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Happiness: Episode 10

As if things weren’t dire enough, people begin mysteriously disappearing and dying in the apartment building. Our leads try to keep the peace, but everyone is at a breaking point. Throughout the chaos, our cop struggles to keep himself in check and ensure the safety of everyone around him. Meanwhile, the lieutenant colonel makes a drastic choice to protect what matters most to him.

 
EPISODE 10 RECAP

Sae-bom heads to visit Se-hoon and sees his door is open a crack. While she cautiously enters, Tae-seok contacts Yi-hyun. He lies that Sae-bom’s blood doesn’t have the antibodies and instead encourages them to send Seo-yoon out; they’re trying to get minors out of lockdown.

Yi-hyun asks if Sae-bom can leave with Seo-yoon. Tae-seok agrees under the condition she cooperate with his work. Yi-hyun says he’ll get in touch after talking with Sae-bom and disconnects. Tae-seok observes to Ji-soo that it’s not like Yi-hyun to send Sae-bom out and senses something’s off.

On Yi-hyun’s way upstairs, Sae-bom comes running and says there’s trouble. Yi-hyun takes a subtle step back from her when she gets too close. She takes him to Se-hoon’s and shows him a note. Se-hoon writes he committed a major wrong and couldn’t endure anymore, so he left. He says to let everyone share his food and water.

The handwriting doesn’t quite match the writing on his water container, and he left behind his phone and wallet. They rifle through his things, and Yi-hyun finds a pill container with Next. Everything almost too-neatly points to him being infected.

In the hall, they run into Se-kyu and Moon-hee who are hanging around to swipe Se-hoon’s supplies. Yi-hyun and Sae-bom send them back for now and keep Se-hoon’s disappearance a secret. Sae-bom doesn’t see why a recluse would leave home and thinks foul play is likely.

Yi-hyun and Sae-bom can’t find Se-hoon anywhere in the building, and the lobby door is unlocked. They head back up to 1501 and find the residents gathered. Andrew testifies that he saw Se-hoon leave the building this morning wearing his hazmat suit.

Since everyone is running out of water, Sae-bom and Yi-hyun eventually let everyone into Se-hoon’s. They only let each person take what they need, stopping everyone (especially greedy Se-kyu) from cleaning out the place.

Joo-hyun is mad Yi-hyun didn’t give the rich residents a greater portion of supplies and balks when Sang-hee claims Yi-hyun divided things fairly. He then asks Sang-hee if she noticed anything strange about Yi-hyun – he seemed to be sticking closer to Sae-bom than usual.

They’re interrupted by a knock on the door. Young-ok and Se-kyu think leaving all that stuff in Se-hoon’s apartment would be a waste. (These three are just about the most unpleasant clique ever.) Joo-hyung lets them in to discuss the situation and makes Sang-hee stand in the hall. Wow.

At home, Seo-yoon guesses that Se-hoon must’ve left because he was lonely. She saw something on TV about people with no friends or family dying alone. She worries about her parents, but Sae-bom assures her they’re okay.

Sae-bom pour everyone some water, but Yi-hyun leaves his untouched all day. In the middle of the night, Sae-bom wakes to find Yi-hyun gone. She wakes up Jung-kook, but he doesn’t know where Yi-hyun went.

Out in the hall, Yi-hyun sits on the floor, lost in thought. When Sae-bom comes out and sees the radio in his hand, she assumes he was talking to Tae-seok. He tells her she doesn’t have the antibodies, which disappoints her.

Sae-bom notices the cut on his hand is bleeding again and drags him inside to treat it. As she checks his wound, he tells her about Tae-seok’s proposal to send Seo-yoon out. He suggests she go with her, but Sae-bom says he should come too. Anyway, she’s hesitant to send Seo-yoon out when they don’t know how dangerous it is out there.

Yi-hyun apparently asked about Se-hoon, and Tae-seok said he’d look into it. But Sae-bom has another idea. What if he tried to leave but got scared and returned? Se-hoon could be hiding in the empty 1102.

