Our cop believes that her husband is safe for the time being, unaware that there’s a price on his head. He enlists the help of an unlikely ally to eliminate that threat but he has no idea that an even greater danger has returned to life. Our cop and her husband are going to have to be completely honest with each other to protect their family but is that even possible after years of lies?
EPISODE 12 RECAP
In a flashback to the day that Hee-sung hit Hyun-soo with his car, his mother found a hollow book hidden under his mattress. It contained a silver box, photos of people who were bound and gagged (the cage in the background suggests they’re in Do Min-seok’s basement) and a bloody knife.
In spite of her terror, Mom opened the silver box and when she saw seven neatly arranged fingernails, her screams shook the house. As she numbly made her way downstairs, the knife clutched in one hand and something else in her other hand (the fingernails?), a flash of lightning illuminated Hee-sung in the backyard.
When his Mom walked outside, Hee-sung admitted that he didn’t know that she was home. He pointed to the unconscious Hyun-soo and explained that after he hit him with his car, he couldn’t get in touch with his father. Mom asked if he planned to bury Hyun-soo in the hole he just dug and Hee-sung reasoned, “What other choice do I have?”
Seeing the knife, Hee-sung asked, “Did you go through my things?” Frightened, Mom backed away just as Hyun-soo stirred, so Hee-sung suggested that they talk later and dragged Hyun-soo into the hole.
While Hee-sung shoveled dirt on top of Hyun-soo, his desperate mother plunged the knife into his side. As blood poured from the wound, Hee-sung’s mother stammered, “You scare me…I can’t handle you anymore.” Tenderly touching her face, Hee-sung asked, “Why did you have to be home,” and when he collapsed, his mother’s screams echoed in the garden.
Back in the present, Hee-sung muses, “Everyone has a secret… there are people who know that secret, and there are people who wish to find out.” Suspicious of the maid assisting him, Hee-sung grabs her face and forces her to look at him, “Do you really not know how to read lips?”
The maid tries to avert her eyes and Hee-sung warns, “If you keep looking away when I’m talking to you, it’s going to make me upset.” When the maid looks at him, Hee-sung releases his grip and asks, “Have you ever told anyone about our family.” The maid scribbles, “I never told anyone. There’s no one to tell.” As Hee-sung wonders if he can trust her, the camera zooms in on his mother in the family portrait behind him.
In his home office, Dr. Baek shows his wife the cell phone that he found in Hee-sung’s car while cleaning up Hyun-soo’s blood. In a flashback, Dr. Baek answered the phone and an angry Sang-chul demanded, “Where’s my money?”
Dr. Baek explains that Hee-sung hired Sang-chul to find someone and Mom guesses that it was Hae-soo. Dr. Baek confesses that he met Sang-chul just once to deliver his money and to tell him that Hee-sung went abroad to study. When Mom questions the decision to have Hyun-soo killed, Dr. Baek argues that Hyun-soo’s investigation left him no choice.
After walking outside with Hyun-soo, Ji-won is surprised to see that Jae-sub is alone but she’s even more surprised when he asks for a cup of coffee. When they sit down together in the workshop, Jae-sub looks thoughtful before thanking Hyun-soo for risking his safety to expose Sang-chul’s gang.
When asked about the identity of Do Min-seok’s accomplice, Hyun-soo confesses that things didn’t go as planned. Jae-sub then shifts into detective mode and asks Hyun-soo for his motive in the village foreman’s death.
At Moo-jin’s place, Hae-soo is about to call Ji-won after learning that she knows the truth about Hyun-soo but Moo-jin takes her phone. When Moo-jin won’t let her leave, Hae-soo makes herself clear, “I’m going to turn myself in.”
Before Hyun-soo can answer Jae-sub’s question, Ji-won blurts out, “It wasn’t him.” After they exchange a tense look, Hyun-soo calmly explains, “I had no motive.” A flashback to the previous night shows that Jae-sub read the file on the foreman’s murder. Jae-sub informs Hyun-soo that a school uniform button belonging to a male student was found near the foreman’s body.
