Tied to You, Vol. 3

Tied to You #3

by What (Artist), Micah Kim (Translator), Chi Bui (Letterer)

Now aware of the memory-altering consequences of getting the Ring removed, Wooseo and Jigeon are stuck at an impasse. But when Wooseo pushes the idea, worried of being a burden, a truth comes out: Jigeon has serious feelings for Wooseo. Realizing they’re both suffering the pain of one-sided love, Wooseo can’t stop thinking about his partner...And Jiseok, fed up with watching his brother and best friend dance around each other, decides to reveal another earth-shattering truth. “I know you have feelings for me, Wooseo.”

Genres: LGBT, Manga, Manhwa, Romance, Graphic Novels, Boys Love, Fantasy

306 pages, Paperback

Published November 19, 2024

Reviews

[Michelle Easton · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much manipulation has been happening and I’m not surprised. Jigeon loves Wooseo and he refuses to lose him to Jiseok. He’s done so much to ensure that he gets his man that I have to applaud him and hope they get together in the end.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well this dialed the angst up to an eleven.

[Frank Chillura (OhYouRead) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ummmm… what happened to the sudden personality changes? This felt weird.

[L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This should be marketed less as a BL romance and more as a horror story. Because my god, I am reading a horror story.

My reviews on the other volumes mentioned how manipulative the relationship felt, how much I wished Jigeon would take the time to build an authentic connection with Wooseo, and how much I wanted Wooseo to realize what was happening.

And my god all of that was an understatement.

Jigeon is a master of manipulation. Not only is he completely manipulating Wooseo's emotions, he's manipulating everyone around him into playing the roles he needs them to in order to control Wooseo's emotional state and thoughts about him. And it is so, so terrifying to read -- how much influence he has over others, how much he knows about how Wooseo thinks, how much he can control Wooseo's actions and thoughts by acting certain ways or being seeing in specific lights. It is down right scary -- to the point where I cannot root for their relationship at all because even if he wins Wooseo over, he will have won him over completely based on emotions and thoughts he manipulated into existence, and that is such a scary thought.

I don't know how Wooseo and Jigeon can truly be the end game relationship, and I can only hope that somehow Wooseo finds out everything Jigeon's been doing -- but even if he does, I don't know if he will believe it, considering how much he has been manipulated up to that point... really, I can only hope that, if Wooseo and Jigeon are end game, they DO go through with the ring removal, they both lose all their memories of each other, and Jigeon finds all his notes about Wooseo and becomes SO HORRIFIED at himself and his actions that he decides to pursue him authentically and truthfully.

Now, I find this story down right terrifying and, frankly, upsetting to read. But I'm still giving it four stars because fuck if it's not compelling as hell and so well written. Like, it's terrifying BECAUSE it's so well written. I just really hope a completely fabricated and manipulated relationship isn't the real endgame. 'Cause. Yikes.

[Asya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those two brothers are insane especially the older one But does that keep me from enjoying the drama?! No
Is any of this healthy?! Hell no
Do I love it?! Hell yes

I know that none of this is healthy and the ML is manipulative but my reviews are based on enjoyment and I enjoyed the drama

If unhealthy relationships and manipulation are not up your alley you will not like this and that’s okay

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an interesting story that I'm so torn about.

I blubbered like a baby through the first half, maybe, of this volume, thinking with relief that this is the Jigeon I'm rooting for. He loves Wooseo with his entire heart, so genuinely and fully that if Wooseo really did choose Jiseok, Jigeon would step aside for the two of them and let his memories be wiped so they can be happy.

It's devastating and beautiful and not something I'd want to happen, but his love for Wooseo is so pure and true that he'd sacrifice himself to give Wooseo whatever he wanted.

...Which is exactly how he's twisting Wooseo's feelings around his finger, along with that red threaded ring!!

At this point, there are really only two things saving Jigeon from feeling like a complete sociopath. One is that he does truly love Wooseo; he did long before they had the soulmate connection, and he truly (as far as I can tell) did wipe Wooseo out of his life to step aside and not serve as any sort of competition or distraction from his brother.

Once the Ring entered the picture, it was a sign from the heavens that they were meant to be together, which kicked off his current plans to do everything in his power to correct his past mistakes and ensure Wooseo has a really solid chance of falling in love with him. That's all reasonable. Maybe if he hadn't backed off after the college entrance exams, Wooseo might've eventually developed feelings for him anyway? The Ring doesn't just form out of nowhere, and Jigeon didn't force that into existence.

The second is that that Jiseok isn't coming across much better than his brother at this point. While Jigeon is manipulating him into situations, he is right in what he told Jiseok: ultimately it's his decision whether to run down the path Jigeon set him on. So while Jigeon is smarter and more calculating than Jiseok, it's still Jiseok's decision to confess when and how he does, and to do far worse on his own...like digging up a way to forcibly break Wooseo's Ring connection with his brother and wipe their memories.

That look of terror on Jigeon's face wasn't part of his act, or at least I don't think so...while he recovered quickly and put new plans into motion to make this work in his favor, too, it's pretty horrific that Jiseok was trying to take the decision out of Wooseo's hands.

So really, both brothers are kind of struggling right now. I guess my big hope is just that Jigeon eventually comes clean with Wooseo so he can make a fully informed decision about his own feelings.

