Nobody Knows: Episode 10

by Sunny

Piecing together the events leading up to Eun-ho’s fall may prove more heartbreaking than our heroes are prepared for. While Young-jin has a strong suspicion who may be responsible, pinning that person down is another matter entirely and they have no intention of coming quietly.

  
EPISODE 10 RECAP

While practicing what they learned in the rappelling video, a female classmate is too afraid to try. Sun-woo is willing to let her opt out, but Eun-ho encourages her to jump if she wants to live. His words are enough to convince her to try and after she successfully reaches the bottom, Sun-woo praises Eun-ho for saving her life. His turn is next, and Eun-ho bravely steps up and jumps.

In the present, Sun-woo reels from discovering Eun-ho used that lesson the night of his accident. Having seen the lifeline equipment dangling from the roof, Young-jin joins him and Sun-woo emotionally tells her Eun-ho wasn’t pushed – he jumped in order to live. On the tenth floor, Sang-ho debates killing Eun-ho. He tsks that it’s a waste after Eun-ho jumped to survive, but sighs he has no choice.

Doo-seok anxiously points out things are complicated because they saved him in the first place. Sang-ho questions if that’s where things went wrong, looking pointedly at Hee-dong. A flashback shows Hee-dong had been sent to fetch Ki-ho from New Life Church, but Ki-ho quickly leapt out a window. It was too narrow for Hee-dong to follow and by the time he reached the doors, Ki-ho had blocked them from the outside.

Exasperated, Hee-dong called Doo-seok, who was waiting nearby. He’d come upon Eun-ho performing CPR but was prevented from approaching by the arrival of the ambulance. Following, Doo-seok witnessed Ki-ho handing something off to Eun-ho. Reporting it to Sang-ho, he’d been ordered to tail Eun-ho. On his way home, Eun-ho narrowly avoided being snatched when he rushed forward to help an elderly neighbor inside.

Afterwards, Sun-ah entered Sang-ho’s office to find them repenting. Sang-ho seemed surprised to still find them standing there and announced he’d reward Eun-ho for saving a life. Cut to the award ceremony and Doo-seok searching Eun-ho’s locker while Sang-ho gave his speech. Empty-handed, Doo-seok passed Min-sung on his way out. Sun-ah searched Eun-ho’s room but also came up empty so Doo-seok snatched Eun-ho’s backpack after school.

Finding Young-jin’s book in the bag, Sang-ho flipped to a passage about a character making faces in a mirror. Thinking it interesting, Sang-ho pulled at his mouth as described – contorting his face into grotesque expressions – and grumbled at the last line: “You must love one another.” Seeing the author had later committed suicide, Sang-ho tsked, “His philosophy of life is what got him killed.” Sang-ho declared he’d have written: “They must be saved” and then saw Eun-ho’s note to Young-jin, pleading for help.

In the present, Sang-ho asks Hee-dong where he thinks things went south. Hee-dong admits he failed to catch Ki-ho… but quickly deflects blame to Doo-seok for not getting Eun-ho’s bag after leaving the hospital. Sang-ho corrects everything went wrong with Eun-ho: “his kindness ruined our plan.” Wishing he could’ve told a younger Eun-ho that while malice begets malice, goodwill is not always returned with goodwill – evil commands but good is complicated.

While visiting Eun-ho, Dong-myeong chats with Mom and apologizes for being Eun-ho’s friend. Mom shares when Eun-ho was seven, he’d gone around helping an elderly man collect scrap paper who ended up taking advantage. It ties back to something Mom’s own mother had told her: “If you’re nice, even animals will mock you.” Mom smiles that despite that, Eun-ho gained a friend. She confesses she’s apologetic for being Eun-ho’s mother. Dong-myeong assures her Eun-ho’s never spoken ill of her, but Mom knows he wouldn’t have had anything nice to say either.