When Moo-jin mentions that Hae-soo must want to turn herself in out of guilt, she snaps, “Why should I feel guilty? After what he did to Hyun-soo?” Hae-soo tells Moo-jin that the foreman arranged for the exorcisms, which were practically a nightly occurrence.
Hyun-soo became convinced that he was possessed by their father’s ghost. A flashback shows Hyun-soo crouched in a corner and as he pointed across the room, he told Hae-soo, “I can see Dad. He keeps talking to me…The village foreman was right. I’ll end up like Dad.” Hae-soo accuses Moo-jin of turning his back on Hyun-soo along with the rest of the village, “No one in that town…is blameless when it comes to Hyun-soo.”
Ji-won remains silent as Jae-sub puzzles over why Hyun-soo would go to the trouble of burning down his house to destroy fingerprint evidence and photos yet leave the murder weapon out in plain sight. After Ji-won stands up to distance herself from the interview, Jae-sub informs Hyun-soo that one witness insisted that he was incapable of murder.
Hyun-soo confesses, “I killed him,” and Jae-sub stands up. After a long pause, Jae-sub tells Hyun-soo, “Thank you for the coffee. Mr. Baek Hee-sung,” and Ji-won spins around. She’s confused when Jae-sub leaves Moo-jin’s recorder on the table, “This is for the coffee.”
When Ji-won runs after Jae-sub, he explains that he figured out why she believes Hyun-soo is innocent, “The tragedy of a young brother and sister who became the enemy of the world overnight. I don’t want to touch it either.” Ji-won walks back inside to tell a confused Hyun-soo that Jae-sub is no longer interested in him, “Because Do Hyun-soo isn’t a bad person.”
Hyun-soo and Ji-won pick up Eun-ha and when she sobs, “Daddy. I missed you so, so, so, so very much,” Ji-won’s mother laughs that she acts as if they’ve been apart for years. After seeing that Hyun-soo is crying too, Ji-won assures her mother that everything’s okay.
At Eun-ha’s kindergarten, Hyun-soo plants a kiss on his daughter’s forehead and tells her, “Daddy loves you a lot…” Forming a heart with her arms, Eun-ha tells him, “I love you, Daddy.” Hyun-soo returns to the car and overhears Ji-won tell Jae-sub that she’ll quit as soon as her absence won’t burden the department. Jae-sub just urges her to hurry back to work and hangs up.
On the drive to the station, Ji-won asks why Hyun-soo got so emotional. Hyun-soo thought about the first time that he held Eun-ha and Ji-won reminds him that it was the first time he held a baby. Hyun-soo confesses, “After I met you, every single moment was filled with first times.”
Ji-won walks into the office and annoys the captain when she wishes everyone a good morning. Woo-chul informs him that Ji-won doesn’t know about the latest development while Jae-sub explains that she had to leave first because of her sick child.
It’s Ho-joon who informs Ji-won that Sang-chul escaped from the ER. Jae-sub explains that a special task force will take over the human trafficking investigation so that they can focus on finding Sang-chul and Do Min-seok’s accomplice. Jae-sub steps out when Hyun-soo calls and asks to meet without Ji-won.
While waiting for Jae-sub, Hyun-soo thinks about Sang-chul’s question, “Who do you think ratted you out to me?” Jae-sub climbs into the passenger seat expecting to be thanked but Hyun-soo tells him what he couldn’t say in front of Ji-won — someone called Sang-chul to tell him that Hyun-soo was working with the police, hoping to get him killed.
In his hospital bed, Hee-sung watches CCTV footage of Sang-chul walking out of the ER but when his mother walks in, he clears the tablet’s screen and weakly observes, “…the world has changed so much.” While his mother massages his legs, Hee-sung mentions that he missed three World Cups and promises to take her to the next one, if he’s still alive. Hee-sung fears that his life will be in danger if Hyun-soo figures everything out.
