Dae Goo tells Boots that he killed Oma and Dae Goo can see the scar under his ear. He (Boots) killed Oma. Boots smiles again and calls Dae Goo ‘kiddo.’ He remarks on how Dae Goo has grown up… but when Oma died, Dae Goo just hid under like a coward and watched her being killed, right? His mother gave up her life to save him, but all he did was watch. Does Dae Goo remember?
He’s totally baiting you, smiling like that! And Dae Goo falls for it. Dae Goo yells and lunges for Boots, but Boots is ready and disarms Dae Goo by slamming him into the wall. They struggle, with Boots kicking Dae Goo into the coffee table. Dae Goo picks it up and throws it at Boots. And it doesn’t break. Sturdy table! Boots punches Dae Goo several times, knocking him to the ground. Dae Goo yells and goes for Boots, who gets him in a choke hold. But Dae Goo is able to throw Boots to the ground. Dang! He just totally smashed the TV! Seriously! That flat screen is toast. The pair are throwing everything they have into this hand-to-hand battle, but Dae Goo ends up on the ground. Boots pulls out a switchblade.
Downstairs, Pan Suk has arrived. His phone rings. It’s Gook. The trio is right behind him with chicken and beer. Pan Suk asks if Dae Goo is home. When Gook says he is, Pan Suk announces that he’s going up. Without waiting for them. The trio decides to go get more chicken since Pan Suk is there.
Upstairs, Boots has the knife at Dae Goo’s throat, while Dae Goo lies there, too drained to move. He asks Dae Goo if he misses his mother and then promises that Dae Goo will be happy when he meets. Boots promises to make it painless. Boots raises the knife and plunges it down but Dae Goo is able to roll out of the way. Boots kicks Dae Goo hard more than once as Dae Goo tries to stand up.
Pan Suk is climbing the steps.
Boots kicks Dae Goo again and Dae Goo slumps to the ground, listless. Boots pulls Dae Goo out away from the couch. Again Boots raises the knife… and just as he’s about to kill Dae Goo, Pan Suk runs in and kicks Boots across the face. Whoa! Boots flies over to the couch. Dae Goo coughs on the floor. Pan Suk is about to beat the guy attacking Dae Goo some more when he sees Boots’s face. He stops, in utter shock. He can’t believe his eyes. He starts to ask Boots what he’s doing, but Boots grabs a plant and slams it across Pan Suk’s face, knocking him to the ground. Pan Suk tries to grab Boots as he runs, but Boots gets away because he really nailed Pan Suk in the face. Pan Suk checks that Dae Goo is alive and then runs after Boots.
Boots runs/stumbles down the stairs, clutching his right arm. He runs out of the apartment building and plows through the trio, now back with more chicken. They’re shocked. And the trained detectives that they are, they don’t think anything’s fishy about a guy tearing out of the building and running like a bat out of hell. Pan Suk bursts out and yells at them that Dae Goo got stabbed and then takes off after Boots. The trio runs upstairs.
Pan Suk doesn’t get very far and the pain of his face injury is intense. Boots is able to get away, even though he’s hurt. Pan Suk gives up the chase and goes back for Dae Goo.
The trio arrive upstairs. Tae Il smartly flips on the lights. Soo Sun yells Dae Goo’s name and tells him to wake up. Tae Il grabs a towel to cover the really nasty gash in Dae Goo’s shoulder and tells Gook to call 911. Dae Goo is conscious enough to peer over at Soo Sun through the slits of his eyelids. She pleads with him to wake up, but he falls unconscious.
Dae Goo gets taken to the hospital with Tae Il in the ambulance. Pan Suk, Soo Sun and Gook follow in his car. I can’t tell who was freaking out more: Pan Suk, Soo Sun or Gook. Which warms my heart some towards Gook because he really cares about his friend and he and Dae Goo have no previous history.
As they wait for news, Pan Suk asks if they know any reason why Dae Goo might have been attacked. Soo Sun bites her lip but declares she doesn’t know anything. None of them do. The doctor comes out and says that the surgery went well. Dae Goo narrowly avoided a critical injury. Like permanent damage to his eye… Oh, wait, that was Lee Seung Gi last week. Maybe that's where they got the idea for the dialogue. Doctor declares that Dae Goo needs rest and should recover in a week. Pan Suk practically looks like he could cry as he bows and thanks Doctor for his work. They wheel Dae Goo to his room (he's still unconscious) and Pan Suk looks at him, the reality of what he’s just discovered sinking in. A former friend just tried to kill Dae Goo. His former partner is now a killer.
Dae Goo is lying in bed, asleep. And wearing the pajamas from the picture I saw and mentioned last episode. The trio and Pan Suk are waiting for him to wake up. And the humidifier is running. Eung Do arrives and asks what happened. Tae Il announces that Dae Goo should recover in a week and that he’s been sedated, so he’ll sleep for a while. Another shot of Dae Goo, to assure all the fans that Lee Seung Gi is, indeed, okay. And I wonder how much of the bruising and stuff on his face is real and how much is makeup, especially the spot up by his left eye. Eung Do asks Pan Suk what happened. How was he attacked at home? Pan Suk looks sick to his stomach and he doesn’t answer, only sighs. Soo Sun tells Eung Do that Pan Suk got there first and it would have been bad if Pan Suk hadn't gotten there in time. And this is where Pan Suk needs to tell them what he knows.
