dnf at 21%. the language being used between the korean and japanese characters was racially charged, which i imagine is realistic for yakuza and kkangpae/geondal. the problem was my increasing concern over the author being japanese or korean to at least provide cultural context and nuance to offensive racial insults their characters were using. after deep diving on reviews and the author, i've found this isn't particularly a romance novel so much as gay fiction and the author, while having a japanese last name, doesn't (anywhere publicly at least) identify as being japanese. so it's just a no from me.