I Remember You: Episode 6

by rejoycie

While yesterday’s episode was a chance for us to get a peep into Ji-an’s psyche, today gives us a similar glimpse into Hyun’s sexy mind. The case hits a little closer to home, but the harder it hits, the better it is for us. We get a little less of Hyun and Ji-an playing house, but it’s all good, since he eventually hops onboard the Scooby gang.

EPISODE 6: “The Blood of a Murderer”

Hyun summarizes the important points of the case to Prosecutor Shin: Prisoner Park Young-chul was framed for the murder for his wife and daughter, and detectives on the case were misled by the evidence. Son Dae-young grew up to avenge his dad, first killing the real murderer, then going after the officers who worked the case.

Since Dae-young was arrested before he completed his revenge mission, there’s one survivor left on his hit list — Prosecutor Shin, who prosecuted Young-chul. The question is, did he convict Young-chul as a mistake, or did he do it knowing there was a different culprit?

Hyun explains his hypothesis: Prosecutor Shin knowingly arrested Young-chul in spite of his innocence. The real killer had been an informant for Prosecutor Shin and aided him greatly in cleaning up the mobs, earning Prosecutor Shin much-lauded praise from the public. But once he committed a murder, Prosecutor Shin had no choice but to cover it up.

Prosecutor Shin defends himself with his warped philosophy that the sacrifice of one person can benefit many others. Maximum happiness for the maximum number of people, that’s basic mathematics.

Hyun quotes a question often posed to psychopathic killers: There are five patients in a hospital, each needing a different organ transplant. A healthy young man enters and happens to be a suitable organ donor for each of the five patients. What should the doctor do? A serial killer’s reply would be to just kill that one person, to easily gain back five lives. It’s eerily similar to Prosecutor Shin’s logic. Hyun muses that he would love to see the prosecutor’s brain.

Prosecutor Shin says he never expected to have a conversation with the son of Professor Lee (Hyun’s father), and Hyun’s face hardens at the mention of Dad. Then Prosecutor Shin mentions psychopath Lee Joon-young as well—he’d been the one to put Joon-young behind bars.

Joon-young’s case was difficult, because there was no corpse and no evidence, so there was no way to convict him. Hyun realizes that evidence must have been fabricated in the process, and asks if his father did it. Prosecutor Shin: “If your father did do it, was what he did good or evil?”

Prosecutor Shin asks about Hyun’s lost memories, and informs him that Hyun actually experienced another onset of memory loss, even before Dad’s death. It sounds like it’s the first time Hyun has heard about this. Prosecutor Shin suggests that Hyun represses memories when he faces something he can’t handle. Prosecutor Shin brings up the death of Hyun’s mother, but before he can go into more detail, someone appears behind Hyun suddenly and delivers a mighty thwack to his head.

Ji-an is alone in her house, and she notices that her house is waaay too spacious for just one occupant. She’s feeling the absence of her one-day roomie, and starts seeing imaginary Hyun in every nook and cranny. She confesses to herself that although she doesn’t trust Hyun, she feels sad for him, for continuing to live with his dead family.

Her attention is drawn to the photo of her and her father, and realizes that Hyun left a note for her: “I remembered, Stalker. You’re her.”

Hyun wakes up on the floor of Prosecutor Shin’s house with a bleeding wound to his head, and there’s a unidentified drawing of purple flowers left behind for him. Memories of Mom, purple flowers, and bloodied footprints float back to him. Hoho, Mom’s death is not straightforward either. He tells us that after this day, Prosecutor Shin went missing.

Deputy Chief Kang approves Ji-an’s return to the investigation team, and holds Team Leader Kang accountable for pestering him so aggressively that he had no other choice. Team Leader Kang looks mighty satisfied with himself for that, although he’s actually daydreaming about his heroic moment in arresting Dae-young.

He starts to wax poetic about gaining the respect of his team members and building up an unstoppable team, and then Deputy Chief Kang swiftly rejects the follow-up request for funds to hire a consultant. PleaseletitbeHyun.

Hyun delivers another one of his university lectures, and the topic this time deals with the genetics of psychopaths — are they born or made? Ji-an and Team Leader Kang are also sitting in and give a sheepish wave from the audience, which Hyun ignores.

After the lecture, Team Leader Kang and Ji-an approach Hyun, but ha, he actually tells them to take a queue number (number two and three), since Number One is already waiting for him. The young man was at the lecture, Lee Jung-ha, and we saw him earlier being given Hyun’s book and instructed to attend, though we couldn’t see who’d told him so.