Eung Do asks if Pan Suk saw the guy’s face, since this can't be a simple robbery. It's too bold. Government apartments are full of police officers. Soo Sun says, “That means Ji Yong... I mean... Dae Goo was the target to begin with?” Pan Suk doesn’t miss her mistake. And I slapped my hands over my mouth for her. Oops. And he knows that she knows that Dae Goo is Ji Yong. Gook can’t understand why they’d go after Dae Goo. He may be prickly, but someone wouldn't hold a grudge against him.
I think because Soo Sun knows that Dae Goo is Ji Yong, Pan Suk decides to tell them. Pan Suk announces that the perpetrator has been identified. Name Cho Hyung Cheol, age forty. Everyone is shocked. He immigrated to Indonesia ten years ago. He lost his family there and returned alone a while ago. Eung Do asks how Pan Suk knows that already. Pan Suk declares that twelve years ago... he was a former detective and my partner. A pause as that news sinks in. Pan Suk declares that even so, Boots stabbed his kid and he’ll get him. You, go, Pan Suk! Too bad, Dae Goo isn’t awake to hear this. Pan Suk and Eung Do head out.
The trio starts to come with but Eung Do tells them not to leave Dae Goo alone and guard him 24/7. He was attacked while alone. As Eung Do leaves, Gook moans that they should never have left Dae Goo to eat chicken and beer. Soo Sun tells Gook and Tae Il to take care of Dae Goo. The guy who did that to her partner... she wants to get him with her own hands. Tae Il tells her to go. Gook agrees, because if something happened to Tae Il, he’d feel the same. Soo Sun gratefully goes.
Leaving the hospital, Eung Do tells Pan Suk that they need to check the apartment CCTV for evidence of Boots. Soo Sun catches up to them and tells them she wants to come. Pan Suk considers her for a moment and then walks on. Eung Do is encouraging, declaring that that's what a partner is.
The next day, Pan Suk is informing the other detective heads of the attack on Pan Suk. Chief looks very concerned and asks how serious Dae Goo’s injuries are. She knew this would happen. She practically sighs with relief when Pan Suk says that they’re not critical. Toad almost sounds sympathetic as he comments on top of the stalker and hostage cases, Dae Goo gets attacked. Like he’s a trouble magnet. If Toad only knew.
Pan Suk announces that the perpetrator has been identified. Cho Hyung Cheol, age forty, a former police officer. And Chief really starts at that announcement. She looks like she’s really trying not to freak out. At least, that’s how I interpret her wide eyes and wheels turning in her head. Sa Kyung asks what the reason for the attack is. Pan Suk doesn’t know yet. Although he probably suspects that it’s because Dae Goo is Ji Yong. Pan Suk declares that he’s planning on asking Dae Goo when Dae Goo wakes.
Chief definitely looks sick to her stomach. She takes a ragged breath and declares that first and foremost, they need to make sure this news does not leak out. Especially because it’s a former police officer attacking a rookie. And I know that she’s also thinking that Moon Bae can’t hear about this because Ji Yong’s cover will be blown. She cannot stress enough that they need to be careful this news does not leak. They need to especially watch out for wiretapping by reporters. The screen defines wiretapping as the illegal monitoring of private conversations. I thought that was only in places like the UK where the press did that. But we also know that she’s really concerned about Moon Bae finding out.
After the briefing, Sa Kyung approaches Pan Suk and reminds him about the Oh Hee Min's investigation. Pan Suk did forget but she understands. She says that she’ll just request assistance from another team. Pan Suk doesn’t want her to have to do that and is going to send *Tae Il* over to help her. So will the story come out now, then? I can’t say I’m not a little excited at the prospect of that one. Pan Suk definitely feels they should still finish up the case. Sa Kyung thanks him and says that the case should finish soon now that they know that Hee Min is alive. Or is he? Pan Suk just looks at her. I know he’s thinking about all of it… her… their son… Ji Yong… all of it. He apologizes for being out of it and goes. And Sa Kyung isn’t quite as chipper once he goes.
Chief goes to her office and closes the door. The angle of the camera is tilted so it even more adds to the feeling that Chief is reeling over this attack. She looks like she’s going to be sick and wants to cry.
Eung Do is looking at CCTV footage. They caught Boots on tape. Soo Sun arrives with more footage. Eung Do shows her Boots’s face and she thinks he looks familiar, but she can’t place him. Come on, Soo Sun! Ji Yong was attacked and you saw the guy!
