Woodland Nymph

So. I hate this chapter. I hate this chapter so much it hurts me to my core. This chapter is my nightmare coming true. And to be honest, I expected something like that would happen sooner or later, but a part of me still wanted to believe it wouldn’t happen to the extent I feared it would. But oh well.

For those who follow me, it's not a secret that I’m a Suwon stan and a coup crew stan in general. So I’m particularly sensitive to their treatment and development more than for other characters. That doesn’t mean I’m not attentive to the development of the others, but it affects me less. When I translate the chapters I always pay the utmost attention to details and I’m trying to stay as close as possible to what Kusanagi tries to convey, whether I like it or not. And even if I don’t show it I still spend a big part of my time thinking about Yona and Hak as well. I shouldn’t even have to justify myself for feeling the way I do, since I don’t think it would change anything whether I truly hated the rest of the cast or not, but I still wanted to say it to avoid any “why do you keep reading it if you hate everything but these few antagonistic characters” or “You’re just the same as E/T if you translate akayona when you think this way”.

I love akayona, I literally can’t say I don’t, given the quantity of time and energy (and money) I spent on it. Whether by making content or just thinking and talking about it. But that doesn’t mean I can’t feel anything negative towards it. It can coexist. I’m so mad BECAUSE I love akayona so much.

Other thing, despite all the jokes I make about understanding Suwon better than Kusanagi herself or other fans etc (if you follow me on twt) I don’t want to pretend I’m THE fan that is right about everything about him. Suwon is a complex character and it’s entirely possible to have different interpretations of him that are equally right. I don’t want to pretend that for akayona in general. Maybe I really do read akayona totally wrong. Still, I want to share my opinions.

So, chapter220 hurts. It hurts because I’m an akayona fan exhausted of every character being on Yona and Hak’s sides, I’m exhausted of the ddhhb’s actions never having any kind of negative consequences, I’m exhausted of them never making mistakes anymore(actually they do make mistakes. But never acknowledged or addressed in the story.) I know this is Akatsuki no /Yona/. I love Yona. She’s my daughter and I grew up with her and I can relate so strongly to some of her struggles. Still, my opinion is that being a protagonist shouldn’t stop you from actually learning from others and not having EVERYTHING and EVERY character revolve around you (and your love interest) all the time. It shouldn’t stop you from being wrong and making mistakes and not being constantly put on a moral high ground by the narrative and having conveniently everything going your way. Akayona, as far as I know, didn’t enter its final arc yet. If that was a final arc with the objective of showcasing all the progress she made, so there is no real need to show the downsides of her actions/ideals anymore because it was done throughout the course of the story before, I wouldn’t mind. I really wouldn’t. But when was the last time Yona made a mistake? When was the last time Yona was contradicted and it wasn’t framed like said character was actually wrong and/or ended up taking her side or Hak’s a couple of chapters later?

All of this is made worse and insufferable when it’s recently constantly put in comparison with Suwon’s side. Ch220 tries to imply that Yona and Hak being soft-hearted is a good thing, and I agree. I like that part of them. But I feel sick in my stomach when it’s obviously to make the contrast with Su-won, who in this chapter is ready to sacrifice the prisoners and who in the first pages of the chapter says to Yona he shouldn’t have brought her on the battlefield because she’s basically too nice and too naive. Like, obviously I don’t think Yona has the same ideology as Il now, even if she kept some parts of it. Obviously I know that Yona has her own ideology. But damn it felt so good to see Su-won finally voice out his frustration and bitterness at the situation. He never voiced something like that before and that’s really something I wanted to see. But how can I enjoy that when it was done only to show how wrong he is and to further humiliate him and put Yona on the moral high ground in comparison? Is it really that hard to respect a character’s negative feelings without making it a big win for one side and a big loss for the other? I would have preferred Yona telling him that it’s not the case directly or even opening up a discussion about Suwon’s own issues with his dad at this point.

I was already mad for Meinyan. I loved Meinyan the second she appeared. I was so happy with her introduction because I thought she would challenge Yona and the status-quo of the manga, and she voiced out everything I felt after the diary arc. Isn’t Suwon’s situation unfair compared to Yona’s? Isn’t it unfair how Yona is healthy and has the dragons with her while Suwon and Meinyan have nothing of that and a chronic illness that k*ll them so young and make them go through terrible pain? And it’s (possibly) because of a god Yona is the acclaimed reincarnation of?

