KhunBam

KhunBam is the slash ship between Twenty-Fifth Bam and Khun Aguero Agnis from the Tower of God fandom.

Season 1 (Anime)
Khun and Bam met on the 2nd Floor of the Tower. Khun initially befriended Bam because he was in search of allies and was drawn to Rak's interest in the Black March, which was in Bam's possession at the time. Khun introduces himself to Bam while the latter was about to kill Dahdi. Bam is surprised and reciprocates, but after exchanging a handshake, Khun pulled Bam close into a face-to-face asking him where he got the Black March; to which Bam answers truthfully and says that it was borrowed from Princess Yuri. Bam rests in the shade of a rock with Khun beside him. As they talk, Khun asked if the girl Bam was searching for was his girlfriend, which Bam denies and says that he "belonged" to her. Khun is surprised by Bam's answer and then adds that the girl was his rule, he seems curious about Bam. Khun protects Bam from Rak with his bag when the Wraithraiser approached them, interested in the power within the Black March. Khun puts an arm around Bam and mocks the Spear Bearer, the three continue arguing until the second portion of the test, where they end up teaming.

Before the test of the Red Door, after Khun's past was revealed, we can see Bam reflected in Khun's eye, while Bam told Khun that the roof was really luminous. Khun got confused at that declaration, but then he told Bam that the sky was a reproduction by Shinsu based on legends. Khun also wondered why the girl climbed the tower without him, he also said that it was strange that she spended a lot of time with Bam, but then Bam complains that the girl wasn't strange, surprising Khun with the answer. When the test started, it's shown that Khun was beginning to remember about when he had been told not to trust anyone in his past. He wondered why he was thinking on that, and then he realizes: Oh, right... Those eyes referring to Bam's eyes. After they passed the test, Jinsung asked Khun if he didn't want to protect those eyes that are unaware of mistrust, which Khun thought about that for a second and then he left the place with Bam and Rak. After that, Bam asked Khun if the princess Jinsung was talking about... before finishing, Khun said that he didn't want to talk about it, which Bam apologizes to him. Khun also adds that he wishes Bam to find the girl and then Bam smiles and agrees. ''I don't know if i want to protect those eyes. But it doesn't take more people to go through the same thing as me'', Khun told in his mind. During the second round of the Crown Game, Khun tells the team to "take a break" since he had brought out his reinforcements. He leans on Bam who is on the throne and rests his head in the latter's lap. Bam doesn't seem to mind and continues to watch the fight. When Bam gets injured protecting Rachel, Khun and Rak stay by his bedside during his two-day recovery period. Rachel visits Bam while he is injured and asks Khun to keep her real identity a secret, a request which irked Khun as odd, since Bam obviously loved her- it would be cruel to keep her identity a secret. However, Khun agrees to the request, though it was more for Bam's sake than Rachel's."Sorry, Bam. But I don't want [Rachel] to come near you."

- Khun's internal dialogue, S1 EP6

After Bam wakes up, Khun is next to him and asks if he's okay. Bam tells him he is and then asks about Rachel. Khun, since he had agreed to Rachel's request earlier, lied and told Bam that the girl wasn't who he was searching for. He then shows the new clothes he had bought for Bam, since his old ones got ruined. When Shibisu and Hatz approached Bam after the Crown Game in an effort to make friends for the Scouts assignment, Khun was oddly defensive about it. He resented the two for being Anaak's teammates, since she took the Black March from Bam. Bam tells Khun that it's fine, and that the reason he wanted to help them was because Khun helped him before- despite Bam being weak and having "nothing". Khun then reluctantly agrees to be their friends after hearing what Bam said.

In Episode 7, where Bam and Khun are sitting the cafeteria across from each other, Khun hints to Bam that the girl Bam protected in the Crown Game was indeed Rachel, but she was hiding from him.

During Team A (Khun's Team)'s Persecution Game, Bam is seen cheering for Khun and praising his strategy. Despite the odds, Khun's team fails the test, but it is revealed later that Khun had assisted Quant on purpose to ensure that everyone but his friends would fail the test.