It does seem like there's potential there; Jigeon has been hinting at it, and making references in his inner monologue about giving Wooseo sneak peeks of his true nature, before revealing his full, true self to him. So I'm assuming/hoping that will be one of the big climaxes. Really hard to know how both brothers can come out of this okay, though. It feels like Wooseo's relationship with one of them will have to be pretty strongly damaged. And the brothers themselves are rapidly becoming real enemies. (Is their sister going to ever come back into the picture?)

I would've loved the series if Jigeon truly had been as pure and kind and generous and selfless as Wooseo thinks he is. But it's true that all this calculation and manipulation and angst makes it a really intriguing plot.

Loved the metaphor with the roses and Jigeon's desperate desire to be loved. I do see lots of glimpses in this volume of Wooseo recognizing certain things about Jigeon's true nature that maybe he could've appreciated and responded to earlier on if Jigeon could've just been honest with him...

But we'll see.

[Bibliothecat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review for complete series

I was on the fence of picking this up but the premise with the read thread of fate being a ring of fate and doesn't let you sleep without your destined one was interesting enough for me to pick it up. Additionally, it's been over a decade since I've last picked up a Korean work and, while I prefer black and white, it's nice to read a full colour work from time to time.

I will say that the premise lived up to its promise and was interesting, well thought out and left no loopholes. My issue largely lies with the characters. This was painfully obvious set up to be a love triangle and, unlike many, I don't even mind those. But it does become an issue if all three involved aren't particularly engaging characters. First and foremost, we have Woosea as the main character who finds himself between two brothers are as much unalike as they are alike. The problem is that Wooseo is the most bland character I have read about in a long time. Ask me to describe his personality to him and I would utterly fail. Just the blandest of bland that makes me wonder all the more why not only one but two brothers are fighting over him.

Jiseok is Wooseo's long term best friend - while Jiseok is entirely oblivious to it, Wooseo has been in love with him for years (and he was too bland for me to care). On the other hand, there is Jiseok's older brother Jigeon who has also had am unrequited crush on Wooseo for years. Things become complicated when Jigeon and Wooseo turn out to be connected by fate rings and can now no longer sleep unless they are near each other. Lots of drama follows and especially manipulation: that's the main character trait of both brothers. Now Jigeon is meant to be the manipulative and toxic one in this scenario but Jiseok fell somewhere in between: he was another brand of bland with a sprinkle of manipulativeness that must have rubbed off from his brother. At the end of the day, despite his underhand methods, Jigeon was just about the only character I found interesting in this whole scenario.

Although it was nice to read a full colour series for a change, I didn't love the art. The faces were largely nicely drawn although I wasn't a huge fan of the chibi variations. I wouldn't say the proportions were off but the author wrapped them in such baggy and stiff clothes that left the body very undefined which just made the whole art feel very stilted and lifeless.

I could have really enjoyed this premise had the characters been more interesting. As it is, it just felt terribly boring and I felt nothing towards any of the characters.

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mina seems to just be along for the ride and entertainment at this point, though this doesn't seem to be a downside to her. Meanwhile, both of the brothers are determined to win over Wooseo, but they're definitely coming from very different places here. It's interesting how Wooseo sees similarities between his own situation and Jigeon. As much as Jigeon seems to be plotting and planning to win the game, it's difficult to cheer for Jiseok as he really does come across like an entitled child losing his favorite toy, just as Wooseo observes. Jigeon seems to be the only one concerned with what Wooseo is going through, but also in his own interests as of course he's playing for keeps. This connector character is another unexpected and unusual twist. Given his preface before, it seems odd that he would meet with Jiseok at all, let alone so quickly after how long it took for Wooseo to get any response, and he actually does have a ring.

[Max Kerstetter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m still not entirely sure if I like or hate this series. The concept is so cute. Realizing you love someone who’s been there all along. I also don’t mind the aspect of Jiseok being jealous and maybe using wooseos feelings for him to try and make him choose. Ultimately Jigeons behavior is just too much for me, with the tracking and lying and threats to his brother. It’s just a lot.

[nza · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

[Nothing · Rating 3 out of 5]

nope

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mom pick me up, I'm scared.

The personality changes? I feel like I'm reading a horror book now.

[Eke · Rating 3 out of 5]

imagine beefing wih your brother who's 7 years your junior so hard over a crush, i can't-

[HaileyAnne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wooseo really needs to just get away from these two because they are terrible. Any redeeming qualities Jigeon had are ruined in this volume. I hate everything.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uuuuhm that was kinda creepy and soooo many red flags. Let’s see the next book though. I’m kinda anxious now 😳

[Isel · Rating 4 out of 5]

He's such a manipulative britch 😂

[Maddison Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sweetpeas 😔

[Elaine White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This just gets more and more twisted!

I absolutely LOVE Jigeon. He's such a master manipulator but, like Wooseo is slowly starting to realise, I think his feelings for Wooseo are genuine. Jiseok is just a jealous, possessive friend and his friends - like Wooseo says - are just selfish and insincere. While Jigeon is seriously underhanded, I love him and his way of thinking.

I can't wait for Volume 4. I've already pre-ordered my paperback.