|
Episode 5 opens with a glimpse
of young love. Romantic love messes with the mind. It’s hard to say exactly
why. However, there’s nothing quite as delicious as watching the blossoming
relationship between two beautiful young people on a wintry night in 2006. That fateful night, Baek Hee Sung bought 2 cans of beer from the convenience store that belonged to Cha Ji Won’s mother. Ji Won’s heart must have thumped madly when she saw him out of the corner of her eye while in the midst of her studies.
When Baek Hee Sung was paying
for his purchases, a power outage occurred. He provided a lighter for her
candle. Either out of concern for him or fear for her own safety, she
informed him of a robbery that happened at the fruit store previously when
there was an electricity outage.
The handsome young man with the
golden locks stared at her with incomprehension for a moment and then left
the store without a word.
He must have wondered about her
reason for mentioning the incident. She locked the door right after him but realised that he had not left the vicinity. Baek Hee Sung was standing by the side of the convenience store, ostensibly waiting for someone. Though it was a cold, wintry night and snow was falling fast, it was a significant night as fate seemed to have melted a bit of his cold heart. It was strange that he only left when the lights turned back on. It must be his innate desire to protect her. Was it a sign that he liked her?
He caught a snow flake as he
stood in the snow. Perhaps, it was Cha Ji Won, whom he had caught in his
palm. It would soon be clear that he would have her in the palm of his hand.
But, a barrier, as exemplified
by the image of the window grill, remained between them. A formidable barrier
that the duo needed to transcend.
The story accelerated forward to
spring 2008. It seemed their relationship had moved forward to another level.
Ji Won was yelling at him for his lack of passion. His reluctance to admit that he liked her also greatly irritated her. He was an iceberg.
The bold and brazen young lady
accused Baek Hee Sung of seducing her. Did the shy, reticent young man seduce
her with his gorgeous eyes? She couldn’t possibly be lying to herself, could
she? Had she woven a fantasy about herself being his love interest? Did it
show that she neither understood him nor herself?
One notices the 'No Right Turn' sign again. Did it mean that she had gone into the wrong turning. Cha Ji Won further claimed she
was magnanimous enough to confess her feelings first. She was peeved because
he played hard to get. His coldness was a constant source of irritation to
her. Was he toying with her feelings? Perhaps, the naked truth was, their
romantic relationship was not developing as fast as she wanted.
The iceberg was unimpressed with
her ranting. Neither was he overwhelmed with guilt. When he instructed her to
go straight home, she acted up. He patiently explained that if she didn’t go
home, her worried mother would rush to his place again to request for his
help. Was he, her keeper?
To his shock, she demanded that
he gave her a romantic piggy-back ride to her home. She was exhausted. Baek
Hee Sung appeared to be stunned by what seemed to be an asinine request. Upon
sensing his hesitation, she ordered him to leave, and so he did. Perhaps, he should really have left. Note the ‘Do Not Enter’ sign. ‘Do Not Enter’ means one must not proceed in the direction of the sign as it usually indicates opposing traffic, meaning that the traffic will be coming towards the driver. If the driver disobeys the sign, there is a serious risk of head-on collisions. The ‘Do Not Enter’ and ‘No Right Turn’ sign, which are double
warnings, are meant to alert people that they are headed in the wrong
direction. Are they headed in the wrong direction?
Frustrated that he was so insensitive
and unromantic, she declared provocatively that it was obvious that he liked
her.
Turning back immediately, he
pronounced that she didn’t really know about him. ‘Do you want me to tell you what kind of person I am?’
|
|
The audience is brought back to the
present. A policeman had given Ji Won a watch which she discovered belonged to her husband. It was found at the storage barn. His name H.S. Baek was
engraved on the watch band that she had bought for him on his 39th
birthday.
Standing by the window of a
rural inn, Hyun Soo was observing the arrival of the taxi.
The innkeeper inquired whether Hyun
Soo had called a taxi. Although he didn’t, he declared that he needed one.
The taxi driver instructed him to get in.
Park Kyung Choon, the taxi driver,
wondered how Do Hyun Soo could have evaded detection by the police. The
driver demanded for information concerning Jung Mi Sook.
Meanwhile, Kim Moo Jin was being
treated for his head injury by his family doctor. When he mentioned Jung Mi
Sook’s name, Dr Lee disclosed that the body of the murder victim was never
found.
Do Hyun Soo denied knowing the taxi
driver or Jung Mi Sook.
Kim Moo Jin rang Hyun Soo to tell him that the wife of the taxi driver was Do Min Seok’s last victim.
When the taxi driver dangled the
incriminating photo in front of him, the infuriated Hyun Soo snatched it and
ripped it into pieces. Park Kyung Choon was impressed that Hyun Soo had not only successfully avoided detection by the authorities all these years but also married with a wife and a kid. Hyun Soo insisted that he was
not in any way connected to Jung Mi Sook’s case. With great dexterity, Park
Kyung Choon drew out a piece of cotton with chloroform from a candy
container. He whirled around and pressed it forcibly on Hyun Soo’s nose. Hyun
Soo’s head snapped back. He tried to fight the taxi driver off.
Executing a deft punch with the makeshift broken glass shard hidden in his hand, he successfully pushed the taxi driver away. The taxi driver was injured. Hyun Soo struggled out of the car. Although faint and dizzy from
the effects of the chloroform, Hyun Soo crawled towards a burning fire in a metal
drum and threw in the torn pieces of the offending photo.
The fire foreshadowed the danger
that lay ahead. Having caught up with Hyun Soo, the taxi driver made another desperate attempt to overpower him with chloroform and finally succeeded. Hyun Soo fell unconscious on the ground.
