EPISODE RECAP
Continuing their conversation from last episode, Ash admits that he had never imagined someone of Karlyle’s stature would be treated the way his grandfather treated him. He had imagined that Karlyle was raised like a little prince. Karlyle tells Ash that it’s okay, but Ash persists. He grabs Karlyle’s face, squeezing his cheeks, and says that for the time being he won’t believe Karlyle when he says he’s fine.
Karlyle continues, telling Ash that it’s okay now that he has his lover by his side. Ash becomes a bit downtrodden and anxious. He asks whether Karlyle’s sure he’s been good to him, admitting that he’s afraid of the answer. Ash is sure that he must have unintentionally hurt Karlyle in the past with his words.
Karlyle doesn’t say it aloud, but in his thoughts, he does admit that some things Ash has said have been hurtful. However, since the two started dating, this hasn’t been the case. Ash is the reason Karlyle has been able to experience emotions he’s never felt before. He’s so thankful for Ash. The eldest Frost son tells his partner that he’s never had anyone to rely on before Ash and that he’s so happy to have met him.
After hearing such touching words, with tears in his eyes, Ash gently caresses Karlyle and kisses him. However, just like earlier in the day, Ash begins to pull back. Karlyle, on the other hand, has other ideas. Holding Ash against the counter, Karlyle looks him straight in the eye and asks if he wants to get washed up together.
MY TAKEAWAYS
The only time I can think of Ash saying something to hurt Karlyle was of course that scene, and he wasn’t even trying to be intentionally hurtful. Even so, what he said was pretty brutal, especially with how Karlyle was feeling at the time of their sudden breakup. Oh wait… I just remembered the “other alphas” comment. Those words were also pretty hurtful for Karlyle, despite Ash once again not having any malicious intent behind them. So I appreciate Ash’s self-awareness here. To me, it’s just more proof of just how much he loves Karlyle.
I believe this is the first time we’ve seen Karlyle take the lead. He knew, from their conversation earlier that day, that Ash was about to stop them from going any further since he’s still afraid he’ll hurt Karlyle again. It’s a refreshing change to see Karlyle take charge. Sometimes I forget that he’s also an alpha since he tends to be the more submissive one in their relationship, but there’s no question about it this episode.
SPOILER FOR NEXT ARC BELOW.
With the way this episode ended, I suspect the next few will be full of sexy times. After all, this is a 19+ BL manhwa and they haven’t had any truly racy scenes since about episode 42. It’s long overdue. That also means, I won’t be covering this series for a few weeks until those scenes are over.
After that though, I bet the next arc will cover the “Manual for Ash Jones” side story of DTR. And…. whew, let me tell you it’s going to be intense (not in a bad way, of course). If I remember correctly, Karlyle and Ash have an argument, one of their first major disagreements since they started officially dating, and after that Karlyle finds Ash in his rut. And believe me when I say Karlyle barely makes it out alive.
SERIES DETAILS
Original Title: 디파인 더 릴레이션십
Author(s): Flona / Haeyun
Artist: Chada
English Publisher: Lezhin
Audience: NSFW