Sun-woo had been concerned from the onset at the impossibility of Eun-ho surviving a fall from the roof. He thinks Eun-ho took his chances with the shortened lifeline, but Young-jin points out it doesn’t make sense for the lifeline not to reach the ground – it was replaced after. Sun-woo agrees even if the rope had snapped, the belt still would’ve been on Eun-ho, meaning it wasn’t a faulty lifeline.

Additionally, Eun-ho’s pursuer wouldn’t have considered him using it so they wouldn’t have replaced it with a shortened line ahead of time. Sun-woo thinks the culprit being a hotel employee would explain why he was brought here from the abandoned building, but Young-jin says it’s strange to commit a crime at their job. Sun-woo senses she’s hiding something so Young-jin reveals Ki-ho gave Eun-ho something.

Afterwards, Eun-ho’s bag was stolen to retrieve that item. She asserts the culprit didn’t intend to hurt Eun-ho – rather they saved Eun-ho from Dae-hoon because they needed what Ki-ho gave him. However, the lack of defensive wounds on Dae-hoon and Eun-ho suggests they came willingly because they knew the person.

Sang-ho muses Eun-ho went to the abandoned building despite feeling suspicious because he trusted Min-sung, sighing that trusting is how you get betrayed. Hee-dong thinks they shouldn’t have gotten involved and Sang-ho’s smile slips. We see that having followed Eun-ho, Doo-seok saw Dae-hee attacking the teen and reported it to Sang-ho. Dae-hee knocked Eun-ho to the ground and stepped on his chest, uncomfortably urging him to keep quiet about Min-sung.

Eun-ho simply pleaded for Dae-hee not to kill him and they were interrupted by Sang-ho. Dae-he stepped back, scared, while Sang-ho smiled kids grow even when you step on them. Dae-hee recognized him from the school parking lot and pales when Sang-ho remembered Min-sung’s name. Sang-ho helped Eun-ho up and Eun-ho denied a hospital. Doo-seok guided Eun-ho to Sang-ho’s car and promised to fetch Eun-ho’s bag and phone.

Waving off Dae-hee’s continued attempts to explain, Sang-ho offered him a choice: follow the law or follow Sang-ho’s method. Sang-ho assured him he wouldn’t be harmed or killed – only forced to experience the same fear he’d inflicted on Eun-ho. Dae-hoon chose Sang-ho’s way and Doo-seok locked Dae-hoon in the trunk of his own vehicle with a bottle of water. He’d then turned Eun-ho’s phone off and drove away while Sang-ho returned to his car. Sang-ho suggested they go to the hotel and Eun-ho agreed.

In the present, Sun-woo realizes the person Eun-ho would’ve known from the hotel that also knew Ki-ho could only be Sang-ho and quickly defends him. He lists Eun-ho immediate transport to the hospital, private room, and personal caregiver were all provided thanks to Sang-ho. Young-jin calmly replies Sang-ho needed Eun-ho alive for his information and the caregiver was to keep tabs on him. Sun-woo argues even if Sang-ho were responsible, Eun-ho had no reason to jump when he could’ve just given Sang-ho what he wanted.

Young-jin vows to discover why Eun-ho made such a drastic choice. Calling Jae-hong, she pulls him and Ja-young from Young-sik to guard Eun-ho and block everyone but Mom and hospital staff. She tells Sun-woo that Eun-ho jumped an hour after arriving at the hotel and likely spent that time in Sang-ho’s office. Sun-woo confirms he’s never been and when Young-jin adds Dong-myeong was brought there as well, Sun-woo calls and sets up a meeting with Sang-ho in an hour between the three of them.

Sun-woo insists Sang-ho can’t be guilty, citing Sang-ho’s upbringing in the church orphanage and his kindness to children his entire life. Young-jin argues that Seo Sang-won was also known as a pastor who cared for children. “In terms of justice,” she says, “one wicked act can outweigh even 100 good deeds.” However, Young-jin clarifies that she’s not accusing Sang-ho of anything.