The innkeeper, who witnessed the
whole incident, lost no time in reporting the fight to the police. The policeman, with whom Ji Won was busy discussing the watch, received the SOS call.
|
|
 Back in Seoul, Yong Sang Pil, the police captain of the Gangsu Homicide
Investigation Department, was furious. The office was in chaos over the
wire-tapping of the homicide office by Park Kyung Choon, the cunning taxi
driver. Jaesup was blamed for his lack of vigilance and dereliction of duty. Possessing a very short fuse, Yong Sang Pil lost it for a moment when he charged at Jaesup, intending to give him a flying kick but Jaesup was alert enough to push his swivel chair away. If the high jump kick that Captain Yong executed hit bullseye, Jaesup would have been more dead than alive. While the superior officer tried to attack Jaesup again, his subordinates tried to restrain him. But, the powerful officer broke free and rushed at his target again. Barking ferociously, Captain Yong grabbed a clump of Jaesup’s hair. The insubordinate Jaesup also lost his cool and latched onto his superior’s hair. It was the hair pulling contest of the year.
It would be a huge embarrassment if the press got news of it. The whole team in the police station would not be able to live it down. Jaesup’s ineptitude had caused grief and shame to the boss. Lee Woo Chul, the cool and
rational leader, was aghast at such behaviour from the top to the bottom. He
rolled his eyes and took charge. He ordered them, including his boss, to stop their
disorderly behaviour.
He sternly gave instructions for
his juniors to catch the criminal that night. The department had already contacted the taxi company to supply them with Park Kyung Choon’s work schedule, phone and driving records, and credit card details.
The boss wanted nothing less
than success for the important mission. The case had to be cracked. Park Kyung Choon’s kidnapping of an unidentified civilian came to the immediate attention of the detectives.
|
|
Lee Woo Chul assured Cha Ji Won that they were tracing Park Kyung Choon’s taxi. He was using the new Samsung Galaxy S20 5G. By then, Ji Won had suspected
that the person whom she had fought with in the storage barn was her husband.
When Ho Joon, her partner, casually
questioned her about the watch, she was irritable and jumpy. Losing her
temper with him, she told him off for his unhealthy ‘obsession with the
watch’.
Her junior was shocked at her explosive response. Cha Ji Won had become another person. After Dr Lee had performed minor
surgery on Kim Moo Jin’s head, he mentioned that Do Hyun Soo should be caught
soon.
He was firmly convinced that to
find Jung Mi Sook’s corpse, the police had to capture Do Hyun Soo first. Dr Lee
was persuaded that Hyun Soo was insane and was his father’s accomplice. Did the
good doctor have the courage to back up his convictions?
Moo Jin abhorred the witch
hunting by the public. The case had been closed a long time ago since the
death of Do Min Seok, the only suspect in the serial murders.
Moo Jin insisted that Do Hyun Soo
was not a serial murderer but just a murderer. There was a great difference
between the two. Due to ignorance in
the past, it was the practice of uneducated minds to link the father’s sins
with his son. The family members of murderers, themselves, were condemned to
be victims.
Although Kim Moo Jin tried to stand up for Do Hyun Soo, he was no better than all the other people. How did he arrive at the conclusion that Do Hyun Soo was a murderer in the first place? Was his belief based on facts, muddled facts or assumptions? Did he believe that Do Hyun Soo was guilty in the deep recesses of his mind? Moo Jin admonished the highly educated doctor for his prejudice. He voiced his concern that bias had even pervaded the minds of the highly educated.
The educated did not have the
licence to spread such rumours. But the good doctor loved to gossip. He
chided Moo Jin for being stupid because he was ignorant of a certain secret.
What was that secret? It seemed the media, the intellectuals and the public had shortchanged the truth. Rumours abound and integrity seemed to have disappeared. While Ji Won was questioning the
innkeeper, a cell phone on the ground went off. To her shock, her daughter’s
image appeared on the cell phone screen.
Showing a photo of Hee Sung to
innkeeper, she was able to confirmed that her husband was the kidnap victim.
Fully convinced that her husband
had been kidnapped, she reeled from the shock. Coincidentally, Jaesup phoned
and Ji Won requested that he tracked down the taxi. She told him that they
were near a fish pond.
Duality. The two red rear lights of the police car reflected in the fish pond foreshadowed the conflict that will be played out in the disused pool in the city which was used to store live seafood, particularly prawns. Out of her mind with worry, Ji Won grabbed the police car and together with Ho Joon, raced to track down the felon.
It seemed surprising that the
taxi driver was cruising along the road; he was relaxed and did not seem to be in a
hurry. Jaesup identified the taxi using the real-time car tracking system and gave Ji Won directions to find the criminal. What Cha Ji Won didn’t know was she was cracking under the intense pressure of her husband’s situation.
It was a very thrilling chase. Ji
Won caught sight of the taxi driver who was on a parallel rural road. Duality. The parallel roads depict the opposing characteristics of the two drivers. The calm and relaxed mind of the psychopathic taxi driver as opposed to the frantic, distracted mind of the logical and rational homicide detective who had gone berserk.
Ji Won’s police car charged
forward much to the alarm of Ho Choon. At one point, she drove the car with
dizzying speed but suddenly slammed her foot on the brake that sent the car spinning
crazily around. After recovering from her rash act, the overly tense and agitated detective stepped on the accelerator. Shaking violently from the adrenaline rush, she tried to overtake the taxi when the two roads met at the junction. What she did not know was Hee Sung had been dumped into the boot of the car. A glimpse of the unconscious metal craftsman could be seen. At first, the taxi driver was
unaware of the police car but because of her reckless driving, he suddenly
took notice of it. Glancing at the rearview mirror, he instantly realised
that he was being pursued and he accelerated. They swerved left and right to
get the upperhand on the road. The criminal understood her intention to
intercept but try as she would, she failed to overtake the taxi. Park Kyung Choon blocked her. In fact, he hogged the road and refused to allow her to overtake.
