Dongchae's Flower : A Winter Child Walking Through Heavy Snowfall, Couldn’t Wait for Spring Any Longer
Exactly a month after I first get to know Seasons of Blossom, I saw the new episode announcement and my heart jumped. I've already seen a glimpse of the winter season on YouTube and I was holding my breath for its release. Finally, there it was.
The season starts off ominously, with a boy standing amidst snowfall. We see a glimpse of his past - a day that continues to haunt him. We see flashback panels of other characters who were once in the same position as him. "...it's time to end it now."
As the story continued, we see the events leading to the first episode. Actually, we have already seen glimpses of that from the very first season - he was a victim of school violence. However, in this season, we get to see most of his story from his younger sister Eunchae's perspective. She secretly hung around his school to gather information about his situation and later she got Jaemin on her side too. Together, they tried their best to get the bullies exposed and free Dongchae... However, Dongchae had his own plans to free himself which they were completely unaware of.Dongchae's Flower was beautiful in terms of storytelling, just like the rest of the Seasons of Blossom. It spotlights on not only the school violence victim himself but also how the person closest to him was affected by it. Also the pain of both parents being too busy to notice what their children are going through. As a child of working parents I relate to that. Absence of parental figure is a massive problem that shouldn’t be overlooked. To quote Eunchae, "Just as adults have their own problems, so do teens. Although it may seem nothing compared to what adults go through. Then, where should we lean on when we are so immature that insignificant things cause us to stumble?" I appreciated the approach they took with the bullies. It was a different approach than the ones I was used to seeing in manhwas. The violence Dongchae had to endure was certainly criminal offence and I am satisfied that it was treated as such.
The whole season kept me on the edge of my seat thanks to that one episode. What's going to happen to this boy? Will he make it or will he not? Please, just hold on, I kept praying as I continued. The climax episodes of the season brought all of the characters in a full circle. That's the most beautiful aspect of this webtoon - the portrayal of human connection.