Welcome to the mess and the drama bitches. Hope y’all are having a wonderful day/night wherever y’all are from.
So we’re going to be talking about male leads and second male leads coz these niggas are as equally annoying and frustrating as the Y/Ns and the MCs and I have to sit through chapters upon chapters of them being dunderheads and stressing me out.
But there is a special breed of male leads, specifically second male leads who are the most audacious mutha fuckas to have ever existed in fiction.
I’m talking about the type of nigga who you have to gatekeep THE ENTIRE FEMALE POPULATION from them. We’re gatekeeping straight women, lesbians, bisexual women, queer women, transwomen. Hell we can gatekeep the nonbinary and gays as well because this nigga deserves to die alone and maidenless.
Do I have an offender for this? Yes I do.
Kang Mincheol from Tears on a Withered Flower.
So Mincheol is our second male lead and the ex husband of our FMC Na Haesoo. They’ve know each other since they were in high school and had been married for a little over 13 years. Both of em are 33 in the present timeline of the manhwa.
I remember at the beginning, every time I saw Mincheol, I always asked this question: Dude. What happened to you?
Like you're telling me, this guy was a whole green forest back when he was in high school, who worked his ass off to buy Haesoo a phone and defended her when she got bullied even if it meant he was going to get his ass beat and was basically her safe place and someone she could lean on especially when she was living with her abusive dad. He even proudly showed her off as his girlfriend.
So how did we get from that to taking out a loan IN HER NAME leaving her in DEEP debt and then CHEATING ON HER WITH A WORK COLLEAGUE WHO IS 8 YEARS YOUNGER THAN HIM. Mind you, Haesoo walked in on these niggas in THEIR apartment ON THE NIGHT OF THEIR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY.
And he complains, talking about how Haesoo is not making herself look pretty and is just acting like an emotionless doll and doesn't let him hit/get laid and calls her an old auntie. Sir, your wife is working 3 JOBS to clear the debt YOU put in her name. She comes home tired and exhausted. You want her to look pretty? Then buy her nice clothes and make up. You’re literally working an office white collar job and you can’t even spare a few couple won to buy her nice clothes and make up or even some lingerie to she can look pretty and sexy for you?
You'd think after seeing her coming home late tired af, this nigga would be like: hmmm. My wife is tired and looking miserable. Let me help her out. Maybe take an extra job to get extra money to pay her debt and take care of the bills. Help her out with cleaning and cooking.
Like I said, bro has an office job and I ain’t never seen him contribute SHIT. He just clocks in, clocks out, goes home and drinks, berates and verbally abuses Haesoo, bitches and moans.
But nope. He decides cheating on her with a coworker who is 8 years his junior is a good idea.
And the fact that he's happy seeing Haesoo angry because he gets to see a reaction that's not her usual tired and stoic and emotionless doll express?
Maybe try and make your wife happy instead of upset and angry, Mincheol. Ever thought of that?
And what's funny is that despite Ari (the side chick. I find it ironic how her name is Ari as if it's kinda like a dig at Ariana Grande being a homewrecker. But that's just me) being what he wishes Haesoo to be, pretty, attractive, and puts on makeup, he doesn't view her (Ari) as a person.
He treats Ari like a prostitute. She's just a toy that he can play with when he's bored. This is my first time feeling sorry for the side chick/homewrecker. I mean I know the broad is like 25 years old and she should know better (which is valid) but this just shows how grown ass men (especially married grown ass men) prey on younger, naive women and I can testify to this as someone who was also preyed on by married grown ass men trying to make his moves on me when I was 24 and 25 (Gag).
The irony of it all is that even though these men cheat on their wives with these younger women, they'd never leave their wives. And sure, Mincheol and Haesoo are no longer together, but Mincheol still loves Haesoo and is still waiting for her to call him like she used to (despite how audacious this is).
But it gets worse as the story continues.
It was already bad enough that Mincheol cheated and left Haesoo to go live with his side chick, who is basically his prostitute at this point coz this man spends more time cracking her cooter than actually having a meaningful conversation with her and it honestly breaks my heart that Ari is not seeing the obvious crimson red flags waving to her face and thinks that getting herself pregnant will actually get this man to love her and take her seriously.
No baby. You dont want to be pregnant by this man. AND THANK GOD SHE DIDN’T GET HERSELF PREGNANT.
Bro even her home girl was like: girl, the fact that you have to feel the need to do something THAT harmful to yourself just to keep this man and get him to propose is high key concerning.
And here’s what this love struck idiot had to say plus my commentary:
Ari: Do you know Mincheol oppa better than I do?
