I honestly can't decide if I liked this story or not. I went in expecting something dark, twisted, and maybe a little depraved — and while it tried, it never fully committed to the darkness I was hoping for. First off, credit where it's due: the translation was solid. Smooth, easy to follow, and probably the thing that carried me through some of the more questionable plot choices.

Now, I knew this had in*est going in. I'm no stranger to that particular brand of moral bankruptcy in Chinese and Korean novels.... more>> The characters are introduced as half-siblings, with the ML (older brother) being overly protective of the MC since they were young. It was a little more than sibling protectiveness though —but the kind of possessiveness you probably shouldn't be feeling for your brother.

The first 40-50 chapters moved slowly, mostly setting up family dynamics and school life, plus some backstory about the parents. Things started to pick up once the MC began getting attention from girls at school, which pushed the ML's possessive streak into overdrive. From there, the story slowly unraveled his obsession, jealousy, and the way he viewed the MC as "his" — completely unwilling to let anyone else near him.

So this had a lot of non con. ML forced MC to be with him. The MC was clearly never comfortable with what was happening and was often outright terrified. There were scenes where he'd be physically sick before things happened, which made the whole relationship even harder to sit with. Im not sensitive to noncon but it felt a bit saddening how MC was basically just had no freedom or say in the situation. The ML is controlling and obsessive to a fault, and while it's clear he cares in his own way, his actions are far from justifiable. (but just my personal take, he's not the worst ML Ive encountered. He's a redflag but not to a psychotic degree IMO because he genuinely treasures the MC)

Near the end, there's a plot twist I think was meant to soften the blow, im just gonna put a spoiler tag here:

Spoiler

— turns out they're not actually related. The ML had known for a while but chose to keep it a secret so the MC would still be a part of the family. Honestly, it didn't change much for me by then, since the dynamic had already been established. And ML was basically MC's guardian.

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Overall, I liked some parts. I'm a fan of obsessive characters when done well, and while this didn't break new ground, it had its moments. The smut was okay, some of it wasn't particularly detailed or long (probably by choice, given the context), and the family drama dragged a little in places. It got a bit boring sometimes; the intensity just kinda died down.

Would I recommend it?

If you enjoy possessive, obsessive MLs and don't mind this kind of trope, it might be worth a read when you're in between books. Just dont have high expectations as it offers nothing new.

P.S. I find the cover sooo ugly for some reason lol. The translation tho was great. <<less