ikkakujuu:

Introduction

This is a post I wanted to make for a long time now.

I originally intended to put all color analysis into one post, until I realized, that this would make it absurdly long and hard to read. This analysis will be for all chapters of season 1, which includes the Korean ones which are not yet released in English. The post follows the chronological order in which the chapters have been released, so if you want to avoid spoilers you can stop reading after the analysis for 17!

If I feel like people are interested in this topic, I will make more posts for the other panel overlay colors to analyze them!

Please keep in mind, that these are my personal thoughts and interpretations, and I’m not claiming that they are the ultimate truth or that I can’t be wrong and make mistakes.

I read the comic on lezhin, please go to their website and purchase the comic to support the author koogi.

---

I will ignore colors I interpret as a pure “light” effect, like this one:

(Light from upstairs falling through the basement “door” in chapter 2. The basement often has yellow-ish overlays from above (ceiling light) and the side, I will ignore them because other colors are used as mood indicators instead.)

This is another thing I want to establish: koogi’s style has changed a lot and it seems that she did not use the same techniques when it comes to color and mood in the early chapters, as in the latest ones. So my analysis will ignore the many “random” effects used in very early chapters, since they seem to not have much meaning and relation to any deeper interpretation. They often change with each panel, without any actual difference in mood or activity between the panels.

Also there are obviously many, many situations with color overlay, and I will only pick a few examples of each chapter to show my point.

---

Part 1: Red

Red is a very heavily used color overlay, my first interpretation was danger, but it can also indicate different kinds of tension, probably in connection to insecurity which leads to a feeling of uneasiness and potential physical or emotional harm, or the fear of that, in the case of Bum’s often just in his head. In context to specific situations it can mean anger or a general outburst of negative emotion. (Especially in late chapters.)

---

One of the earlierst uses of red happens as an indicator for danger in chapter 3, right before Sangwoo marks the line Bum is not supposed to cross. Bum looks up to see the knife Sangwoo raised above him, unsure of his next move, so he feels immediate danger of physical harm. The color disappears as soon as Sangwoo loweres the knife to mark the ground.

---

It does not need an actual immediate threat to make Bum feel danger and tension. Here in chapter 4 the pure thought of trying to escape and the potential consequences (of Sangwoo slicing his neck open) are enough to make him feel as uneasy, as if there was an actual threat near by. This can probably be attributed to Bum’s very vivid imagination of things, even leading to hallucination.

Another interesting example of chapter 4 is the rat poison incident. When Bum throws the pills into the food and as he places the food in front of Sangwoo, there is a red overlay, indicating the danger of possible consequences of his actions. If it doesn not go the way he planned, there will be negative consequences, being aware of that made Bum tense and fearful, and the red overlay helps to understand his thoughts and feelings a bit better.

As a direct consequence in chapter 5, the whole panel background is red when Sangwoo forces Bum to swallow the poisoned food, showing us how afraid of the now very real physical harm Bum is.

---

When Bum drops a pot with boiling food in chapter 6, he burns his arm in the process. Having learned that Sangwoo punishes him for mistakes he flinches as his wrist is grabbed by him, immediately accompanied by a red overlay. He expects physical punishment but instead Sangwoo takes care of his wound. The red overlay vanishes and is completely replaced when Bum is asked “If he is okay”.

---

Another outstanding example is sexual tension in chapter 6. I was conflicted if I should include this example, but I personally feel like it belongs. Sexual activity is normally connected to other colors, but in this case Bum seemed especially flustered and insecure when Sangwoo suddenly changed his mind and let him perform oral sex. I  suspect that Bum felt a certain amount of pressure, maybe fear of doing something wrong and therefore experienced a slight tension with a minimal fear and danger of punishment, since the color is used very softly, but noticeably throughout the whole scene.

---

Further examples are the memory of Bum’s uncle and therefore the thought of molestation and harm because of that, and fear at the consequences of a failed escape (even the image of the front door has a red overlay and indicates danger, as the gate to freedom but possible punishment or death), both in chapter 7.