Yona working hard and also suffering in her life has nothing to do with it. The issue is that Yona has more in her hands from the start, while Hiryuu’s descendants have less. Not everyone gets 4 dragons with godly superpowers(one who literally can’t die included) after a difficult time of their life. Kouren and Suwon had simple humans supporting them after what they went through very young. And these simple humans aren’t bound by some weird blood/divine contract to stay loyal to them no matter what, and they can die and be wounded enough that they can’t fight again. Yes the dragons’ power have downsides to them. But it’s stupid to pretend it’s still not a privilege to have them by your side. The dragons may have direct downsides because of their powers but Yona has not. Yes, the dragons chose to follow her of their own, because they were moved by Yona’s actions and words and genuinely loves her as human, but still, if they ever disagreed with her and wanted to choose another side like Algira and Vold did with Kouren, or Geuntae did here with Suwon, they literally could not. That’s what I wanted akayona to explore and point out, that’s what I hoped with Meinyan. Even if Suwon doesn’t want the dragons for his own personal reasons, having Meinyan who doesn’t have that same background was interesting and a good occasion to explore that. Damn if I were her I would be bitter too.

But I was stupid, it was over the second Kusanagi made her have a flaw coming from all this(natural)bitterness, that is to blame Yona to the point of almost slapping her and wanting to get the dragons for herself and Suwon as a revenge against life(which is, once again, understandable if you ask me.), to distract us and the characters from the real issues I developed just above. Meinyan was wrong! Look, the dragons are saving her! Look, Yona is so nice and defends her too! Meinyan has almost nothing against her anymore ahah! Why would she after all Yona is so nice she even brought her little squirrel back 😊! She’s indebted to her now!

And it’s like that everytime. For everyone. But Meinyan’s case made me especially angry because Kusanagi really made a character that voiced my own feelings and framed her as a crazy girl who’s wrong and made her miserable and then sidelined her the second she was indebted to Yona. Her only role was to show how wrong you are if you ever dare to also feel this way as a reader and that’s it.

The only exception to this is I’d say coup crew for now. And only partially. Especially Suwon, who despites everything, still doesn’t want to open his heart to Yona. And I love him for that. And tbh I don’t think Yona really gives him any reason to so far. But Akayona doesn’t seem to think this way, given how everytime Suwon FINALLY lets out his frustration and bitterness a bit it’s always in a situation that makes him look bad and always results in negative consequences. When Suwon finally voiced out how he was so tired of these gods and dragon talks, in part because of his painful memories of Il, that made him choose to execute and then imprison Meinyan. Which obviously makes him look bad and now she hates him too. When Su-won voices out his bitterness at Yona’s naivety and kindness in this chapter, of fucking course it’s in the situation where that makes him sacrifice innocent Kouka prisoners! In front of Geun-tae himself at that! These events are not bad by themselves. I love Suwon for his flaws as well and I’d love to explore them and have him grow from them. But I have to ask, when did that ever happened for the ddhhb to that extent (their negative feelings causing real negative consequences I mean)

Like even in the water tribe arc(which was 130~140 chapters ago) when Hak hurt jaeki and suwon’s bodyguards, the consequences were still pretty okay. Jaeki never were mad at him for that, Hak didn’t lose anything by doing what he did. That only made Ju-do even more bitter towards Hak, but that’s also resolved today and it’s not like it ever had any concrete consequences on Hak/the ddhhb either. And we were supposed to feel bad for Hak. When Yona let out her frustration at Suwon working with them and acting all innocent with Lili I loved that. It was good because we understood perfectly Yona’s feelings, but that still didn’t make her reaction perfectly reasonable either, and she could calm down and recompose herself only after Zeno told her that Su-won was just helping, that they had the same objective, and that he was trying to help Yona too( for the poisoned arrow). It was well balanced, and in the end it was tensed but framed pretty neutrally, as Yona immediately protected Su-won after that too. In the end Yona gained something, as she grew up from the experience.

But in chapter220, the direct consequence of Suwon daring to voice some of his negative feelings is that he loses Geun-tae, one of his most loyal allies, who decided to choose Yona’s side instead. And man that hurts. It feels so unfair. Obviously if you only take this chapter, Geun-tae’s choice is understandable and he doesn’t do it against Suwon, but when you think about akayona in its entirety again it feels so. so unfair.

