Because we’re obsessive bitches here….

Take “serious” with a grain of NaCl, ok? 

Lee Ahn says he couldn’t read anything in his Hyung’s room but I think the director left enough clues for us viewers to analyze.

1. The bird cage

It doesn’t take a genius to know what the bird cage stands for. But what’s significant about this particular caged bird is that it’s not shown moving or chirping.  Did you notice that?

From Episode 6: no sound as the intruder went in and out of the room.The dog was barking noisily as soon as the stalker/killer opened the front door. But not a peep from the bird. Lights were turned on and off in the room, and it didn’t move.

From Episode 7: no sound when Lee Ahn went to check Sungmo’s room for the intruder/burglar. The dog was noticeably quiet now, probably because it recognized its master. But notice that the bird stayed silent and motionless. What an odd pet to keep, right?

Later in Episode 7: no sound nor movement from bird when Ahn entered his room to take a reading the day after the break-in. He vowed to look for the stalker.

From Episode 8: no sound nor movement again from bird when Ahn entered the room. He had gotten permission from Sungmo to borrow books. The bird didn’t move or peep. I was beginning to doubt that the bird was even alive, but its perch inside the cage was swinging so I knew it had just moved.

Later in Episode 8: not a peep from the bird when he and Jaein entered his Hyung’s room.

That’s one very weird pet. It doesn’t show any emotion to people. It doesn’t get frightened or excited when a person is in its vicinity. Kinda like Sungmo, right? 

So, if we’re going to see the bird cage as a symbol, the most basic understanding is imprisonment and lack of freedom. Yes, the bird is caged and yes, it cannot fly away.

But does it even want its freedom?

As bitches who over-think things, the significance of the bird is not its cage, but the bird’s behavior inside the cage. Unlike normal birds, Sungmo’s pet is silent and motionless. It’s as if the bird doesn’t want to make a sound or motion to alert people that it’s even alive.

Again, kinda like Sungmo, right?

And his mother when you think about it….

2. The Titian painting

I discussed the painting already, (link here: He’s Psychometric: On the Use of Props? Or is it here: He’s Psychometric: Ep 5 The Painting?).

But I have to add new info now. I didn’t mention this sooner because I didn’t think it was relevant until I saw the book “Trinity” on his bookcase.

The additional 411:

The three people on the painting were related. The artist Titian drew himself as the old man, his own son as the adult in the middle, and a nephew as a youth.

The men in the painting had a familial relationship.

3. The “Trinity” book

Do you see it displayed on the shelf?  It’s the ONLY word that stands out for me.

There is a book “Trinity” written by Leon Uris about the Irish freedom fighters. I don’t think the director meant that interpretation of the word “trinity.”

I think the “Trinity” the director meant here is the Father-Son-Holy Spirit sort of trinity or a group of three people.

It can signify the trio consisting of dad/stalker, Sungmo, and his mother (who I think is undead and just hiding).

But I personally think the TRINITY meant the dad, Sungmo (as the Hyung), and Lee Ahn (as the Donsaeng). Sungmo is going after the dad but Sungmo wants Lee Ahn to try to rescue him from this “bad blood” of his.

In fact, Sungmo is counting on Ahn to stop him.

I mentioned this notion of “bad blood” earlier in a comment. In Episode 8, while drinking coffee Lee Ahn explained to Jaein that there was “bad blood” between his Hyung and this mystery man. lol. That’s a very clever way of giving us a hint, Director!

As an idiom, bad blood means a long-standing hatred or anger or vengeance and other hostile feelings exists between two parties.

But in the context of this story, there’s literally bad blood between Sungmo and the stalker/killer. If they’re father and son, then there’s bad genes flowing in their veins.

4. The rubik’s cube

There are three rubik’s cubes in Sungmo’s room: two real ones and one mirror-image of a cube. The first rubik’s cube is on the shelf, across from the “Trinity” book. See it?

When Lee Ahn sat down on the couch, the camera showed the two rubik’s cubes on the table. Do you see them?

That was a neat camera illusion! It looked like there were TWO rubik’s cubes facing each other.

One is a real one, and the other one is a reflection. It’s a ghostly apparition or “spirit” of the rubik’s cube. And the director thought it was a neat trick because he made a point of focusing on those two rubik’s cubes before the scene changed.

The meaning?  

Who knows?

But this is my “confirmation bias” at work here. On one level, I think it means Sungmo and his stalker/dad are at face-off. If Sungmo crosses the line and kills his dad, then he’s become a true reflection of his dad, or that “bad man” his mother didn’t want him to be.

