#tldr: suwon is so loved and he's a big sparkling beam of light and everyone can't help but want to get closer to him

[soo-won]

What is your opinion of Minsoo and Lili characters?

They both seem neutral, but Minsoo gave Yona information during the xing War, and Lili took Yona's side in the same war.

Suwon is completely alone.

Hi Anon, thanks for the ask!

I don't see Lili and Minsu as "neutral" and I don't think it really works to take it this way to be honest. They're not neutral and don't pretend to be, they definitely have stakes and their own personal reasons to act the way they do with both Yona and Suwon. Rather, I think it's more that they don't feel that their loyalty to one of them is exclusive and cancels out their respect/loyalty for the other? You could say it's the case for most characters today, but yeah I guess they can be paired to say they had this stance before the official Yona-Suwon alliance and the developments that followed that made it just easier and like the "right" thing to do to support both of them. Like, Lili and Minsu were doing it when it had actual negative consequences to Suwon's reign (Lili hinting at the truth of the coup to soldiers, Minsu helping Yona with the Taejun strategy, and then in the castle arc calling Yona when Keishuk was about to get Hak executed etc). I think it shows their resistance of blind loyalty and following orders to instead follow their own free will when they're against something, on top of their affection/respect for Yona.

Also both characters' feelings towards Suwon and Yona are pretty different since Minsu was more directly involved and impacted by Suwon's coup. Like, Minsu has personal resentments towards Suwon and Keishuk for using him to kill and hurt the King and Princess he was happy and content serving, and then making him serve Suwon which made him feel intense guilt. He was also wounded and is now disabled from that night. Minsu appreciated Suwon and Keishuk honestly and they were childhood friends (that one panel of Minsu laughing with Keishuk lives rent free in my head like what on Earth were they talking about...), so he's very much a victim of a betrayal from people he trusted too. By the Xing arc Minsu doesn't really seem content serving Suwon because of all these reasons and it's more like he's forced into it. However once he meets with Yona again and makes him feel forgiven (I never really enjoyed that chaptersince I don't think he had to be "forgiven" by Yona for anything, but I get what it meant to him), I think he was free of the feeling it's a terrible sin to serve Suwon and started using that very position to help Yona.

So, yeah, if you had to choose one "side" Minsu is on, he's probably more on Il and Yona's side. After all, Il is a lord he "chose" to serve, whereas Suwon was pretty much imposed to him when he least wanted it. Minsu's role by that point was to be a character serving Suwon that actually feels more for Yona and help her "against Suwon". However does that make him strictly Yona's follower? I don't think so either. After all the one he is serving right now is very much still Suwon and he doesn't resist against it or give up everything to join Yona instead. Maybe it's because he contractually can't because of the illness, but personally I don't really feel like that's the only reason. To me it feels more like Minsu has accepted his position as Suwon's physician and is content with it despite his conflicted feelings.

Minsu's "neutrality" stems from the pretty unique fact that he is really familiar with both Suwon's and Yona's past background. Hak only knew the Yona/Il part. Keishuk only knew the Suwon/Yuhon part (Judo also witnesses a bit of both but is in another different position). Minsu knows the environment Suwon grew up in, knows about the Crimson Illness, was here when Yuhon and Yonhi died and felt for them, and then became Il's physician and witnessed the environment Yona lived in and Il's death and felt for them as well. In a way, that makes it that today he's probably one of the character who has seen the most of Suwon's life. He knows both the dynamic of Suwon and Yuhon's faction and the dynamic Suwon had with Yona and Hak.

He is also the first character that knew about Suwon's illness and to whom Suwon showed himself physically more vulnerable. He's the one servant that sees the most of Suwon's vulnerability in general I'd say. Like when he questions Suwon about his actions hurting Yona again in Xing, or witnessing everything happening between main trio in the castle arc and later. This unique history makes him aware of Suwon's own circumstances and unable to completely reject and blame him for everything either. Like he says in Xing, part of him believes that Suwon as a King probably can't advance embracing kindness, but he can't really swallow the idea of others and particularly Yona suffering from the consequences either since he also believed in Il's peaceful ideology.