PART 2

While Sang-ho is amused Young-jin doesn’t buy their narrative, Doo-seok is anxious for a backup plan. Rather than kill Eun-ho, Sang-ho ponders keeping the boy by his side and testing nature vs nurture. Doo-seok argues Sang-ho typical tactics of coercion won’t work on Eun-ho and Hee-dong snorts they wouldn’t have to kill him if they hadn’t brought Eun-ho in the first place. Sang-ho agrees that was a misstep and we once again flashback to that night.

While Doo-seok doctors Eun-ho’s wounds, Sang-ho asks if Eun-ho likes sweets. Eun-ho shakes his head but perks up at the cake. He thanks Sang-ho for interfering and Sang-ho says he wanted to see Eun-ho anyway, explaining he’s an acquaintance of Ki-ho. Eun-ho shares that when he was little, no matter how much he cried or screamed, no one came to help. Eventually, he gave up but one day someone came to his rescue anyway (Young-jin).

He says he slept well that night and no longer felt lonely. Lost in thought, Sang-ho mumbles he had a similar experience. Snapping back, he says he’d heard Ki-ho left something with Eun-ho and offers to take it for him, but Eun-ho says he’ll wait as Ki-ho instructed. Laughing it off, Sang-ho warns him not to lose it and Eun-ho assures him he put it in a safe place. Sang-ho says he wants to give Eun-ho a gift and takes him into his office.

Eun-ho grins at the wall of books and Sang-ho tells him to take whichever he likes. He sees something on the top shelf and Sang-ho hands it to him but says he’d wanted to recommend a different book. He hands Eun-ho Young-jin’s copy of “The Life Before Us” and Eun-ho awkwardly replies he’d just bought a copy. “You bought a new one already?” Sang-ho exclaims.

Uncomfortable, Eun-ho says he’s tired and wants to go home, quickly promising to return for a book later. Sang-ho smiles that he’s welcome anytime. Doo-seok opens the trunk of Dae-hoon’s car, confirming he’s passed out from the drugged water. Hee-dong guides Eun-ho to the elevator but Eun-ho opts for the stairs instead. He can’t open the door and Hee-dong says nothing on the tenth floor opens without their fingerprints, pressing his thumb to the reader.

Eun-ho leaves but runs into Doo-seok on the stairs. Doo-seok is confused he’s leaving on his own, and grabs Eun-ho when he tries to pass, insisting he take the cake since no one else will. They slowly ascend but suddenly Eun-ho turns and throws his bag in Doo-seok’s face. Sang-ho is surprised when Hee-dong returns saying Eun-ho left alone and finally realizes he’d slipped up by commenting Eun-ho replaced the book when he shouldn’t have known it was missing. He sends Hee-dong to retrieve Eun-ho and Hee-dong finds Doo-seok passed out on the stairwell.

Doo-seok says Eun-ho ran up to the roof and the men arrive just as Eun-ho jumps and starts rappelling down. Hee-dong grabs the rope and starts pulling Eun-ho back up, so Eun-ho slips out of the harness and crashes onto the car. The front desk requests Eun-ho’s guardian over the PA and Sang-ho races down. Having been instructed to save Eun-ho no matter what, Sun-ah grabs a burner phone from a cabinet and calls an ambulance.

Sang-ho jumps into the ambulance and as the door closes, nods at Doo-seok. Hee-dong drops Eun-ho’s bag on the roof and wipes down the railing before retrieving the lifeline and replacing it with a different one. Doo-seok drives Dae-hee’s car back to the abandoned building before joining Sang-ho at the hospital. Hee-dong then arrives at the building and pulls Dae-hee out of the trunk, hanging him and staging the scene. He prays for salvation before leaving.

The next morning, Sang-ho finds Young-jin on the roof and calls Eun-ho’s survival a miracle. Now, he asks his lackeys what’s the opposite of a miracle. Sun-ah declares a miracle goes against common sense, but Sang-ho corrects: “Doubt.” He says Young-jin accepted the miracle because she was relieved Eun-ho survived. Sun-ah argues Young-jin doubts them now and is on the roof with Sun-woo.

