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Ghost: Episode 5

This series is moving way too fast. Things are being unraveled and revealed much sooner than I expected them to be, which is a good thing since it keeps to a fast pace and makes the ante high. But then it makes me wonder whether this series will fizzle out sooner or later. Right now it’s a cat and mouse game – but unfortunately the mouse doesn’t know all the parts to the cat’s trap. Yet.

Jo Hyun Min is now here! Decisions can now be made. With only 25 minutes left before the market opens, the council reevaluates their situation. The last Friday they had a DDOS attack (Distributed Denial of Service Attack) – meaning a hacker had taken over several computers virtually (turning them into “zombie computers”), and prevented users from accessing a particular website or network, causing a “server overload.” It is potentially crippling as the hacker can use this opportunity to commit other cyber crimes. Now the hackers have threatened a second attack if Sekang Securities doesn’t send money to their account by 9AM.

The Security Team Leader assures Hyun Min that they have prepared for a potential DDOS attack, but Woo Hyun doesn’t think that’s enough. If the hackers are threatening to shut down the Home Trading System, that’s far more crippling than just a DDOS attack that prevents people from reaching the site. Everyone else is confident that their hardware and servers are tightly secured, but Woo Hyun points out that there are human beings who are making sure that hardware is secure.

Hypothetically, the server manager is supposed to hold the ID and password that controls all the servers a secret. But the server’s subcontractors have to do monthly checkups on the servers, and they’ll require the password. The server manager is supposed to enter the ID and password at odd hours of the day, so instead of doing so, he might just give the log in information to the subcontractor. That subcontractor may not be the same person each time, so they’ll pass on that log in information to the next one. At a certain point, dozens of people could know the ID and password.

And hypothetically, if the server manager were diligent and never shared the log in information, other employees could still bring in a virus that will infect all the computers at the company. All they need to do is download a file that has the virus code, carry it in a USB, and insert that USB into the company computers.

Woo Hyun’s hypothetical situations are disconcerting to say the least, so Hyun Min asks what he thinks they should do. A little cockily, Woo Hyun believes the whole thing is a bluff. If these hackers could only do a DDOS attack last Friday, then they probably don’t have the capability to bring down an entire trading system.

Hyun Min asks one of his directors, Director Moon, to hand over the hacker’s account number. And then, in front of everyone, he tears it up. They’ll just have to wait and see now! Wow his faith in Woo Hyun is so high. Even Hyuk Joo is a little astonished by what just happened.

The minutes and the seconds tick by, and I would have fired that annoying git who has to do a second-by-second countdown. Finally it’s 9AM. The trading numbers and graphs load… and everything works perfectly. There’s been no attack!

Hyun Min thanks Woo Hyun for his work, and then comments on the recent accident. “I don’t think you’ve fully recovered yet,” he notes, “since you don’t seem to remember me.” Uh-oh… Woo Hyun is slightly alarmed – is he supposed to know Hyun Min?!

Now everything is revealed to us – perhaps not a moment too soon. As Hyun Min fills up his office air with “The Phantom of the Opera,” we see what happened the night Hyo Jung died. As she tried to write an email to the news agency about the Phantom file, Hyun Min had tweeted under her account that “she” wanted to die. Then he pushed her out the window, and deleted her email. Woo Hyun had discovered this when he knocked on his door, and Hyun Min readily confessed to killing Hyo Jung.

Hyun Min was also the other man in the Phantom video file who handed over the poisoned alcoholic drink to the victim with Woo Hyun. As it seems like they’re close, there’s no way Woo Hyun would have given up Hyun Min to the police. But Hyun Min finds it strange that Woo Hyun treated him as if they had met for the first time. Director Moon – who’s in on this whole shenanigans too! – posits that the temporary amnesia is due to post-traumatic stress disorder, but Hyun Min doesn’t think so…

Back at the bureau, a leggy, beautiful actress in shades walks out of the cyber crimes office. She’s the actress Kang Seo Ra, who’s been recently enveloped in a sex tape scandal. Tae Gyun is starstruck when he passes her in the hallways, and runs excitedly to get confirmation from Young Suk that it really was her. Kang Seo Ra was just photoshopped in the sex tape, right? She never would have done that, right? Young Suk rolls his eyes, disinterested – it’s not like Kang Seo Ra is pretty or anything, since he thinks Kang Mi is prettier.

Tae Gyun: *picks up a piece of paper from Young Suk’s desk* Isn’t this Kang Seo Ra’s autograph?

Young Suk: Oh… I got that autograph for my son.

