I Hope You Become the Most Miserable Person in the World <Lemon Tree Forest>
Hello!
Today, I'm here to introduce another fascinating webtoon.
The series I've brought today is <Lemon Tree Forest>.
This webtoon tells the story of the hidden side of glamorous noble society,
full of deceit and betrayal, and the fierce life of
the female lead, Greta, who wears a perfect 'mask' at every moment
in order to survive within it.
It's a work that unravels the essence of human relationships—
peaceful on the outside but sour and bitter like a lemon on the inside—
through a theatrical presentation.
Now, let's dive into the review!
The curtain rises on the story like a play,
accompanied by powerful stage directions.
Someone runs onto the stage with a bright smile as if something joyful has happened,
makes eye contact with the audience, and whispers.
"I love you."
But the words that follow are
"I hope you become the most miserable person in the world,"
which is a dreadful curse.
This contradictory line, where love and hatred coexist,
reveals the overarching theme of the entire work
and instantly captivates the audience from the very beginning.
"Who is Greta?"
With a narration posing this fundamental question,
the story begins in earnest.
As a woman walks through a quiet forest,
objective information about her is presented.
Greta is the eldest daughter of James Bichette of Gronwell Town, a place with a beautiful lake,
and Adeline, daughter of Viscount Harper.
Even with half-noble blood, having neither title nor wealth
as a 'half-noble' is her harsh reality.
Thanks to her natural beauty, she is a woman who luckily got engaged
to the second son of Baron Gronwell, the local lord.
That is the world's view of the person
named Greta Bichette.
But Greta thinks calmly.
She muses that the conditions just listed are probably
all he knows about her.
And in the following scene, a shocking sight
unfolds before her eyes.
Through the cracked open door, she catches her fiancé, Lawrence Hawden,
about to kiss a maid.
An ordinary fiancée would despair or fly into a rage, but
Greta is surprisingly calm.
In fact, knowing that most people in this town
look down on her anyway, she simply gathers herself,
thinking such evaluation doesn't matter.
If there's a problem, it's merely that the man heavily breathing with the maid
is her fiancé, Lawrence,
and that she, the fiancée herself,
is witnessing this disgusting sight directly.
Greta consoles herself with this thought.
Watching the two kiss, her face contorts for a moment,
but she soon whispers, "It's okay," and controls her emotions.
She simply closes her eyes, reminding herself she's been through worse.
She believes that when she closes her eyes, she is alone in this dark space,
and nothing here can torment her.
"I know nothing."
After perfectly brainwashing herself,
Greta calls out Lawrence's name.
Startled by the sudden call, the maid looks back in shock,
and Greta internally prepares her performance.
'I am a woman who loves her fiancé more than anyone else,
the happiest woman in the world.'
As the maid hurriedly runs away, Greta
nonchalantly smiles and approaches Lawrence.
"We promised to have tea together."
In truth, Greta had already seen through Lawrence's intentions.
He must have deliberately called her at this time,
and kindly left the door ajar
just in case she missed the scene.
Although she sneers inwardly, calling him an 'elaborate pervert,'
Greta resolves never to show him the 'hurt fiancée'
he so desires to see.
To Greta's attitude of acting as if she saw nothing,
Lawrence instead gives a foul smirk and replies,
"Keep doing that from now on."
As Greta tries to step outside at the butler's call,
Lawrence degrades her until the very end.
He displays an arrogant attitude, telling her that girls like her are everywhere,
and she shouldn't forget that he was the one who saved her.
Later, Lawrence converses with a character named Orson,
and during this, Greta is unfairly misunderstood by the other women
as trying to seduce Orson.
Suppressing her surging anger, Greta thinks to herself:
One must wear a greater number of masks.
She begins an impromptu performance.
She sets the scene as a young child falsely accused
of stealing a cookie from a store, one who never actually stole it,
yet has never even tasted the very thing she desires most,
making her incredibly pitiful and deeply wronged.
With tears in her eyes, Greta pleads with the women.
She tells them that Orson actually told her to break up with Lawrence,
and that her family is too shabby and poor
to fit into the Baron's family, mixing lies and truth.
She garners sympathy by saying he looked down on her,
calling her a mere plaything to be tossed aside
rather than a serious partner.
Greta was clever.
She knew well that although showing anger might bring momentary satisfaction,
it would not be beneficial in the long run.
Because denial falls on deaf ears to those who have already drawn their conclusions,
she judged that seeking sympathy
would be far more effective.
In fact, the women began to take Greta's side,
and Greta sensed that her strategy was a success.
However, a woman who had been quietly watching
this entire performance from behind appears.
She introduces herself as Abigail Wooten
and reveals her profession as a 'theater actress.'
The moment a true actress appears before Greta, who is putting on a fake act,
a strange tension fills the air, and the story moves to the next stage.
As Greta, who has protected herself with perfect hypocrisy,
meets the real actress Abigail, we are left highly curious
about what kind of cracks will form in her mask, or if she will learn more sophisticated acting.
It was a very intriguing development.
Without ever breaking down even in a gutter-like reality,
how will the fierce survival story of Greta, who creates her own stage,
unfold in the future?
If you are curious about the next story, head over to Naver Webtoon right now
and read <Lemon Tree Forest>!
If you enjoyed reading this,
please look forward to the next review as well.
Thank you!