Chibi

I think you will find me spamming everybody's comment till the finale airs. And maybe even a few weeks after that xD

oh no, this worries me quite a bit. are we heading towards the generic 'shy girl transforms the playboy' trope? :O

Uhh, I think the webtoon is also a psychological story as well. And being a short one, it doesn't spoon-feed you every little thing. There are details, facts, and a few 3rd party observations sprinkled around, so your analysis can have some basis. Other than that, the story is told from Nabi's PoV all throughout, and she's a very biased and unreliable narrator. Hence. you can arrive at a relatively solid conclusion but never have sufficiently 'concrete proof'.
She has some family history which kind of manifests into her relationship with really shitty men. She definitely displays signs of attachment issues like co-dependency and/or avoidance. She is also a low-key competitive person, where you think she's chill, but she isn't. She doesn't want to be somebody's second choice (her 'last straw' in her prev. relationship was the fact that she became one). In her current relationship with Jae-Won too, you can see the behavior reflected in the cigarette-scene, and of-course with her first kiss with JE. In fact, only after JE later mentions that he plans to get back together with his ex, like a proper relationship, does she become completely unhinged. It triggers off her possessiveness, and a slight 'mean/ jealous' streak.
She also frequently 'lacks inspiration' to work in the studio, and it's likely because while she's decently good at what she does... she's constantly dragged by her profs who compare her to better students, hence she's always second-best. Burning the midnight oil in the studio to finish assignments for deadlines... she is also known as 'the studio ghost'. While she appears to be shy, she's also secretly a perfectionist deep-down. I think most of her issues come as package for whoever displays such behaviors, and also a reason why she attracts the kind of men she does.
That's all I have on her. But I'm glad the drama makes her character more layered and almost hyper-real. I'm sure to come up with more such observations. Man, I'm having sooo much fun <3

Beautifully said <3
It's one heck of an open-ending, as you wrote. I love how a 'superficial' sounding story (on paper, atleast) is written in such a relatable manner, it forces you to think where would Nabi end up in her journey. And what's amazing is that in figuring HER out, you figure out a lot of things *for* yourself, *about* yourself..... Behaviors and patterns of yours that you have continued to overlook for years. While yes, Jae-Won is all kinds of problematic, it never really was about him (hence, we never get *his* pov). Ultimately, the purpose was for Nabi's deep introspection. And since we readers view the story from her perspective, her journey is supposed to mirror ours.... and vice versa.
I think a time-skip of 10 years later and a definite conclusion would defeat the purpose of her story.. it was never about the ending, but the process :)

I wish I had as much clarity and perspective in my own life!! As you can see, I speak from experience. The debilitating need for proximity makes you say yes to any game.... I also happen to be a recovering nicotine-addict because of years of smoking on rooftops, planning to casually run into a special 'somebody', desperately trying to find some common ground. I recognize the patterns all too well.
Hello, bestie! <3 Hope you haven't been in these shoes... and I pray never does any woman ever get caught up in such schemes! :)

I don't know which other drama you're talking of (Sunwoo...??)
But I can tell you, both men are / sound like a PoS. One however, maybe slightly less of an outright asshole, depending on what you want from them, though! :)

Absolutely. 100% on this with @se0ulmate.
Also, the common consensus (from viewers as well as folks around Nabi) would be since JE already told her he doesn't want a relationship, that he doesn't 'do dating'... it absolves him of any responsibility of a potential heartbreak coming her way, because he came clean to her from the very beginning.
On paper yes, he doesn't look at fault. But that's complete BS.
The fact that he's 'honest' is so that he can have the license to do whatever he wants without any consequences, at the same time, the onus would never be on him. It's reverse-psychology 101. This is how gaslighting happens.
Secondly, He CHOSE to get 'involved' with her first: remember how HE knew her name, but SHE didn't. HE looked her up, HE found out she went to the same Uni, had the same major as him. HE asked around for her, HE asked her out for drinks via mutual class-friends. If he returned to his string of women after the night at the the bar, and stayed away from Nabi... I wouldn't have called him toxic for sure. It started with wanting to pursue the 'relationship-girl', by offering himself up, again and again, as the forbidden fruit; because he noticed the lack of conviction in her rejection. Everything beyond the first 1/2 of the first episode is clearly playing with someone who has made it clear she 'doesn't belong to his lane'. Provoking her to 'go for it' when the seduction-schemes don't work out, is plain manipulation.
Anybody capable of using psychology to such an extent is bound to be toxic. Good thing I know how the webtoon goes, so it's no longer a premature conclusion. The guy IS toxic.

I'm sad we won't really get his backstory and how he came to be so damaged. But would his sob-story put me on his side? Absolutely not, he's despicable. However, I feel like I want to understand his character better.

