Great take and same sentiments! My theory/fear is that junmin or the rest of his gang might have something to do with him being sa'd so he needs to dominate. But I like your theory more. I honestly don't understand some people's take. The two extremes, black and white, the trolling apologists and absolute haters, and the ones seeing the greys, the people who try to look further especially on his trauma. He was just a kid. He might have had 2 people help look out for him and gave him a reprieve but at the end of the day, they didn't take him in as their own and teach him empathy and love, and he still went home to his father undergoing years of abuse. Of course he'll be a nutcase. He's just been surviving. He still needs to apologise to Dan but at least we get it now
Despite all the abuse and neglect Jaekyung suffered from his father, it’s inevitable that, as a child, he would still crave affection or even just a tiny bit of acknowledgment from the only parent who was physically present. After all, his mother abandoned him.
We clearly see his excitement when he tries to show off his trophy to his father. He was probably dreaming that one day he would finally earn his father’s recognition. Maybe he thought that if his father hit him less, his mom might come back. And maybe, just maybe, he could finally stop feeling so guilty for hating his parents. Because for a kid growing up in an abusive household, it’s common to internalize that pain and blame themselves.
"Why didn’t he just leave?"
We’re talking about a kid, a child who grew up knowing only pain and abuse, probably witnessing his mother being assaulted every day, watching her break until she finally disappeared. He was abandoned.
“But he had the coach and the grandma."
Yeah? But the coach isn’t your typical affectionate adult. He’s grumpy, straightforward, sharp-tongued, loud, annoying, and stern. While he may care, he doesn’t show it in a way a traumatized child would recognize or feel safe around.
"What about the grandma?"
Yes, she might’ve been the only adult who could give Jaekyung the affection and parental love he needed. But let’s not forget she wasn’t just taking care of him. There were plenty of other kids under her care (some of whom bullied him, btw). She didn’t seem like someone who’d live long enough for Jaekyung to open up to. Still, he remembered her kindness, which is why he’s fond of grandmas.
“That’s not an excuse for his current actions tho."
No one is excusing him. We’re just shedding light on why and how he turned out the way he did.
"He turned into a grapist, a jerk, and someone with zero emotional intelligence because of that?"
Okay, Let’s not ever downplay years of abuse just because he’s currently easy to hate. And let’s not forget JK is still just a 1st yr high school student at this point in the story.
Idk what’s going to happen, but I suspect that after his father’s death, he might start searching for his mother hoping to reunite with her or at least ask her to come back. Only to find out she has a new family, maybe even kids she truly adores. That realization alone could confirm to him that he was truly abandoned and never loved.
Worse, maybe he tries to reach out and she rejects him. Maybe she says things like, "You remind me of your father" or "You’re just like him. A poor loser" and tells him she never wants to see him again.
That kind of rejection might push him toward revenge, getting rich, getting famous, and throwing his success in his mother’s face. Maybe he left his first boxing coach to join a flashy agency that promised quick fame, but instead he ended up being pimped out to rich old perverts and pedophiles in exchange for sponsorships. Just when he thought he’d already seen how cruel the world could be, it got even worse.
I hope this isn’t what happened to him, but I think his “jinx” started when he was forced to entertain a rich pedo before a match. That experience could’ve traumatized him deeply. Maybe he ran away from that agency, completely broken, until his current coach found him and took him in.
Then, just when things were starting to get better, he was training and about to have his first match. Trauma came back. Maybe he decided to sleep with someone he could dominate, just to reassure himself he was no longer in that powerless position. It gave him control. It gave him peace. He won that match. So it became a pattern. Then a habit. Then... a jinx. Something he needed to feel safe, strong, and ready.