In order to stop her pursuit,
he wrenched the black box or dashboard camera which had been installed in the car. He rolled down his window.
As the police car drew almost level with the taxi, he aimed the metal box at the windscreen of the other car. The two detectives were shocked by crunching of the shattered windscreen. It was too late. The police careered off the road and crashed into a roadside stall. Ji Won and Ho Joon were stunned
and disoriented by the crash. Both were in shock. Her mind was in disarray.
She jerked suddenly and with a hazy mind, she apologised profusely to Ho Joon
whose presence she seemed to have forgotten during the intense chase.
The ‘secret’ awakened Moo Jin’s
natural curiosity. As was his habit as a reporter, he pestered the doctor for
that juicy bit of information about the serial murder case. The suspense
increased when the doctor took his time to take his ‘medicine’ which was some
packet juice which he had to sip to refresh himself.
While waiting impatiently, Detective
Kyung Sik interrupted their conversation. The frustrated Moo Jin rolled his
eyes at the offensive presence. Disclosing that the officer was part of the
investigation team for the serial murder case, the doctor encouraged the detective to
reveal the secret about the witness. Moo Jin perked up.
|
|
The scene of Do Hyun Soo being
bound and rendered helpless must have sent chills down the viewer’s spine. Hyun Soo woke up at the bottom of not a swimming pool but a disused indoor pool for storing live seafood, probably, prawns or shrimps. Prawning (shrimping), a fishing hobby moved indoors, is a relaxing activity for those who love fishing but do not like sea or river fishing in unappealing weather conditions. Do Hyun Soo would soon be seen as the struggling shrimp caught by Park Kyung Choon, the casual, relaxed fishing enthusiast. The latter intended to fish for vital information from the former. This scene is not only absolutely thrilling but also heart-wrenching.
Having been tied with ropes,
Hyun Soo found himself trapped in the blue-tiled pool. His hands were tied to
a metal bar which had been bolted to the floor. Hyun Soo struggled and managed to sit up. The taxi driver smirked annoyingly
at the fact that Do Hyun Soo had a driver’s license under the name of Baek
Hee Sung. Who could have imagined that the furtive had assumed a new identity? Do Hyun Soo, the serial
killer, had even married and had a baby.
The verbal fight was heating up between
the captor and the captive. Not content to remain a timid victim, Hyun Soo
rose to the occasion; he was no less catty. His cold lips had turned into a
faint smile, then morphed into a leer. He bragged nastily, ‘I have a two-storey
building in Seoul. I own it but the bank owns most of it though.’
It was a foregone conclusion.
The taxi driver’s intention was crystal clear to Hyun So; he was going to drown him.
Hyun Soo might as well make most of his time to thrash out the critical issues. He had taken
to the verbal fight like a fish to water. The battle with Park Kyung Choon would
consume him.
Park Kyung Choon failed to intimidate him. Hyun Soo mocked the taxi driver. Resentment which had festered for so long in his chest exploded. He had passively ignored all the cruel taunts, bitter insults and false accusations for 14 years. His life was subject to scrutiny. He was powerless. What could he do? The viewer steps into the shoes of Do Hyun Soo. One wonders if he was one against the 99 persons who were hell-bent to ruin his reputation, did it mean that he was wrong and they were right? To Do Hyun So, it was more than that number. It was the whole of society against him. Everything which was publicised on all media platforms about him and his family was painted in a negative light. The print media. The broadcast media. The electronic media. And whatnots. Was the electronic media the worst? Gossips and rumours abound and with every exchange, it became juicier and more colourful as more ‘ingredients’ were added to spark more interest. Like Kim Moo Jin’s article. He was not treated as a human being but as an object who was subjected to humiliation and shame. Were the people who subjected him to such torture subhuman? Their animal instincts had got the better of them when they derided people like him. He had been treated like a monster and had endured the agony of being tormented for so long that he had forgotten how to feel good. Such matters caused him great personal turmoil. Victims like him had no voice. They shied away from the limelight. Kim Moo Jin’s article revived interest in the serial murders. It was sad and disheartening. Hyun Soo seemed to have a tumultuous life; he had been subjected to mental, psychological and emotional torture by virtue of being Do Min Seok’s son. But now, Moo Jin was collaborating with him to debunk the myths surrounding the accusations. He had only begun to feel like a human after so many years.
Only Cha Ji Won and later, his cute and loving daughter kept him sane. His
wife, in her own way, humanised him. She reverted him to what he should be. One
is jerked out of one’s thoughts. The ropes that restrained Hyun
Soo’s movements ensured that he would be anchored to the bottom of the pool
in the event of the pool being flooded with water. His deep-seated resentment and rage suddenly flared up. Hyun Soo was stark raving mad at everyone. He was on the warpath even though he was bound with ropes. His face was contorted with emotion; his eyes were smarting and his mouth was frothing with hate and quivering with anger. He was like one possessed.
The conflict gave rise to heightened tensions to the scene. Hyun Soo scornfully mocked at Park Kyung Choon’s hopes of avenging the death of his wife. It was Park Kyung Choon’s way to release all his pent-up anger. Was Do Min Seok the serial killer? If
so, the murderer was already dead.
 ‘It’s easy to fly into a passion – anybody can do that – but to be angry with the right person to the right extent at the right time in the right way – that is not easy, and it is not everyone who can do it.’
Aristotle
Hyun Soo’s heart-breaking speech was charged with great passion. Just because he, Do Hyun Soo, was Do Min Seok’s son, he had become a convenient target for abuse by people, not just by the taxi driver. His life attracted boundless rumours and gossips. Like all others, the taxi driver had stooped to tarring Do Hyun Soo’s reputation with the accusation that he resembled his father. People loved passing judgements. There seemed to be a lot of wild accusation flying around that he was possessed by the devil. 'He was soulless.' 'He had been possessed.'
