locksnrocks

[locksnrocks]

Ahhh loved the analysis of the only way evil polycule could survive

Seunghyn, for me, is very much a yellow flag, there are quite a few times he crosses Daon's boundaries and the whipped cream on neck seemed symbolic to me. Obviously when compared to Jaemin and Soohyun he appears the greenest flag ever, but my headcanon is he is a bit more darker than he seems.

Ofcourse Daon whose idea of healthy relationship is pretty much skewed, is not bothered, perhaps a part of Daon even recognizes and like it.

Talking about polycules, I can't see Seunghyn and Jaemin in one but curious about Seunghyn and Sohyun. Would love to know your thoughts more.

It was really the manhwa that convinced me that Soohyun / Daon / Seunghyun could have happened. Look, in the show, I am right there with the rest of us cheering for the Toxic Christmas Cabin Throuple as hard as everyone else. How much messier/worse everything could have been (or it would have fixed all their problems lol) if we got that. So when I went into the manhwa afterwards I was fully prepared to cheer for it again, but M!Jaemin um... lacks the charm of the actor. His creep factor verges too far on pathetic in the webcomic so I found myself rooting for a different throuple.

If Soo x Daon are the 'ship that could have been' then those three are the Not Quite As Toxic Throuple that could have been.

It's trickier trying to see how it would work out in the show, but in the manhwa (at least how I interpreted it) Daon and Soohyun have such a history where it seems like they are in constant risk of falling back into one another. That's Soohyun's whole purpose on his return - to make a real go of it, make things official, stop with the games. Maybe if the show had more airtime they could have fleshed out Soohyun and Daon's history - to my knowledge, it seems like the showrunners are content to just let us wonder about it forever if they had a FWB deal going on during uni like in the webcomic. Feels like Soohyun would have definitely mentioned it if so in the show.

So to make the throuple work, I have to lean heavily on the manhwa and say that it could work out only at pretty much the very end since that's when Daon finally picks someone else (Seong) over Jaemin and physically leaves Jaemin, complete with running out into the pouring rain and having a dramatical embrace. The Soohyun situation is resolved by Soohyun pretty much removing himself from the running (They meet up for closure and Soohyun informs him he is going back abroad and he doesn't regret his actions). Daon is tearful, but they part ways more or less amicably, but Soohyun's last private remarks are about how he was 'late' - too late to get Daon, to keep his place by his side, late to Jaemin, late to Seonghyun even.

Here's where I say they could make the throuple work, but it would hinge on Soohyun not wanting to throw in the towel just quite yet. If he pushed it now, made it clear to both Daon and Seonghyun that he wasn't going anywhere AND that he wasn't interested in underhanded manipulations like Jaemin, they might actually have a shot. Seonghyun would also have to fold a bit - but he already had that mindset earlier on with the Jaemin fiasco. lol I guess I'm betting on that by this point, if Seonghyun finally got Daon reciprocating his feelings openly over Jaemin, then he would see this Soohyun situation unfolding and just say "oh hell no I am not backing out now" and then the three could more or less make it work.

Manhwa Soohyun has a much more laid-back approach to life compared to his show counterpart, so if Seonghyun is blunt enough to call out the situation, then I can see him saying "yeah, that's pretty much what I intend to do. You can either get on board or we fight."

bandabing-bandaboom we got ourselves a new throuple.

Smarter than me writers could make this work, dang it!

[locksnrocks]

Scene Comparison - Soohyun & Daon Library scene

I appreciate how the show took moments/dialogue from the manhwa and adapted them - there was *a lot* of material they had to work through to get this thing condensed down to just 8 episodes. Overall, I understand the changes the show made because if they tried to shove everything in this timeframe, the ending would have felt way more rushed than it already did.

One favorite scene:

If you haven't read the manhwa and if there's any part of you that felt even a little bit bad for the crash and burn of the 'ship that could have been' (Soohyun x Daon), then please enjoy a small snapshot of how the library scene played out in the manhwa. It is during their 'not dating but basically dating/FWB' phase during uni.

Just to show what Soohyun/Daon could have been...! The show added a lurking Jaemin in its version, but he's not here in the webcomic. He does see (spy on them) them around campus being close and couple-y and gets tilted.

I guess the show left it up to us as the viewers to decide if Soohyun and Daon were 'together' at this point in their uni days.

