OPENING SCENE
HOSPITAL BOMBING
The intense drama scene was literally on
fire. A bomb planted in a hospital in Hanseo-dong had exploded. One
cannot begin to imagine that any hospital, which is exempt even from attacks during wartime, should be targeted. The bomber had to be insane.
Thick black smoke billowed
furiously out of some gaping holes or windows.
A black SWAT (Special
Weapons And Tactics) van soon arrived.
An onsite television
journalist reported that a terrorist had called the police directly 30
minutes prior to the bombing to warn them that he had planted a bomb in the
building.
That breaking news
juggernaut shocked the Seoul population. A collective fear had been aroused.
 
The police, alerted to the
possibility of a serial bombing threat, continued to monitor the situation. They
had a premonition of more carnage and violence.
Perhaps, psychotic killers
were on the loose and bent on mindless violence - punishing people for
perceived injustice that had been done to them.
Firemen rolled out hoses,
ready to squelch the fire with water.
Before the television
reporter could complete her live report, a violent blast from the thunderous explosion
threw her and others to the ground.
 
A bus parked in the hospital
grounds was rocked by blasts from the powerful explosion. It toppled and landed on
its side.
The affected area had been cordoned
off with police tape. Some overly inquisitive onlookers were almost killed. Had
they been prompted to move nearer like the curious cat, their lives would
have ended.
 
The EOD / SWAT team, who included
EOD member, Kim Hyun Jun, arrived fully dressed in paramilitary uniforms and
armed with tactical gear for action. They, being prepared for all
possibilities, had expected to confront some dangerous terrorists.
  
Fully attired from head to
toe in trademark black para military gear, Kim Hyun Jun, the leader,
projected a commanding presence.
The National Criminal
Investigation (NCI) profilers had also arrived for the terror investigation.
They had been informed that a bomb had been planted in front of an operating
room in the hospital.
It was unfortunate that the
surgery which a critically ill patient was undergoing could not be stopped.
The profiling team were duly
informed that the bomb was a ‘Prototype S’, a first or original version
created by the terrorists. Only the bomb creators knew how to defuse the
bomb.
The hospital had been
booby-trapped. The terrorists were the only ones who knew how to defuse the
bomb.
However, it was soon learnt
that there were no fanatical terrorists. The criminal who had been caught, ‘a
lone wolf’, had actually made and planted the deadly bomb. It must have been
a great relief to the security forces that he was not part of a wider network
of terrorists.
 
Cho Tae Soo, a 41-year-old
man, had worked as an explosive expert at a construction company. Seven years
earlier, the ROK (Republic of Korea) Special Forces had sent him overseas.
 
The NCI Team Leader, Kang
Ki Hyung instructed one of the profilers to check whether Cho Tae Soo had got
a burn injury during his service in the army.
Ha Sun Woo, a Behaviour
Analyst, was also instructed to check if the criminal had any connections to
the hospital.
Upon learning that they had
to defuse the bomb, the EOD / SWAT team quickly positioned themselves to
handle the volatile situation.
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VENGEANCE
A
TICKING-TIME-BOMB
Kim Hyun Jun, an EOD expert, assumed leadership and got his men
mentally prepared. Everything was to run according to the detailed procedures
set.
The flamboyant NCI Technical Analyst, Nana Wang reported that
there was an explosion when the criminal Cho Tae Soo was in the army. Seven
soldiers died as a result.
NCI’s resident hacker, with her quirky triangular earrings and
bright makeup, was a sight to behold.
 
The air was suffused with tension and uncertainty. There were
certain wires to be cut. If the wrong wire was cut, everything would explode.
But, the confident NCI Team Leader, Kang Ki Hyung gave the
orders through his walkie-talkie, that the white wire was to be cut.
Kim Hyun Jun’s good friend and teammate, Choi Sang Hyun, a
prototype bomb technician, had been given the responsibility to clip the
correct wires that were attached to a ticking timer.
   
