이제야 연애

IJEYA YEONAE

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
Not Available
RELEASE
March 26, 2023
CHAPTERS
69

DESCRIPTION

Sisters Ju-eun and Hyejin grew up in absolute poverty. After their mother’s death, Hyejin accepts the offer to join their estranged father’s wealthy family. But when Hyejin turns out dead just three years later, Ju-eun is grief-stricken. She grabs at the chance to travel back in time and take her sister’s place where she meets the kind but mysterious Iho.

(Source: WEBTOONS)

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

klearopaque
98/100
a chance to add the cherry on top ⏱︎
heads up ⚠︎ SPOILERS AHEAD ⚠︎

i am speed ( •̀ω •́ ) muweh-he-he (⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝) no, but seriously, this manhwa was exactly what i needed from reading such a shitty plot from the previous one i read. it took me so long to read my last manhwa that i was afraid this would take weeks or months, too. BOY, AM I GLAD TO BE WRONG (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶). i do feel bad about the score, though. this was ALMOST a perfect story, and i'm sad it wasn't. but it's still an amazing read, nonetheless. the main reason i took 0.2 points off from the score is two factors, which could've been fixed with at least three side stories. 0.1 was taken off because we never get to see them get married (｡◞︿◟｡). are they together? yes. are they engaged? (by means of a paper) yes. do we get to see wedding? no (╥﹏╥). they allude to this countless times in the story, but no, we don't get a scene like that. the other 0.1 is due to hyejin never stepping foot back into the season 2 portion of the story. honestly, if i rated the first season alone, then i would say this would've been a 10/10 absolutely perfect. however, after making such a big deal about the bond between hyejin and ju-eun as sisters, ju-eun (at least from a reader's perspective) quite literally dips. since we never got a continuation. ju-eun no doubt invites her sister to the wedding and gets to tell her the rundown of how everything went down (maybe minus the time traveler part) afterward, but we'll never know her reaction or how she feels about it all. i would think ju-eun feels bad about hiding all this, but i think there's the issue that she's also so grief-stricken that she's, in a way, speaking for her sister when the one who died isn't the sister she sees in front of her. but that's where the stories hurt. both past or present, the two sister's mentality will always be 'you don't get to decide that for me' when it comes to sacrifice.

ju-eun ❀ oh my poor girl. honestly, if i cared for someone as much as she did her sister, then i would do the same as her. it's become a norm for me to be numb to pain; it's a wonder if anything phases me (that isn't fictional). the same words i would say about money and life. in her place. she didn't dare ask for more when she was with her mom and was grateful for what she was given. but like all humans, we all reach a breaking point. her & hyejin worked tirelessly for their family, so it's only fitting for it to come tumbling out in front of their mom sooner or later. i love her calculated attitude (to the point where i felt she was the older sister) because of how much hyejin wanted to live with the other group practically begging ju-eun, who saw through them. no offense, but even if ja-eun didn't want to go, it's usually the older sister who would send off the younger ones to have a happy life first). her confidence (even when wavering) is what allows her to stand up to the people hyejin couldn't. and i think that's why i forgave (a bit) the way they handled hyejin not appearing as much. because when she was there, ju-eun was still in the middle of her enemies with a weakness exposed. even if hyejin could help, what would a no one (in an economic heirarchy) do in the grand scheme of things than get hurt? and that's why I think ju-eun wanted to solve everythig quietly rather than tell hyejin, which would get her caught up in the same people who hurt her. ju-eun not only suffers from grieving fully and bottling up her emotions, but she feels like being a burden as well. she has every right to feel that way too. imagine if someone fought so hard (though with hidden selfish desires as well) to make sure you had a happy life they paid the price with their life, hell even i would be scared to ask for help or let people know how i feel. ju-eun is so strong in the opposite of her sister, where not just because she knows what happened in the past, but because her personality won't allow for people to walk all over her. the company dinner scene explained it perfectly. she's not sorry for her actions if it means defending herself. that's why i'm confused when people say that iho saved her in the end and her success feels unearned just because she didn't finish her goal up to 100%. she did 90% of it on her own. not letting iho till the very end how harsh the family has been on her. the reason iho stepped in was to save her was to let her know she no longer had to fight on her own. that she no longer needed to feel like a burden, to rely on others again. some people took his words as coherent when that's not the case. it's as i mentioned before: if ju-eun pushed herself, it would've only caused her death. it's an unfortunate power play for sure, but ju-eun put up with the family on her own for so long, and no matter what she did or said it would bounce right back off of them. iho is the only person who has the power as an outsider to stop them from harming him and her any further than they already have. honestly, you're rooting for ju-eun the whole way through. she's lived with so much regret and inner turmoil that just like her, you wish she was freed from the chains of invisible responsibility for herself, iho, or hyejin. i love how she's almost always the one who initiates the kisses in the stories, too. like- (˃̣̣̥ᯅ˂̣̣̥) it just felt so right. it showed she was walking forward in her life. i never blamed her for being over-conscious, because as mentioned, her sister died. not knowing the full context of seontae's personality at the time, she tied him back to the man who took part in hyejin's death.

