Forum › What Does the Fox Say discussion

Tofu
joined Feb 8, 2016

I know that it can be both and that the story could have existed without Seju, but I believe the person who said Sumin x Sungji can stand on it's own meant that Seju is not necessary anymore,

I'm the person that originally commented on this, which is why I was answering. And it's not that I think Seju isn't necessary; I think she makes the story better. But put it this way, other than cheating on Sumin, what has Seju done to make Sumin and Sungji's relationship possible? It would be a completely different, considerably more boring story, but there's still a story.

Anyway, I think we just see things differently, and that's okay.

Natsuki
joined Feb 5, 2015

But put it this way, other than cheating on Sumin, what has Seju done to make Sumin and Sungji's relationship possible?

Hiring Sungji :3

joined Feb 4, 2016

Thanks a lot Newp for the translation *throwcookiesforNewp

I am both Team Blonde and Team Pink at heart, so reading the last chapter kinda gives me a mixed feeling. I go asgdhdj kiss kiss for Blonde interactions but go all emo everytime Seju shows up. I am both #protectbabygirlSeju and #protectcinnamonrollSungji squad.

So it actually upsets me that people say if "X" or "X" is not in the story, the pairing A & B will stands on its own. Of course it can happen. But it would be a completely different story, and would take a different turn. If that's the logic, I could also say that in HPT, Hermione is not needed, because Harry Potter still can stands on his own.

So Seju is there for a reason. And tbh, I might get hate for this but still: for a main character Sungji's character is so vastly under developed compared to the other 2. It's to the point that up to ch. 30, I still questioned if she's just a filler character in the series. It still upsets me until now that Team Gaji makes her character way too simple, especially for someone who supposed to play a pivotal role to heal a broken person.

And now it's already halfway into the series, it's sad that we hardly see any proper character development for my cinnamon roll. So given that, without the depth that Seju character and her relationship provides in wdtfs, this story would honestly be very bland for me.

C__data_users_defapps_appdata_internetexplorer_temp_saved%20images_lavender_town_screenshot
joined Dec 9, 2014

I agree with your point 9toenails .

Also, yes Seju is obssesed with Sumin, but I think Sumin used to be a little obsessed with her too, until recently. I mean, you don't just go back to your ex, whom you're supposed to hate, everytime you need confort.
Someone could argue that Sumin was just using Seju, but I think Seju was also a little bit of able to confort her too, because not just anyone has the abillity to confort someone.
When you hate someone they make you feel even worse when you are around them.

But put it this way, other than cheating on Sumin, what has Seju done to make Sumin and Sungji's relationship possible?

Hiring Sungji :3

Lol xD If you think about it, if it wasn't for Seju, Sumin probably wouldn't have met Sungji

last edited at Mar 25, 2016 8:58AM

Llamanewp
joined Mar 17, 2016

Maybe the story is about healing all the characters..? I mean we don't know much about Sungji so maybe she's also one that will need to be healed. However I think we would really need to know more about her soon in order for it to not feel rushed. But I guess I just don't see how it's about healing Sumin and Seju's relationship, I mean Seju cheated so that would need to be healed but that was just one thing in their relationship. Sumin went through a lot around that time and it's really kind of messed her up a little bit in my opinion.
I'm also just not sure how healing the story would be if Sumin just went right back to Seju, to me that just isn't healing. I could understand the healing part more if she was able to work past the issues she's had before and move on with Sungji as a new start.

I can't really see how the story would go if Seju wasn't in it. I am curious about how the story would have gone though, however I don't think it would be as exciting as it is now lol.

Tofu
joined Feb 8, 2016

But put it this way, other than cheating on Sumin, what has Seju done to make Sumin and Sungji's relationship possible?

Hiring Sungji :3

Lol forgive my error.

