I love that mo-yeong pointed out that Sang-tae does have slightly manipulative tendencies wheather he realizes it or not. He and Mo-yeong are very similar in the way they both think of Kang-tae as wholly theirs: an ownership or possession over his person.

With Sang-tae the possessiveness has almost been cultivated by Kang-tae’s submissive behaviour. He’s always lived his life for his brother, forever in debt to him for when he almkst let him drown as a child. And so Sang-tae believes Kang-tae owns him all his time, much like how children tend to take their parents for granted.

With Mo-yeong, the possessiveness is something she must earn. Kang-tae very early on tells her he’s not hers to possess. The implication at every point being that he’s always belonged to his brother, he will always put Sang-tae first over his own needs. And so Mo-yeong has to earn Kang-tae’s time. Every moment she spends with him is a moment he takes away from his brother for himself.

Going forward, Kang-tae someone has to learn to balance his relationship with both Sang-tae and Mo-yeong so as to not get caught in between them like the Mang-tae doll they fought over in the previous episode. If he doesn’t learn to put some healthy boundaries between the 2 important people in his life then he might as well get torn in half much like the doll itself. Something that happens in this ep.