[locksnrocks]

Secret Relationships - an option to make the Evil Polycule work and it involves removing one main character entirely so I don't think it counts

Thought more about how the Evil Polycule could actually work in the series and I can't help but go on another rant. But I'm weak and would have to take the scenario describe here and say that it could only be feasible in the show's present timeline if Seonghyun isn't a factor at all. Which I guess counts as a copout but oh well. Creative writers could make it work, I have no doubt!

So I think it would come down to Soohyun getting Daon to accept the ring during the dinner exchange- as stated before, without Seong's presence I just don't see Daon having the strength to resist Soohyun, especially with how hard he pushes. And because Soohyun understands what a threat Jaemin is with his hold on Daon, he will want to address it and goes ahead with telling Daon exactly what Jaemin has done.

Daon does the Jaemin confrontation BUT this time Soohyun goes with him. I like the idea of Soohyun hanging back out of sight because

he knows how Jaemin operates and wants Jaemin to confess without using Soohyun's presence as an excuse to focus elsewhere, and

for drama

Jaemin snaps and moves in on Daon, but now we have the delight of an enraged Soohyun charging in and putting a stop to that mess. Jaemin is truly caught so pulls his hail mary with the self-stabbing. Daon is horrified, Soo is shocked but in this scenario he is blessed with exactly one (1) braincell (which he is karmically owed after agreeing to that dumb fake date plan) so he processes the following realizations very quickly:

Jaemin will stop at nothing to keep his hold on Daon. Like it will take legitimate death to keep him out of the picture.

For all his rage, Soohyun is not a murderer.

Even if he could pull if off, Daon would never forgive or forget.

For better or worse, Jaemin has made himself a permanent fixture in Daon's life (again, Seonghyun has to be a nonfactor because we saw in the show that even with Jaemin's desperate self-harm, Daon pulled away thanks to Seong's influence).

So Soo makes Daon go look for bandages to get him out of hearing range and says something along the lines of "You think pulling this move let's you win? You've played your final card and now Daon knows exactly who you are. You are no longer in control here. What happens next is on my terms."

He can rub salt in the wound once Daon returns and Jaemin is bandaged up, Soo takes Daon's hand and makes a show of kissing the ring he gave him earlier (Daon would be wearing it as he accepted). Just a real 'kick Jaemin while he's down' moment. But Jaemin does actually see the writing on the wall (blood loss aside) and understands the message Soohyun is sending: If you want Daon, fine, but it's going to be a packaged deal.

Jaemin gets sent to the hospital - I imagine Soo would just call emergency services rather than let Daon take him. Soohyun and Daon return home. Daon is in a state of shock and just generally disassociating. His state really hammers in to Soohyun that Jaemin's hold on Daon runs deep. So he calmly tells Daon to go ahead and pack an overnight bag "and we will go to the hospital to check on him tomorrow."

And just like that, the two of them becomes a We. We will check on him. We will pick him up. We will go to dinner next week. We will pick you up from work tomorrow.

Thus the Evil Polycule is born 🎉. They fell into that pattern naturally during their uni days in the manhwa, so it isn't so far fetched to say they could fall into it in the show- the timeline is just different.

Bonus scene: After telling Daon to go ahead and pack the overnight bag, Soohyun also uses this moment to solidify his position with Daon- he can use the "pull him in close and kiss the ring he gifted him again" move, they have a 'deep stare at one another wordless exchange' moment and that leads to them having their first (?) time sleeping together.

Yays all around!

Still no one goes to therapy (a significant requirement if this is to work, especially for Daon).

Still a solid 80% chance Daon ends up atticwifed (cabin-husband'd) judging by the Christmas Death Cabin Scene. Just seems like something Soohyun and Jaemin would agree on doing to him eventually.

[locksnrocks]

more Soohyun thoughts

the king of entering a scene BY YELLING A LINE and then saying the next sentence in a calmer, yet still threatening tone. Marching into the workplace? YELL at the employee standing there quietly on his phone. Bring his car to a screeching stop at a cross walk to stop that same employee from walking home? Exit the vehicle YELLING and then continue normally (but angry). Same poor guy not wanting to go to lunch with him later? Demand he quit his current role and when he is not happy about that YELL at him. Follow same dude when he flees the vehicle. YELL some more and scratch his face (unintentionally) (but evidence that Soohyun is in fact a wet cat in a human body).

Manhwa Soohyun wasn't much for yelling. He did pull the "lurk outside of Daon's place every single day and make him spend the night with me" card. And he was so committed to getting to Daon once he was back that Jaemin made Daon move to his vacation house to keep him away.