Furthermore, he had been pelted with insults after being forcibly sent to a mental institution. Was he certified clinically insane in that hospital? How much false accusation could a young man bear? The weight of shouldering such groundless burdens had destabilised him. Facing dehumanising language, Do
Hyun Soo had descended into a less than human state. He was vulnerable but he
toughened up.
(Voice Over) Do Min-sook and his son…. They were
together all the time. 'The two only kept to themselves.' He was accused of being a partner-in-crime and having intimate knowledge of his father’s crimes which was preposterous. There was not even an iota of evidence that he was an accomplice.
Park Kyung Choon was not
surprised by his Hyun Soo’s fearlessness as the rumour mill had churned out
stories that Hyun Soo did not quake in fear of anything.
 Pointing his knife at the
powerless man, he threatened, ‘You can be killed with one stab from me.’ The threat of the death blow was a great way to get Hyun Soo's aggression out. Hyun Soo scoffed at him. The taxi driver was boring as it was easy to read his intentions.
Provoked, Park Kyung Choon
stabbed his arm. Blood streamed down Hyun Soo’s hand. When the knife was
wrenched free, the victim, whose body was thrown back, groaned in pain. With
his hands bound, it was impossible for him to staunch his blood. Anger tore
into him.
The audience must have been panting with the extreme rush of their adrenaline. Park Kyung Choon demanded to
know where Jung Mi Sook’s body was buried. His wife’s corpse must have rotted
by then.
 
Hyun Soo whispered indistinctly and
the taxi driver drew closer to him, expecting to hear a bit of good news.
Hyun Soo suddenly seized the
opportunity to take a vicious bite of Park Kyung Choon’s ear. The taxi driver
was completely taken by surprise. Do Hyun Soo was The Krakatoa who had exploded suddenly.
None could have suspected that Hyun
Soo had such an explosive temper. Did Hyun Soo spit out his piece of ear?
It all happened in a second when
the taxi driver let his guard down. Once the deed was done, the two were
thrown apart.
The heart of the viewers must
have jackhammered. The driver crawled away in pain. Blood seeped from the wound. Never underestimate your enemy even when he looked helpless. One might think of how Mike Tyson II viciously bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear in the infamous ‘Bite Match’ in 1997. It is a tale of violence and revenge – pure malice and nothing more. Mike Tyson II was not ‘insane’.
But, it is Vincent van Gogh’s self-portrait, which lights up in one’s mind when looking at Do Hyun So and Park Kyung Choon in ‘The Bite’ scene. It speaks volumes of their violence and insanity.
The great Dutch artist cut his own ear with a knife after a heated quarrel with his artist friend, Paul Gauguin. The act was violent and insane. Like Vincent van Gogh, Do Hyun So and Park Kyung Choon were violent and insane. In Vincent’s self-portrait which
showcases the artist’s genius and insanity, we could almost see the merging
of two mad men in the portrait: Park Kyung Choon, the insane taxi driver, a
con artist with a very imaginative mind. Did the word 'conning' pop up in one's mind? It wouldn’t be surprising if the psychopathic taxi driver murdered his own wife and put the blame on Do Hyun Soo. In that tense moment, the unstable Do Hyun Soo,
who went bonkers, violently bit off Park Kyung Choon’s ear.
 Hyun Soo relished the thought that the taxi driver would fail miserably in his attempt to avenge his wife's murder.
He taunted the taxi driver that killing him would
be a failure. Even chopping off his limbs or stabbing his
body won't get him anywhere.
Hyun Soo asserted that he had no answers for the things he did not know nor the murders that he did not commit. The younger man mocked him further and egged him on to execute his vile intentions.
Thus provoked, the taxi driver
stood up resolutely, towering over Hyun Soo. His grim face was shot against
the wall with numerous images of his wife which were laid out in a brick
wall-like pattern.
|
|
Ji Won nervously disclosed to
Jaesup that the kidnap victim was her husband. The feisty Alpha female
homicide detective was reduced to pulp when she realised that her beloved
husband was facing death at the hands of a mad man.
It was hard put for her to deny
that she was driven round the bend with fear. The lady detective had lost all
sense of direction.
She begged Jaesup to give her
instructions on the next course of action or she would go crazy.
She was so emotional that Ho
Joon tried to calm her down but she yelled, ‘How can I calm down?’ Jaesup
calmly reassured her that they would be able to find him.
She drove home the point that she had no interest in finding the madman Park Kyung Choon but only rescuing her husband. She was stark raving mad; she didn’t want to find his dismembered body but only one that was unscathed. She pointed out that he was the one
who could smell out the criminals and arrest them, so, he should have no problem
in smelling out the hideout of Park Kyung Choon. Unlike Cha Ji Won, Jaesup could perform under pressure. Delving deep into the recesses of his mind for clues on why he grew suspicious of one of the criminals he had caught, he was suddenly struck by enlightenment.
To catch 'public enemy number one', they had to search the criminal’s house; he instructed them to meet up at Park Kyung Choon’s house. The former level-headed Cha Ji Won must have driven like a deranged driver the whole length of the return journey to Seoul. 
Lee Woo Chul gave himself the task of imparting the bad news to Baek Hee Sung’s parents. He and a subordinate visited his parents' bungalow to inform them of the kidnapping case. To his surprise, both parents acted rather queerly in the tense situation involving their son. They were not completely distraught; their cool attitude and calm behaviour defied understanding.
It was suspicious that Gong Mija impersonally referred to her son as ‘Baek Hee Sung’. Lee Woo Chul noted her strange attitude. The elderly Baeks were asked if they knew of the name, Do Hyun Soo. Gong Mija was hyper nervous. Lee
Woo Chul narrated that Do Hyun Soo had fled after killing the village headman
eighteen years ago.
