Think about how traumatized this guy has been by basically everyone around him except his dead friend. He told…
I don’t think we really know how he’s reacting yet. The episode ends with him asking for an explanation. We haven’t seen whether he listens, lashes out, shuts down, or softens. And honestly, previews are often deliberately misleading, so it’s hard to draw conclusions yet.
That said, I actually think his reaction is understandable or at least true to his character. He’s someone who feels deeply and his reactions have been ‘big’ throughout the series, and we’ve already seen how much he trusts Se‑na. So yeah, realizing she’s been a fan this whole time probably hit like a truck. Earlier in the same episode, there’s even that moment when she asks him what he’d do if someone he really trusts lied to him, and he says something along the lines of, “Well, that’s just what people do. I don’t expect much from anyone, so it probably wouldn’t hurt.” And yet… not even ten minutes later, we see that it does hurt. A lot. That contradiction says everything, his walls were clearly lower with her, and the betrayal (even if it wasn’t malicious) cuts deeper because of it. Feeling hurt doesn’t automatically mean he thinks she’s a sasaeng, just that his sense of safety shattered.
Of course, if the show drags this out without resolution, it’ll hurt the pacing and emotional payoff. But it’s K‑dramaland so misunderstandings are part of the arc. I really hope she gets to explain (and soon, preferably next episode), because the connection they’ve built deserves that clarity. And tbh, if they do lean into this hurt as a way to signal how much she means to him, that’s tropey but not necessarily a bad thing if they resolve it well that is.
If someone earning $50k gave away the same proportion as $350 from $40 million (the lower end of her net worth estimates), they’d give less than 0.50. You’d call that stingy. You wouldn’t even notice it let alone call it generosity.
Generosity is measured by what you give up, not what you give. She gave nothing up. That’s not generosity, that’s branding.
That said, I actually think his reaction is understandable or at least true to his character. He’s someone who feels deeply and his reactions have been ‘big’ throughout the series, and we’ve already seen how much he trusts Se‑na. So yeah, realizing she’s been a fan this whole time probably hit like a truck. Earlier in the same episode, there’s even that moment when she asks him what he’d do if someone he really trusts lied to him, and he says something along the lines of, “Well, that’s just what people do. I don’t expect much from anyone, so it probably wouldn’t hurt.” And yet… not even ten minutes later, we see that it does hurt. A lot. That contradiction says everything, his walls were clearly lower with her, and the betrayal (even if it wasn’t malicious) cuts deeper because of it. Feeling hurt doesn’t automatically mean he thinks she’s a sasaeng, just that his sense of safety shattered.
Of course, if the show drags this out without resolution, it’ll hurt the pacing and emotional payoff. But it’s K‑dramaland so misunderstandings are part of the arc. I really hope she gets to explain (and soon, preferably next episode), because the connection they’ve built deserves that clarity. And tbh, if they do lean into this hurt as a way to signal how much she means to him, that’s tropey but not necessarily a bad thing if they resolve it well that is.
Generosity is measured by what you give up, not what you give. She gave nothing up. That’s not generosity, that’s branding.