iho ⏲ my equally poor boy, iho. he has suffered equally as ju-eun. parents dying in a gas leak (which i still don't think is an accident, but we'll never know...) then having to also not feel like a burden and change his name to live under another roof. to anyone confused as to why taeha (iho's name before he changed it/birth name) went through all the trouble to live under his uncle's greedy ass, it's because he was shamed (an asian honor especially in this case he received the disgrace toward his parents) it's as he said, he wanted to make his uncle sincerely eat his words. but the thing that made me love iho more was that, unlike other male characters, he let go of his own revenge for ju-eun. personally, i think people misunderstood the meaning of revenge in this case for both ju-eun and iho. ju-eun wanted to save her sister from death and from the people who drove her into that scene. and that's just that. even without contact, in the end, hyejin doesn't suffer the lashings of her father's family and is living happily. and though we see seontae's character growth and know he's not fully the villain that pushed hyejin to her death (he was also a victim in an aspect), he is also sufficiently away (by law), so hyejin can't fall for him either. iho's revenge was mostly just an apology. WHICH! he threw out the minute he saw ju-eun die. i can't believe people said that he needed to watch her die countless times to feel a connection. excuse me? one is enough to make anyone sad. that's like saying ju-eun needed to see hyejin die countless times to make her love feel real. iho had always loved her; he was just scared because, like ju-eun wanted to save hyejin from those in power to destory the things she loved, iho wasn't offically in the chairman position and had a fast-track mindset. he didn't even know ju-eun had a sister, and even if he stepped in to help hyejin, it would end up causing more harm than good. since hyejin couldn't even withstand seonji and the stepmom alone. adding iho in the mix. who's his crush would've pushed her further since he wouldn't have feelings for her should she grow any if he helped. his whole story is all about regret. it's why he wanted to go back. to help hyejin if he knew and to see ju-eun rather than run away from his feelings. i just love how this man made no mistakes and stuck to his word. he never pushed ju-eun further; only made her acknowledge his feelings for her. his actions in the first season spoke louder than words. then, in the second season, when she needed it, he spoke up. he broke and bent all the rules for her. iho's ⊹₊⟡⋆communication⊹₊⟡⋆ skills know no bounds. his confession, his words, just everything is perfect. his personality quite literally giving no shits.

hyejin ✮ she briefly shows up in the beginning, then basically disappears. though she is the catalyst for how the plot unfolds, i don't think she is as important as everyone says. yes, her death is what caused ju-eun to take her place, but once she does, it's acknowledged she's far from the fight. once left on her own, it showed how she only wanted the best for her sister, to live a happy life. which i liked how she wasn't actually interested in seontae and used it as an excuse to ask ju-eun how she's doing. i think the real missed opportunity was never revealing in depth what ju-eun told hyejin during their final conversation. i think if it ended with ju-eun telling hyejin to not get involved until the entire matter was settled and she would come find her again, it would've given people some peace of mind. though, even with that i think people would dislike how there's no chapter at the end with ju-eun contacting hyejin again. sometimes, i forgot hyejin was the older sister, because of how much of a pushover she was in the small time we saw her. but i guess i'm just used to seeing an older sister who doesn't give two shits and fights for them. then again, the story wouldn't be what it is if this happened. i'm not sure. i just laughed when she told ju-eun to let her know if seonji was bothering her because she's 'not a pushover'. as if that's not how she suffered when she originally moved to the house. but, that's not entirely her fault (not even half or really because it's difficult to stand up in those positons).

shower thoughts ∘˙○ seontae's development was refreshing to me. i was SO worried about the story dragging to be a love triangle even knowing the story was only 69 chapters (i've been traumatized by terrible pacing). i really don't know his father was thinking for having a passion or greed for power when he only trained him to be a rule abiding son. that's just a recipe for disaster. but thankfully, he knew his place and used it as a growing method. to take the words of individuality from ju-eun to shove seonji in her place and take a stand. in the end, he'll get the position he's been groomed for, but i truly hope he makes decisions and finds love on his own accord. he's still accountable for what happened to hyejin in the original timeline, but he didn't know she was suffering and seemed to really care. he wasn't in that much of a favorable position either. moreover, seonji is a delusional bitch and will stay that way, but i was surprised to see the mother take responsibility for how she turned out in the end and left with her. which was still satisfying because this left ju-eun's father where he started. alone. i think a lot anger for this story comes from the fact it is seen as 'wasted potential'. to a degree, i understand. but, i could easily fill in the gaps for the end. iho and ju-eun come back from their trip and through a cute romantic gesture, iho properly proposes. ju-eun and her father will meet for the final time as he has no heir for his company, which she refuses and cuts ties with him for the last time. ju-eun goes to hyejin and finally tells her how the war is over. they're financially stable and can regularly see each other again. hyejin might not take the news well at first about ju-eun getting hurt in all this, but will come around. both iho and ju-eun visit their parents burial to share the good news, iho will continue working for his uncle's company under a different high position and ju-eun will continue to work with ju-eun as well. then they have a small wedding with only those closest to them. it's a pretty easy way to think about in my point of view ʅ ( ․ ⤙ ․) ʃ but, maybe that's just me.

⚠︎ a warning ⚠︎ to those who don't like romance focused stories. this is not for you. if you want familial love, this is not it. if you want high stakes tension, this is not it. maybe, it's just me, but when i see on webtoon the centeral genre listed as 'romance' i would expect that to be heavily focused. and i'm not saying they can't coexist, but as a romance consumer i personally didn't care for other scenes not dragging out. because i'm here for the romance ¯_(ᵕ—ᴗ—)_/¯ so yes, as advertised it's centrally a romance after a short period of time (kicks in real quick).

overall, the story is amazing. and i feel like if you really want to read the best part of the story without feeling down about the details i mentioned above, then you should stick with season 1. though not a clear ending the first half touched upon a lot of the issues that were presented from the start. i'd say season 2 starts off very iho-focused (no complaint from me, was always curious about where this man came from and what he was thinking). Also, check out the ost for this webtoon. i regret not having it play in the background as i read.

PSA - This is my first review for a manhwa, i usually use the notes to type my thoughts, but recently they've been going over the character count when i had more to say, so i'm just testing this out.

♫ End of the Day by Kim Donghyun
♫ To Tell the Truth by Rendy
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