Dae Goo in bed, his wounded arm in a sling. He wakes up. Pan Suk is there waiting. Pan Suk asks if Dae Goo’s awake, which prompts Dae Goo to try to get out of bed. I have to chuckle at that one. Pan Suk helps Dae Goo sit up. Dae Goo won’t look at him and he’s super emotional (for Dae Goo). Pan Suk says that he can tell that Dae Goo’s alert. Pan Suk asks Dae Goo why Cho Hyung Cheol stabbed him. Dae Goo clarifies that Boots’s name is Cho Hyung Cheol. Now not only does he have a face but the name, too. Pan Suk says that Boots used to be a police officer. A former detective. Pan Suk asks again why Boots was trying to kill Dae Goo. Dae Goo is back to being pissed at Pan Suk. Dae Goo asks Pan Suk why he’s asking; Pan Suk should know better than anyone. Please get a clue, Pan Suk, from this conversation so you guys can get over this misunderstanding!
Pan Suk is kind, almost fatherly, as he says that he’s asking because he doesn't know. And I’m struck with the idea that he especially looks at Dae Goo as a chance to be the father that he once was for someone who is just as alone as he is. Dae Goo looks at Pan Suk like he can’t believe the words coming out of the man’s mouth. He asks if Pan Suk is putting on a show now. Pan Suk definitely sounds like a father scolding his kid as he tells Dae Goo not to be that way and just answer. He won't even ask why Dae Goo set up a CCTV at his house, but at least tell him about Boots so the two of them can get him. He asks again why Boots tried to kill Dae Goo.
Dae Goo snaps at Pan Suk, asking what he’s up to. Eleven years ago, Pan Suk gave the pendant to Cho Hyung Cheol! And I am SO HAPPY that this is coming out. Fist cheering happy. This is real news to Pan Suk. He looks at Dae Goo for a moment and then says, “What do you mean?” Dae Goo doesn’t want to play this game anymore. He yells at Pan Suk to drop the act. Boots came to kill him at the school eleven years ago. Dae Goo saw Boots holding the pendant with his own two eyes. Pan Suk blinks and clarifies: Then eleven years ago... the person who murdered Oma was Cho Hyung Cheol? Dae Goo looks away and it’s like he’s that 15-year-old again.
Pan Suk orders Dae Goo to hurry up and answer him. The way a father orders his son. Dae Goo snaps back that that’s what he’s saying!!! Dae Goo glares at a stunned, stunned Pan Suk. Pan Suk has to repeat it again; Cho Hyung Cheol is the perpetrator? As it sinks in that his former partner is the man who killed Oma, Pan Suk also realizes what Dae Goo’s been thinking for the last 11 years. He puts it to words: That means... Dae Goo thought he (Pan Suk) was part of it. That’s the reason for the CCTV. And even though Dae Goo hated him, he stuck next to Pan Suk’s side. Pan Suk has to stop and he drops his head, which unnerves Dae Goo a bit. It’s obvious that Pan Suk is trying not to cry. Not something Dae Goo expected.
Pan Suk looks away for a minute and sighs. He nods as the totality of it all sinks in. He declares that now everything makes sense. He gets it. Pan Suk stands up and Dae Goo yells after him, asking what he’s trying to do now! Dae Goo isn't quite ready to let go of his prejudices. Dae Goo yells that he saw and heard without a doubt. Boots had the pendant and he said Pan Suk’s name twice. It’s like Dae Goo’s whole world is going to crumble. All his righteous anger was aimed at the wrong man. He refuses to believe what his heart is telling him. Pan Suk says that all that is why he needs to get Boots and ask him personally what this is all about. Pan Suk leaves and Dae Goo tries to process everything that’s just happened.
Outside the hospital room, Pan Suk tries to process what he just figured out. He is angry at how his former friend totally destroyed Dae Goo’s life and how it made it look like Pan Suk was dirty. Gook arrives. Pan Suk tells Gook that he’ll be sending over Kyung Soo or Jae Min, so when they arrive, Tae Il and Gook are to come to the station. But they’re not to move until then. They can't leave Dae Goo alone. Pan Suk leaves.
Sa Kyung and Tae Il are working together. Because she doesn’t have any other detectives on her team to work with… She says that she saw on CCTV footage a disguised Oh Hee Min come to this place, but he disappeared around there. She wants to do some interviewing first. They ask a local shopkeeper if she’s seen Hee Min. She’s not sure. Sa Kyung, on a hunch, shows the disguised picture to Shopkeeper. Shopkeeper knows ‘her’ and points out where ‘she’ lives. She moved in about a month ago. Score! They wonder why he’s still wearing the female disguise. Tae Il asks her if she’s thinking what he’s thinking. What are they thinking? That Hee Min is really a woman who had a sex change?
Hee Min in drag leaves his apartment building and Sa Kyung and Tae Il are there to stop him. He doesn’t try to run. They go to a restaurant to interview him. He apologizes for being selfish and irresponsible. He says that he knows how worried his family must be, but rather than pain them with the truth, he thought it might be better to just disappear. When people like him… when they make a drastic decision like this, it's for one reason. It would be better to become a missing person. Dude says that he wanted to live as his true self, even if it was just for one day. Dude is living as a woman. Hee Min declares that he took out the loans to pay for his gender reassignment surgery. Hee Min says that he’ll pay his mother back and begs them not to say that they found him. Wow, faked his death so he could become a woman. That’s a new one. Didn't expect to see that in a k-drama.