Defusing a bomb was not a one-man show. Kim Hyun Jun and his
EOD team members were there to watch his back. They were alert and vigilant
to prevent a tragedy from happening.
Apprehension and anxiety were etched on Kim Hyun Jun’s face.
Every fibre and muscle in his whole body was tensed.
Being unable to stand the tension, Kim Hyun Jun wanted to
defuse the bomb himself. He would rather die than allow his friend to be
sacrificed.
But the SWAT member next to him harshly reminded him not to be
so impulsive but to follow the rules. Procedures had to be followed and he
had to toe the line. It was Choi Sang Hyun’s responsibility to defuse the
prototype, not him.
Sang Hyun gave Kim Hyun Jun one last look. Perhaps, he knew. It
was his sad farewell.
 
Kim Hyun Jun returned his gaze. Feeling unease and anxiety, his
eyes had teared up. His heart must have been pounding like a sledgehammer. He
knew that one false move would send Choi Sang Hyun to his doom.
  
But instincts had already told him that it was their last
farewell. It was the parting of ways.
How could Kim Hyun Joon not remember that look that Sang Hyun
had given him? It would be imprinted in his memory forever and it would
return to haunt him in his nightmares.
It was the final stage. A grim moment. Choi San Hyun had one
more minute left to defuse the bomb.
He had to either press the ‘Pass’ or ‘By-Pass’ button and it
would decide his fate.
Kang Ki Hyung pressured the criminal to provide the very
important answer that would save lives. Ha Sun Woo informed him that the criminal had sustained some severe injuries while serving in the army.
  
Kang Ki Hyung had an intuitive instinct: he was certain that
Choo Tae Soo would be lying to him. He was certain that the vengeful bomber
was psychotic. His action was not a threat or blackmail: he had already
registered his determination to kill by planting the bomb.
There were only two options, Pass or By-Pass. If the criminal,
Cho Tae Soo told him ‘Pass,’ he must give instructions to do the opposite.
The leaders of the NCI and the Korean National Police were
responsible for the task of defusing the bomb. It was an uneasy alliance. The
traditional police mentality rubbed against the modern scientific profiling
approach.
How would the authorities handle the approaching mayhem
intelligently? The situation was about life and death. It was a tense moment.
  
When at last, the criminal spoke, the answer was ‘Pass’.
When Kang Ki Hyung gave the instruction ‘By-Pass’, the Police
Chief raged at him for being crazy.
The Head of the Police and the Team Leader of the Profiling
Unit had a conflict of opinion.
The profilers had built their reputation on their scientific
methods of analysing the unsubs or criminals and their crimes. The NCI Team
Leader distrusted the criminal whereas the overly aggressive and opinionated
Police Chief was insistent on putting his trust in the criminal. There must
only be one decision maker.
The NCI Team Leader explained that the criminal wanted to kill
at whatever cost.
KIM
HYUN JUN
AND
CHOI
SANG HYUN
A BOND THAT LASTS MANY LIFETIMES
Did Fate play his hand? Humans, being humans, make mistakes.
The Police Chief was the more aggressive of the two and rode roughshod over
the other. His order sealed Choi Sang Hyun’s fate.
Upon overhearing squabble of the warring officers, Kim Hyun Jun was confused. His teammates’ fate including that of his dear friend hung on their hands.
The EOD Team Leader went ballistic. Berserk. In his fury, he impulsively ripped off his pair of headphones and threw it away at that very critical moment.
How could he remain calm? It was obvious that Kim Hyun Jun had a short fuse and it was not going to improve things.
It was at this point that the Police Chief instructed the EOD
technician to press the Pass button.
It was the moment of truth. The bomb exploded and four of his EOD teammates had gone up in smoke and flames.
 
