Flower of Evil Episode 7

Some people may have some buried guilt which could have the power to mess up their life. Undeniably, Baek Hee Sung has one dark story that has come back to haunt him. It was the summer of 2005. Hee Sung was breathing heavily when he woke up in a strange room in a strange house. His head was spinning; the pain in his head was unbearable. He remembered being hit by a car. He ripped off the IV tube and tried to crawl out of bed but the cast on his leg hindered his movement and he crashed to the floor. Tottering uneasily, he hobbled with a jerk towards the staircase. While descending the flight of stairs, he noticed the the real Baek Hee Sung in the Baek family portrait.  Do Hyun Soo ended up in the bedroom of the elderly Baeks on the ground floor.  After avoiding being killed by Nam Soon Gil, his traitorous co-worker, Hyun Soo was left penniless and frazzled. The freak accident disorientated him; his instinct was to steal as much jewellery as he could to fend for himself.     Reflection. Do Hyun Soo’s avarice was caught in his relection in the dressing table mirror.   The elderly Baeks caught him by surprise. Exiting from their secret closet, Baek Man Woo, was rooted to the spot upon seeing him. There was, indeed, a skeleton in that closet. Do Hyun Soo’s loot, evidence of his sin, fell on the floor. He tried to flee but Gong Mija screamed at her husband to stop him.

 

The camera brings the viewers to the present.         Ji Won mulled over her suspicion of her husband's real identity. Marital woes. She was wondering if she had been in bed with a stranger the previous night. The viewers are given a brief glimpse of Do Hyun Soo's sexy muscular shoulders and back as Cha Ji Won undressed him. It was a night of love. He studied her face for a moment. Ji Won caught her breath. When he kissed her, his kiss was raw and demanding.   A tear fell from her closed eyelid as his lips descended on hers.             She now pondered over Hyun Soo’s sleeping form. If he could give her a reason to forgive him, she would.             Reaching out to touch him, she inadvertantlly woke him up. He realised that he was late but allowed his wife to send their daughter to kindergarten. After his traumatic experience with the unhinged taxi driver, Hyun Soo had taken a more relaxed attitude to life.         Ji Won seemed to be convinced that their lives had changed overnight since his water 'torture' by the taxi driver but he failed to understand the change in his wife. Her attitude towards him had changed out of all recognition.  She gave him a new chronograph watch gift with 2 dials to replace the 3-dial watch that he had lost. When she told him not to lose it, he did not know the motives of his devious detective wife.             The two black dials in the watch looked like two black eyes watching him. Hyun Soo's complete trust in her was now not reciprocated but he didn’t realise that things had changed. He did not realise it then but in the later part of the story, the audience is told that that his detective wife had put a Real Time GPS tracker on his watch in order to monitor his movements.           Hyun Soo made Ji Won and Eun Ha freshly-squeezed orange juice. He casually mentioned the broken lock of the basement door.         She explained that her friend needed a baby walker and because he was in the hospital, she decided to go into the basement herself to get the one that belonged to Eun Ha.         It was obvious that he didn’t believe her lie. When she walked off with Eun Ha in tow, Baek Hee Sung’s face registered distrust.        Things had fallen apart in the Baek Hee Sung-Cha Ji Won household.       Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.     W.B. Yeats The Second Coming     Do Hyun So was aware of things falling apart in his home. Kim Moo Jin had put a knife on the things that held his family together. He remembered Ji Won and himself once thought and acted like one and shared a common goal but Kim Moo Jin came into his house and broke their unity.  In order to learn more about Hee Sung’s background, Ji Won requested for a copy of her husband’s family registration details from the National Registration Department.