Sa Kyung tells Hee Min that they can’t say that, but they won’t tell his family where he is. Sa Kyung asks about the fiancée and Hee Min wants her left in the dark, since he’s heard that she’s doing well. Tae Il looks particularly bothered by all this. Is that what happened to his brother? But a tragic result rather than this? Sa Kyung mentions how the fiancée still has pictures hanging of him and you don’t hang pictures of someone you want to forget.
As they’re driving back to the station, Sa Kyung calls Hee Min a coward and declares that he should have at least told his fiancée the truth. Tae Il replies that it might be better if she doesn't know. It might hurt her more to know. Sa Kyung isn’t buying it. She thinks that he’s hiding because he doesn't have enough courage to tell the truth, not because he’s afraid of hurting people. Hee Min can't face the ridicule after revealing it. Tae Il replies that Hee Min found the courage to live his own life. I really think this somehow involves the guy in the picture. Sa Kyung doesn’t want to sympathize with Hee Min at all; he shouldn't lock his fiancée in an endless prison of waiting.Tae Il doesn’t say anything in reply.
Tae Il is now at home, telling his Appa and Oma that he doesn’t want to go back to the hospital. He apologizes for disappointing them. Appa yells, asking if this is all Tae Il has to say after leaving home for six months?! Tae Il says that he never told them properly what he decided to do. Appa mutters that Tae Il is an arrogant bastard, no different than his hyung. Tae Il is trash just like him. That’s too much for Tae Il to take. He stands and says that he’s leaving. A colleague was stabbed and is in the hospital. His team needs me. He bows and leaves and tries not to cry as he walks away.
Police station. The squad is assembled. Pan Suk addresses Soo Sun and points out how she called Dae Goo Ji Yong earlier. Her face reads, “oh, crappers!” He asks how long she’s known that he’s Ji Yong. No answer. She is freaking at how she’s betrayed Ji Yong’s secret. Pan Suk asks if she knows about Oma’s murder. And that he, as the lead detective, was the one who convinced Oma to testify in the case? Soo Sun didn’t know that. Pan Suk tells her to sit. It’s all coming out now! Yes! Pan Suk proceeds to tells them about 11 years ago and his “disgrace.”
Since we know the story, we don’t have to hear it again, but we see the trio’s shocked expressions after it’s all over. And Soo Sun, will you realize that you saw Boots, please?! And that you have the pendant? Pan Suk says that the reason he’s telling them all of this is because for the first time in eleven years, the missing suspect from that case has been identified: Cho Hyung Cheol. Trio reacts to that one as Pan Suk declares that from this moment on, their team will be hunting Boots. Pan Suk puts up a picture of Boots from 12 years ago, smiling, and the picture from last night’s CCTV footage. Hello, Soo Sun? She stares at him and finally remembers that it’s the guy she saw. Pan Suk tells Gook and Tae Il to return to the hospital and guard Dae Goo 24/7. Boots might try and attack Dae Goo again, so they shouldn’t leave him alone for one second.
Eung Do reports that Boots stole a car and he and Soo Sun are working on figuring out the escape route that Boots took. Pan Suk declares that he’s going to start interviewing people who knew Boots. Soo Sun looks like she’s about to burst. And she *should* talk!!! Pan Suk stresses again that they need to hurry and locate Boots.
At the hospital, Dae Goo is removing his sling and trying to get out of bed. Tae Il and Gook arrive and ask him what he thinks he’s doing. Dae Goo declares that he can't just stay here when Boots is so close. Tae Il tells him that it’s not happening. Rather forcefully, I might add. He’ll reopen his wound. Gook tells Dae Goo to listen to Tae Il; he used to be a doctor. Dae Goo mutters that he doesn’t care and what do they know, anyway? Tae Il replies that they know about it all. Pan Suk told them everything. Dae Goo sighs. His secret is really out.
Dae Goo stands up. His face is definitely softer since his mask is gone. He asks them whether they think he can stay put, since they *know*. For the first time in 11 years, he saw Boots. Eleven years without knowing what Boots looks like and he finally saw him. How can he stay still? Tae Il looks pained as he tells Dae Goo that he can’t go now. He reopened his wound. Dae Goo grabs his shoulder, in pain. Gook gently tells Dae Goo that they’ll get Boots. He declares that Tae Il, Soo Sun and he will go to the ends of hell and get Boots for him. And I’m a little emotional at the moment. Dae Goo’s been alone all this time, fighting for this and now he has friends that will do to the ends of hell for him… Tae Il asks Dae Goo to wait just 3 days… not a week but 3 days. Dae Goo sighs and agrees to wait.
Soo Sun and Eung Do are combing through CCTV footage. A lot of footage. All night long. Both she and Eung Do are wearing a green jacket like Pan Suk wears. What is that, detective uniform now? Soo Sun spots Boots’s reflection. He’s in Sangdodong. Soo Sun declares that Boots’s cell phone was used three times in Sangdodong. Eung Do is proud of her good work.
