some of y'all about to be real mad at me, but...

(contains spoilers)
I finished this a while back, and recently I started thinking about it again. I know this was never intended to be a romance or a happy story, and I get that, yet I can't help but want them to have a happy ending together. "but they're horrible people! their relationship is abusive! they deserve to be in jail!" I've heard it all, but I still feel the same. call me naive, but I hate seeing people suffer through the entire story, only to gain nothing and die in the end (and don't @ me saying it's realistic, it's not). no, not every story has or needs a happy ending, but that doesn't mean someone can't wish for one or is wrong for wanting one. of course neither of them were good people, we understood that from the beginning. but characters don't have to be good for me to empathize with them, to want them to not suffer, to want them to find their own happiness. Sangwoo and Yoonbum were two broken souls seeking for something they lost or didn't have, and they found each other. so in the end, I do ship them together, not because I like the abuse or pain that happened, not because I think it's healthy, but because of what could have been, if the circumstances were different. in my head, I like to imagine them somewhere in a rural town away from people, lounging in a hammock together, finally content. do they deserve it? for me, it's not about if they deserve it or not, all I know is that - it makes me happy, so that's what I want. and honestly, it's up to the individual reader to decide what they feel towards the characters, so don't take this as me telling you what to feel, I'm just sharing my own feelings.

also, bravo to Koogi for writing such a piece. I can't wait to see if she comes out with another work!