Did anyone else start quietly cheering for Soohyun at the scene where he is sitting at his desk holding the ointment/bandages? Like, yes king, look at you reflecting on the unintended consequences of your actions and experiencing some genuine remorse for the damage you wrought- and oh, never mind, he almost immediately tosses them aside and starts angrily scheming to ruin Daon's work. Way to reflect, look at and acknowledge the responsible option, and deliberately choose not to improve. I couldn't help but laugh.

ALSO! In the scenario where there is no Seonghyun (in the show): Would Soohyun get his way? No Seong to enter the scene doesn't change Soohyun coming back, but without Seong's support Daon is in a significantly -weaker?- position to rebuff Soo's advances. That actually goes for both Soohyun and Jaemin, but in my definitely not biased at all opinion no sir not me, I think Soohyun would pull ahead in the end. He is just more upfront aggressive + has more access through the workplace.

I imagine it would get to the work dinner scene where Soohyun finds out Jaemin orchestrated that one guy undressing Daon & taking pics to really light the fuse. That leads to Soo outright telling Daon about Jaemin's machinations, Daon denies, but doubt is already sown through his sister's remarks just like we saw, confrontation with Jaemin - here's where I can't decide if that would go down the same with a Daon who hasn't had a peek at what authentic affection (too early to say love?) looks like thanks to Seong. But let's say Daon stays strong, doesn't stick around Jaemin. Then... yup, Soohyun's there and just keeps at it until Daon cracks.

Wait! The ring confession scene happened before the Jaemin confrontation scene... okay, I stand by the same conclusion - with even more gusto now because it was Seonghyun's words that Daon recalled during Soo asking to start over. Without that, Daon would be 1. already rejected earlier by Jaemin, and 2. Facing his first crush and just given The Ring of Too Big Feelings. I think Daon would crack right there. Nostalgia, or just an exhaustion of having to continuously rebuff this -raging lunatic- who also happens to be his boss's Boss. Who among us would hold out??

Then to hammer in the nail, Soohyun could go on and still reveal what Jaemin did, and then for funsies he goes with Daon to confront Jaemin. Then we could either say:

Let the Poly Flag Fly - something something and then the three of them reignite their toxic throuple-adjacent bubble of their uni days but for real this time. Like an 80% chance Daon ends up atticwife-d. No one goes to therapy.

Catfight: Soohyun physically attacks Jaemin / Jaemin physically attacks Soohyun. Bonus points for this happening if Soo doesn't reveal he is there initially until Jaemin's facade cracks and he tries to move in on Daon. Then Soo charges in. by the laws of drama convenience, no one goes to jail and Soohyun gets what he wants and no one goes to therapy.

Is it exactly a happy ending for Daon - eh, Soohyun's temper is going to be a forever problem stemming from his family issues, so no? Show Soo at least never choked Daon out like in the webcomic so yay for that way to hit the bare minimum babe. Soohyun would probably also still stop the whole going to the overseas branch project because why would he let Daon go away from him. But damn, did the Soohyun x Daon ship of their school days get royally screwed over by Jaemin.

Smarter than me writers could make this work, dang it.

by this i mean the evil polycule

[locksnrocks]

Show vs Manhwa scenes

I actually enjoyed the Hallway Confrontation Soohyun vs Seonghyeon scene from the show over the manhwa's version, but it's definitely biased since the actors did such a good job. One thing is that Soohyun as a character is much more outwardly expressive in the show, which leads to high tension to more easily grip the viewers. I also really liked how Seong reacted (he actually accidently hurts Daon's wrist in the webcomic, immediately apologizes tho) - his begging Daon to not go was heartbreaking. He does stick around in the manhwa, right up against the door and listening in on Soohyun moving in on Daon (who does resist but gets overruled, and then the "from now on in front of me don't look at him with those eyes" exchange is a less volatile "don't say someone else's name when you're with me" from Soohyun - then flashbacks happen- then both Soohyun & Daon are seated on the ground since Daon won't stop crying and Soo doesn't know how to comfort him - then eventually Daon internally acknowledges that Soo has an unpredictable temper but has been gentle with Daon previously - which leads to Daon accepting Soo reaching out to him presently and they bang.) I think Seong had left by that point? Not sure, but he punched the door/wall earlier in the exchange which Soo laughed at.