Stakeout time, with Soo Sun riding around as a delivery driver. She drives past Boots wearing navy. He doesn’t suspect anything. But as he sees the van Pan Suk’s in, he realizes he’s busted and takes off running. He was a cop after all. Pan Suk should have realized that. He runs straight after Eung Do, who doesn’t realize anything. Pan Suk gets hit by a car and then Boots runs him over. Pan Suk has the shot but doesn’t take it. Soo Sun tails Boots’s car, with Eung Do running after them.
Bathroom. Soo Sun is washing her face. She looks at herself in the mirror and tells herself that she’s really hopeless.
Dae Goo’s sitting in bed, stewing on things. Pan Suk asks why Boots was trying to kill him. Boots trying to stab him as Boots says that he’ll be happy when he meets his mom. Pan Suk summing it up, that 11 years ago the guy who killed Oma was Boots? Pan Suk declaring that he needs to ask Boots himself what it’s all about. A text from Soo Sun. She asks how he’s doing. He says he feels much better. Wow, he’s actually being nice. She tells him that she wanted to see him today, but it’s too late. Dae Goo sighs and asks who asked her to come. So not so nice. Doofus. Soo Sun smiles at this and texts that she’s sorry and she’ll come by tomorrow for sure. Indignantly he types that she doesn’t have to come tomorrow either. And I am laughing at him being stupid. He types that he’s tired. Bye. And flops the phone away to where he can’t see it. She smiles at the phone and leaves the bathroom.
Tae Il’s at the station; he came to get something. Tae Il asks if she’s going to go to the hospital. She replies that she doesn’t think they can since they lost Boots. She’ll feel like she’s lying if she doesn't tell him the news, but she feels too sorry to say anything. She calls herself a bird brain. How could she lose Boots again? She asks Tae Il how Dae Goo is doing. Tae Il says that Dae Goo seems better but he can’t sleep. Soo Sun tells him that Dae Goo always has trouble sleeping so Tae Il should turn on an indirect light, since Dae Goo can't sleep in the dark. That or turn on a cell phone video. Tae Il should make sure the sound isn't too soft or loud. She asks Tae Il to take care of Dae Goo. He smiles and tells her to keep her strength up.
Soo Sun returns to her desk. Eung Do tells her to do take a nap. She doesn’t want to. They have to at least find his location before Dae Goo is discharged. She goes to talk to Pan Suk and he’s in the conference room, trying to not hurt from getting hit by the car. His shirt is off and there’s lots of bandages. Soo Sun feels bad for her Superman and leaves him be.
At the hospital, Tae Il and Gook are watching Dae Goo sleep. I guess they gave him something. Tae Il remarks that he wondered why Dae Goo couldn't sleep and always had nightmares. Gook agrees. Even though Dae Goo looks like he hasn't suffered a day in his life, he must have been so traumatized as a kid.
Later, Dae Goo’s awake and Gook’s pulling off the lids of his meal. Dae Goo grumbles that he’s not hungry and he’ll eat later. Gook ignores him, clucking that Dae Goo needs to eat to get better soon and be able to investigate. Gook is feeding Dae Goo like he’s a kid. Dae Goo mutters that he doesn’t eat spinach. Gook pulls is away, agreeing about that, but then stuffs it in Dae Goo’s mouth as he takes a bit, declaring Dae Goo ate the spinach. And I am cracking up at that. Gook tells Dae Goo that he’ll be Dae Goo’s hands and feet. He feeds Dae Goo some more and Dae Goo doesn’t complain about the vegetables this time. I guess he liked the spinach. Dae Goo’s trying to brush his teeth. He’s holding the toothbrush in his teeth and trying to put on the toothpaste. Tae Il comes in and puts the toothpaste on the brush and then shoves the brush back in Dae Goo’s mouth, giving Dae Goo a little smile. Dae Goo looks a little choked up as he starts to brush his teeth. The boys are helping Dae Goo get dressed. Tae Il carries Dae Goo’s bag as they leave the hospital.
Back at the station. Everyone is happy to see Dae Goo. Pan Suk and Dae Goo exchange looks. It’s still not clear if Dae Goo has finally accepted that he was wrong and Pan Suk isn’t dirty but he's a lot less hostile in his expression. Eung Do holds out a bracelet and declares his mother made it for him out of a date tree that was struck by lightning after he was stabbed. Nothing like that ever happened again (it's a good luck charm), so Dae Goo should wear it now. Dae Goo looks absolutely overwhelmed as he takes it and tells Eung Do thank you. Soo Sun asks if Dae Goo should be out of the hospital. Tae Il replies that Dae Goo promised to stay indoors and got permission to be discharged. It’s funny how other people are talking for him now and Dae Goo is letting them. He’s not alone anymore.
Pan Suk declares that Eun Dae Goo, Ji Gook and Park Tae Il have returned, so they need to officially begin the investigation. The group disperses before the briefing. Dae Goo and Pan Suk look at each other. Dae Goo looks like such the little kid right now. They don’t say anything. One of the other team leaders tells Pan Suk that there’s an emergency team leader meeting happening now in the conference room.
