My Male Friend - Ch. 47

[MangaDex]

 

[semicharmed]

Screaming in the distance

 

[FredFriendly]

Oh, man, this is one of the most realistically dramatic (and dramatically realistic) post-rejection scenes. Without a doubt, Song Ara will live to regret her decision. It'll be too late when she realizes that she's not only lost the very best friend she could ever have, but also lost the chance of a lifetime to be with that one special person who would devote his life to hers. Instead, she'll end up with a string of unsuccessful relationships with guys that treat her as property to be thrown away when they're bored with her, and likely end up married to a loser husband that treats her like a slave.

 

[jak]

@FredFriendly - Stop exaggerating. They will still probably get together.

 

[Kendama]

To be quite honest, it'd be interesting if they didn't end up together.

Basically, I'm not very romantic. I believe there are many ways to find happiness. While I am not quite of the same opinion as Joyce, whose Molly Bloom basically says she could have ended up with anyone, I don't think there is just "the one" out there waiting for us. People can make it work, if both sides are willing to make concessions, listen to each other and become slightly different from the interaction with their spouse. I hold up as an example to be followed a couple I knew who, once they decided to live together, spent one whole year systematically talking about everything they considered important until they reached an understanding. And then went on to live 31 years together, until she died. It definitely wasn't the all-devouring fire of passion, but a tender, robust partnership they fueled daily. One of the most beautiful couples I've met in my life.

So this break up of the protags is realistic, it's painful, but right now, I see it much more as the pain of breaking any close relationship. It hurts, because everyone we hold dear leaves a gap in ourselves when they are no longer there.

They will overcome. And they're not doomed to misery. I'd love it if this story moved on to show them each hooked up with a new interest, re-educating their hearts, and then were able to meet each other and resume their old friendship in a different, less mutually-dependent but still intimate way. Sitting down in a café to talk about life, spending time at the phone/live chat, maybe double-couple meeting every now and then.

After all, this webtoon is titled "My male friend".

 

[minar]

@fredfriendly a little harsh, lol but I'm pretty confident they will end up together because at the end of the day, this is a romance and shoujo.

I can understand Ara's thought process (let's be real, if she didn't react the way she did, we would have no story) because honestly, it is quite realistic. She values the friendship between her and Kyung Hoon so much that she refuses to elevate their relationship for fear that should the relationship end, they would no longer be friends. She loves him in a romantic sense (but is in denial) and is just as possessive of him as he is of her. But she took it for granted because Kyung Hoon always put her first, so she never felt threatened about her position. If she did, she could easily monopolize him because again, Kyung Hoon always put her first.

The next few chapters are going to be a slow burn but somehow I feel like Ara deserves it since Kyung Hoon was literally holding his heart in his hand and presenting it to her, but she stomped on it when she asked if they could go back to the way they were before.

I think she's going to be forced to realize that they cannot maintain the status quo, and in order for him to move on, he cannot be there for her like he always was. Maybe that will snap her back to reality.

This is another KAKAO 79%. ooh boy.

 

[FredFriendly]

@seynee You're probably right that they will eventually end up together, but, in agreement @Kendama, it would be interesting if they didn't. Nonetheless, what Song Ara feared the most will now come to pass due to her own decision to reject Kyung Hoon. It would be fitting for her to suffer the consequences of her own actions and feels intense pangs of jealousy as she is left by the wayside while he beings dating other women. Her wake-up call came and Song Ara hit the snooze button...

 

[Kendama]

@FredFriendly You know, I don't like to think of things in terms of regret. I believe adult people who aren't under coercion should live up to their conscious decisions. Song Ara is doing what she presently thinks is right, will suffer the pain that is inevitable and live with the consequences. If later she concludes it was the wrong choice, it still shouldn't entail regret, understood as a consuming feeling that you should undo what's done or wallow in misery. The past her didn't have the understanding to choose differently, so there is no reason to regret anything.

The past doesn't come back. All we can do is learn from our mistakes, become wiser and move on. And you know, Ara and Gyu Min may evolve into love. So it's not as if she'll indulge feelings of jealousy if she sees Kyung Hoon dating another girl. She might have bitter memories, but she'll have her own love interest to tend to and time heals all wounds.

... or so I would hope, but of course they will end up together.

 

[Purplelibraryguy]

I feel like I missed a line somewhere in the last few chapters. Like, the line where she actually said "no".

 

[FredFriendly]

@Purplelibraryguy She went way beyond simply saying, "No." She stopped him mid-sentence from finishing asking her to go out by telling him, "If you say another word, you'll never see me again... This is friendship. This is not love. Don't misunderstand it." That's a pretty concrete "no", don't you think?

 

[Purplelibraryguy]

@FredFriendly Clearly I'm reading way too many manga and losing track.

 

[SugarArirang]

SO MUCH PAIN

 

[owlette]

@Kendama i agree, i would love for that to be the outcome as well but i just know it's not happening. i have yet to see where a story like this ends on them not ending up together somehow (if anyone knows any though- please please let me know i'd love to read it)