Flower of Evil: Episode 8
by TeriYaki
A wife learns the hard way that some truths are impossible to ignore, leaving the future of her family at risk. Another family is at the center of a mystery that overshadows an increasingly desperate man–a man whose life has been tragically misunderstood.
EPISODE 8 RECAP
Fall, 2005
Seated in the Baek’s living room, Hyun-soo asked Dr. Baek and his wife how the driver ended up in a coma when he was the one hit by a car. Upset, Hee-sung’s mother left the room while Dr. Baek explained that there was an unfortunate accident. Hyun-soo didn’t understand why they wanted him to assume Baek Hee-sung’s identity and Dr. Baek hinted that it had something to do with his recent appointment as chief of surgery.
Faced with a dismal future, Hee-sung agreed and Dr. Baek gave him a notebook with the details of his son’s life. Of greatest concern was a letter from the military and after Hyun-soo read it, Dr. Baek asked, “Can you become even bolder?”
His hair bleached, Hyun-soo applied for a replacement ID and when his fingerprint didn’t match, the clerk explained that the scanner routinely had problems. Rather than try again, Hyun-soo complained that he was in a hurry and after he answered some personal questions perfectly, he was handed an ID for Baek Hee-sung bearing Hyun-soo’s photo.
In the present, Hee-sung explains to Moo-jin that he needs his sister’s help because Ji-won is on Do Hyun-soo’s trail after someone reported that he’s a serial killer’s accomplice. Recalling the fish keychain that Hae-soo gave him, Hee-sung shares his suspicion, “My sister met that accomplice.” At home, Ji-won sits at her laptop and wonders why her husband went to see Moo-jin in the middle of the night.
When Hee-sung sneaks back into bed, Ji-won isn’t asleep and asks, “Where did you go?” Hee-sung claims that he was in his workshop but Ji-won can smell the car air freshener on him. After Hee-sung fibs that he had to get some supplies from the car, he senses that Ji-won is angry with him and he asks her to face him. She turns around, seemingly half asleep, but once Hee-sung closes his eyes, Ji-won opens hers to stare at him.
Ji-won sees that Hee-sung has been in his workshop all day while her team watches some thugs in a café, hoping to catch the lettuce thief. Jae-sub explains, “They make a newbie commit petty theft…,” and when that newbie nabs a woman’s unattended laptop, Ji-won stops him. She surprised when she recognizes In-seo, the boy who accused his father of trying to kill him.
In-seo shoves the laptop at Ji-won and runs away. When Ji-won catches up to him, In-seo shouts, “I ruined everything. My mom, my dad, my whole family…I should’ve just kept my mouth shut,” before making his escape.
At the police station, In-seo’s mom informs the team that In-seo ran away after his father was arrested. After she leaves to search the local internet cafés, Ji-won stares at the portrait of her family and realizes, “If In-seo had buried the truth, his family might be in a better situation.”
Jae-sub and Ho-joon agree that Ji-won could never ignore the truth like that. Woo-chul walks in to announce a team dinner that night and Jae-sub guesses, “We’re to reinvestigate the Yeonju City serial murder case!”
At his workshop, Hee-sung torches away the symbol from a bracelet that’s an exact match to the sketch found in his old duffle bag. He gets a call from Moo-jin, who’s outside of the art class that Hae-soo is teaching, with the news that he found his sister.
Before he hangs up, Hee-sung mentions that Jung Mi-sook left Kyung-choon after an argument, yet he still reported her missing. Hee-sung asks Moo-jin to interview Kyung-choon in prison.
After her class, Hae-soo finds Moo-jin waiting in the hallway and he explains, “I came to set off a bomb of my own.” Hae-soo assumes that he’s going to turn her in but instead, Moo-jin whispers, “I found Hyun-soo.”
Over dinner, Woo-chul confirms that their team has been chosen to reinvestigate the Yeonju City murder cases. Ji-won surprises everyone when she argues that their team is biased after their work in Kyung-choon’s case and she asks Woo-chul to have another team take the case. Suspicious, Jae-sub adds up all of Ji-won strange behavior recently and guesses that she’s working on a case by herself.
When Ji-won’s phone rings, Jae-sub assumes that it’s an informant but Ji-won shows everyone that it’s Hee-sung. She steps outside to answer his call and Hee-sung informs Ji-won that he has an important meeting and will be home late. After she hangs up, Ji-won checks Hee-sung’s location which proves that he just lied to her.
At an abandoned complex, Hee-sung enters the large room with an empty pool that was a recent filming site. Hae-soo hears Hee-sung approach and when she faces him, Hee-sung begins to explain why he needed to find her. He’s silenced when Hae-soo throws her arms around Hee-sung’s neck and sobs.
A flashback shows the siblings’ last meeting, when Hyun-soo found a bloodied and dazed Hae-soo standing over the dead foreman, the murder weapon in her left hand. After Hae-soo explained that the foreman attacked her, Hyun-soo took the tool from her hand and smeared blood onto his uniform and face. Hee-sung decided to take the blame so that Hae-soo could live a normal life, knowing that such a thing wasn’t possible for him.
Hae-soo tells Hee-sung, “You should resent me for being well, for being able to eat and sleep after sending you away like that.” As Hae-soo sobs, Hee-sung pulls her into a hug and reminds her, “It was my decision.”
Hee-sung’s mom protests as she cooks a vegetable pancake for Eun-ha, “I can’t believe you’re making me do this.” When she sets down the food, Eun-ha opens her mouth expectantly and then explains that she isn’t very good with chopsticks. Hee-sung’s mom tears off a piece of the pancake but Eun-ha reminds her to blow on it first. When Hee-sung’s mom asks Eun-ha how it tastes, she answers honestly, “It tastes better than Mommy’s…But Daddy’s tastes even better.”
The cute exchange is interrupted when Dr. Baek walks in, “What are you doing that you didn’t hear me come in?” After he tells Eun-ha to have fun, Dr. Baek sternly orders his wife, “We need to talk.”
Hee-sung’s mom follows her husband into their bedroom where she’s scolded for having fun while their son lies in that room. Mom confesses that she wants to live like other people but Dr. Baek shouts, “Then you shouldn’t have done that to Hee-sung!” For once, Mom remains calm as she admits, “Seeing a child eat in my home, smelling food in this house, it almost made me cry.”
When the housekeeper walks into the kitchen, Eun-ha announces, “Excuse me. I need to pee.” The housekeeper doesn’t respond (is she deaf too?) so Eun-ha follows her into the closet but finds it empty. In the secret room, the housekeeper straps the real Hee-sung into a device to exercise his leg as his eyelids flutter.
Dr. Baek shouts, “How do you call yourself a mother,” but his wife reminds him that he’s the one who failed to answer their son’s calls after his car accident. Mom accuses Dr. Baek of keeping Hee-sung alive for selfish reasons, insisting that if he could speak, he’d beg to die. When Dr. Baek slaps her, Mom tells him, “This is who you really are.”
Dr. Baek opens the bedroom door and sees Eun-ha, who announces that she can’t find the bathroom. Dr. Baek informs his wife, “This little six-year-old was roaming around the entire house. Make sure she doesn’t say anything.”
Happy tears fall from Hae-soo’s eyes as she looks at photos of Eun-ha on Hee-sung’s phone. Zooming in on Eun-ah and Ji-won in a family photo, Hee-sung brags that they not only look alike, their personalities are similar, “She’s not like me at all. I’m sure of it.” Watching her brother speak about his wife and daughter, Hae-soo observes, “You’ve changed a lot.”
Hee-sung explains the reason for their reunion, “Dad had an accomplice…You even talked to him…at Dad’s funeral.” A flashback shows that a man in a black hat sobbed loudly as Hee-sung adds that the fish keychain Hae-soo gave him belonged to the final murder victim.
Standing close by, Ji-won listens to the siblings’ conversation and realizes that Hee-sung is looking for the accomplice because he’s not the one who assisted Do Min-seok. When Hee-sung tells Hae-soo that the final victim’s husband hunted him down because of that keychain, Ji-won has confirmation that he made some kind of deal with Kyung-choon.
Hae-soo informs Hee-sung that the police questioned her and realizes that his wife looks familiar. Hee-sung confirms that his wife is a cop, which is why he he needs to be careful if he wants to continue to live as Baek Hee-sung. Ji-won listens carefully when Hae-soo asks, “Do you love her?” Hee-sung matter-of-factly admits, “No. I never once felt that way. I don’t know what that feels like.” Oof.
Shattered, Ji-won walks away. As she nears the police station, Ji-won sees her reflection in a shop window and as she begins to cry, she tells herself, “I should’ve expected that.”
