after reading

I rather think it's Sangwoo working rather hard to make himself a soulmate. He didn't drive the knife this time, but he sure as heck spent time and efforst grooming Bum for that.
...Remember, Patty Hearst, anyone?

They are meant for each other after reading chapter 19 no doubt.

...Yeah.
But... what if Sangwoo meets another serial killer? Would Bum then have a rival??
J/k... sorry. I guess I've just stopped taking this seriously, as a way to keep my own sanity..
O.o

I don't think Bum needed much grooming, more like a few shoves to make him into a psychotic killer. He was already crazy stalker dude who was mentally unstable. Grooming literary takes ages to do, Bum had it in him, he just didn't know it.

I agree!!!

Somehow I think Sangwoo forced him into a crash course that would otherwise have taken years to happen, if at all...I mean, aren't there any petty stalkers who never evolve to sth worse, or even get better with treatment? (I honestly don't know). I even imagine he *could* have been given some timely treatment if Sangwoo had turned out to be a Psychiatry major, sane college student, rather than an active serial killer... I mean, seriously, what were the chances of that??

XD a rival, but it's quite obvious how Sangwoo loves and needs Bum. I love when Sangwoo was freaking out in chapter 13 because from then on I knew that he will not kill Bum. Still I would like to see a jealous Sangwoo. Just remember it's fiction so it's harmless and your sanity will be good :)

Well if this wasnt a psycho dude he fell in love with, and just some nice guy. It would have probably taken a few therapy lesson to make him normal, but i wouldn't say 100 normal more like functioning type of normal. Bum wasn't a petty stalker, he was an obsessive stalker who wasn't stable in the mind. His reaction in high school with the girl who was some what nice was way to creepy, crazy and just plain phycho-ish. Her reaction was mean yes, but i wouldn't blame her though she was just scared.
But ill be honest, if he didn't have therapy and he had a lover who never lifted a finger to help his crazy/creepy personality, it would have turned to murder in the future. How? Imagine his lover decides that he/she had enough with him, wants to leave him. He of course would let that happen, he would keep on bothering them, over and over and over again. Untill one day he snaps and desides that if he cant have them, than no one else can. If you mix Love with a Unhealthy-Mind that equivalent of that would be murder or kidnapping. Cause love makes anyone crazy, even the most sane ones. I seen some crazy reactions because of love.
But of course this is my guess.

I'd rather think he was mostly freaking out about Bum escaping and getting around reporting him to the police... I mean, even though I want to think he was also freaking out about losing his new love interest, and that he somewhat loves him, my practical side keeps interfering, slapping me back into thinking things with cold logic every time, once I'm done fangirling... -_-

I mostly agree, in a way. Except that I think his reaction in high school wasn't that bad of we contemplate the possibility that many of the things he did (like telling everyone they were dating, and about her being raped) could have been out of anger at the way she was suddenly acting like he was dirt and giving him the cold shoulder. Even though I don't blame her cause I understand why she did it, I bet Bum himself didn't have a clue. Perhaps, if someone had tried to explain it to him why she was acting that way, he would have understood it and not gotten so angry about it. I think what he missed was the fact that she was acting like that because she was probably dealing with post stress disorder, still blaming herself for the rapes, and mistakenly thinking that by not associating with him any more she would aliviate her own feelings of being dirty and worthless. Of course, she was wrong, but victims of incestuous rape tend to think they're somehow tainted or damaged and to feel horribly ashamed of themselves.

You have some great insights. I have thoughts on some of what you said. I don't think Bum's treatment outlook would be too hopeful either, unless they could get him into a supportive environment with a nurturing social structure that had people who cared about him like family should and participated in therapy and make sure he makes his meds (and I think there would be meds). Even then, you can only hope for him to be more functional or progress and not expect a total "cure". Even in countries where mental heath cares is available, the family often has to advocate for the client's care and support the client in day to day life--and that rarely happens unless the family gives a crap.

I don't think anything would "cure" Sangwoo because he is not capable of empathy or seeing more than how he wants to play out his internal dramas--the most you can do is remove him from society so he cannot harm others. I do think Bum has a special role in Sangwoo's mind. I don't mean that he sees Bum as a person or cares about Bum more than himself--just that bum has been given a central role in his dramas, and he has evolved to include Bum. I don't think Sangwoo is cable of seeing others as being as important as himself or of developing feelings such as guilt or having a real sense of morality. It's just not even possible for him. This is different than Bum's prior mental illness.

