What do we know so far?

A. 13 years ago fire in Yungsung Apartment was staged to cover up the death of the woman in the suitcase. 

1. SungMo and his mother were being chased by the Killer #1 with a Suitcase. Mom felt that she had to die to end this all. SungMo hatched up a plan to rescue mom.

Killer #1 had been watching them from another apartment building.

2. On the way to Sungmo’s apartment, he saw young Jaein sleeping with her dad’s jacket and he stole the jacket.  If he stole the jacket as the spur of the moment, then framing Jaein’s dad wasn’t premeditated. Also, was the killer somebody Jaein knew?

3. Killer left Jaein’s dad jacket and the black suitcase in the room 702. As of Episode 6, these two things appeared to be the only circumstantial evidence used against Jaein’s dad.

Killer was wearing Jaein’s dad’s jacket when he staged the crime scene.

The flyers inside the suitcase were the same “fire safety awareness” flyers that the Jaein’s dad was posting.

4. As far as we know, the killer’s original plan was to unload the extra body in the suitcase in their apartment, then set the building on fire. We assume that he came to kill Sungmo and his mother because of the numerous chain locks and the knife he had with him. However, if he really planned to kill them on the spot, shouldn’t he have the knife out ready in his pocket, instead of tucked away in the suitcase?

He was also noisily rolling the suitcase. lol. I expected him to be quieter so he could take on Sungmo and his mother by surprise.

Since he didn’t find the mother-and-son in the apartment, he killed their next-door neighbors instead. He killed three women, and dumped the extra body there. Again, this whole killing spree seemed to be more a crime of opportunity than a premeditated murder.

Note the missing person flyer on the elevator: Kang Eun Sool.

5. He left the suitcase and the jacket in ahjummas apartment.

B. Four to five years ago, two women were killed; their bodies stuffed in suitcases and thrown in the Han river.

1. In Episode 4, Jisoo recapped the murders. Park SooYung’s body was discovered first. They couldn’t find out when she went missing because she didn’t have family.

2. Kang Hee Soo’s body was found second by Lee Ahn. Considering the corpse was wearing a winter coat and boots, the police took it to mean that the killing took place in winter.

3. In Episode 6, Lee Ahn described the murder scene. He saw a man telling Kang Hee Sook, “Hold on. Kang Hee Sook, I see you’re not dead yet. I’m sorry but my client wants no loose ends.” He saw black suitcases, a hammer, and the killer, Kim Gab Yong.

4. Although he didn’t mention it, Lee Ahn also saw Kim Gab Yong with a group of men in an abandoned building.

C. Two years ago, fire was set in the Han Min Nursing Home.

1. There were 68 casualties but three female victims caught the police’s attention because they were stabbed.

2. A witness, Kim Gap Yong, an insurance planner was visiting a client in room 702. He claimed that a woman stabbed her two roommates in room 701, set the fire and stabbed herself, too. He injured his ankle escaping the fire and he waited two hours before reporting what he saw.

3. He appeared to be hiding somebody named Kim Song Hee in another hospital. She wore a silver ring and she knitted.

*The subbers at Viki and Kissasian couldn’t agree on the names.

Per Kissasian: Kim Gap Yong wrote down “Kim Song Hee.”  

The subbers on Viki disagreed. According to them,Kim Gap Yong wrote down “Kim Yong Hee” but the nurse said, “Kim Song Oh”.

That’s why I have trust issues with subbers, especially VIKI subbers. 

4. While reading the three dead bodies, Lee Ahn saw a woman with a ring whom Jisoo figured out was a nurse at the nursing home. (I agree with Jaein that had Lee Ahn been more “educated”, he would have been able to tell that the woman in his vision worked for the hospital.)

5. In Ep 2, Jisoo identified her as Kang Hee Soo, a nursing home caretaker in charge of room 701. Sungmo found it strange that, while other victims of the fire were trying to get money from the hospital claiming psychological trauma, she disappeared. He went with Jisoo to Kang Hee Soo’s apartment the day after Jisoo’s unsuccessful stake-out.

