To start off, no, it’s not about control. Not in the traditional sense of "power over someone." Ihyun’s act of confining Seonwoo in luxury wasn’t rooted in dominance it was rooted in anger and betrayal.
Psychologically speaking, Ihyun was driven by the fact that Seonwoo was the person who led him to be kidnapped. Even if Seonwoo didn’t intend to betray him, to Ihyun, it still felt like the worst kind of betrayal. From someone he’d finally started to trust and like. And it wasn’t just the betrayal it was the 42 days of pitch-black hell that followed. Those 42 days felt like years to him. Imagine pure darkness. No windows. No sounds. The floor cold and damp. He was scared, confused, and abandoned. And what haunted him the most wasn’t the hunger or fear of death but that someone he called a friend left him in there. That's why he still kept thinking about Seonwoo.
So when he kidnaps Seonwoo years later, it’s not about control it’s about making Seonwoo understand. Understand what it felt like to be forgotten. Trapped. Scared. Like I say he never mistreats Seonwoo. There’s no abuse, no starvation, no isolation. In fact, he gives him comfort like soft blankets, sunlight, good food, warmth, affection. It’s almost like he recreated the childhood he never had but now with Seonwoo by his side.
And about the cage thing I don't think so? I don’t think the ML is caging himself with Seonwoo at least not intentionally. And Seonwoo didn't know that ihyun sleep in a cage. After they got together Seonwoo saw ihyun room for the first time and it was a cage. It’s more like this: Ihyun doesn’t see the cage as a prison. For him, it’s a safe space. A coping mechanism. Ihyun literally cages himself in his bedroom, locking himself in every night with multiple padlocks. Not to imprison himself, but because it makes him feel safe. Those padlocks are his way of creating certainty and control in a world that once ripped it away from him.
When ihyun was stilled locked in the cage in the past Seonwoo put him in another cage with dozens of padlocks. 30 of them and it was to protect ihyun bc Seonwoo went to the police and told them about what happened. During that time an Hyungtae had a weird feeling and try to take ihyun but the padlocks were stopping him and the cage ihyun was in was not moving. That's how ihyun finally escaped bc the police came after an Hyungtae broke 10 padlocks.
From a psychological standpoint, this is someone with complex PTSD trying to cope. Ihyun is stuck in a trauma loop. His brain doesn’t fully register that he’s safe now. He recreates scenarios where he has control over the situation (padlocks, cages, structure), and uses them to self-soothe. At least that's what I think but don't take me too seriously
Whooooa appreciate the explanation
And it's somewhat intriguing. But I wanna know the psychological reason why it happens like this. Yes, I know it's fiction but humor me. No abuse, just keeping him luxuriously living in confinement. Is it a way of control? Of wanting and keeping someone he's always wanted to be with at arm's reach?
Slight spoiler ahead.
It was mentioned how ML cages himself in his own room. Is he also caging the MC in essence so it's like they're being confined together? Is that it?