Queried about whether they remembered the
serial murder, Gong Mija immediately said no, but Baek Man Woo admitted it
was vaguely familiar.
The homicide detective stated
that Do Hyun Soo was the son of the serial murderer, Do Min Seok. Lee Woo Chul explained that the only reason why Park Kyung Choon kidnapped Baek Hee Sung was because of Do Hyun Soo.
He probably wanted to kill Baek
Hee Sung and lay the responsibility of murder at Do Hyun Soo’s door. Lee Woo
Chul further reassured them that the priority of the police was to rescue
their son and the police would also look into the security measures for them. Baek Man
Woo calmly requested the officer to rescue their son.
When Lee Woo Chul exited the
bungalow house, he proclaimed that he was astonished that the conversation
ran more smoothly than expected.
Both parents seem cold and
unemotional. There was no hysterical plea for saving or rescuing their son
which was quite unusual.
Sometimes, in such situation, family members might be critical of the police investigation but there was no hysterics in this case. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was that really bothered him. Were they more interested in the police case than their son’s plight? It was impossible to understand human nature.  Inside the house, the old couple
were arguing about Hyun Soo. They had to resign themselves to their fate.
They had known of Do Hyun Soo’s dark history but they had chosen to adopt him.
It was just logical that they should have expected this situation.
Gong Mija rushed off, followed
closely by her husband, to the secret room where their real son, Baek Hee
Sung lay. His seemingly lifeless body depended on a life support system.
In the event that Hyun Soo was
caught, the police would know that he had lived as Baek Hee Sung. If
something were to happen to them, the survival of their biological son, Hee
Sung, would be a worrying factor.
Baek Man Woo was certain that
the taxi driver would kill Do Hyun Soo. If Hyun Soo died, then they would be
the only two who knew the truth.
But, if he lived, they could
pretend that Do Hyun Soo took advantage of their advanced age and scammed
them. They would deny any knowledge that he was a serial murderer. The
comforted each other and held hands in solidarity.
The plot thickens. Again, the
viewer wonders why they adopted Do Hyun Soo in the first place. What was
their secret? Why was the real Baek Hee Sung in a coma? But the question is, ‘How are they going to explain the disappearance of their own son during the intervening years?’ The life of the Baeks seems to be an illusion. They are seen in a picture within a picture. What does this intriguing image mean?
|
|
The next scene speaks of dualism. Two taps. Two taps which are linked to two water pipes.
Furious with Do Hyun So’s insolence, Park Kyung Choon was determined to drown him. He twisted the two rusty handles leading to two water-pipes which drained into the pool.
Water squirted out but in no
time, water poured out furiously into the pool. The imagery of a raging waterfall comes to mind. The image of the waterfall stokes fears among the audience that Hyun Soo would not just die slowly and painfully from blood loss but drowning as well. Perhaps, for the first time,
fear appeared in the eyes of the stolid character.
‘How long would it take your lungs to become a water balloon?' Park Kyung Choon mocked. The rhetorical question did not frighten Hyun Soo.
He cajoled Hyun Soo to change
his tune; he still had time to alter his destiny - the course of his future. But, Hyun Soo
staunchly denied knowing about the murder.
Having understood the danger of being drowned, Hyun Soo desperately tried undo the ropes that bound him to the metal bar at the bottom of the pool. The helpless man stubbornly reiterated
that he was unable to provide information that he was ignorant of.
Park Kyung Choon questioned him on
what he did on 12 May 2002, a Sunday with fine weather. That was the day his
wife, Mi Sook, disappeared in a black SUV 3194, which was his father’s car.
By that time, water was sloshing
under Hyun Soo’s feet.
Hyun Soo was trying to think.
 Meanwhile, Kim Moo Jin was entertaining Detective Kyung Sik in a pop-up bar. The detective had investigated the serial murders and had many tales to tell. When the wily Moo Jin offered him Soju, he joked that it was French wine.The many rounds of soju had loosened the detective's tongue.
The drinks had made them dizzy and drowsy. Moo Jin had obtained valuable information from him. But because the investigative journalist was under the influence of alcohol, he feared that the next morning, he might not remember the information that he had procured.
On the pretext of going to the
restroom, he staggered out and secretly wrote all the important details on
his arm. He smirked and told himself that the case was getting more
interesting and probably worthy of further pursuit.
Soon, the pipes were spurting
out water as if they had burst. The water had risen to Hyun Soo’s waist. Apparently, the taxi driver was
sick and stopped to take his medicine. What ailed him?
He claimed that there was a
witness to his wife’s kidnapping at 2:30 am. The witness, having memorised the
car plate number, had called the police. Reality versus Unreality. Reality: The reality of the murder was the facts of the crime. It happened at Sehyun 2-dong intersection at 2.30 a.m. Unreality: The accusation took on an unreal, nightmarish quality. Do Hyun Soo was falsely accused by the madman. The modern abstract painting in the background, which is art that does not represent reality, seemed to deride the taxi driver's attempt at falsifying the facts. Park Kyung Choon had lost his grasp on reality.
Do Min Seok was brought under
police investigation, but he was found not guilty as he had the perfect alibi
from his son. If Do Min Seok had been arrested, then his beloved Mi Sook would
not have died. It was the last chance to save Mi Sook.
Hyun Soo was adamant that he
told the truth, and nothing but the truth. He was by his father’s side that morning
till the next day. He had repeated that to the police and never once changed
his sworn testimony.
Park Kyung Choon was pretty
sarcastic. ‘If what you say is true, then maybe Do Min Seok’s car drove by
itself and kidnapped people.’
Hyun Soo countered by asking, ‘Why
aren’t you saying that the witness was drunk and retracted her statement?’ Park Kyung Choon’s accusation was based on a twisted account. Hyun Soo emphasized that his own testimony was clear and coherent, and he had never wavered. But, the witness later retracted her statement and claimed that she could not remember.
