when the ML lies (?) about his family situation and the MC trying to protect the ML and accidentally embarrassing him in front of the ML's whole family is where the story quality imo DROPS. After the ML gets humiliated unintentionally by the MC, the ML does this weird sh*t where he ruins the MC's reputation and lets him get bullied. Eventually, they figure their sh*t out with the ML protecting the MC from the acid attack.

go yohans also a regretful ml??? because of the most headache inducing misunderstanding arc where he just lets kang jun fall from grace but honestly kang jun held a grudge for that and even after they 'reunited' he didnt really forgive him (and then poured coffee over his head and told him hes always f*cking hated him)

which actually that arc did something for kang jun I mean he sent a dude to the hospital 😭😭 unlocked the inner idgaf in him it was crazy

Now, let's talk about the romance. This fool, Go Yohan, was OBSESSED with Kang Jun. And yet, despite so many chances for them to just get together in secret, (In my opinion those were chances and not in the character's opinions) he still manages to mess it up. Why? Because he's an idiot. I wanted to shake some sense into him so many times.

This man had everything served to him on a silver platter in the romance department and still failed to appreciate it. Sigh. This fool really had to make things difficult.

But hey, I get it. I understand why the story had to play out the way it did.

So my personal gripes are solely because of my personal feelings on the matter.

Their actual romance doesn't happen until university, and let me tell you—it is so worth the wait. Go Yohan will repent for his sins against Kang Jun, and he will do it in a very holy way (wink wink). Oh, and if you're wondering about the smut, it's in the epilogues—and yes, it's very, very sexy.

For me, the moment I thought, 'oh no, this is veeeery uncomfortable' did not come from when he smashed a metal chair on Junwoo (It's a Korean all boy's school; I expect violence, though, yes, that is genuinely insane). It came from when Jun discovers Yohan's stalking hobby and Yohan just completely loses his shit, screaming 'no' over and over like a child. The way he reacts to losing control is so raw, and when you see him fly off the handle in other scenes, it's unsettling in a way other red flag MLs aren't, because it feels equally vulnerable as it is terrifying. In the final side story, you get a glimpse of his perspective and it's very raw. The author did a great job of fleshing him out in all his strange and jagged edges, and his wildly swinging emotions and strange thoughts are believable.

The heavy atmosphere definitely loosens up in the side stories, where Jun goes off to college. Minus the occasional flare-ups from Yohan, they honestly have a weirdly... cute relationship? It's nothing to aspire to, sure, but they really match each other's freak. My standards may be all whack from reading too many red flag stories, so take my assessment with a grain of salt. But Kang Jun definitely loosens up and his prissy, uptight attitude even comes across as cute, later on. You can tell that he's grown into a more self-confident person, no longer needing to rely on others' validation and it feels like an exhale from a long-held breath.