Kim Moo Jin was on Youtube. It seemed that the news hound was continuing to enjoy fame due to his sensational story about the serial murders. Do Hyun Soo’s name was dragged into the story. Moo Jin had uploaded a recording which revealed the voice of the accomplice in the Yeongju serial murders.  There were 1.5 million followers. Everyone in the Hanjoongan Weekly Magazine office was amazed. Kang Pi Young, his manager, was overwhelmed with happiness. Their office lines and phones were kept busy. While reading the Baek family registration details in a bus, it dawned on Ji Won that the elderly Baeks and Hyun Soo were involved in a conspiracy to deceive the public.  But, the mystery was, 'How did Do Hyun Soo become Baek Hee Sung?'  On overhearing two students talking about the voice recording that had been released by Kim Moo Jin, Ji Won herself listened to the recording.  ‘Don’t ….. You’re not the only one who saw me. I also saw you too in the red car,’ the voice threatened.     Reflection. Her surprise was reflected in bus window.       Kim Moo Jin had been launched into national television fame. From a mere reporter to being interviewed on a national news channel. Moo Jin was dressed up to the nines for his prime-time television appearance. Clothed in a suit, he looked like a professional newscaster. Unsurprisingly, although Kim Moo Jin was the interviewee, he dominated the news broadcast. The female news presenter was relegated to the background. Poor woman. He, resembling a top-notch news anchor, not only recounted the facts of the crime but also provided the voice recording of the accomplice. Jang Young Hee, the eye-witness, had reported the kidnapping of Jung Mi Sook which happened at 2:30 a.m. on 12 May 2002. Fortunately or unfortunately, Jang had accidentally hit the kidnapper’s black car with her red compact car. She approached the car and the kidnapper rolled down his window when she knocked. She apologised, and he came out and asked her for her number. She was willing to pay compensation.   Jang Young Hee, the witness did not remember the accomplice’s face. It was late at night and he was wearing a bucket hat and under the cover of darkness, it was difficult to make out his features.   Note that the accident happened at the junction of a forked road.             The two-point perspective of the beautiful shot emphasises 'A Fork in the Road' metaphor. The forked road reminds one of ‘The Road Not Taken’, a poem by Robert Frost. The poem begins with 'A Fork in the Road' metaphor.     Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.     Robert Frost The Road Not Taken     The 'Fork in the Road' metaphor symbolises a deciding moment in life or history.  The accident in the forked road was the moment that decided the life or fate of Do Hyun Soo as his name was dragged into the mud as the accomplice when his father was accused of the serial murders. Jang was drink-driving so she did not claim insurance. The kidnapper had requested for her contact information.  In a flashback, Jang was asked to write her phone number and address on his hand in case there were any claims.     When the kidnapper got back into the car, a woman tried to escape from the back of the car. She was unable to scream, and the criminal said, 'Honey, you’re drunk' and carried her into the car again. Jang memorised the licence plate number and reported the incident to the police right away.       The police interviewed Do Min Seok, the car owner but he had an alibi from his son, Do Hyun Soo.         He said that they watched a late-night movie together at the time of the crime and submitted two movie tickets as evidence.         The witness lost her credibility because of her drink-driving.           Do Hae Soo, the sister of Hyun Soo, watched the news report in a convenience store. She had lived off the radar screen for at least 14 long years.         Her fear and anxiety were reflected in the convex security mirror of the store.           Do Min Seok committed suicide. When the police investigated the incident, they found the thumb nails of the victims and their belongings in the basement of his workshop.         Right after that, Do Hyun-soo murdered the village chief and fled.   Kim Moo Jin was making a very bold and direct but unjust accusation. He had falsely accused Do Hyun Soo of murdering the village headman.  There had been no trial and the police had not proven his guilt. Do Hyun Soo should have been considered  innocent unless proven guilty. Gong Mija watched the news from her pharmacy.           If the police had investigated the case based on the suspicion of Do Hyun Soo, whose name was bandied around as the partner-in-crime, then the case would have been different.  Moreover, the witness who had been threatened by the kidnapper, retracted her statement and the police buried the case. This implied that the police were negligent. Baek Man Woo also watched the news report with keen interest.   The public were invited to listen to the criminal’s voice again.  ‘I know your job and your work. You should be careful since you have a daughter….’ The eye-witness was warned her not to park her nose in forbidden territory.          ‘…do you know the village head murder case? Do you know why he died? He should know himself….,’ the criminal continued. 'The good-for-nothing old man didn't know his place.'         By this time, Do Hae Soo was overcome with emotion. Trying to flee, she collided with a man.  But, Baek Man Woo, the CEO of a university hospital, was smirking. His wife, Mija, looked nervous. Something seemed to be wrong somewhere. Being in the medical field, he should have been sad or sympathetic. In her haste to escape, Do Hae Soo dropped the bottle she  was holding and it smashed onto the floor. In her irrational imagination, the spilled red juice spread quickly like blood on the floor.       The blood she saw was the blood on her hands and on the body of the village chief who had been murdered.

 

At home, Hyun Soo was at work. He replaced the lock of the basement door with a new one.         When he joined Ji Won in the living room, he informed her that he had locked the basement to prevent Eun Ha from entering it. But, his wife was absorbed in the evening news.         Ji Won informed him of Kim Moo Jin’s breaking news. Hyun Soo exclaimed that Kim Moo Jin was a celebrity as he was now on TV.  His wife mentioned the voice of the accomplice in the Yeongju serial murder case. Asked if he would like to listen to the voice, he declined.       Ji Won requested Hyun Soo to allocate some of his time for her the next day. It was their afternoon date.

  

When she went to bed, he went to the balcony to listen to the recording on his mobile phone. Meanwhile, the reporters of the Hanjoogan Weekly Magazine were partying in a club as a reward for themselves for producing their exclusive scoop. They were on national radar.  Moo Jin took centre-stage; he was given preferential treatment and being fawned over by his colleagues. In the midst of their celebrations, he triumphantly announced that he had more than 200,000 followers. He had become a national celebrity. Hyun Soo called to admonish him for insinuating that he, Do Hyun Soo, was the accomplice in the murder case on national television. But, Hyun Soo had showned restraint in the use of his words. It was more than insinuation, it was condemnation. He was condemned as a muderer. The was a sense of urgency in Hyun Soo’s voice. He  suggested that Moo Jin change his perspective. If Do Hyun Soo and the eye witness were both telling the truth, was it possible that an unknown third person committed the crime?             Kim Moo Jin, who was drunk with success, arrogantly told him that from then on, the case was not his to dictate but it would be investigated according to his own volition. 'Stop telling me what to do.' Every man for himself. It was his life, not Hyun Soo’s life anymore. 'Im not your servant, Punk!' Was he snickering at Hyun Soo’s helpless situation?        Hyun Soo offered to help him in his investigations.  He pleaded with his former schoolmate to trust him. But, Moo Jin browbeat him; he declared that he did not trust Hyun Soo and stressed that he was the prime suspect in the murder cases.   Hyun Soo, closing his eyes tightly, grimaced in pain. The conversation had provoked fury in Moo Jin. What really rattled him was Hyun Soo had stolen something, probably embarrassing from his apartment earlier and was holding him to ransom. It was Moo Jin’s Achilles Heel.           Furious that Hyun Soo had also locked him in the basement and threatened him, he declared war on Hyun Soo whom he would fight to death.  Fighting back was utterly impractical. Hyun Soo would not be able to withstand an all-out attack from an enraged reporter who was looking for a rematch. 'Let's see who dies first.'   Hyun Soo’s desperation was symbolised by the red brick wall of his house. Needless to say, Kim Moo Jin was another one of the challenges that he had to overcome.     Kim Moo Jin’s article on the Yeongju Serial murders had stirred up a hornet’s nest. The public are gullible if they believed his tale completely.   Pandora’s Box was now opened. Due to Kim Moo Jin’s insatiable curiosity, he had lifted the lid of ‘Pandora’s Box’ which contained many hidden secrets. Once opened, the horrible and unexpected troubles will be let loose and the lives of many people might be ruined.  Do Hyun Soo, Cha Ji Won, Baek Eun Ha, Do Hae Soo, Baek Man Woo, Gong Mija and the real Baek Hee Sung. Perhaps, Kim Moo Jin himself. And, who else? According to the myth, once Pandora opened the box, all evils escaped but, one thing was trapped before it got away. HOPE remains and it is HOPE that changes everything. There is hope for Do Hyun Soo.