Tumblr_3d1efdc4f3fb1ee16acd2f13f08afe0c_1e0d545a_12802
joined Mar 8, 2014

On Seju's character -> Okay, I think you're giving Seju too many excuses. Yes, she didn't do anything wicked. Yes she just waited there hoping Sumin will come back to her. But yes wishing her relationships would have troubles is the same as wishing they fail and she clearly stated that she hoped that so there's no denying that was wrong and not done out of love. Even though she does love Sumin this is not because she loves her. It's simply because she can't move on.
On Sumin's character -> Yes Sumin behaved wicked as well but she was definitely definitely not acting on revenge for 10 years. She probably did it for like a year before she got the tattoo and then ended up being friends with benefits with Seju. She clearly doesn't hate Seju anymore, she just gets on her nerves and she clearly didn't have any intention to hurt Seju. She was just as stuck in the past as Seju was and she kept clinging to her without really understanding what she was doing.
On the plot -> No, I really don't think there would be 2 stories in this. One that is Seju's and one that is Sumin's. I really think it doesn't work like that. Basically the reason Seju is shown to that extent is not because the story is going to jump and focus on her (healing) but rather because she is going to play a key role in Sumin's and Sungji's relationship I believe. The fact that we always see Seju suffering and not healing at all is not because her healing is being delayed. It's because her suffering will serve as a plot device. After than there will be healing for her (hopefully) but that is a side story. There wouldn't be any need to make Seju a main character and make her have a side story if she was not going to get involved with Sumin and Sungji somehow. She would just be another flashback girl. If Seju is going to play a role in the main plot we need to know her side story and her point of view in order to relate to her. And it also serves as foreshadowing I believe. I seriously bet on this. Chapter 45 was foreshadowing that Seju is going to take some action. The story is not just going to go 'oh Sumin is healed lets cut to Seju now and have Nami be the one to heal her' or something. The premise of the story is not 'two ex-lovers with a broken relationship find love again".
Sungji plays a crucial role in the story. She is not just this random girl who happens to heal Sumin. If the story really was mainly about Sumin and Seju healing it would take a different route. Sumin would interact more with her and we would see more chapters with her. Instead we have a bunch of Sungji x Sumin chapters. Seju's healing is necessary I think but it's also a subplot and very likely we won't see her fully healed by the end of it because the story doesn't primarily focus on Seju. I really think Seju is meant to add more interest to Sumin's and Sungji's relationship, especially because the author thought of her afterwards. I doubt Seju is just meant to be an individual character. The cover of the comic kind of gives it away as well. Sumin is with Sungji and Seju is clinging onto Sumin plus she has a kind of cunning smile.
I won't go as far as to say that it's wrong to have a story with two main characters going on their journey individually; without relating too much to one another but it's not such a common premise unless it's some fantasy/epic story. And Seju hardly has a connection to Sumin other than the flashbacks, she has as much of a connection as the red-head. I think it only means that the connection hasn't been established yet and it only seems logical to wait until Sumin and Sungji get closer together so that it has a bigger impact. The confrontation with the red-head in the hotel was just left in the dust but I doubt it was coincidental. It is likely as well some sort of foreshadowing about a confrontation with Sumin's past which will definitely involve Seju and Sungji will finally demand answers. If we go with this theory we can also assume that Sungji asking 'can I ask anything?' and Sumin not answering was foreshadowing. It all seems to hint in that direction.
On Sungji -> The only thing we need is more focus on Sungji. Sungji is not just a plot device to heal Sumin. Sungji is basically the protagonist of the story. The one who overcomes hardships and the one who has things happen to her. While Sumin also has her own hardships if you break down the story in simple terms you will see that Sungji has all the problems thrown at her; like questioning whether she likes Sumin, being hurt with things Sumin does and so on. It's just hard to see it because we mostly see it through Sumin's POV. Additionally the focus is on Sumin more than Sungji. This works really well for stories like these where the main hardships of the protagonist(Sungji) are caused by the focal character(Sumin). There are a lot of romance stories that follow this premise. This story just deviates from the norm because it's not the protagonist narrating as you would commonly see.

Anyway, I bet on this but the story will show soon.

last edited at Mar 25, 2016 10:38AM

Llamanewp
joined Mar 17, 2016

I agree Faylicia wishing that Sumin's relationship will have troubles is totally the same as wishing they will fail.
I also don't think Sumin was acting on reveng, she just doesn't seem like the type to be doing that for so long. And I really would find it hard to believe the whole Seju and Nami relationship. It just doesn't seem to work.
Like I said before, I would love to know more about Sungji since we really don't know much about her. I think it would just help everyone connect to the character more.