Ji-won wipes away her tears to answer a video call from Eun-ha. Eun-ha complains that Hee-sung isn’t answering his phone and she needs to show him her latest drawing. When Eun-ha shows Ji-won her picture of her happy family at home, Ji-won reminds her daughter, “Mommy loves you a lot.”
At the police station, Ji-won retrieves Do Hyun-soo’s duffle bag and takes it to a deserted spot where she sets the contents on fire. Tears fall from Ji-won’s eyes as the cassette player and the fish keychain burn, and she promises, “I’ll let you live as Baek Hee-sung.”
When Hee-sung returns home, Ji-won is outside with the beer that he bought the day that they met. Again, Hee-sung senses that something’s wrong but Ji-won claims that it’s work related and asks if she should quit her job. Hee-sung advises, “Quit if it’s taking a toll on you…Just be yourself,” but Ji-won isn’t sure what that means.
Hee-sung describes just how he sees his wife, “Someone who’s innocent, pure, quick to laugh, short-tempered, quick to sulk, but also quick to forgive.” When Ji-won adds that she’s gullible as well, Hee-sung laughs that he disagrees.
Ji-won reminds Hee-sung that it’s been five years since they moved into their house and remembering their housewarming party, she confesses, “I was truly happy that day.” When Hee-sung suggests another party to cheer her up, Ji-won looks into his eyes and asks, “Do you love me?”
Ji-won kisses Jiwon’s hand and replies, “Why ask what’s obvious?” Her gaze on Hee-sung, Ji-won thinks, “Keep living your life as Baek Hee-sung, for our daughter’s sake…That’s my final gift to you.” Ji-won accepts that she’ll have to live as if she doesn’t know the truth about Hee-sung and that they’ll have to part ways. When Ji-won next speaks, it’s to inform Hee-sung that her team is reinvestigating the Yeonju City serial murders.
In Moo-jin’s apartment, Hae-soo remembers that the man who gave her the keychain sobbed louder than anyone else at her father’s funeral as Hyun-soo slept on the floor. The man, whose face was obscured by a hat, gave Hae-soo the fish keychain for good luck and seeing Hyun-soo, he commented, “I feel bad for him. His future is headed down a dreaded path.” Hee-sung concludes that the accomplice deliberately sought him out.
Hae-soo recalls that the man wrote his number on her arm in case she ever needed help. She wrote down the number but it was destroyed when their house burned down. Moo-jin scolds Hee-sung for setting that fire but Hae-soo confesses that she did that too in order to destroy the bloody school uniforms.
Hee-sung plays the threatening phone call and calls attention to the rhythmic tapping in the background. Moo-jin looks entranced as he stares at Hae-soo and when Hee-sung calls out his name, he blurts out, “Why are you so pretty?”
Embarrassed, Moo-jin jumps up and informs the siblings, “As soon as we find the accomplice, I want nothing to do with you guys. Forever,” but he’s not pleased when Hae-soo readily agrees. Hee-sung ignores Moo-jin’s conflicted reaction to ask what Kyung-choon had to say.
The team moves to a new office and as Ji-won unpacks her things, she sees on her calendar that it’s the anniversary of the day she and Hee-sung moved into their house. As Ho-joon teases that she acts like a newlywed, Ji-won slips off her wedding ring and places it in her desk drawer.
Moo-jin summarizes what they know so far — Mi-sook left her husband but spoke to him on the phone three days later while she was at a bus stop. When Mi-sook learned that Kyung-choon was in the hospital after a car accident, she got his room number before hanging up. Moo-jin suddenly remembers that he discovered a similarity among the victims.
As the team surveys the Yeonju City victims on a screen, Ji-won explains that no one reported them missing, with the exception of Jung Mi-sook. A map that compares Mi-sook’s movements to those of Min-seok and Hyun-soo proves that they didn’t cross paths the day that she disappeared, which supports the theory that the accomplice borrowed Min-seok’s car to abduct her.
Ji-won holds up the statements of everyone that Mi-sook met or called after she left home, most of them about job offers, confident that the accomplice is among them. Ji-won announces her resolve to solve the case while thinking, “That way, I can prepare what to do next.”
Hee-sung suggests that his dad and the accomplice knew that Mi-sook had left home. Hee-sung remembers that his father once gave him a rabbit that he’d trapped and gave him permission to do anything that he wanted to it.
Hee-sung suggests that his father must have set a trap for Mi-sook. In a flashback, a bus pulled away from the bus stop just as Mi-sook got a phone call. Hee-sung asks what could have been more important than an injured husband.
A woman leads In-seo into a shady looking employment agency, a couple of dozen cell phones within reach of CEO Yeom Sang-chul’s desk. CEO Yeom asks In-seo how he found out about the agency and the boy produces a flyer that promises impressive earnings regardless of age or qualifications. With a laugh, the CEO pulls out a form so In-seo can write out his resume.
In his office, Dr. Baek learns from a televised report that the police have reopened the investigation into the Yeonju City murders. Dr. Baek takes a cell phone from a box in his desk but before he can make a call, his housekeeper texts, “Something’s wrong with your wife. She won’t come out of your son’s room.”
Back at Moo-jin’s apartment, Hae-soo sighs, “I wish I could remember that phone number,” but an understanding Moo-jin reminds her, “You were only 19.” As Moo-jin gazes at Hae-soo’s face, Hee-sung realizes that he still has feelings for her.
In an effort to lift her spirits, Moo-jin suggests getting pizza and reminds Hae-soo, “We said let’s order a pie each once we became adults.” Annoyed, Hee-sung accuses Moo-jin of caring more about reconnecting with Hae-soo than catching the accomplice.
After Hee-sung reminds Moo-jin that he once told Hae-soo, “…you make me sick,” he makes himself perfectly clear, “I don’t care what you two do now that you met again, but do it elsewhere.” Pulling out his phone, Hee-sung replays the threatening message, convinced that he’s been at the place where the call was made.
Moo-jin pauses the recording and unleashes his frustrations on Hee-sung, “You don’t feel gratitude or remorse. You have no shame. You’re self-centered.” Moo-jin suggests that Hee-sung should try showing Ji-won what he’s really like. When Hae-soo explains that Hee-sung is focused on finding the accomplice, Moo-jin asks her, “Are you still Do Hyun-soo’s spokesperson? How long will you keep doing that?”
Hee-sung is about to walk out but he returns when Hae-soo orders him to come back and sit down. Hae-soo urges Hee-sung to share what it is that he most desperately wants so that they can help him. She repeats that Hee-sung has changed, “You never wanted anything before. But now, you do.”
Tired of reading witness statements, Jae-sub suggests, “Let’s just catch Do Hyun-soo.” Ji-won insists that he’s not the accomplice but that’s not why Jae-sub wants to find him. Because the accomplice borrowed Min-seok’s car to abduct Mi-sook, he must have met Min-seok at least twice to exchange the car keys.
Ji-won looks up in alarm when Jae-sub concludes that Hyun-soo must have seen the accomplice. Making up an excuse, Ji-won runs out to find Hee-sung and checks her phone for his location.
Hee-sung’s mom gazes at her son as she fondly remembers that he once opened his mouth so that she could feed him, just like Eun-ha, even though he was a grown man. At the same time, Hee-sung tells Hae-soo and Moo-jin what he wants, “I want to live as Baek Hee-sung… I don’t want to lose my life. No matter what.”
Hee-sung admits that he still has trouble understanding normal emotional responses and offers to say “thank you” and “sorry” as often as he needs to as long as Moo-jin continues to help him. Moo-jin brushes off the offer but shows his willingness to help by suggesting he could get Ho-joon drunk and pump him for information.
Moo-jin jumps when his phone rings with a call from Ji-won and he hilariously counsels the unemotional Hee-sung not to panic. Moo-jin puts Ji-won’s call on speaker and with a hoarse voice and a cough, he informs her that he’s too sick with enteritis to meet with her.
After Ji-won hangs up, the doorbell rings and Moo-jin jumps up to get their pizza. He shocked to find Ji-won on his doorstep and Hee-sung’s eyes widen in alarm when Moo-jin loudly greets her. When three pizzas are delivered, Ji-won sees the shoes by Moo-jin’s door and asks if he has company, causing Hee-sung to clutch at his chest.
Weeping, Hee-sung’s mother promises to join her son soon as she removes his breathing mask. Dr. Baek runs in and as his parents struggle, the real Hee-sung gasps for air. At the same, when Hee-sung hear Ji-won’s voice, he can’t breathe.
Ji-won offers to wait until Moo-jin’s meeting is over, unprepared to hear Hee-sung call out, “Is something up?”
Dr. Baek and his wife struggle but when he freezes, she follows his gaze and sees that Hee-sung’s eyes are open.
When Hee-sung walks to the door and faces Ji-won, she can’t hide her surprise.