They creep into 1102 and indeed find Se-hoon’s water bottle. Then, they hear some … interesting noises. Sae-bom bangs on the door and tells the couple to come out. Hae-sung and Sang-hee stumble out after their “legal consultation.” Pfft.

Sae-bom encourages him to tell his wife – if trust is broken in a marriage, it won’t last long. Yi-hyun hands over the water bottle, but Sang-hee says it’s not theirs. They open another door, and Sae-bom spots someone under a blanket. The gnats buzzing around aren’t a good sign.

She removes the blanket and reveals a very dead cleaning ajumma. (Oh no, I wondered where she’d gone.) She’s been bitten on the neck, and her body is covered in lime powder. Yi-hyun and Sae-bom recall they found a bag of lime in Se-hoon’s apartment.

Reluctantly, Sae-bom goes to get the only doctor in the building. While Yi-hyun questions Hae-sung and Sang-hee who were too *ahem* busy to notice anything suspect, Sae-bom brings Joo-hyung to look at the body.

Elsewhere, Hyun-kyung sits with Soo-min who again asks her to take care of his family if he doesn’t make it. She won’t hear of it, though, and they start bickering. Andrew comes in with bags of food, saying he wants to return the favor since Hyun-kyung gave him food before.

Upstairs, Joo-hyung proves he really is a doctor. He notes that the cleaning ajumma has been dead for at least two days, and the lime was used to try to cover the odor.

When he asks if Hae-sung and Sang-hee discovered the body together, Sang-hee makes up an obvious lie to hide the affair. Joo-hyung subtly threatens Hae-sung by saying he’s worried about how shocked So-yoon will be if she finds out.

In the hall, Moon-hee and Se-kyu are in an uproar because Andrew stole their food. Yi-hyun and Sae-bom reveal that the cleaning ajumma, whose name was Lee Deok-soon, is dead. Young-ok immediately assumes this was the wrongdoing Se-hoon mentioned in his note.

Sae-bom and Yi-hyun remind everyone there’s no evidence Se-hoon is the culprit. Yi-hyun tells Hae-sung and Sang-hee he’ll take their witness statements later. So-yoon stares in shock at her husband and scoffs.

Jung-kook comes upstairs with Hyun-kyung and Andrew who asks if the cleaning ajumma is really dead. Se-kyu, still only concerned with his “stolen” supplies, punches Andrew in the face. Sae-bom and Yi-hyun sit on the sidelines while Jung-kook breaks up the fight.

Elsewhere, Tae-seok’s wife turns and they can’t get her lucid again. When Tae-seok goes for the vial of the treatment from Sae-bom’s blood, Ji-soo tries to stop him. If he takes it, the higherups will know Sae-bom is vital to the cure.

Tae-seok can’t see beyond his wife being in danger and takes the sample from his underlings at gunpoint. He injects Young-in with the treatment, and she immediately stabilizes.

Ji-soo warns that headquarters will find out, but Tae-seok has a plan: tell them first. They’ll report Sae-bom’s antibodies and that the treatment was successful on his wife. He’ll make sure to get Sae-bom here by tomorrow.

At the apartment, Yi-hyun and Sae-bom discuss what they know about the cleaning ajumma’s death. He relays that Andrew was the last person to see her, and based on Joo-hyung’s estimation, she must’ve died not long after. Jung-kook comes in and downs a glass of water. Sae-bom notices when Yi-hyun looks away, but she says nothing.

Sae-bom and Yi-hyun decide to keep the peace by divvying up Se-hoon’s food, but they only let one unit in at a time and monitor how much is taken. On his way back, Dong-hyun shows a rare moment of care for his parents and leaves his box of food outside their door.

In 602, Hae-sung tries to convince So-yoon he was just giving Sang-hee a “consultation,” but she’s not naïve enough to buy that. Meanwhile, Yi-hyun lets Andrew stay at Se-hoon’s place. Once everyone leaves, we get this ominous music as Andrew sits on Se-hoon’s throne.

When Sae-bom and Yi-hyun arrive home, they find Seo-yoon having a coughing fit. She usually gets a shot at the hospital for her symptoms, but she smiles and says she’ll be fine. Thinking of Seo-yoon’s health, Sae-bom and Yi-hyun decide it’s better to send her outside after all.

