I’m breaking up my random notes in two installments.
Second half here: He’s Psychometric: Ep 5 Notes continued
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1. Dec 3, 2005 Timeline
I want things organized in my head. But it’s beginning to be difficult to keep track of the sequence of events because the director replays the same night while adding more details at each flashback. Oh dear! I’m feeling the “Memories of the Alhambra” post-traumatic stress symptoms. lol.
From Episode 1:
The story opens at 7:15 pm at Yungsung Apartment. Three ahjummas from the Homeowners’ Association scold the security guard for distributing flyers without approval. Then a man wheels in a suitcase and a woman exits the building, trying to avoid him.
Lee Ahn drops his candy on the way to the elevator at 19:21:33 (7:21:33 pm).
Two minutes earlier at 19:19:00, the murderer is staging the murder scene (7:19 pm).
From Episode 4:
The story begins at 6:15 pm, one hour before the Yungsung Apartment incident. Jaein is drawing beside her father in the guard house. He bids her goodbye to distribute flyer. But three ahjummas see him.
I’m typing the heated dialogue between Jaein’s dad and the head of the Homeowners’ Association in case it becomes important later on.
Ahjumma: You can’t hand these out without the owners’ consent.
Dad: No matter how many times I tell the residents to stop blocking the fire truck routes, they don’t cooperate.
Ahjumma: Are you advertising the fact that our complex has lousy parking? We don’t pay your salary out of our own pockets so that you can intentionally lower the prices of our apartments.
Dad: I’m doing this to get my pay’s worth. I’ve done everything I can, checking the fire protection system but the fire safety awareness if particularly a mess.
Ahjumma: A mess? Who said that?
Dad: Madam, you may receive bribes behind closed doors in this line of work and you may turn a blind eye here and there. But you can’t turn a blind eye to the residents’ safety.
Ahjumma: Wait, wait, wait. What did you say? Bribes? Wow I’m gonna go crazy. You must crazy. No, no. I must be the crazy one. I was told that you were trustworthy because you used to be a firefighter. I was clearly crazy for believing it.
Dad: That’s not what I meant. (I think the Ahjumma misconstrued the Dad. She thought that the Dad was asking to be bribed and he’d stop making an fuss about fire safety in the apartment complex.)
Ahjumma: Mister, as of today, you’re fired.
Dad: What?
Ahjumma: (looking inside the security guard’s little station) My gosh. What a mess. Isn’t this your workplace? How could you bring a child here?
Dad: She came to me because it was almost time for me to get off work.
Ahjumma: That’s enough. You’re fired immediately.
From Episode 5:
The three ahjummas drop by Sungmo’s apartment at 18:20 (6:20 pm).
As I said in my previous post, He’s Psychometric: Episode 4 Random Notes, I don’t know if there’s any significance in the room numbers. But it’s good to keep in mind the room numbers in mind now that we know from Episode 5 that Young SungMo and his mother’s apartment was #701.
Just like the fire in the nursing home originally started in #701.
But we still don’t know where SungMo hid when the murderer went to the apartment and found it empty.
From Episode 6:
After young Sungmo looks outside his peephole and sees the man, he tells his mom to follow exactly what he tells her to do. The time is 18:25 (6:25 pm). I’m assuming that, once the killer finds that the Sungmo and his mother fled the apartment, he goes next door to #702 instead, kills the three ahjummas, and dumps the extra dead body which he’d previously packed in the suitcase.
Interesting to note: the killer has a few copies of the flyer Jaein’s dad was posting around the premises. The flyer informs the building residents to “Keep roads clear for firetrucks.”
2. Dec 11, 2005 events
From Episode 2: Young Lee Ahn is given his family’s effects at the police station by JiSoo’s father. He encounters young Jaein who went to the police station to watch her father being brought in. She leaves a shoe behind which Lee Ahn picks up. Lee Ahn offers her candy.
The story of their first encounter continues on in Episode 3.
From Episode 3: Young Lee Ahn and Jaein talk to each other outside the walls of the police station. When Sungmo arrives to pick up Lee Ahn, Jaein suddenly disappears. Sungmo sees her hiding behind the wall but doesn’t call her. This leads the viewers to assume that they don’t know each other.