 

At the police station, several high-ranking police officers were seated around a table. They were more optimistic about solving the serial murder case as they now have more evidence.  The first and second detective teams were busy with other cases and the Captain asked if Lee Woo Chul’s team would be able to take up the case. It was a forgone conclusion that the case would come under the auspices of Team 3.       Ho Joon, who was in charge of the mundane case of the theft of lettuce and pepper from a farm, was discussing his analysis with Jaesup.     Many pieces of information were put on the whiteboard. Bored with such petty crimes, the veteran detective fell asleep on the job. Such crimes were just beneath his dignity to even investigate.The mischievous Ho Joon decided to play a trick on Jaesup. Pretending that the Captain had arrived, he shouted a greeting.  Jaesup jumped up with a start. The petty theft case, which they had been investigating for two weeks, didn't have that special oomph to interest him nor test his investigative skills.       Jaesup wondered why Ji Won was not at her desk.

 

Unbeknownst to her colleagues, Ji Won was on a personal mission to dig up her husband's past. She had an appointment with a school counsellor of Do Hyun Soo’s previous school.  The counsellor disclosed that Hyun Soo, who was 10 years old had been sent for counselling for depression and aggression. In an interview with a counsellor-cum-psychiatrist, Hyun Soo was asked if he had thrown the neighbour’s dog into a well? He reluctantly admitted to his offence.

 

At Baek’s office in the hospital, Baek Man Woo was seen to be crudely cutting his nails in the presence of Do Hyun Soo. He is seen as uncouth as tending to one's personal hygiene in front of a guest was gross.   There seemed to be some secret talk between the two that could not be leaked. It seemed the two were in a conspiracy. Do Hyun Soo, who had assumed the identity of his real son, Baek Hee Sung, must have entered into some sort of agreement with Baek Man Woo.  Baek Man Woo asked a question and he himself provided the answer.  ‘What is credibility? Credibility is keeping promises even if that promise seems impractical and irrational.’  He wanted Hyun Soo to honour his promise at all costs.           Hyun Soo protested. He emphasized that he had thought Baek Man Woo would be happy that he did not, when given the chance, kill Park Kyung Choon in the hospital. Despite having solved the problem in a non-violent way, he was disappointed that the older man was incensed with him for not following instructions to the letter.             Hyun Soo seemed to be the underdog in this relationship; he was under the leash of the older man, who was exerting emotional blackmail on him. Baek Man Woo was controlling in their relationship while Hyun Soo was being controlled.  The older Baek seemed to have a killer’s instinct; he was one, not Hyun Soo, who would resort to murder to get his own way.  One wonders about his secrets as the CEO of the university hospital. A university hospital is a large research and teaching hospital attached to a medical school.     Baek Man Woo was enraged when Hyun Soo implied that he prefered killing the taxi driver but the older man kept his fury in check. He was too wily to allow his emotions to get the better of him in this situation. Instead, he diverted Hyun Soo's attention to the voice recording of the accomplice of the serial killer. Baek Man Woo demanded to know if the voice belonged to Hyun Soo.       When Hyun Soo denied that the voice was his, surprisingly, the manipulative Baek Man Woo did not believe him.         He voiced his displeasure at Hyun Soo for having renegaded on his promise to kill the crazy taxi driver.  'I don't trust you.' He couldn’t count on him to keep up with the charade.       ‘This is the consequence you face for not keeping your promise. How am I to trust you?’             Hyun Soo repeated that he thought his adoptive father would be pleased but obviously he was not. Baek Man Woo held sway over Hyun Soo and instilled feelings of fear, obligation and guilt in Hyun Soo. It was crystal clear that he wanted to protect himself in the event that Hyun Soo’s identity was unmasked. He was unceremonious about extracting a new promise from Hyun Soo.          ‘If you are in trouble and your real identity is in danger of being exposed, just flee. Go somewhere that no one can find you, for everyone’s sake.’         ‘If you can do that, then I will take care of your wife and child forever.’ Do Hyun Soo would lose his family.         Baek Man Woo wanted to avoid the worst possible scenario and Hyun Soo should understand what it meant.           Hyun Soo was hurt. He suddenly felt alone and unappreciated. It was hard on his self-esteem. He would be left without his moorings if he had to flee; it would be end of his life as Baek Hee Sung. But, swamped by guilt and obligation, he agreed. It would be pointless to edge in a word at this time.

 

Kim Moo Jin was fast asleep while at work because of exhaustion. Kang Pil Young, his manager tried to wake him up because another exclusive might be waiting for him. When he saw Do Hae Soo, he slid down the floor to hide. Moo Jin was vain. He wanted to make a good impresssion in the presence of his first love, whom he had not seen in seventeen years.