Tae Gyun: Oh. Your son’s name is “Detective Han”?

Kaedejun: Busted!!! Sucker!!!

Woo Hyun arrives at the office and immediately does a search on Hyun Min and Sekang Securities in the database, but nothing shows up. Even Kang Mi has never heard of him, but she doesn’t think tracking down Hyun Min is a priority right now. What’s more important is that Hyuk Joo has found evidence that it was Woo Hyun who hacked into Jung So Eun’s computer with the Hades virus.

Sang Woo enters Hyuk Joo’s office with an update. While no authorized computer within the police department hacked into Jung So Eun’s computer, it’s possible someone used a different computer within the building still. On top of that, he managed to locate a CCTV file that recorded Woo Hyun entering the evidence room around the time that the hacking had begun.

Oooooh – this is seriously good evidence.

Hyuk Joo heads into the evidence room to look for anything that could have been used. Sang Woo claims to have already checked and found nothing, but Hyuk Joo locates Hades’ laptop. This could have been used, no? They take the laptop to Eung Jin, requesting that he search the log records and see if the hacker used that computer to break into Jung So Eun’s computer.

Eung Jin is absolutely skeptical. When the laptop first came in, they tried to do a full hard drive scan but couldn’t because the entire drive was password protected. 1 point for Woo Hyun! Sang Woo: “You couldn’t access this laptop? I thought you had a doctorate degree!” Hahah – true that, my friend! But Eung Jin dismisses it entirely; only if it were Hades himself could that computer be used to hack in to Shin Hyo Jeong’s computer. Well that’s an idea…

During an overview meeting on the DDOS attack on Sekang Securities, Young Suk reveals that the hackers all seem to have originated from Hong Kong, which means the hackers might be Dae Young group. That rings a bell for Woo Hyun (since he is a hacker at heart). Dae Young group has all the best and brightest hackers, and so taking down a trading system would have been a piece of cake for them. And yet they didn’t do so.

Everyone’s amazed at Woo Hyun’s expansive knowledge on hackers. Young Suk also adds that the leader of Dae Young, Professor Dam Sa Myung, and his second-in-command Wang Ji Wi, both disappeared from Hong Kong a week ago. A picture of Wang Ji Wi comes onscreen, and he’s with… Vans Man! They’re all connected!! But only Kang Mi and Woo Hyun see the importance of this detail.

Tae Gyun bursts into the room with new intel – as he was investigating Kang Seo Ra’s sex tape, he found the virus used to create zombie computers that then launched the DDOS attack on Sekang. Dae Young group must have created that video and inserted that code within it. Then, because so many people downloaded that video to watch – including employees within Sekang – plenty of zombie computers were created.

Woo Hyun is ready to hunt down the root person and location of where that video was first spread. (Yep – Hyuk Joo is gonna have a hard time tying a leash around Woo Hyun the Lone Wolf.) Step one: download the video. Step two: locate the IP addresses where the original upload occurred. Though Kang Mi wants to track down Vans Man, Woo Hyun wants to catch Dae Young first. He knows that the uploaders are probably just part-time workers who are getting paid cents just to do this upload for Dae Young, so he plans to track them down, which will lead him to Dae Young, which will then lead him to Vans Man.

He prints out the list of IP addresses where the uploads occurred, most of which are at various PC cafes. Suddenly, the both of them hear moaning. The video started playing on Woo Hyun’s screen! UHHH… Kang Mi tries to find something else to focus on, and then Woo Hyun realizes he ought to close that video. Ya think? Awkward!

The first PC cafe shows that the part-timer had uploaded the video while checking baseball stats; it indicates that their suspect part-timer is a baseball fan. Woo Hyun is still puzzled over why Dae Young would only freeze Sekang’s website for a few seconds if they had the ability to control thousands of zombie computers and could paralyze the country’s network. He thinks they have another agenda.

Another agenda they must have… as Vans Man is busy breaking into a Mr. Noh Shin Il’s home… Hmm…

Hyuk Joo heads over to the old “True Story” building to see if he can fish up some more details on Park Ki Young and Kim Woo Hyun. The office looks to have been untouched since Ki Young had left it; half-read books with business card-bookmarks litter the tables, and calendars with sticky notes left in the month of May from the previous year.

He hears someone approaching and quickly hides near the door, which I think is kind of useless. But he does manage to surprise Seung Yoon, who’s come in looking for her own things. He asks is she knows Park Ki Young’s password to his computer; she does, as they shared computers. But Seung Yoon is smart – why should she just freely give out information to a detective who has no warrant? She’ll only tell him something if he gives her something in return.

