For me, the issue with this story is that while the characters are "developing", they aren't developing outside of their tropes. In fact, those character traits have only been dialed up, which is not only making the story and the characters more unrelatable, it's also making the characters kind of unlikable. Lets take a look:
MC: The selfless, self-sacrificial, overly nice guy. Not only did he take on a burden, that burden also carries risk. We already know that she is a burden on his social life, romantic life, and financials (assuming), but he's also risking his career, legal trouble, social status, essentially his entire future. While its easy to understand and even agree with his initial motives to take in Sayu, as the baggage piles up, the MCs selflessness starts to become bizarre, unrelatable, and at times frustrating to read. How much is he willing to sacrifice? How much is he willing to risk? Why go so far? Being self-sacrificial to the point of borderline masochism isn't an endearing quality for a character IMO.
SAYU: The damaged flower, lost puppy, damsel in distress. While it's easy to feel sorry for her and her past, her actions only keep making things harder for the MC. Yes she's emotionally damaged, but she's still old enough to be held accountable for her actions. This recent arc really destroyed her development. All her feelings of guilt, appreciation, and compensation went flying right out the window with minimal coaxing from her "ex". Not only did she disrespect MC's home and kindness by bringing a guy there to have sex, she completely threw the MC under the bus by letting her ex know about everything regarding their situation. Now this sleezeball knows MC's living situation, where he lives, has seen his face, and probably picked up his name somewhere. What's worse is that this major(IMO) breach of respect, privacy, and trust, is completely glossed over because of her "development". Being emotionally damaged shouldn't absolve her of any accountability of her actions, especially when MC is the one at most risk. It feels like the "lost, inncocent, puppy" trope is being forcefed to the readers.
I hope this story changes directions soon, because if it's just going to be a cycle of "selfless MC saves damsel in distress", I'm probably going to drop it.
MC: The selfless, self-sacrificial, overly nice guy. Not only did he take on a burden, that burden also carries risk. We already know that she is a burden on his social life, romantic life, and financials (assuming), but he's also risking his career, legal trouble, social status, essentially his entire future. While its easy to understand and even agree with his initial motives to take in Sayu, as the baggage piles up, the MCs selflessness starts to become bizarre, unrelatable, and at times frustrating to read. How much is he willing to sacrifice? How much is he willing to risk? Why go so far? Being self-sacrificial to the point of borderline masochism isn't an endearing quality for a character IMO.
SAYU: The damaged flower, lost puppy, damsel in distress. While it's easy to feel sorry for her and her past, her actions only keep making things harder for the MC. Yes she's emotionally damaged, but she's still old enough to be held accountable for her actions. This recent arc really destroyed her development. All her feelings of guilt, appreciation, and compensation went flying right out the window with minimal coaxing from her "ex". Not only did she disrespect MC's home and kindness by bringing a guy there to have sex, she completely threw the MC under the bus by letting her ex know about everything regarding their situation. Now this sleezeball knows MC's living situation, where he lives, has seen his face, and probably picked up his name somewhere. What's worse is that this major(IMO) breach of respect, privacy, and trust, is completely glossed over because of her "development". Being emotionally damaged shouldn't absolve her of any accountability of her actions, especially when MC is the one at most risk. It feels like the "lost, inncocent, puppy" trope is being forcefed to the readers.
I hope this story changes directions soon, because if it's just going to be a cycle of "selfless MC saves damsel in distress", I'm probably going to drop it.