Jung-ha says he read Hyun’s book looking for answers, and asks if the son of a heartless murderer would follow in his parent’s footsteps, particularly if he grew up in a harsh environment. He has no urge to kill, but Hyun’s book mentioned that genetic and environmental factors together increase the possibility of someone becoming a murderer.

Ji-an brings up Prosecutor Shin’s disappearance, and Team Leader Kang says that since Prosecutor Shin sent out a message that he didn’t want to be found, it’s ambiguous whether he’s really missing. Since the case involves a prosecutor, the situation is out of the police’s hands.

We don’t hear Hyun’s response to Jung-ha, but it’s finally Number Two’s turn, and Team Leader Kang skips the pleasantries to request for Hyun to join the investigation team. Ha, Hyun deadpans that he was already expecting the invitation. Of course he would be a huge help to the team, but what’s in it for him? Team Leader Kang: “Team camaraderie and a bit of compensation.”

Since the team can’t match Hyun’s exorbitant fee, Hyun oh-so-kindly offers to assist with cases that he has a vested interest in, free of charge.

It’s finally Ji-an’s turn, and she whips out the note that Hyun left. He feigns ignorance at first, but then grins at her gullibility. She asks if his memory has returned, and then we cut to Ji-an’s childhood flashback.

Little Ji-an is at the police station, insisting to the officers that her father (the prison guard) is definitely not Joon-young’s accomplice. She throws a tantrum in front of the building, at the same moment that little Hyun enters the station.

The police officers gossip about Hyun and his family, while Ji-an eavesdrops and gathers that there’s another kid who also lost his family to Joon-young. Hyun suddenly appears behind Ji-an, and just happens to overhear Officer Yang mentioning Hyun’s “strangeness.” This run-in enlightened Ji-an about the connection between Hyun and Joon-young.

In the present, Hyun teases that he erased her from his memory since she was so annoying. And then, they proceed to throw insults back and forth like first-graders.

Ji-an is curious as to how Hyun gained access to her apartment, and it turns out that he managed to guess her passcode, which is the date of Joon-young’s escape from prison, aka her father’s disappearance. He found Dad’s case file inside, and realized that Chief Hyun lied when she said it didn’t exist.

Since Hyun guessed her code, she deduces that Hyun was already aware of her fixation on Joon-young, and consequently, her scrutiny of Hyun. He admits that he had a hunch, and they banter some more about who’s letting who deceive whom. Hyun pokes fun at her lacking height, and she takes a few steps up the slope to be taller than him. Omg, why are you guys so cute.

Back at his childhood house, Hyun stares at that drawing of the purple flowers, and thinks back to his conversation with Jung-ha. He takes out a book titled “The Wolf Story” (which retells “The Three Little Pigs” from the wolf’s point of view, which paints him as an innocent victim of circumstance) and has it delivered to Jung-ha, who receives the package at his part-time job.

Hyun invites neighbor Joon-ho over, who offers to help with the cooking, saying that he’s quite good with knives. They prepare their meal together, and in the meantime, another murder takes place.

The police enter the crime scene, and there are two bodies splayed out, with blood seeping through their clothes. They both appear to be dead, until one of the bodies (Jung-ha), suddenly grabs the arm of the police and confesses that he killed the other guy.

At dinner, Hyun and Joon-ho are eating their homemade meal. Joon-ho is perceptive enough to detect that Hyun is worried about something, and Hyun explains his concern for Jung-ha, who worried about having a genetic predisposition for killing. Joon-ho notes that Hyun is kinder than he expected, and Hyun just smiles at that.

Eun-bok calls Hyun to inform him that Joon-ho was the first person to arrive after Officer Yang’s crime scene was cordoned off. This seems to confirm some theory for Hyun, since after hanging up, Hyun asks if Joon-ho’s family is not returning for summer break. Joon-ho smoothly deflects that he’s supposed to go to America, but work calls and “the dead aren’t letting me go.”

At headquarters, Eun-bok is still looking over the list of arrivals at Officer Yang’s crime scene that Hyun requested. Nobody understands what Hyun is up to, and fellow investigator Seung-joo notes that Eun-bok’s name isn’t on the list, even though he was one of the first to arrive on-site.

As Jung-ha is sped to hospital in an ambulance, the paramedics discovers a piece of paper with Hyun’s phone number. We see the latter part of their conversation earlier, with Hyun’s comforting words that it’s normal to think of the worst-case scenario and question oneself. In fact, it’s stranger to not question at all. Hyun gives his number to Jung-ha, and encourages him to call whenever he needs.