Hyuk Joo: I hate girls who play games, especially such a small one like you. Seriously…

Seung Yoon: I can’t stand ugly guys.

Hyuk Joo: I’m ugly!?

BWAHAHA – touche, gal!

For the password, Seung Yoon wants information on Kim Woo Hyun. Hyuk Joo’s suddenly interested – does someone else aside from him think Woo Hyun is odd too? She wants to know whether it’s true that Shin Hyo Jung’s real killer is alive or not, and how Woo Hyun knew her name the first time they met. Hyuk Joo readily admits that he’s investigating “something” within the bureau, and if it becomes a scoop he’ll tell her first. She then tells him the password Ki Young used on his computer was “SINCE1999.”

Off he goes to Eung Jin, and he prods him to take out Hades’ laptop. Hurry, hurry! Eung Jin stares at Hyuk Joo blankly – so what’s the password? Hyuk Joo spells it out for him. Eung Jin: “You sure about that?” Hyuk Joo: “Just do it!” Eung Jin enters it in.

Access denied.

Bwahahah! I can practically feel Eung Jin rolling his eyes over how ridiculous Hyuk Joo is.

Woo Hyun and Kang Mi work all throughout the night tracking down one PC cafe after another. All the locations are luckily in the same neighborhood, so it’s likely that the suspect part-timer lives nearby. Kang Mi gets up to move to the next location, but then a kid in a baseball cap and jacket enters the cafe.

No way – he can’t possibly be that obvious…

But obvious he is! As soon as he hears one of the workers refer to Kang Mi as a detective, he makes a run for it. They run through back alleyways and through the busy streets, before the suspect (whom I’m nicknaming Baseball Kid) escapes into another PC cafe. He hurriedly tells the owner to not tell anyone he’s there, and then runs into the bathroom before Kang Mi can spot him.

Baseball Kid himself is shocked that a woman as pretty as she would be a detective. Looks can be deceiving fella, and the person in the bathroom thinks so too. Baseball Kid turns around… it’s Woo Hyun, whipping out the handcuffs!

Vans Man contacts Wang Ji Wi after he completes his break-in, checking in to make sure that everything is set. He reminds him that the attack must look like a DDOS attack, which means they’re definitely planning something bigger. Behind Wang Ji Wi, a small group of hackers are busy working in their small office. One of them gets a ping from Baseball Kid, asking for an advance on his pay.

Of course, Baseball Kid is working under the orders of Woo Hyun and Kang Mi, as part of his job was to never contact Dae Young first. He’s a little nervous about what his contact at Dae Young would do, but he keeps feeding a sob story to his contact about why he needs the money. All Woo Hyun needs is a reply from Dae Young’s side so that he can locate them… and finally the contact replies! He requests for whatever Baseball Kid has done with the viral video, and Woo Hyun quickly jumps in to send a different kind of file.

The contact at Dae Young clicks the file open… and Woo Hyun is in! His file had a viral code that allowed him to turn on the webcam and take a snapshot.

Dam Sa Myung is also in that office, and he immediately notices the web cam light turned on. He slams the computer closed and tells everyone to pack up – they’ve been compromised!

The photo slowly downloads for Woo Hyun and Kang Mi to see. Behind Baseball Kid’s contact is Wang Ji Wi and Dam Sa Myung. To have both heads present in one room must mean that their planned attack is going to be big. Woo Hyun also notices there is a white board behind them with the words “D-Day, June 12, 9:00.” It’s a little unclear, but that means they’re planning a bigger attack today, in just under three hours.

Yikes. But the good news is, Dae Young group is in Korea; a Korean billboard advertisement in the background confirms as much.

After pulling an all-nighter, Tae Gyun notices that the virus embedded in the Kang Seo Ra sex tape has the date and time of the DDOS attack. Instead of the date and time being last Friday, when the first attack occurred, it’s now June 12 at 9AM. Young Suk notifies his superiors, including Director Jun. It’s time to get every single expert, bureau, and agency involved.

Everyone gathers in the conference room for the emergency meeting, and Hyuk Joo gives his report to Chief Shin on the situation. Since the attack is so great, the target could be anything – financial institutions, Blue House, National Intelligence Service – but Director Jun has already made sure the affected institutions take precautionary measures.

Woo Hyun interrupts – the Dae Young team is in Korea. If it were a simple DDOS attack, they wouldn’t have come all the way to Korea for that and risk capture. Their presence suggests that they’re planning for something bigger. Hyuk Joo gets all caught up on wondering how Woo Hyun knows all this, wondering if Woo Hyun is doing some illegal hacking on his own. Dude – that is not the issue right now!! Director Jun puts an end on Hyuk Joo and Woo Hyun’s little tiff, and orders everyone to work on preventing the DDOS. Oh I see – so you’re going to disregard Woo Hyun’s advice.