Having Geun-tae agree and show the deepest of respect to Yona in front of Suwon here because of Yona’s kindness for the prisoners of the Earth Tribe implies that Suwon is, unlike Yona, cold and cruel. Whether it’s intended or not(which I think it is). But we saw everything Suwon did for the Earth Tribe and Geun-tae. Damn a whole mini-arc was about that. Suwon would have taken some actions in Awa too if Yona hadn’t arrived and fixed the Kum-ji case before him. Su-won said it during Soo-jin’s rebellion, that having as few casualties (on Kouka’s side, I admit) as possible was his utmost job. Suwon helped revitalize the Earth Tribe and made Geun-tae realize his own power and influence as a leader. Suwon likes the man! Suwon also spared Kyoga, Iguni’s and Tae-jun’s life and even gave the brothers prestigious titles and important responsibilities. Of course to that you can reply that he did not do it out of kindness, but out of calculation, as it helped him in his plan of making Kouka stronger. And yes, I agree that Suwon’s methods are not as selfless as Yona’s. But is that bad? I agree it’s not perfect and it can risk ppl feeling used by him. But I mean, he doesn’t do that out of selfishness, he does it for Kouka. And he does it really well at that. Suwon loves people, and he sees something good in every one of them. And by using positive manipulation he gives them the push they need to exploit their own abilities and fight for him. I think it’s a beautiful power too. The manga puts the emphasis on the power of Yona’s kindness and I agree it’s a beautiful power, but I want to put the emphasis on Suwon’s power because so far no character does in the story. I think it’s really beautiful and meaningful the way he never does things instead of others, he makes them do it themselves. He constantly humbles himself. He doesn’t exactly revitalize the Earth Tribe, he uses his wit to have Yuno use her assets and to have Geun-tae finally show the face of the proud and cool general everyone admires. And why did he choose these two things specifically? Because he loves Yuno’s tea. Because he admires Geun-tae and looks up to him. And he wants to use that and make it a strength, to them and to him. And the differences with Yona’s methods are soo interesting because let’s take the only character (that isn’t Suwon) I still didn’t totally lose all my hopes for: Lili.

Lili is at the same time Yona’s best friend and Suwon’s friend. She was influenced and saved by the both of them. She also has a background that makes her able to relate to the both of them, or the both of them relate to her. Yona’s method is that she’s pro-active and tries to do everything herself. She will take matters in her own hands, and she would rather have no one else involved if she could. So in the water tribe arc she tries to protect Lili. She tells Lili she doesn’t have to worry because she will fix all the problems herself(and with the ddhhb), and at that Lili is frustrated. Lili is prideful and wants to be able to do something herself as the daughter of the water tribe’s general. She feels so ashamed to let that girl younger than her that isn’t even from the tribe do everything while she does nothing. And in response to that, Suwon tells Lili she can help, he encourages her to do things she can only do as the daughter of the water tribe’s general. That’s his method, he doesn’t tell her he will do things instead of her, he gives her the push she needs for her to do it herself. And don’t get me wrong, Yona’s being the way she is also immensely inspired Lili to become stronger herself but I think Lili represents the balance between both of their methods so well.

THAT is the akayona I love. The akayona that is well balanced, that shows that there isn’t only one good way to do things, and that no methods are perfectly flawless, and that these methods don't have to compete against each other and can be complementary. I miss that. What is left of that now, please tell me.

Anyway what I mean with all of this is that in the earlier arcs Suwon wasn’t portrayed as someone that is not soft-hearted. We saw it many times that he is, even if yes, indeed, he is ready to be cruel if needed for Kouka. And honestly, as a proud Suwon apologist(/hj) I can perfectly explain why he is acting the way he does recently. For me it’s really just that he’s pushed to his limits because of the illness and Yona’s presence. And don’t get me started on the illness and the way it’s just a plot device to make Suwon NEED the ddhhb’s help. It’s so bad. Anyway ch217 clearly shows he’s pushed to his limits with everything that is happening recently and he’s kinda in a fog right now I think. But I wish the story showed that more lmao. How he’s not exactly as usual or like before bc of the circumstances. Like as far as it goes that explanation is just me finding him excuses and it’s not really in the text lmao, I can admit that. But if that’s really it, I don’t think it’s made clear enough at all, and the narrative treats his methods as if they were 1. The same as Yuhon’s 2. As if he was at his best right now. Which isn’t the case. Like it sure is easy to make the comparison with the ddhhb’s method and show how their kindness and selflessness is the best thing ever if you shot Suwon in the foot just before. (shooting Suwon in the foot here is giving him the crimson illness and (gestures) the reveals about Yuhon and Il.)

