today elite has taken residence in my head so. I've been thinking about what sort of reasoning PTJ is going to have for him betraying gapryong and I think the most plausible inference from what's being hinted at so far is jealousy. It's undoubtable that he's ambitious and opportunistic (and continues to be so a decade later) and that absolutely played a component in him deciding eventually that he had more to gain from having gapryong dead, and the logical prequel to that is just that he was sick of being treated badly and decided to join gapryong out of a sense of personal pride. however, what I get hung up on this chapter is that its primary focus isn't on gapryong treating elite better than the yamazaki or that his ego isn't getting as bruised or even that he sees that he stands to gain something from joining gapryong (though all of those things are true). what interests me most is the look on his face when gapryong wins their bet with little to no effort. after everything he says about intrinsic limits gapryong proves immediately that this is not simply a limitation beyond elite's control (about him being korean), it's a limitation that doesn't apply to gapryong. what sets gapryong apart from people is this sort of effortless charisma that means people want to follow him instead of being manipulated into it. he has a quality that cannot be measured or stolen or bought, and I think that above all else is what would make resentment for him fester. because elite begins with so much and enters this story because it still isn't enough for him, and the first thing he comes face to face with is a thing he could never have. it's not necessarily about the practical benefits gapryong gets from it (eg. sure it gets him allies but elite can get himself people to work with in other ways) it's more that something that comes so easily to him exists in a completely different world from elite and i think someone as prideful as him wouldn't be able to stand it