Since no one wants to follow his advice, Woo Hyun decides to act independently again. He’s going to try and locate Dae Young’s offices based on that webcam photo. Kang Mi can either help him, or go help with DDOS prevention – which will be futile.

By process of elimination, Woo Hyun narrows down the possible locations based on how many of those particular billboards exist in Korea, and where they are in relation to highways and buildings. Meanwhile, the police bureau scramble to send the message to all institutions about the attack at 9AM. Even Hyun Min is notified of the attack, but he doesn’t seem particularly worried.

Hyuk Joo returns to the cyber team’s office, but doesn’t see Woo Hyun around. Alone, he goes into Woo Hyun’s office and looks around the desk. Something about the desk is strangely familiar – the way that the post-its are lined up on the calendar…the way that books are bookmarked by business cards…the way that the business cards are stacked right-side up and then upside down…

He logs in to Woo Hyun’s computer with the password, “SINCE1999.” Access granted.

OH CRAP! He’s just figured out that Woo Hyun is Ki Young! (Or wait, should I say that Ki Young is Woo Hyun?)

8:58. Woo Hyun locates the building Dae Young was at, and breaks into their offices. It’s been completely vacated, save for the furniture. He goes through the drawers and the trash, hoping to find some clue on their activities and current whereabouts.

8:59. The entire bureau waits anxiously as they watch the clock tick down the final seconds to 9:00AM. When the clock strikes 9, they glance at the Internet map of Korea. Everything seems to be in the clear. There’s no DDOS attack! Calls start coming in; the Blue House and the broadcasting companies report that everything is normal. People start wondering if the whole attack was a bluff, which can be a good thing, but also a bad thing.

But then, Young Suk gets a call. One of the banks got attacked. A team hurries out to help the bank resolve its problem when another call comes in – one more bank was just hit! And that’s when all the problems start coming in. Financial institutions are the victims this time from the DDOS attack, and the cyber team desperately tries to disconnect each zombie computer’s IP address in the hopes of stopping the DDOS attack.

Eung Jin is informed that Woo Hyun found the location of Dae Young’s hideout, but that they’re no longer to be found. Hyuk Joo snatches the hideout’s address away from Eung Jin’s grasp. Guess who’s going to the hideout to join Woo Hyun?!

Kang Mi is actually helping Woo Hyun with tracking down Dae Young’s activities. Woo Hyun’s found an address written in Chinese in the trash, and forwards it to her, thinking it might be another hiding place. Instead, the address brings her to Noh Shin Il’s home. Mrs. Noh thinks that Kang Mi is there to ask questions about the recent robbery at their place, even though she doesn’t know why a cyber crime investigator would get involved. All that was stolen were some of her jewelry.

Back at Dae Young’s office, Woo Hyun sees the whiteboard; it’s been erased, but the marker streaks are still visible by the sunlight. With a marker, he carefully traces the streaks. The date is June 12, but the time is actually 9:30AM.  Looks like Dae Young had a decoy plan at 9:00, and the real plan set for 9:30AM…

He calls up Kang Mi, who’s still at Noh’s home. Dae Young was only using the DDOS attack as a diversion to keep the police busy. Their plan was to release Stuxnet – a virus that infects systems controlling and monitoring specific industrial processes. These processes can include water treatment, gas pipelines, electricity transmissions, etc. – any public and industrial works that all have a part in helping a country run smoothly. Woo Hyun even refers to an incident in Iran where the Stuxnet virus damaged the country’s nuclear program. The only way for this virus to spread is if they have access to the highest level of security for whatever their target is.

Meanwhile, Mr. Noh Shin Il heads off to work, going through intense security and giving up his cellphone before entering his workplace. And, of all places, he works at Daehan Electric Power Corporation.

Kang Mi notices a photo in the Noh’s living room. Mrs. Noh tells her that her husband works for the security team at Daehan Electric Power Corp. Oh great – so that’s why Vans Man was there. He broke in to their home, used Mr. Noh’s USB to load in the Stuxnet virus, and then staged a robbery.

Woo Hyun dashes off to the parking lot. If he’s hoping to catch Mr. Noh before it’s too late, he’s kinda too late. Mr. Noh inserts his USB drive into his work computer. In an instant, that virus infects the servers at Daehan Electric Power Corp. And just before Woo Hyun can enter his car, Hyuk Joo pulls him back! And slaps a handcuff on Woo Hyun’s wrist!