And you know, I can see this current arc be about Suwon facing the flaws of his father’s methods, and coming back to his own ones, but that doesn’t change that in my opinion the execution so far is bad for all the reasons developed above. I could also rant about all the issues with the way Il-Yuhon’s conflict is treated but I don’t feel like it today. Basically I think it’s bad too and not balanced at all. Kusanagi tries to at the same time pretend it’s balanced and make them both gray and flawed while making Yuhon’s gray MUCH darker than Il’s and also never gives Yuhon his own PoV unlike Il. Who also had Yonhi siding with him. Anyway, (I’m not saying I want Yuhon’s awful actions to be excused btw I just wish we knew more about him.)

Back to chapter 220 again ( I’m so sorry this is so disorganized) I want to make a point on Geun-tae precisely too.

Geun-tae choosing to help Yona instead of obeying Suwon’s order is a huge blow because it’s Yona, who for the first time takes something from Suwon directly, something that he had gained with his own hands (Geun-tae’s loyalty). And obviously she doesn’t do it on purpose. But the result is the same. Before that the allies Yona had were people who were outside of Suwon’s circle anyway, so he could ignore it. But starting now it’s going to change and despite me wanting to give up this series for good, a part of me is still curious to know how he will react next. I hate how Suwon still holds me in a choke hold. But in the end it’s still a character that AGAIN ended on Hakyona’s side and at the same time something that Suwon lost to prove to him AGAIN that he’s wrong and it has become insufferable to me.

But yeah Geun-tae. I already hated how he was put down out of nowhere like that to make Hak save the day again. Because I only briefly mentioned Hak so far but I don’t think I can take him seriously anymore as he is recently. I’m really not against the ddhhb having cool fight scenes and being sexy and all that but for Hak it got ridiculous. So now we have Geun-tae, one of the two only darker skinned characters of akayona btw, who was shot with several arrows before the war even started, has been in a coma for like 7 chapters, and is not able to fight ever again because of his wounds. And he was saved by Hak. Hak who was also shot with arrows like 3 or 4 times already and was just fine a few days later. Hak who was heavily wounded at Kin too and was washed away by a flooding and has not a single lasting impairment after all that and basically regained his superhuman strength after sleeping for a week? Like ok I know Hak is strong and he’s basically the second main character with Yona at this point but this is a lot to take in. Especially when superposed with Geun-tae’s situation.

Like obviously self-sacrifice and selflessness is so glorified with Hak(it’s only a problem for the dragons for some reason. But we’re still at the exact same point of Jaeki being reckless and Shin-ah and Zeno rescuing them and being mad at them as 100 chapters ago. So I don’t know if it will ever go beyond that.) if Hak never has to suffer from the consequences of his actions. I’m not saying Hak is bad for trying to protect everyone. I’m saying it’s not healthy and can’t be realistically accomplished and he only hurts himself in the process. That if he was like any other character that isn’t the hhb he would either be dead or not able to fight anymore (like Neguro or Geun-tae). But visibly actually he’s fine. He hurts himself but he doesn’t seem to care and he recovers quickly. He learned nothing from this. So oh ok what could evidently be a downside of Hak’s way of doing things isn’t one just because. And it’s even glorified. Oh well.

Like you see. That’s why I feel the story is so unfair to Suwon. While it is SUPER lenient to the ddhhb, to coup crew and especially Suwon their every thought and action are judged. And yes, I know the ddhhb are the main characters. But idk to me Suwon was always a main character too. To me Suwon and Yona were the two sides of the same coin. And when I reread akayona until Xing I can’t believe I was wrong for seeing it that way. So why is Suwon at the same time given “so much focus” recently but also treated this way? I wish I knew.