However, after Episode 5, in the preview of Ep 6, it’s revealed that Young Jaein knew Young Sungmo (unless this is a dream sequence or something, lol).
3. The meaning of the candy
I’m still not sure yet what the candy means. But both the young Lee Ahn and young Jaein had the same brand of candy when they were young.
Young Jaein at her dad’s workplace.
For now, I’m toying with a few ideas, like:
– Eat candy and your wish will be granted?
From Episode 1. Young Lee Ahn whines for puppy for his birthday. Mom asks him if he’s going to be responsible for it, “Are you going to clean after it? Feed it?” Dad responds, “no” but Lee Ahn keeps saying that he will. Mom relents when he says that he wants a younger brother in lieu of a puppy. Dad gives him a candy.
– Dropping the candy portends to death?
From Episode 1. Candy falls out of his mouth before the fire.
From Episode 5. As Lee Ahn is stabbed, the can of candy drops and the candies cascade from her desk.
– She’s been rejecting his offer of a candy?
From Episode 3. When they first meet, he offers her candy. Then when she asks him for help to release dad, he offers candy again which she refuses.
Jaein: Is your dad a police?
Ahn: Mmm.
Jaein: Then can you ask him to release my dad? Our dad really isn’t the bad guy.
Ahn: Do you want a piece of candy?
Jaein: Not candy. Your dad. I mean, I was talking about my dad.
Midway through Episode 3, after Ahn foils their math teacher’s plot to harm Jaein, Ahn hands her a can of the candy, “This.” and time stands still. It’s unclear whether she accepts the candy or not.
When she runs away and Ahn investigates her house, he sees her photograph and realizes it was the same girl. Beside the photograph which she left behind, there’s a can of the candy being used as a flower vase.
4. The Case of the Dented Car
This is a touching scene. It shows Lee Ahn’s ability to empathize with the child. He’s able to explain to the child, at the child’s level of understanding, why it’s important not to cling to bad feelings. Lee Ahn’s explanation is much simpler than his Hyung’s scientific information on noradrenaline.
“I get that you were angry. But if you damage someone’s belongings, it’ll only hurt your mom, the person you want to protect. That woman was really horrid, so I considered keeping it a secret. But if I did that, the memory would stay in your head and follow your around messing with you. Do you want to keep a bad secret from your mom? (Child shakes her head.) Right?”
Moreover, Lee Ahn is unconsciously describing his Hyung’s current state of mind. If my suspicion is correct that the Hyung is hiding his mother and covering up the truth about the fire, then the Hyung’s secret is haunting and messing with him. He’s been popping pills after his discovery that the HanMin Nursing Home fire is linked to the YungSung Apartment fire.
5. Avoidance, physical and emotional
Yes, even after two years, it’s obvious that Lee Ahn still doesn’t want to touch things.
That’s why he stopped Jaein from falling by blocking her with his back, instead of catching her with his hands.
I like how he ascertains that she’s okay before telling off the two fighting ladies that they accosted an officer.
That why he also jams the elevator door with his elbow instead of stopping it with his hand.
That’s why he still wears long sleeves after all these years. (From Ep 4)
However, on his birthday, Sungmo lectures him about not avoiding touching things, if he wants to beat crime. According to Sungmo, his ability will only improve if he if he starts using it.
It’s also important for us to see that Sungmo told the same thing to Jaein the previous night when he dropped by at her police station. He told Jaein, “No matter how much you want to avoid it, I believe that fate will always make certain events happen and certain people meet.”
He added that “instead of avoiding who you’ll run into anyway, you should think of how to handle.
To Lee Ahn, of course, his Hyung’s advice sounded pedantic. The less complicated way of saying it was “not to run away.”
We can see here how the sketch of a marionettist applies to SungMo. He admonishes them not to avoid contact, whether physically, like in the case of Lee Ahn or emotionally, like with Jaein. He’s guiding them to move closer and to help each other.
6. Visiting the trees/memorial sites
I like what Lee Ahn says to SungMo’s mother. “Have you been well? You must have seen him from above, but SungMo’s doing good. He lacks social skills but he’s great at his work. He’s clumsy at expressing his emotions. He hardly has any sense of humor. But he’s got a high-paying job and a house, too. So he might be able to get married.”
