8bitdetective

Oh! I responded to this before a long time ago—it was answered in an official QnA but my personal interpretation mixes that with something else: it’s the sheer fact that they Are equals. That’s something that never changed between them, and just how On The Stage foreshadows a lot of their relationship, it also gives context to things that were mentioned in the supplemental material. 

I haven’t slept yet, so sorry if this is messy or rambly or doesn’t make sense

Here are previous posts before I start to yammer (that I can find):

https://x.com/8bitdetective/status/1940257558734020646

https://x.com/8bitdetective/status/1890714159278334454

https://x.com/8bitdetective/status/1898755640354361406

We can cut this into two parts: comfort despite vulnerability and to receive weakness

comfort despite vulnerability

Hyuna was always the class president/big sis type that wanted people to feel good. When people tripped in the relay, she held out her hand and lost her first place so they would stop crying; she always directed class games; (anakt kit) and she also is someone who can quickly read the mood and try to salvage it, unlike what her brother thinks (cheers).

Luka and Hyuna were equals, set apart from the rest, and Luka, despite his weakness, could objectively look at Hyuna as a person and see more than a big sister or a class president. It is because to Luka, Hyuna who has always been his only objective, was someone who had given him understanding and therefore he had wanted to understand her in turn—which is why she had felt comfortable enough with luka to confide in him about her feelings of being oppressed and only having freedom on stage, that she also passively withstood her surroundings to be obedient (for Hyunwoo’s sake, which is why she starts to misbehave after his death). It was that genuine desire to understand her, to know her, to see her without judgment that had meant a lot to her, even though she was aware that luka had a hard time managing those things. She’s a ‘yes girl’ in all universes, and you can feel it tangibly in their anakt days, so there must’ve been some level of comfort there.

it’s a very different way from how other humans approach hyuna—idolization where she can do no wrong (the rest of the class) or idolization where she’s treated as too kind to form her own opinions and boundaries (hyunwoo). It’s also worth noting that hyunwoo holds high standards and regard for hyuna, and a lot of his anxiety that’s shown in things like the second anniversary medical set hadn’t been because he was worried about her, but because he has separation anxiety and canonly hated to be away from her, especially because he doesn’t naturally get along with other people compared to hyuna.

Luka’s love of her, even her unpalatable parts and her rare solemn sides, means a lot to her. Right after Hyuna confesses that she also feels trapped, Luka ‘claims’ her still, which she tries to play off by teasing him.

this is also partially why Luka’s kiss in all in was startling to her—she was pushed into a submissive position under someone who had always treated her as an equal. They two people devoured by the roles of humanity and segyein, finding respite with each other, and that was disturb. In other cases, hyuna put herself in places where luka could ‘take’ from her of her own free will, like offering to sleep with him or putting herself in his lap, or choosing to play with him, or picking his side over and over—luka had pushed for more and more until that order was disrupted by dominance that was ingrained into him and the form his displays of affection were turned by his studies.

Even in wiege, we see Hyuna’s vulnerability with luka-she’s stifling her mouth, trying not to cry in front of him, but being unable to help herself, expecially in ARISE. That past desire for deeper connection is still with her, she’s still baring everything for him, still allowing him to ‘comfort’ her—and just like in onthestage, luka is baring witness to it and accepting it, though in all three examples he doesn’t truly understand her and seemingly internalizes her reactions as something that suits his perspective

(Hyuna also cries for Jacob in OURDIVA, however no one in the army sees her cry—with Isaac even comparing her to stone. Even the rebellion does not have full access to Hyuna’s emotions, because even though she’s their leader and she also fell for Jacob’s ideals, because unlike them, Hyuna is working with them for her own ‘selfish’ reasons and personal goals)

receiving weakness 

The canon reason that Hyuna initially fell for luka is because she thought he was weak—Hyuna is a people pleaser, she wants the best for everyone, this connections directly to her ‘yes girl’ trait. (Canonly, hyuna always took care of maladjusted kids, so she would’ve inevitably made her way to luka too) Luka is someone who needs love and needs control, and hyuna needs someone who she can love utterly and someone she can trust to take care of her so she can take a break from being everyone else’s caretaker.

It’s specific to the Japanese version, but she also calls him ‘that beloved, horrible child’ (other languages call him a beautiful monster[kr]/wicked beauty[cn]), and unlike the English version, other versions of ARISE also state ‘I thought the one who couldn’t be forgiven was you—not me.’ compared to English’s ‘because it wasn’t me I couldn’t forgive, it was you.’ the former implying that she had still struggled with hating him despite committing an act that was unforgivable—because Luka’s actions were unforgivable, but Luka himself was not despite wishing that was the case so things would be simpler, specifically due to that weakness she sensed in him ever since he was a child, and that empathy she felt for him that made her want to continually make excuses for him