That whole scene is taking free real estate in my brain. With the changes the show made, I am dying to know if Show Soo & Daon already had an established past of hooking up with each other - I am leaning towards no? as it looks like they did not go further afterwards since Daon slept on the couch. And since there was about 5 seconds of them walking into Daon's apartment before Soo immediately dives in, I doubt there were any confessions happening so does that mean that for Daon, this is the first concrete happening of Soohyun's interest beyond the flirting during college? When all previous exchanges since Soo returned was him using 'Jaemin's my Ex but maybe I want to get back together with him' as manipulation? What a ride for Daon. No wonder dude looks so mentally done. He's kissing back, tho. Guess the show can just purposefully keep it all ambiguous and let us chew on it forever.

I'm glad we got Director Soohyun (even tho he sucked at the job)! because it gave us the baseball/vase scene which I do not believe the manhwa had an equivalent of. Some of the dialogue was taken from different parts of the webcomic tho, which honestly I'm impressed with. The show had good directing! The whole scene is another point in Show Soohyun's favor - in that it makes it easier for the narrative to grip you and move forward when one character, for better or worse, expresses himself so forwardly. Now if only he had just had a single honest to god conversation about feelings years back he would have gotten his man dang it (but not really with Jaemin still around he would have ruined it one way or another) and also not agreed to the world's dumbest plan to fake date someone he loathed. Manhwa Soohyun comes across as... um smarter? lol less impulsive, rather, then Show Soohyun, so if you judged Soo for agreeing to that plan in the show then you'll side eye him harder in the webcomic. Come on, dude.

We also got the conference room team meeting scene which was a treat (in how much an objectively bad Director Soo was lol). No equivalent in the manhwa since he wasn't involved in Daon's workplace at all. There also wasn't an equivalent scene of the Daon x Seong coffee time at work where Soohyun angrily marches up, confronts Daon on spending equal time with team members, gives the world's Best Stink Eye to Seong, then goes to his office and calls Daon while trembling in rage to demand equal Coffee Time. So we were #blessed by the show for these additions.

oh oh and there was no equivalent of Soo accidentally harming Daon's face, unless you count the flashback slap or present time choking - but those two events were 1. Intentional, and 2. did not lead to a follow up where Seong responds to the whole thing. I don't believe Seong ever becomes aware of either of these events in the webcomic, but could be wrong. Point is, we got face-scratch in the show which led to the appearance of the Almighty and Very Medically Necessary Q-Tip/Bandaid Combo as Applied By Main Love Interest of Every Single BL Drama Ever. Thank goodness.

Shout out to that one rando in the manhwa that saw Daon at uni after knowing him during previous school years where he committed the Cardinal Sin of being friendly towards Daon in Soohyun's presence, causing Soohyun to manhandle and threaten rando. He's the only character in the webcomic to look at the Jaemin + Daon + Soohyun bubble and state that all three are weirdos. And they are, as poor dude has to hide rather than be caught by the three for just looking at them. You get Jaemin and Soohyun being extremely closed off for anyone looking at Daon, but even Daon in that scene doesn't want anyone to pop the bubble.

[locksnrocks]

Secret Relationships Show vs. Manhwa - how the main four differ

Spoilers for both!

I made a grave error and decided to start the manhwa last night. binged it all straight to 4 am aaaaaaa

Daon: Show Daon- reserved, soft spoken but not a doormat. Obviously carrying internal trauma brought on by an irresponsible family (but sympathetic, at least Da-Suel was in the show) + his two obsessive "suitors" manipulating everything in his life. We see the breakdown and his "I don't deserve to love or be loved" mindset - but holy shirtballz is Manhwa Daon in his own league. That boy is deeply, deeply unwell (I say 80% Jaemin's fault 20% his family- his family is straight up pathetic in the source material. Like, that's their role, even his sister- just pathetic people and I really did not empathize with them). M!Daon just makes seemingly bad decisions one right after the other- and you catch yourself saying 'girl just run' multiple times, and 'didn't your mother ever teach you- oh that's right, your parents didn't teach you crap because your entire family is pathetic- the parents especially'. This dude just did not have a chance. That's a source of reader frustration from what I saw in other comments ('oh he just sleeps around, what an idiot, he causes all this himself, etc.' - which, alright, but guess who hates Daon the most? Daon. He straight up states these criticisms of himself plainly - he warned Seong exactly what was going down), but like, of course he is like that- do you not see what he has been dealing with because!!!! hot damn, Jaemin what the hell

Jaemin: Show Jaemin - great acting, unhinged, wow what an escalation, he's the real danger, what a manipulative person. BUT MANWHA JAEMIN???? Every single thing/action that happens to/about Daon can have the tagline "and then Jaemin ruined it." The Creep factor is up'd to 200% - like heavy breathing 'he's in your walls' levels. There's something so utterly... pathetic + legitimately dangerous about M!Jaemin. If Daon stayed at that vacation house with him any longer, we may have gotten the show's wedding themed murder/suicide and not a single soul who read the webcomic would be surprised. I kept waiting for it because Jaemin pulling that seemed like such a natural next step for him to take.