But on another level, it can mean that Lee Ahn is on a mission here. It’s crunch time for him and there’s pressure for him a) to read his Hyung and b) to solve the identity of the stabber/stalker. The two rubik’s cubes represent the two mysteries he needed to solve quickly. But both his Hyung and the mystery man are hard to crack, like a rubik’s cube.

In fact, later on, the director did another creative thing about the rubik’s cubes. Jaein and Lee Ahn were talking about his inability to “read” his brother. He said he couldn’t SEE anything.

lol. The rubik’s cube was right behind his head. Meaning, he couldn’t solve or understand the mystery because he literally can’t see the rubik’s cube (the symbol of mystery).

Then, a few sentences later, he said it again. “I’m also worried about Hyung so I searched here and there but I can’t see it.” He turned to the side, and he touched the pile of papers with another rubik’s cube on it. His hand bumped the cube, too. hahaha.

See that? Very sneaky. Very very sneaky.

5. The clock

There’s no wall clock in his Hyung’s room. Only in Lee Ahn’s room. To me, this reinforces the sense of the time pressure. There’s time pressure on Lee Ahn to read his Hyung to help him out.

His noona Jisoo is already pressuring him to hurry up.

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

6. The mirror

Funny, isn’t it? Only Sungmo’s room has a mirror. Lee Ahn doesn’t have a mirror. To check on his appearance, he used the glass on a picture frame, and the glass on the door.

What’s the meaning? hahaha. How should I know?

But let me take a stab at it anyway because I’m an opinionated bitch.

It may allude to an idiosyncrasy of actor Park Jinyoung. Perhaps he doesn’t have mirrors in his dorm or something? Or he doesn’t like mirrors because of feng shui or something? lol. I wouldn’t know because I don’t follow kpop….although I’ve been listening to this “Spring Day” by BST? Beast? Best? some guy group because it’s springtime here and the tempo’s just right for my morning jog.

Anyway….

The mirror may signify or emphasize Lee Ahn’s inability to see his brother as clearly.

Remember what he told Jaein while they were in Sungmo’s room? He said he couldn’t see his Hyung directly (like in a mirror), he could see him indirectly (through other objects).

That makes sense, you know.  Sungmo forewarned Jisoo about this in Ep 1. He said that Lee Ahn’s psychometric skills were still under-developed. It was hard for Lee Ahn to perform HUMAN psychometry because to do so involves seeing “someone’s painful memories, and any big or small traumatic events they went through.” It’s different from reading things because it’s “objective, selective, and detached.”

NOTE: I’m not sure the subbers got the translation right, by the way. I think Sungmo meant that reading people is more subjective (meaning, based on feelings of the individual), selective (that is, you only see fragments of memories), and detached (i.e., they’re like puzzles you have to piece together).

At any rate, for me, that’s what the mirror signified. Lee Ahn can’t see the real image of his brother, like he would on a mirror. Sungmo’s still not transparent to Lee Ahn. He’s only seeing his Hyung through indirect, partially reflective surfaces.

7. Undeveloped psychometric skills

This is evident when he told Jaein about the vision of “pain”. He told her that Sungmo was in a darkened room with his mother.

That’s false. He saw his Sungmo against a background of trees and undergrowth.

Just like in his vision of Kim Gab Soon, the insurance guy, Lee Ahn forgot to mention that he was with other men in suits (I said so, didn’t I? I said it was a hit job ordered by a syndicate). Had he mentioned this detail, then it would have been easier for Jisoo and Jaein to think of a crime syndicate.

Now in this vision of Sungmo learning the word “pain,” Lee Ahn forgot to mention this: Sungmo was indoors, sitting in front of a big picture window and the window showed a well-lit forest outside.

which brings me to…

8. Cactus

Why is there a live cactus in Sungmo’s room then?

And two paintings of cactus in Lee Ahn’s room?

hahaha. Y’all have to figure the meaning of the cacti yourselves because my hubby and I are going out now.  Sungmo and Lee Ahn are really polar opposites, right?

Have a good weekend, bitches!

Edited to add this:

Before deciding to take on this show, I swore that a) I’d ignore any misrepresentation of the legal world and law enforcement, and b) I was only here for the entertainment value. I’m giving the creative minds plenty of leeway to craft a story as they see fit. However, I must say this: If Jaein wanted to know whether her father’s guilty or not, the most direct way to achieve this without resorting to physical contact with Lee Ahn is to make Lee Ahn touch her father’s jacket. That piece of evidence should be accessible.

Of course, the trade-off is we don’t get a kiss.