I've felt very neutral about Minsu for a long time if not a bit annoyed by him because "one more character siding more with Yona than Suwon" etc etc... But I have to admit that the more it goes the more I am endeared by his relationship with Suwon. Maybe he can never forgive him or Keishuk as he said before, but in practice he interacts with them on a daily basis and work together very functionally? There is no conflict, they just...cooperate normally, even if there can be tension. Like you could criticize akayona for the pattern of every character ending up warming up to Yona eventually but lowkey I think it's often the same for Suwon.

Many characters aren't immune to him either and can't help but understand where he comes from and try to sympathize. Maybe it started as just a job and a duty to Minsu, but to me it looks like he seriously got into it, no? I don't think he simply hates Suwon. Similarly to Yona (even if probably much less intense) it feels more nuanced than that.

Minsu is also very serious and determined about his job and finding a cure to the Crimson Illness. Maybe it's also partly for Meinyan and Yona's sake like it is for Yun, maybe it's for his pride as a physician, maybe it's because Suwon dying would be a hindrance, but he always runs to Suwon when he''s in need of his expertise, even when Suwon doesn't ask. He seems genuinely concerned about the evolution of Suwon's illness, and he is moved to see Yona and Hak connect with Suwon again. I don't think someone that doesn't care in the slightest and would be against someone would do all that.

When Suwon doesn't believe there's any merit in looking for solutions for his illness, Minsu is the one person insisting to look into the senjusou and exploring all leads without being asked by anyone else. He's the one that asked Keishuk to deploy Hak for it too. Minsu acting on his own accord is first shown in his initiative to help Yona in the Xing and Castle arc, but I'd argue that it also very much shows with Suwon too. And it's a pretty neat thing if he's so dedicated even if only for his own convictions as a physician. That makes him trustable and it shows that any personal grudges he might have doesn't change anything about that. He is loyal to Suwon as his personal physician and it gives Suwon the justice of deserving medical treatment no matter what.

(I've seen people read this part as Minsu being angry at Keishuk, but to me it was always more like Minsu just feels kind of complicated and conflicted about the situation? Minsu was also "close" to Keishuk before, so he must understands how much it means for Keishuk to say something like that and to let Hak go look for the senjusou. Like it just feels more ambiguous than straight up being mad at him...it conveys the seriousness of the situation AND Minsu's mixed feelings about these developments imo. But I admit that may just be my wishful thinking. Like I don't get what on earth Minsu potentially being pissed off at Keishuk would even add and bring to the story here)

I think he can care in this mysterious third secret way precisely because he was friends with Suwon and Keishuk in the past and was fond of Yona and Hak. He inherently has a sense of familiarity with all of them. The fact he respected Il and Yona and was hurt personally by what happened to them also makes it that he sees Suwon differently and allows himself to make comments to him that the other people serving Suwon wouldn't make. Like, that makes him correctly call out Suwon when he's being a bit hmm oblivious? too pessimistic and negative? about Yona and Hak for example, which reveals Suwon's innocence and vulnerability when it comes to them. Such is possible only because Minsu is the only person around Suwon aware of main trio's history and who knows both Suwon and Yona well. Minsu saw how Yona and Suwon used to interact before so he knows perfectly well what makes Suwon feel awkward and unsure sometimes, like, you could say Minsu knows about Suwon's embarassing past or something lol, which is only "embarassing" in the context of Suwon being King and acting like everything before with Yona and Hak was all fake when he visibly cared very much for them.

So even if it's because he's disillusioned about Suwon and that he's feeling for Yona, I don't think it's a bad thing that Suwon has someone with this stance by his side. Minsu can see well through the armor of Suwon as this sound reasonable and pragmatic King, and also see him as a person that happens to be awkward and clumsy when it comes to his relationships with others especially Yona and Hak, without using it against him or pushing him to conceal it even more. In these little moments he treats Suwon like a normal person more than like a King or his lord. And the fact he's moved by main trio connecting and working together to me shows that he is deep down rooting for the three of them to reunite and not be against each other on "different sides".