 

Ji Won had not left the counsellor’s office and was still studying another video of the very young Hyun Soo. In the video, Hyun Soo had confided to the counsellor that he wanted to kill the dog owner who was rude and made him feel sick. He was logical enough to understand that he couldn’t kill a person as it was difficult to get rid of the body.           Hyun Soo was then shown a drawing of a girl and a cat with a decapitated head. ‘Why is this kid crying? How do you think she feels?’ The thirteen-year old Hyun Soo claimed he did not know.           Ji Won asked the counsellor whether Do Hyun Soo was born with an antisocial personality disorder (ASPD).   The question was loaded. She was asking whether his traits were inherited. Did his father also have an antisocial personality disorder? The counsellor did not answer. There are about ten types of personality disorder, and antisocial personality disorder is one of them. Someone with antisocial personality disorder will typically be manipulative, deceitful and reckless, and won't care for other people's feelings.  Psychopaths are considered to have a severe form of antisocial personality disorder.       The counsellor played another video which showed Hyun Soo punching another kid. A cassette player was on the floor.        He was normally calm and quiet. But when someone touched his cassette, his mood changed.       While the very young Do Hyun Soo had some characteristics of ASPD, the mature Do Hyun Soo did not seem to fit into the ASPD profile. When Ji Won returned to the police office, she took Hyun Soo’s black bag that Nam Soon Kil’s wife had given her. Ji Won listened to the cassette tape at a private space in the police station.           Nam Soon Kil’s wife, whom Ji Won phoned, disclosed that Do Hyun Soo was obsessed with the tape recorder in the bag. The woman was at a monastery conducting Buddhist funeral rites for her husband.

 

Moo Jin and Do Hae Soo were at a stylish cafe in Seoul. They had not bumped into each other although they had lived in Seoul for so long.           He thought she had changed a lot. She used to be like the centre of an idol group, surrounded by her friends and she was always laughing happily.  She responded that her father killed seven people, so how could she not change?           He changed the subject and asked about her work. She informed him that she was recently fired from her Special Effects Makeup Artist job and he nodded awkwardly.         She suggested that they should leave as she would like to talk to him in private.

 

Hyun Soo listened to the recording again and again. The voice stated that the village chief was murdered 'because he got nosy'.        At the Chinese Restaurant, Ji Won explained that she wanted information on Do Hyun Soo. The Chinese restaurant owner, who was the Chinese cuisine sifu of Do Hyun Soo and Nam Soon Kil, obliged.  When shown the cassette player with the fish keychain attached to it, he immediately recognized it as Hyun So's property.         One incident concerning Hyun Soo stood out in his memory. His former employee, with his eyes closed, was smiling happily when listening to the cassette recorder one rainy day.         Curious, the man tried to remove one of the earpieces to listen to it. To his shock, Hyun Soo twisted his arm. The man shouted in pain but Hyun Soo demanded that he let go first.         He snapped, and threatened his employer that if he ever touched it again, he would not hesitate to break his arm.         The restaurateur explained that he would have fired him, if not for his diligence. Hyun Soo worked hard even though he was paid only $300 per month. It confirmed one's suspicions that Do Hyun Soo was cheap labour and was exploited.     The man further commented that Hyun Soo looked possessed when he listened to whatever was in the tape.       Ji Won asked for a favour. By this time, the logical and rational Ji Won had interviewed at least 3 persons who knew of Hyun Soo’s past. She learned not to trust her feminine intuitions about her husband; she had to support her theories about her husband with hard facts. She had to differentiate between fact and fiction.   1. The school counsellor-cum-psychiatrist gave details of his childhood. 2. Then, she talked to Lee, the wife of Nam Soon Kil. She had handed her Hyun Soo’s bag and the tape recorder as evidence. 3. She also discussed Hyun Soo with his former employer, the restaurateur.   Ji Won's theory about her husband’s ASPD was due to a past trauma and it was corroborated by the three people. Her husband had a history of being in the grip of an obsession with the female voice in the tape. He would be enraged. That was his Achilles Heel. She was going to exploit his apparent weakness and weaken his carefully-built self defense and he would be virtually defenceless against the onslaught of her psychological attack.

 

Young Ok, Cha Ji Won’s mother, dropped in at Gong Mija’s pharmacy. She had taken Eun Ha, her granddaughter, there because she had something urgent that she had to attend to. She intended to leave Eun Ha there for a while. Despite Mija’s protest, Young Ok left with the instructions to feed her. She would pick her up at 8 p.m. The pharmacist was riled up.  The well-behaved and obedient little girl assured her paternal grandmother that she would be doing her homework.       Mija was curious about the workbook. It was 3rd grade math but she was only in kindergarten. Eun Ha was on her way to becoming a child prodigy.       Astonished, Mija enquired if her mother compelled her to do the work in the workbook. Did she give Eun Ha a hard time if the little girl was unable to solve the maths problems? Did her mother hit her? Eun Ha replied that she liked doing it. Mija was openly upset and ripped the book up. ‘You shouldn’t do this! This will drive you and your mom crazy!’   The little girl, scared out of her wits, cried piteously.         On realising that her harsh actions had frightened the young girl, she tried to make amends. Cajoling her, she asked, ‘What do you want me to do?  Eun Ha requested for her favourite comfort food. An egg tart.   From Gong Mija's reaction, one can safely arrive at the conclusion that she was formerly an overbearing ‘Tiger Mum’ who was obsessed with her son’s success. Something terrible must have happened to the real Baek Hee Sung. However, some children, although smart, do not like the enormous pressure exerted on them. They might turn rebellious or turn their backs on their ambitious parents. Is the bleached blond hair of the real Baek Hee Sung an indication of his rebellion? People from the showbusiness circles and the artistic professions, like hairdressers or stylists, sometimes dye their hair because of the creative aspect of their work. Young people imitate their idols out of admiration for them. But, perhaps it is rare for academically high achievers to be following the latest trends as they need to be highly focussed and disciplined in such a competitive society.  Let us guess. If the real Baek Hee Sung could win so many Mathematics awards, it is an indication that he is highly academic. But, bleached hair?  Is it heredity or environment that has influenced his behaviour?  So, the question is: When, not why, did he turn rebellious?