When Rachel is "injured" and becomes handicapped, Bam reassures her and declares that he would be her legs and take her to the top of the tower, which surprises Khun. He thinks of his friend Maria, and wonders if he had given up everything and said that, if things would've ended differently. Bam then asks Khun and Rak to lend him their strength so that they can bring Rachel to the top of the Tower. Rak is about to agree but gets cut off by Khun shoving him out the way (and off the bed) and saying it first. Khun stands up and says: "You can count on me. I'll take you to the top of the tower, in exactly the underhanded way you'd expect from me."

- S1 EP10

This quote is significant because in a later scene in the story, He says that he was no longer climbing the tower for Maria. Khun willingly giving up his own reason to climb the Tower for Bam is a parallel to Bam doing the same for Rachel. It is important to note that Khun and Bam have both been betrayed by women they loved but found a reason to keep going in each other (and Rak).

Despite not being there to witness Rachel's betrayal in Episode 12: Underwater Hunt (Part Two), Khun seems suspicious of Rachel. While they are listening to Yu Han Sung's speech before ascending to the next floor, Khun suddenly tells Rachel that Bam really cared for her. When Rachel claims that she knew- Khun retorts that if she really knew, she wouldn't be here. Rachel responds saying that she could see that Bam was loved, implying that Khun loves Bam.

Webtoon
When Khun gets sent into a trap by infiltrators on his team, Bam is the reason why he made it out alive. FUG blows up the Hand of Arlene in an attempt to kill Khun, but Bam made a last-ditch effort to save Khun by throwing his pocket and leaving it by Khun's side. Khun gets partially crushed by the stone, but thanks to Bam's pocket, Team Sweet and Sour finds him and saves him.

Bam and Khun learn that after their short reunion, they had to part again. Hwa Ryun would take Bam and Rak up the tower, while Khun would stay and lead Team Sweet and Sour. The two (and Rak) agree to meet up one year later on the Hell Train. As Khun walks away, Rak wonders what's wrong with Khun, since he is rarely so obedient to other's plans. Bam watches Khun go and his heart thuds.

Bam finally attacks Rachel after finding out that she tried (and nearly succeeded) in killing Khun. He uses waves of shinsu to crush the steel around them as he yells at her over and over again asking why she targeted Khun, since he "had nothing to do with [Rachel] climbing the tower." He decides not to kill her, but not before warning her not to go near the people who matter to him ever again.

Khun compares his relationship to Bam to that of Bam and Rachel's old one, which implies that he sees Bam as his "light." Khun has said before that his reason for climbing the tower is because of Bam, and that even after Bam's supposed death on the Floor of Tests, he continued to help Rachel climb the tower, because that was what Bam wanted.

After five years of believing Bam was dead, it is revealed that he had actually lived and was now a part of FUG. Despite Bam's status as a Slayer for the FUG, Khun continued to see Bam as himself, not as Viole.

They follow through with their original plan and the three meet up on the Floor of Death. Bam immediately goes to Khun, the two of them yell each other names, which when read side by side, would say, "Khun! Bam!" Khun tells Bam how worried he was after Bam stopped responding to his calls and disappeared. Bam apologizes and explains that his pocket wasn't working properly. The two converse for a bit about what's happened while they've been apart, and Endorsi is seen on the side fuming because Bam is ignoring her.

When Khun puts himself into a self-induced ice coma because of Rachel, Bam is adamant about escaping with Khun from the Hell Train. Hwa Ryun tells Bam that the chances of them surviving and taking Khun with them were extremely low. As a "solution", Bam tells the rest of his friends that whoever didn't want to go with him and Khun could take a different path and have a higher chance of survival. This is significant, as it shows that given the choice between surviving with the rest of his friends or possibly dying with Khun; Bam would choose the latter.