Young-ok holds a meeting in the gym about security. With the cleaning ajumma dead, that means there’s another infected resident attacking people. Everyone starts fighting about who should bleed themselves this time, and Se-kyu even runs at Joo-hyung with a knife.

During the chaos, Yi-hyun hears a ringing in his ears and closes his eyes in pain. Sae-bom looks over with concern. Yi-hyun pulls himself together and interjects to say that he and Sae-bom are planning to go outside to get more food and water.

They grow suspicious when Joo-hyung parrots what Se-hoon told them about there being an emergency power source in the basement they can use for electricity and water. He argues that’s a better option than going outside. Lest we think he has a shred of humanity, Joo-hyung clarifies that the trip would be fruitless if they go out and don’t make it back with supplies.

Despite the danger, Yi-hyun decides he’ll turn on the power source since it’s their only option. He tells Sae-bom they can first send out Seo-yoon. Sae-bom wonders what to tell her, but Yi-hyun suggests keeping it secret for now. If Seo-yoon knows she’s leaving alone, she might refuse.

Sae-bom worries the noise of the generator will draw the zombies, trapping Yi-hyun. He assures her he’ll be fine.

Early the next morning, Yi-hyun goes into the stairwell and contacts Tae-seok. He says Sae-bom and Seo-yoon will be in the parking garage this afternoon, ready to leave. (Uh, that is not the plan, and Sae-bom is going to riot.)

Tae-seok is surprised Yi-hyun isn’t coming with them, but he says someone needs to keep an eye on things. He asks Tae-seok to help Sae-bom and Seo-yoon live well. When they disconnect, Tae-seok somberly tells Ji-soo that Yi-hyun must be infected.

Later that morning, Sae-bom pulls Yi-hyun aside; she knows something is wrong. She reminds him of their promise to tell each other if they’re sick. “Are you okay?” she asks seriously.

Yi-hyun lies that he’s fine, but Sae-bom isn’t convinced. The cut on his hand healed way too fast, and he hasn’t been drinking water. He takes off the bandage to prove his cut hasn’t healed. (In a flashback, we see that he reopened the wound.)

Sae-bom sighs in relief and takes the two-way radio from him. She instructs Tae-seok to prepare antibiotics and bandages for them since Yi-hyun got hurt. When Tae-seok gives an update that Se-hoon isn’t outside, they decide to look through the building one more time.

Given Se-hoon’s proclivity for survival gear, Sae-bom suggests he could have some secret room or bunker in his apartment. They let themselves in when Andrew doesn’t answer the door. While Yi-hyun leaves to look for Andrew, Sae-bom checks out the apartment.

She gets a communication from Ji-soo over the radio. They found something strange in a background check on the residents. While Sae-bom learns that Ahn Guk-jin (Andrew’s birth name) was found dead in his home, Yi-hyun finds Se-hoon’s body in the same condition as the cleaning ajumma’s.

Sae-bom goes through Andrew’s backpack and finds both Se-hoon and Deok-soon’s IDs. Yi-hyun runs in to tell her he found Se-hoon.

Downstairs, Jung-kook heads to the door when he hears incessant knocking. Hae-sung says he saw zombie Se-hoon and needs help. Jung-kook takes out his gun and fully opens the door. Andrew forces his way in and attacks Jung-kook. Upstairs, Sae-bom and Yi-hyun hear a gun fire.

Seo-yoon sits crying with Andrew opposite her. He forces her to play Jenga with him like nothing has happened. Outside the apartment, Young-ok and her crew (Joo-hyung, the 201 couple, and Hae-sung) have gathered to take Yi-hyun and Sae-bom’s supplies.

Sae-bom and Yi-hyun rush past them into their apartment. Yi-hyun sees Jung-kook’s body and runs to him in a panic. Sae-bom turns to Andrew, who’s sitting on their couch with Jung-kook’s gun in front of him. Sae-bom asks who he is. He finally takes off his hat, goggles, and mask to reveal his true face.