Moo-jin walks out with Hae-soo when she leaves and pleads, “…stop saying that you’ll turn yourself in. My heart shrivels every time I hear it…I like you, you know.” Moo-jin gets a taxi for Hae-soo and as soon as it drives away, she asks the driver to take her to the police station.
In a café where Ji-won won’t see them, Jae-sub guesses that Hyun-soo has an idea who called Sang-chul. Hyun-soo thinks of Dr. Baek’s generous offer to convince him to disappear and tells Jae-sub that he knows of a way to catch Sang-chul.
Before Hae-soo can enter the police station, Moo-jin calls from his new phone. Hae-soo reminds him, “You’re the only friend Hyun-soo has,” and admits that she’s about to turn herself in.
Ji-won is surprised when Hae-soo walks into her office and tells her, “Remember how I said I’d tell you everything when the time was right?” Grabbing the list of Sang-chul’s victims, Ji-won suggests going outside for Hae-soo’s “interview”. When they reach the roof, Hae-soo tells Ji-won, “I heard that you found out everything about Hyun-soo.”
Hae-soo confesses that she killed the village foreman, Hyun-soo only took the blame. Ji-won reminds Hae-soo that Hyun-soo is no longer a boy who needs her protection, he now has a wife who will stand by his side, no matter what.
Ji-won argues that Hyun-soo will be burdened with guilt if Hae-soo takes responsibility for the foreman’s death and begs, “…please respect your brother’s decision…you should be the one to feel guilty instead.” As Ji-won walks away, a tearful Hae-soo thanks her for trusting in Hyun-soo and promises to find a way to repay her. Uh-oh.
Parked in front of the station, Hyun-soo shares his worry that Ji-won will leave him if the stress of being with him becomes too much. Hee-sung explains to Jae-sub that’s why Ji-won can’t find out that Sang-chul is out to kill him. Jae-sub doesn’t understand why Hyun-soo won’t identity the person who hired Sang-chul but a wary Hyun-soo tells him, “I’m still very careful.”
Sang-chul calls Dr. Baek from a phone booth and promises to kill Hyun-soo if he can be lured to the right location. When Dr. Baek gets a call from Hyun-soo, he warns Sang-chul not to do anything rash and hangs up. Dr. Baek pretends he’s relieved to hear from Hyun-soo and agrees to see him the following evening.
Just as Hyun-soo hangs up, Moo-jin barges into the workshop, “Why didn’t you answer my calls?” Moo-jin explains that Hae-soo went to see Ji-won to turn herself in and asks Hyun-soo to call his wife. Hyun-soo tries to send Moo-jin away and when he refuses, he tosses Hae-soo’s repaired necklace at him and suggests, “You should go to Hae-soo.”
Moo-jin waits for Hae-soo outside her apartment and recalls Hyun-soo’s parting words, “She’ll be fine. I’m sure nothing happened.” When Hae-soo returns, she walks past Moo-jin but he confronts her, “You don’t care about me at all, do you?”
Hae-soo tells the worried Moo-jin, “…it’s weird that you still feel the same way about me.” Placing the necklace in Hae-soo’s hand, a stung Moo-jin tells her, “I’m sorry for liking you ever since I saw you in fourth grade. I’ll try to get over you.”
That night, Ji-won finds Hyun-soo on their roof’s patio and guesses that he couldn’t sleep. Taking her hand, Hyun-soo confesses that he’s been wanting to ask, “How was your day?” After everything that happened, Ji-won simply tells Hyun-soo that it was a decent and rests her head on his shoulder.
The maid pauses outside of Dr. Baek’s office when he tells Hee-sung that Hyun-soo will be paying him a visit and that he can’t find out that Hee-sung woke up. When Hee-sung asks about Hae-soo, Dr. Baek confesses that it’s Sang-chul that he’s worried about.