Hyuk Joo: “I’m taking you in as suspect in the Shin Hyo Jung case, Kim Woo Hyun. Or should I call you Park Ki Young?”

Hyuk Joo looks so freaking excited over this victory, while Woo Hyun’s eyes bug out. And I’m sitting here thinking what an idiot Hyuk Joo is. Korea could be decimated, and all you care about is Shin Hyo Jung’s killer?! Even Woo Hyun says as much, but Hyuk Joo just thinks those are all excuses for him to not get arrested right now.

But it’s not an excuse. Mr. Noh watches as the servers in his company start crashing, and the Stuxnet virus rapidly spreading. Pull out the USB!!! In the parking lot, the lights slowly go off. Seoul is plunged into darkness as the power plant loses its ability to control the electricity distribution throughout Korea. Traffic lights stop working, causing chaos on the streets. Surgeons lose their power mid-surgery. People are stranded in train stations and elevators. Yeah – this blackout is going to cause some serious problems…

So Detective Kwon Hyuk Joo – you still want to talk about the Shin Hyo Jung case?

Comments:

I hate, hate, HATE Hyuk Joo. Which means, props to the writer for making him so hateful! He’s got the smarmiest expressions in all of mankind, but what makes him more frustrating is his controlling attitude. Now that he’s got the power, he isn’t afraid to use it against Woo Hyun. It’s annoying that he doesn’t trust Woo Hyun (since I’m naturally on our hero’s side), but I can see why he doesn’t like the fellow; his hatred for Woo Hyun has been built upon from the start of the series, so his motives are solid. Nevertheless, his bias against Woo Hyun is also giving him tunnel vision. He can’t see the bigger issue that they are facing because he’s so busy trying to pin down Woo Hyun. Dude – your job as the team leader of the Cyber Safety Department is to stop cyber crimes! Catch Woo Hyun on your free time, ‘kay?

I’m hoping that after this case, Hyuk Joo will trust Woo Hyun a little more when Woo Hyun says something bad will happen. I can understand why he doesn’t yet, but it was maddening for me to watch Hyuk Joo care more about the Shin Hyo Jung case and catching Hades than actually solving this national crisis.

As for Uhm Ki Joon, he was sorely underused in this episode, but I’ll be patient. As more pieces fall into place with each case, Woo Hyun will be even closer to discovering all the nasty skeletons Hyun Min has in his closet. Then Hyun Min would show up more in each episode, rather than just be the overseeing Evil Eye. I find him quite the villain: he’s got the benign face with a schoolboy haircut, and yet behind all that is a calculating mind with a cold heart, with a penchant for “The Phantom of the Opera” theme. (I do kinda wish he could get a new theme song…)

There are a lot of details in this drama that must have required a lot of research, and that makes me more impressed with the writer. Not only are there so many technical cyber hacking terms that I myself am learning as I watch, but she even makes references to the Iran incident where their nuclear facility really was hit with a Stuxnet virus. It helps ground the drama in the real world, and remind us that cyber hacking is a real threat. As a drama premise it sounds and feels fantastical – but it’s really not. And then there are also the minor details she plants early on so that its fruits will reveal itself later, such as Ki Young’s habits that then help Hyuk Joo clue in to Woo Hyun’s secret. The devil is in the details, but it sure is paying off.

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yay..for my heroes

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Agreed - I can't stand it when the phantom of the opera plays - but the show is pretty good to pass up at this point in time!

My expectations for future episodes are expectedly higher - only 5 episodes in and Korea's infrastructure is down. What more?

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I guess only loving that melody to pieces saves me from cringing when it plays, I actually enjoy it LOL

But I do feel that the ghost/phantom theme was already exhausted with the serial crimes story arc. But now that we know who it really is...he's not so much of a phantom anymore. To be honest, it was used quite skilfully in that story arc, but I can't see it matching the rest of the series.

Taking this in consideration, I still won't mind this song being played yet again, it builds up so many emotions when listening to it...but timing can kill even that, till now... it was okay.

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I couldn't breath during this episode...

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I actually mentally paired Seung Yoon and Hyuk Joo for two seconds.
All those K-dramas have messed with my brain. Any funny tension between a man and a woman has to be the prelude of sexual tension. Especially if they are alone in a room and exchanging silly remarks about each other...