It doesn't mean Minsu likes and cares for Suwon super super deeply or anything, he was also always more distant from him than Yona and Hak or Keishuk, but there are things he only can see and point out thanks to this distance too imo. So, in what way is Minsu leaving Suwon alone? I would say he barely leaves him alone at all tbh. What does it mean exactly to take someone's side? Minsu might have grudges against Suwon and feel conflicted about his actions and he might even sometimes act "against" him through Yona, but to me it's again part of the misconception that everything has to be a dichotomy between "Suwon's side" and "Yona's side" even if that was a misconception shared in universe by many characters as well. Never has Minsu acted personally against Suwon and try to hurt him as far as I can remember. Helping Yona in Xing wasn't to harm Suwon in any way, it was because he wanted to help Yona not lose her family again. Calling Yona in chapter 201 wasn't against Suwon either, it was because he didn't want Hak to be killed. And even after what Suwon did and tried to do it didn't stop Minsu from treating Suwon the same as his physician in any way.

As long as he helps Suwon and shows concern for him, I'm fine with Minsu having complicated feelings for him and personally prefering Yona as a person or whatever. Like does it really matter when the facts are that he is genuinely concerned about Suwon's health and will never betray his duty to him as a physician? When in the present he argues all the time against Suwon pushing himself too hard and believes in his survival against all odds and Suwon's own beliefs? It's kinda endearing to me too that both Suwon and Keishuk have this guy with them calling them out sometimes but never to their detriment nor making it as dramatic as it is with Yona or Hak. It feels a bit like teasing and something that can only be because they've known each other forever. I also like when Minsu argues a bit with Suwon and Keishuk about not pushing Suwon too hard etc...He's a bit like a needed reasonable force as a physician sometimes, and they allow it and never punish him for any of his oppositions. Maybe that's because they can't afford to get rid of Minsu, but the tension stemming for that is pretty lovely to me...i love their strange coworker bond so much.

Is Minsu that deep? Maybe not, but he's deep enough to simply have complicated and ambiguous feelings towards Suwon and I don't mind that. Him siding with Yona sometimes doesn't erase his efforts to help Suwon, which I can't help but appreciate as a Suwon fan. Is what Suwon need only loyalty, or also people that are simply fair and honest with him?

Like, truly no offense anon but the statement "Suwon is completely alone" is just so sad? :') Even if Suwon is more emotionally closed off from the people around him, he is not alone, and I feel like this just validates Suwon's own insecurities to be honest. I obviously know what you mean when you say "alone", like, yeah he has no one fully supporting and prioritizing him above all else all the time, right? But I don't think it means he's alone at all either.

He was kept alive so far by so many characters around him who, no matter their reasons, desperatly and often risked their life to protect him or follow his orders. He has Hyuri that would do everything for him, he has Judo and Keishuk who even under the prestance of doing it for Kouka's sake also do everything to protect Suwon in every possible ways, even at the cost of their own pride, he has the generals respecting him, he has the people of Kuuto that want to protect Kuuto so their "cute little Won won't cry", he has Yona and Hak that don't leave him alone when he needs help, he has Minsu nursing him, and he has Lili. A friend who despite loving and admiring Yona deeply and criticizing Suwon if he were to harm her, doesn't end their relationship here and comes by to chat with him casually a few chapters later like it doesn't affect their relationship, a friend who wants to protect Kuuto in his absence and runs after him in a collapsing castle. All these little things by all these characters aren't meaningless, Suwon is surrounded by many many people that can't help but care for him! No matter what these characters also do for Yona will never change and erase what they do for Suwon.

Like, when it comes to Lili, the very fact she hangs out with Suwon despite knowing what he did to Yona and feeling bad about it is precisely what makes it so meaningful. Lili is different from Minsu in that she is not familiar with Suwon and Yona's pasts. She had no personal stakes in Suwon murdering Il and doesn't really disagree with the act itself, she only knows Suwon and Yona from their present. She met both of them without knowing their identity either and so got to become more familiar with them completely unbiased about the situation and their relationship. But that doesn't make Lili fully neutral. She cares for both Yona and Suwon simply for who they are as the two people that saved and inspired her, so even if she feels "neutral" about the coup itself and their past, she isn't neutral about them in the present basically.