The maid watches Hee-sung’s mouth as he tells his father, “We need him to get rid of Do Hyun-soo.” After telling Hee-sung to stay out of it, Dr. Baek hands him some English language training materials. Hee-sung looks them over but turns towards the maid who shrinks away in fear.
When Ji-won interrogates one of Sang-chul’s men, she learns that Sang-chul got a call during his meeting with Hyun-soo and was hired to kill him. Ji-won exits the interrogation room to call her husband but Jae-sub stops her.
Ji-won exclaims that someone wants Hyun-soo dead and she’s shocked when Jae-sub admits, “I know. I already know.” After finding an empty room where they can talk, Jae-sub explains why he couldn’t tell Ji-won, “Your husband begged me not to…He said he was afraid you’d break because of him.”
Hae-soo visits Hyun-soo’s workshop to tell Hyun-soo about the Ilshin Hospital volunteer bracelet that their father’s accomplice was wearing. When Hae-soo mentions that she visited Dr. Baek to ask for his help in finding the volunteers from that time, Hyun-soo asks if she sensed that he was the accomplice.
Frustrated because her memory has faded with time, Hae-soo is hopeful that her next hypnotherapy session will help. Hyun-soo advises her not to bother, he’ll confirm it himself later.
At the police station, Ho-joon suggests enlisting Hyun-soo’s help to catch Sang-chul and Woo-chul agrees it’s worth a try. Just as her colleagues leave, Ji-won gets a call from Hyun-soo who offers to pick her up since it’s raining.
Hee-sung’s mother sees a photo of Hee-sung as a toddler and tells him, “You were such an angel. I ruined you.” The maid asks to speak with her and when they sit down together, she hands Mom a note, “I quit…Please transfer my severance pay and the money for my silence into my account by next week.”
When Ji-won runs under Hyun-soo’s umbrella, they both suggest going on a date. As they walk in the rain, Hyun-soo admits that he lied about why he can’t eat raw food. It’s not because it gives him a stomachache, the smell reminds him of his father.
Ji-won asks to talk about ordinary things and when she starts to cry, Hyun-soo asks if she’s all right and pulls her into a hug. At first Ji-won insists that she’s fine but she breaks down and confesses that she’s not all right at all. After admitting that she resents Hae-soo and hates lying to her colleagues, Ji-won tells Hyun-soo what hurts the most, “It’s the fact that you kept another secret from me.”
Using sign language, Mom asks the maid what she knows and she answers, “You stabbed your own son. To cover that, you made someone else live your son’s life. The man who your son ran over with his car.” When the maid tries to leave, Mom struggles with her and falls, hitting her head on the table.
The maid is distracted when she sees that Mom is hurt and doesn’t notice that Hee-sung is behind her. Hee-sung asks “What did you do,” and the maid signs that they’re both crazy and warns Mom, “Wire me the money or I’ll expose all of you. You have until next week.”
The women are shocked when Hee-sung stands up. He tells the maid, “I knew you weren’t to be trusted,” and when she tries to run out the front door, Hee-sung pulls her back inside.
While Hee-sung uses the maid’s scarf to strangle her, Mom calls her husband and begs him to come home right away. She backs away when Hee-sung finds her but he just takes the phone and tells Dr. Baek, “Mom cut her forehead. I think she needs stitches.” After hanging up, Hee-sung tells his mother, “I couldn’t think of another way to protect you.”
Dr. Baek gets home and when he sees the maid’s body, he finds Hee-sung and demands to know why he killed her. When Hee-sung explains, “She knew too much,” Dr. Baek slaps him. Dr. Baek shouts that Hee-sung promised to do whatever was needed to get his name back, not make things worse.
Mom explains that the maid was blackmailing them and admits, “If Hee-sung didn’t kill her, I might’ve done it instead.” Mom promises to fix Hee-sung but first, something needs to be done about the maid’s body. When Dr. Baek can’t think of what to do, Hee-sung tells him, “I have an idea.”