Tofu
joined Feb 8, 2016

On Sungji -> The only thing we need is more focus on Sungji. Sungji is not just a plot device to heal Sumin. Sungji is basically the protagonist of the story. The one who overcomes hardships and the one who has things happen to her. While Sumin also has her own hardships if you break down the story in simple terms you will see that Sungji has all the problems thrown at her; like questioning whether she likes Sumin, being hurt with things Sumin does and so on. It's just hard to see it because we mostly see it through Sumin's POV. Additionally the focus is on Sumin more than Sungji. This works really well for stories like these where the main hardships of the protagonist(Sungji) are caused by the focal character(Sumin). There are a lot of romance stories that follow this premise. This story just deviates from the norm because it's not the protagonist narrating as you would commonly see.

This. It's even teased in the prologue (I would not call this a prologue, but that's how lezhin labels it): http://www.lezhin.com/comic/wdfs/p1 -- it says Sungji's life is about to change and it's her life that's about to turn upside down, not Sumin's or Seju's (yes I still standby that they're all main characters, just that Sungji is meant to be the protagonist or heroine). Also she's the first one depicted in chapter 1. I'm not saying that it's always the case that the author shows the protagonist first, but they usually do. This isn't Madoka, where the anime is named after her and then you find out that it's actually all about Homura and the most badass character gets killed off in the 3rd episode.

joined Feb 4, 2016

Sumin did hurt Seju at first for revenge, it was explained on a chapter, hence the phone sex and all. It's clear she still carries some resentment for Seju, though it's unclear if she still exhibits revenge on her. What we know is she just takes and takes from Seju.

Honestly, irl, a character like Sumin & Seju is so shameless lmao. One is willing to be exploited, and the other is taking everything for granted. But I tend to symphatize for Seju more because poor girl got no one who've loved her other than Sumin. Seju needs to be given the chance to learn that there's other type of love that can support you (other than romantic ones). Or else, she might've never moved on. But with her father dying, Sumin starts moving on, and her supposed-to-be-dead mother might be coming back, I see things are quite bleak for her :(

last edited at Mar 25, 2016 11:52AM

Tumblr_3d1efdc4f3fb1ee16acd2f13f08afe0c_1e0d545a_12802
joined Mar 8, 2014

haha yes, but I think it's a bit different, Madoka partly plays the role of false protagonist because she is actually a co-protagonist with Homura and not the only protagonist but yeah wdtfs is not really like that, Sumin is not a co-protagonist overcoming any hardships other than the ones she makes for herself she is just the focus of the story because she is Sungji's focus as well. It's a bit like... Maria-sama ga Miteru? Yumi is the protagonist that has all the hardships fall on her but the story is actually focusing on more Sachiko and how she changes. I don't know any other examples but usually this happens when the protagonist's life revolves around another character. For example you could have a story about a girl who has an unrequited crush on her senior and keeps observing her and talking to her from time to time but the story focuses on the senior's life and her romances instead.
Also Seju is definitely not overcoming any hardships. I didn't mention it clearly before but I'm pretty sure she is meant to be the antagonist to a small extent. I don't think she will sabotage Sumin's relationship but I think Sumin might mess up and give an opening for Seju to take some action; maybe tell Sungji something that will upset her.
Again, Sumin did do cruel things for revenge to Seju but she hasn't been keeping this up for so long and she hasn't been 'using' her because of resentment either. The reason she used her was because she still had some lingering feelings and because Seju was just easy. I'm not saying this is right but Seju pretty much gave up on Sumin and they were fwb. Sumin was not like, exploiting Seju or something. Seju kept clinging to her so Sumin took advantage of that.
Honestly if Sumin and Seju had just broken up normally would you still find Sumin was just taking Seju for granted? She wasn't trying to take anything from her; Seju just unconditionally gave anything to Sumin even if she didn't ask for it. Yes Sumin was inconsiderate because when you see that an ex seems to have some weird obsession with you (and she did give signs) you should try to get some distance even if Seju didn't want it. If Sumin was thinking about Seju's well-being she would have distanced herself from her and let her get over it. The problem is that she took Seju's attitude too lightly and I think that was wrong of her but I doubt she was just using her and exploiting the love she gave her... because gosh, Sumin hardly did anything to make Seju do that. If she had actually gone after Seju, like she did in the beginning when she was acting out of revenge, then yes she'd be exploiting her but this isn't like that.