When will Suwon be given the same space to heal? When Yona and Hak express their most negative feelings(once every blue moon) they get comfort and compassion. Both by the characters and the narrative. Why doesn’t Suwon have that same luxury? Because he’s king? Because it’s his own fault for not making allies the exact same way as Yona? I’m sorry but I personally want to believe that you don’t have to be as selfless and generous as Yona to deserve that. Yes, even if he hurt his friends I still think he deserves to be happy. Because hurting your friends and making mistakes is part of life you know. And even if Hak and Yona never forgive him that doesn’t mean his life should stop there. Even if coup crew indeed doesn’t give him the comfort(even if I believe they are the support he needs as a king) he would need for a lot of reasons, even if indeed, Suwon refuses himself to really open up to anyone, the narrative doesn’t have to add this nasty framing of Suwon being cold and wrong and stupid and taking more and more from him everytime. Recently it just feels like the story is repeatedly beating Suwon until he cracks and gives in to Yona and it’s very uncomfortable. So what if someone doesn’t want to join Yona’s side or open up to her? It doesn’t mean they’re wrong, it means they simply don’t want to. And in my opinion given their complicated relationship, Suwon has a lot of reasons to not want that. (I’m not saying Yona is all wrong and a manipulative mastermind either. Actually despite everything I can’t help but being rather fond of her personality, but everything around her is really messed up imo)

Now let’s take an example from this chapter. If you wondered at the beginning of this long rant what I was thinking of when I said that the ddhhb had flaws actually, they are just not acknowledged by the story, well this chapter has one just for you.

Kija and Jaeha(and the hhb in general) are furious that Kura-u is throwing rocks and using civilians and prisoners as if they were disposable assets and yeah that’s fair. That’s really cruel. But like can we…go back in time briefly and readdress when during the tournament 40ish chapters ago these same Jaeha and Kija were throwing rocks and boulders at civilians. That they were EXTREMELY lucky no one was hurt because I genuinely don’t know how they could even properly control where they were throwing them exactly(especially Kija who isn’t reputed for his delicacy in battle). How people would have probably either died or been hurt if that hadn't been for Hak having his ridiculous strength and being able to catch said boulders with one hand like it's a ball.The fact Kija and Jaeha endangered innocent people like that is never framed as wrong or messed up. It’s even rather framed as bold and cool and smth justified so really seeing them being so mad at Kura-u now is...something. (I know Jaeha apologized to Geun-tae for endangering Yuno and Lili, thank god he did, but for some reason it’s not a thing for the nameless civilians? What I mean anyway is that they’re not villainized for it.) In chapter220 Suwon points out that acting too recklessly and without following the plan can be fatal and cause them damage. This is a decent argument imo even if you could still argue that to stick to a plan too much can cause damage too. But it’s not even considered seriously because their recklessness is never a problem even in the situations where it logically should. But oh you can be sure that if anyone on Suwon’s side takes a risk, said risk will surely happen and they will suffer from the consequences immediately (ie: everything I said above). Anyway when people talk about the hypocrisy of the narrative that’s what they mean.

I’m begging anyone reading this to not tell me that we don’t know what is going to happen next and that I should just wait and not be so pessimistic. I’m truly begging I’m just tired I’ve been waiting for YEARS for the ddhhb’s ideals and methods to be challenged a bit. Years. Even when I was still a big ddhhb stan. And everytime there is a perfect occasion to do that or at least throw some hints it doesn’t do it and does the exact opposite by putting them on the moral high ground without any counter arguments. Not even a single hint in the way it’s framed. No no they’re constantly glorified instead. Guys I swear I love them and I’m actually dying to see more of what they’re thinking recently and I want them to have a good and interesting development but I also just wish Kusanagi was as compassionate with all her other characters and especially the characters not on the ddhhb’s side as with them. Like not even giving them as much focus because I’m well aware it’s not doable but just…giving them a bit of that compassion. And not just when they start becoming Yona’s or Hak’s friends. Amiright Meinyan. Like I’m not even talking about just Suwon I really mean in general.

And if you want to show me that I’m wrong on anything here(I’m sure I am. Tbh I’m just begging for someone to prove me wrong and convince me akayona is actually good i’m desperate to that extent) please show me examples that are not from BEFORE the Xing Arc. I think it’s where a big shift happened and most of the problems I have with akayona started there. Some issues started before that and it wasn’t perfect before either but I feel like it’s where it started to get so bad imo.

