#han shinwoo

[jkmc]

3

[sscarletvenus]

if i had a nickel for every time someone jake loves got brainwashed into loathing him and recovered their memories only after brutally wounding him, i would have two nickels. which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it has happened twice.

[jiejiian]

Everyone getting their scars from fights:

Jerry Kwon:

[myuiis]

hey lookism tumblr first post here id just like to share my very own roman empire

[razypie]

❗️new ptj vid❗️ ft. Big Deal executives

at this point, ptj could animate lookism season 2 if he wants 🫠🫠

[wannaeatramyeon]

the urge to redraw a 13 year old meme with a year old arc

Sad Sinu~

[lookismaddict]

lookism characters as mythological gods 👀 who would be who

OH SHEEEEEESH, I LOVE MYTHOLOGICAL GODS. ESP GREEK & ROMAN GODS ✨ AYO, YOU A REAL ONE FOR ASKING THIS QUESTION, TY JANN! ���� I hope you don’t mind this analysis… 😅 (Took a long time to write because there was a lot of research LMAO, I'M SORRY THIS TOOK ME FOREVER TO ANSWER. 🙏🏽) BUT NOW, I CAN PROUDLY POST THIS. 🫡 💖

While matching each god to a Lookism character, I found this very fun because there are so many mythological gods and goddesses that can be associated with any of them. Especially when it comes to their appearances, symbols, and folklore. The depictions of these gods all tie to each of these selected Lookism characters:

Gun and Goo || Fujin & Raijin (Shintoism)

First, let’s start off with Gun. There are many reasons why I see Gun as the Shinto god, Fujin, and here’s why:

Fujin [風神] is known to be the Shinto kami (god) of the wind. A deity that controls the winds of the Earth through his bag of air.

Due to his control of strong wind currents, he is connected to storms, especially powerful typhoons, that would cause the destruction of many trees and and homes. However, Fujin leaves most of the job to Raijin.

According to a Japanese legend from the 13th century, he managed to save Japan by sending storms to Mongol invaders who were trying to conquer Japan. Fujin’s winds were so ruthless, that the Mongol’s fleets were all destroyed in one storm.

Fujin and Gun are both forces to be reckoned with. Fujin’s destructive actions are similar to Gun’s, in which they both initiate both ruin and devastation. Since Fujin had wiped out over a thousand people for centuries, then it wouldn’t be a surprise if Gun’s future would eventually lead to the downfall of many more lives. This man had dealt with so many enemies (100+) all the way up to his current lifetime of about 20 years, that it wouldn’t even be a surprise if he so happens to murder even more people later on.

Also, since Fujin is associated with the use of harsh winds intermingled with water due to typhoons and storms, they are involved in a shared element. The nature element, water, represents them both in some way. Both Fujin and Gun are present whenever it rains. On days when there’s rain, Fujin’s winds are harsh during storms. Whereas, in Gun’s case, he is always present on days when the weather is rainy and gloomy. However, for Gun, he just appears when there’s rain to pass along the message of “the end” for people, especially when it comes to a person not being able to hold their position as Gun’s future successor. You could say, that the both of them also symbolize the presence of melancholy, since they both bring nothing but misfortune upon people during unpleasant weather. They play as the instigators of the end to peacefulness.

Fujin has an appearance of a true Oni, due to his mother Izanami giving birth to him when she reached the underworld. According to Gun’s background when he was still in Japan, many knew him as “Shiro Oni”. In the webtoon, the translation for his name was “White Ghost”. However, the word “Oni” actually meant ogre or demon in Japanese folklore. Of course, it wouldn’t be a surprise that many native Japanese residents would call him a demon due to his infamous yet terrifying background of nothing but merciless violence.

Not only was Fujin’s face alike from Gun’s, but also their attire. Apparently, Fujin usually wears leopard skin. And who else wore something leopard related? Gun Park. That leopard patterned long sleeved shirt really does say something about his fashion. He definitely must be Fujin, but in human form. Both of them really do share the same fashion sense. 💀

In addition to his face and attire, but Fujin only has four fingers on each hand. These four fingers represent the North, South, East, and West. In a way, this association of Gun as Fujin can be symbolic as well. Gun’s affiliation with the Four Major Crews can be shown through Fujin’s fingers since Gun, who had contributed to the establishment of these Four Major Crews, identified the strongest crews in South Korea. Each crew either coming from the North, South, East, and West of the Han River, which splits their territories into four different parts of South Korea.