The line "I can't wait for you to grow up and be an adult" <- some variation of it, can't remember the exact quote - Jaemin to/about Daon during a flashback with exactly the negative connotation you can associate with this particular sentiment is used. Hggn. There's more to say about him but I can't organize it all

Soohyun: Show Soohyun - hair trigger temper (great acting), the frustration is boiling over, impulsive, uses fear to get his way (and if there's remorse later, the lack of emotional regulation ensures that it is forgotten), does have a form of redemption in the end, a genuinely incompetent Director. Manhwa Soohyun - the temper is there, but the character is waaaaay more calm with interactions, snarky rather than mean, calculating, no involvement with Daon's workplace, clocked what Jaemin was doing almost immediately, he and Daon I think hook up the most consistently (and yes, it happens when Soohyun and Jaemin are fake dating but good grief I just can't be a "wow Daon is trash see he knowingly slept with Soohyun while Soo is dating Jaemin" because girl, wut - they have a stage during college (?) where they are pretty much dating without ever verbalizing it (and then Jaemin ruined it) because no one verbalizes anything when it comes to honest to goodness feelings beyond a trembling confession that you know is going to be pummeled into the ground - which I recognize is a plot point since communication would cause every drama ever to go from multi episodes to about 5 min of content.

Honestly, since my moral compass is not built on the morality/ethics of bl series, I can comfortably say that I was rooting for both Soohyun and/or Seong simultaneously. Either of them over Jaemin. At least exactly why Soohyun agreed to the contrived 'fake date' plan is marginally better explored in the manhwa. He also legit strikes Daon (past) + chokes him (present)- again, his temper is a very real factor, it's just not as outwardly explosive as in the show. Daon has genuine fear of Soohyun hurting Seong/himself in present time. Both versions of Soohyun are royally screwed over by Jaemin's manipulations, but M!Soohyun had the attitude of "I'm going abroad now, so Jaemin better shoot his shot while I'm gone because once I'm back, I will go all in." By the end, his 'redemption arc' is legit "I have no regrets. You better erase me from your mind entirely." and he goes back abroad to be with his family (his mother's religious but his family is not 'point a gun at him' terrible from what I could tell - he actually wanted to introduce Daon to them at one point). That 'erase me' bit just convinced me that if Soohyun had not removed himself, he (and Daon) knew full well that they would slide right on back to each other eventually. Heck, Seong probably knew it, too.

Speaking of Seong and the many, many 'poly is the answer' lines the show spawned - the real throuple that could have been??? Soohyun x Daon x Seong. Right at the end of the manhwa - legit if Soohyun didn't back down, with how Seong was written and how Daon was written, if Soohyun pushed and Daon caved, I could see Seong eventually settling at 'if this is what it takes to have (a chance with) you, then I will accept this' to be with Daon. Because he already had nearly the exact same sentiment earlier.

Seonghyeon: Show Seong - so gosh darn earnest and charming, clingy in an endearing (but a bit boundary stomping) way, a flawed real human with flawed reactions but I can't hold it against him because this situation is not normal, not a lunatic but has a bit of emotional manipulation going on, but again, he's human. Manhwa Seong - yes to all that, but I propose that while Jaemin and Soohyun where displaying black/red flags consistently, Seong had his own brand of obsession going on. He's not clued in immediately, but he does get a picture of what is going down, especially once he meets Jaemin. And armed with this information + a Daon who is pretty transparent ("You say you like me and I like you. But I also like Jaemin, who I confessed to and he rejected me. But those feelings are still here. Also, Soohyun is here now and we are hooking up and probably will continue to do so as I don't have much agency in that matter. I am a terrible person. It would be better for you to not pursue me." - wildly paraphrased and condensed, but you get the gist). And Seong, armed with all this information, ultimately takes the approach of Patience. Like, he is going to outwait the other two lunatics - he will wait for Daon to sort through the absolute crapshoot that is his life, work through whatever that is with Jaemin, sprinkle in a tiny bit of cold-shouldering here and there, a drunken kiss or two. And even once Daon makes the definitive choice and goes to Seong over Jaemin, that whole "Don't turn around" scene!! If it was Jaemin in the background making whatever expression that Seong acknowledge would cause Daon to waver, Seong still may have come out on top. But if it was Soohyun? Seong might not. Again, the throuple that could have been...!