Hyun-soo cancels his meeting with Dr. Baek and asks to use the summer house for one night while he’s out of town on business trip. Dr. Baek agrees as Hee-sung brings him the maid’s scarf.
Hyun-soo tells Ji-won that he plans get Dr. Baek to confess to everything and warns that his true identity will come out. Ji-won tells Hyun-soo that she’s already prepared for that possibility and that she’s not scared. When Hyun-soo turns to leave, Ji-won reminds him that as a cop, she doesn’t need a warrant to arrest Dr. Baek.
Sang-chul removes the cover from a car in a parking garage and turns the key just as Hyun-soo and Ji-won arrive at the Baek house.
Dr. Baek and Hee-sung load a suitcase with the maid’s body into the trunk of a car when Ji-won rings the doorbell. Dr. Baek announces, “Do Hyun-soo is here,” as the gate swings open.
COMMENTS
I know how ridiculous it seems that someone who was comatose for 15 years is not only able to stand and walk, but he’s also capable of strangling someone. I think that Hee-sung is just so driven to kill that he was able to push himself beyond his limits but it’s also true that he’s been acting more feeble than he actually is for some time. And that’s what makes Hee-sung such a chilling villain, he hides his true nature behind that meek façade. While his mother and father keep him hidden, Hee-sung manipulates them to see things his way which means that they’ve now become his accomplices in murder.
What I find harder to believe than a recently revived man making incredible physical gains is that Hee-sung’s go to solution for his problems is murder. For a man who was a math whiz as a child, how he can have such tunnel vision? Mathematics is all about finding solutions for complex problems but rather than finding unique answers for his problems, Hee-sung kills and then figures out how to hide his crimes. Really, he just wants any excuse to kill and it’s that approach that led to his coma. After his mother found the evidence of the serial murders, she stabbed him before he could bury Hyun-soo alive. Yet, in spite of that chilling evidence and the recent murder of the maid, she still thinks she can “fix” Hee-sung. It’s the hopes and dreams that Hee-sung’s parents have always had for him that fuel the delusion that Hee-sung can somehow lead a normal life.
While the Baek’s refuse to accept the truth about Her-sung, Hyun-soo is still struggling with being honest with Ji-won. Even though he thinks he has a good reason not to tell Ji-won that Sang-chul was hired to kill him, Hyun-soo learns how wrong he was when he sees how much his latest lie hurt her. Again, after realizing that Ji-won knows the truth, Hyun-soo confides in her and together, they face the challenge. What Hyun-soo needs to learn fast is to tell Ji-won the truth before she hears about it some other way. They really need to be firing on all cylinders if they’re going to triumph over the unbelievably evil Baek family. While Hyun-soo noted that he and Dr. Baek stop at nothing to achieve their goals, Dr. Baek doesn’t have anyone like Ji-won by his side. She’s just as committed as they are to get what she wants and it’s going to take that kind of resolve to overcome someone as powerful as Dr. Baek and someone as diabolical as Hee-sung.
I’m with @lollypip, Hae-soo is driving me crazy but this time it’s not because she’s off investigating on her own. I don’t like the way she treated Moo-jin, even though of course she doesn’t have to return his affections just because he’s crazy about her. Hae-soo takes all of her frustrations out on Moo-jin and then breaks his heart, talk about adding insult to injury. But realistically, what does the future look like for Hae-soo and Hyun-soo if the village foreman’s murder remains unsolved? The only way for Hyun-soo to live in peace is for that case to be closed but Ji-won didn’t allow Hae-soo to confess out of respect for Hyun-soo. When Hae-soo promised to repay Ji-won someday, I had a sense of foreboding. If something happens to Hae-soo, Hyun-soo won’t have to protect her any longer. It’s a terrible thing to consider but this late in the drama, I have no idea what to expect so I’m preparing myself for all kinds of possibilities.