Uh, I don't have much to say about this novel. Please take my reviews with a sprinkle of salts, because it's only due to my own personal judgment. I have read this novel until the 3rd case, which is around chapter 40 or something I forgot the exact chapter, and what made me stop reading this novel and put it down is because of my impression towards the ML.

The MC is good, has an interesting character setting, and unlike other OP MCs, the MC here really is just a normal person, working hard to think to solve the case and escape the bloody mu*der mystery, without any additional cheat ability or luck. Even his background setting and his past are very interesting. In my opinion, MC here really put the novel in a real sense.

Towards the ML, however, my impression towards him was worn down already in the second case. The first thing that I found disagreeable towards him is how: He, likes the MC, but when the MC who was from the start has always been showing as a straight man gave a look that he felt repulsed by homosexual, the ML went dejected, got angry, felt sad, and ran away, waiting to be coaxed.

I mean, oh, I understand that the ML must have felt sad because the MC whom he somehow fancy is actually repulsed with the homosexual. The sad feeling must have been worse than just knowing the person you like didn't like you back.

Even so, his action of running away is definitely a coward.

I don't know, it felt like the ML's action make it seems as if it's the MC's fault that he felt repulsed by homosexuals, but in fact, we really can't judge someone who was repulsed by homosexuals as bad. Because just like how gay become gay for many reasons, those who are repulsed by homosexuality also has many reasons to be repulsed.

Meanwhile, the MC, despite having the feeling of being repulsed of homosexuals, has never done or said something bad towards gay themselves, neither hating them nor mocking them. Not inside his mind, and of course not in words or action.

By running away I feel like the ML was being biased and judgemental towards the MC as a person who felt repulsed of homosexuality. It's as if, the ML directly judged the MC simply seemed to be repulsive to the topic of homosexuality hence he must be a person who felt repulsed to all gays.

But, he never consider the reason why the MC felt repulsed, to begin with. Disregarding anything, the ML fell into a depressing state, sulking, sad, avoiding the MC, and definitely showing a blatant action that "Hey, I have something on my mind, and I'm avoiding you now. You should realize that I'm avoiding you, so you can coax me here."

His running away makes the MC feel bad and felt the need to coax him, thus revealing his painful past of why he felt repulsed towards homosexuals, that is because his father was a drag queen. An irresponsible scum at that! Running away with his boyfriend after marrying MC's mother, and having a child with her simply to continue the bloodline of his family. Additionally, the MC once had almost been harassed by a gay mol*ster in a public place.

ML's actions have successfully made the MC not only : recall those painful and perhaps even shameful memories, but even has to SAY IT OUTRIGHT towards a person he met in just 3 days in a God knows what environment, in order to coax the ML and let him understands the MC did not hate all gays.

Wow, oh wow. I feel indignant toward this kind of ML!

What do you think will happen if the MC's past that makes him feel repulsed towards homosexuals was because he has been r*ped by one?

The ML's childish and whimsical action will successfully force the MC to recall his painful past when he's being humiliated! And would have successfully forced him to tell a secret he should not have said towards someone he knew in only 3 days!

I feel like the ML is, very much, disappointing by this point.

Despite being said as a third-generation, an executive, a business tycoon, etc, his mentality felt too childish in my opinion, oh no it should be immature I suppose? Because sometimes someone who is childish in nature can actually be mature in thinking and mentality.

I wonder, if the MC is not smart and observant, thus realizing the ML might have misunderstood his reaction, what would happen?

If the MC is slightly less observant, then know nothing about what happened and what the ML had been thinking, suddenly the next day the ML avoiding him, treating him differently, or even worse alienating him, what would the MC feel by then?

The MC is someone who has PTSD, his family is kind of chaotic, and he also has mild if not serious mental problems. With that kind of past, when the ML suddenly avoided him without any CLEAR reason, how much pressure would the MC feel by then? He might be thinking: what did he do wrong, what happened, is something wrong with him, etc.

If the MC is slightly less observant towards the ML throughout the day as well, the ML's IMMATURE action of being prejudiced, running away, and waiting to be coaxed, might hurt the MC deeper!

This kind of action got me annoyed, because, the ML is the gay man who falls in love with the MC. Knowing that the MC is straight, he must have understood what kind of possibility to fall in love with a straight man, right? And yet, despite everything, his action when the MC showed a hint that he felt repulsed toward homosexuals, the ML made it feel like the MC has hurt the ML, the ML make it as if the MC is the bad guy for not being a gay, and for being repulsed.

Does he think everyone should be gay!? Does he think everyone should be understanding towards homosexuals!? Does he think everyone who felt repulsed by homosexuals is a bad person!?

To be honest, the ML acted exactly like a gay who was being biased that every person who felt repulsed by homosexuality is bad, without considering what kind of reasons they felt repulsed in the first place. It irked me so much.

Lastly, is the ML's action to play dead, yeah that's right, playing dead by pretending to be drowned in a lake.

This action itself has been played often, I understand that this kind of joke is kind of normal in some sense. However! This joke can only be done towards those who are close to you, who have known you for a long time, and you have known them for a long time as well, for the joke to be considered normal.

For ML to play this kind of joke towards MC, whom he only met a few days ago, a person he didn't even know what occupation did he have, it's really..... exasperating and honestly, making me wonder about his immature mentality or if perhaps he's simply imbecile.

This, once again makes me doubt ML's past about being an executive in a company, about being smart, etc, because his action showed that he's having difficulty in interpersonal relationships, showing how ML lacks so much EQ!

For example, you can joke to kick and slap your best friend whom you know for years or for quite some time. But, you absolutely can not joke to kick and slap someone whom you only met for 3 days, because it's considered rude. You can kick and slap your best friend because both of you have already understood each other, but towards someone new, you can't do that, because what if that person has mysophobia and did not like touching others? What if that person has some kind of disease that would cause a danger when being kicked or slapped? etc.

That's one of example how a person maintains their interpersonal relationship. So, when the ML pretended to be drowned, when he didn't know anything about MC's past, is the proof that he's lacking in that department.

I know, with that being said, the ML felt more real instead, with his several weakness.

However, once again, this kind of ML is not my cup of tea.

I'm reading a novel to satisfy my desire to read a fascinating scenario, not a scenario where I constantly frowned and felt dissatisfied towards the character. This is just my pure opinion and review of this novel's character.

As for the plot, well, the author is really good to write a simple case-solving into an entirely different taste, so I give my praise for that. The case itself, however, perhaps because I'm a mystery and horror literature lover, the case in this novel until the 3rd case, is not that fascinating to me since I have read many other more mind-blowing cases.

My 4 star is dedicated towards how the author is able to write something with a different taste and towards the translator's effort.

Let's say that the card in the game give the characters a role to 'act' and there is so many rules to follow to the point you will feel pointless. It give a loophole for 'players' during the 'act scenarios' the 'player or actors' talk about their role that you will feel that there something wrong but you don't know where?

Just give me a feeling of... 'what's the point of 'acting' if you share with others? There no exciting going on. Useless for 'me' there no feeling for 'mystery and horror' boring.