Because I’m a superficial bitch (and proud of it!), let me begin with this inspiration.

Ta-daa! Lee DaIl with glasses.

He looked fine in this episode, but I think he would have been a serious contender to McDreamy had he been wearing specs.

Okay, back to work now, packmule3!

If we were to divide the show into two parts, Episode 7 would be the intermission or halftime. The Ghostbuster Gang had to regroup and reassess their strategy because their enemy, the Woman in Red, leveled up.

So what were the Notable Developments in this episode according to moi?

1. There were no more fetches, and Lee DaIl was STILL not in a comatose. Sorry, fangirls! As Gil Chae Won’s spiritual mother exasperatedly reminded him, he was a ghost without a body.

The pediatric nurse didn’t have his comatose body; the Woman in Red didn’t have his comatose body; and Atty Baek’s mysterious contacts, whoever they might be, didn’t have his comatose body as well. They think that he was alive coordinating this venture.

My educated guess is that his body is in a pauper’s grave or the morgue’s freezer or a cryonics facility in Russia (hahaha).

2. The Spiritual Mother’s last words.

a. The two emotions that could move things were fury and desperation. Essentially, Lee DaIl must employ “mind over matter.” At his mother’s house, his rage at the Woman in Red caused him to hurtle and shatter objects. In the hospital, his desire to save YeoWool enabled him to touch the beer can.

But I thought this scene was a rip-off from that famous moment from Star Wars.

Use the force, Luke! 

b. “Only you can interfere with your own fate.”

To me, these words were good news because the Creepy Man in the tunnel and Gil Chae Won both warned him of dire consequences when he summoned powers not meant for the dead. Chae Won feared that he’d become evil himself and the reddening of his eyes, like the eyes of the victims of the Woman in Red, appeared to confirm her fears.

That’s why the words of the spirit mother were comforting. She was telling him that he was the master of his own destiny. He could determine whether he’d turn evil or not.

c. She asked him to take care of Chae Won. “You’re trying to protect the girl, right? While you’re at it, keep an eye on my Chae Won. My Chae Won. I’ve taught you already. She can be gruff and act tough, but she’s lived through much.”

I know Gil Chae Won is only a secondary character, but this reminder made me root for her more. As it is, I like her composure more than YeoWool’s volatility.

4. We’re beginning to see the subtle differences between the characters, like YeoWool and ChaeWon.

YeoWool wanted to kill the Woman in Red because of what the Woman in Red did to her sister. Sure, she wanted to spare Lee Da-Il but her last thought as she was about to stab the Woman in Red was her sister. She was seeking vengeance and justice for her sister.

For somebody who always asked Lee DaIl to let her to work with him or to accompany him, she went on a suicide mission on her own. And her foolish savior complex forced Lee DaIl to endanger himself.

Also, as I mentioned in a previous post about suicide, and as pointed out by Lee DaIl in this episode, she needed to continue on with her life. Her sister would have wanted that of her, instead of avenging her death.

According to DaIl, the hiking boots were given to her so she could live in a different direction, to forget about her and move on with her life. YiRang wouldn’t have wanted her obsessed with her death.

In my post on suicide, I wrote that it bothered me that she had packed away her camping gear. I thought it would better for her to have social activities, meet friends, and regain pleasure in living again. For her mental well-being, she needed to calm down.

Like YeoWool, ChaeWon also wanted to get rid of evil spirits in her previous life as a shaman. However, the difference between the two of them is that ChaeWon fought the  evil spirits, not because of some personal revenge, but out of her sense of righteousness.

According to the shaman consulted by Mr. Han in Episode 6,

“There’s a girl who went against the spirit because petty evil spirits tried to fool people. When she got possessed, her parents had already given up on her. A male shaman decided to take her in and made a lot of money off of her…. She was one tough girl so she got rid of many petty evil spirits but one tremendous spirit went inside of her. That little girl fought it saying she’d rather die than take that spirit in.”

Futhermore, unlike YeoWool’s all-consuming focus on her sister’s suicide, ChaeWon learned to distance herself from unhealthy things. Judging from what the shaman and her spiritual mother had said, Chae Won had gone through so much at a young age, but she managed to maintain her sanity by creating out a new life for herself and staying away from her old world.

I think that’s the reason she “disappeared” from the ghost scene.

I could see ChaeWon becoming YeoWool’s mentor in the future, if she doesn’t get possessed and killed by the Woman in Red because of YeoWool’s foolhardiness again. Hmph! 