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KAEDEJUN, thanks for the recap. Like you, i am also looking up for hacking terms, your explanations are helpful too :D

ELINA, you are not the only one! i admit, i thought the same hahaha! let's say "great minds think alike" and our thoughts have highly been formed by the kdramas. Most love stories begin with bickering, insults, sometimes, assaults, which create tension, you have a common goal, all this bring you together and then bam! you see the light and regard your potential partner under a different light! you have fallen in love :P but this drama is solely concentrated on Ki Young turned Woo Hyun. So only the scent of romance is there, the lead actress has almost zero screen time together with the lead actor. Maybe it changes later on but up until ep 6 it has been the same. I have no objections and like the tension, cyber world is indeed interesting, although it is a world full of unknowns to me. It is like watching MIDAS, where i needed to search for financial terms to keep up with it, the loveline was also somewhat weak, but if you enjoy merger and acquisition, exchange stock market manipulation, company takeovers, slush funds, it was educational and enjoyable to watch. Jang Hyuk acted well too.

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Aaaand I'm adding MIDAS to my to-watch list :)

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Agree on the first sentence :D
For me, the reason is that they are both annoying (to our hero) :D

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you're not alone i think the same. lol

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Me too!

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It was so nailbiting I'm glad I waited until E6 was out as well. Am. So. Mad with Hyuk-joo as well. Hello...? Total chaos vs a criminal who works right under your nose! Prioritize man!

I was so surprise with the super early reveal as well, but that could also mean the writer has even better stuffs up her sleeves right? I'm loving Ghost more than I thought though it has nothing to do with SJS or LYH. It's the story that pulls me, like you said, so many stuffs that I'm learning as I watch too.

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I think that Hyuk Joo is pretty smart and is drawing reasonable conclusions, he is even half right. Not only that, but he is doing what cops are supposed to do, which is to seek out the truth. It is too bad that Kang Mi couldn't have leveled with him in the first place. I think that at some point Hyuk Joo will actually join forces with Ki Young and Kang Mi, although it might not be until one of the last episodes.

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I like how fast the story is unfolding by this point which I didn't expect at all. I thought that the identity-switch plot will be dragged for few more episodes, but to have Crazy Cow to find it out already was surprising. I do hope that there are something else in store to keep the story engaging, otherwise, just like kaede pointed out, it will fizzle out

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I don't know whether to hate the bad guy or to love him. I mean, he looks damn harmless! I guess, it was exactly what they wanted us to think. It's nerve-wrecking with the whole mystery within a mystery. Woo Hyun had too many secrets and it is being unrevealed with each episodes. But, I am worried at how fast Ki Young would catch up that his buddy was in too deep before he would get his throat sliced. I can't hate Hyuk Joo though, I can understand him to a degree. He strive on his personal 'truth' which I can't say is wrong. I mean, our hero is assuming a dead person's identity - which would technically made him the anti-hero, dontcha think?

This is one drama where all the lines are blurred for me. Hades/Ki Young now pretending to be Woo Hyun is not your conventional hero at all. He is rough, arrogant (not heroic arrogance, but a pain in the butt that made me want to kick his sorry behind sort of arrogance) and he is ignorant. He is filled with pride but he didn't even realize the details.

But, I must say the codename "Hades" sounds overused... I was a little *facepalm*, though, I am glad they didn't use "Falcon" because I would have cringe at that... :P

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Sorry! I see that I have echoed some of your comments.

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KD! Thank you for your hard work!!!

I must admit that I am enjoying this drama very much, after Daniel Choi left the show, I thought that it was going to be a drag, but SJS is doing a great job at channeling Hades.

I think for the first time I am watching a Korean cop show that I really like, specially the fast pace of the show, I am glad how all the new crisis, are being resolve in just one episode and not get drag all over, Mad Cow is doing a great job, and the heroine is doing a better job here than in Paradise Ranch....Keep up the good work, and thanks again!!!

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Yup2 this is the first Koren cop show that I quite like. The mystery behind the real Woo Hyun interests me much. And Uhm Ki Joon... well surely he has a big past relation with Woo Hyun.

