Boy is Rejected, Gets Glow Up, Then Gets Pursued
About:
Warning:
There will be spoilers for the manhwa series Third Ending.
Content Warning: There may be references to fat-shaming, bullying, homomisia (including use of the f-slur), mentions of breakups (not between the main couple), mentions of theft, mentions of car accidents, blood, overwork, manipulation, gossiping, violence, mentions of drugging, depression, excessive drinking, peer pressure, sexism, obsession, harassment, BDSM, and implied and discussed mpreg, as they do appear in the manhwa.
Synopsis:
This review is for Third Ending, the all-ages main story, and Third Ending – Extended, the mature side story. The main story can be read without the extended content, but you’ll miss out on the smut.
Yoonseul is being haunted. No, not by a ghost. His past is haunting him. Back in high school, Yoonseul was unnecessarily cruel to a fellow classmate, and ever since, the boy has haunted his dreams. It’s not every night, but on the nights the boy does show up, Yoonseul is cursed to have a bad day. Whether it’s something as small as spilling his coffee or even more major like having his work files deleted, the day is bound to go wrong when he sees that boy in his dreams.
As expected, after a night of haunting dreams, he spends the day fielding problem after problem, leading to Yoonseul working well into the night. But even when he’s done with work, it happens to be his turn to pick up sandwich bread for his siblings whom he lives with, so his night gets even longer as he goes out to shop. Almost every bakery nearby is closed already, but by chance, a bakery a few minutes away is on the cusp of closing for the day.
Relieved that the end of his day is finally in sight, Yoonseul goes in, grabs the first loaf of bread he sees, and then goes up to pay. But as he’s about to pull out his card, he finds the cashier staring at him. Yoonseul can’t begin to understand why until he realizes that the cashier is none other than Kang Jun, the boy, now a man, who haunts his dreams. Is this just one more curse from his dreams? Or is this the key to finally ending the nightmares for good? Yoonseul wants to know, but Kang Jun doesn’t seem at all interested in getting to know Yoonseul again.
Can Yoonseul win Kang Jun’s favor so he can finally apologize? Or is their past too painful to overcome?
Review:
The art in this is… interesting. I do like it sometimes, but other times I don’t. Yoonseul is touted as an ultra-attractive man, but I don’t find him all that attractive. His hair gives seaweed vibes, and he feels like an off-brand version of Taegyeom from OmegaComplex. Other characters also say he has pink hair? But it doesn’t seem pink to me. On the other hand, Jun is uber cute, especially with longer hair. Of the two, I actually think he’s more attractive than Yoonseul, though, during the smut in the second season, devilish Yoonseul is super hot, so I can agree there. But of everyone, Heemin, a side character, is the prettiest of all. It’s so unfortunate that a side character is the most attractive, even among the main cast, but I’m all for any and all eye candy. This isn’t the best art style in the world, but it certainly isn’t the worst, so I can’t complain.
Before we move on to the story, while researching for this review, I actually discovered that this is a spin-off. Apparently, Heemin was one of the main characters from the original story, which makes sense as to why Heemin was so freaking attractive. Unfortunately, the original story has never been officially licensed in English. I desperately want to read about Heemin and his boyfriend, who we get brief glimpses of in this story. Unfortunately, with all the new BL coming out from Korea, I don’t imagine we’ll be getting any older, non-licensed titles any time soon, but one can dream. I definitely would spend money to see Heemin again because he is the hottest guy in this series, despite not even being a main character.
But enough about art and side characters, let’s talk about the meat and potatoes of this thing: Yoonseul and Jun. I love this setup. It’s very simple, but that simplicity really sets up our characters. The dream in question features young Yoonseul and Jun while they are in high school. Yoonseul, then and in the present, constantly has to put on a calm and happy front to maintain a good public impression. Unfortunately, this is a tiring existence, leading to him taking out his anger on innocent Jung, who happens to confess his feelings for Yoonseul on his last day of school. Jun comes off as meek and kind, with his heart on his sleeve, while Yoonseul is clearly self-confident, mildly arrogant, and prone to saying the wrong thing while trying to play social mind games. I love how easily we learn who our main characters are with such minimal explanation.
Similarly, it gives the perfect benchmark for Yoonseul and Jun’s growth. Of the two, Jun has little to no power. Yoonseul constantly manipulates the situation for his own benefit, his goal being exclusively to make himself feel better. But that eventually evolves into him caring for Jun and wanting to be friends, if not more, but time and time again, he sabotages himself and his potential relationship. He rejected Jun once in high school, then rejected him again as an adult. This leads to the third ending (title drop), where Jun now has all the power. Yoonseul is just trying to win Jun back, but Jun holds firm, even going so far as to leave Yoonseul standing out in the snow by the closed bakery. It’s such a powerful moment when Jun decides to go to the bakery later to confirm Yoonseul, the cocky and self-important man he knew he was, had left only to find him still waiting there. It truly shows how much Yoonseul has changed for the better, willing to let himself be torn down to absolute and honest misery despite who might see him. Meanwhile, Jun, though he is more protective of himself, maintains his kindness – still wanting to go and check on Yoonseul and make sure he’s okay if he is still there. It’s so great, and that’s the most powerful part of this.
One small side note before I close out: There is a male pregnancy side story in the smutty second story. Unfortunately, there is no smut in it, nor visible mpreg, but there is a baby and some brief child-rearing, which I adore. I was itching for some more because the way this creator did the child-rearing is so cute. I wouldn’t say the baby is the cutest manhwa-baby in the world, but I’m all for it and will always welcome more. Also, I love that Yoonseul, the top, is the one who carried the baby. I truly cackled.
Results:
This was cute. I don’t read very many non-sex titles, so the main first story was a really nice change of pace. We really got to focus on the characters’ growth and, in turn, their relationship. The second story has tons of smut and not much conflict, so you can enjoy the lusty goodness once these two have established a relationship. I wouldn’t call this a favorite, but it’s not bad by any means. The art isn’t my favorite, I will always crave more spice if I can get it, but it’s still a good time all the same. Can’t really go wrong here.
Have you read Third Ending? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!
Click here to read it for yourself! (This is to the main story. If you want to read the mature second story, you will have to search for it, as it is a separate entry on Lezhin)