Gun has the same personality trait as Fujin as well. Fujin is described to be the brother who is less spontaneous in personality, compared to Raijin. He is also unenthusiastic whenever he is met with some sort of issue that he has to deal with and he is more “laidback”, not taking things too seriously against enemies. This is probably due to how aware he is of his own powerful strength. The same goes with Gun. His personality when dealing with those who are against him is also like this as well, with a hint of arrogance, knowing that he can defeat anybody on his own.

Now, let’s talk about Goo as Raijin:

Raijin [雷神] is the Shinto kami of thunder, lightning, and storms. Often times, he’s seen alongside his brother, Fujin. They both mostly appear together as a pair, like Gun and Goo whenever they show up in certain scenes. (However, the only difference compared to Fujin and Raijin is that Gun and Goo aren’t brothers.)

To clarify, Raijin is responsible for the creations of storms, not Fujin. Fujin is only responsible for strong wind currents, so he leaves the work of thunder clouds and lightning to his brother, Raijin.

Raijin’s personality is one of the distinctive factors that many people use to distinguish between Raijin and Fujin. Similarly, with Gun and Goo too. The difference in personalities in each pair are quite the same indeed. Just like Raijin’s personality, Goo’s is very chaotic and he can be mischievous with trickery. Even though Raijin is known as a trickster, he either does good or bad. He produces good in the form of rainfall for crops or he creates storms that destroys both the living and non-living.

Just like Goo, he’s a character that brings good and bad in his own way. In a unique way, he gives people opportunities to help fulfill their own ambitions, by becoming one of his “secret friends”. For example, Goo used to beat up bullies to earn money. In a way, he somehow benefited others, such as that one event when Goo saved his cousin, Vasco, and Jace from school bullies. His encounter with Vasco had led Vasco to become stronger than he was before. In addition to these “good” occurrences, Goo offered Samuel Seo a new chance of power after being rejected by Gun, in which Samuel took him on his offer then became one of Goo’s so called “secret friends”. Another instance of this is when Goo recruited Logan Lee as another one of his “secret friends” too. Logan wanted to get stronger since his goal is to get back at the original Daniel Park, so this event was like Goo opening up a new beneficial start for Logan.

Although this was the case for some people, Goo also managed to cause distruction wherever he goes. Returning to the subject of the bullies, he did beat them up pretty badly. He even found it amusing to see them suffer. With almost every person that he had fought against, he had this maniacal enjoyment that he found in defeating others. It was as if he had fun beating up others just for the sake of his own amusement. Along with his chaotic mind, he took his destructiveness with him, just like Raijin. According to that one chapter when Sinu got a phone call from one of his old friends, his friend mentioned through the phone that he should be careful of someone named “Joon Goo” who had completely wiped out their whole entire crew. Which quickly indicated and foreshadowed, that Goo would eventually cause trouble for Big Deal.

Sinu Han || Heracles/Hercules (Greco-Roman Mythology)

There are some reasons why I believe that Sinu Han should be Heracles:

Even though Heracles was known as a demi-god (only a mortal), he became the god of heroes and the divine protector of mankind when he died. (This is completely unrelated to Sinu in comparison, but just wanted to address that Heracles isn’t a god when he completed his heroic deeds.)

As a defender for all, Heracles acts like a public servant. Throughout most of his lifetime, he protects civilians who are in dire need of help. Just like Heracles, Sinu Han’s mindset is similar. For about 10 years, he protected a street in Gangseo, in which he had dedicated himself to serve as the defender for the women who loved that street. It was his home. Even Heracles loved Greece and had thrown himself into dangerous situations just to defend his home.

Heracles rescued so many beings in need. A special being that he rescued was Prometheus. No matter how bad he may be as a titan to the gods, he was willing to set Prometheus free due to how he had helped humanity for giving them fire. Sinu Han's character is similar to Heracles since he is the type of person to set someone free, regardless if they have done something bad in the past. What matters is how good of a person's character is, and how they contribute to serving others. I can see Sinu letting someone go if they changed for the better, and by giving them another chance to redeem themself. For instance, even though this hasn't been directly approved by Sinu (but by Jake), Lineman used to be a character who caused trouble and lied to others, thinking that he was a big-shot. However, he changed by being accepted by Jake Kim into Big Deal and if Jake approves of these people who he have gained as his friends (or followers), then Sinu approved of them for being good people and they eventually became members of Big Deal. (Hence, believing in Jake's jurisdiction in finding good in others.)

