose ends. Details like this could have added a nice touch to their relationship development.

Then, another one when they tried to have sex the second time, and Seju ended up crying yet again. It seems kind of disheartening for the moment to be ruined once more like this... Doubts were creeping in my mind about the author's ability to write a great story, after what I've seen in the recent chapters and after reading the opinions of others from here, Mangago and Discord.

Now, we come to this latest chapter. Yes, it had its cute moments. I liked how flustered Seju looked, which she rarely expressed in this series when Wonnie easily overpowered her and thought they were gonna do it again :D
But this angst drama moment where Seju ran away after finding out Sehyun had hired Won to protect her, feels so forced and unnecessary like the time Sungji broke up with Sumin after she left the ring in her hand and disappeared into the crowd without saying a word...

And of course, it doesn't help to quell my disappointment when the author reacted rude and unprofessional to the foreign fans (many who probably have followed the series on Lezhin and now on TappyToon) who feels it's too soon to end the story on the next chapter - a sentiment which I also share, particular because of a lack of closure for Won's past (like what happened between her and her famous swimmer ex) and perhaps more relationship development is needed for her and Seju.

So, there you have it.

I thought Sumin popping up a couple of times was not an issue at all. Especially regarding the fact how author dragged their story during wdtfs. I'd say it was more realistic to give her a couple of scenes, since this was Seju's first time with someone else besides Sumin.

Personally I still feel the romance here is forced. Especially how Seju keeps calling Won as Won-ah. Doesn't feel convincing but whatever.
Wonah is now her official name, so when Seju wants to call her with the -ah, she has to say Wonah-ah lol.

I kinda expected this rushed story development before One got released since their previous project - Pets' Aesthetics gave me the warnings that it would just be same when the story looked very promising at first but eventually turned out that nothing could be considered as amazing plot. Not to mention the fact that both Team Gaji (mostly Alggumba - the writer) and Korean readers don't like Seju as much as Sungji and Sumin, since their taste is something fresh, innocent, pure, cute. So this really explains their impatience to write a good, realistic, proper ending for Seju x Won as they just can't wait to move onto Sumin x Sungji's happy life 3 years later and their next project as well.

BTW it depends on where in Asia. My gf is from northern China and over there girls are pretty tough, probably due to Russian influence.

Near as I'm aware mainstream Russian culture goes for decidedly demure "traditional femininity" model though. More likely that's a legacy of the various (now mostly Sinicized) steppe peoples of the area, who nigh-universally had relatively egalitarian gender roles by olden-time standards, and the by necessity more rough-and-ready "frontier society" of the comparatively harsh transitional zone between the steppes proper and regions more conductive to large-scale settled agriculture.

I kinda expected this rushed story development before One got released since their previous project - Pets' Aesthetics gave me the warnings that it would just be same when the story looked very promising at first but eventually turned out that nothing could be considered as amazing plot. Not to mention the fact that both Team Gaji (mostly Alggumba - the writer) and Korean readers don't like Seju as much as Sungji and Sumin, since their taste is something fresh, innocent, pure, cute. So this really explains their impatience to write a good, realistic, proper ending for Seju x Won as they just can't wait to move onto Sumin x Sungji's happy life 3 years later and their next project as well.

Yup, from what I could tell, it's mainly only international readers that likes Seju the most. I guess foreigners like us, especially those from western countries, we tend to have a more liberal view, meaning we're more accepting and tolerant towards deeply flawed characters, so someone like Seju could be seen as a lot more interesting. While Sungji on the other hand, I've noticed folks that considered her to be a boring Mary Sue.

BTW it depends on where in Asia. My gf is from northern China and over there girls are pretty tough, probably due to Russian influence.

Near as I'm aware mainstream Russian culture goes for decidedly demure "traditional femininity" model though. More likely that's a legacy of the various (now mostly Sinicized) steppe peoples of the area, who nigh-universally had relatively egalitarian gender roles by olden-time standards, and the by necessity more rough-and-ready "frontier society" of the comparatively harsh transitional zone between the steppes proper and regions more conductive to large-scale settled agriculture.

Damn Dynasty is culture!

Well about the Russian girls, mamahuhu has some videos showing them as pretty hardcore lol That might be a Chinese view on Russians though. Again, this is a humor YouTube channel we are talking about, so take everything with a grain of salt...

But yeah I like the Mongol influence interpretation.

last edited at Aug 29, 2019 3:36PM

I kinda expected this rushed story development before One got released since their previous project - Pets' Aesthetics gave me the warnings that it would just be same when the story looked very promising at first but eventually turned out that nothing could be considered as amazing plot. Not to mention the fact that both Team Gaji (mostly Alggumba - the writer) and Korean readers don't like Seju as much as Sungji and Sumin, since their taste is something fresh, innocent, pure, cute. So this really explains their impatience to write a good, realistic, proper ending for Seju x Won as they just can't wait to move onto Sumin x Sungji's happy life 3 years later and their next project as well.

Well Pet’s Aesthetics could be longer, but to be fair, it actually does have a good story as far as short stories go. At the very least it is consistent throughout in terms of characterization and pace, something that cannot be said about WDTFS.