He was always a bit on edge and unhinged, like they all said he has that defiant look in his eye. He was always subdued because of the doctor. And then he ended up losing his sole axis in which his world spun, so he completely lost it. Take not that EVERYONE, every single member of that palace was cruel to him, even the servants, the guards, the royal family. They all treated him like trash. He was fine with that because all he needed was Samyeong to stay sane. But the King got in the way and took him away. He could do nothing because he had no power. So I do kinda get why he became evil, he believed he needed to be evil and conquer everything, no mercy, gain all power possible in order to not lose Samyeong again.
The “switch-up” isn’t out of character at all, it’s exactly what happens when you build a child on a foundation of fear, instability, and emotional starvation. People don’t turn out fine just bcs one adult was kind to them sometimes.
And Sam wasn’t just “someone who cared.” He was the only help the boy ever had. Every other structure around him failed long before he even had a chance, no emotional stability, no healthy attachments, no proper guidance, nothing.
So when Sam showed up with consistency, warmth, and genuine care, that wasn’t just kindness. For a child who had no one, Sam became his entire emotional world.
But one person , no matter how good, can’t undo a lifetime of trauma. When a child grows up with only one emotional anchor, losing that anchor doesn’t simply hurt. It destabilizes everything and creates exactly the kind of fracture that becomes a villain arc. There’s nothing “random” about it. It’s psychology.
Exactly.
Did you guys miss the part where he was treated like the slime at the bottom of the barrel? Every single day he lived in hell… With the only ray of light coming from Sam.
Im not disagreeing with any of you, all of what you said is true
But him hurting sam is the idea im aiming for, since he is literally his saviour id assume he would fight tooth and nail to get to the top just to have sam atleast live next to him? Him HURTING sam doesn't make any sense
The question im asking is; why is someone who has been shown warmth by someone he deeply cared for, thriving to hurt the only one that cherished him?
He was taught how to love by that man and how to accept warmth but it seems imo all in vain bcuz just like that all the things sam taught him evaporated and he just became the monster everyone swore he was
Him hurting sam and becoming a villain seems like a switchup cuz you'd assume after all the love sam had put into this boy hed ATLEAST be kind hearted to the man that raised him??? Instead he is horrible to sam and everyone else, just straight up cruel.
And his background doesn't excuse his actions lets make that VERY clear. Being hurt is not an excuse to hurt someone else. Period.
I get what you’re saying. I think that for someone with such deep issues, it took just a slight shift in the balance to send him completely off the rails. If you pay attention to his behavior when they’re adults, everything he does is filled with desperation. He doesn’t know how to give or take in moderation. His fear is that the only person who showed him genuine love will abandon him again. He only knows how to acquire things by force. Since Doc did the thing he fears the most, it seems like he would rather eat him whole and destroy him with “love,” than live in hell without him. He’s extremely complex. But I can see how someone who’s been starved for affection and treated as a pariah his entire existence, would become this type of monster just to hold on to the only person he loves.
That’s the thing! the story already addresses this issue. CG hurting Sam isn’t a contradiction, it’s the natural consequence of his experiences.
CG doesn’t hurt Sam because he stopped caring. He hurts him bca Sam is the only emotional bond he ever formed, and that bond was shaped by trauma, abandonment, and years of having no healthy relationships or emotional models.
His love didn’t “disappear.” it was warped. Sam was his only anchor in a world that offered him nothing else. Losing Sam as a child destabilized him completely, and when he finally regains him as an adult, he doesn’t know how to love; he only knows how to possess.
When CG brings Sam to the palace, Sam has already lost everything: his wife, his child, his home, his purpose.
Instead of freeing him or allowing him to live his life, CG isolates him, controls his movements, and pressures him into a sexual relationship he cannot refuse. He prevents Sam from returning to his calling as a doctor and from searching for his daughter, the very things that define who Sam is. CG is fully aware that Sam is unhappy.
That’s the tragedy: he literally cannot stop himself.
This isn’t sudden or random. It’s consistent with a child who once lost the only warmth he knew and grew into an adult who believes the only way to keep someone close is to control them.
The story doesn’t ask us to justify CG.
It simply shows the logical, painful outcome of a life built on fear, dependence, and the terror of losing the only bond he ever had.
Their relationship was never balanced, it was rooted in trauma and extreme attachment. So when they reunite, CG doesn’t know how to be kind, he only knows how to keep Sam close.
That’s why his actions hurt so much:
they’re not random cruelty, but the inevitable, heartbreaking distortion of the only bond he ever had.
Comparing Chang-Gyeon, who endured extreme trauma, total isolation, and political manipulation from childhood, to just any child completely ignores the psychological depth of the story. He is not 'any child'; he is the product of years of abuse, abandonment, and intense emotional dependency, which makes his actions entirely coherent within the narrative.
That was so well written
Ohhh i seee
It really is the reader that makes the story - i wonder if the author knows allat
Thank you for explaining
thank you, really! And honestly, that’s the lovely thing about this story, we all read it through our own lens.
You connected with it emotionally, and I ended up reading it more through a psychological angle, but neither one is better or more correct. They’re just different ways of experiencing the same scenes.
I’m really glad my explanation added something for you. It’s so nice when our perspectives can meet in the middle like that.
What is that sensory nightmare thing he's wearing
But srsly, I can't believe he became a villain even after all the care the doctor has provided him, like he raised him right??? No???
wasn't he kind and gentle or was he only putting up a front to please the doctor?? It doesn't make any sense
Like this is such a switchup, I'd assume he'd take this experience as a pusher to become king so he can have sam back, but him turning evil doesn't sound in character?? It feel like he just became evil for the sake of the plot, even after all the years he spent being taken care of and raised by sam he still turns out evil??? All the road lead to rome ahh character