Chief announces that in the middle of the night there was an attack on Spokesperson Park Soo Suk. Who is that? It’s got lots of media attention, so the case needs to be handled quickly and accurately. A detective chimes in that he’ll take the case. But Chief assigns the case to Team 3/Pan Suk. Pan Suk reminds her about Dae Goo’s stabbing and Chief wants him to transfer the case to Team 1 (the team that volunteered for this case). Pan Suk’s not going to let this one go, even as Chief tries to put it to bed. She explains that he’s the top investigator, but he’s not going to let it go. Not only is Cho Hyung Cheol the suspect in Eun Dae Goo's attack case but he’s also the culprit in the unsolved case from eleven years ago, the Masan school nurse murder case. Chief swallows hard.
Toad asks Pan Suk what he’s talking about and Sa Kyung reels from this news. After all, it’s the reason her son died. Toad asks Pan Suk if he’s sure about the culprit in the Masan school nurse murder being Cho Hyung Cheol. Pan Suk says he’s sure, since the missing Kim Ji Yong is Detective Eun Dae Goo. Sa Kyung is even more stunned. The other detectives are also shocked by this news. Pan Suk says that during Boots’s attack, Dae Goo revealed his true identity and identified the perpetrator. Chief is trying to figure out how to get out of this. This is why he (Pan Suk) must get Cho Hyung Cheol with his own hands.
Toad tells Chief that the Park Soo Suk case should be handled by Team 1 and 2. Definitively, Chief declares that she will not permit it. She orders Pan Suk to take himself off that case and handle the Park Soo Suk case instead. Then she gets up and leaves. Pan Suk goes after her. He follows her into her office, with Eung Do following him to keep him from doing something crazy. Pan Suk tells Chief to take back her order. Otherwise, he’ll have to resign. Chief tells him to turn it in then! Eung Do tries to smooth things over, but Pan Suk’s not going to back down. He’ll resign. Eung Do pleadingly asks Pan Suk what he's doing and tries to keep Pan Suk from leaving the office. Pan Suk turns and glares at Chief. She sighs. And looks a little emotional.
Pan Suk declares that no matter what, he must handle this investigation. He didn't think she would do this to him. She always talked about the integrity of the Gangnam Station. But was it all just lip service? Was public image and advancement her only focus? That stung her. Is solving Park Soo Suk's case a day or two sooner more important than relieving the eleven-year long torment of her officers? She slaps her desks and yells at Pan Suk, asking whether he doesn’t know any better! No matter what... Dae Goo cannot be on this case. And her voice is heavy with emotion. I really think she’s a good guy that used to be bad and she desperately doesn’t want Dae Goo to know how she’s connected to it all.
Does Pan Suk really think that Dae Goo can handle the case without letting his personal emotions get in the way? Chief should know, for all their conversations about it. Chief declares that Dae Goo is young and rash as it is and if Pan Suk’s frothing at the mouth like this, what does he think "that kid" will do? In countless cases, he’s seen the victim become the perpetrator and it could easily be Dae Goo, since Dae Goo has held this vendetta for eleven years. What if Dae Goo stabs Boots? Or shoots him? Her words are getting to Pan Suk. Chief declares that Dae Goo has lived in pain for eleven years. Does Pan Suk want Dae Goo to live in jail for the rest of his life? Even *doctors* don't perform surgery on family members. They have to keep Dae Goo away from this case. It’s the best way to protect him.
Pan Suk and Eung Do leave the office, with Pan Suk yelling with frustration. Eung Do thinks that Chief has a point.
Chief sits and sighs then she calls someone and says that she took care of it as ordered. Her face is hard. The Cho Hyung Cheol case will remain static for awhile. We see who she's talking to: Moon Bae. No! She can’t be dirty! I give up. He’s satisfied with the answer. But he calls someone and declares that things have become complicated so that person needs to hurry.
Precinct. Sa Kyung asks Pan Suk if she should cover him on Park Soo Suk's case. She says that she’ll work on narrowing down the suspects. Pan Suk is grateful. Eung Do goes to get her the case materials. Sa Kyung remarks on how Pan Suk must be out of it. Her voice is kind, upbeat. He smiles and says, “A little.” She almost says something but then doesn’t. When Pan Suk asks, she just tells them to get to work.
Pan Suk heads into the team conference room. Pan Suk pats down Dae Goo’s legs and then tells the team to not let Dae Goo near any guns. Dae Goo sighs as the others agree to this. Pan Suk tells them to step outside so he can talk to Dae Goo. The trio goes. Dae Goo is doing his defensive, stare off into space look. Pan Suk declares that he knows what Dae Goo must be thinking right now. No matter what... he cannot kill Cho Hyung Cheol. Dae Goo looks at him. Pan Suk says that the moment Dae Goo actually kills Boots, all the reasons will disappear and he’ll only be left with the consequences. Dae Goo looks like he’s actually listening. Pan Suk tells Dae Goo to think of Oma when his anger gets too great; the second he goes from victim to perpetrator, his respectable mother becomes the mother of a criminal. That one hits home for Dae Goo. Pan Suk leaves Dae Goo to think. Dae Goo actually looks like he’s coming around.