 

At his metalcraft workshop, while listening to the recording uploaded by Kim Moo Jin, Hyun Soo was irresistibly drawn to the ‘Tick Tick Tick’ noise in the background.  Try as he could, he was unable to discern what made such a noise; he couldn’t place his finger on it.   Upon hearing Ji Won’s footsteps, he turned. Cha Ji Won had created an opportunity for herself to play 'a cat-and-mouse game' with her husband and trap him.         She had Do Hyun Soo's bag with her. She wanted to talk to her husband. Cha Ji Won, who had plenty of smarts and cunning, took real pleasure in playing her game.   She gestured to the chair as she set down the bag on the table. He glanced wearily at her. Uneasiness was brewing in his eyes. His heart must have been racing. She could tell that he was tense. Ji Won indicated that it was Do Hyun Soo’s bag. Her words were clearly aimed at the audience’s hero.   Nam Soon Gil’s wife had given it to her. His eyelid fluttered- an indication of his discomfort. When Ji Won declared that she wanted to catch Do Hyun Soo, his eyes widened. He could not stop the fidgeting of his hands. His right thumb shook uncontrollably.             Teasing him with a smile, she declared that she was catching him all by herself. The stress had ramped up; his tension was visible - his disappearing lips.  The tight lip smile that he gave her showed that he was hiding something.  Were they going to stare each other down?               She requested his insight into Do Hyun Soo’s possessions. She slowly and deliberately pulled out a Sony ROV tape recorder and a notebook and placed them on the table.  It was a painfully awkward moment for him to be analysing his own possesions.       Although Hyun Soo tried to control his emotions, his eyelid flickered momentarily.       Observing his reaction, she instructed him to take a look at the objects. At first, he did not wish to speak. Pretending to be cool, he leaned towards her. His nervousness was revealed by the movement of his hands. He touched his cheeks momentarily while casually picking up the notebook and examining it. He did not slouch. She smiled knowingly at him. Fighting back his anxiety, he smiled back.   Mr and Mrs Baek seemed to enjoy lying to each other. He had been lying to her for 14 years. Cha Ji Won was unhappy with her husband’s lies. She thought to herself, ‘I can do things like you do. I can lie to you without even blinking my eyes.’ ‘I think Do Hyun-soo is still doing his metalwork.’ The notebook had his metal art drawings. Ji Won told him that she heard he wanted to open a metalwork studio when he was working in the Chinese restaurant. People could tell he had talent.  She requested that he get the help from the metalcraft association to search for people who made similar designs.           His eyes wandered to a special metal ring on the display shelf which was an exact replica of one design from the notebook.       He smiled and closed the notebook. He said it was impossible to identify the metalcraft designer through sketches. She was not easily thwarted.               Ji Won wished to go to Do Min Seok’s house to explore the place and Do Hyun Soo's metalcraft products. Though his face was almost inscrutable, his twitching eyebrows gave him away.   Ji Won heard rumours that Do Hyun Soo stayed in the studio with his father very often and even skipped classes. Some of his artwork still remained in that studio.   He was flabbergasted that she had dug out so much information about him but his face gave nothing away.       Going with her to Do Min Seok’s house was their date. His tight smile showed that he was reluctant to go. He was fearful that the secrets that he was hiding would be revealed. However, he managed to fake a happy smile. When she walked off, his cheeks were twitching and pain struck the left side of his chest. Grabbing at his chest, he tried to calm himself and breathe normally.  According to research, psychopaths are great manipulators and are not afraid of being caught. Their façade is absolutely perfect and this aspect is likely to fool all detectives. Psychopaths use their ability to lie in order to harm others. The hallmark of psychopathy is persistent anti-social behaviour, lack of empathy and remorse. A failure to feel guilt and shame about one’s misdeeds is considered the mark of a psychopath. From the beginning, Do Hyun Soo was fearful of being caught. He seemed guilty about lying and was ashamed of his past. These traits, which are indications that he was not a psychopath, would lead him to make mistakes when he lied. Do Hyun Soo was a perfect husband, ideal father and model citizen for 14 years and he was not anti-social. It is a certainty that he was not a psychopath.

 

Mija was compelled to take Eun Ha to a cafe for an egg tart. First, she ordered the little girl to eat quickly since she couldn’t close the pharmacy for too long. The little girl nodded her head in obedience. Drawn to the cheerful and intelligent little girl, Mija was beginning to soften towards her. Then, she turned 180% around and told her grandchild that she could eat slowly.       She explained why she shredded her Math book…. Before she could finish her sentence, the little girl interrupted her, ‘I won’t tell anyone. I don’t want Dad to raise his voice at you.’             Being honest, Mija knew that she, not the calm and cold  Hyun Soo, was the one who had the habit of raising her voice. Mija seemed charmed by her cute granddaughter who was a real charmer and affectionately leaned over to wipe her cheek.