Kim Hyun Joon had also seen his EOD future in flames. If he
continued in his work, he would be an ineffective member of the squad.
The voluminous flames of the exploded bomb rose to a scorching
fury.
The debris, which bucketed down, probably blinded the EOD
members for a moment before they were forcefully thrown out.
It was fortunate that Kim Hyun Jun had escaped with his life
intact. The heat that had swelled in intensity almost burnt his lungs.
But life would never be the same again. As they say, good guys
finish last and the bad guys emerge victorious. Ain’t it the truth?
The aftermath of the bomb explosion was horrifyingly real.
Kim Hyun Jun was shell shocked. His shocked expression said it
all. The whole place was engulfed in choking fumes. The room that he was in
had disappeared. The shock waves left yawning holes. Dangling electrical
wires dropped from above. Debris flew, rained down and was strewn everywhere.
   
One could smell the badly burnt flesh. There was a
trail of limbs of the victims. Four bodies were from the EOD squad.
The bomb explosion had done irreparable damage to Kim Hyun
Jun’s life; it was changed forever.
One other person. Kang Ki Hyung, was more mentally tortured
than shocked. The effects of the violence lingered beyond the explosion.
 
Kim Hyun Joon was inconsolable. As he stood amidst the
smouldering wreckage, he was staring, with unseeing eyes, into the darkness,
and the darkness was staring back at him.
In the very depths of his despair, he must have stood in the
place for hours after the dust had settled.
The devastation of the bombed site could not match the
devastation on Kim Hyun Jun’s face. He felt numb. In fact, he felt none of
the pain that coursed through him.
Does the death of a loved one turn one into a zombie? How does one stay sane at times of horrifying deaths? Or when inhuman acts or injustice occurs? 
The doctors tended the injured EOD and SWAT members.
Death, grief and loss. Kim Hyun Joon stared unseeingly ahead of
him. He was disconsolate and isolated in his grief. The death of his friend
choked him and raked his insides but reality remained the same.
The EOD leader felt nauseous. The pain of losing his friend and teammates threatened to squeeze the life out of him.
His pulse was erratic and his heart thumped against him. His uneven breaths came in gasps and gulps. There was an imperceptible flinch now and then.
Tears trickled down his cheeks. He fought the urge to scream but he was exhausted, not by the bomb blast but by the knowledge that at least four lives had been sacrificed due to incompetent leaders.
He did not know how long he sat by the wayside. He was in mental turmoil. He was under no illusions that Choi Sang Hyun could come back from the dead.
   
Life seemed surreal after that. Kim Hyun Joon’s shattered
feelings plunged him into an emotional trench of unforgiveness and
bitterness. Having witnessed the horrible death of his close friend and other
EOD team members, he could not help but harden his heart against the
incompetent decision makers. The truth was his pain and suffering could not
be alleviated with unforgiveness gnawing his heart.
What was that burning question when one saw the flames of
death? Was one’s job worth the sacrifice? It was a matter of perspective.
Later, there would probably be a fall out between individuals
and the bodies that they work for: Kim Hyun Jun versus the EOD authorities,
and the chief profiler, Kang Ki Hyung versus the NCI authorities.
Life careers soon changed directions. Staying with the EOD
(Explosive Ordnance Disposal) was out of question for Kim Hyun Jun. Danger
came with the territory and he had to work in an unforgiving environment.
For the NCI Team Leader, it was going to be a quiet exit for
him.
The emotional repercussions would echo for months and beyond,
but it would be at least one year for Kim Hyun Jun and Kang Ki Hyung to lay
the matter at rest.
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VULNERABILITY
THE AFTERMATH
OF
THE BOMB EXPLOSION 
Lee Joon Gi has stolen the show with his emotional performance in Episode 1 of Criminal Minds. He showcases the wavering of his emotions splendidly: from arrogance to vulnerability.
The aftermath of the bombing scene sees Kim Hyun Jun in the dark arms of depression. His life was shattered. He must have felt unworthy as an EOD member as he was unable to help his friends and team members. Lee's facial emotions seamlessly morph from bleakness to helplessness as he brings the viewers into his post-bombing world where he has only darkness for company. Kim Hyun Jun might be eloquent in anger but utterly wordless in his dark misery.
His angst shakes the audience’s emotions. They feel as he feels. |
BEHIND THE SCENES
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