Sungmo interrupts him, “Is that a compliment?” Here, I think he’s asking Lee Ahn whether he should consider it as a compliment or an insult that his money and material possessions are the only reasons a girl would like to marry him.
Lee Ahn continues, “You must be aware that he saved my life. It’s also him who got me back on track when I was lost. So I’m going to protect him from now on.
I’m only a jobless test-taker who can’t even support myself now but I’ll make sure I return the flavor until my last day.
Sungmo corrects him saying, “You mean the favor.”
It’s cute that Lee Ahn wrote this line on his palm to help him memorize it. It tells me that he prepared for the event and wasn’t just winging it. Of course, despite his best intention, he still fails to remember the right word, of course.
As they leave the tree memorial, Lee Ahn remembers what Unnie Jisoo about his Hyung being the only person he couldn’t read, meaning that Hyung’s mind is closed off. Jisoo concludes, “That must make it lonely for him”.
It’s endearing that Lee Ahn sees himself as his Hyung’s protector who’ll always follow him to keep him safe. When his Hyung rouses him from reverie, he says, “Wait up. Wherever you go, I’ll follow.”
Now, I’m going to call your attention to the cinematography here and I’ll tell you why the visual of this scene worked for me.
On the left side, we have Sungmo walking and on the right side, there’s Lee Ahn. Sungmo is walking sedately with his hands in his pockets. In contrast, Lee Ahn is skipping beside him. He’s animated. His arms are swinging. He’s walking on the sunny side of the path while Sungmo is walks on the shaded side. They look like an odd, mismatched couple who’s nevertheless happy to be in each other’s company.
And the landscape mirrors them. If you look closely, the trees lining the path aren’t the same. The trees on Sungmo’s side aren’t the same big, solid tree trunks on Lee Ahn’s side. There are more branches in Lee Ahn’s trees although they lack the green leaves on Sungmo’s trees. There are fewer trees on the left side than on the right. If I were the head gardener here, the asymmetry would have forced me to plant more trees on the left side because I wouldn’t want the canopy of trees to be lopsided.
To me the sturdy trees on Lee Ahn’s side match his character. Although he lost his parents at a young age, he had a solid, happy childhood. As he said earlier, his connection with his parents needs no words. He isn’t mature yet but he’s growing in the right direction as guided by his Hyung. But unlike his Hyung, he isn’t guilt-ridden nor conscience-stricken. That’s why I think the trees on Sungmo’s side exhibit his personality best. He’s thriving but he keeps people and his memories and emotions at bay. He’s like that tight cluster of trees. 🙂
So there you go. This is one instance where I thought the cinematographer subtly and skillfully conveyed the ideas of the story.
Not sure if you’ve seen Ep 6. That scene in the Preview between young SM and young JI never eventuated? I am sure I would’ve seen it. I was waiting for it because I wanted to know how they met when earlier. That annoyed me. 🙄
Yeah I am not sure about the candy… The red I got when LA was stabbed and the candy rolled down into the shoe that LA gave her? But the others I am not sure. It’s featured so often it has to mean something…
I believe SM orchestrated hiding his mother. He was the cool headed one in their relationship. He told her to do exactly as he said – don’t ask me how he caught on that the father was onto them and their cover was blown?? That led to her packing her bag, heading down the stairs, catching sight of the father wheeling the suitcase into the building. That threw question marks for me too… Why would he bring a body to them?? He obviously was looking for them – he headed to 701 first, found the apartment emptied, then went next door to 702 and killed the ladies and included the body in the mix. Was he bringing the body to them like a cat brings its prey to the owner? I found that odd. Also on second viewing, I noted that JI’s dad’s jacket which he had draped over her before he headed up to put up flyers again had disappeared when she woke up from the explosion. JiSoo’s father had mentioned that the accused (JI’s dad) had the victims’ blood all over his clothes (jacket). So when SM’s dad stopped at the guardhouse and saw the sleeping JI, he smiled? He took the jacket and wore it. That’s why the mean lady in 702 opened the door to him. She would’ve looked through the peep hole, seen the jacket and assumed it was JI’s dad coming up to apologize. That was why her greeting was, “What is it Mister? What do you have to say to me?” So when he killed everyone, their blood was on JI’s dad’s jacket, which was probably left at the scene? To be discovered later incriminating JI’s dad. Where was SM when all the killing transpired? He was still on the 7th floor because he was walking from it after the explosion and his ankle was grabbed.