Me: Girl, you didn't even know know that this carrot head leech had a wife and was living with her while he was deep sea diving in yo hoo-ha. You don't know NOTHING about this man.
Ari: Do you have any idea how hard his life has been?
Me: Hmmm let's see. He put his wife in debt. Got mad and upset that she ain't giving him ass when she's tired from working three jobs to pay off said debt. Decides to cheat on his wife with you, a co-worker 8 years his junior, whom he doesn't view as a person and treats like a prostitute. Get caught by his wife and is thrown out RIGHTFULLY SO. Is upset that the wife HE CHEATED ON ain't calling or answering his texts WHILE MESSING WITH YOU. Yeah, he SURE IS having a HARD TIME facing CONSEQUENCES for his actions.
Ari: it's just that oppa has a lot of scars.
Me: 🎤 Don't save him. He don't wanna be saved. Don't save him. He don't wanna be saved. Don't save him. He don't wanna be saved.
Anyways, so we finally find out why Mincheol ended up putting the debt in Haesoo’s namey. But first let’s go back to when Mincheol was still the green flag lover boy.
So one thing I noted when I read his flashback was that Mincheol had a saviour complex. Like he loved Haesoo, there’s no denying that. BUT he loved playing the hero. He loved being the person who always saved her when she was a damsel in distress and loved how she looked at him with adoration and awe.
And his saviour complex got so bad that this nigga, this absolute shortsighted dunderhead decided to GIVE UP COLLEGE!!!
🙂🙂🙂
Now listen, on paper, it was noble. He was willing to make a sacrifice and get Haesoo out of her abusive situation with her old man.
In practice, THAT WAS STOOOOOOOPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIID.
BRO IF YOU WANTED TO GIVE HAESOO A BETTER LIFE AND PROVIDE FOR HER AND MAKE HER HAPPY YOU COULD HAVE GONE TO COLLEGE, GOTTEN A DIPLOMA AND GOT A DECENT PAYING JOB THAT COULD HAVE SUSTAINED THE BOTH OF YOU. THE MONEY YOU WERE MAKING AT YOUR CONSTRUCTION JOB WAS BARELY ENOUGH AND YOU THINKING THROWING AWAY YOUR WHOLE FUTURE WAS THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE TO PROVE YOUR LOVE FOR HER?!
NIGGA NOOOO! THAT’S MARTYRDOM!
I had his defenders coming at me on Twitter when I made a post about it talking about: it would have been selfish if Mincheol chose to go to college and left Haesoo behind in the abusive environment with her old man.
Wow, so choosing to got to college to better yourself and the person you love is now considered selfish? Okay.
But wait, it doesn’t stop there.
Mincheol decided to give all of his savings to his work hyung for an investment WHICH TURNED OUT TO BE A SCAM AND ERBODY LOST ALL OF THEIR MONEY.
But wait, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
So the work hyung got desperate coz he’s got a wife and child. So he hits up Mincheol and asks him if he could take out a loan to help him out. And Mincheol is like, my credit is not that great so I dont think I can take out a loan.
And this man straight up told Mincheol: why not take it out in your wife’s name.
[Insert eye twitch here]
And you’d think Mincheol would have been like: ayoo hyung that’s fucked to be asking me to take out a loan in my wife’s name.
You’d think Mincheol would be angry and disgusted by his work hyung asking him to do that to his wife, the woman he gave up college for and protect.
But no he’s like: aight bet. where’s the address.
And he takes out the loan WITHOUT HAESOO KNOWING.

This nigga is planning to use his side chick as a cash cow to get money to pay Haesoo’s debt and I wouldn’t put it past him to manipulate Ari into taking out a loan.
And this emotional terrorist has the gall and the audacious audacity to pin the blame on Haesoo for why his life has gone to shit as if EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED AND GOT US HERE WASNT BECAUSE OF HIM AND WANTING TO PLAY HERO AND HATING THE OUTCOME.
Yeah, we should gatekeep women from this guy. We should gatekeep straight women, lesbians, Bi women, Queer women, Trans women. THE ENTIRE FEMALE POPULATION. Coz imagine being a trash person to both your ex wife AND side chick to the extend that you dont view them as people. You fuck over you ex wife by putting her in debt just coz you wanted to help your hyung who fucked you over. And now you’re using your side cheek like a bank to get money to pay your ex wife’s debt all the while knowing that she loves yous, she wants to marry, and will do anything for you and you end up proposing to her just so you can manipulate her some more?
May men like Kang Mincheol NEVER find me. PLEASE 😭🙏🏽
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