COMMENTS
We’re getting into some life and death decisions as a number of families reach their breaking points. The Baeks find themselves at odds over whether or not it’s time to finally let their comatose son die and Hee-sung’s mother’s decision has unexpected consequences. What happens to Dr. Baek if there are two Baek Hee-sungs to juggle? Speaking of the Baeks, I tried to imagine what could ruin Dr. Baek and the worst thing I could think of was organ harvesting. I don’t seriously think that’s where the drama is going but when In-seo ended up in that shady employment agency, I found myself worried about his kidneys.
After Do Min-seok’s alleged suicide led to the discovery of the serial murders, his children were left with a notorious family association. Hyun-soo escaped that stigma when he took on Baek Hee-sung’s identity but with renewed interest in his father’s crimes, he must prove his innocence so that people will stop searching for him. It’s the only way that Hee-sung can keep the life that he’s built for himself and the people in it. What he doesn’t realize is that Ji-won’s investigation has ripped away his mask and she knows without a doubt that Hee-sung has been pretending all along that he loves her and Eun-ha. But has he really?
When Ji-won first met Hee-sung, he insisted that he didn’t like her but she was convinced otherwise, because his actions didn’t support his claims. Ji-won’s stubborn refusal to focus on just Hee-sung’s words is why they shared a life together for 14 years but because she’s somehow forgotten how to do that, she’s abandoning Hee-sung for good as evidenced by the removal of her wedding ring. Of course it hurt to hear Hee-sung tell his sister that he’s never once felt love for anyone, but it’s not his fault that his brain doesn’t recognize that emotion. But Hee-sung’s heart does know what love feels like because whenever he thinks that Ji-won is about to discover the truth, he experiences actual physical heartache. I suspect that some catastrophic experience may close the gap that prevents Hee-sung from understanding normal emotional responses. With everything that’s happening, that possibility becomes more likely every minute.
With Hae-soo’s confession that she’s responsible for the death of the town foreman, how does that change things for Hee-sung? For sure Hee-sung didn’t kill the foreman, but in spite of that fact, Hee-sung and Moo-jin don’t consider Hae-soo in the search for Min-seok’s accomplice. As much as I like the grown Hyun-soo and Hae-soo together (I really do) it’s becoming obvious that Hae-soo holds considerable control over both Moo-jin and Hee-sung, but she uses that power very subtly. Hee-sung was taught early to rely on Hae-soo because of his emotional limitations but is it possible that he was convinced that he had limitations so that he could be controlled? Hae-soo is no fool and it’s obvious how much Moo-jin likes her, but she behaves as if she has no idea that he finds her appealing. Yet Hae-soo uses her appeal to keep Min-joo off balance. A shy glance here and a well timed sigh there does wonders to make it appear that she’s as pure as the driven snow but when Hae-soo told Hee-sung to sit down, he did so without question. Add to that the fact that the threatening message mentioned why the foreman was killed and that only Hae-soo interacted with the suspected accomplice at her father’s funeral. I’m not at all ready to accept that Hae-soo isn’t her father’s accomplice.
Ji-won is the key to separating truth from illusion but can she get past her hurt and anger to see and accept Hee-sung as he really is? Because Hee-sung needs someone to be an accurate mirror so that he can discover his true self. Moo-jin was right when he called Hee-sung self centered but that’s just one side of his personality and it’s tied to his survival instincts. Just as Hee-sung provided Ji-won with his honest assessment of her strengths and weaknesses, he’s going to need her to do the same for him. I suspect that Hee-sung may have been programmed to be a scapegoat from a young age as a way out for the real killer(s).
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Tags: Flower of Evil, Lee Jun-ki, Moon Chae-won
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1 Peppibow
August 24, 2020 at 5:28 PM
I'm doubtful that Hae-Soo is the real killer (accomplice), but I would like to be wrong.
I mean, the village foreman planned to investigate the DMS kills, and maybe he found something what would lead to the murderer. And that's why Hae-Soo killed him? Just a theory, but I don't know how it fits with the man and the fish key charm from the funeral.
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jamjam95
August 24, 2020 at 6:44 PM
yeah i think based on how Hae-soo reacted when she was found it's safe to say there's more going on than meets the eye. i guess we're gonna have to wait to see what actually happened there, but at least we know HS isn't the killer lol.
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2 Junie Bug
August 24, 2020 at 6:12 PM
With Heesung waking up, this is going to be a huuugeee gamechanger. LikeTeriYaki said, how is a world with two Heesungs going to operate? I’m assuming Dr. Baek is going to make sure the real Heesung stays hidden because even though Hyunsoo is acting as his fake son, if his real son goes out in the world, it’s going to cause his career to fall apart. I will say that I’ve developed a soft spot for the fake grandmother because of how she interacted with Eunha and presented herself in front of Dr. Baek. Eunha is such a cutie and I’m scared she learned more than she should’ve. She’s a curious child and that might put her in a bad place if she accidentally saw the maid leaving Heesung’s medical room. Regarding the grandmother, she’s gone through so much and her husband has made it all seem like her fault. That statement about her needing to go to the hospital because her depression may be coming back made me so upset. That’s some gaslighting if I’ve ever seen it. I, of course, want to learn more about how Heesung actually became bedridden because so far they’ve blamed each other a fair amount of times.
Hyunsoo and Haesoo’s reunion was honestly beautiful and I loved that scene. Initially Hyunsoo was so awkward and immediately got to business, but Haesoo brought all the emotion. Their feelings felt so raw. I do agree that Haesoo has a significant amount of control over Hyunsoo. Maybe it’s because she’s older or because he was forced to rely on her, but he basically obeys her every command which scares me. Haesoo is still very mysterious and now that we officially know that she killed the foreman, what’s the extent of her dark side? Her control over Hyunsoo (and additionally Moojin because of his infatuation with her) results in her being more manipulative than anything. But, at the same time, she truly knows how to work around Hyunsoo’s mind and figure out what he really wants. Hyunsoo doesn’t know how to understand his emotions (and doesn’t realize that he truly loves Jiwon - I don’t believe him when he says he doesn’t), but I feel like that scene at the table when Haesoo repeatedly tells him that he’s changed did shed some light on what Hyunsoo hasn’t noticed about himself. Both Moojin and Haesoo are very straightforward about how Hyunsoo conducts himself and I love that because I think that’s something he desperately needs, especially since I doubt he’s going through any introspection sessions.
Finally, I just need to reiterate how much I love both Jiwon and Hyunsoo’s characters. Each week there is so much characterization for the both of them and yet there is still so much that we don’t know about their pasts. I don’t think I’m ever going to shut up about Lee Joongi and Moon Chaewon’s acting in this. This ep really tested Jiwon’s limits. Hyunsoo is lying to her almost constantly, there's so much tension all around their relationship, and she even heard Hyunsoo saying that he’s never loved her. The salt on the wound was definitely their...
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Junie Bug
August 24, 2020 at 6:13 PM
(cont) conversation afterward when she says that she’s too naive and easy to deceive and Hyunsoo rejects that idea. It hurt to watch those scenes when he acts like everything’s okay. But, it was interesting to me that Jiwon is still trying to help and protect him. She tells her colleagues that the culprit can’t be Hyunsoo and wants to prove his innocence. She also wants to give clues like that he may have seen the culprit. Despite him lying to her, Jiwon still loves him dearly and I love how that was shown.
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cozybooks
August 25, 2020 at 9:07 PM
re: their conversation afterwards. Ah! I was also so intrigued by that moment when he said she wasn't easy to fool. Like, was he commenting on how hard he'd had to work to keep his "real" self hidden? (which I would argue is more of how hard he's worked to really change over the years, not just hide) Or was he just telling a lie and really thinks it's easy to fool her? I just don't knooow.
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Junie Bug
August 26, 2020 at 7:43 AM
Every second they’re together is so nuanced, I love it
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3 Gyeomie
August 24, 2020 at 6:14 PM
Lee Joon Gi and Moon Chae Won are doing a great job carrying this drama!
I agree that Hee Sung definitely feels emotions but he doesn’t recognise them or know how to express them. It’s clear from his getting rid of the doll as “revenge” for his daughter and the panic attack he seems to have whenever he feels Jiwon is coming close to discovering the truth.
I get the weird vibes from Hae Soo also but I don’t think she’s the killer, but I do feel like she is hiding something. We’re only halfway through so I think there’s a lot more to uncover.
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4 cozybooks
August 24, 2020 at 6:34 PM
I... would love to see a drama in which the REAL Hee-Sung was secretly a sketchy, sketchy serial killer, and Hyun-Soo was then tasked with clearing his real name AND avoiding investigation for OTHER crimes he didn't commit, but his false identity did.
