this is so funny bc fae had the same question while she was beta reading, and it’s something i didn’t even consider while writing! the answer is, no, the mortal is not bg, although that very much would have been a cool twist! but no, yj has had two loves over the course of his life and they are not the same person. i also think that the love yj has for the mortal and for bg is very different. he was very young and naive when he fell for the mortal man, and he essentially fell for the first true kindness he was ever shown. but for bg, yj gets to be that first true kindness, and he gets to learn to stop being afraid of love by seeing how enamored bg is with the concept of being adored.