#choisol

- Confronts Soleum without being considerate, is overpowered, none of his words are believed. Makes the situation worse for Soleum. Feeling guilty, he buys an apology drink, but doubts himself and crosses out his words. Then, he…. leaves to go mountaineering and ask a supernatural being to help remove Soleum’s affliction.

- rushes back across multiple cities immediately after climbing a mountain for the sake of saving Soleum

- saves Soleum without Soleum’s consent (or informing him), then regrets because the outcome isn’t what he wanted

- pacing around outside, anxious, unable to do anything, pestering others about Soleum’s condition (what is this, a hospital arc?)

- Choi’s mood improves when Soleum is released and he happily waits to see him. Then, he finds a goodbye letter. Upon reading it, he slams the door open and chases after…. Nothing. Is completely unable to stop Soleum from leaving

~ part 2 ~

- months pass as he thinks about Soleum, trying to find info about the wish. Upon getting a potential hint, he immediately contacts the enemy to get more info

- gets the info, chases after, and just barely misses Soleum even though Soleum is right in front of him, hahahahaha

- finds out he missed Soleum, regrets more, goes on a dangerous outing with the enemy

- finds Soleum, immediately loses him, instantly ready to sacrifice his own self in order to kill the perpetrator

- treats Soleum more carefully, doesn’t probe as much as he did before, actively stops others from probing too much. Like he doesn’t want to scare Soleum off? And I’m not sure (need to reread to check) but it feels like Choi is more tactile with Soleum, as compared to part 1. Aka,,, regretful lead treating more carefully in overcompensation for past mistakes

- Finds out Soleum is a friends with a dangerous entity. Really worried, angry, stressed that Soleum keeps putting himself in danger, but can’t bring himself to scold Soleum for any of it, feeling like he doesn’t have the right to scold. Wants to separate Soleum from the danger, but can’t

- loses Soleum again, with another goodbye letter. Loses sleep, goes back to the well, stares into the well with blank eyes, wondering if he should try to join Soleum

- tries really hard to help, but due to a lack of trust between the two of them, only ends up harming

- Loses Soleum again x2, takes care of the comatose body for months and months, just wanting him to wake up. During these months, prepares himself for a fate worse than death

- wants to sacrifice himself, tries to be honest and vulnerable, leading to another argument with Soleum where they both decide to go their own routes

- is, in fact, unable to sacrifice himself (no matter how much he wants to)

- despite his desires and preparations, his plans don’t come to fruition, but it’s okay so long as everything ends well and Soleum is alive. Things are looking up!

- Soleum immediately stops being alive

- holds Soleum’s melting body in his arms until there’s nothing left to hold. Gathers the melted remains

- their last meaningful conversation was, I think, the argument

- in the end, regrets are meaningless, and there’s no opportunities to apologize or make up for past wrongs. All he can do is try to fulfill Soleum’s final wish, and watch as Soleum leaves

~ end of part 2 ~

There’s no need for a wife chasing AU fanfic when canon is the wife chasing story… Choi didn’t even bully Soleum, he jumped straight to the “regretful male lead” part.

Notes

* I haven’t done a reread of part 2 yet, so some details or the order may be wrong (hopefully not, but…)

* for the above reason, there’s likely some stuff I’ve forgotten that would fit this list. Will likely update in the far future after rereading! If there’s anything you think of please lmk~