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Esther
August 25, 2020 at 3:06 AM
Mind blown 🤯.... 😆
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5 jamjam95
August 24, 2020 at 6:38 PM
just want to comment again that i am loving this drama! i wasn't sure what to expect from this kind of genre at first, but i'm really liking all the twists and complexities of JW and HS's relationship.
as was mentioned, it did hurt to hear HS confess to his noona that he's never loved JW, but i and i'm sure many others am extremely doubtful as his actions say otherwise and how much he cares for her and his daughter. as Hae-soo said towards the end of the episode, HS has really changed in that now he actually has something he wants to protect and keep. in terms of the discussion of Hae-soo possibly still being the accomplice, i'm gonna hold out a bit more before making any guesses, but so far she seems innocent (she could be playing on it) but possibly she could be hiding something.
i also want to bring up how badass of a character JW is turning out to be! i'm so glad she's taking every opportunity she can to find out the truth and it's such an intense ride to see her trying to test HS and pushing his limits as someone who's been married to him for so long and knows him. they seem like the type of couple who doesn't fight all that much (at least of what's shown so far) so when the confrontations do come i will be superrr interested in how they both react. it's basically a ticking bomb to HS finding out that JW knows (maybe he already does and is suppressing but we don't know for sure). once he has to accept that she's been viewing him as a "criminal" it's sure to be intense. i'm also just super curious to know what kind of person JW was growing up as we've seen all the young versions of the other 3 main characters but not much about her besides the flashbacks of her and HS as young adults. anyway, love it and can't wait for new episodes this week! thanks so much for the recap! <3
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cozybooks
August 25, 2020 at 9:09 PM
Yeah!! I want to see what kind of person she was when she was young. I'm so curious about it! If there was some sort of dark secret there too I'd be so pleased, but I guess I can't ask tooo much of the drama... maybe.. but I can hope, right?
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6 jillian
August 24, 2020 at 6:42 PM
My favorite scene this entire episode is Hyun Su and Hae Soo's reunion. Mostly for the beautiful backdrop of their entire reunion scene. Such beautiful wide shots!! Not seeing each other for years must've been extremely lonely for both parties. I would like to think that Hae Soo cares for his brother deeply despite letting him take the fall for a crime she committed.
That ending complicates matter a whole lot. If the real Hee Seong fully recovers he definitely would want his name back. Dr Baek and his wife would definitely prioritize their real son.
Plus Ji Won showing up in the scooby doo gang lair is perfect. I sure hope Hyun Su will let her in on his secret. Yes there will be consequences but he should let it happen so they can move forward with whatever will be left of their relationship.
Also I really like how gentle Hae Soo is with her brother. She knows how to handle him and get the information she needs so she can understand him better. She should get with JiWon so she can learn from her. Its quite surprising that what appears to be a gentle person can kill someone. Unless she was in extreme duress at the time or she is pretending. Hopefully she is one of the good guys.
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persianrose❤️战哥
August 25, 2020 at 9:40 AM
Hyun Su and Hae Soo's reunion was so lovely... I feel that Hae Soo loves his brother so dearly and she feels so burdened that she couldn't protect him... also Hae Soo is the only person who reads his brother like an open book... no one else can see the real Hyun Su beneath his fake emotional response
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jillian
August 25, 2020 at 2:03 PM
I sure hope he loves her brother. My main gripe with her is allowing her brother to take the fall to save her own hide. But hopefullu she will redeem herself in later episodes.
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loveblossom🌸
August 25, 2020 at 10:49 AM
Lol at scooby doo gang. 💗
I hope Hyun Soo will tell Ji Won the truth too, but I don't think he will do it now, not at Moo Jin's place. He'll probably make up an excuse for visiting him. And then Ji Won makes up her own excuse for visiting him. x]
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jillian
August 25, 2020 at 2:02 PM
😂 i like calling HS, MJ and Hyun Su that.
Maybe not there, maybe later somewhere. But I do hope he will come clean soon.
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cozybooks
August 25, 2020 at 9:37 PM
Nooo I want them to all become the scooby gang together though!!!
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7 loveblossom🌸
August 24, 2020 at 7:24 PM
I'm glad the siblings are reunited. They looked so alone at the isolated, bleak pool site. Hae Soo seems to really care for her brother. He needs someone who knows him and fully supports him. I hope she's not sinister. I was a tad worried when it looked like she gave him the fish keychain with ill intent. But now we know the accomplice was the one who set them up. Well, wait a minute. If Hee Sung was asleep when she met the guy and the info was only based on her account, she could be lying.... No witnesses.
Ji Won's reaction after Hee Sung saying he didn't love her was heartbreaking. He has shown his love through his many actions; he just doesn't know it yet. Does he think he was putting on an act this whole time??? He genuinely fell for her back then when they had their first kiss or even before that. I hope Ji Won (Hee Sung too) will soon realize that he does love her. I want a satisfying and happy ending for their family, not a too-fluffy one.
He's fighting hard to keep his life as Baek Hee Sung. He could run away and be anyone else. So why is he adamant on keeping his current life? Because of his family. Can he easily leave Eun Ha?
I doubt it.
Moo Jin said there was a common factor to the victims. But I didn't get it. Was it the fact that no one reported them missing? 'Cept Jung Mi Sook didn't fit that because her husband reported her.
I don't want Dr. Baek to be the serial killer or accomplice. I didn't think he had any connection to Hyun Soo's hometown. Gahhh his real son waking up is huge. Hyun Soo's life is changing whether he wants it to or not. There's no going back to how it used to be.
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froyo
August 25, 2020 at 2:40 AM
i agree with you said about Do Hyunsoo fighting hard to keep his identity as Baek Heesung. because of its old Hyunsoo he could have just disappeared and looking for another identity right after Moojin find him. so let me translate this "I wanna keep my identity as Baek Heesung: i wanna be together with my family, i cant lose them"
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cozybooks
August 25, 2020 at 1:02 PM
re: HS really does love JW. I also REALLY want to believe this, but I always hesitate before saying I know better than someone else what they're feeling or what they believe. However! What gives me the biggest hope is that he HAS acted and SAID/thought things that really indicate he has a strong attachment to her (the way he instinctively protected her when they fought, his conversation with Moo-Jin in the car, his thoughts about wanting to stay there and have his father leave in the past）... the signals are there, so why did he say he doesn't love her? I can't wait to watch this week's episodes!!
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lillamy
August 26, 2020 at 11:19 AM
I think it's a bit like some people not recognizing being jealous ,or maybe hurt. Getting to know your own emotional responses is a matter of training and he lacks the conscience to motivate that kind of reflection on oneself. At least, that's my theory!
Actions speak for themselves, he most certainly loves her.
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8 dramalover4ever
August 24, 2020 at 8:50 PM
Hae-soo is the one of interest now - is she manipulative or is she another victim of these crimes? She's been set up by the story to be suspicious - I can't forget the contrasting responses of people to her and Hee-sung. They automatically warm to her, as the reporter commented, "She's pretty", but they always assume the worst of Hee-sung because he does not show his emotions and cannot read them off others. I don't want her to be a bad egg, but she so easily could be. What a horrible turn of events that would be for Hee-sung: set up by his sister, paying the price for her crime(s), being the one protecting her. If she is, who will be the one to be suspicious of her first? If, and a big if, if she is the accomplice, then my money is on Ji-won.
Also, I'm curious as to what the father did to Hee-sung. Did he assume that the boy would be like him and did he invite him into his terrifying world to watch and participate in his crimes, as the rabbit story seems to suggest. Did he groom him to walk in his footsteps? At that point in their childhood, Hae-soo seems to be separated from the father's games. She tells Hee-sung to just do what his father asks him to do. Maybe she has also been groomed. Clearly Hee-sung is still traumatised from these experiences. There is nothing so pathetic as the voice of the little boy singing to himself on the tape. For me, he was comforting himself in a terrifying situation.
We all want the relationship between Ji-won and Hee-sung to be able to be repaired. I hope it can, but it's hard to see how Ji-won can get past the lies and the knowledge that he admits he doesn't love her.
The Baek family are so toxic, and the next step in the drama may be the father outing Hee-sung to clear the way for the return of the alt Hee-sung. Backstabbing is obviously in his repetoire.
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Fly Colours
August 25, 2020 at 7:24 AM
The rabbit flashback is freaking terrifying!
When they first showed Dad's dungeon, I thought he used it for HS and that he was "only" a child abuser (as opposed to serial killer), but after this flashback, it really feels like Dad was the one murdering all those women and that he was grooming HS into becoming a murderer too. HS is aware that Dad set him up a trap, so even if he somehow helped Dad, it was against his will.
