#ch. 37

He’s so accustomed to speaking to Bum this way or to disregarding what Bum wants or says that he says the same thing three different ways. So he either realizes Bum doesn’t understand him, or he was just willing to repeat himself until he received a response. But once he gets his point across, Bum lights up and responds in the affirmative instantly.

First try. He notices Bum cradling the little frog (jealously or not, I don’t know). He puts a negative spin on it, questioning Bum’s intentions.

Second try. Sangwoo minimizes the object rather than Bum’s intentions (wad of cotton rather than frog) - maybe to embarrass Bum, or maybe, again, because he’s jealous of the frog getting smiles from Bum.

Notice in both cases Bum is just like, “??????”. He doesn’t understand Sangwoo. Sangwoo is asking him a basic question, but he’s asking it in a way that he’s not being understood.

Third attempt. Sangwoo speaks clearly. He doesn’t question Bum’s intentions or the value of the little object, he just states himself clearly.

Bum responds immediately. He’s taciturn in so many scenes, and responds in the negative so often, but in this case after it seems like maybe he’s choosing not to respond at first, it turns out that he didn’t understand what he was being asked.

The next shot is a creepy clown picture that I’m not sure how to interpret, so I’m not posting it, but it’s just Sangwoo staring at him and the mask smiles creepily.

I suppose it struck me because in Ch. 36 especially, but in many other instances as well (they just mix together cuz I read them so fast), I felt like I didn’t understand what the hell Sangwoo was saying half of the time. He alluded to so many things but rarely just spoke plainly.