Although he may be a well-known mythological hero, many do not know how much he had suffered. There was a time when Heracles was enslaved, and he was bought by the Lydian Queen Omphale. She made him do many things as a slave, such as forcing him to wear women's clothing (to humiliate him) and spun wool to help her and her maidens. Omphale did fall in love with Heracles, but eventually she set him free (and they got married). Alike from Sinu Han's situation, Mitsuki Soma was head over heels for Sinu, that she wanted him for herself. Treated like a slave, Sinu had to endure hardships of being her "lover". Manipulated and controlled by Mitsuki due to a mystery drug that made him forget his memories, Mitsuki made him stick by her side, in which she made him shower together. Sinu's identity and memories were twisted by her, which gave Mitsuki the power to successfully manipulate him for a long time (until Jake Kim had to rescue Sinu from The Workers).

Jake Kim || Balder (Norse Mythology)

This is why Jake Kim can be seen as Balder:

Balder is known to be not just the Norse god of light, joy, and summer. Jake Kim usually brought light and joy to people's lives, especially during his middle school days when he'd start getting himself involved with Big Deal. He had made a lot of friends and allies along the way, which would influence (I'll ignore Balder's death, and will be focusing more on his personal aspects, features, and his background that are similar to Jake's.)

Like Balder, Jake Kim shares handsome features and is a very attractive man. He has a bright smile just like Balder, and he has fair hair. In Norse mythology, it was said that Balder was so noble and handsome, that light shines down on his body in which flowers would bow down before him as he passes by.

Also he is the representation for the themes of justice, beauty, hope, and sacrifice. During the Jake Kim Arc, he sacrificed himself, especially for Big Deal who sought for the rescue of Big Deal's Former No. 1, Sinu Han.

(Side Note: I didn't want to associate Jake Kim with Eros because even though he's good-looking and is strongly related to the idea of "love" and "Romanticism", Eros is usually described as mischievous and unsympathetic due to him shooting arrows at people regardless of how they think/feel. It is the complete opposite to Jake's personality, in which he is considerate and kind towards others.)

Samuel Seo || Mercury (Roman Mythology)

Let me explain why I see Samuel as Hermes:

Mercury is well-known for being the messenger god AND the god of commerce. Alike from Samuel, Samuel specializes in business-related work and he manages finances really well. At one point, he was very close with Eugene and Samuel acted like a messenger to Eugene, since he reports to him about what goes on in the affiliates when Samuel used to be president for some of the affiliates.

Mercury had a dependent role in managing the gods. Just like Mercury, Samuel as well. He was close with the higher-ups of the Workers (especially Eugene) in which he was positioned by him to manage the 3rd and 4th affiliate of Workers. Both of their roles is to keep the gods or Workers

Even though Mercury’s role might seem “helpful” at first, do not be fooled by Hermes’s appearance, because he isn’t who he seems to be. Just like Samuel when he was first introduced in the Lookism series, we didn’t quite expect him to turn out the way that we know him now.

Mercury favors the ambitious, so he supports those who are willing to reach their goals, no matter how wicked they are. Going off by his “work smarter, not harder" ideology, Samuel is quite the ambitious man. He’s willing to reach higher things, in order to accomplish his dream as someone who’s powerful. Or, as he likes to refer to himself someday as a “King”. (As mentioned to Jake.)

As a god who defends tricksters and thieves, Hermes likes toying with others. He even favors cleverness and amusement. During the Workers (3 Affiliates) Arc, Samuel's behavior is shown as one who likes toying with others, initiating the start to Johan's rage when he found out that the Workers' Third Affiliate used to sell drugs to Pungsan, which was the God Dog cult that was ran by the former church pastor.

