Why? The possibility of Sangwoo having been sexually abused has been waved in front of the readers’ face ever since early season 1. Yep, there’s a reason why many people have been writing theories pointing at that for years.
And this proves that it was not a last minute add, it was not merely put in as a shock bonus and it has a precise place in the narrative. Which one?
Sangwoo’s sexual abuse is actually a perfect parallel to Bum’s.
They’re of the same kind but with opposite outcomes.
Bum’s abuse made him even more submissive from one side, but he also kind of turned it into his own coping mechanism. He’s inherently sexual, he’s easily turned on, he uses his hypersexuality as a tool to get benefits, or at least tries to (see all the times he tried to initiate intimate/sexual contact with Sangwoo).
Sangwoo’s abuse, instead, made him incredibly dominant. He perceives sexual passivity as weakness because that’s how he felt when he was sexually abused. Instead of turning it into his own tool like Bum did, he rejects any form of it and the mere thought of switching to a submissive role makes him panic. What he turned into a tool, instead, is the potential he has of being that useless sexual object he felt like when he was abused. He lures in girls (or even men in Kim’s case) who are attracted to his looks because his looks are what made him the object of his mother’s abuse. He ends up punishing them by death because of this, because they were treating him like a sexual object. He doesn’t kill Bum because he proves to not be just after Sangwoo’s looks, since he confesses his love after witnessing him as a serial killer. He keeps having trust issues, he keeps believing Bum is actually only treating him as a sexual object for a long, long time but eventually he stops thinking about this because Bum’s power to keep his mother away made him fall for him, too. He still leaves some hints of this thinking process here and there, though, even in season 3 (trading oral sex on Bum for his perdon).
Below I‘ll point out the moments in the comic that I think show proof (or are at least hints) that Koogi has always had this in mind, so it’s not a last minute choice. I’m pretty sure this aspect of Sangwoo’s backstory was well thought since the beginning (what changed, I think it’s the way his father died, if anything at all). I think that knowing that this has been planned since forever proves that there’s room to believe that it actually serves a purpose in the comic’s narrative.
• In-Universe Hints
• Sangwoo panicks when he’s pushed in a submissive role
This happens especially when it comes to intimacy and sex, and it has been happening ever since season1. It occurs first as early as chapter 5:
Sangwoo initiates this kiss, but he instinctively opens his eyes with a surprised and even lowkey worried expression when Bum doesn’t only decide to be in charge by taking Sangwoo’s hand off his cheek, but he even cups Sangwoo’s cheek with his own. He probably also associated this move with his mother’s behavior, since she also usually cupped his face. Sangwoo also instinctively pushed Bum away after he dominates the kiss:
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