Oh Sangwoo (오상우) is one of the main characters of Killing Stalking, written and illustrated by Koogi.
Appearance[]
Sangwoo is a man in his early twenties of tall, muscular stature. He has wavy, light brown hair with a black undercut. He has pronounced dark bags underneath his eyes.
He later cuts his hair, leaving the top layer straight and slightly shorter.
Sangwoo's new hairstyle.
Personality[]
In public, Sangwoo adopts a cheerful, energetic, and friendly personality, often smiling even when making eye-contact with strangers in social settings. At university, he is an extroverted person with a large circle of friends. According to Bum, he attracted many with his "empathetic, considerate, gentle aura". These positive traits mask the side of personality that is cold, cruel, and sadistic – characteristics that he is usually careful to only reveal to his victims. However, Sangwoo has also shown some volatility in this regard, speaking with hostility toward his friends or strangers when he feels particularly aggravated, and attempting to intimidate police officers when they begin digging into his crimes. But overall, he maintains his kind, charismatic persona well enough that he can charm or seduce his victims into coming home with him.
Sangwoo's abusive behavior toward Bum.
Sangwoo's psyche holds such strong aggression that he inflicts both torture and lethal violence against others, targeting women over men in the vast majority of cases. He shows no mercy for his victims or remorse for what he does to them, instead appearing to feel joy and amusement in beating and torturing them. He utilizes demeaning, harsh expletives or slurs. He often taunts them, taking on a lighthearted tone or offering them merciful, comforting words, only to revert to his earlier brutal treatment.
Because of his past, Sangwoo has a controlling, suspicious nature. This is demonstrated by the "tests" he sets up for Bum to observe his behavior and see if Bum betrays him. For example, leaving the house so Bum can have a chance to escape, but waiting outside to catch him if he does; or counting the number of pills or switching them for fake ones to make sure that Bum isn't trying to poison him. When Sangwoo finds himself unable to control a situation, he becomes upset, reacting with anger and then sadness if he remains helpless to the situation – demonstrated by his failed attempt at violence and then subsequent tears when his feet are injured and he is unable to stop Bum from leaving the house.
History[]
Sangwoo grew up as a child with an strict, negligent father, but caring and submissive mother. He and his mother were forced to eat with a small wooden table on the ground while his father ate at the table. His father frequently beat his mother, while she protected his son and showered him with affection. This is what largely made Sangwoo the way he is today. Although his mother has been shown to provide a level of comfort for Sangwoo during his childhood, his mother is also shown to show signs of mental instability. His mother would relief the stress by having affairs with other men and on one known instance, suffocating and possibly attempting to kill Sangwoo when he was a toddler (Possibly due to her getting Postpartum Depression after Sangwoo's birth). Three years ago, while he was in high school, his parents were both murdered. This was investigated by Officer Park, from which he then made acquaintance with. However, the case proved to be unsolvable, with Park comparing the case to being as though "committed by a ghost". Yang Seungbae, upon later investigation, remarks on the case's perpetrator's evidence to be seemingly planted and all-too perfect. It is implied, through memories, that Sangwoo was responsible for the death of his parents.
Plot[]
Sangwoo is first seen in several flashbacks from the mind of Bum, and is later seen in-person accompanying a female when he is approached by a police car, where he greets Officer Park and Yang Seungbae. After engaging in small talk with Park, he remarks on the new face beside him, and asks where Junjae is. He then introduces himself to Seungbae before momentarily peering down at him in a looming manner. He drops the intimidating atmopshere by joking about Park's athlete's foot. Park then informs Sangwoo about his cousin visiting his house, to which Sangwoo responds with confusion. When Sangwoo returns home, he finds Bum having discovered the tied, bruised up body of a woman Sangwoo kidnapped in his basement and approaches him from behind with a bat. Sangwoo bashes him on the right side of his body with the bat. When Bum tries to crawl away, Sangwoo grabs him by his hoodie and slams him onto the ground. Bum tries to run up the stairs to escape, only to be struck across the calves by the bat. As Sangwoo approaches him with the bat with the intent to murder him, Bum cries out that he fell in love with Sangwoo, telling him that he shared the same class and military with him and how Sangwoo saved him from a rape attempt from his superior in the army, claiming that he didn't intend to annoy him, but was unable to control his feelings. Sangwoo crouches down to Bum and asks for him to stop mumbling and then remakarks that the basement is too small for the girl and Bum. Bum begins to go up the stairs after Sangwoo's suggestion and asks if he is forgiving him. Though he affirms this, Sangwoo shoves him down the stairs to break his legs. While Bum is unconscious, Sangwoo murders the girl he'd previously kept captive after cutting her hair crudely and cutting her across the face. He additionally strips Bum of his clothing and chains his wrists. When Bum awakens, Sangwoo informs him that the girl was the daughter of the CEO of a pharmaceutical company and kept screaming for help from him while he was unconscious. Sangwoo molests and mocks the girl before deducting Bum as an middle aged, unemployed class loser. He addresses Bum's scarred wrists, supposing his father beat him or if it is related to his homosexual tendencies. Sangwoo says that he'd normally kill Bum, a boy, then kill the girl later, but reveals he hasn't murdered a male since the death of his father. He compliments Bum's effeminate frame, likening it to a girl, exempting his hair. He attempts to feed Bum with canned abalone porridge, but Bum is unable to close his agape mouth, to Sangwoo's anger; he proclaims it expensively cost 6000 won and that Bum ought to be grateful for his life being spared. When asked, Bum feebly tells him that it feels good, to which Sangwoo mocks and spills the remaining soup onto his face. Sangwoo then kisses him.
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