It had become clear that it was
his word against hers. Was the insane taxi driver trying to discredit his
evidence and by killing him, he was just playing out his wild fantasies?
Suddenly, to unnerve his victim,
the taxi driver swiftly pulled out his gold carp keychain. The accusation had
taken on a new significance. Hyun Soo was stunned and his momentary
hesitation was detected by the other.
Mi Soo had a similar key chain
when she disappeared, but Nam Soon Kil, the owner of the Chinese restaurant
whom he killed had mentioned that Hyun Soo was in possession of a similar key
chain.
In fact, previously, the taxi driver had mentioned that he bought one for her and one for himself. A Yin Yang pair. 
One wonders if Park Kyung Choon was mad to make such a murder inference as such key chains were ubiquitous tourist souvenirs items. His murder accusations seemed to roll off his tongue with ease. Anyway, her body was never found. Was she alive or dead? The scene compares two deaths. Do Min Seok, the murderer, was given a proper burial as opposed to another whose body was untraceable.
Hyun Soo was stunned. He
recalled his father’s funeral. Having fallen asleep on the floor of the
funeral hall while listening to music on his cassette player, he was awakened
by Hae Soo, his older sister.
 She had given him the keychain with the advice to keep it by his side as the gold fish could bring him luck. It had more than brought him luck; it had given him a new identity, a beautiful and loving wife, and a cute daughter. The Chinese and the Koreans refer to the ‘gold fish’ as the
golden carp. To the Japanese, it is called koi.
The golden carp is an important motif in Chinese culture. The carp can be distinguished by having a pair of barbels (whiskers) at each corner of its mouth. Carps can sometimes change into dragons. Stories tell of a brave carp who swam upstream against the powerful force of the Yellow River. He fought his way over waterfalls and rocks all the way to the source and leapt over the Longmen Falls at Dragon Gate. He was rewarded by being transformed into a dragon who flew into the sky. The image of Do Hyun So staring
at the upstream of the Cheonggyecheon Stream pops up in one’s mind. He was looking
back to his past. Would he, like the carp, be resilient and be able to fight
his way to overcome insurmountable challenges and difficulties and be
transformed into a ‘dragon’?
|
|
Do Hae Soo, Do Hyun Soo’s sister, was also having a hard time
fending off the curiosity of the media. The revival of the topic of Do Hyun
Soo had created media frenzy. The red brick wall of her home is a reminder of the challenges that she had to face. Reporters were flooding her rooftop studio home. Looking out of her heavily curtained window, she saw numerous reporters waiting for her. The media circus shook her up. Denying having knowledge about the serial murders, she pleaded
with them to leave. She was only
nineteen when the horrors happened.
The reporters who descended like vultures on Do Hae Soo’s home made
many ludicrous accusations, one of which was she helped Do Hyun Soo, her younger
brother, to escape from the murderous mess left by their father. One reporter even highlighted the fact that she went to a prestigious art school.
Was he insinuating that she had used her dead father’s money
for herself instead of paying compensation to the victims’ families? She was
forced to apologise to the families of the victims.
Was she being sexually harassed by the reporter who pointed out that she was pretty and should show her face to the public?
The offensive
sexist remark must have played havoc in Do Hae Soo’s mind. Disheartened by
his evil talk, she gave the reporter a reproachful glance through the slit in
the doorway.
So desperate were some of the hard-hitting reporters that they had resorted to all sorts of tactics and even lowered their professional standards just to get a scoop. The news reporters did not have inside knowledge of Do Hae Soo’s life but had quickly formed a negative impression of her just because she refrained from talking. Having not lived her wretched life nor stepped into her shoes, they took the liberty of accusing her of not being sorry at all based on superficial looks. How could they fathom the depths of her heart? Some of the repulsive
reporters knocking furiously at the glass panel of Do Hae Soo’s door are
depicted as ghouls or evil spectres.
|
|
Time passed very quickly. Soon, the whole pool was flooded
right up Hyun Soo’s chest and he struggled desperately to free himself but to
no avail. 'Explain it to me. How did you get something that belonged to Mi Sook?'
'So why...why can't you explain this?' Something smelt fishy in the place. It was not rotting seafood
smell. Park Kyung Choon was definitely insane. By now, one is wondering
whether Park Kyung Choon was more psychopathic than the previous criminals. The taxi driver, like a noisy waterfall, lashed out at him.
Park Kyung Choon was not an ordinary kidnapper; he was an insane man who wanted information on the
whereabouts of his wife’s body. 18 years had passed. He accused Hyun Soo of
not blinking his eyes when he denied any knowledge about his wife.
Were the stories that he was narrating about Jung Mi Sook, his wife really true? Could he be the one who kidnapped, murdered and buried her? Was he truly insane? The homicide detectives arrived at the taxi driver’s apartment
and rummaged through his belongings. Fortunately, while searching through his trash, Ji Won found a telephone number for an advertisement. They pieced together the scraps of the advertisement and called the number. Having pinpointed the location of the taxi driver’s hideout, they sped to the place.
The suspense was killing everyone. Would they be able to arrive
in time? The water had now reached Hyun Soo’s chin level. Park Kyung Choon promised not to kill him if Hyun Soo gave him information about the burial site of his wife.
Park Kyung Choon advised him, ‘If you are human then you should
live as human at least one moment of your life.’ He should, at least, tell
the truth about Mi Sook.
Was this the truth about Do Hyun Soo? The taxi driver implied that Do Hyun Soo had not been living as a human being but as a hunted animal ever since the serial murders by his father. Since then, he lived a lie and had been dehumanised. His life was a struggle. Hyun Soo knew better. Ji Won had humanised him. He struggled to stay above the water. The insane man begs, ‘She is waiting for me to take her out
from that cold dark place. Please tell me, I beg you.’ What was the naked truth?
