Frostbite Chapter 22 Discussion

I read this around the time where there were only 20 or so chapters translated but now that there are a few more piled up I have no motivation to continue reading, this obviously is just my personal opinion on why I dropped this novel.

The MC- I don't like him, my first impression of him is that he's shallow, and I have no problems with that tbh, since it's mostly humorous and makes perfect sense considering he's a teenager, also he's only shallow in context of crushes, he treats everyone decently, but he's only romantically interested in people he finds attractive, so there is no harm done, the real problem I have with him comes up when he does get a crush on someone, and how he acts towards his crush.

The MC practically fell at first sight, and this starts a one-sided relationship where all the MC does is obsess over a guy who hasn't spoken a full sentence to him, he's got no real friends other than one girl he talks to on occasion, no real hobbies other than staring at the ML and doing this weird thing where he assigns the ML points based on idk how attractive he finds him..??? Or whenever the ML does something he likes, like saying a word to him, it's kinda creepy imagine if someone you did not know was out here rating you like that, and I really don't like how the ML is the center of the MC's life before they ever even had an actual bond. All that because he finds the ML hot, ik he's a teenager but bffr.

All that is annoying but not enough to make me hate him as a character, the worst part of him reveals himself when he sees something in the ML he doesn't like or finds unattractive, it's what really made me lose all respect for him. He saw cigarette burn scars on the ML and I kid you not, this guy sees that and proceeds to subtract points from him?????? Like hello?? That's so gross, why the hell is he treating the ML like a piece of meat to be rated??? Imagine looking at scars on someone's body and judging them like that, I don't think even his age can save him here, because what the f*ck, most of the times cigarette burns are from ab*se, child ab*se in this case but for some reason the MC assumes they are self-inflicted (iirc) which is just as bad because why the hell would you judge someone for that, later the ML does admit to self-harming by cutting his neck, which sounds very serious and what the hell does the MC do? Subtract points in his head. That's wild. He seems to lack empathy and cares more about the fact that his object of lust is not as convenient/easy to obsess after because he's literally suffering.

I'm convinced the MC has Limerence based on how obsessive he is, but he seems to be much more obsessed with his idea of the ML rather than seeing the ML for who he is, I vaguely remember the time the MC speculated the ML might have a stutter but then began coping against the idea as if having a stutter is some sort of crime, imagine if it was true, now imagine having a speech impediment and some mf you simply sit next to and have barely spoken to starts judging you for it, it's hypocritical too, the MC is gay, he can't change that and it's something completely harmless, yet people in his previous school judged him for it and rightfully he finds that annoying, but does he not see his own hypocrisy for judging someone for potentially having a stutter?

I really feel for the ML since he's very obviously a victim of child ab*se and by process of elimination he's the most likeable character, he's understandably very closed off but when he reaches out and actually takes initiative to get close to the MC, sit with him, walk to school with him, listen to him, text him, it’s actually really touching, he’s trying to trust again and he’s so cute in the way he communicates it, it’s really f*cking tragic because I wonder what he would think if he knew how the MC has been thinking about him all this time, I really want him to find a real friend not someone who wouldn't even glance his way if he wasn't good looking.

All that aside the novel has some things that were enjoyable too, there isn't much of a plot since this is a slice of life, but I actually enjoy more character focused stories. The setting is pretty lowkey I like that too. The ML is interesting and it's really sweet when he finally responds to the MC's attempts to get closer, I appreciate when the MC took away the ML cigarettes so he doesn't get in trouble, that was probably the best thing he's done for him.

Now this is just my interpretation of the characters, and since I have dropped this novel it's completely possible that the MC has a great redemption arc where he realizes his flaws and overcomes them and every problem I had with him was purposely set up so it would get fixed later, but I have no interest in finding out since most of the times expecting the problematic elements in these novels to get addressed later on has only disappointed me and wasted my time.