So of course she is against Yona being captured and killed by Kouka's army and would take her defense. But again it doesn't mean she does it in Suwon's detriment at all either. She says explicitely that she doesn't want to believe it would undermine Suwon's position. She simply didn't want Suwon to kill her. Siding with Yona doesnt mean wanting to hurt Suwon at all. It doesn't change her relationship to Suwon at all actually, this is the wonderful thing about their friendship! It's the reason why she feels hypocritical too, but that's what for example differentiate her from Hak who can't help but have his relationship with Suwon heavily impacted by Suwon and Yona's conflict.

Suwon and Lili's ability to interact casually and like nothing happened even after Lili defending Yona from him in chapter 141, or after them not seeing each other for ages in chapter 261 is the kind of relationship that is extremely good for Suwon! Like, Lili isn't so affected by Suwon not contacting her at all for a while, Lili isn't so affected by the idea Suwon might be annoyed by her actions in the Xing arc, she isn't so affected by the idea Suwon invites her only because it serves him practically etc. Maybe she's a bit harsh in her assumptions that Suwon doesn't care at all sometimes, but this sense of distance coming from this disillusion about him is what permits her to enter so casually Suwon's personal space. She's running straight ahead and often recklessly in dangerous territories, but that frankness is a strength that made her break through some of Suwon's walls as well. So many people in Suwon's life care so so much about anything he says and does one way or another, that someone like Lili that interacts with Suwon not because she expects him to give her anything but just because she wants to is extremely refreshing and moving.

What I think about Lili is that she's one of my favorite thing in the manga and her presence in a chapter has the power to make 100000x happier. She is so important and I love her position between Yona and Suwon. She is so cool and funny. She just feels so fresh. I don't think Lili cares about "Yona's side" or "Suwon's side" so much deep down even if she questions herself about it. She just does whatever she wants to do. She wants to be close friends with Yona and she wants to hang out with Suwon. Maybe that's "incompatible" like she said, but she does it anyways and in the end it...works? Maybe this assumption that such thing such as siding with both at the same time is impossible was never true to begin with and we just needed someone to try it out even before Yona and Suwon's alliance made it pratically more compatible, no? It's similar to the Xing conflict to me in a way. Suwon and Kouren didn't believe avoiding war and an agreement between their two countries was possible, yet Yona made them try anyways and it wasn't perfect or without any sacrifices and grudges but... it worked! They just had to try and surprisingly they even can get along personality-wise.

If you turn it around, does Minsu serving and trying to cure Suwon means he's against Yona and doesn't care about how Suwon hurt her and killed Il? Does Lili hanging out with him casually despite what he did to Yona means that Lili is "against" Yona? Does Yona and Hak defending Suwon mean that they forgot about Il or how he hurt them? Does Hak helping Suwon mean he's against Yona and doesn't care about her? Does Yona not wanting Suwon to die mean she forgives him for killing Il? Of course not, right? These things are not incompatible. The characters can be against and disagree with others for some things, and side with them for others things and still love each other (more or less)...I don't think it's much more deeper than this in the end.

Does Suwon need everyone to agree with him all the time and to follow his every order, or someone that will interact with him like a normal person and an equal? If you ask me, I think he needs both in the context of the story. I sometimes even feel that I wish there was some kind of character just being a Suwon fanatic in universe a bit like Mizari with Kouren for example, things like that... That Suwon had characters for him like Meinyan has Kaji etc... Characters like Hyuri Keishuk and Judo who are loyal to him, or Ogi and the people of Kuuto that love him overtly and will do everything for him are just as important. But he needs not only that but all different kinds of relationships! He needs a Minsu and a Lili and a Hak and a Yona too. As long as all these people will be here Suwon will never be alone. They're here already, even if he struggles to realize just how much he is cared for and admired and trusted. In the end, I think it's just so fitting of him to have all these kind of unconventional and unique relationships. Just believe in his boundless charm Anon <3