 
COMMENTS

And Andrew did turn out to have a nefarious plan after all. He was one of the only ones who hadn’t been awful to anyone’s face, so of course he turned out to be some serial killer. If Andrew is infected, he’s done a great job of hiding it and keeping himself lucid. Maybe the mask and goggles helped to dull his senses a bit. Poor cleaning ajumma and Se-hoon, both of whom pretty much just minded their own business. Is there no one decent in this place? So-yoon had better not be some assassin in disguise or something – she’s one of the only nice ones we’ve got.

Speaking of So-yoon, maybe she’ll drop Hae-sung now that he’s having a super obvious affair. Oh, excuse me, “legal consultation.” Sang-hee has him wrapped around her finger. I’m guessing she approached him so he can help her steal Joo-hyung’s money because I seriously doubt she just likes him. Sang-hee is highly calculative, and she’s still trying to play Joo-hyung for that password, although he’s clearly done with her.

I had a feeling Yi-hyun might go the noble idiot route and try to keep his infection a secret from Sae-bom, but I’d hoped he’d be honest. She even directly asked him if he was okay, and he lied. And now he wants to send Sae-bom out with Seo-yoon against Sae-bom’s own wishes. Although she bought his lie for now, I’m wondering if Yi-hyun is going to be okay after coming into contact with Jung-kook’s blood. She’s already suspicious, so he might have a hard time hiding his struggle.

Yi-hyun made Tae-seok’s job a lot easier – he barely even had to scheme for a plan to get Sae-bom out of the complex. Now that Tae-seok is making Sae-bom’s role in the treatment public, I’m worried how she’ll be handled. Obviously, they need her alive but that doesn’t mean they won’t treat her as just a useful lab specimen. I’d hoped Tae-seok would look out for Sae-bom, but what little ethics he has goes out the window when his wife is in danger. I understand his desperation, but he has way too important of a role (and influence over others’ lives) to only think of her.

I can’t believe we’re already at the final week! Although I’m really enjoying it, I’m glad the drama is only 12 episodes. With dramas like this that rely on tension or suspense, they often lose steam as they progress. Not Happiness – it’s been well-paced and engaging throughout. I’m crossing my fingers that we get a strong ending that does the drama justice. Oh, and Yi-hyun had better make it because I will not be happy if he dies. At all.

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I had a visceral reaction to the last minute of the episode. Seeing those people standing in front of Sae-bom and Yi-hyun's apartment, ready to steal their supplies while a killer sat inside with a literal child... My jaw was just, on the floor.

As expected, the real monsters in the drama weren't the infected. It was always the humans.

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I just want to pack all these people into a container and ship them out to nowhere. And may them enjoy biting each other to what ever level of hell. They are just so so vile.

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Me too; how do these individually distasteful people keep snapping into total sync when it’s time to do something horrible? It’s like they all instinctively agree that no responsibility to be decent is involved if the decision is made as a group. Ugh.

I like that Sae Bom has known Yi Hyun is probably infected right from the jump, but she’s not commenting on it. Very in-tune with her characterization so far - the other part of course being her acting on that developed knowledge with extreme decisiveness. So that’s yet to come.

I also like that Tae Sook constantly recalculates, it’s like he’s viewing the world through a kaleidoscope. If Yi Hyun is infected, him being with Sae Bom can only last so long and with Tae Sook’s wife going under, I can see how the next step would be to OVER-publicize Sae Bom’s antibodies and get ALL eyes on her, to make a chairman-like kidnapping more difficult. Then again none of us know what’s up with Andrew, so…

I do like this show, it makes me think, and I’m okay with everyone else being on a scale of neutral-to-horrible as long as Yi Hyun and Sae Bom are still hanging on and being their deadpan, exasperated, rational selves.

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Andrew is a searched serial killer,his face was on one of the posters at the police station...

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Really? which episode? I will go back look

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In episode 1 at min 32:42 more or so...

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Miranda, I hope it doesn’t go to your head (😊😂) but I love your comments so much. Keep coming back even if you are busy and trying not to get swallowed by this site!

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Me too! @Miranda. Love your comments and will miss the dialogue when this show is over.