Pan Suk goes and sits at his desk, which is falling apart. He pulls out an old notebook with a picture of him and Hyung Cheol together. Boots is the guy who saved his life. Pan Suk puts the notebook away.
Sa Kyung is working. Phone rings. It’s her mother calling from LA. Did she have her seaweed birthday soup today. Sa Kyung says that she’s too old for that. Oma wants to know how long Sa Kyung’s planning on living alone. Is she at the Gangnam Station because of Pan Suk? Sa Kyung protests that they separated a long time ago. She agrees to eat her birthday dinner. Mom hangs up. Pan Suk appears and tells Eung Do not to let Dae Goo near any guns. Sa Kyung texts Pan Suk about dinner.
Stakeout, waiting for Boots to appear. Voiceover of Pan Suk telling them not to let Dae Goo be alone. Dae Goo is walking down the hall at the station with Soo Sun creeping along behind him. She gets caught and he motions for her to get lost. She doesn’t listen and runs right into Dae Goo’s hurt arm. He heads into the bathroom.
Later, he enters the conference room and finds a sleeping Soo Sun. He mutters to himself about her not being able to stay awake. He goes over to the window and adjusts the blinds… the wrong way. But then, as he watches her sleep, he reaches up his hand to shield her face from the sun and then goes to stand in front of the window to block out the sun. She twitches in her sleep. He smiles a little to himself.
Dae Goo’s phone rings. It’s Boots. Boots asks Dae Goo about them taking care of their business themselves? Dae Goo asks Boots where he is. Dae Goo leaves the station, taking off his arm sling. Because he is an idiot. He nearly killed you when you were healthy. What are you going to do now, hurt?
Soo Sun wakes up and wonders where Dae Goo is. She gets a bad feeling. She looks and one of the guns is missing. She calls Pan Suk and tells him that Dae Goo is gone and Dae Goo took his gun. Pan Suk immediately gets in his car and drives. Where, I don't know. Hopefully, he put a tracker on Dae Goo when Dae Goo wasn't looking. Otherwise, they're never going to find him.
Dae Goo is driving with the gun in the seat beside him.
Dae Goo enters a parking garage, gun drawn. Boots declares that he’s there and Dae Goo’s gutsier than he thought. Dae Goo tells him to come out. Boots replies that he can't help it though. If Boots doesn’t get rid of Dae Goo, he can’t live. Boots tells Dae Goo not to hate him too much. Life is like that. It's shitty and it sucks. And I laugh at that one.
Dae Goo finds where Boots’s voice is coming from: speaker phone on a cell. Boots whacks Dae Goo across the back with a 2x4. Dae Goo goes down and loses his gun. Boots goes and grabs it and Dae Goo takes the opportunity to run for cover. As Boots calls Dae Goo, “kiddo,” he looks for where Dae Goo is hiding. Boots spots some blood by a truck. He readies the gun and starts to squat down to get Dae Goo. Dae Goo squeezes his eyes shut, afraid to look because Boots is right there, preparing for the inevitable.
And suddenly head lights. A car appears and runs Boots over. A guy we haven’t seen before gets out of the car and goes over and starts to strangle Boots. Dae Goo gets to watch someone else die as he's hiding under something. Dae Goo just sits there. Boots looks over at Dae Goo and reaches for him. Dae Goo has flashes of Oma as Boots is strangled. Episode ends.
Thoughts
Whoa! Who is strangling Boots? Boots will be dead and so will their only lead. What is Dae Goo going to do? I doubt he’s going to get out from under the truck to help save Boots. For one, he’s having his PTSD flashbacks of Oma’s death and the last time that happened, he froze for a minute or two. Two, he’s hurt and couldn’t really stop the man strangling Boots. (I’m going to miss typing Boots…)
What the heck does this all mean? It’s got to go back to the wider conspiracy that Moon Bae hinted at. Whoa! The implications of this are scary. Things just got a lot more complicated. Whoever is behind the conspiracy is cleaning up their loose ends. It’s not Moon Bae but whoever Moon Bae called who is the puppet master in all this. Good on the writers for gradually introducing all this. First they hint at Chief being crooked… now there’s a wider conspiracy that goes beyond Moon Bae. It’s not like it just happened where someone turns out to be dirty (kind of like in ‘Who Are You?’) or some major plot point pops up out of nowhere and the entire cast is obsessed with it (the blood vow in ‘Empress Ki’). It’s almost as if we’re on Dae Goo’s journey for justice… it was limited to taking down C.G., Boots and Pan Suk but now it’s become more complicated because Pan Suk was innocent… and now there’s someone killing the man who’s trying to kill you, which means there’s a larger conspiracy at work.
And how stupid is Dae Goo?!!! What was he thinking? Boots almost killed him when he was healthy. A gun’s going to make it all better? Interesting symmetry, though, that Boots will die the exact way Oma did. How the heck is Dae Goo going to get out of this?
But the last 3 minutes of the episode are not everything that happened… so let’s talk about that.