5. I don’t see Lee DaIl’s attraction for YeoWool. Sorry. 

Perhaps he was reluctant to start an emotional entanglement with her because HE knew that he was dead (and not comatose, as the fangirls insist), but to me, this scene was telling. He refrained from consoling her when she needed it. AGAIN.

This incident, combined with that time when he asked her if SHE was okay mentally, but not physically (“I was asking about you, not your hand.”) after she had been scratched by the principal indicated that he didn’t WANT to offer her PHYSICAL comfort.

In comparison, Detective Park showed concern for her physical and emotional well-being. Back in Episode 4, he bandaged her hand and he told her that he wanted to protect her from being the subject of police investigation and media attention. Now again, he wanted her injuries attended to,

and he wanted to keep her safe.

I thought she was being coy here. She must have known that he was revealing his feelings for her when he wanted to know her whereabouts and her activities.

Park: YeoWool…
YeoWool: Detective Park… Can you identify the woman that was murdered as soon as possible? And how she looked like?
Park: Okay.
YeoWool: Thank you. (She bows to him first and he bows in return)
Park: You’re right. I can’t believe what you said. Still I’ll helped you and I’ll continue to help you. There’s only one reason for that.
YeoWool: What is it?
Park: I want to know everything you do and everywhere you go. So, I can check if you’re safe.
YeoWool: Is that all I need to do?
Park: (he looks at her and she returns the look)
YeoWool: I’ll do that.

I also thought it was funny that Mr. Han thought they were having a lover’s quarrel earlier.

Park: YeoWool, where’s that knife? I know you took it. The knife that YiRang used to kill herself.
(DaIl: Don’t answer him. He won’t understand.)
Park: You need to tell me in order for me to help you. (Notices that YW was looking at empty space) Where are you looking again? What are you looking at?
ChaeWon: Jeong Dae! I’ll explain. Come on outside.
Park: Did you stab her?
(DaIl: Don’t answer him, YeoWool.)
YeoWool: (standing up.) I was going to.
Park: Does that mean you failed? Then did Lee Da Il stab her? (Atty Baek looked startled.) Where is he right now?
YeoWool: If I tell you the truth will you believe me?
Park: I always believed you.
YeoWool: No, you never did. You just wanted to help. And that’s not your fault.
Mr. Han: Are you guys fighting or confessing your love? It’s like you guys are playing hard-to-get.

Considering that he called himself the Sherlock Holmes of love affairs back in Episode 1, his comment was funny. He was either on to something or he was wildly off base with his suspicions.

If this was a normal love story, then I would dismiss Detective Park’s feelings for YeoWool as the hopeless, unrequited infatuation of a second male lead. But because Lee DaIl is a ghost, Det Park is looking more and more like a viable option.

6. Was I the only who wondered what other item Lee DaIl had stored in that box with YiRang’s knife?

There was another object hidden in there. It was white rectangular case with a pink ribbon. He didn’t seem to be the type to keep mementos.

7. The mystery of Lee DaIl’s and Atty Baek’s relationship continues.

The two of them always questioned why the other person was taking on the case.

In Episode 1, it was Atty Baek who asked him why he was taking the case on, although she was the one who approached his detective agency to solve the abduction.

 

His answer? He didn’t want to move out of the building, and the rich father didn’t believe in the public force, like him. Her face looked odd and bothered when he said, “public force.”

Then, in Episode 5, HE was the one to ask her why she was helping him, although HE was the one who asked her for help. In fact, he “threatened” or coerced her to get data for him. He said he’d overlook her invasion of his privacy if she did him this favor for him.

She told YeoWool that it was for old times’ sake, implying that she and Lee DaIl had a past connection. And because she couldn’t see his ghost form, she could have been either lying, telling the truth or wishful thinking.

Then now in Episode 7, Lee DaIl wanted her to continue helping them with the legal matters. And she confessed, “I don’t understand anything. I can’t believe that you’d think a ghost is a serial killer. I’ve already helped you so much without knowing. But there’s a reason why I want to know what you’re doing. So I’ll help you. If it’s something that I can do.”

Then, observe Lee DaIl’s facial movement as she was admitting that she had a reason she wanted to know what they were doing. He closed his eyes, raised an eyebrow, and bowed his head.

He looked skeptical.

But judging from the next scene where she was reporting to somebody, Lee DaIl might have good reasons for suspecting Atty Baek’s motives.

8. Last, the Woman in Red. It was weird to watch her touching plants, breathing in air, putting on makeup and devouring food as if she was savoring and marveling at these new experiences.  Then, I remembered: yes, of course! All these things must feel new to her because she acquired a physical body.

I look forward to the new havoc she’ll be creating in the second part of this kdrama.