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:
I am more than a little tired of the classic take every single time Sangwoo shows any emotion at all: “He is just being manipulative”, “he doesn’t feel anything, he only wants Bum to feel bad”, “clearly he is being abusive”, and like, even if that is true, which I don’t entirely believe, aren’t those people done themselves already? I have been reading the same shit since the story began and it hasn’t gotten any more interesting since then.
Abusive shitty ass people can have emotions too. Killers can have emotion. Fictional killers can have emotion if the author so damn pleases. Not every breath Sangwoo takes is just a manipulative tactic to get people to do what he wants. Just… chill somewhat.
And, for whatever is worth, I don’t think he is intentionally manipulating Bum. I interpreted the last panel as he exploting his weak state (like a child screaming after getting merely scratched… although fucking cuts like that aren’t scratches, Sangwoo is tough still) and get surprised that it worked because, honestly, when was the last time anyone showed him pity instead of searching pitty from him? Damn, these are going to be one of the very first times ever Bum felt sympathy for him.
But I do believe he truly felt bad when Bum not only took almost the entire day to be back, but came back with someone else and on top of that pretended to continue lying even after being called out. I think he felt like he was losing control over Bum, because not only Bum now screams at him when he is angry, now he lies to his face and doesn’t care if he believes him or not. So he did the thing his mom always did when she felt like losing control over him… first he tries to regain the control as always, just demanding it, and when that doesn’t work, search for sympathy because he truly feels lost without knowing what is happening now. All of this just right after he had a very traumatic flashback and seeing the only person he now cares about bullshiting him… The guy is not thinking right and just acts whatever way he see fit not to try to regain some sense of control, that Bum is not going to leave him.
There is a manipulative aspect to it, but the way some people talk about it make it seem as if those were crocodile tears, that Sangwoo was completely emotionless and had no actual investment on the situation, thinking coldly and strategically how he could gain the situation to his favor, like when they were on the police station. And besides that being an old as fuck comment, that is just not what I got.
Archive 