- #1
The premise of this story was interesting, but I just couldn't handle the characters 1/4 of the way through.Perhaps I've read too many novels with the "switched at birth" trope, but this novel creates an especially unpleasant MC. I guess because she has routinely switched places with the ML throughout her life, she handles her problems in a very stereotypical male-cancer kind of way. She is stoic and un-communicative about what she actually wants or feels. She tells everyone she doesn't care or doesn't want something but then quietly throws people away when they don't realize she actually does care and does want something. I don't particularly like the dad, but he is right - they've been trying to treat her as well as they can, why doesn't she try to understand their situation? What do they actually owe her? It's the person who switched her that owes her, but somehow she seems to get more disgusted by her biological family than the maid. What's wrong with trying to promote a consensual relationship that could benefit the family business? What's wrong with not arranging a private driver immediately? What's wrong with trying to have a conversion during dinner? I was quite baffled by these secret scores that the MC seemed to be calculating. The author tries to portray her as forced into reciprocating her family's indifference, but her brother and mother seem to actually care for her. Or at least try to care for her. It's sort of hard to do that though when the person they're trying to interact with has already scored them and found them lacking.Then, the MC mentions wanting to not owe too much and be on equal footing with the ml, but she was never in equal footing. Everything impressive about her is because switching bodies gave her an opportunity to learn through his resources. He regularly helps her out, and she regularly contributes her diligence to burnishing his image. Before she was accepted into her biological family, she had no hope of actually living in his circle without his help. After being taken back home, she at least is in his same school, but still doesn't have the same freedom as he does.I also think this story's focus on superficial things like appearances, money, and status was over-the-top in a boring way. Intelligence isn't really a quality that anyone values or possesses in this story.Anyways, the translations are fine, but I just couldn't finish this story.