Reading the manhwa in it's entirety till 4 am really made me appreciate the show. They hit a lot of the narrative beats and did it with style. I can see why tweaks to the characters were made, particularly Soohyun, as having his temper so prominent rather than the 'hidden under the surface' approach of M!Soohyun would make it harder to move things along, especially since Jaemin already checks off the subtle background manipulation thing.

poly could have saved Show dudes and/or made the whole thing messier but we all would have enjoyed the ride lol

no amount of poly would have saved M!Jaemin, do you know why?? because he ruins things.

[locksnrocks]

Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much of a goddamn nepo baby pathetic terrible Director loser Suhyeon is. Every one of those poor souls (even though they are horrible gossips) who were pulled into that unscheduled team meeting just so Suhyeon could pin Daon in one place and straight up grill Senghyeon about their relationship. Start looking for new jobs, babes, the Director is going to drag the whole company down if his father doesn't shoot him first.

Can't leave out our resident psycho Jaemin. What an absolute loser who planned a wedding-themed murder/suicide, complete with formal suit attire and he didn't even get the right ring size. For the guy he has spent over a decade obsessed over.

He picked out matching formal attire (so he undressed Daon. You just know he took pictures) and he got the wrong ring size. what a loooooooser.

I love them all so, so much. Terrible people being terrible.

Secret Relationships - let the cursed polycule live to the detriment of literally everyone

Secret Relationships was such a ride! I must ramble about it. So the world's most toxic love square (polycule-that-could-have-been) boiled down to one doe-eyed poor dude who wears his expensive but oddly baggy outfits to his job where at times he was the only one working on the project (I know it was a tense moment but the conference room scene with Suhyeon taunting Senghyeon and pulling Daon's chair- tell me half the pain in Daon's eyes wasn't because he was legit trying to work on something important to him and the other two were contributing nothing. Tho I'll give Senghyeon a pass lol)- and then 3 love interest, 2 who are red flags and one who looks like the greenest green flag to ever green.

Although, I tell ya, seeing others look into Senghyeon as a character and start pointing out some of his actions and he started to look more yellow, but the sheer wall of red bouncing off those other two lunatics sure makes him look pretty darn green by comparison. I think the writers intended for him to be green, but give a competent fanwriter some time and it wouldn't take much to craft a Senghyeon who wields emotion manipulation + well intentioned? boundary stomping to get what he wants, instead of a raging temper or puppet master machinations.

So Daon's life boiled down to 3 people who fall into "I love you and to prove it I would"-

1. Die for you

2. Kill for you

3. Kill you (and myself)

Just just just....! What a ride. I enjoyed the telenovela level shenanigans.

Oh, but the toxic poly potential!!! Look, if we go back to the 7 years ago Christmas/Future Murder Cabin flashback, tell me that Jaemin and Suhyeon couldn't have tweaked their dumbass plan to just be 'let's feel Daon out and see if we can tie him to us both," with the rational that an unattached Daon attracts too much attention and two pairs of eyes on him are better then one. So they convince him to date them both (and i use 'convince' here in the most leave-him-no-real-choice way) and boom. Our protagonist is trapped in the lion's den. They make that cabin their little getaway 'love' nest and slowly work to isolate Daon completely.

Can the two psychos get to a place where they get with each other? For the sake of society, that would have been ideal (good grief let the two match each other's freak level and take themselves off the market), but I personally headcanon that they would at most tolerate the other with Daon as the buffer. And, oh, the things that would unfold. They attic-wife Daon (I saw Cabin-husband earlier and lol) and become the most evil polycule in all the land.

Presenting a numbered list to organize my rambling thoughts:

1. Jaemin is still an unstable schemer, it's his life blood. And while he's come to this truce with Suhyeon for now, the more time he has with Daon the more his tolerance for Suhyeon's own boundary-stomping tendencies wanes. My dude was ready to burn it all down- with time, he's gonna want to have it all to himself. But he's subtle, he waits, he plots, he sees that Suyheon's temper is still present and it scares Daon. So therefore, our Master Manipulator girlboss leans into it- needle Suyheon when he returns in a foul mood after visiting his family, the temper explodes and Daon naturally gravitates to Jaemin.