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*SPOILER* read this after watching ep 6 *SPOLIER*

my guess is, the dad was corrupted, that's why Ki Young was disappointed with his bestfriend's father. He hoped he could be of help, but Woo Hyun's dad shut him off flat. Ki Young's values, dreams of becoming a rightful police was shattered, so he left the academy, never trusted police, didn't tell the real reason of his quitting to Woo Hyun though not to turn him against his own father, as many Kdramas prove: blood is thicker than water.
I suppose Globy's firm was actually innocent, was framed by the higher ups to cover up for one of their own. Out of depression, frustration, helplessness or because of being wronged, i guess that Globby's father, the founder of the company committed suicide, or he was murdered. So Globby wanted to run rampant for his revenge but first he had to rise from his ashes and come back for revenge, where he also commits crimes, but the outcome legalizes his methods in his mind. And because he was once wronged by the political machinations, police force and so on, he is out there to make his own law with the power of money.
Maybe Woo Hyun's dad had a change of heart after the confrontation with Ki Young and wanted to make things right, so he was betrayed/ attacked by the hunchmen of the corrupted higher ups. He confessed to his son everything before his accident, so Woo Hyun befriended Globby to take revenge for his framed family company and to clear his father's names, and maybe in the process Woo Hyun was playing a double agent, so Globby is now not sure, where his loyalties lie.
That's what i think up until now. Love this series, keeps me at the edge of my seat. Thanks for the recap :) See you next week :D

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Not just the two dads....

There something fishy about Chief Shin as well. I understand that he treats Woo Hyun "Like a son" but throughout the series so far, he is just biased and takes Woo Hyun's side all the time dismissing any sort of accusation or investigation about Woo Hyun (now Hades).

What kind of Chief of the Investigation Bureau doesn't investigate anything? I think the past history of him and Woo Hyun will be told in the upcoming episodes. Especially with this new reporter chick that was just introduced.

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Me thinks so too.
Something's strange in this affection.
I get that Woo Hyun was a good cop, but it cannot have been enough to make him such a protégé.

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As a person that actually does Computer Science I am impressed with this drama and regret not watching it earlier. Looks like I only catch up with the best dramas when they are 6 episodes in already(same happened with QIHM). More smart heroes please!

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Sometimes I have problem why each case has to be in two eps, are we lacking. But then again cases are complex, and they have to put second story in ep as well.

I don't have problem with Mad cow (except yelling), he's cop with policy you did crime you do time.

Sometimes, infor.-cyber stuff, I don't have clue what they're talking about, but it looks so cool I don't mind. Result is important.

Does Phantom wanna rule world, by ruling financial market...hmmm

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I too am like, "Have NO idea whatsoever they're talking about but it sounds cool!!"....it gets funnier when SJS in his monotone voice 'explains' to the viewer what's going on. hahaa

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Hehaa true dear, I bet he is reading it from the paper...
Does SJS learn something from Hades? ;)

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this drama really messes with my head, like half the time i forget this is Hades and not WH so when like he has flashbacks esp in the next ep i was like hang on how did he know that if he parted ways with KY soon after graduating and they never kept in touch? then i remember oh yeahs, this is KY not WH...aaagghhh! frustration!

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This drama is way beyond my expectation. I love it!

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I can't understand why Hyuk Joo is made head of the Cyber Crime Unit. You would think that this position would require a lot of technical expertise. It's convenient for the drama but it doesn't make sense.

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He's older so technically more "experienced" for the job. All the other members of the team are young and probably not considered worthy/ready for the leadership role they have to take on as head of the unit.

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My real boss in real life doesn't understand a 10th of what my team works with.
She's a lame boss, but still, she got the job.

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thank you much for the recap!^^

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i couldn't agree with you more about Hyuk Joo character, he's so annoying and i think i hate him more than our villain lol.

the thing with this drama it's that i don't really have a character that i love, of course i root for Woo Hyun and Kang Mi but i watch this show more because of the story than anything else.

anyway thanks for the recap :)

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yeah, the mad cow guy did nothing in this episode other than investigate our hero. I didn't know who was more annoying: he or the reporter female. I can't believe the latter was suspicious of WH just because he knew her name.

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I think it's kind of funny when The Phantom Of The Opea starts playing... it leads to a climax that something bad is about to happen in a scene... then the show ends tune-in next week. Since Ghost is only shown on Wed-Thur. only.

I dislike Police Officer/Detective/ (whatever is his next title is in the police force) Kwon Hyuk Joo. Give this guy a badge he turns himself into a jerk or crazy man. He is so fixated on Kim Woo-Hyun aka Park Gi-Young secret.

Jo Hyun Min - Ceo of Segang Securities - oh what a bad guy. I'm guessing that he has 2 faces... a good persona only in the public eye and the darkside...wickedness or evil impulse in him. He's Phantom paying others to do the dirty job while he keeps his hand clean. Male version of a Black widow. As shown in one scene, he was the one who pushed Shim Hyo Jung out of her high rise apartment window whic lead to her death. He hire some one to kill Kim Woo-Hyun & Park Gi-Young in an explosion of a factory. The same person he hire to kill Kim Woo-Hyun in hospital too. The end result Kim Woo-Hyun died from his injuries in OR & Park Gi-Young survived his surgery...his end result he takes on the persona of Kim Woo-Hyun who he looks like.