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It was disgusting. At first, I didn't realized what they were doing. I think I was too stunned and was worried about Jung Kook.

It's looking like now it could be the last one standing type situation among the residents. I hope they don't turn out to be all infected to show how regular humans can be greedy, selfish, and evil.

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I hate when dramas add serial killers, but this one had a nice twist with the killer being infected and masking his symptoms with goggles and mask.

I hope they ending will be satisfying because the drama has been solid throughout its run, although I am all in for season 2, if they end it on an open note.

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They did said they don't plan another season and the story will be told here...

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Agree. Please no Season 2.

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@db-staff
Oops... sadly, no related posts of Happiness yet in this episode recap only.

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OMG, Andrew did unmasked! I hope he will survive in the end and I want to be a happiest ending in this series finale!

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I wish they hadn't made everyone in this drama absolutely awful. I've seen the real monsters are human trope so often. They could have just shown everyone as just regular folks rather than grifters and murderers. That is one serial killer and a 2nd almost serial killer. That is 2 groups of grifters. A manipulator and a cheating husband. They could have sucked with out all the extra. However, we are at the end so maybe it will be worth it.

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Seriously mindblown by the big reveal!! Love that this drama has kept up the tension and suspense throughout.

Dangit, I thought Andrew could have been neutral or good! There are more bad, ugly people than good ones!! At least, the grandma's son is looking a little remorseful. I wonder if she manages to never turn because she was isolated and not triggered or harassed by the others.

I feel so bad for the innocent Deok Soon and Se Hoon. Both Andrew and Se Hoon were shown doing nice things, but only when Andrew tried to set him up is when we see the truth.

In the past episode when Andrew offered up his blood to the group, I had a small thought that what if he was infected and then his blood wouldn't trigger anyone and we'd still have someone hidden. But I never thought that he was evil. I was more concerned about other unknowns.

My theory is that Andrew took on his cleaning job and disguise to steal from people's homes. I had caught and sorta recognized the actor's name during the show (not beforehand) and tried to avoid seeing his real life picture because I remembered him playing shady roles before.

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To me he was shady from the start and knew he was a bad guy but wanted to see the backstory and how he will play all out...He is a serial killer searched by the police...

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That last part of the episode really had me muttering ‘what the f*ck is wrong with these people’ several times. They just got supplies from Sehoon’s and now they want Saebom and Yihyun’s as well? And how could they do that to Seoyoon? A kid really had to witness that and subject her to that kind of trauma?

Seems like Andrew targets the good ones. He’s seen to be attacking Hyunkyung and I think that was Soyoon standing beside her in the teaser for episode 11.

I really wish Taeseok is doing whatever he is doing for the good of all and not just to secure another round of treatment solely for his wife.

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What a heavy episode. There was no time to breathe in at all. The real zombies are the humans in that apartment. They are so, infact they don't belong to this planet, straight to Titan, Thanus planet.

I know Han Tae Sook is desperate but he should know that those antibodies are coming from a human not from a plant and someone's wife too. I don't give a damn about his stoic and professional ways of curbing this infection, which I have to admit is working. But the only hope they can hold out to still needs to live too. Sae-bom is human too not a lab rat.

I just want our couple and their "daughter" out of that apartment safely and the cure ready to wipe off any trace of the virus out of Yi-hyun's body. That's all I want.

And plz, does anyone knows how this writer always end his stories, with a happy or an open ending? I want to be sure of the amount of tears I'm shedding on Friday.

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This was an excellent episode all around, although I was confused by two things: First, I thought that maybe Andrew isn't actually infected; he's just a serial killer who likes murdering people in cannibalistic ways. It seems like his decision to disguise himself to get close to his victims and get away with crimes would have had to predate infection. But maybe I'm wrong.

Second, why doesn't Tae-seok just *ask* Seo Bom to please help them use her antibodies to develop a cure? I'm sure she'd say yes! His backdoor machinations and lies on this front make no sense to me.

I was very sad for Hyun. He should have just been honest with Sae Bom but his decision to stoically try to withstand temptation and will his way out of this fits what we know of his character.