After Khun wakes up from his coma, Bam yells his name multiple times when he sees him and runs towards him, where the two likely hugged off-panel. Bam asks Khun a few questions about how he is before asking where Shibisu was. Khun responds that he wanted to give them some 'alone time' and stayed at the floating castle.

They have a great understanding of each other's flaws and as well as thought processes, as shown when Khun embraced Bam after the Battle of the First wall to comfort him despite Bam trying to put up a tough front. Khun also knew what exactly was bothering him, which was using the souls of their fallen comrades in battle. He gave a short speech to Bam, telling him how by feeling guilty for using the power of those souls- it was what set Bam apart from Khun and White, and that he shouldn't blame himself, since those souls likely lent their power to Bam thinking it would be used for a good cause. Bam hugs Khun back and gives him a small "...ok," as acknowledgement for what he said.

Moments

 * Bam calls Ran the "brother of his most precious friend," hinting that he thinks of Khun as his most precious friend.
 * During Bam's fight with Kaiser, his arm gets injured and Khun calls out his name in worry. Bam tells Khun to not intervene because it would be dangerous for Khun.
 * Bam openly threatens Kiseia for hurting Khun.
 * Bam praises Khun for mastering his ice shinsu.
 * Before Khun and Bam are about to go through with a rather dangerous plan, they call each other and tell one another to be careful.
 * Bam trusts Khun enough to let him use the fire fish on him.
 * Khun hugs Bam just moments after their victory at the battle of the First Wall, because he knew Bam was feeling guilty for using the souls of their fallen comrades.

Quotes
"I wish I could've met Bam before you did."

- Khun to Rachel, S1 EP13

"It is natural for you not to trust me. But- I don't care about the rules anymore. Because- I've decided to go up the Tower with you."

- Khun to Bam, S1 EP8

"If I let you die here, how would I face [Bam]?"

- Hatz to Khun, S1 EP12

"Why did you try to kill Khun? He had nothing to do with you climbing the tower. I... don't understand anymore... WHY DID YOU DO THAT?.... Why!?... Why!?... WHY!?"

- Bam confronting Rachel, S2 EP313

"When you think about it, life itself may not have any real meaning, you know? Is being obsessed with breathing & blood flowing through your body really living? In order to find meaning for me being born & living, don't I have to find something more important than that? If something comes up where I have to put my life on the line to go with it, what meaning would the rest of my life have if I were to miss that? Right now, I feel like the end of the world will come if Baam isn't here."

- Khun to Evan Edrok

Fanon
Khun's self-sacrifices and determination to keep Bam safe have caused fans to compare them to the Hunter X Hunter ship, Killugon.

A common running joke among fans is that Hwa Ryun secretly ships KhunBam due to the multiple instances she's shown concern for their relationship in the webtoon. Although this could be because she is aware of how co-dependent they are one each other. It would be dangerous for the F.U.G. if one of their slayers lost his will to fight.

Although it was never mentioned in the anime or the webtoon, fans have speculated that Khun likely felt guilty for being partly responsible for Bam's "death" in S1 EP12 of the anime. Since he was the one who suggested taking the administrator's test in the first place.

The ship has received quite a bit of hate, as some ToG fans have criticized the purpose of having a gay ship in the story. This may be because of the origins of the webtoon- Korea- which is for the most part not LGBTQ+ supportive. However, this has not deterred KhunBam fans, who've continued to support their relationship. It is important to note that the hate is only directed towards romantic shippers of KhunBam, as this ship can also be seen in a platonic light as well.

It is the most popular ship in the Tower of God fandom as well as the most written ship for both characters on AO3. It is the rival ship of EndorBam.

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Trivia

 * Tanino Miho, the general manager and one of the character designers for the Tower of God anime, ships KhunBam.
 * Prior to Bam's "death" at the end of Season 1, Bam was 178 cm and Khun was 181 cm. As of the current manhwa, Bam is now taller than Khun; however, their current exact height difference has not been revealed.
 * When agitated, Khun slips up and calls Bam by his real name instead of Viole.