Those men told Incheol that before Officer Park, there was a family that ran the place: a father and a little kid who looked like a girl. I’m assuming this kid is Pyeonghwa and the father is his as well. Looking at his character design, Pyeonghwa’s a pretty boy with big upturned eyes, has a small face and long hair. So, it wouldn’t be hard to believe he was mistaken for a girl when he was younger. Because there was no mention of a woman, this makes me believe at that point his mother had already passed away. They said the kid was a fifth grader, and by the time the gym was bought by officer Park, Pyeonghwa would have been around 10 years old. I believe after the death of Pyeonghwa’s father, Officer Park stepped in and served as a father figure to Pyeonghwa until he was 20. (when Pyeonghwa was given the gym)
And after Officer Park was promoted, he abandoned Pyeonghwa. Went to the Songmoon branch, settled down with a wife, then moved abroad. (If this is true, I would not be surprised. Many abusers are able to move on in life like nothing ever happened, meanwhile their victims are stuck in time, suffering) Someone on twitter pointed out that before, the date on Pyeonghwa’s calendars were stuck on the date that the gym was sold by Officer Park. However, after Incheol entered his life, the date began to move again. It’s like his time literally unfroze.
I get this feeling that there is pretty much not a single soul on the planet (currently) that cares for Pyeonghwa on a deep level. He has no family, he seemingly has no friends, and it looks as though he only hired Sunkyung as a part timer to at the very least experience the tiniest bit of genuine human interaction. And even then he’s just her boss. So when Incheol gently caresses his face, asking “Who hurt you?”, despite knowing it’s not coming from a genuine place - he literally cannot help but feel touched(?) by it. In chapter 4, as Pyeonghwa trudges up the stairs in his yellow jacket, in one panel there’s this look on his face. It’s just so… desolate? He looks down at the stairs, not even noticing Incheol’s presence until he speaks. It’s like he's a living zombie, dead inside yet moving. And once Incheol speaks to him, the light above him literally turns on like he’s some sort of angel lol. And Pyeonghwa, though annoyed and confused, (his face) literally brightens up.
I love your analysis and attention to detail! rlly interesting but i do think in regards to sex positions it could just be a matter of preference? sometimes its just abt what feels good rather than some suppressed power struggle, although that could be part of it too. anyways i love this manwha cus it separates "top" from being necessarily dominant - surprise, pyeonghwa is a masochist! - so i don't think his preference as a top has anything to do with wanting to reclaim power and dominance. also, tops being seen as dominant/powerful and bottoms submissive has always felt to me as reflective of heteronormative dynamics (receiver = "less than"), and having these fixed boxed beliefs on smth as carnal as sex positions and pleasure reinforces the internalized misogyny rooted in traditional gender roles that affects not only women obviously but gay men too. or maybe im just reading too much into it :/
i i like that you mentioned hypersexuality because it really does match the way pyeonghwa is portrayed. but the idea that his attraction to incheol might be tied to something painful from his past makes the entire situation feel a lot heavier. if he is drawn to incheol because incheol resembles someone who hurt him before, then the story becomes much more tragic. i honestly hope that is not where the author is taking it.
i want his interest in incheol to be based on who incheol is right now, not on a subconscious repetition of something harmful that he experienced when he was younger. the author is very intentional with details though, so the possibility is there. if the story eventually confirms that his desire, his behavior, and the way he reacts to incheol are shaped by trauma, then it adds depth to his character but also a lot of sadness. i really hope his feelings come from something genuine and not from a place of old wounds.
I’m noticing everyone is arguing about whose on the top and whose on the bottom or not lmao. I get it, to be honest, Pyeonghwa would probably look really cute getting f*cked however I’m pretty sure there is an actual reason as to why Pyeonghwa wants to f*ck Incheol rather than being f*cked by Incheol. This is very long and all based on my assumptions and theories btw guys. I feel like I’m overthinking it but this author is very intentional with every single detail so…
I’ve seen some speculation online on how Pyeonghwa may have been a victim of sexual abuse as a child regarding his hypersexual behavior. It’s not uncommon for childhood sexual trauma to lead to hypersexuality or addiction to sex. If this is true, I suspect that Officer Park was the one who molested Pyeonghwa throughout his adolescence. He could have also been the person who helped coach Pyeonghwa in his boxing as, I suspect, he was a father figure to Pyeonghwa.
When we saw Pyeonghwa’s flashback of Officer Park in chapter 16, we can see he shares a resemblance with Incheol. That polished authoritative figure, paired with the way he soothes Pyeonghwa, telling him “Pyeonghwa-ah… you’re okay.” The way Pyeonghwa woke up looking uncomfortable by the flashback, further makes me feel his relationship with him was not a good one.
Pyeonghwa’s attraction to Incheol is so interesting to me and I think it stems from his previous relationship with Officer Park. He wants to be hurt by Incheol, he wants to f*ck Incheol rather than get f*cked by him. When Incheol harshly grabs Pyeonghwa’s face and tells him to shut his mouth, Pyeonghwa’s first thought is “I want to f*ck him” rather than “I want to be f*cked by him”. There’s this desire to both get hit by and to dominate Incheol. It’s as though he wants to be physically hurt by a man (especially a man with qualities like Officer Park) who probably hurt him emotionally, but also to dominate and f*ck them as well. And then there’s that quiet side of him who wants to be cared for. The way he buries his face into Incheol’s back, clinging onto him like some kid. All of these desires deep inside him come out so intensely when it comes to Incheol.