It's also interesting that both siblings talk naturally about Dad being a killer, it gives the impression that they knew what was up all along, so, yes, I also believe Dad groomed both siblings
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Ashes2Ashes
August 25, 2020 at 7:28 PM
Yeah the siblings way of talking about dad and HS's spectre of him in his early adult days is interesting. HS told KC that he learnt about dad:s serial killers ways in the news along with everyone else and seemed to men it. HS usually is truthful with on matters other than his identity so in light of the whole bunny incident ,it had me scratching my head. In MJ's old video ,they also looked wary of him filming the basement ..so current running theory is that they knew the dad was a weirdo but didn't realize of his murder-y ways till the news broke. 🤷
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dramalover4ever
August 25, 2020 at 8:34 PM
Interesting. I forgot he said about not knowing. He's certainly haunted by his father, with the dog leash. The bunny incident makes him seem creepy, so does the basement, but I'm prepared for anything. Not taking much at face value at all.
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persianrose❤️战哥
August 25, 2020 at 9:44 AM
I just hope Hae-soo is not the manipulative murderer... But she can totally be the one... even the dad might be innocent (maybe covering up her daughter's crimes)
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loveblossom🌸
August 25, 2020 at 11:09 AM
Dang if Ji Won is the first or only one to be suspicious of Hae Soo while Hyun Soo wholeheartedly isn't, then that could be a big, angsty problem.
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cozybooks
August 25, 2020 at 11:21 PM
Oooh I could totally see the fake dad outing Hyun-Soo as a fake, if the circumstances were right. What a heartbreaking way for Ji-Won to "find out" though... I hope Hyun-Soo comes clean first!!
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9 Lord Cobol (Kdramas, like water, flow downhill)
August 24, 2020 at 9:01 PM
The mechanism to open & close a gate in the parking lot at work has a chain that clinks a bit like the sound in that threatening recording. Hmmmm.
😨
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cozybooks
August 25, 2020 at 12:52 PM
I've also been wracking my head trying to figure it out! There was one scene switch to a bhuddist monestary with the tapping in the background and I went "THAT'S IT!!" But now I'm not so sure... I want to go back and relisten and study it, Hyun-Soo style!
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loveblossom🌸
August 25, 2020 at 9:44 PM
Me too! I replayed it and thought the temple sound was too wooden whereas the sound from the recording seemed like something to do with metal.
Both sounds have a steady rhythm so maybe that's why I thought they were the same~
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10 korfan
August 24, 2020 at 9:03 PM
It may be just me, but I could've sworn the phone number Hae-soo claims the accomplice wrote on her arm is the same phone number that was saved in Dr. Baek's cell phone he took out from the box in his desk.
I could've gone back to check, and to be honest, I haven't ..... but they seemed the same to me when those particular scenes flashed on the screen. Anyone else?
It'll be interesting if they are the same (and if Hae-soo's version of her encounter at the funeral with the accomplice is true), because I can't say I haven't wondered about both Hae-soo or Dr. Baek being the accomplice.
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Mimi
August 24, 2020 at 9:31 PM
I went back and checked the numbers and they are not the same. But I still think Dr.Baek somehow knows the accomplice.
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korfan
August 24, 2020 at 9:39 PM
Oh ok, thanks for checking that!
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Ivonne
August 24, 2020 at 9:49 PM
I thought the same thing but I went back and watched the scene again and the numbers are different so.. but is definitely weird that the Dr has another phone and his reasons for putting his son in a comma.. don't know what to think there's so much mistery en every character..
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loveblossom🌸
August 25, 2020 at 6:01 AM
I was going to say the same thing about the phone numbers!
We could only see the first 6 digits of accomplice's number and it was all a match to Dr. Baek's contact except the last digit. They were eerily similar.
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11 axis3
August 24, 2020 at 9:41 PM
I know this episode is good since I blurted out holy s**t at the screen a few times throughout the episode hahaha...
I can't wait for the the show to unravel more about the Beaks & Hyun-soo's pact. What's gonna happen now that the real deal is awake?
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12 Eazal
August 24, 2020 at 10:15 PM
So it was mum the one who injured the real HeeSung and put him on a comatose state, probably when he showed in the house with some stranger he just had rushed in the car. If it was known, dad would have lost all his power, and he clearly doesn't want to lose his position. I understand that part of the plot. Now I want to see how everything evolves around the real Hee Sung waking up.
Regarding HaeSoo, I have to disagree. I still think the accomplice is probably a woman given her shape (although the hands we've seen were those of a man, but, hey... haven't we learned recently that memories are deceitful?), but still I can't imagine it's HaeSoo. While watching last week episode one theory (wild theory) came to mind: what if it is their mother? I mean, HaeSoo told HyunSoo that when he grew she would search for their mother. We've been told she's dead but... is he really?
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Peppibow
August 25, 2020 at 2:31 AM
Oh, the mother of Hyun-Soo & Hae Soo as the real series killer? Would be a interesting twist.
But only as the real series killer not just the accomplice. It would be weird to see that she only left her children, but murdered with the father for years.
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Ashes2Ashes
August 25, 2020 at 9:26 PM
I still don't understand how his son being in a comma would have affected the Doc's job prospects,unless ofc it's the sketchy way he ended up in one? But if that was the case,he doesn't strike me as a scrupulous guy and could have easily explained away the reason for the coma as some innocent accident of sorts. So I am definitely still very intrigued by the decidedly complicated route the couple took to cover up🤔 ...
As to Haesoo being the accomplice, atleast in case of KC's wife,it can't be her,right? Since the witness heard the guy talk and even if I buy that teenage HaeSoo somehow managed to come across as an adult man,how could she convincingly pull off a man's voice in real time in front of the witness. The subsequent phone call, sure.. I am torn about HaeSoo like everyone else here. Her current self seems sweet and caring but her teen self was definitely sketch. Esp that trance like look she had when young HS came upon the murder scene...But then she also does seem to come up with explanations that look pure at heart but can certainly be excuses at the hands of a master manipulator. Like how teen Haesoo said she came to confront the foreman about HS's exorcisms but had to end up stabbing him to protect herself. That right there could be proof of her love for her brother but also could be used as a perfect bait to guilt teen HS into internalising responsibility.i love that I can't tell which is which with how she's being shown and played...
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loveblossom🌸
August 25, 2020 at 9:56 PM
Yeah I don't know why Dr. Baek was so worried about his job. Like his colleagues/boss were going to look down on him and remove him from his medical position because he didn't take care of his son's health or teach him better?
The car accident wasn't a direct cause to his coma so maybe the true cause was scandalous. An act of violence from his own mother? But still. He could have made up a fake reason... unless there were witnesses or something.
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Eazal
August 25, 2020 at 10:15 PM
I think it's because mum was the one to put their son in a coma, probably because she attacked her in rage. So, I don't think the father that witnessed how the mother almost killed the son out of rage, the son that brought a fugitive home, can make him keep his position, considering how SK society is about appareances.
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Ashes2Ashes
August 26, 2020 at 4:05 AM
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Ashes2Ashes
August 26, 2020 at 4:19 AM
But there were no witnesses to the accident(s)?That's literally why they could get away with this crazy scheme in the first place! All they had to do was send HS on his way(curious if HS disclosed his fugitive status of his own volition or at the time the case was still hot enough(3-ish years had passed since he was on the run?) that they recognized him) or easier still, blame the son's coma on the fugitive. Who was gonna believe a guy who's on the run if he had protested??. I had initially thought that this situation came about coz HS had some kinda leverage on them. But it looks like the life swap was all Baek's idea from the get go. Ever since they said the original HeeSeung was a math 'genius' I've been having trouble accepting how HS took over his life. The guy was early 20s when the whole thing went down,so what of his friends. I know social media wasn't as big back in early aughts,but this guy was in the papers. (To be fair, think we only saw clippings from his childhood.So may be he had already given up the interest?)And the whole re-issuing his id, that just had me rolling my eyes haardd. Like no one can tell the clear height difference and body stats that must be on record somewhere if our guy just bleaches his hair the right shade.Like there was no official record with adult BHS's face on it? Unless I read it wrong and the letter was to enlist in the army and not some kinda re-issuance thingie like I inferred? I wish they hadn't shown the details of swaperoo coz it just opens a can of worms the show can't address convincingly. This whole swap looks to be the weakest part of the story so far and I was gonna completely suspend belief but then they had to go and try to show how they fooled the system. Oh well. it's a minor quibble in an otherwise great show :) I am eager to get a better reasoning for the choices Baek made once we get the backstory on the real BHS . Bit worried about HS now that his fake parents would want to reinstall their real son.
13 CL
August 24, 2020 at 11:00 PM
LJK and MCW acting and chemistry is phenomenal words can't even express how amazing they are and of course all the side characters did amazing as well!!