- I give up in trying to believe that Chief is a good guy. While I still think that she’s covering for Dae Goo and genuinely cares for him, she’s still a corrupt cop who’s been corrupt from way back. And I think Pan Suk and Dae Goo are in for another shock when they realize what she is. I don’t relish how much it’s going to hurt either of them. But I suspect that it’s going to play out with her protecting them in the end and/or her dying and/or Dae Goo arresting her rather than killing her, which he will very much want to do particularly with how much she betrayed him. I can see him almost killing her and her getting away and then redeeming herself somewhat by sacrificing for him. Why did she have to be evil? And whose cell phone did she put in the locker in that flashback?
- Dae Goo finally has a face to put with Boots – although that isn’t going to do him much good after this episode. But we still have the pendant. At least that’s going to be a clue for them and I think that it’s really going to mean something to Pan Suk once he sees it – he never has seen it, so he has no idea what’s on it. But I don’t expect that to really come out for another two or three episodes, perhaps when Soo Sun finally moves in. When *is* she moving in, anyway?
- Can I just do a happy dance that the misunderstanding is finally revealed. It just shows what a great detective Pan Suk is, because he's able to figure out the puzzle with very few clues. But hooray that we're all the more closer to Pan Suk and Dae Goo being reconciled! Dae Goo finally got to see some of what I’ve argued all along: that Pan Suk *isn’t* corrupt and didn’t have anything to do with what happened to Oma. The way that it unfolded was well written: Pan Suk figures it out, from what little Dae Goo says, but instead of defending or explaining himself, he gets up and takes action. He doesn’t try to convince Dae Goo, because Dae Goo’s not going to listen to him anyway, but he will believe it when Pan Suk SHOWS him. After all, Dae Goo’s convictions are based on what he experienced, not what someone told him.
- Also, the way that Pan Suk’s treating him since Pan Suk knows Dae Goo’s secret is very different than before he knew the secret. Pan Suk found the CCTV camera and instead of laying into like he has in the past, he talked to him. When Dae Goo vents and is obnoxious, Pan Suk doesn’t react but takes it. Very different than before. And instead of hating Dae Goo the punk, Pan Suk is genuinely fond of the lost Ji Yong and doesn’t take his outbursts as the kid being disrespectful but instead as a victim who is trying to deal with his loss. This again shows what a good cop and man Pan Suk is.
- Also thought it was great that Dae Goo didn’t immediately let go of what he has steadfastly held for the last 11 years. That wouldn’t be realistic. But it’s obvious that he’s starting to listen to what his head/heart’s been telling him for a while. This added conspiracy I think is going to go a long way in giving Dae Goo a plausible excuse to accept the truth, because Pan Suk’s going to be just as surprised and shocked at what’s happening as Dae Goo is.
- Love how Pan Suk and Dae Goo’s relationship is, more and more, taking on that father-son dynamic. When Pan Suk ‘confronted’ Dae Goo in the hospital, it felt very much like a how a father might be talking to his son when they’re talking about the son doing something seriously bad. He didn’t lose his cool. He took Dae Goo’s acting out. He ‘ordered’ him to spill in a tone that says ‘enough games.’ And kudos to both Cha Seung Won and Lee Seung Gi for how they acted the scene.
- Loved how Dae Goo got to see how much people really care about him, in spite of how he’s treated them. Dae Goo being helpless and people genuinely caring for him was terrific and very convincing to show that he can rely on other people. They fed him, clothed him, helped him brush his teeth. Gave them their lucky bracelet that Oma made them. This whole experience – including working on all the cases – is showing him that he isn’t alone. Up until now, it’s been him (and Chief) but these are people who openly declare their loyalty and back that up with action. And there’s a definite change in his demeanor. After they showed him they were there for him, he let Tae Il talk for him and let other people give to him. Except for Soo Sun, but that’s another story.
- Love how Dae Goo and Soo Sun’s relationship is progressing. I especially love how she’s now used to prickly Dae Goo and just ignores it because she knows it’s all for show. More than once, she let him get it out and then ignored him and did what she was going to do anyway. Their text exchange was classic. She’s earnest and honest and he’s still trying to act like he doesn’t need her, when they both know he does and they both know that they know this. I love how he was furiously typing all annoyed and she completely ignored when he was rude, because she knew it was a bluff, which annoyed him even more, that she can see through him. But even though he’s prickly, he’s still being nicer to her. Bread crumbs is a lot better than bird brain. There were also several times where he could have taken pot shots at her but didn’t. Also loved that moment when he blocked the sun – he’s done that before in a drama (Shining Inheritance) – because it was tentative at first and then all in when there wasn’t any negative blow back. I have a feeling that this is how it’s going to be for their relationship when he finally acknowledges his feelings…
- Also like where Pan Suk and Sa Kyung’s relationship is going, especially since the truth about Dae Goo is out. Glad that Pan Suk had a plausible reason for why he knew about Dae Goo. Even though it seemed like it was a shock for her, she seems to have quickly recovered and it there, supporting Pan Suk in his quest for the truth, even if it means going against the Chief. Hopefully Pan Suk will remember it’s her birthday and score some more points.
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