(It’s worth noting that since luka was likely 14 due to wiege character sheets stating the 50th gen [which were supposed to be 49th gen’s mirrors] in this song were most likely 14-16 and the anakt kit states that luka was going through puberty, despite looking younger in Hyuna’s perspective, which meant hyuna and hyunwoo would likely be around 11–in scrapped storyboards, hyuna reads hyunwoo fairytales at his grave, even though he’s particularly boyish and would be too old for that. due to her guilt and lack of control, she puts herself into a position where she can ‘caretake’, treating his grave as if he were significantly younger in order to accommodate that feeling of loss and the failure she feels as an older sister—she does this with luka as well, imagining him as a child in all in [these are intrusive thoughts that ‘glitch in’ as stated by the patreon storyboards] and thinking of him as a child failed by the world in arise as well. she heavily focuses on the innocence of others due to the desire to protect them and the fact that she has always been adultified. she eventually stops thinking of hyunwoo at all out of guilt and forces herself to stop with luka as well)

That babying of Luka was something that we can talk a lot about (that he enjoyed the attention while also eventually wanting to push past that role to ‘take care of her’ and shower her in the love that she initially gave him, wanting to flip the roles) but she had liked giving luka what he wanted, she found it charming when he did things that other people thought was socially inept, she felt fulfillment in cherishing luka, to the point where her attitude towards hyunwoo had changed, and many of the things that she did for Hyunwoo had been given to luka instead (always hitting people who she thought bullied him, always picking his side despite other people ignoring him, giving him special treatment) and she had never corrected Luka for showing age inappropriate behavior and had wanted other to look past it, and even when hyunwoo was disgusted by it, she ignored him or tuned him out because she wanted to be with luka.

she had liked doing that. She enjoyed being needed by luka until his needs had been required more from her than she gave and then he took what she didn’t offer. She encouraged and looked past a lot of strange behavior prior because she thought it was cute (ex: animate board where hyunwoo calls luka dirty for sucking on his sleeve, but hyuna is charmed by looking at him; his possessiveness; ‘your life is mine’) just as much as she needed someone to be vulnerable with, she was a caretaker first and foremost. and luka needed her, (and would always need her) and would be fulfilled by whatever side she showed to him as long as it was her, even when it was not that perfect image of a class president and big sister.

That weakness in Luka had eased her enough to be vulnerable with him—he was a safe person who wanted her and only her, who wanted anything she offered him. Because luka was weak, she could also be weak in return as they got closer and their relationship developed, so they could form that mutual bond where she could feel respite even if she wasn’t understood. that need fulfillment lead to their equality if that makes sense 

Oh! I responded to this before a long time ago—it was answered in an official QnA but my personal interpretation mixes that with something else: it’s the sheer fact that they Are equals. That’s something that never changed between them, and just how On The Stage foreshadows a lot of their relationship, it also gives context to things that were mentioned in the supplemental material. 

I haven’t slept yet, so sorry if this is messy or rambly or doesn’t make sense

Here are previous posts before I start to yammer (that I can find):

https://x.com/8bitdetective/status/1940257558734020646

https://x.com/8bitdetective/status/1890714159278334454

https://x.com/8bitdetective/status/1898755640354361406

We can cut this into two parts: comfort despite vulnerability and to receive weakness

Hyuna was always the class president/big sis type that wanted people to feel good. When people tripped in the relay, she held out her hand and lost her first place so they would stop crying; she always directed class games; (anakt kit) and she also is someone who can quickly read the mood and try to salvage it, unlike what her brother thinks (cheers).

Luka and Hyuna were equals, set apart from the rest, and Luka, despite his weakness, could objectively look at Hyuna as a person and see more than a big sister or a class president. It is because to Luka, Hyuna who has always been his only objective, was someone who had given him understanding and therefore he had wanted to understand her in turn—which is why she had felt comfortable enough with luka to confide in him about her feelings of being oppressed and only having freedom on stage, that she also passively withstood her surroundings to be obedient (for Hyunwoo’s sake, which is why she starts to misbehave after his death). It was that genuine desire to understand her, to know her, to see her without judgment that had meant a lot to her, even though she was aware that luka had a hard time managing those things. She’s a ‘yes girl’ in all universes, and you can feel it tangibly in their anakt days, so there must’ve been some level of comfort there.

it’s a very different way from how other humans approach hyuna—idolization where she can do no wrong (the rest of the class) or idolization where she’s treated as too kind to form her own opinions and boundaries (hyunwoo). It’s also worth noting that hyunwoo holds high standards and regard for hyuna, and a lot of his anxiety that’s shown in things like the second anniversary medical set hadn’t been because he was worried about her, but because he has separation anxiety and canonly hated to be away from her, especially because he doesn’t naturally get along with other people compared to hyuna.