Very much looking forward to the finale week!

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I think he’s wearing a mask to primarily hide his face since some pointed out that he’s on the wanted people poster from episode 1

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I was questioning whether or not Andrew was actually one of the infected too. I wonder if Joo Hyung gave a correct assessment. He made it sound really official, but the time he had to see the body was short.

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I suspect Andrew is infected but is the mutated version that TS mentioned who can hide/control their thirst very well. Evidence- on the roof when the 2 zompires were there Andrew broke the lock and let them down the stair and they didn't try to attack him. Even TS seem surprised by this. He cut himself because he knew his own blood would not bother himself (although he too had great self control not to be affected by YH's blood either). When the pastor drank Andrew's blood he didn't turn immediately as expected if Andrew's blood was normal since he clearly had trouble resisting YH's blood droplets on the floor. I suspect the pastor was just thirsty and wanted to try (like he did his own blood) but it didn't really help. I suspect in the preview when YH says to Andrew that he knows who his is, that it means more than your the wanteded murderer on the police wall, but also I know you're a zompire because I'm not thirsty for you too.

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Only a week left! I'm not very convinced about Tae Seok's shenanigans, but everything else has been tightly written and I'm excited that they're bringing this drama home. One of the best I've watched this year

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So the masked guy with the cap and goggles, who barely talks, whose ID, more precisely his name, is damaged is a bad guy? Oh surprise 😐

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I sympathize with YH and understand why he is hiding it from SB. He really just wants to spend as much time with her as he can- he seriously does miss her more the more he spends time with her. If he told her, he may be forced to quarantine especially away from the kid and she may have to stay with the kid so that would separate them earlier than he was ready. I am hanging onto the hope that there is a "lesson" to learn through this series about humanity needing to be preserved in challenging times even in extreme pandemic and is worth saving. Therefore in order for that to be true I am hopeful that SB will be able to save YH in the end. Maybe she can put her medical terrorist training in use and do a person to person transfusion to give him her antibodies and save him (after probably having to escape from TS who will want to bring her in, maybe with the help of the Colonel Lee( and after they both beat the #$#%# out of some zompires and possible human trash. I predict that they will be separated at the end of episode 11 with him up on the roof (relieved she is safe) and her on the outside but when she hears he's infected and inside she is going to go back in come hell or high waters.

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What a roller-coaster of emotions! If the last scene in episode 12 is not healthy Sea-Bom and Yi-Hyun sitting on a beach watching sun-set, on their well deserved honeymoon, in the post pandemic world, I won’t be able to recover. I can’t bear it if Yi-Hyun dies.

I see parallels between Tae-Sok and Yi-Hyun’s character.
Sae-Bom stabilizes Yi-Hyun, both he himself and his mother said something like that. So I think that if something happened to Sae-Bom, Yi-Hyun would go full Tae-Sok.

Tae-Sok and Yi-Hyun are both very devoted to their wives, and I find Tae-Sok’s situation touching. However, he is not in a position to put his wife above everyone else (while Yi-Hyun, I think, can do that), because the whole country relies on him to help them and their families and loved ones. If he is in such a powerful position, his responsibility has to be above personal interests, if not, he is not fit for his role.

So how many people did he personally kill (I did not count, but a lot), some of them with bare hands. In addition, how many people have died because of his decisions or orders? How is it ok to lock down healthy people without their consent as lab rats, and let them all be infected and kill each other? All that we have to understand and consider noble, because he is doing it to save his wife and child? He is a mass murderer (a fact), although he obviously cares a lot about his wife. I wouldn't leave Sae-Bom in his hands...

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OMG! Andrew is, errr, the kid from Let’s Eat 2. Are we sure he’s really evil this time?

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I can’t be the only one who finds parts of this show incredibly humorous! The despicable doctor had me wheezing when he came out of the bedroom after seeing the cleaning lady’s body lol even Hyun & Sea Bom looked like they were trying to keep straight faces lol Last episode when the pastor drank the blood and it looked like lipstick! I love how humor is injected into the show to keep us from going over the edge! Love this show so much!

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