last edited at Mar 25, 2016 12:16PM

Llamanewp
joined Mar 17, 2016

I do feel kinda bad for Seju because she seems to have a lot going on right now like 9toenails said.
However I am anxiously waiting for Sungji to know about Sumin and Seju lol

Tofu
joined Feb 8, 2016

haha yes, but I think it's a bit different, Madoka partly plays the role of false protagonist because she is actually a co-protagonist with Homura and not the only protagonist but yeah wdtfs is not really like that, Sumin is not a co-protagonist overcoming any hardships other than the ones she makes for herself she is just the focus of the story because she is Sungji's focus as well. It's a bit like... Maria-sama ga Miteru? Yumi is the protagonist that has all the hardships fall on her but the story is actually focusing on more Sachiko and how she changes.

Yeah this is pretty accurate until you get into the Touko arc. I don't think many series can get more polished than Marimite though. If I were an author I wouldn't willfully be put up for comparison with it lol.

Also Seju is definitely not overcoming any hardships. I didn't mention it clearly before but I'm pretty sure she is meant to be the antagonist to a small extent. I don't think she will sabotage Sumin's relationship but I think Sumin might mess up and give an opening for Seju to take some action; maybe tell Sungji something that will upset her.

I know you're saying to a small extent, but I don't think you can be an antagonist if you're not willfully getting in the way. I think the redhead is a truer antagonist, and she's shown up a lot more than people seem to mention. She's the only one of Sumin's exes other than Seju that we see through multiple flashback settings.

Tumblr_3d1efdc4f3fb1ee16acd2f13f08afe0c_1e0d545a_12802
joined Mar 8, 2014

Yeah, I don't know if she is. I just think she is because I'm pretty sure she is going to get in the way soon just like the red-head did.

Llamanewp
joined Mar 17, 2016

I know you're saying to a small extent, but I don't think you can be an antagonist if you're not willfully getting in the way. I think the redhead is a truer antagonist, and she's shown up a lot more than people seem to mention. She's the only one of Sumin's exes other than Seju that we see through multiple flashback settings.

I keep waiting for the red head to come back, I think she's a great antagonist and can really stir up some trouble.

Dppp
joined Mar 2, 2016

Thanks a lot Newp for the translation *throwcookiesforNewp

Yay cookies <3

joined Feb 4, 2016

faylicia

Sumin did take advantage of Seju, and it's not even once, but multiple times. When Sumin kept coming back to her in the past, she's the one who seek after Seju. And yes, if they did break up normally, I would still see Sumin takes Seju for granted, considering how Sumin went to have sex with Seju and still use her for personal emotional outlet. And it's not only happening before Sungji comes. On the first few chapters, I still remember when they had sex, Seju said "why're you doing it this way ? You're taking your frustation on me, isn't it ?". If that's not considered taking advantage or using someone, I don't know what is.

Seju did wrong on a lot of parts, but Sumin ain't saint who did no wrong to her. Sumin treats Seju like an used towel that you still use when you have no clean towel in your closet.

@Newp sorry I can only give you virtual cookies XD

last edited at Mar 25, 2016 1:06PM

Tumblr_3d1efdc4f3fb1ee16acd2f13f08afe0c_1e0d545a_12802
joined Mar 8, 2014

Yes she did but it was consensual. Seju knew Sumin was using her/taking advantage of her and she still stayed there with her. That's the point. Sumin wasn't actively trying to manipulate Seju or give her false hopes in order to use her. I think many people here are being too harsh on Sumin, of course what she did was wrong and inconsiderate but it wasn't like she was exploiting her either. Also again, Sumin was fwb with Seju so obviously they had these interactions. Sumin was inconsiderate yes, she should apologize, yes but she wasn't this evil demon torturing poor Seju. The problem is that being fwb is inherently unhealthy when on party has feelings and you could argue that Sumin took advantage of that instead of trying to distance herself to help Seju as well. So, when you know or suspect that your fwb has feelings for you it's pretty inconsiderate to just keep doing this but it's not like she was going after Seju.

last edited at Mar 25, 2016 1:16PM

joined Feb 4, 2016

Of course when you take something for granted, it's always consensual. Other than that, it's called stealing.

And I actually never said Sumin exploiting Seju, I only said she takes Seju for granted, and Seju is willing to be exploited. There's a difference in the way I paraphrase it. So I'll just leave it at that I guess.

