My opinion (Long read)

I love your comment!!! <3

Thank you!! I'm scared I'll get hate from people who really want these two together, but I'm glad I have some support! （/TДT)/

I'm a psych minor, so I'm really glad I'm not the only one going super in-depth with my reading and analysis. I think the only reason this is even marginally considered "yaoi" is because it has two guys in a very complicated, somewhat sexual relationship. I really don't think it wants to be a yaoi manhwa either, but a psychological one, so we're definitely in agreement. It's a great character study, but it sort of worries me that people want a "happy ending" where Sangwoo and Bum end up together... considering it's really impossible with everything that's already happened and the fact it was toxic to begin with.

Wouldn't it be considered Lima Syndrome? Since Sangwoo ended up falling for Yoonbum now and Yoonbum no longer seems to love Sangwoo as much as he did. It could also be a case of both though too. Still, I'm really glad you don't ship them either. Cause, it's a really interesting read, but Sangwoo and Yoonbum should never be shipped or end up in a relationship tbh

Maybe yoon bum will be die in the end of the story or sangwoo will be die in the end.. or yoon hum will be die then sangwoo get into the jail.. after that sangwoo will make a further crimes.. just my imagination.. since i dont really know about the syndrome and such..

Instead of "shouldn't" I would have said "couldn't" because I find it hard to ship them in a romantic way but anyway I don't think that people who "ship them" do it in a cute and romantic way so everyone should chill (〜￣△￣)〜

Another psych minor here! ヾ(❀╹◡╹)ﾉ~ I don't study psychology of humans though but I have had pretty lengthy analysis of stuff from the manhwa too. I'm not yet convinced this is a case of Stockholm syndrome or Lima syndrome.

I thought that in Stockholm syndrome the victim develops sympathetic feels towards the captor while they are held captive. And that during the process the victim becomes less fearful of their captor. Bum's strong feelings for Sangwoo were rooted in the obsession that formed before he was captured. I think earlier on in the story he associates the gentle gestures Sangwoo gives with the image of Sangwoo he had in the past. Bum has become less trusting and more fearful of Sangwoo. Remember, Bum decided that staying with Sangwoo was not worth the potential abuse and tried to escape. But either way Bum’s feeling towards Sangwoo seem to have changed after choked, having his chin sliced and being forced him kill someone. Before, in chapters 5 and 6, Bum would gladly accept Sangwoo’s physical advances towards him. However, Bum's illusions of love in the earlier chapters seem to be gone now. When Sangwoo hugged him in chapter 13 Bum hesitated but did not embrace him back. In 14 at the light Bum was wishing the light would change so Sangwoo would get off of him. I’d agree with it being Stockholm syndrome if after all this Bum acted affectionate towards Sangwoo or if he had less paranoid thoughts. I think that Bum chooses to stay with Sangwoo not because he’s grown attached to him but because he paralyzed by fear. In the store when he didn’t see Sangwoo around him, he thought “I can walk but why can’t I even think about moving”. The last time Bum tried to escape it ended horribly and when Sangwoo thought he’d left he wanted killing him. It is possible that Bum has lost the will to run because he sees no way out.

I won’t deny that Sangwoo has grown attached and somewhat possessive over Bum. However Sangwoo doesn’t feel any guilt about the harm he’s caused or consider how Bum must feel in the situation. I agree with you, there's no fixing Sangwoo.

Ah, thank you for your insight ^^ And it could be a deep rooted obsession with his deceased mother that Sangwoo is experiencing. I saw on Tumblr a while ago that someone was posting about how Sangwoo is keeping Bum alive because Bum loves(or loved) Sangwoo even after seeing how awful Sangwoo was. Especially towards that woman and for a short while in the beginning even after the man broke Bum's ankles.

Sangwoo may be keeping Bum alive, or likes having Bum around because he reminds him of his mom who's dead and could have been killed by the husband, in response Sangwoo killed his father (another theory from Tumblr)

So Sangwoo's reasoning for kidnapping all those women and now Yoonbum, is to find out why his mother was willing to stay with his father up until her death.

(If how I worded it is weird in some way, please ask me to clarify)

I've seen a few do so in a "lol Sangwoo is obsessed with Yoonbum #relationshipgoals" and I'm not sure if they're doing it in a serious or joking manner. Hopefully they're joking .-.

That is very true, perhaps there is a different syndrome developing that I haven't learned yet that is more relevant to Bum. Although I feel that if Bum does stick around long enough it will eventually turn into the stockholm syndrome based off of Sangwoo's increasing affection towards Bum.

Sangwoo definitely some serious mommy issues. I can't help but feel though that he also killed his mother too. This is just one of many theories I have about his character but it almost seems like he was borderline in love with his mom and may have held some resentment to her for having stayed and loving his abusive father. There is not much ground on his theory besides the fact I cant see Sangwoo killing out of revenge but instead of out of aggression and self preservation as we have seen him do. He has control issues which I am sure stems from the lack of control he and his mother had living with the father. I hope we see what actually happened later on though!

I can seriously see Bum getting killed in the end by Sangwoo, most likely out of anger and getting beaten to death. However, I hope that Bum is able to escape in the end and Sangwoo is either killed or arrested by the current officer that is suspicious of him. Or if Bum does have to die that he is able to take Sangwoo out with him.

While I can see why you'd think it would be the Lima Syndrome, I don't think it is. Even though Sangwoo often times shows sympathetic tendencies towards Yoon Bum I think he does this in the fact that he is projecting his feelings of his mom onto Bum and in turn treats him like a substitute for her. Plus he also seems to have a desire to be loved and I think for a moment when Bum showed almost unconditional love towards Sangwoo that he just ate that up and sort of basked in that feeling that I get he has always seeked but never got enough of.

Maybe, I never took abnormal psychology so I don't know much about disorders and such. I might take it next year just for fun though. (〜￣△￣)〜


I'm still hoping he doesn't develop stockholm syndrome because I want to see him get out of there alive and with all his body parts intact. Bum doesn't deserve a life chained up in Sangwoo's house.

Ah, yes that too ^^. It is very possible especially since it was shown that his father would sit about the table while his mom and him would eat on the ground. So it's more likely that he was closer to his mother, but didn't get the love that many mothers would give their children too

I agree! Poor guy has had a rough like seeing as it looks like he has been sexually abused by his uncle....

Yeah I have a theory similar to that. I agree that part of the reason that Sangwoo’s attachment is so strong to Bum is because of his mother. I think that Sangwoo has sort of an Oedipus complex and views Bum as the embodiment of his mother rather than as an individual. To him, Bum might be something comparable to that of a security blanket for a child. Sangwoo has stated that Bum reminded him of his mother and comforts him at times. I think that Sangwoo’s mom was the last person who has truly loved Sangwoo and when Bum said “I love you” he saw that in him (even though Bum’s love was more like a celebrity crush/obsession than actual love). I think that Sangwoo killed his mom because the girl he was referring to in chapter 13 might have been his mother. Sangwoo’s mom could have done something that he took as a form a betrayal, similarly to Bum trying to escape, so he decided to kill her.

I never really thought about why Sangwoo killed his previous victims. I figured it was just because he enjoyed toying with and torturing people. That’s an interesting theory.

Ah, that's true, cause he imagined choking his mother in chapter 13 (?) I wonder what drove Sangwoo to kill his mother and father and I can't wait for the author to tell us, cause it will give us a little more insight to Sangwoo's mental spiral downward.