Exhausted by his hopeless efforts, Hyun Soo finally slipped
below the water. The taxi driver stood staring coldly at him. He was inhuman. Do Hyun Soo's face looked like an abstract painting from where the taxi driver stood. Park Kyung Choon appeared to be a spectre viewed beneath the water.
  The police detectives raced to the old, abandoned building.
Ho Choon was instructed to call for backup. Jaesup broke the
door lock with a hammer. When they came to another door, Ji Won was almost stabbed
by the taxi driver. Jaesup valiantly fought him off.
Ji Won found her husband but he was totally submerged in the water. She
jumped into the pool. Baek Hee Sung’s life seemed to have leached out of him.
Haesup did not err on the side of caution. Although he managed
to overcome the taxi driver, he made a slip. Perhaps, arrogance made him
careless. While handcuffing the criminal, he was unaware that Park Kyung
Choon had drawn out a knife. When he was stabbed, the detective tumbled backwards
and fell on the cement with a crunch.
Floating in front of Hee Sung, Ji Won was aghast that he was
unconscious. She tried to wake him and pull him out of the water but to her dismay, she
realised he was tethered to the floor. In a moment of sheer panic, she tried to blow air into him, an act which was not useful.
Park Kyung Choon rose from the ground. When Ho Choon arrived on
the scene, he pointed his gun at the criminal. Inexperience made him waver; he was afraid
to shoot.
Upon realising Ho Choon’s lack of experience, he knew that he
had the upper hand. Pointing his knife at Jaesup’s throat, Park Kyung Choon pulled
the detective up and used his body to shield himself.
Forcefully pushing the startled Park Kyung Choon back, Jaesup thrust at the taxi driver whose head smacked against the circular handle of the water control valve. Both fell to the ground with a thud.
Ji Won tried mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The Kiss of Life.
Ji Won’s desperate efforts at reviving her husband were successful. Baek Hee Sung finally woke up.
(Voice Over) ‘Do you want me to tell you what kind of person I am?’ Do Hyun Soo had undergone water baptism. Would his life change for the better? Would he resemble the Gold Carp which had faced challenges and
be transformed into a Dragon?
|
|
 The beginning of Episode 5 is the end of the episode. Will the
end of Episode 5 be the beginning of a new life for Do Hyun Soo? A flashback gives the viewers another fleeting glimpse of that fateful spring of 2008. Baek Hee Sung and Cha Ji Won were talking in the spring breeze. Baek must have remembered this episode in his life as if it were yesterday. It was the turning point in his life. It would define his future. Sitting on the bench, Cha Ji Won studied the young man she had
fallen in love with. Hyun Soo had a heart-to-heart conversation with her. He
disclosed that he didn’t graduate from high school. He was not
well-educated.
‘Do you want me to tell you what kind of person I am? He couldn’t adapt himself to school life and he was fighting all the time. He even claimed that he punched someone until the skin of his knuckles had peeled away but he boasted that he felt good about it.
He probably sensed that the spectre of his dead father was
watching him. Do Min Seok, with his scary black luminous eyeballs, stood
eerily with a red dog leash in his hands.
He claimed that he could see things that he shouldn’t see.
Tapping his forehead, he announced that he was not normal.
She looked in the direction of his stare but she saw nothing.
She didn’t understand him.
What did he see but a dead person. ‘Did he love that dead
person that he saw?’ she prodded. There was no answer.
Hyun Soo smirked. To him, Ji Won was unbelievably dense.
She bounded ahead with her views. Revealing that she once saw her dead grandmother in her dream, she declared that she was undaunted but gently told her grandmother’s ghost not to worry about her anymore and to leave. The ghost turned away and left. Hyun So must have been surprised. Perhaps, Ji Won had analysed him correctly. Hyun Soo must have an inferiority complex as he felt he didn’t have much to offer her. His only problem was that he did not see himself the way she saw him. The strong-headed and extroverted young lady liked the aura of
coldness and vulnerability of the introverted young man. Opposites attract.
Confessing that she liked him a lot, she assured him of her devotion, ‘I'll be there for you. I'll teach you everything that you don't know. Then one day things will change for you. You'd be surprised.’ Those were her promises. Reassuring. Positive. Optimistic. Her maternal instincts made her sound like
the mother that he had lost.
And she promised that his life would change. How could Baek Hee
Sung resist? The iceberg finally melted.
Baek Hee Sung stared at her with renewed enthusiasm in his eyes.
Was there a cold and calculating glint in his eye?
She interpreted his unblinking stare as a romantic gaze. It made
her heart pound.
When he said she was a mystery to him, Ji Won saw it as a good
sign, which instantly put her in a good mood.
When she suggested that they should kiss, was she taking the opportunity to seduce him? Not appearing to be guileless, she
actively kissed him. At first, the bashful and reserved young man seemed
immobile. He was passive and allowed himself to be kissed.
When he saw his father’s spectre, he calmly but not unkindly told
his father in his mind to let go and leave. The ghost of his father disappeared
at his command. He was surprised that it worked.
Turning back to gaze at Ji Won, he took charge and gathered her in his
arms and kissed her passionately. It was The Kiss of a young man who had 'come to life'.
The Kiss of Baek Hee Sung and Cha Ji Won reminds us of The Kiss by the Austrian artist, Gustav Klimt. The painting depicts a couple embracing each other.   The perfect kiss from a cold young man. The camera pans back to the present. Hee Sung was vaguely
conscious of his wife. Ji Won scanned the place and noticed the knife that
was stuck to the wall. She leapt out of the water and grabbed it.
She cut the ropes and dragged him out and did mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Shocked that it wasn’t working, she was crying and screaming frantically
for help. It was heartwrenching scene.