 

Hyun Soo and Ji Won drove out of the city. It was a quiet and awkward homeward bound journey for Hyun Soo. Hyun So enquired why she was working so hard. She explained if she could catch Do Hyun Soo, she would be promoted and she would be made for life.         Shocked, he didn’t expect that she was that ambitious. But, she was disarmingly frank. If the opportunity arose, she had to grab it.  They both smiled at each other but Hyun Soo grew more anxious by the minute.          Moo Jin took Do Hae Soo to his apartment as that was the only quiet place where they could talk.           He wanted to get her something to eat but she was not hungry. He offered her Argentinian wine.       His nervousness in her presence was all evident. He was not listening and offers her the wine. He told her that actually, all these years, she was not far from his thoughts.    ‘I think you’re the biggest victim because of your father and Do Hyun-soo. You are a normal person. I have no prejudice against you. What I said when we broke up, it wasn’t true.’ She drank the entire glass of wine and she quickly wiped her lips with the back of her hand.           She walked up resolutely to him and swore to him that the voice in the recording did not belong to Hyun Soo.         She confessed that she killed the village chief but Kim Moo Jin was unconvinced.         Night had already fallen when Hyung Soo and Ji Won drove up the road leading to his dilapidated family house. The road was lined with trees and overgrown with shrubs and tall grass.           Ji Won thought to herself, 'If I go in there, I feel like I won’t be able to come out.’ She was going to knock him of his moorings but what would be the outcome?           She strode to the entrance while he lagged behind. He plodded along and paused when he saw a cut in the trunk of a tree.             A flashback sends the viewer back to when Do Hae Soo and Do Hyun Soo were young children. Pulling him to that particular tree that Do Hae Soo had made a mark, she promised him, ‘If you grow this much then, I will find mom for you.’         Do Min Seok, their father, ordered Hyun Soo to follow him into the house. She grabbed her brother’s hand and advised him that no matter what it was, he should be compliant and agree to their father’s demands. It seemed that their authoritarian father was intolerant of insubordination. His defiance would lead him to be punished in the basement. He would be made to write the ‘Myeongsim Bogam’ as punishment. The question is: 'Was Hyun Soo locked up in the basement or in the cage in the basement?' Myeongsim-bogam (Scroll for Brightening Your Mind) is a translation of the  Mingxin Baojian, an ancient Chinese book containing ‘a collection of aphorisms and quotations from the Chinese classics and other works’. Parents, in general, would do anything they can to prevent their child from following a path of ruin. But, if Do Min Seok was a serial killer, it would be ironic of him to demand that his son copy aphorisms and quotations relating to good virtues. Locking his son up in the basement showed that he had mental issues. Hyun Soo was lost in his memories of his childhood. Poised on the cusp of being unmasked by his wife, Hyun Soo would soon plunge into misery. They approached his biological father’s derelict house.          When they found that the front door was locked with a metal padlock, the determined detective opened a front window. She climbed inside and he reluctantly followed her.   She shone her flashlight all around his father’s workshop and then focussed on the metal work products. Ji Won picked up a little metal turtle and asked her husband if he thought if Do Hyun Soo made it. Was it his signature style?         Hyun Soo was not rattled by his inquistive wife. He studied it and confidently commented that it was not good. It was not carved directly on metal but made from a mould.         Ji Won pointed out that the place that actually piqued her interest was the crime scene. She was intent on going to the basement. It was totally unexpected. One is reminded of the poem, The Spider and the Fly by Mary Botham Howitt.  Cha Ji Won was the Spider and Do Hyun Soo was the Fly and Ji Won was luring her husband into the spider’s web, that is the basement.           Hyun Soo wanted to know why she wanted to go there. Her answer was not direct. She told him to stay in the car if he wasn’t uncomfortable; she would go down by herself.         When he took her flashlight and led the way, she checked her gun which was holstered under her jacket. This showed distrust on her part. Her trust in him had deteriorated. Was she expecting him to turn into an 'ogre'? The viewer is now fully aware that things had really fallen apart. Trust seemed to have shattered into many pieces.   It seemed the metalcraft artist was an unwilling partner and didn’t want to be a party to the game that his wife was playing. What he had not anticipated was, a very cruel mental and psychological game was waiting for him. The Flight of Stairs. He plodded down the flight of steps. It was as if it was his descent from Heaven to Hell. When he saw the cage, some ugly memories were stirred.  He covered his nose with his arm. It was the stench of blood.         Ji Won stated that it was difficult to remove the smell of blood without hydrogen peroxide.         She smiled at him but he looked away and descended the staircase. Her non-verbal cues, like smiling at him, her eye contact and her confidence eroded his own self-confidence and created self-doubt in Hyun Soo.  The arched window, which allowed a steady stream of moonlight into the basement, resembled an eye studying them.   The grills of the cage were festooned with cobwebs.  Do Hyun Soo was like a Fly that would soon be trapped in the web of the spider, Cha Ji Won. The audience is given a view of the cage and the thin dog collar which may be used for humans or animals. But, it was certainly not the type that the serial killer was rumoured to have used.   It was not the Hound Dog brand. Did it indicate that Do Min Seok was not the serial killer? Gauging that it was about the right time, she pulled out the Sony VOR and played the tape recording that caused Do Hyun Soo so much pain and suffering.  Ji Won studied his face closely.       Closing his eyes for a moment, he suddenly realised the familiar hum. His eyes flew open in surprise. For a brief moment, they looked totally distraught. He steeled himself against an open show of any emotion. Breathing heavily, he forced a smile.  Ji Won taunted, ‘What does this voice sound like? It sounds sad to me. I feel like this person is crying.’         Ji Won was pushing him off the edge. She was unleashing the terrors that had gripped him from his childhood until the time Nam Soon Kil tried to kill him. He never tried to retrieve his Sony tape recorder and other belongings from the murderous co-worker.   ‘Why are you playing it though?’ he cautiously queried. It was the tape recorder from Do Hyun Soo's bag. But, why was she playing the tape recorder now? It was clear to him that she suspected him.  It seemed he was trying to hold back his tears. Was it a lullaby? He slowly turned to her and tried to decipher her thoughts.   Cha Ji Won was being brutal when she explained that the song was the trigger for the usually calm and quiet Do Hyun Soo; he might suddenly explode like a maniac.       Hyun Soo clenched his teeth. He would not be able to stomach the sad tormented humming of the female voice. His face was inscrutable but his eyes were tortured but tears were welling in his eyes. The humming sounds had touched a raw nerve. The eye, which was watching Cha Ji Won, seemed surprised at her heartlessness.     The tormentor and the tormented. The torturer and the tortured. Ji Won purposely subjected him to mental and psychological torture.   She was convinced it was taped in the basement, a very dark dungeon.         She put it on top of an old cupboard and the tape kept running. It upset and agitated him.  Was he going to be exposed?         ‘When did Do Min Seok start killing people? I can’t even imagine it. You never know, maybe he made his young son deliver food to the people who were trapped here.’           At this point, Hyun Soo felt suffocated. He averted his eyes; he wanted to leave.       But. Ji Won continued to provoke Hyun Soo. ‘I think Do Hyun Soo was thinking about what he did while he was listening to this song. Very vividly. It should be a sweet time for him so he became crazy when he was interrupted.’ Hyun Soo’s mind was in great turmoil. His face was twitching. He stated clearly, ‘I want to leave.’ Cha Ji Won’s ulterior motives had become clear to him. The normally cold and detached Hyun Soo was choked with fear. He was psychologically manipulated by his smug and savvy detective wife. His face twitched. He had bottled up his emotions for so long that when his façade was threatened, he realised he couldn’t suppress his feelings; he was trembling all over. Hyun Soo’s soul was about to be torn apart; he was trying, against his will, to control the emotions that were forming within him. He was trembling. There seemed to be tiny tremors emanating from his legs. His pants was quivering. His hand was trembling; the light from the torchlight seemed to shiver. It was another side of him that Ji Won had not seen. Truth be told, Hyun Soo was shaking like a leaf. He tried to keep his emotions in check but it was obvious that he was facing a tremendous struggle.  It seemed that there was really no limit when it comes to taunting Hyun Soo.  Ji Won pretended, ‘Why isn’t he coming? He should have been here by now,’ she mentally tortured him.     Hyun Soo enquired anxiously, ‘Is someone supposed to come?’ It was pure torture for him. When told that it was the Chinese restaurant owner whom Do Hyun Soo had worked for, his eyes dilated in horror at the prospect of meeting his former employer. He was on razor’s edge.     The restauranteur had things in his possession that Do Hyun Soo made at home. He said he would come all the way here to deliver them to Ji Won.  What it meant was he would be able to recognise Do Hyun Soo immediately. Hyun Soo’s mask would be torn away.     Do Hyun Do as trying to suppress his fear. He would be cruxified. His face twitched. Apparently, he was shaking. He seemed to be losing his mind. After the water torture by Park Kyung Choon, now Cha Ji Won was subjecting him to mental and psychological torture. The tables had been turned against him. Not too long ago, he had subjected Kim Moo Jin to some psychological torture. Now he was at the mercy of his detective wife who was determined to bring Do Hyun Soo out of his mask. She certainly knew 'The Art of Mental and Psychological Torture'. Was she not worried that Hyun Soo’s mind and life would splinter into pieces? Would her husband transform into the violent and rampaging Hyun Soo when subjected to extreme emotional stress? Was she trying to reduce him to rubble and pushing him over the edge? The duplicity of human nature. She wanted to bring out his second nature; she wanted him to stop lying to her and revert to his own identity, at least in her presence. Trust had disintegrated.   It was now a power game. They seemed to be strangers. Her aggressive behaviour made her superior. Hyun So was unnerved and disconcerted; he swallowed hard. There were tears in his eyes.  Her phone rang. ‘That must be him.’ Walking to the side, she answered the call. ‘Are you here?’ She told the restauranteur to go to the entrance and he would see her car.   Hyun Soo had eventually figured his wife out. He learnt that Ji Won was relentless when she aimed at skewering him; her target was to incite him to purge all his past and lay his defenceless self at her feet. It was emotionally and mentally stressful for him. He was about to fall to the ground with abject horror. The formidable detective had him in the palm of her hands. As expected, the psychological test she was putting him through was working perfectly; her efforts had paid off handsomely. The room grew tense. But, was she stepping into a minefield?           Ji Won wondered if Do Hyun Soo, would show his real self to her. She was silently stringing words in her brain, ‘What you choose today will determine our future.’       Perhaps, she was worried that he would turn against her. Studying the changes in his face, she slowly reached for her gun. He looked reproachfully at her; his hands were shaking so badly that he dropped the torchlight.     The room was in darkness save for the light shining through the arched glass window. A steady stream of moon light illuminated the basement.        Hyun Soo advanced unsteadily towards her; his gait was shuffling. He seemed possessed. She began to grow alarmed when she realised what she had done.      He looked so wretched that the audience sympathise with him. A rhythmic shaking affected almost all parts of his body. Was the psychopath growing in him? He pushed her against the wall.         Ji Won instinctively reached for her gun. Her finger was on the trigger. He thrust out his hand. As he murmured, he seemed to have reached for her neck. He was swaying; his eyes were welling with tears. It looked as if he wanted to strangle her.  'I can't breathe.' Then, he fell to the floor with a thud.         Ji Won had gone too far. The trip to his house was to compel him to revisit his childhood trauma. Her psychological game had been taken to the extreme.           Hyun Soo complained of not being able to breathe. He seemed to be overcome by a panic attack. What if it ended in his mental breakdown? Ji Won decided her little game would end. The spider failed to trap the fly in her web.   * My apologies to the  director, cinematographer & lighting director for using the correction tool to sharpen and lighten the images.