The hospital calls that number and reaches Hyun in the middle of dinner. They notify him that Jung-ha is currently a murder suspect, and Hyun conveys his apologies to Joon-ho for leaving early. But of course, Joon-ho jumps up and offers to come along since he might be of use, and Hyun suggests that it will be an opportunity to get closer to each other.

When they get to the hospital, the two of them totally ignore the detectives’ questions, and instead bombard them with their own questions about the corpse and the crime scene. The detectives are bewildered at their behavior, and the two agree to split up and report any observations back to each other. At the same time, Hyun gives Lawyer Jung a call to hire him to represent Jung-ha.

Ji-an is burning the midnight oil at headquarters, wondering why Hyun might be interested in finding the first person at the crime scene. Her thoughts are interrupted by a phone call from Hyun, which is a more of a curt instruction to meet outside.

Seeing a couple head out on a date puts romantic ideas in her head, and she starts harboring a teeeny bit of hope that Hyun is meeting her for the same reason. But when Hyun arrives, he destroys her fantasy by stating that their destination is a murder scene.

On the way over, Hyun updates Ji-an about the murder case and the suspect, and his plan is to get her to steal the case from the team in charge. Which basically translates to Team Leader Kang pulling strings to gain them access to the crime scene, with a precious piece of information that a third blood sample was found at the scene.

Team Leader Kang stops Hyun from entering the crime scene, since Hyun totally rejected the offer to join the team earlier. So Hyun agrees to take up the consultant position and Team Leader Kang records their verbal contract, which is essentially Hyun countering every single condition Team Leader Kang declares. Ji-an puts a halt to their pissing contest, and they finally get down to some investigating.

Ji-an and Hyun scan the blood splatters, and simultaneously arrive at the conclusion that the culprit is right-handed. Hyun gives Ji-an a little nod of encouragement, aww, look who’s learning. But Hyun recalls that Jung-ha is left-handed, and a call to Joon-ho confirms Hyun’s hypothesis that Jung-ha is likely not the culprit. Hence, there must be a third person involved, judging from the footprints and bloodstains, and this person could either be an independent party or Jung-ha’s accomplice.

At the hospital, the detectives are already itching to take Jung-ha’s confession, but Lawyer Jung turns up to refuse any statements on his behalf. He maintains that Jung-ha’s earlier confession is invalid due to his state of shock, and there is a lack of evidence that Jung-ha even wielded the murder weapon. He advises the detectives to find some evidence before treating Jung-ha as a suspect.

Heading into Jung-ha’s ward, Lawyer Jung greets Joon-ho with creepy familiarity. Unreadable expressions cross both of their faces.

Back at headquarters, Team Leader Kang is walking the team through the murder details, but Myung-woo protests against investigating a case that is not even assigned to their team. Team Leader Kang lets them know that Hyun is now their consultant, and since he has a relationship to the suspect, they have an obligation to follow up with it. The team is divided on their opinions of Hyun, and Myung-woo just can’t seem to shake off his doubts about him. But Team Leader Kang doesn’t mind Hyun’s shadiness since criminals are sometimes the best profilers.

Hyun and Ji-an are the only two left at the crime scene, and we’re taken through a reconstruction of Hyun’s analysis: The mysterious third person came barging into the apartment and stabbed the victim in the abdomen, but Jung-ha arrived and wrestled the murderer to the ground, getting injured in the process. Hyun is adamant that Jung-ha is innocent and only confessed to protect the identity of the murderer, but Ji-an is hesitant to jump to the same conclusions. It’s not rare for murderers to switch to their non-dominant hand to stab someone, and Jung-ha could have been an accomplice to the murderer but got hurt during a subsequent fallout.

The two of them make their way to Jung-ha’s hospital ward, and find Lawyer Jung waiting by Jung-ha’s bedside. Ji-an is surprised that Hyun hired Lawyer Jung to defend Jung-ha, but more importantly, Jung-ha is now awake.

Hyun stays behind while Lawyer Jung heads out with Ji-an. Lawyer Jung is curious about Hyun’s loyalty to Jung-ha, but Ji-an also has a limited understanding of that relationship. He offers to take her home, but she explains that she won’t get into the car of an evil lawyer. Lawyer Jung is unfazed by her response, and says he’d like to be friendlier with her.

He hazards a guess that her disdain stems from his defense of the purple-flowers killer Seung-hoon. At her affirmation, he explains that lawyers do not judge if their clients are good or bad; their only job is to trust their client and defend them. She doesn’t fall for his idealistic words, and his face hardens after she leaves.

