first of all i feel like its important to mention that there are many sites where this book is listed as a BL, when its really not. there is no romance in this book just as a heads up if you started reading it originally for that. still, even though its never explicitly stated, there are Many hints and many moments that make it obvious in their own ways but you do have to look past the unreliable narration (which this book is full of btw). there is like no other explanation for yoo joonghyuk to (spoilers redacted) do what he did just for the chance to meet that one guy again :/ not very heterosexual of them idk :/
this is just kind of a warning that if you are looking for an Explicit romance that you won't find it here.

anyway i cant believe i finished this monster of a book. by the end i really couldn't put it down but at the same time didn't want it to end. even though the translation i was reading wasn't always great, somehow i ended up getting suckered into this world and its characters and the FOUND FAMILY (UGH!). was this book good? i think the fact that i somehow didn't lose interest through 6000+ pages is a testament to the quality itself. magical realism + action + dystopian stories are normally not my scenes either but somehow i ended enjoying it anyway. A+ female characters also. it's definitely not perfect and i'm sure it's not for everyone but i personally had a great time. this book was very meta by nature and weirdly enough it made me feel appreciated to be a reader (iykyk) and i think it'll absolutely stay with me for a long time.

edit: wait i know that i said this isn't a BL but then i remembered how early in the book yjh gets jealous and storms off when he thinks kdj was kissed by someone else and then the whole kdj will be killed by the person he loves most (which turns out to be yjh) so Hm. maybe don't listen to me. there's definitely something lgbt happening in this book but just maybe not Extremely explicit was my point.