I think Bum's prior condition was more of a harm to himself than to anyone else. He was mentally ill and completely lacking in self-care and social skills, but before this, he was not a danger to others. The kind of problem that happened in high school happens a lot in high school, even for "normal' teens (snort--normal teens-hahaha), especially when people change friendships and negotiate who they want to date, and many lack skills to do this nicely. Both his and her reactions were understandable, because they both lack skills to process emotions well and negotiate social interactions effectively. Bum and the girl should probably both have had therapy, but the key is support from a family (or group that acts like family) that is understanding about mental illness and well, Bum's family isn't that--it's a cause of his problems so...

Most people with mental illnesses are not dangerous to others, but they make others uncomfortable because they seem "weird" or "creepy". Being stalked by an ex has a much higher rate of harm. In fact, the worst situation is to be stalked by an abusive ex. They tend to kill people. So, in my mind the "normal" stalker is much worse than the socially inept obsessive delusional one.

You have an excellent point there. Cases of real ex-boyfriend stalkers are said to be more frequent.

I actually agree with all of you, Bum probably could have been "cured" but if left to himself he would have probably killed someone and then perhaps himself. Where as soo(?) could never be cured.... I think he's an ego maniac who loves harming people. Bum is somewhat important to him. Like his mum was. Bum is someone who he can torment but also be worshiped by because Bum is after all a stalker and he "loves" him so much. He feeds off this and in a sense he's his child- Someone who worships him and someone he can groom. Someone who'll flinch when they do something but then slowly start to trust you when you don't and that's the best part. They trust you and then you shatter that trust and see their face crumble. The reality that you were able to cause that much EMOTIONAL pain is overwhelmingly good. Physical pain heals quickly emotional not so much. Bum is also someone who he can "impress" with his kills. After all isn't he a criminal like himself? I think he's the one who set up that rape situation in the army. I think he set it ALL up. He's been after Bum for a very long time. Weird how they were always in the same place. Sure Bums a stalker but not always to him. He's really been played. We've seen how intelligent he is. He's ruled by his mind not his emotions where as bum is the opposite. He feels and doesn't stop to think what it is he feels. He just thinks "LOVE" He knows what's being done to him isnt right somewhere in his mind but he's to ruled by his emotinos to think . Sure each oppertunity was risky but with the right amount of thinking he could have escaped. I know he has stockholm at the moment but it's much more than that. The psychopath will probably push bum to far one day though he is actually the most stupid of the two (When it comes to their relationship) he thinks Bum is his and he wouldn't dare betray him or lash out at him. After all why would he hurt his very reason to live? He'll think it's okay to carry on sleeping with other people while knowing full well how Bum feels- Obsessive. He'll think he's to loved though for Bum to do anything not realising what true emotions are like. He's never actually experienced them. He's ruled my logic. "You enjoy that Bum? Flirting with him" (Not his actual words but close). Here he's mearly observed. We all know how violent he can go when Bum does something he dislikes but he isn't all that upset here. Just mearly inquiring . Oh I'm sure he did feel jealously but he ignores emotions like that. His will forever be ruled by cold logic. The best way I can describe it is- His emotions are a small camp fire with a bucket of sand close by.
Bums emotions are all consuming and they destroy everything in their path. They are his driving force. And soo (I dont know his last night fgs) is only fueling the flames. Soon he will push Bum to far. Heres what I think could happen-

Bum actually finds someone else to love- The police officer maybe? Someone kind and loving and to punish Bum soo (Thats his new name lmao) will capture them and try to force Bum to kill them not realising the true extent to Bums emotinos and he'll end up the one dead.

Next scenerio- He sleeps with people in front of Bum for a long period of time and each time he does he sees Bum snapping. He finds it funny watching Bum kill the people he's slept with until one day Bum turns the knife either on himself out of despaire of Soo. He'll either kill soo or soo will be enraged and kill him.

Orrrr
With Bum being ruled by emotion he makes a mistake and gives the detective the evidence he needs. Soo knowing they will both get sent to prison tells Bum to say he was a victim of his. Here the author would shock the readers because they'd show how soo had started everything because he'd been in love with Bum for YEARS. They'd make it sad and tragic. HE DOES HAVE EMOTION! kinda thing.

Sorry for writing so much. This is just my opinion and speculation though.