(Voice Over) Hee Sung declared, ‘I always thought about it. I
was lucky to see you. For the first time I think you shouldn’t have met me. Yes,
now, I understand what it meant. I feel sorry for you.’ So, was it a wrong turn that led him here?
The viewers must have been moved by the poignant scene. It’s
undeniable that it has reduced many to tears.
 |
|
The fifth episode of Flower of Evil is ever so splendid. The theme of the battle between good and evil is apparent. It is a brilliant and intricate episode which is full of
thrills and suspense. The audience has been given an extreme high dose of
adrenaline rush. The tense episode builds up and is steered at the same speed
of the police car that Ji Won was driving: speedy and full of twists and
turns. The audience must have been aghast and disappointed when this awfully
fast-paced episode ended. As far as the viewers knew, time seemed to have
passed so quickly. One could have sworn that the thrilling Episode 5 lasted
only half an hour! The episode is, by far, the best in terms of the amazing performance of the team of different actors.
The performance of Lee Joon Gi and Moon Chae Won in Episode 5
is a ginormous WOW. A perfect 10.
Both have the ability to surprise; they both show their emotional
nakedness and they go through whatever their character goes through. They
wring out their pain; they are raw and they use their voice and body in
expressive ways. They seem to have been consumed by the character that they
portray.
Lee Joon Gi’s performance is truly awesome. Do Hyun Soo, as portrayed by Lee, has a surprising danger. As the househusband and father, Baek Hee Sung, he seems warm, loving and amiable. He is the perfect husband and father. In the presence of despicable people, he can be explosive. It
is in certain trying times when things escalate from worse to worst that the
worst in Do Hyun Soo surfaces. It is apparent that it is a little scary to be
around Do Hyun Soo. He puts fear in the audience and this is what Lee does
with his eyes in Episode 5.
In his drowning scene in the disused pool, Lee, as Do Hyun Soo,
gives an amazing speech which is raw and emotional as opposed to the
unfeeling Baek Hee Sung. He owns the
scene. As bizarre as it seems, the more he lashes out at the mad taxi driver,
the more the audience love it. Full of thunder and explosion.
He seems to be expelling all the hurt as well as the vitriol that he has kept in his body at the injustice in his life. The verbal attack on Park Kyung Choon is not just a personal attack on him but his pent-up feelings and protest of injustice against society in general.   And Lee has expressed the
conflicting emotions of anger and anguish splendidly. The audience is moved to sympathise with his character. One cannot but be in awe of his portrayal of Do Hyun Soo. Lee’s portrayal of Hyun Soo also
makes the audience uneasy. Hyun Soo’s initial cool and collected demeanour is
betrayed by the fear lurking in his eyes as the water rises. His panic and
alarm in his eyes are palpable.
The anxious viewer wonders if Hyun
Soo’s luck will hold up as the water level rises. Would he have the chance to
come out of the situation alive?
Moon Chae Won’s portrayal of the fearful and distraught Cha Ji Won, who seems to be destabilised by her husband’s disappearance, is incredibly amazing.
Seo Hyun Woo, who portrays Kim
Moo Jin, is hilarious in his scenes. He lights up the drama with his insane
humour.
Jang Hee Jin’s brief portrayal
of Do Hae Soo is interesting. Her
reproachful look touches the heart.
Yoon Byung Hee seems to have
made Park Kyung Choon, the psychopathic taxi driver, into quite an
interesting character.
 Lee Woo Chul, portrayed by Choi
Dae Hoon, comes alive in this episode. Choi Dae Hoon’s subtle expressions are
replaced by a more animated characterisation in this episode.
Choi Young Joon has given a very
humorous portrayal of the gung-ho detective, Choi Jaesup.
The elderly Baeks, Baek Man Woo and Gong Mija, played by Song
Jong Hak and Nam Ki Ae respectively, have delivered an intriguing
performance. The frenzied and hysterical Gong Mija makes paranoid characters
more understood.
The serious atmosphere in police
station is injected with some humour. The bad mood of Yong
Sang Pil, the dour Captain of the Homicide Investigation Section,
played by Lim Chul Hyung, is expressed in a side-splitting scene. Imagine a
high-ranking officer giving a failed flying kick to his subordinate!
The main characters, the supporting characters and some who play
minor roles have contributed substantially to the making of such a splendid
episode.
DUALISM
The episode emphasizes the idea of dualism. The leading male character himself has dual identities. Baek Hee Sung, the assumed identity and his own identity, Do Hyun So. Baek Hee Sung is originally a cold character turned warm. The real Do Hyun Soo had dual personalities. His frosty, indifferent, dispassionate, aloof and glacial-cold demeanor can be likened to an iceberg. Like part of the submerged iceberg, nobody truly understands what lay deep within his heart. However, if driven to the edge and at the point of death, the volcano in him explodes. Cha Ji Won also has dual characteristics. She is a cool-headed, logical and rational homicide detective who analyses crimes and arrives at conclusions based on facts, not intuition. It really irks that she is reduced to a hysterical and whimpering mess upon imagining that her husband might be murdered. Dualism in the Homicide Dectective office. The cool and practical Captain Yong Sang Pil, the boss of the Gangsu Homicide Department loses his head and crosses the line by physically punishing Jaesup, his subordinate for his mistake; he kicks and pulls his hair. The director also reminds the viewers about dualism with certain
symbols. He compares not just the characters’ dualism but other
features of dualism.
A) The two circular taps and the two pipes in the indoor shrimping pool where Do Hyun So lay captive. B) The two red rear lights of the police car that were reflected in the fish pond. C) The two pipes that led to the rural fish pond D) The two parallel roads: the taxi driver was cruising along
one and Cha Ji Won was recklessly driving along another
Episode 5 of Flower of Evil is a Masterpiece. |