2. Anytime Daon isn't focusing on Suhyeon, he gets in his moods. We did not get through the series and come out thinking Suhyeon would be fixed if he actually got Daon. His temper would be tempered-ha! - with Daon in his life, but his lifelong problem is his abusive family. So Suhyeon takes any chance to get Daon's complete attention, even if it means just snatching him up in the middle of a convo with Jaemin. Tension builds over time, Daon is trapped, did these two even allow him to get a job? I could see that being a hard line with him, so fine, he can work (at the company Suyheon oversees), so now work isn't even a valid escape route.

3. Perhaps we get a bit of unhinged/schemer Daon??! As a treat? As a survival mechanism as this polyship forges on and he is trapped in the middle and maybe one day he realizes that huh, look at that, I want to work on this project but Suyheon shut it down as it would be with another team he doesn't directly oversee. Oh, what's that? When i spend more time with Jaemin, Suyheon acts out. If i withdrawal, Suhyeon either acts out more, or... he has a chance to love bomb as a make up and play the hero who gives me the project. Daon reinforces this behavior, showering Suhyeon in attention.

4. Jaemin ain't spared, either. Suyheon is out for work so Jaemin is determined to occupy 100% of Daon's person. And Daon leans into it- responding exactly in ways Jaemin wants, letting little slips like "I love how quiet/peaceful this night is with you, hyung. / you treat me so well, what would I do without you." Jaemin smugly eats it up. This is how it should be.

5. Suhyeon returns, temper already sparked from work/family drama/just being away and knowing Jaemin has had unsupervised time with Daon, and Daon just flips on a dime. Suddenly, he's focused on Suhyeon, placating him, no longer hiding away or behind Jaemin but instead placing himself right in front of Suhyeon. I'm going off of that Scene in ep 6- to placate Suhyeon, it takes Daon submitting himself. And it works- Suhyeon is tamed (for now) and Jaemin is left regretting ever trying to needle Suhyeon to be more volatile if it means Daon switches his attention entirely. Daon establishes his own pattern of positive reinforcement on Suhyeon and with time, he can convince the other to let him work that project or go out shopping on his own. He just has to be careful not to push for too much too soon, but Daon sharpens his own brand of subtle manipulation.

6. Jury's out if he could pull the same off with Jaemin- i don't think J would ever get to the place of letting Daon out without his supervision unless absolutely necessary. So it's kind of the situation where a child ask one parent while knowing the other would say no lol. Daon gets to the point of knowing he can convince Suyheon of something he wants (or the rare occasion he can convince Jaemin instead), and go on his merry way fully knowing it would result in an argument among the other two.

6. Maybe on a rare bout of freedom Daon has a scooter-crash meet cute with Senghyeon. Maybe this sparks something on both ends- or just gives Daon a clue that there are other people in the world outside of the gilded cage Jamein & Suhyeon trapped him in.

So many thoughts surrounding this glorious mess of a show.

[locksnrocks]

Secret Relationships - let the cursed polycule live to the detriment of literally everyone

Secret Relationships was such a ride! I must ramble about it. So the world's most toxic love square (polycule-that-could-have-been) boiled down to one doe-eyed poor dude who wears his expensive but oddly baggy outfits to his job where at times he was the only one working on the project (I know it was a tense moment but the conference room scene with Suhyeon taunting Senghyeon and pulling Daon's chair- tell me half the pain in Daon's eyes wasn't because he was legit trying to work on something important to him and the other two were contributing nothing. Tho I'll give Senghyeon a pass lol)- and then 3 love interest, 2 who are red flags and one who looks like the greenest green flag to ever green.

Although, I tell ya, seeing others look into Senghyeon as a character and start pointing out some of his actions and he started to look more yellow, but the sheer wall of red bouncing off those other two lunatics sure makes him look pretty darn green by comparison. I think the writers intended for him to be green, but give a competent fanwriter some time and it wouldn't take much to craft a Senghyeon who wields emotion manipulation + well intentioned? boundary stomping to get what he wants, instead of a raging temper or puppet master machinations.

So Daon's life boiled down to 3 people who fall into "I love you and to prove it I would"-

1. Die for you

2. Kill for you

3. Kill you (and myself)

Just just just....! What a ride. I enjoyed the telenovela level shenanigans.