I believe SM also orchestrated hiding his mom the second time. JiSoo’s dad the Police Chief commended him on finding the witness (insurance guy who was killed) so soon after the fire. He was probably sent there by SM to get her out and stash her away in the new place because again he knew his dad was onto her again?
I won’t spoil you with Ep 6 stuff yet. I am liking this drama 🙂. It’s not just the story that grips me, the interactions between the motley bunch of characters is refreshing. All quirky and broken yet believable and endearing in their own way.
Last prop – birds in cages. In the apartment when SM answers the door to the mean lady’s knocking, there’s a little bird cage with 2 fake birds. In the new apartment, SM’s room has a bird cage with just the single budgie (bird). Mother bird is sort of free but not him?
wow, how you can captured all the details from the drama gave us is mind blowing, i could never think that far about how the trees is symbolizing each of their character.. damn i love how your mind’s work..
I am really enjoying your analysis. I do have something to add though, it’s pure speculation. You mentioned SungMo taking pills. I don’t think we can take this for granted. Remember the Noradrenaline scene? What if he is taking the pills to keep his levels low. Or possibly they are psych meds to deal with his childhood issues, and have the effect of warding him from Ahn’s ability. Also, while all colors of candies were present, only the red ones fell when he was stabbed.
2 – I didn’t see that scene at the credits where you posted that Hyung and JaeIn knows each other when they were young.
3 – I will go with the candy portends to accident/death. It’s weird that the scene where LA gave JaeIn a candy after the maths teacher’s incident was cut off like that.
4 – Agree! I liked that scene with the young girl. LA’s explanation was simple and so she understood straight away that what she did was a bad thing and that it will affect her Mother the most.
6 – Wow! That’s an awesome analysis on that particular shot of cinematography. I love it. 🙂 I liked how LA paid his respect to Hyung’s supposed Mother in that scene. He really does love his brother.
2. Hmmm. Yes, I wonder what happened to that short preview of young Jaein and young Hyung talking to each other. Was it deleted?
I hope they’re NOT revising script at the last minute to raise viewership. 🤔 I noticed that there were gratuitous body shots of the Lee Ahn actor this week: episode 5, when his best friend opened the curtain and he was changing shirt, then episode 6, when pulled up his shirt to show Hyung his stab wound. 😜 lol. He was wearing Calvin Klein undies.
Anyway, back to that deleted scene. I watched Ep 1 when young Sungmo and young Lee Ahn landed on the car, and the camera showed young Jason’s reaction. I think young Sungmo and young Jaein do know each other. It would explain why she hid from Sungmo when he came to pick up Lee Ahn at the police station. She was embarrassed bec her father was accused of being the arsonist and killer.
We’ll see if they’ll include that deleted scene in Ep 7 instead.
Oh that would explain why she hid behind the police station gate when she saw Hyung.
Also, not sure which post but you said that JaeIn doesn’t know that LA’s parents died at the fire. She does know because he told her when they were talking outside the police station. LA even pointed at the sky. So maybe the six candles were for the 4 ladies and LA’s parents. Just my take on it.
Oh alright, I didn’t want to mention it but I did noticed the nice gratuitous body shots of LA 😂 that’s all I’m going to say 😆
Oh my gosh! Just saw some released stills from the show and it looks like there will be a kiss scene! 😆 I spoke too soon! 😂
Waaa! They look good together! ☺️
A kiss!!! 🤣 This is so like you to be on the lookout for a kiss! You keep it real, @agdr03. 👍👍
We’ve got our priorities straight here!
I also want to see a BTS. I wonder if the actress will get all shy and flustered when they kiss. I wonder is the actor will take the lead. I wonder if there’s any awkward moment after the kiss. I wonder about so many things.
No, I don’t think Jaein knows that LA’s parents died during fire.
Remember? She didn’t recognize who LA was when they met in high school. It was LA who first discovered her identity when he saw her picture when she was little.
Then the death anniversary came and she lit the candles. She lit the candles without sparing a thought for LA. If she knew his parents died bec of the fire, she would have apologized profusely when they met up later that day (bec it was the death anniversary). Instead, she even rejected the Hyung’s request to help develop LA’s talent.