Luka’s love of her, even her unpalatable parts and her rare solemn sides, means a lot to her. Right after Hyuna confesses that she also feels trapped, Luka ‘claims’ her still, which she tries to play off by teasing him.

this is also partially why Luka’s kiss in all in was startling to her—she was pushed into a submissive position under someone who had always treated her as an equal. They two people devoured by the roles of humanity and segyein, finding respite with each other, and that was disturb. In other cases, hyuna put herself in places where luka could ‘take’ from her of her own free will, like offering to sleep with him or putting herself in his lap, or choosing to play with him, or picking his side over and over—luka had pushed for more and more until that order was disrupted by dominance that was ingrained into him and the form his displays of affection were turned by his studies.

Even in wiege, we see Hyuna’s vulnerability with luka-she’s stifling her mouth, trying not to cry in front of him, but being unable to help herself, expecially in ARISE. That past desire for deeper connection is still with her, she’s still baring everything for him, still allowing him to ‘comfort’ her—and just like in onthestage, luka is baring witness to it and accepting it, though in all three examples he doesn’t truly understand her and seemingly internalizes her reactions as something that suits his perspective

(Hyuna also cries for Jacob in OURDIVA, however no one in the army sees her cry—with Isaac even comparing her to stone. Even the rebellion does not have full access to Hyuna’s emotions, because even though she’s their leader and she also fell for Jacob’s ideals, because unlike them, Hyuna is working with them for her own ‘selfish’ reasons and personal goals)

The canon reason that Hyuna initially fell for luka is because she thought he was weak—Hyuna is a people pleaser, she wants the best for everyone, this connections directly to her ‘yes girl’ trait. (Canonly, hyuna always took care of maladjusted kids, so she would’ve inevitably made her way to luka too) Luka is someone who needs love and needs control, and hyuna needs someone who she can love utterly and someone she can trust to take care of her so she can take a break from being everyone else’s caretaker.

It’s specific to the Japanese version, but she also calls him ‘that beloved, horrible child’ (other languages call him a beautiful monster[kr]/wicked beauty[cn]), and unlike the English version, other versions of ARISE also state ‘I thought the one who couldn’t be forgiven was you—not me.’ compared to English’s ‘because it wasn’t me I couldn’t forgive, it was you.’ the former implying that she had still struggled with hating him despite committing an act that was unforgivable—because Luka’s actions were unforgivable, but Luka himself was not despite wishing that was the case so things would be simpler, specifically due to that weakness she sensed in him ever since he was a child, and that empathy she felt for him that made her want to continually make excuses for him

(It’s worth noting that since luka was likely 14 due to wiege character sheets stating the 50th gen [which were supposed to be 49th gen’s mirrors] in this song were most likely 14-16 and the anakt kit states that luka was going through puberty, despite looking younger in Hyuna’s perspective, which meant hyuna and hyunwoo would likely be around 11–in scrapped storyboards, hyuna reads hyunwoo fairytales at his grave, even though he’s particularly boyish and would be too old for that. due to her guilt and lack of control, she puts herself into a position where she can ‘caretake’, treating his grave as if he were significantly younger in order to accommodate that feeling of loss and the failure she feels as an older sister—she does this with luka as well, imagining him as a child in all in [these are intrusive thoughts that ‘glitch in’ as stated by the patreon storyboards] and thinking of him as a child failed by the world in arise as well. she heavily focuses on the innocence of others due to the desire to protect them and the fact that she has always been adultified. she eventually stops thinking of hyunwoo at all out of guilt and forces herself to stop with luka as well)

That babying of Luka was something that we can talk a lot about (that he enjoyed the attention while also eventually wanting to push past that role to ‘take care of her’ and shower her in the love that she initially gave him, wanting to flip the roles) but she had liked giving luka what he wanted, she found it charming when he did things that other people thought was socially inept, she felt fulfillment in cherishing luka, to the point where her attitude towards hyunwoo had changed, and many of the things that she did for Hyunwoo had been given to luka instead (always hitting people who she thought bullied him, always picking his side despite other people ignoring him, giving him special treatment) and she had never corrected Luka for showing age inappropriate behavior and had wanted other to look past it, and even when hyunwoo was disgusted by it, she ignored him or tuned him out because she wanted to be with luka.

she had liked doing that. She enjoyed being needed by luka until his needs had been required more from her than she gave and then he took what she didn’t offer. She encouraged and looked past a lot of strange behavior prior because she thought it was cute (ex: animate board where hyunwoo calls luka dirty for sucking on his sleeve, but hyuna is charmed by looking at him; his possessiveness; ‘your life is mine’) just as much as she needed someone to be vulnerable with, she was a caretaker first and foremost. and luka needed her, (and would always need her) and would be fulfilled by whatever side she showed to him as long as it was her, even when it was not that perfect image of a class president and big sister.

That weakness in Luka had eased her enough to be vulnerable with him—he was a safe person who wanted her and only her, who wanted anything she offered him. Because luka was weak, she could also be weak in return as they got closer and their relationship developed, so they could form that mutual bond where she could feel respite even if she wasn’t understood. that need fulfillment lead to their equality if that makes sense 

8bitdetective

it's pretty obvious why Luka loves Hyuna, but why do you think she loves him back?