Tumblr_3d1efdc4f3fb1ee16acd2f13f08afe0c_1e0d545a_12802
joined Mar 8, 2014

Not exactly, I kind of argue against this because Sumin and Seju were not a couple so Sumin didn't have any responsibility. For example if you have a girlfriend and you treat her like that while she does anything for you and you just ignore her, yes, you are just taking her for granted. But when your fwb is being clingy and you don't reciprocate it's not exactly taking for granted. They had a weird relationship and Sumin definitely needed Seju so she did take her for granted to some extent I guess.

joined Feb 4, 2016

Well, you don't have to be in a couple/girlfriend/boyfriend relationship to take someone for granted. Afaik, it's not even a term that's exclusive to couple only. Anyway, I should sleep haha, my brain power is diminishing greatly already xd

Natsuki
joined Feb 5, 2015

Seju did wrong on a lot of parts, but Sumin ain't saint who did no wrong to her. Sumin treats Seju like an used towel that you still use when you have no clean towel in your closet.

Nice way to put it.
.
Regarding Sumin's act towards Seju, there's one thing that's been bugging me, Sumin was doing great with her attempt to move on from Seju after their break up. She moved houses, and was doing just fine, no revenge, no nothing. But it all changed after she was hurt by Sehyun. That makes me wonder if Sumin was really that angry at Seju, or was she angry at Sehyun but took it all on Seju? Because it just doesn't make sense to me. I mean you don't just wake up one night and go "oh you know what, I wanna go fuck lots of women while calling my ex" out of the blue. It kind of looks like to me that Sumin blames Seju for everything, the death of her parents, and also her scar, and maybe even her unhappiness. I wonder if their realtionship would be as fucked up as now if Sehyun just left Sumin alone. He kind of took part in making Seju and Sumin's relationship worse.

For Sungji, like everyone else, I would love team Gaji to develop her character more. It would be nice to see a backstory about Sungji for a change, since we already know quite a lot about Sumin and Seju, but not so much about Sungji. But I'm a little worry that her character will not be developed properly due to the numbers of chapters left.

last edited at Mar 25, 2016 3:16PM

Tumblr_3d1efdc4f3fb1ee16acd2f13f08afe0c_1e0d545a_12802
joined Mar 8, 2014

Yeah definitely, I don't think she blames her for the death of her parents. I think she got over that but everything else definitely yes. That's why she's so bitter towards Seju, because she believes that Seju started it all. She also told her 'compared to you this is...' when she broke up with red-head so!
I'm a bit worried too... but I hope it is because it would be a sin not to develop her. We already had a flashback of when she was young and we also need to know why she fell for Sumin other than "she was cute" I think that might be the reaosn Sumin can't fully trust her yet.

Llamanewp
joined Mar 17, 2016

Yeah definitely, I don't think she blames her for the death of her parents. I think she got over that but everything else definitely yes. That's why she's so bitter towards Seju, because she believes that Seju started it all. She also told her 'compared to you this is...' when she broke up with red-head so!
I'm a bit worried too... but I hope it is because it would be a sin not to develop her. We already had a flashback of when she was young and we also need to know why she fell for Sumin other than "she was cute" I think that might be the reaosn Sumin can't fully trust her yet.

Yeah I've never gotten the vibe that Sumin blames Seju for the death of her parents but she still blames her for other things. And I know we've talked about the whole cheating thing so much but I still can understand why Sumin would feel upset about that. However I don't think it's fair to Seju if she's being pushed and pulled by Sumin. But then again Seju will completely allow it because it's Sumin and she loves Sumin.

I've said this so many times but I'm dying to know more about Sungji, and I agree it would be a sin to not develop her character. I'm just interested to see how Team Gaji will be able to accomplish this in the amount of time we have left.
I think I was so focused on other things that I didn't really look too far into why Sumin didn't trust Sungji.
But gosh this discussion moves so fast it's so hard to keep track of everything XD

last edited at Mar 25, 2016 4:07PM

Tumblr_3d1efdc4f3fb1ee16acd2f13f08afe0c_1e0d545a_12802
joined Mar 8, 2014

I think TeamGaji will use a confrontation between Seju and Sungji in order to develop Sungji. She also still has to introduce Sumin to her family so!
And maybe even she will decide to add more chapters. Because honestly, who wouldn't want that? :P

last edited at Mar 25, 2016 4:10PM

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