My title basically sums it up. I will divide the plot into three parts: Act I, the Gang Life, and the End.
Act I, while only having a few cringe-worthy parts, was mostly enjoyable except that some parts were dragged out and the angst was repeated. It honestly seemed a little forced how Hyun-Bin is initially attracted to Yun-Ha but the develop of their relationship was decent after this. Soon, however, we see the main couple go through the same trials repeatedly for a while before real changes occur. I understand this was done to show how strong Hyun-Bin's love for Yun-Ha was but it became less enjoyable when I felt the author was beating me over the head with it.
Also, the gang system seemed a little convoluted and disappeared when no longer needed to move along the plot. I'm not trying to spoil it so basically, once this one key event occurs, it just seems that the intense threats and darkness from this part disappears. This occurs like twice in the buildup and then again in the Gang Life part. For example, these kids did some crazy things and then somehow, they'd revert back to fist fights; their threat level plummeted and I couldn't take it seriously when the main characters either won them over with their great personality or could just beat an entire group singlehandedly.
The Gang Life arch I actually enjoyed a lot because that was when it focused more on the development of Bi-Rak. This guy was my favorite character and the author actually did a really good job portraying his sense of longing and dedication. The plans of the gang boss confused me as I honestly had no idea what he was trying to accomplish but these were small details since the main point was to develop the relationship between characters. Anyway, this part managed to touch me and is what I think brought the quality of this manwha up.
Next, the End arch was just so rushed. I could not come up with a more relevant name because it seriously just ended after the Gang Life arch. The lengths Hyun-Bin went through to
hide her identity
went up in smoke rather quickly. Also, it never allowed us to see how
! Hyun-Bin and Yun-Ha reconciled
. They just did. It never seemed like Hyun-Bin
! really got over her trauma
. She just did. It would've been nice to see more development in our main couple because the end felt like they were together just for the sake of it.
Last point, I'll go over characterization. Hyun-Bin's character was really interesting in the beginning; you really cheered her on. However, her inability to hide her feelings of love was just so overdone.It was done better in the Gang Life arch; a new conflict appears and I liked how she realized it and came to terms with it more quickly than in Act I. For Yun-Ha, he was a more dynamic character in Act I, but in the Gang Life and The End, he's seemed to finish developing and remained stagnant for the rest of the story. I wish the author focused on him and his anguish a little more; I mean, come on, this guy has been
waiting for years on end. You could've made him break down in tears because of the intense longing or something so we could have something to relate to. We seem him cry for like one or two pages but let us see the agonizing, long years that pass as he waits; waiting drains you and he never wavered but in an unrealistic, reader-will-totally-pass-it-over kind of way. It seemed like he was stuck on a one-track mind and that's ALL he is.
Yun-Ha starts to pale in comparison when Bi-Rak becomes more developed and we get to experience Bi-Rak's pain and longing with him. I will say Bi-Rak was my favorite character; he might've been too good than humanly possible but still a likeable person to read.
Overall Rating: 6.5