Honestly I'm still a bit skeptical about Haesoo being the accomplice although the reunited scene between Hyunsoo and Haesoo was nice to see because it seem like she really care about Hyunsoo and would often come to his defense. Haesoo is probably the only one who can read Hyunsoo and understand him when he, himself doesn't. Especially when she told him "he changed". And how she was able to make Hyunsoo say what he desperately wanted. Idk if it's because she has some control over him? or is because she is simply his older sister? But overall I will give her the benefit of the doubt. Because when Haesoo was looking at Hyunsoo family photos, she looked genuinely happy while Hyunsoo was showing off his wife and daughter. This scene gave me the fluffy feeling because Hyunsoo was smiling when talking about them.
But of course the fluff was soon shattered when Hyunsoo said he doesn't love his wife. We the viewers know he genuinely loved his wife and daughter, he just doesn't understand the feeling of being in love or to be loved but it still hurts coming from him. Especially for Jiwon who had loved her husband for 14 years. And being married for that long you would expect your spouse to develope some special feelings for you to only realize that he never had. The heartbreak Jiwon is going through is understandable and I admire the fact how strong Jiwon is and still doing her best too clear her husband name despite all his lies and deception knowing full well of who he really is.
Which is why Hyunsoo better start coming clean or do something quick because it seem like Jiwon is ready to break things off with him the moment she solved the case. Which is giving me anxiety. Because he is going to lose all he holds dear to him while trying to hide behind a fake identity.
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14 panshel
August 24, 2020 at 11:00 PM
The accomplice's profile looks like a woman, and his sobbing sounds like a woman's. When Hae-soo said, "His voice was so comforting that I almost cried," I jumped to the suspicion that the accomplice was Hyun-soo and Hae-soo's mom. I know he talked to the witness after the car accident and Hae-soo during the funeral, so he should be a man, but his voice on the recording was altered at least.
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15 Flow
August 25, 2020 at 12:30 AM
I have many questions every time I finish an episode. This drama is really, really good. It bothers me tho how can people accuse an 18-year-old boy as the accomplice of his father? They literally ruined his future and their neighbors really think that Hyun So did it. At the same time, what if his father was not the serial killer? We were made to believe that he is, but what if he's not? The circumstances around his suicide were unclear. His killings would not have been revealed if he didn't commit suicide. But what if he were killed by the serial killer and framed him for his crimes?
My head hurts how the Baek Family fits in the picture too. 😵
But Im looking forward to the next episodes. I hope the broadcast won't be delayed.
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cozybooks
August 25, 2020 at 12:44 PM
If the broadcast is delayed, I'm gonna be so sad!!
However, I do think that his dad has to have at least had a hand in the original serial killings, because I do find it plausible his dad made him do things/bring food to the people in the basement. Otherwise, why would he be so terrified of his father's ghost?
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16 froyo
August 25, 2020 at 2:48 AM
i cant breathe watching this episode. my heart hurts so bad when Hyunsoo said that his daughter didnt resemble him at all, he keep watching and checking his daughter so he could make sure that she doesnt resemble him at all :(((( his face look so happy when he showed his little family to his sister :(( if its not love idk what it is.
then my heart breaks again when Jiwon heard when he said he dont love her. yeah both of the leads take turns to break my heart.
im not sure about Heesoo tho, there is something off about her but i cant point it out. episode 9 is going to be insanee
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Fly Colours
August 25, 2020 at 6:49 AM
Hyunsoo's reassurance about Eunha not being "like him" is 😢
To me, it's clear how much he loves both Jiwon and Eunha, it's only that he isn't aware of his feelings
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cozybooks
August 25, 2020 at 12:42 PM
I LOVED that scene!! What I took away from it was that he loves/cares for his daughter, he recognizes that... but somehow he just doesn't recognize the same feelings/more intense feelings for Ji-Won?
I'm holding out that there was more to that conversation that we didn't hear, because Ji-Won was hurt and left... I'm hoping Hyun-Soo added something to what he'd said, that would have given her a glimmer of hope. But we shall see!
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17 iamjustdanny
August 25, 2020 at 2:49 AM
This is definitely getting good. The suspense this show brings every week is nuts! I need to start having a few beers when watching this.
When Ji-won heard Hee-sung say he didn't love her, I was hurting right alongside her!
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18 Kay
August 25, 2020 at 4:27 AM
My favorite episode so far ! The whole episode is gorgeously shot, and the best has to be the ending scenes of real Hee Sung waking up with his parents framed in the dark against the window light, and Hee Sung facing Ji Won with that look !
Just my speculations, but the mastermind behind the whole evilness is Dr Baek. He probably has an accomplice or henchmen doing the dirty jobs, and the serial killings are just cover ups arranged by him somehow.
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cozybooks
August 25, 2020 at 12:39 PM
Mmm that'd be interesting too!! He's definitely not a good person. I'd be just fine with him winding up in jail at the end.
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19 Kafiyah Bello
August 25, 2020 at 4:53 AM
I think it is possible that Hae Soo helped her father, but she didn't kill that woman at the end. I only say that because it is a man who kidnapped her and a man who called. That being said it isn't farfetched to believe their father had two apprentices. That said Hee Sung is still a psychopath and affection and love are two different things. Not all psychopaths are violent and not all violent people are psychopaths, we need to understand those distinctions. Hee Sung is a psychopath, they have done a solid job establishing that. O honetly believe he holds stronge affection for all the women in his life. That doesn't mean he loves them in the sense we think of love, but it does mean he will be inconvenienced and not content if they leave. Hee Sung is his truest self with his sister. He showed pictures of his wife and child because he holds affection for them, at the same time when speaking to Moo Jin and Hae Soo he clearly stated his largest frustration was not being able to stay as Hee Sung. You could arguably say that stems from his wife and child, which it does partially, but also from the peace he finds for himself as Hee Sung. That is all, lol.
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cozybooks
August 25, 2020 at 12:38 PM
I basically want to echo all of your thoughts, I think they're super valid haha :) I was also really pleasantly surprised by how much Hyun-Soo opened up to his sister, and more so when she commented on how much he'd changed. I think that's the biggest thing I see in Hyun-Soo now--that he's worked, REALLY hard, to change himself from who he was into someone different. And I think I'd attribute that to Ji-Won, and I think he would too.
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Kafiyah Bello
August 26, 2020 at 5:07 AM
Agreed about the change and why he changed.
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20 Lixie
August 25, 2020 at 6:12 AM
What’s with this guy? He’s a psycho for the first 2 eps then he’s full of emotions and even shows empathy and compassion in eps 3, 4, 5 and 6, when we are almost thinking he’s just a fugitive with a crazy family show remembers he’s supposed to not know about emotions. Really show.
I’m usually laughing whenever any kdrama character uses their superhearing ability but this was such a nice moment to have it and they just had to take that cheap route. If he’s such a cold fellow he should put his fake identity above everything. I’m supposed to believe the same guy who ran to cover his wife with that ridiculous sheet and the guy who thought he was sorry for her as he was almost gone, is the same person that replies he has never felt romantic love. I know what they are trying to do. It’s a cliche kdramas are very fond of, people falling in love and not realizing, I don’t even dislike that trope but this guy doesn’t fit that role.
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Fly Colours
August 25, 2020 at 8:01 AM
Yes, the cold guy who falls without realising it is a too-common trope, but I disagree that it doesn't fit HS. I think that he has this idea about himself based on the trauma inflicted by his Dad and the way people reacted to him - and if that wasn't enough, dude had to carry around the APD label (by this point, I think it's clear it was a misdiagnosis) and the stigma of being the kid of a murderer. It's quite believable that he's disconnected from his feelings and that he thinks of himself as a kind of freak, hence the "physical" manifestations of his feelings: hallucinations, heart pain... He's truly convinced that he doesn't have feelings, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have them
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Lixie
August 25, 2020 at 8:23 AM
Yes, that is the way the drama wants us to understand him. The things that make me not buy it are all the moments when he chooses to act in the best interest of others even if it goes against his benefit. He is clever and methodical, it's strange that he would ignore or misunderstand his own true motivations. For instance, if he imagines he doesn't feel anything romantic, why does he think he felt sorry for her when she rescued him? If he has no feelings why take the blame for the sister? Does he really ignore the obvious love for the daughter? Or he imagines it's only romantic love that isn't for him?
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Fly Colours
August 25, 2020 at 8:33 AM
Denial?