---

A very obvious and direct use of the overlay in chapter 8, Bum’s punishment for trying to escape and the sense of danger reoccurs in the following panels. The color is used to indicate tension in the same situation, when Sangwoo tries hanging Bum and instead ejaculates onto his feet, and again when he nearly drowns him and slices his neck open slightly. This is a chapter full of danger, fear and tension, immediate physical harm.

---

While many overlays seem to indicate Bum’s emotions, this chapter gives us a very good example on how it is used on Sangwoo.

He is obviously very tense at the situation where the man, and later victim, from the gay bar approaches him sexually. We can assume that Sangwoo might not have had any sexual contact with men (except for Bum) before, and especially not in a pleasure giving role. This overwhelms him and his immediate reaction is stress and he is obviously uncomfortable because of the unknown situation and his probably limited attraction to men in general.

---

Chapter 9 is a gold mine for the red overlay, the card game of life and death they play is filled with tension, fear and danger even as Bum is drawing each card with Sangwoo’s help. This obviously continues through chapter 10 while Bum is carried and pressed against the knife to kill their victim.

---

Since chapter 11 is mostly about Seungbae, there are much less red overlays but we can see some use of it at the memory of his dead father. It indicates high tension after he was murdered, in this case we can probably mix the meaning with some anger, since the situation is very different from Bum’s.

---

In chapter 12 Seungbae and Sangwoo interact after the car crash, and the mood is tense when Sangwoo is asked to hand over the black box footage and his license, indicating a danger of getting caught. The red overlay is used again when Seungbae evaluats the material and realizes, that Sangwoo is the person he suspected of murdering his own parents, showing that the situation suddenly changed into something much more serious. This feeling of danger in the presence of Sangwoo continues through the following chapter 13, especially when Seungbae is invited to check the closet in which Sangwoo suspects Bum to hide.

As soon as Sangwoo realizes, that he doesn’t know where Bum is, he get’s stressed and tense and it is visible with the red overlay again. This is another example where the feeling of tension and danger is on Sangwoo’s side for once.

---

In chapter 14 it is used when Bum’s landlord meets Sangwoo in front of the apartment, so koogi doesn’t just use it for the main characters’ mood but the general feeling of a situation. Another chapter 14 example is after Sangwoo empties Bum’s apartment, bringing home some of his belongings and also crutches which seems to stress Bum out (through worry and humiliation).

Sangwoo is quickly annoyed at Bum’s struggle to use the crutches, getting angry at him, which causes Bum to worry and stress, another sense of danger spreading as he is afraid of not being able to stand with the crutches, therefore making Sangwoo angry at him (danger of punishment). Only as he manages to keep himself up on his own, the overlay is subtituted with another color and Bum doesn’t feel the danger of negative consequences anymore.

---

In chapter 15 Bum suffers hallucinations as they attend the talent show, first in the car and later in the concert room where he feels like everyone is staring at him but no one is helping and believing him, these are the only moments in this chapter of danger and stress emphasized by the red overlay.

---

Chapter 16 is low in interactions between Sangwoo and Bum, because of the performance with Jieun, this causes some tension after Bum admits his wish to perform oral sex on Sangwoo. Since Bum is actually distressed and unhappy at that moment, we can interpret his stressed reaction to the seemingly unfitting behavior of Sangwoo, just acting on what Bum had described as his fantasy in the previous, but not the current, situation. The tension is dropping quickly as Bum seems to find enjoyment in their actions.

---

In chapter 17 we get many, many light effects which can partly be confused for mood colors, but I will concentrate on the heavy red examples we can find here. There are very intense situations, starting with a soft red overlay when Bum slips into Donggyu’s lap, despite it being a mistake, he doesn’t know how Donggyu and Sangwoo will react to this, so he seems worried.

The next example is the car scene, in which Bum catches Sangwoo’s grinning reflection in the window, already foreshowing what is going to happen later, Bum can feel the danger of the situation. As soon as they get home, Bum get’s grabbed by the arm and dragged into the closet, feeling tense all the time, it reaches a high when Sangwoo pushes him into the closet.

We see this through Bum’s eyes, and the stress continues as soon as he notices Sangwoo and Jieun having sex right in front of him. This is a very distressing chapter for Bum, with intense changes of mood.

---

Analysis for chapter 18 & 19 under the cut - SPOILERS

---

Keep reading