username_vik

The problem that this TG work always had was how unrealistic the main couple was and that fault is heavily burdened by the poor development of Sungji.

Seju was quite realistic if you ask me, someone who made a mistake and wants with all her might to correct it and I think she does it until the end when she makes the decision to leave, when she admits that everything was useless and that Sumin's ego always was above love.

We all learn from our mistakes and if we have the motivation we can change and be better people, I think that applies much more to Seju but not to Sumin, therefore many things were wasted in the development and that is why the story after chapter 50 is a disaster.

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.

Luha

And that is precisely the least realistic part for me, of the whole story. I respect your opinion, but I don't buy it. No one magically falls in love with you at first sight like Sungji does shortly after meeting Sumin. No matter how self-sacrificing and sweet or rather noble your partner is, they can't ignore your personality flaws or any conflict you've created. If you cheated on your partner too early in the relationship, it would be pretty hard for them to forgive you as easily as Sungji did and jump into wild sex.

I could never get myself to like their relationship, it always felt so shallow and unrealistic. It's like I know if they skip the whole getting to know phase, the confusion or the connection that you're supposed to have when you start dating someone. In fact, the fact that Sungji is 10 years younger makes the situation even more absurd, having no experience, you can't explain how he becomes so attached to Sumin considering the treatment she gave him. The message of the story I consider more double standards than anything else. That mentality that new is always better is boring, Sumin and Sungji had it too easy, I couldn't get that magic or feeling in them, everything was too much sex, sex, reconciliation and sex.

Love is not a rational action to begin with, so the message of the story falls short, because it ends up being simplistic. However, you can never be objective as a reader of stories, everyone will defend their position and perception of it.

@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

I agree with people here that Sumin was toxic. She committed the very same atrocity that she despised Seju for-cheating. She was trash by cheating on Sungji. While I understand why Sungji forgave her, what she did was absolutely unforgivable and trashy.

I’m currently reading the manga again, and it makes me wonder how a Sungji x Seju romance would have gone instead. I feel like that would have somewhat been more interesting.

I don’t deny that Sumin is a well written character, but I feel like a Sungji x Seju route would have had more substance.

last edited at Dec 23, 2022 12:19AM

Wow, nearly 8 years since this manhwa debuted. With TG finally releasing a new series shortly after the New Year, I thought I give this another read for old-time sake. As soon as I did, I feel like banging my head against the wall...

The biggest source of my frustration comes from, surprise, surprise, Seong Sumin, whom I still find to be an infuriating character even now. If only she wasn't acting insensitively half of the time and actually communicate better to reassure her partner, I'd like her more but sadly that's not the case.

Apart from that, there really isn't a need to have like dozens of flashbacks about Seju and Sumin as a couple, which the readers get it already. Or that nasty scene where the midget has strap-on sex with this redheaded manager (whose name I easily forgot since she isn't memorable) and she puked herself in the bathroom afterward...

Nonetheless, there are some positives, mainly the beautifully drawn art style and of course, the smut. Thank goodness for Seju and those F cups of hers for having carried much of the series. They earned their rest :)

Nonetheless, there are some positives, mainly the beautifully drawn art style and of course, the smut. Thank goodness for Seju and those F cups of hers for having carried much of the series. They earned their rest :)

^Quite so. Beautiful art and top-notch lewdness kept me reading long after the story disintegrated into a series of tangents.

This series was an instructive example of how a writer can go wrong both over-developing and under-developing plot and character. If Sumin & Sunji had gotten half the characterization and plot attention as Seju herself and the past Sumin/Seju relationship did, it almost certainly would have been more like the story the authors seemed to want to tell originally.

From my POV, having Seju suck up all the oxygen in the story but sticking with the OTP ending was a massive failure of authorial courage. And in the end, the character I thought was most interesting at first, the gorgeous and quirky Sunji, basically disappeared.

Nonetheless, there are some positives, mainly the beautifully drawn art style and of course, the smut. Thank goodness for Seju and those F cups of hers for having carried much of the series. They earned their rest :)

^Quite so. Beautiful art and top-notch lewdness kept me reading long after the story disintegrated into a series of tangents.

This series was an instructive example of how a writer can go wrong both over-developing and under-developing plot and character. If Sumin & Sunji had gotten half the characterization and plot attention as Seju herself and the past Sumin/Seju relationship did, it almost certainly would have been more like the story the authors seemed to want to tell originally.

From my POV, having Seju suck up all the oxygen in the story but sticking with the OTP ending was a massive failure of authorial courage. And in the end, the character I thought was most interesting at first, the gorgeous and quirky Sunji, basically disappeared.

Amen, I would have found myself rooting for the main couple if that was the case, which sadly didn't happen.

And guess what? The author has released yet again another love triangle story it seems lol... Even though it's far from finished, I can already sense where this story is going: the Seju-lookalike won't be with the blue-haired Sumin-lookalike since she isn't the first girl introduced and it's implied she was either her ex or a sex buddy, meaning she's tainted. How disappointing...

last edited at Jan 5, 2023 4:32PM

쇼 미 유어 바스트 If we are talking about new webtoon, well..... the blue haired guy really do alike like sumin, cute tomboyish vibe and short.

But, somehow both the brown haired girl and the pink haired one are seju look alike.

The pink haired one has the alluring mysterious pretty girl vibe, with her upper part is 99% identical to seju, but her body is flat.

The brown haired one has seju's identity (bff history, dishonest, tsundere aka cold in the outside but weak in the inside, bossy) and hot body (big breast)

So it's like sumin with double seju

last edited at Jan 10, 2023 6:15PM

^^

There probably should be a new topic since it's a different webtoon. Then again, maybe it's not needed since it isn't widely accessible to most international readers.

Anyways, this Woo-hui (brown-haired girl) feels more like Sun-hwa (Sumin's best friend from high school) IMHO since she's like that good old friend who always hangs around, is obsessive over her friend and love interest, and gets jealous seeing the other girls attracting her attention. Although she certainly does have the Seju-like big breasts :)

As for Yeon-woo (pink-haired girl), no doubt she definitely looks the most Seju-like apart from having brighter pink hair, pink eyes, and much smaller breasts, as well as acting flirtatious, and is implied to have a dark past.

The new series just feels... weird lol. It's like the author is writing a perverted fantasy with this Ji-ho being her self-insert character, who would be getting it on with as many beautiful girls as she could before she finally settled down with her one true love.

To me, Sumin is the same club as Sungji. She falls for Seju's beauty and sexy boobs since young and still drag on Seju after breaking up caused she still looks good and attractive. Sumin wouldn't have bother to give Seju a second look if she is an average look girl. And then Sumin met Sungji who is prettier and 10 years younger than Seju, no wonder she dumped Seju and get over her so quickly. Sumin and Sungji real match! Lol.

I got to understand the story thanks to this post. lol

last edited at Feb 25, 2023 12:47PM

Honestly, I enjoyed reading the discussion here about the series more than the series itself. But so interesting that there are so many points of views on the different characters and who the author liked and disliked. I think the author did not care for Sumin & Sunji, they did not even get a proper happy ending!

I think the Sumin & Sunji part of the story was very underdeveloped, and that was a shame as that was the story I started with and wanted to learn more about. If I had known that their story would end so unsatisfactory I would not have started this journey.