But, yeah, ultimately, you either buy it or you don't... I do, but I get your quibbles. Once you start questioning the drama, it's hard to get back on track 😂
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21 Stardust
August 25, 2020 at 6:22 AM
Call me Simplistic but I’m not convinced the sister is all good. It’s called flower of evil - so who’s the flower? Lol
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cozybooks
August 25, 2020 at 12:35 PM
I... still think it could be that Ji-Won is Hyun-Soo's "flower" and thus he wants to protect her/she's what's beautiful in his life. But I agree, the sister can't have grown up the way she did and come out completely fine.
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22 healer99101
August 25, 2020 at 6:27 AM
The show has been keeping up with my expectations so far.❤
I just wanna see a jealous Heesung now. I want him to be afraid of losing Jiwon😶
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persianrose❤️战哥
August 25, 2020 at 9:53 AM
Me too, I want him to see that Jiwon distancing herself and letting him go and he tries his best to seduce her back
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healer99101
August 25, 2020 at 10:39 AM
Oh my god yes !!!
I really hope that the show goes this way.
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cozybooks
August 25, 2020 at 12:31 PM
Oh my heck watching him try to get her this time would be so satisfying. I'm down! And it seems like a viable alternative to someone being put in mortal danger.
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cozybooks
August 25, 2020 at 12:33 PM
Especially since he's just admitted how BADLY he wants to keep his current life as Hee-Sung. And whether or not he recognizes that he loves HER, I think he'd recognize she's a major part of his life as Hee-Sung, and her leaving would jeapordize that lifestyle just as much.
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Peppibow
August 25, 2020 at 2:19 PM
I think something like this could be really in store. There's a scene from the teaser/trailer where he looks totally upset and desperate and is touching Ji-Won's face, and she has tears in her eyes.
CS
August 25, 2020 at 9:15 PM
I wonder if his sister will play a role in winning her back. I thought that when Moo-jin asked if she was always going to act as his spokes person. I wondered if it would take her interpreting Hee-sung's emotions that he can't express to win back his wife.
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23 Fly Colours
August 25, 2020 at 7:11 AM
I was mad at Moojin for making it look like Hyunsoo was the accomplice in his news piece, and then again for his double standards - he has no doubts about treating HS like a killer because he's "weird", but he can't wrap his head around Haesoo's confession because she's pretty and he has a crush on her.
This said, I didn't watch that scene of the 3 of them at Moojin's place the same way @teriyaki did, because I actually enjoyed how HS gets to behave like his real self when he's with his noona and his flaky friend. It must be really tiring for him to be always trying to figure out how to react like a "normal person". What a release that he now has these two that know him as he is!
Even the way MJ puts him down and HS outs his crush on Haesoo feels natural - they fall back into their squabbling teenage selves when they're together, ha!
Hope MJ shows some character development... he's not a great human being, or even a decent friend, but I really like his interactions with the Do siblings 😂
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persianrose❤️战哥
August 25, 2020 at 9:55 AM
Love is blind...
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24 Peppibow
August 25, 2020 at 7:38 AM
I think fake grandma is the one who's responsible that real Hee-Sung is in the coma. There multiple hints that supports my assumption, like:
- she gets very fast upset and a little bit 'violent' (slapping Hyun-Sun or packing him at his jacket)
- she just damaged Eun-Ha's homework because it reminded her of her son
- when Hyun-Sun asked the Baeks what happens to their son, Mr. Baek looks at his wife who runs away
- Mr. Baek says it's "because of her" that their son is in this state
My guess is that fake grandma got upset with her son after he took injured Hyun-Sun to his parents house. She got one of her 'uncontrollable' moments and it came to an unintended accident with the result of Hee-Sung getting badly injured. But I don't think that this accident had anything to do with Hee-Sung hitting Hyun-Sun with the car. I think it's more related to real Hee-Sung's own problems. Remember that just before he hit Hyun-Sun with his car he had a call, and he talked about a "problem" he had to face by himself. And fake grandma mentioned, during her attack on Eun-Ha's homework, that math can make you go crazy.
Well, real Hee-Sung was very good at math, and if we count one and one together, it's becoming obvious that real Hee-Sung has something to hide too.
I'm sooo curious and excited to see how the real Hee-Sung will affect Hyun-Sun and Ji-Won life now, and the story.
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Fly Colours
August 25, 2020 at 8:06 AM
Is it too makjang-y that RealHeeSung was the accomplice? Reading your points, it crossed my mind that maybe he was "mentored" by Hyunsoo's Dad, but him running over HS would have been a really crazy coincidence, even for kdrama 🤔
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scully
August 25, 2020 at 8:18 AM
@flyingcolours Aaahh, I just posted a comment about this as the thought occurred to me too. I don't have anything concrete to support this suspicion except a gut feeling and the question of what was the real Hee-Sung doing on that road at that hour.
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25 scully
August 25, 2020 at 8:15 AM
I haven't really had anything to comment so far about this show because everyone's already raised everything I wanted to say. Loving the dynamics between the two leads and the show's pacing of its twists and reveals. Not sure if this has been raised in earlier episode comment threads, but it did occur to me while watching this episode that maybe the real Hee-sung is the accomplice or someone linked to the real killer. I don't have much to go on at this point but a gut feeling. Things should be more clear once we see what the real Hee-sung does next now that he's awake.
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Kay
August 25, 2020 at 9:21 PM
I was thinking the same too ! He look pretty evil just lying in bed ... until the sweet scene where he was eating pancake with mom, I changed my mind. No way he can be evil ! Hehe
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scully
August 25, 2020 at 9:47 PM
@kai55 The pancake scene was cute! But I'm also assuming that the accomplice is a psychopath so I'm not ruling the real Hee-Sung out yet. But yeah, I'm just throwing out guesses at this point, cos the show does such a good job of dropping hints which are often grey, and may or may not lead to the accomplice/killer. I actually have one foot in the camp that Do Min Seok might not be the actual serial killer.
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Peppibow
August 26, 2020 at 5:00 AM
Yeah, DMS as the series killer is more and more questionable.
Maybe he didn't kill himself and the real killer just hided the proofs of his victims in DMS's house, so that it seems that he's the murderer.
If this is true, then I guess, DMS found out about the killings, and thats why he had to die.
But the murdering ended 2002, the year of DMS's death, so if the the real killer is still out there why did he ended the killings?
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scully
August 26, 2020 at 12:05 PM
@marie08 I'm not too sure, but does the time when the killings stopped also coincide with when the real Hee-Sung became unconscious? If it does, then it would explain the gap. Like you, I also harbour suspicions that perhaps the accomplice is the real killer and DMS was just the fall guy. Making his death look like suicide would be an effective way to end the inconvenient questions and shut up someone with inside knowledge if DMS had it.
Separately, it's not unusual for serial killers become dormant after a fashion, so that might also be a possible explanation. Maybe I've watched too many Criminal Minds episodes (US series, not Korean), but I wonder what was the trigger to start the killings, and also motivation for victim selection (typology). FOE has already hinted that a possible common thread is no one was looking for the victims, but I think there's more to it.
26 kiara
August 25, 2020 at 10:20 AM
I can't be any happier for Lee Jun-ki and Moon Chae-won. Finally that show that shall not be named can be erased from my memory.
Thank you PD Kim <3.
I was going to wait till it's over to marathon but I missed them on screen so started watching and I'm hooked.
Thank you @teriyaki and @lollypip for ther ecaps!
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27 Diana Hansen
August 25, 2020 at 12:18 PM
thank you so much for the recap. i do need it to understand all the subtle things going on. i love the discussions here too. i really love this writer/director pair for making this so tight and suspenseful. the actors are killing it. but the LJK and MCW can do that with a character. i will love Junki's acting til i die! eun ha is such a sweetie! i feel for the real Heesungs mom too. lots of oppresion in this and control over anothers feelings.
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28 cozybooks
August 25, 2020 at 12:27 PM
I just had a thought... re: that catastrophic event. The only catastrophe I DON'T want happening is Eun-Ha actually dying. I'm so attached to that adorable little girl, and she's so specifically written to be lovable... I'm scared the writer will pull a Memories of the Alhabra on us and killer her when we love her the most.
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Fly Colours
August 26, 2020 at 4:28 AM
Secretary Seo, never forgotten 😭
There's no way dramagods would dare to kill off Eunha - she's already bossed her way into our hearts
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29 Peppibow
August 25, 2020 at 2:33 PM
Okay, I was rewatching the scene from ep8 where Hyun-Sun is trying to figure out where the background noise. from the tape comes from, and Hae-Soo doesnt really look comfortable, but she trys to hide it. And Moo-Jin is so distracted by Hae-Soo that he doesn't really pays attention to Hyun-Suns thoughts about the tape.... It's like the authors don't want us to know (at least not yet) what Moo-Jins opinion about the background noise is👀
And what's interesting is that we only got to as edge fladhback about the death from the village foreman from Hyun-Sun POV. Hae-Soo explained her little brother that she killed him because he attacked her after she went to him to ask ii he can stop the exorcism on Hyun-Sun. But I don't buy it, there's more to it.