James Lee || Shiva “The Destroyer” (Hindu Mythology)

Here is why I believe James Lee should be Shiva:

Shiva is mainly known as "The Destroyer" and "The Creator" of worlds, in Hindu mythology. He even represents time as well. James Lee was known to be the man who ended the First Generation by defeating all of the First Generation Kings, which fits his character of being "The Destroyer". Consequently, causing the spark of a new generation, which is the emergence of the Second Generation. In this case, being "The Creator" does suit him because he is literally the catalyst to a new generation of fighters. You can also say, that he manipulates time if he were to be Shiva in this context.

Shiva also represents goodness, benevolence, and is said to be "The Protector". In a way, James Lee shows signs of "good" nature and benevolence, in which he acts as a guide to Daniel Park, in finding the secret to his two bodies. And even though James Lee isn't known as "The Protector", he did protect Charles Choi in the past. By aiding him as the company's head for an entertainment agency, he protected Charles' business by supporting him through this method.

This Hindu god is also named the "Lord of the Dance" or Nataraja, according to a Hindu artwork called, "Shiva Nataraja". From the statue, it depicts Shiva dancing in a halo of fire (which represents time), and Shiva stepping on a dwarf with one foot (which is a creature that represents illusion, who leads men astray from the actual truth). Metaphorically, this relates to James Lee because James Lee had the urge to find out the truth about the secret of the two bodies, and is willing to do anything to achieve his goal. Even if it meant betraying Charles Choi, by allying himself with The Workers, specifically Eugene.

Canonically confirming from the Webtoon, it is known that James Lee has a huge penis. Well, so does Shiva. In Hinduism, Shiva is associated with lingas, or phallic symbols, which represents fertility. 🍆

[questionablelightyagami]

imagine giving up school, the hope for a normal life, wasting three years of your life looking for him, giving up your morality and dignity in process, doing crime, going to jail, get the shit beat up of you for a guy and to save him and fulfill his wishes, only for the guy to leave you for some random girl in next chapter, Jake fucking Kim you're so strong cause that would have been my villain origin story.

I would have been SOOO BITTER

[cinycesum-fan]

Analyzing Kim Gimyung/Jake Kim

introduction

I’m just trying to share my perspective on my favorite character in Lookism, Kim Gimyung/ Jake Kim. Also posted on Reddit.

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i. first impression

When I was first introduced to Gimyung in the gambling arc, I thought he was going to be one of those stereotypical villains who constantly tries to rise to the top but falls short. That is why I didn’t really pay any attention to his character. But as the plot progresses, we learn more about his character and learn that he wasn't always the bad guy and is a good guy. In his backstory (Jake Kim arc), we were able to understand how he became who he is.

I think PTJ wasn’t sure about Gimyung’s backstory and future roles at that time. Or maybe we were reading from a different perspective (Jace’s), which blinded us from understanding the true goals and motivations of Gimyung. In a later chapter, we got a bigger overview of the fight between Gimyung and Vasco, where Gimyung said something like “I have much more weight on my shoulders than you” (rescuing Sinu and protecting Big Deal).

ii. countenance

His face has displayed various ranges of expressions, but his eyebrows are almost always raised and have a composed expression. I'm not sure why I'm bringing this up specifically, but I believe it distinguishes him from other characters. I really wanted to write how it makes him special, but for some reason I'm having a hard time articulating my thoughts in this regard. For some reason, his right eye is depicted glowing magenta when he’s deeply motivated.

iii. fighting prowess

Gimyung’s fighting style is based off mixed martial arts (MMA) and Gapryong Kim’s street fighting style. His level of MMA is to the point that he can overwhelm Xiaolong at his best regardless of when he used his weapon or best martial art.

He defeated Xiaolong, whose fighting prowess was on par with Gun's.

Every time Xiaolong swung his Guandao during their battle, Gimyung got better at anticipating attacks. (Chapter 419)

He blocked invisible kick from Sinu Han. (Chapter 388)

He took hits from Ultra Instinct (UI) Hyungseok.

During his time in prison, he followed Gun’s fighting routine and was successfully able to master it. He could fight hundreds of prisoners at once (like Gun).