Hyun stays overnight at the hospital and when he awakes, Jung-ha is already up. Hyun voices his confidence in Jung-ha’s innocence, but all Jung-ha asks for is “The Wolf Story” to be brought to him. Hyun agrees, and adds that he’ll find out why Jung-ha is doing this.

The team makes headway with the case, as they discover that the victim was a witness to a murder that Jung-ha’s dad committed, which he is now serving twelve years in prison for. At Hyun’s approach, Myung-woo quickly states his conclusion that Jung-ha must be taking revenge on the victim for having a hand in incriminating his father, and happily points out that Hyun got it wrong this time.

But another young man visits Jung-ha’s dad in jail and addresses him as “Dad.” Dun dun dun.

Ji-an chases Hyun down, and challenges his belief that Jung-ha’s innocent. Hyun is sure they’re missing a piece of the puzzle, but Ji-an cuts him down and asks if he’s just wishing that Jung-ha isn’t the criminal. Hyun gives her a long look, but doesn’t refute her words.

Hyun heads to Jung-ha’s room, and discovers a photo of Jung-ha and his brother. He also spots a copy of his own book, with a post-it note detailing his lecture date and time. The note is not written in Jung-ha’s handwriting, and Hyun wonders if someone purposely sent Jung-ha to him. Back in the hospital, Jung-ha’s condition takes a turn for the worse.

Ji-an is waiting for Hyun when he leaves Jung-ha’s place, and she’s determined to get to the bottom of his preoccupation with Jung-ha. Hyun says it’s because Jung-ha doubted himself, and he thinks to himself, “Like me.”

Changing the topic, Hyun puts Ji-an in the hot seat by asking why she lied that she was a sasaeng fan, when she could have just said she lost her father to Joon-young, as he did. She pretends to be embarrassed that he doesn’t remember her, but he correctly guesses that she was distrustful of him, fearing that he was a monster like Joon-young, that he was on Joon-young side. From Ji-an’s look, Hyun’s words hit the nail right on the head.

Thinking back to Jung-ha’s question, Hyun throws the same words to Ji-an, “In your eyes, what do I look like?”

COMMENTS

Oooh, we’re finally going there. I wonder how long Hyun has already been aware of Ji-an’s sketchy back-story, and what pushed him to out it now. Once again, Ji-an’s behavior has similarities to Dad’s: Due to Hyun’s one-time association with Joon-young, Ji-an and Dad start to wonder if they’re on the same side, and if Hyun could be of a similar type — a monster. As we saw when Dad confronted young Hyun, it’s hurtful to be wrongly accused, and he could have avoided the scenario this time by taking the out and accepting Ji-an’s words at face value. But there’s something that stings a little extra about being assumed to be a monster without being given that chance to defend yourself.

Now that Ji-an and Hyun are on the same page regarding their past, their ensuing harmless banter and teasing is honestly adorable to bits. It’s almost as if time has been rewound and they’re back to being kids, although I do wonder if Hyun realizes that Ji-an is a link to the past that he was wishing so hard for. Well, at least there aren’t any first love clichés being thrown around here.

I had expected this drama to throw some pretty tough cases at us, so that Hyun can swoop in and show off his intellect. But beyond that, I’m realizing that the writer actually intends for the cases to be a window into our leads’ souls. It’s no surprise that the two past crimes have stemmed from a rogue son taking revenge for their fathers, tying in nicely with the debate about the nature of killers — born into it, or grew into it? The cases serve as a reminder that one starting point does not necessarily lead to the same destinations.

Dae-young and Jung-ha have similar backgrounds and motivations, but their eventual paths couldn’t be more divergent. It’s telling that although Hyun initially empathized with Dae-young (who gave into his hatred and went on a killing spree), the follow-up case enlightens us that Hyun really identified with Jung-ha instead. People initially assume Hyun to be more like Dae-young — unfeeling, hardened, and rooted in the past — but Hyun’s kindred spirit is really Jung-ha. They’re both embroiled in self-doubt and worry, yet sacrificial and loving enough to take the rap for their brothers. It’s incredibly touching that Hyun had such unwavering conviction about Jung-ha’s innocence even when the whole world and the evidence was against it, inspired by his own experience. Ultimately, it gives me hope that Hyun can one day see the same goodness in himself, and project that same amount of faith onto himself.

Generally speaking, this show is probably richer watched than read, because there’s a lot captured in the lingering camera shots, the prolonged awkward silence, and the split-second change of a character’s expression, that it’s hard to put down in words. We know less about Joon-ho and Lawyer Jung, but the occasional slips in their façades hint at something much shadier and creepier. Every bit of their dialogue is a calculated move, and like we’ve only skimmed the surface with them.

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