Also let’s be honest, after everything we learned about Suwon, do you honestly think he deserves any of what is happening to him? If you do, I don’t really expect to change your mind. But he was 9 when he lost his two parents and had to lead a faction. He didn’t have anyone he could emotionally depend on a bit. He doesn’t have a bad heart. All the circumstances were against him. It was shown again and again that he clearly didn’t want to hurt Yona and Hak. He didn’t even kill Il only out of revenge and everything he ever did was for Kouka. He protected Yona and Hak throughout the course of the story whenever he could. He’s not perfect and yes he hurt Yona and Hak immensely and he hurt others as well but I think the story is already reminding us that more than enough. He’s suffering and he’s 18 and has the country on his shoulders while he’s chronically ill and knows he will die soon. He shouldn’t deserve any divine punishment or karma retribution or anything for his actions, the only ones allowed to judge him are those he hurt. And even then I want him to be allowed to express how he was hurt by others too. I swear killing a bad king isn’t that awful esp in this historical context. Yona would have done the same if Suwon had been a bad king too. Yona actually did the same by killing Kum-ji even if obviously on a lesser scale. I know hurting his friends this much is a lot but I wish the story would treat Suwon as the traumatized young man he is. Just like it treats Yona and Hak’s traumas with so much care and compassion. I wish he was treated as the 18yo that due to a lot of circumstances couldn’t see any other options back then and still can’t. Like he’s not some grown ass adult with authority who hurt Yona and Hak for the sake of it (*stares at Il*), he is around their age and their relationship had problems that made things happen this way. He does the best he can with what he has and he always has.

Once again, maybe I really read akayona wrong. And I’m honestly embarrassed of feeling so strongly about it and ranting about it that much. And I still have so many things to complain about. I started writing this to let out all my negative feelings and at least I have to admit it helped me calm down and I don’t feel as angry as before I started typing this. I understand people who just don’t care about all the problems I see in this manga because they’re simply enjoying it for what it is. I really respect that. Unfortunately I don’t feel that way anymore and to be honest, akayona brings me more pain than anything. I disagree with too much of it. I’m still fond of it despite all of that for everything it brought me too and I’ll probably keep loving the first half of the story. But loving Akatsuki no Yona for me is unrewarding. The more I think and try to analyze it the more I see problems with it, and the more I get scared and hurt, and I don’t think anything could ever fix all the isses it has at this point. What will I do now I honestly don’t know. I’m giving myself some time to decide. I just don’t want to feel this way because of a manga ever again. I don’t want it to end now because it still has much to tell but I wish it was already finished so I could just move on and not have this constant reminder that “next chapter will surely hurt me in some way too. I wonder what it will be this time.” and then be hurt every month or every two weeks. I love making my own headcanons and making fancontent of it in general because the characters and universe still inspire me so much. But at what cost. I don’t feel like it’s worth all that pain anymore.

Lastly, all my personal feelings and history with akayona apart I still think thaht you don’t have to be as obsessed with it as me or be as angry as me to see some of its flaws and read akayona critically either. I hope whoever is reading this and made it here manage to only get good things from akayona, but please that respect people can be mad and voice their more negative opinions too. Even if they just straight up hate akayona. I think ppl should be allowed to express it (as long as it follows basic social/fandom etiquette you know,) It’s not like I will ever go tell Kusanagi directly or harass anyone over this.

two sons… one birthday ,,, ZERO justice !!!!!! (but anyway happy 20/feb which is jin zixuan and jin guangyao’s birthday)

Kye-Sook, the adviser of Soo-Won (current king of Kouka Kingdom). He's a mysterious person who hides a lot, and I think he's about to do something important in the context of the story.

Soo-Won, the current king of Kouka Kingdom, with his pet hawk Gulfan.

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you want… what?

Redraw of the Yona of the Dawn Vol. 3 cover illustration.

This dude was around 15-16 at the time right? And he saw that someone he cared about greatly get killed by his own brother... there’s also the fact that Il clearly took Yuhon aside in private so that no one sees what he does. What he saw was something that shouldn’t have been seen, his life possibly could’ve be in danger if Il saw him. If Il was able to take out Yuhon like that, then surely he could kill a witness that’s a young injured teenager?

I honestly wouldn’t blame him for being scared, too scared and injured to do anything. His reaction is somewhat realistic, especially for his age. And then he goes to tell people something that he shouldn’t have been a witness to. I can only imagine how much courage he had to work up to say anything, to calmly explain what exactly he saw. And what happens? They get angry with HIM for not doing anything.

But the thing that ultimately sealed my trust in what he said?

THIS. He’s on the ground, CRYING, clear regret in his face that he should’ve helped Yuhon. Suwon hasn’t been shown to have cried over his father, but Keishuk here IS. And I think this is the first time he’s been shown to express such emotions. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he blamed himself for Yuhon dying, and he shouldn’t. He at least was able to come back alive to even tell anyone else, that’s more then enough.