He was able surmount Brekdak’s forbidden techniques. (Chapter 351)

Gun took out almost all his teeth

He is one of the only people in the series to be able to overcome invisible attacks. He’s so skilled that it was said that he could surpass Gun [5]. He is able to defeat opponents by abruptly changing his combat effectiveness [1 and 3]. He also has high attack potency [1, 3 and 6] and he’s also fast [2 and 3]. He has immense stamina and endurance [5 and 7]. Gimyung has a method to defend against attacks that take advantage of blindspots at a very efficient level. He is also able to see visions of attacks before they land on him, though it's only used against Xiaolung.

iv. intelligence and tactics

He's gifted. He was able to:

run an entire gang and managed to find methods to earn money continuously despite the odds being against him.

easily deduce why Vasco was attacking the Workers Third Affiliate and prevented Yohan from continuing to fight when it wasn't needed.

find a way to prevent Yohan and Seongeun from fighting them and aid Hostel.

convince Choi Dongsoo to aid him and cooperate with Seongeun in backstabbing the Yoojin.

He avoids using weapons and simple fights. He frequently attempts to break his opponent's arms or legs. He is practical enough to employ subpar methods, such as pursuing his target while Xiaolong is left vulnerable to an assault. Gimyung will treat his adversary like Gun Park if he ever feels overpowered, making him even more dangerous.

He is incredibly perceptive to the outside world because he saw Jiho's influence on Jason when Jason made a peculiar face. By concentrating on the crack in the wall, Gimyung could determine the spinning mechanism during the club arc. He observes and notes how things function as he calmly takes in the details and information of his surroundings. He frequently attends to what needs to be done, discreetly and modestly addressing the immediate needs of the circumstance.

v. charisma and determination

He uses his communication skills, persuasiveness and charms to influence others. That is why he’s able to connect with people and manipulate (sometimes in good way, sometimes in bad) them on a deep level. He uses this skill in many ways that can affect a fight indirectly (his fight with Xiaolong in Hunt for Big Deal), including buying time, obtaining information that could be important, or manipulating how a person might approach a situation.

Gimyung had a strong determination. His goal was to save Sinu and to keep Big Deal safe. And to do that, he could even choose the path of unfairness. In middle school, he saved Brad and Jason from getting ganged up on, because he couldn’t tolerate injustice (just like his father). But he was so devoted to his goal that he went against his own principles.

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It’s an universal fact that our bae is painfully funny and charming and handsome. Fun fact: Gimyung loves red velvet cake.

so caring

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iv. leadership and big deal

To his allies, he is a caring leader. They are one of the most devoted crews because he fought valiantly to keep Big Deal independent and because they deeply care about him. He appreciates those who are truthful and just, and dislikes those who engage in unsavory behavior. Lineman, one of the newbies, bragged to others about how close he was to Gimyung, even though he felt inferior because he wasn’t acknowledged by others in Big Deal. He said he was brother to Gimyung, when Gimyung appeared and said Lineman was like a family. This was surprising because Gimyung knew him when other members didn’t.

After serving time in a juvenile facility, Gimyung's personality started to alter. He lost interest in fairness and is now only concerned with getting revenge. He made a promise to do away with Gun. He had a significant impact on Jiho and advised him to fight to the death if he wanted to defeat opponents who were stronger than he was. He later admitted that he was giving himself advice rather than Jiho because he thought that fighting Gun to the death was the only way he could defeat him.

Being such a devoted leader, he would allow himself to be humiliated, but he would do whatever it took to keep Big Deal alive. He licked wine on the floor, which prompted the gambler to take him into gambling business. Prior to being sent to prison, he only ate instant noodles to save money. But he never made the other members of his crew eat less.

As the series progressed, he began to sound like Sinu Han, who showed Gimyung the value of "romance" and “passion”, and ideals which he followed.

vii. thinking and intuition

Gimyung frequently prefers consistency of logic to morality. Despite his mom's problems, he flees because he hates his father for being unfair to her while being just the opposite to the rest of the world. He makes numerous attempts to leave Big Deal because of this as well. He also emphasizes the inside a lot when making decisions. He turns inward to develop his own ideas, viewpoints, and answers for the outside world.

In short, he has morals, but he also has a personal agenda. He is prepared to put his agenda ahead of his morals if doing so will help him accomplish his objectives. This establishes his compelling internal and external conflicts with other characters.

He was prepared to leave Big Deal and the girls because he thought Sinu had renounced his principles. But his viewpoint quickly changed once he realized that Sinu was behaving in a very consistent manner. Gimyung is unquestionably a good example of an anti-hero. He has fairly consistent morals but is aware of the immorality of what he is doing.