If it's truly Hae-Soo who is the murderer, and I'm really not sure about this, then Hyun-Sun will get another heartbreak.😢
P.S. the interactions between Ji-Won and Hae-Soo will be truly interesting. If Hae-Soo is a liar then Ji-Won will be the first one who recognises it.
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kungfukid
August 25, 2020 at 3:08 PM
The part where Haesoo told Hyunsoo that she wanted to talk to the village foreman for his sake didn't sit right with me. Like she knows how much power she has over him and could guilt him into taking the fall for her
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Peppibow
August 25, 2020 at 3:30 PM
Yeah, i agree.
She knows how much he trusts her, so it would be easy to lie to him, because he doesn't question it.
That she also burned their house after this is somehow even weirder. I get that she needed to destroy her bloody clothes, but burning their whole house down? A bit unnecessary.
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30 CaroleMcDonnell
August 25, 2020 at 2:35 PM
Between this and Forest of Secrets, I am convinced that the sexiest men alike are alexithymic. Convince me otherwise. Thanks for the recap.
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persianrose❤️战哥
August 25, 2020 at 3:47 PM
k-dramas in general used to incorporate so much over-acting, over the top emotional reactions, and over-dramatic scenes... therefore this new trend of alexithymia male lead is like such a fresh air! Subtle guys are indeed sexier than weeping guys (imho)
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Carol
August 25, 2020 at 5:07 PM
That is so true. Why viewers are drawn to much subtle and calmer male lead character?
However Baek Hae Sung/Do Hae So has mental disorder though. He is very high functioning that is why he can manipulate situation and people. What I am scared is that his darker tendencies will be triggered when he is pushed to the edge.
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Carol
August 25, 2020 at 5:14 PM
Baek Hae Sung/Do Hyun So I mean.
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persianrose❤️战哥
August 25, 2020 at 5:26 PM
Actually I hope the drama doesn't shy away to show his darker sides... we saw some of his darker sides in the initial episodes
But can they make us to hate Lee Joon-gi? I highly doubt 😉
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Carol
August 25, 2020 at 6:14 PM
His darker side may not be him resort into killings. He may not have emotions but since he is very high functioning, those emotions maybe there but controlled, he is human afterall. But with his disorder, it’s always mind over matter for him. He may not resort to murder but to acts that can be heartbreaking to himself and family. Let’s remember this drama is 80% melo as originally promoted.
Carol
August 25, 2020 at 6:20 PM
Though, Do Hyun Su has murderer tendencies. I don’t want him to have involvement of those killings. Let’s have a male lead with that character in a movie instead, not in a drama.
But hey, seriously I can’t predict anything in this drama. I have not even anticipated the tracker on Baek Hae Sung watch. Heheh So BHS/DHS could be dark or be darker.
31 miss h
August 25, 2020 at 5:52 PM
I've been suspicious of Hae Soo but decided that she was okay during her reunion with Hyun Soo. Then I went back to feeling uneasy about her. I don't even know if I think she's an accomplice, but she seems too well-adjusted for having killed someone and grown up the way she did. I think she's at least not telling the whole truth about what happened with the foreman.
When Dr. Baek was racing to stop his wife and then Hee Sung woke up I had the thought that Dr. Baek may have been keeping him "comatose" for some of these years. I'm probably wrong but the way Dr. Baek blamed his wife .... that's a very scary and controlling man. I wouldn't put anything past him. Given that hidden phone it appears Dr. Baek has more secrets than we thought.
I didn't expect to see In-seo again. It seems likely the accomplice lured Mi-sook with an offer of employment so this employment agency has me nervous.
Hyun Soo doesn't realize it but his "Why ask what's obvious" about love had more truth than his words to Hae Soo.
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32 transient
August 25, 2020 at 7:06 PM
In the last scene where Do Hyun So was at the door, his expression looks like he could kill. I'm scared for her.
That was such an intense cliffhanger
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33 transient
August 25, 2020 at 7:22 PM
I am starting to think that DO Min Seok is not the killer after all, he might be just another easy scapegoat (due to his inability to feel emotion), just like Do Hyun So.
I said this because of the scene where young Do Hyun So and young Do Hae Soo was at the tree and she advised him to do whatever their dad asked him to do or he will make Hyun So copy a book as a punishment.
The said book is a classical Chinese literature book. I don't think any cold blooded serial killer would even consider copying a classical Chinese literature book as a viable form of punishment. Literature book and serial killer just doesn't add up.
So I am starting to think that Do Min Seok might just be another falsely accused man himself
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CS
August 25, 2020 at 8:48 PM
I looked up the book, too. Myeongsim Bogam. It's a set of teachings from Confucianism and Taoism. Here's it's description from Amazon, "To recover from strife caused by foreign invaders and domestic political confusion average Koreans needed to regain their peaceful mind.
Myeangsim Bogam emerged to provide relief from this strife and share universal wisdom to guide human relations and balance ones mind. Myeangsim Bogam does this by combining accepted Taoist ideas as well as Confucian manners in it.
While originally published centuries ago, Myeangsim Bogam became especially endeared to Koreans and enjoyed a resurgence in publication in the modern age during the Japanese Occupation."
The idea of a balanced mind and finding peace in one's own head regardless of suffering doesn't really seem like the kind of thing a serial killer would prescribe... It struck me as odd.
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cozybooks
August 25, 2020 at 11:26 PM
Interesting... I really am getting more and more curious about what Do Min-Seok even really did the more I watch. He obviously seems to be a bad memory for both kids, but I don't know if that's just them imposing what was "found out" after his suicide on reality, or if they really knew stuff already.
Another interesting thought with this text could be if the DAD was actually an accomplice of some kind, helping against his will, and the "accomplice" was the real mastermind.
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Carol
August 26, 2020 at 6:01 AM
That’s an interesting theory.
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34 CS
August 25, 2020 at 8:30 PM
I'm think that the accomplice works at an "employment agency" probably like the one that kid goes to. The detectives asked what would be important enough to delay Mi-sook rushing to the hospital to see her husband, and they have proof that she's been searching hard to find a job. All of her calls for the last few days were about jobs. I think she got a call from an employment agency saying they found a position for her, but that she'd have to come right away. That's why all of the victims were people no one was looking for, they were all down on their luck and looking to start over with a new job.
As for the real Hee-sung... Did he try to commit suicide because he felt so horrible about hitting someone with his car? He might have been mentally unstable or already depressed. He was a math genius and remember how his mom overreacted and ripped up the math workbook saying that math could drive you crazy? I could see how a suicide due to hurting someone with your car (DUI?) could ruin the family reputation. I can see how the father would blame the mother for pushing the son too hard to achieve in mathematics... It's still only the half way point in the series, so there's lots of time for twists and turns!
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35 Carol
August 26, 2020 at 7:01 AM
Has anyone mentioned about Ji Won putting a tracker on Baek Hae Sung? That’s so bad.
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Peppibow
August 26, 2020 at 7:21 AM
Yeah, it's bad.
On one hand, you understand Ji-Won's decision. She could be married to a series killer and wants to know the truth, on the other hand you just feel bad for Hyun-Sun because his home, his family, is not really the safest place anymore.
What's also interesting is that Ji-Won burned all the evidence Nam Soon- Kil's wife gave her. She sabotaged the police investigation with this, so she commited now also some sort of crime. It's to protect her family, especially Eun-Ha, so I hope that the wife never meets Ji-Won's colleagues so that they don't find out.
P.S. that Ji-Won was surprised to see her husband coming out of Moo-Jins flat, is indicating that she doesn't track him anymore.
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CS
August 26, 2020 at 8:10 AM
I think she's still tracking him. I think that's why she's at Moo-jin's apartment, but I think she's surprised that he's confronting her being there head on instead of trying to hide.
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loveblossom🌸
August 26, 2020 at 12:39 PM
I didn't have a problem with the tracking because she found out he kept a huge secret from her and has lied to her multiple times. She has to be suspicious and concerned about his whereabouts in case he truly is a serial killer.
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36 kurosaki13
August 26, 2020 at 10:43 AM
After all that ji won went through to save her husband from dying I just find it so sad for her to hear those heart breaking words of our hero.. the ost that accompanied that scene made it even more heart breaking.
Joon gi is killing it here and it’s so nice to watch him play a different role from his otherwise similar characters in previous dramas.
All i hope for is that they stay together in the end 🤞🏻
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37 Sheikh
August 27, 2020 at 4:06 PM
After episode 9 & 10.
Can someone please tell me I’m suspecting the real BHS the real accomplice but how it doesn’t make sense cause he was young back then?
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