 

In the car, he was back to normal. He really didn’t like the smell of blood. His wife looked concerned. Ji Won wondered if she had pushed him too much. But, then, she rationalised that he had lied to her for the last fourteen years. She admonished herself for being weak.         The restauranteur was at the Buddhist temple. He was there to pray for the deceased Nam Soon Kil. He enquired if Detective Cha Ji Won had arrived. Nam’s wife was surprised at his question. He stated that they had promised to meet up at the place.       Ji Won gave him the excuse that her husband had fallen ill all of a sudden so they were going back to Seoul.   Ji Won had not only lied to Hyun Soo but went all out to manipulate him. Hyun Soo was worn out and miserable. He tried to persuade her not to pursue such a dangerous serial murderer. Her response aroused fear in him. She wanted to catch Do Hyun Soo because a dangerous person like him should not be allowed to live so freely.       While in bed that night, he thought about what his adoptive father had demanded of him. If there was a threat that his real identity might be exposed, he had to leave.  ‘Go some place where no one can find you. That’s the best for everyone.’       He gazed at his wife and then slipped out of the house. Unbeknownst to him,    Ji Won was awake.       Kim Moo Jin was ruminating over Do Hae Soo’s words.       ‘I know you were hurt. You liked our family a lot. You trusted my father and followed him a lot. You were the only one who talked to Hyun Soo at school. And no one liked me more than you.’         Moo Jin had told her to stop but she continued. ‘You were eighteen and you were confused. No one paid attention to you and no one apologized to you. It is late but I want to apologize. I’m sorry. But Hyun Soo is not the one you should be angry with. He did not do anything. I did it. I killed the man. That’s breaking news, right?’ Moo Jin was stunned.           ‘So please, just stop giving my Hyun Soo such a hard time!’ Tears dripped down her eyes. The doorbell rang. Hyun Soo had interrupted his thoughts.   Hyun Soo had been driven to the edge by his wife. He begged Moo Jin to find Do Hae Soo, his sister.  Hyun Soo pulled out the tape that he had stolen from Moo Jin which he had intended to blackmail him  with it.       Hyun Soo requested the other man to help him catch the accomplice of his father. The camera zeroes in on his watch. The two black dials looked like two eyes watching him.   What he had failed to learn in his delicate situation was his detective wife could track him down using the Real Time GPS tracker that she had secretly installed in his watch. And, his wife, who was above all suspicion, had managed to ask the technician to do it.       Cha Ji Won had perhaps joined some of the dots and realised that her husband was innocent of the crimes that he had been accused of.

 

Episode 7 of Flower of Evil, like the preceding episodes, should be awarded a perfect Ten (10 / 10). The globally popular drama is a masterpiece. It is impossible not to notice the huge effort put in by the Flower of Evil dream team to make the drama a internationally recognised drama.  The performance of the leading actor and the leading actress, Lee Joon Gi and Moon Chae Won is absolutely awesome. The other two main actors, Seo Hyun Woo and Jang Hee Jin, are also impressive. Yoo Jung Hee, the script writer; Kim Cheol Kyu, the director; the cinematographer; the lighting director, the editing team, the producer and the rest of the team must be lauded for the ‘Thriller-Suspense-Melodrama’ which not only thrill but also tug at the heart.   Lee Joon Gi’s best scene in Episode 7 is the one when Do Hyun Soo and Cha Ji Won descend to the basement of the derelict Do family home. Lee proves his wonderful versatility. His serious portrayal of Hyun Soo is not without the occasional touch of humour. At first, he is amused with their planned ‘date’ but he does not expect that Cha Ji Won would toy with his emotions. She has stripped him off his veneer of confidence and his eyes well up with tears. He is nearly unmasked. The naked vulnerability of Do Hyun So has won the sympathy of the audience. Lee Joon Gi’s micro expressions and non-verbal communication offer the audience the best window into his amazing acting skills.  To say that Lee Joon Gi has caught the imagination of drama viewers would be an understatement. There are countless articles not only in South Korea but elsewhere around the globe that exalt Lee’s sterling performance in his latest drama, Flower of Evil. Lee's performance has continued to inspire respect and awe among local and international critics, the media, writers and viewers alike.         Moon Chae Won’s portrayal of Cha Ji Won, the harsh and merciless detective who hopes her husband would crack under pressure and reveal his real self, is amazing.           The suspense created by their performance has made the audience anxious about the helpless Do Hyun Soo. If he was unmasked, his mind might collapse. Cha Ji Won has been playing such a dangerous and cruel game with her husband.   Seo Hyun Woo, as Kim Moo Jin, is excellent. He provides comic relief and the audience absolutely enjoy his humour.       Lee Joon Gi’s scene with Son Jong Hak is also captivating. One also loves Nam Ki Ae’s (Gong Mija) scene with Jung Seo Yeon (Baek Eun Ha).         The lead, main or supporting actors flesh out their characters amazingly.  The marvellous songs either enliven the atmosphere or tug at one's heartstrings. None is disappointed with Episode 7. Many have noted the fine details and the preparatory work for the masterpiece. The fast-paced Flower of Evil is excellently written, directed, performed, filmed and produced.