Gimyung viewed prison as a place where he could try out different methods for getting stronger. There's no way a group of inmates would suddenly attack Gimyung because he had a lot of influence over the guards and inmates through bribery and pure loyalty. Majority of Jake's fights in jail are well-controlled. Jiho might have also crossed Gimyung’s mind as a potential experiment subject. His opinion that fighting fairly is stupid was only reinforced by seeing Jiho get stronger.

vii. jitae and sinu

Gimyung is very considerate of Jitae/Jerry and frequently involved in his education. He pushed Jitae to be a modest student and get along well with his classmates. In order to avoid reprimands from his teachers and to practice the Jeongseon Arirang, he bought Jitae a bamboo flute. Jitae is without a doubt Gimyung's most devoted team member; he refuses to address anyone else as "Sir," and he always obediently complies with his orders. He was regarded as Gimyung's "sword," and after Gimyung was defeated by Gun, he vowed to get stronger in order to defend Gimyung.

When Gimyung first encountered Sinu, he was aloof and rejected Sinu’s invitation to join Big Deal. However, after learning about Sinu’s backstory and Big Deal’s purpose, he began to grow respect for the latter and even took his words about “romance and passion” into consideration. When Sinu pretended to have sold Big Deal, Gimyung had a hard time believing it and he even fought Sinu to “correct him”. After he came to know that Sinu sold himself, all his motivations and goals revolved around retrieving Sinu back. His admiration for Sinu was to such a great length that he claimed that Sinu is “his everything”.

ix. the flaws

All the characters have flaws and here I’m going to point out some inadequacies in his character.

He didn't really have a seamless transition from villain to hero archetype. It is clear from earlier chapters that PTJ did not write out his intentions clearly. It seemed as though his priorities and driving forces were money and power. In the gambling arc, he had a very different personality and physical description, which led to some uneven character development.

His logical thinking borders on insensitivity, which is why he’s often unaware of the impact their words or actions have on others’ feelings. He’s only concerned about the people he loves, so he’s not mindful of other people’s lives. But, it seems that he’s overcoming this. As in chapter 431, we saw that he motivated Xiaolong to go to Vivi and love her unconditionally.

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I promise you that I’m going to update this analysis when the series ends, with much more evidence provided for my claims. 

[fan-of-chaos]

Lookism characters go on a trip to the mountains, pt. 2!

Jake & Samuel & Sinu

-Sinu was the one who insisted they go on a trip. He said it was “a bonding experience”.

-Samuel was not amused. Jake was secretly laughing at him.

-Sinu gets the most ridiculous clothes you can wear to the mountain trip. He wears a white t-shirt with checkered shirt on the top of it and very short, pink shorts. On top of all that he also gets checkered bandana that’s supposed to keep the hair of of his eyes. When Samuel sees him, he hides his face in his hands and rethinks all of his life choices that led him to this moment. Jake tells Sinu he looks great and he means it.

-Not that Samuel has anything to say in the matter of clothing. If Sinu wears the most ridiculous outfit, Samuel gets the most impractical. He wears a suit. Sinu makes fun of him for it and openly laughs at his choice of clothes, which results in Samuel insulting him right back. Jake also sneaks in some gentle teasing, small comments when Samuel is being too negative about their trip.

-Jake wears the clothes he normally puts on during a workout. He also gets a mountain backpack with three bottles of water, first aid kit, sandwiches and all kinds of snacks and a at least three maps of the mountain area (two of them as a backup if something happened to the others). He is only one that comes seriously prepared to spend a day in mountains.

-They go up the hardest mountain trial, all of them wanting the trip to be as exciting as it can, even Samuel.

-Sinu is the one who enjoys the views the most. He likes to take everything in and stops many times to observe the picture in front of him. He also takes a ton of nature photos. Because of that, they have to stop many times and wait for him to finish taking photos or just taking the vies in. Jake has no problem with it, but when it takes too long Samuel gets annoyed and tells him to hurry it up.

-Jake is mostly indifferent to the sights and just likes Sinu’s reactions to everything, glad that Sinu is having fun. What he enjoys the most is the challenge of the climb.

-Samuel doesn’t show it, but is impressed by the sights and starts to enjoy the trip after seeing some of the more impressive one’s.

