plottwist

I have a hair-brained theory about Jae Min. I think Su Hyeon's mother/father is paying Jae Min to keep Su Hyeon away from Da On.

Jae Min is weirdly close to Su Hyeon's mother, calling her mom affectionately as if they have a relationship. Su Hyeon's mother and father are pushing for Su Hyeon to marry a woman by setting him up on blind dates. Jae Min says Su Hyeon ran away because he was afraid his father would find out he beat up the creep who took pictures of Da On. His parents disapproved of his infatuation of Da On. This incident would be evidence of his infatuation. Su Hyeon's mother, in their first phone call together, said, "You're still not seeing that person, right," and could be referring to Da On.

Jae Min has a boatload of money he gives out to Da On and his family. Professors make a decent salary, but I feel like he is money-obsessed since most of his conversations revolve around money.

Jae Min knew Su Hyeon would react that way, beating up that guy, then having to leave Da On for doing so. He orchestrated that, and his motivations for doing so were to fulfill the request of Su Hyeon's mother and receive payment in return. Despite liking Da On, Jae Min likes money and power more. Jae Min cannot "cross the line" between him and Da On or risk losing the contract that is supplying him money and keeping Su Hyeon away.

Jae Min also believes Da On is unfaithful. He says he is easily swayed over and over, so he has trust issues and doesn't want to be broken up with or abandoned by Da On in the future. That is why he never crosses the line. His hesitation to initiate anything while Su Hyeon was away is influenced by this, too. He does everything to keep him in his orbit but never acts on Da On feelings for him. He keeps around as his pawn, in case later on he needs to use him.

I just think Jae Min as a character is neat, lol.

Ep3: Did anyone else get stressed out while watching Seong Hyung go through a whole cartoon of eggs? Impressing a man with an over-easy egg, in this economy?

It's an arid desert when it comes to gay led romance dramas. We take what we can get. We're also going through a little K/JBL drought atm, so I understand one wanting to continue watching despite not liking all aspects. Sometimes I do that, if there is at least one element I like, like the actors.

I'm rewatching episodes 1-4, and now episode 2, the scene with Jae Min and Su Hyeon catching up at the cafe has so much subtext and meaning. On rewatch, the writing is even better than the initial viewing. Su Hyeon says, "I came back to get what I missed out on." Now we know he means Da On, not Jae Min. At first it seemed cliché, but now wow. This show is really good, IMO.

You're idea makes the most logical sense, but unfortunately psychos don't follow logic.

I appreciate that there isn't an unnecessary side relationship we're forced to watch. I 'd rather this than that.

I love that there is a little bit of mystery unfolding with each episode. I'm hooked now.

For me, I know where Su Hyeon is coming from (he's a victim of Jae Min) but I'm not torn at all. He is still toxic by grabbing, demanding, stalking, then publicly humiliating Da On in a meeting for not answering his calls (work place harassment). No matter how bad the initial misunderstanding is, he is still abusive. He's just a different type of abuser than Jae Min who falsely paints Su Hyeon in a good light. Seong Hyeon is not perfect (he likes to take advantage of a situation too), but he's the best option rn for Da On. We shall see.

I thought the same. He fucked around and found out.

After episode 4, I guess it was the first option. Psychological abuse.

A third option I just realized could be Jae Min just wants to protect Da On from Su Hyeon. He's sacrificing his happiness. But why not make a move on Da On when Su Hyeon was abroad? 😵‍💫 idk.

1) It's crazy that Cha Jung Woo is the baby of the group when he looks the most mature. It makes me feel so old that Kim Ho Young is the only one of my peers. 😭
2) What is Jae Min's motives? Is it psychological manipulation over Da On, representing a different form of abuse compared to Su Hyeon's temper, and doesn't want anyone else to have him, including himself? Is he a coward? Or simply that he just likes Da On and is stupid lol? The contract seems convoluted right now.
3) This is a stupid question, but does Cha Sun Hyung have a sister? He looks familiar, vaguely like a Korean actress that I can't put my finger on… Anyways, he has such a cute face and his character is who I'm rooting for.
4) Twelve-year-old me would've ate this harem up. This premise gives me early 2000s anime nostalgia lol.

meh i guess (this is television) but usually its the other way around irl. I agree, no exploration is done.

Same, that's why I think she is cold and unfeeling, almost to the point of unbelievability when she asked him back after he literally just said to her she treated him like a dog 😂. The show attempted to redeem her but the scene didn't cut it. I could only sympathize with her feelings of confusion if she is indeed struggling with her sexuality but that isn't an excuse for emotional neglect. I just don't think she's asexual cause otherwise?? it's just be an offensive stereotype.

Hmm, maybe it's a bad or conflicting translation then. Mine said, "No matter who I'm with after a while I stop wanting to do it." She wanted sex and was attracted to him at first. No asexuals, not even demi sexuals feel that way (it's the reverse), that's confusing asexuals with aromantics. It's like either the translator or the showrunner didn't care enough to research that.

If she is asexual, to me it makes her less villainous because she's hiding her sexuality the same way the main character briefly hid from her his bisexuality, both are not honest about being fulfilled in their situation. She comes off as biphobic, he comes off as aphobic.

But then again, what asexual would be fulfilled in that situation of intentionally denying sex from their partner and hurting them? It's just not resonating or believable with the experiences of actual asexuals. Even if one doesn't accept their asexuality and puts on a show, how does she want to put herself back into that situation where she feels violated to the point of freezing up? She loves him that much, huh? She says she feels bad, this is where it most conveys our plight, but that diner scene just didn't add up…

Anyway, I'm nitpicking. I'd like to give asexuals a little more credit than what is portrayed in Koari, especially because they're so accepting in real life. They humanize her at the last minute, but this cold portrayal is a harmful omnipresent stereotype too. I'm glad the show never decided to actually say she is asexual cause it sorta comes off as offensive.

I wasn't sure if she was ace before episode 6 but after episode 6 she isn't. She says she gets attracted to men at the beginning and has sex but after a while she gets bored. That's a totally normal thing for straight women (and men). It just points to the artifice of monogamy/domesticity. If it was always the case that she just got into a relationship for benefits other than sex and never was into men, then yeah but they cancel this out in that diner scene in her own words. IDK if anyone's asexual and feels represented by her (because we're desperate) then by all means. but if anyone is allosexual watching that diner scene thinking this is what asexuality is, nope.

none of the characters are asexual after episode 6. In it, Kaori says she is attracted by men at first then gets bored or turned off. Happens w/ straight women all the time. If you wanna see a show that actually tackles this topic watch Koisenu Futari, its so bang on what its like to be asexual. If you wanna see a gay/asexual relationship that tackles this struggle watch Heartbreak High (AU show). its so accurate too.

agree (i say this as an asexual)

(1) fuck the ignorant ppl trashing on asexuals.
(2) i don't have an issue if kaori is ace (we can be flawed individuals too) but she says she's into men sexually at the start then not—don't know if its fair to label her ace if that is the case? i think she is straight but just gets bored of or turned off being with the same man (normal too btw, but she just goes about it the wrong way)

episode 4 & 5, but mostly 5 is where it picks up.