Around chapter 60, he just straight up r*pes MC. Like, in that way you typically see in J-novels and such. The blatant coercion, pushing forcefully past boundaries, not listening to MC asking him to stop.... The whole 9 yards. Originally, MC took meds that would "help the process along, " presumably a muscle relaxant and aphrodisiac of some sort. After this, ML continues to assault him, with MC deluded by either medically enhanced or genuine pleasure. He f*cks MC so often that he's actually missing meals, waking up hours later in discomfort and absolutely ravenous. He also continues to ignore the boundaries MC tries to set. Here's an excerpt, removing all but the dialogue to keep it succinct:

• • MC: "I'm going to sleep. Really don't touch me today."

• • ML: "Okay"

• • ML: "I just have to hold back until midnight, right?"

• • MC: "How can you say that? We agreed not to do anything today!"

• • Ml: "So that's today. In an hour it'll be tomorrow, right?"

Oh my God.

He proceeds to touch him at 12:01. Of course. And this is just an ongoing thing.

Occasionally ML has regained his memories very briefly, but when this happens in MC's presence, he always ends up hurt. The last time this happens (at time of review) ML realizes he must have done something and pesters MC about it to figure it out. He even asks "Or did I force myself on you when you said no?" And I was amazed at the sheer gall of that question.

The ML's memory loss is only the first arc of the story. It really takes off after he gets it back. After that and the (thankfully short) awkward, angsty transition arc, all of the things I disliked about the ML (the immaturity, the manipulativeness, the selfishness) all fall away and he becomes probably my favorite esper ML, ever. He's sweet and doting and utterly obsessed with the MC's physical and emotional well-being. After nearly a decade of being completely emotionally cut-off, he's painfully and at times adorably awkward in his affection, but entirely earnest. The MC is a chaotic mess of emotions, but always quickly works out what he really wants and then goes for it wholeheartedly.

The soft yandere ML comes into play in his extreme overprotectiveness and occasional possessive tendencies, which is honestly understandable given the fact that the poor boy is an entire layered cake of trauma and loss. If the first arc is uncovering the ML's trauma, the last two-thirds of it are he and the MC figuring out how to live with it (as opposed to bottling it up) and fall in love in spite of it. It's not one of those stories where love magically heals all wounds, and both characters have to work for their happy ending, something I really appreciated.

The side stories where we finally get the ML's pov are absolute gold. I cried.

The MC likes it rough. He often says contradictory things like "No. Yes." or "Wait. Faster." all in the same breath but he is enthusiastic in pursuing s*x with the ML and often initiates or eggs him on. At one point he has a wet dream of the ML in which they have s*x so rough he "can't tell if what he was feeling was pain or pleasure". The ML, for his part, often checks in and waits/backs off as needed. It's even addressed in the ML's pov side story that he's aware of the MC's preferences and has to be careful to make sure he's not actually hurting him.

Despite how frustrating it is that ML does not remember his time with MC once he regains his memories, I thought it was a good narrative choice since MC first met ML as a cold and collected leader, and the younger ML did the leg work to connect their hearts, so it was nice to see the older/current ML and MC have to work through their complicated relationship without those memories. Thus we see MC start to love the ML as his present self too, as well as ML with all his trauma having to accept his feelings that a younger him would have easily embraced.