-Samuel grumbles, sarcastically comments and complains the for a half of the way to the top. Jake gets annoyed at him few times and one time, they almost start to fight each other, but Sinu stops them. He bonks them both in the head and starts to serenade about the beauty of the nature and how they should enjoy it when they have a chance. It lasts 15 minutes. After he finishes, Jake and Samuel look at each other and with a silent nod promise themselves to not fight for the rest of the trip if it means not getting similar mind numbingly boring tirade again. After that, Samuel tones down his remarks and Jake tries to overlook the few that slip out.

-When they get to the top, they are all in good mood, happy with their accomplishment. Jake and Sinu are laughing and looking around and even Samuel cracks up a smile. The atmosphere is very calm and tranquil.

-They spend three hours sitting there on the top, talking and enjoying the snacks and sandwiches Jake brought. They simply have fun in each others company.

-They take a photo there, with all three of them together. Jake on the left, looking straight at the camera with a wide, happy smile. Sinu in the middle, full on laughing and slinging his hands around Samuel’s and Jake’s shoulders. Samuel on the right with a tiny, almost unnoticeable, but truly honest and content smile.

-Not long after that, they go down the mountain, mostly not talking and just hanging out in a comfortable silence.

-They get to the bus and Sinu falls asleep on the way back. Samuel sighs and chooses to ignore it but Jake smiles and shuffles Sinu so his head would rest on his arm and so his neck wouldn’t get sore. Samuel snorts at it but doesn’t  comment. He spends the rest of the way back looking through his phone and the things he missed when he was without a signal.

-Even years later the trip is one of the most cherished memories of both Jake and Samuel, not that either of them would ever admit it.

-They all still have the photo they took on that mountain. Jake has his hidden in his coat’s pocket, with a few copies hidden in his desk as backup. Sinu’s one is still his old room, hanging on the wall, all framed up. Samuel keeps his hidden in one of his hideouts that nobody but him knows about. He goes there and stares at it sometimes, thinking of the times when everything was simpler.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

[eviyum]

Jake, on the phone with Sinu: he’s in the kitchen again…

Samuel, reading a recipe: “beat three eggs.” In what? Hand to hand combat?

Sinu: GET. HIM. OUT.

[akiyamanemu]

🐱🐶

[sscarletvenus]

re-reading the jake kim arc for funsies AND i just want to say something : no hate to yeonhui but if either one of sinu or jake was a woman their story would be seen as one of the greatest romances ever written... but ptj wrote sinu - a character that is synonymous in the webtoon with the ideal of "romance" - into a relationship that is as bland as coleslaw. maybe it just irks me because there is no real emotional depth that i can draw from sinu's storyline and it feels like he was just given the token "happy ending" with npc 125. and there are two instances that strike me particularly - 1) the "just who am i to you" "my everything" exchange between sinu and jake in 2nd affiliate, and 2) "jake, everything is for you" during the hunt for big deal.

sinu and jake just exhibit such extraordinary levels of soul-matism. if lookism were a romance webtoon, and again, if either of them were female, the perception of their relationship would be immediately altered among a greater portion of readers. sinu always needed someone strong to share his burden for protecting the street and the people he cared about, and jake was just the right person at a not-so-right time. jake who always viewed the idea of romance as a vulgar, perverted, depraved caricature of itself because of his father's infidelity and emotional neglect, had his life altered by sinu's passion and romance, the two ideals with which he protected his family and street.

jake let go of his morals and self-respect and knelt before the same gangsters that he despised, ran an illegal gambling operation, had his teeth knocked out quite literally, went to juvie, lied to and manipulated the people who cared about him, and sacrificed the better days of his youth just for his revenge, his eternal quest to get sinu back. he was even ready to leave sinu with mitsuki, if that's what made sinu happy.

and sinu survived everyday in the indescribable hell of the circus with nothing but his steadfast belief in jake keeping him alive - his unfaltering hope that jake will come for him, no matter what.

the heteronormativity in shonen makes me chuckle sometimes because the writers will literally pen a love story for the ages, a Greek tragedy of star-crossed lovers between two "bros", and call it a day.

[jiejiian]

I made all of these in under 4 minutes

[myuiis]

lookism shitposting

[m4ytree]

lovebirds