Oh, but the toxic poly potential!!! Look, if we go back to the 7 years ago Christmas/Future Murder Cabin flashback, tell me that Jaemin and Suhyeon couldn't have tweaked their dumbass plan to just be 'let's feel Daon out and see if we can tie him to us both," with the rational that an unattached Daon attracts too much attention and two pairs of eyes on him are better then one. So they convince him to date them both (and i use 'convince' here in the most leave-him-no-real-choice way) and boom. Our protagonist is trapped in the lion's den. They make that cabin their little getaway 'love' nest and slowly work to isolate Daon completely.

Can the two psychos get to a place where they get with each other? For the sake of society, that would have been ideal (good grief let the two match each other's freak level and take themselves off the market), but I personally headcanon that they would at most tolerate the other with Daon as the buffer. And, oh, the things that would unfold. They attic-wife Daon (I saw Cabin-husband earlier and lol) and become the most evil throuple in all the land.

Presenting a numbered list to organize my rambling thoughts:

1. Jaemin is still an unstable schemer, it's his life blood. And while he's come to this truce with Suhyeon for now, the more time he has with Daon the more his tolerance for Suhyeon's own boundary-stomping tendencies wanes. My dude was ready to burn it all down- with time, he's gonna want to have it all to himself. But he's subtle, he waits, he plots, he sees that Suyheon's temper is still present and it scares Daon. So therefore, our Master Manipulator girlboss leans into it- needle Suyheon when he returns in a foul mood after visiting his family, the temper explodes and Daon naturally gravitates to Jaemin.

2. Anytime Daon isn't focusing on Suhyeon, he gets in his moods. We did not get through the series and come out thinking Suhyeon would be fixed if he actually got Daon. His temper would be tempered-ha! - with Daon in his life, but his lifelong problem is his abusive family. So Suhyeon takes any chance to get Daon's complete attention, even if it means just snatching him up in the middle of a convo with Jaemin. Tension builds over time, Daon is trapped, did these two even allow him to get a job? I could see that being a hard line with him, so fine, he can work (at the company Suyheon oversees), so now work isn't even a valid escape route.

3. Perhaps we get a bit of unhinged/schemer Daon??! As a treat? As a survival mechanism as this polyship forges on and he is trapped in the middle and maybe one day he realizes that huh, look at that, I want to work on this project but Suyheon shut it down as it would be with another team he doesn't directly oversee. Oh, what's that? When i spend more time with Jaemin, Suyheon acts out. If i withdrawal, Suhyeon either acts out more, or... he has a chance to love bomb as a make up and play the hero who gives me the project. Daon reinforces this behavior, showering Suhyeon in attention.

4. Jaemin ain't spared, either. Suyheon is out for work so Jaemin is determined to occupy 100% of Daon's person. And Daon leans into it- responding exactly in ways Jaemin wants, letting little slips like "I love how quiet/peaceful this night is with you, hyung. / you treat me so well, what would I do without you." Jaemin smugly eats it up. This is how it should be.

5. Suhyeon returns, temper already sparked from work/family drama/just being away and knowing Jaemin has had unsupervised time with Daon, and Daon just flips on a dime. Suddenly, he's focused on Suhyeon, placating him, no longer hiding away or behind Jaemin but instead placing himself right in front of Suhyeon. I'm going off of that Scene in ep 6- to placate Suhyeon, it takes Daon submitting himself. And it works- Suhyeon is tamed (for now) and Jaemin is left regretting ever trying to needle Suhyeon to be more volatile if it means Daon switches his attention entirely. Daon establishes his own pattern of positive reinforcement on Suhyeon and with time, he can convince the other to let him work that project or go out shopping on his own. He just has to be careful not to push for too much too soon, but Daon sharpens his own brand of subtle manipulation.

6. Jury's out if he could pull the same off with Jaemin- i don't think J would ever get to the place of letting Daon out without his supervision unless absolutely necessary. So it's kind of the situation where a child ask one parent while knowing the other would say no lol. Daon gets to the point of knowing he can convince Suyheon of something he wants (or the rare occasion he can convince Jaemin instead), and go on his merry way fully knowing it would result in an argument among the other two.

6. Maybe on a rare bout of freedom Daon has a scooter-crash meet cute with Senghyeon. Maybe this sparks something on both ends- or just gives Daon a clue that there are other people in the world outside of the gilded cage Jamein & Suhyeon trapped him in.

So many thoughts surrounding this glorious mess of a show.