If Sungmo knew or suspected that the nursing home caretaker was actually his mom-on-the-run, then his whole conversation with Jisoo revealed what a cold liar he was. He could pretend ignorance and interest without betraying himself. He was a veritable mask!

He even asked her, “Are you think that she’s involved in that fire?”

*Rats! The subbers weren’t consistent with the spelling of the anglicized names. Here it’s Kang Yi Sook.

6. In Ep 3, Jisoo relayed to Sungmo the following info:

– The missing Kang Hee Soo had lived there for three years and never missed a rent.
– Someone else came to sign the contract so the owner never met her.
– She also secluded herself with bad credit three years ago.
– Then, she suddenly appeared and got her license as a nursing home caretaker.
– No one could identify her: she had no family. There was no one who could testify for her as if she was an invisible woman.
– When Jisoo showed her picture around, the reaction was “Was this person ever here?”
– An invisible woman

*But in hindsight, people would obviously not recognize the picture of the real Kang HeeSoo that Jisoo was passing around, because it was the imposter Kang Heesoo who lived in the neighborhood.

7. In Ep 6, a composite sketch of the imposter Kang Hee Soo was made. Sungmo saw it first. It took him a long time to bring it down to the morgue where Jisoo, Lee Ahn and Jaein were waiting for him.

*To me, however, this composite sketch didn’t have the same curling tendril of hair as the woman in Lee Ahn’s vision.

He was taking his sweet time bringing the composite sketch to the three people waiting for him. This suggested that he recognized and knew this woman on the sketch and was probably deliberating his own next move.

8. The general assumption is the witness/insurance guy Kim Gab Yong killed the real Kang Hee Sook and let the imposter take her place. Jaein suggested that they look in Kim Gab Yong (because he lied to the police), they got everything they needed from the real Kang Hee Sook, and they were at an impasse with the imposter Kang Hee Sook.

Other notes:

1. It seems like Lee Ahn is psychic. He also felt the death blow Kang Hee Sook received on the head.

2. The killer/Sungmo’s stalker has a nervous tic: he tugs his collar as if it’s constricted his neck. He uses his left hand to tug the left side of the collar.

In Episode 4, after he discovered that Sungmo and his mother have flown the coop, he tugged at his collar. Then, in Episode 6, when Lee Ahn tried to get a read of him while being stabbed, Lee Ahn saw the vision of Kille #1 tugging his winter jacket.

3. Sungmo’s stalker isn’t interested in killing him, at least not yet. He had been following Sungmo all these years and had plenty of opportunity to kill him. He wants Sungmo alive so he can find Sungmo’s mother. Sungmo knows this.

Sungmo’s mother, however, thought that only her death would end all this.

In Episode 5, young Sungmo read the definitions of love and obsession. Love: A heart that reassures others and is warm.

To obsess (verb): To have your mind continually be drawn to and cling to something that you can’t forget.

The obsession of Sungmo’s stalker is for his mom.

6. Her mom didn’t wear a ring.

7. Sungmo carried his mother’s surname. His name is Kang SeongMo.

His mother’s name is Kang Eun Joo. I wonder why he didn’t take on his father’s surname. Is he an out-of-wedlock child?

8. Jaein was worried that Sungmo wouldn’t be happy to know that she and Lee Ahn were in the autopsy room and helping with the Hanmin Nursing Home fire. But Jisoo reassured not to worry. According to her, he had the most sincere look she’s seen on him. Interesting, isn’t it?

9. How did the relationship between Sungmo and Jisoo begin? We’re already halfway through the kdrama and we still don’t know how they met. Is this young Jisoo in that Killer/Stalker’s memories? If so, what’s she doing there? lol. Is the Killer/stalker in the police force, too?

 

10. This gross ahjussi/supervisor of Jaein was the same

police in Episode 1 when Jaein accused Lee Ahn of being a pervert.

He was already picking his nose back then. lol. That’s how I remembered him from the Episode 1.