In reference to SIGNS (Korean drama 2011) where the Kang Seo-Yeon (female black widow) daughter of Kang Joon-Hyuk (a politician) did the killings and she almost got a way with it until she got caught by the secret video taping that Yoon Ji-Hoon set up himself at his apartment that show the black widow's action that lead to Yoon J-Hoon's death.

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Omg I hate Hyuk Joo so much too, but I love to hate him but I hate to love him, if that makes since? But I have hope that he will join our heroes sides too, bc if he's so intent on catching Hades as the killer than he'll be willing to catch the bigger badder guy right? And that was so funny when the sex video started playing and it was so awkward, I couldn't stop laughing. I never tought I was going to love Ghost this much! Makes me wish I was a hacker/computer genius

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It shouldn't have been that awkward. They make it seem like nobody's seen porn before. Kang Mi's in the cyber-crime unit, most of cyber-crime IS porn!

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I had the same thought.
But I don't complain. Too little interaction between the lead, so I take anything.

I do love how it was blurry. :D

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I feel the same. Can't really fault the guy for being single-minded because that's just who he is, but I'll be damned if it isn't annoying. I have to keep telling myself THAT'S WHAT HE'S THERE FOR-- to run interference and throw up the roadblocks for our protagonists for dramatic tension.

It's hard to keep hating him, though, when he comes up with gems like "I'm ugly?" followed by an expression of genuine surprise. And an episode or two back when he and WH/KY were wearing the same suit and he muttered to himself "We're wearing the same suit but why do they look so DIFFERENT? See, this is why I hate you."

He's got an inferiority streak a mile wide but you've got to admire his honesty and the fact that he isn't too proud to admit when someone's bested him and gives credit where credit is due.

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I like the drama and think the writer is doing a great job with details like the Iran Stuxnet virus, which was real. But, I can't help but note some discrepancies with procedures regarding evidence and potential crime scenes. Don't the police tend not to touch anything to prevent tampering with evidence like fingerprints? Why doesn't anyone use gloves to touch things? Is that merely a cultural thing?

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And we didn't see any use of fingerprints...
We need CSI Miami & Ghost ;)

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Even in Vampire Prosecutor (at least the first half of the show) they'd be handling the evidence with bare hands. o_O

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Thanks so much Kaedejun for this recap!!! waiting for the episode's 6
before this drama started i decided it would be my drama of the year because it was my first time watching a SJS's drama while airing... well i'm only too happy to say that Ghost never dissapoint, it's clever, cool, fast and so full of suspense!!!! this episode was so good!! sjs is looking so handsome!!! and mad cow is getting on my nerves (but i can't dislike him) i guess we'll see more of EKJ from epi 7
i wish wednesday to come now!!!

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I don't know if I missed it before, or if it is only in episodes 5 and 6. But The Phantom is not the only musical tribute. When clever computer hacking is going on, the music from Smooth Criminal is part of the score. I laughed so hard when I realized.

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I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE this showwww <3
Because of you Kaedejun I started watching sign and I love than too!
Thanks for the input as always!

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POTO is played out! Its annoying to here it. Starting to take away the affect of the scenes. Hyuk Joo is working my last nerve! And Seung Yoon is getting on my nerve also with her quest to find out info on Woo Hyun/Ki Young. I blame her for all of Woo Hyun/Ki Young's troubles.

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I agree with you !
I also really really really hate Hyuk Jo !
Especially when it's in the urgent time, and all he can do is thinking about Hades, hades, hades and HADES !

I have no idea how come people allowing him to be the cyber leader when he does not understand about computer AT ALL ! such a waste

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Thanks for the recap! I love it when drama is moving fast with its plots, hate it so much when 2 weeks have gone by and there's no movement in the story... That's why I appreciate queen in hyun's man so much as well.

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tanku i♥u infinite mylove myonwoo from iran

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I just started watching this drama and I am completely and utterly hooked!

I am intrigued at the back story of what happened in 1999 that changed the course of all our main characters' lives.

I know some may not like Lee Yeon Hee but I have always liked her as an actress (loved her as Grace in East of Eden and as the "mother" in Gu Family Books). I hope she has a romance plot with SJS because they are so damn cute together.

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Phantom of the opera theme, I can bear. Hyuk Joo; just barely. Though, yes; a nice character to hate.

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Anybody who is playing kang seo ra?

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