When they met up later that day behind the police tape, LA mentioned that they met when they were children but she said she couldn’t remember anything about that day. She wouldn’t be able to recollect him, as a child, pointing that his father was up in heaven.
So until now, she still doesn’t know how the fire tied her to Lee Ahn. Neither does Lee Ahn. Only Sungmo knows everything. 😂
Hmm, I’m talking about that scene outside the police station when JaeIn asked if LA’s Dad would get her Father out of prison because his Dad is a policeman too. That’s when LA said that his Dad, Mom and other people died at the fire. I’ll watch it again so I can be sure.
But when she said to LA that she can’t recall meeting with him as a child, that’s right maybe because they did meet only once and after her Dad being in prison and everything that’s happened, she just doesn’t remember him.
You’re right that she didn’t recognised LA at all and it was only LA that told her they met when they were still young.
Unless I got dyslexic in reading the subs? 😂 But I think JaeIn just forgot about their conversation.
I think it was the kiss that’s following me 😂 either that or I was quick to notice that it was a still cut for the show 😂
Anyway we’re happy 😁 The comments there were ‘it better not be a dream sequence or I’ll sue them’ 🤷♀️😂
From the looks of it she wasn’t particularly shy, meaning she’s keen. I hope it’s a good kiss because it will be their first! 😆
I wonder about their kiss. 😂
Yes, young Lee Ahn told young Jaein that there was a fire in his apartment and his mom, dad and other people died in the apartment. Young Jaein’s eyes widened to signify that she made the connection: she and the boy were linked by the fire.
However, the grown-up Jaein forgot about it. 🤔 Wellll, she could be lying when she told Lee Ahn that she couldn’t remember meeting him as a child. But for now, I’m choosing to believe her when she said she couldn’t remember.
So if she couldn’t remember their conversation, then she still wouldn’t know (in the present time) that young Lee Ahn had told her about his parents dying in the fire her father “caused.”
The grown-up Lee Ahn didn’t recount the part about his parents dying in the fire. He only told her that they met as kids and she’d asked for his help. He didn’t repeat his whole story. 🙂
This is like Memories of the Alhambra with the repeated flashbacks. Since each time the flashback was played, there was new info added, it became progressively harder for me to remember exactly what happened when unless I made notes.
Ep 1’s flashback tells us about how young Lee Ahn lost his parents.
Ep 2’s flashback is when young LA had his first paychometric experience. Jisoo’s dad handed him his box. Young Jaein lost her shoe as she ran to watch dad being brought to the police station, and young LA gave her the yellow candy.
Ep 3’s flashback is when young LA pointed at the sky and told her that the fire killed his parents. That was their first meeting.
Ep 4 is when her father was confronted by the ahjummas and she fell asleep in the guardhouse while waiting for dad.
Ep 5 is when the ahjummas knocked on Sungmo’s door and the stalker finding them.
Ep 6 is when Sungmo took action to get mom out of the stalker’s way.
I expect we’ll get the flashbacks from Jisoo’s point of view soon 😜 to round things out.
So the scene was there yes? I wasn’t dyslexic? 😬
JaeIn is the same age as LA right? So she was only 8 at the time of the fire. I believe her too when she said she doesn’t remember. She’s like Sungmo that locked that memory away because otherwise she would be so remorseful to LA about his parents.
So yes, that works, she can’t remember that conversation so she doesn’t connect LA’s parents to her Dad and true, LA didn’t recount the whole story to her as well.
I wonder what’s in store for us in episode 7!
Good morning! Till later girlfriend! 😊
No you weren’t dyslexic. You just had a “daju ve” episode or that moment when you wonder whether you were previously dyslexic. 🤔😂😍
But I know I can be dyslexic sometimes. LOL!
I don’t think JaeIn was lying that she can’t remember when they first met. Let’s see whether it will stand true from the coming episodes.
Yes! I want a version of Jisoo’s memory too. I want to know how she came to know Hyung from the start.
Was there anything good that happened in episode 7 besides LA getting his first kiss? LOL! I watched the ig video and I hoped he didn’t use the excuse that kissing is better in reading JaeIn because that’s what it looked like to me. 😃
Goodness. I hope it’s not an April Fools’ prank or something.