Since the sweet persona also seems to be manufactured, to rope in girls like Nabi (notice how he's extraaa sweet and attentive to her, in contrast to his other 'sure-deals').... I want them to quickly sleep together, so we actually get to see JE's true colors. So far, SK is doing a great job of making even the most sincere of JE's actions look totally fake :)

I reiterate my stand when I say this. Not wanting a relationship (at present or whenever) isn't a bad thing at all. There is an ethical and a healthy way of going about it. The first being staying away from people like Nabi. Let's say he mistook her for the casual-relationship kind. But she already rejected him multiple times... does consent mean nothing to him? Unless his idea of consent is provoking/ daring an unwilling girl to hand herself over on the platter for him. Especially when his elaborate seduction schemes failed so epic-ly. At this point, it's all an ego-game, a challenge. There is really no argument or justification for Jae-Won NOT wanting to stick to his lane of his 'regular girls', because with his face-- and the implications from the classmates--it's obvious he has a plethora of them, yet he wants this little lamb for himself. You really cannot cover up this kind of toxicity and mislabel it as 'commitment' issues, when his sense of satisfaction seems to come from getting girls who rejected him into his bed, and then dumping them. He's m-e-s-s-e-d UP. :/

I'm sure no cute guy came upto you and mentioned boners, while offering his jacket to cover up. Because that's just TOO creepy for words.

She doesn't need a sweet SML. She needs therapy. If she ends up with the guy she dated right after breaking up with JE, it'll be such a joke. Sure, she can date around, but ain't NO way the SML is the endgame either.

There is a comment from JE towards the veryyy end of the webtoon, about how butterflies 'seem' like they are free, but they actually aren't. They are born to fly on a pre-destined path, and *nothing* can change that. Even if Nabi finds herself a new, sweet guy... you'll realize the problem was with *her* all along. Her relationship with the SML is pretty doomed for the start. Sure she can find some healing and fresh perspective with him, but it won't end well with him either. I think the story really justifies the 'psychological' tag :)

Yup, we still don't know what happened with JE, since everything about him is exclusively from the PoV of Nabi, or casual observations made by others! :D All I know, because of my gut-feeling, is that he was an asshole, and very likely, *still* is one!

The lyrics are SO well-written >_<

Yep, the gaslighting also sometimes turns into outright provoking her to do really questionable stuff. But not before he stops pouting and decides to throw her a few crumb of attention and sweet gestures along the way. He's always doing things to get reactions out of her, by pressing her buttons. And he's having so much fun while at it.
If it goes the webtoon way, they'll leave it ambiguous. We never get his PoV. You never truly get to know if Nabi ever meant anything special to him. And I think, that's all the more appealing about this kind of story-telling.
IRL too, you never know either whether to believe their sweet words and false promises or not....

He always has a new girl... xD

SAME. Because A. that girl displayed none of those behaviors. B. Even if she did, how dare you trash-talk about her to another woman?
I'm glad Na-Bi had the good sense to look disgusted after that. How long before he calls her 'delusional, clingy and obsessed'? Insulting an ex is not the equivalent of receiving a compliment. I wish women would STOP feeling flattered whenever boys drag their ex. It's disgusting. Also, 'you're not like other girls' phenomenon, again, is NOT a compliment. GOSH.

Okay, so for a 'casual fling', there is a whole lot of jealousy and revenge going on between the two. Which is the definition of toxic I believe, and certainly faaaar from being healthy. You're right about him falling for her. Initially, he genuinely does go out of his ways, doing things which he's never done before. And this is validated not just from Nabi's lenses (ugh, cuz she's so biased most of the time, as a narrator)... but rather by the friends, who begin noticing it too. You keep thinking 'oh, so the nice girl finally DID change the bad boy', but nope.
Things start spiraling down eventually, and we have already witnessed Nabi has a jealous-streak, when it comes to protecting what she believes is her. And Jae-Won just can't help but not be exclusive. That's just the kind of people they are. There is JW's ex who appears, which sets off Nabi's buttons, as JW wants to ditch her to get back together with the ex. She has some serious problems being the second-choice again... so she sabotages his r/l with the ex, he gets pissed and tries to have hate-sex with her only to dump her after that. {EW.} But she realizes midway what he's doing, and she leaves of her own accord. It ends very messily, and I guess JW goes back to his own ways, and she moves on with the other sweet-dude. The 'relationship' however leaves both of them scarred, lol. [and I hope they got some serious therapy after that]

Nope, the casual-sex part isn't the toxic bit. It's the emotional manipulation that the guy has been doing since ep.1. I hope they show it more clearly, so everybody can know just how much of a d*ck he is. Pretty, but a total d*ck.

They are definitely justifying the 'psychological' tag on this one, and I'm happy they chose to go down this route. You're absolutely right, just because it's a fling, doesn't mean the people aren't playing mind-games; intentionally or subconsciously!~

Very solid set-up for a narrative using the Rashomon Effect. Never thought I'd see it used in a story about frivolous relationships and casual sex. Woah PD-nim, you have impressed me!! >_<
Also, I can completely see the 'woman's gaze' in her directorial choices. Kudos... <3