The more I think about chapter 20 the cleverer it becomes. After chapter 19 I was so convinced that sex would be used to reward Bum and to a certain extent I think it was, only the trope was subverted. Instead of being rewarded, Bum was punished.
I think for Sangwoo he had been so excited to share the murder of Jieun with Bum and in his head he put all this effort and planning into it. He expected Bum to be grateful. I think a great deal of his attraction to Bum is based on how ‘similar’ they are. So Sangwoo thought Bum would enjoy what happened to Jieun the same way he does. Jieun’s murder was a romantic offering designed to bring them closer together. Bum’s reaction however is so far removed from that and Sangwoo can’t handle it so obviously Bum has to leave. The whole plan backfired.
Although I think Bum’s reaction to run back inside the house shows there’s a definite shift within his wants. He’s gone from trying to run away to run towards and I feel like that’s foreshadowing for how Sangwoo and Bum’s relationship is going to develop over the season. I also think it’s what quells Sangwoo’s temper tantrum. It’s a clear show from Bum that he wants to stay with Sangwoo and appeals to his superiority complex. However Bum has still disappointed him immensely and so he doesn’t deserve a reward. I can’t tell how planned the dildo scene was on Sangwoo’s part, it was very much visible the entire time but then I also think the positioning of Bum’s as got him inspired.
Originally I was surprised by the lack of preparation, I mean Sangwoo never struck me as a sexual sadist and to be fair most situations we’ve seen him in have been pretty vanilla. On second reading though, I think it was part of the punishment. Earlier on in the series Sangwoo hurt Bum all the time until he learned to behave essentially like his mother. The entire interaction is Sangwoo acting out his disappointment using the only currency he thinks Bum understands (this is still the night of the festival so the toilet scene blow job recently happened). Not to sound like a terrible internet meme but Sangwoo knows Bum wants his dick so the best punishment is to use what he imagined was him so many times and humiliate him with his desire. While the added pain is to make Bum feel as bad as Sangwoo does.
Finally the fixation on ‘murderer Bum’ I think is just to break him enough that he will accept the life Sangwoo has chosen for him. I’m not a big fan of the Sangwoo setting Bum up to take the fall theories because I just don’t think he’s that clever. All in all I think Koogi took a well executed step away from predictability with this chapter and I’m excited for next week.
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