What’s more, there is a lifeline hanging from the roof that is too short. Sang-ho glares at Hee-dong and he blubbers that he was in a hurry. Waving it off, Sang-ho asks for his hands and tuts at the rope burns on his palms. Hee-dong assures him it’s a minor injury but Sang-ho sighs he’ll have to suffer worse. Young-jin snaps multiple photos of the lifeline apparatus with her phone while Hee-dong clears out the kitchen and braces himself in front of the fryer oil.

Just as Young-jin suggests they head down for their appointment, Sun-woo’s phone rings while sirens wail in the distance. Young-jin sits stoically in the hospital waiting room and Sun-woo hands her a lollipop, saying chocolate was sold out. She tries to refuse, but Sun-woo places it in her hand, insisting her brain needs sugar to work. He pops his own lollipop in his mouth and says when he’s tired he always craves sweet things and misses his family.

When asked how she deals, Young-jin simply replies she endures. She tells Sun-woo stop looking at her and he retorts, “I think I should keep looking at you.” He says that he’ll go home and eat and spend time with his loved ones while she’ll be left alone to think about the case, victims, and culprit. He asks how she does it and Young-jin answers she’s been doing it since her friend was brutally murdered.

Young-jin says he can go home so Sun-woo heads up to visit Eun-ho. Looking at her lollipop, Young-jin smiles and sticks it in her mouth only for Sang-ho to appear and sour the mood. She announces she needs to speak with Hee-dong but Sang-ho tsks Hee-dong is severely burned and traumatized. She says she found the lifeline on the roof was too short and Sang-ho agrees to cooperate.

She says they’ll call when they’re ready for Sang-ho and co’s testimonies and stalks out. Sun-ah asks if Sang-ho is just letting her leave. He sing-songs that he doesn’t want to hurt her but won’t have a choice since he wants to see Young-jin in torment. Up in Eun-ho’s room, Young-jin has Jae-hong and Ja-young step out so she can talk with Mom. Young-jing asks if Mom trusts her, despite hating her, knowing Young-jin will do anything to protect Eun-ho.

“I trust you,” Mom declares, “And I don’t hate you.” She admits she doesn’t like Young-jin, either, but she’s the only person she can rely on. Accepting her answer, Young-jin tells Mom to stick with Eun-ho and not trust anyone but her. She then steps out and explains her findings about the lifeline to Jae-hong and Ja-young, sending them to question the front desk employee that found Eun-ho.

Tae-hyung arrives to care for Eun-ho, but Young-jin blocks him. He wants to hear his dismissal directly from mom and asks if his record is the issue. Young-jin says the situation has nothing to do with him and asks if he’s been reporting to Sang-ho. Tae-hyung confirms Sang-ho was concerned and asks to see Eun-ho before he leaves. She refuses and Tae-hyung asks if she isn’t curious about his relationship with Sun-woo.

Unprompted, he announces Sun-woo was his teacher and he hit him with a chair. Young-jin firmly replies that’s something he should talk over with Sun-woo, not her. Jae-hong and Ja-young learn that the front desk employee called an ambulance immediately but was told one was already en route. Sun-woo picks at dinner and Hee-seob tells him he’s gotten thin while Sun-kyung teases he looks great.

Turning to her daughter, Sun-kyung asks who she’d save if Hee-seob and Sun-woo were drowning. To his glee, Ji-won immediately answers Sun-woo, only slightly deflated when she explains Hee-seob is stronger. Sun-kyung jumps in to say Hee-seob can’t swim, while Sun-woo is an excellent swimmer and skilled at running and kendo. Ji-won changes her answer and Sun-woo pouts that Sun-kyung is brainwashing her.

Min-sung stops Dong-myeong as he’s leaving the hospital, asking if he’s headed to a part-time job. Dong-myeong begrudgingly confirms he is and tries to leave, but Min-sung pulls him back, peppering him with questions. Softening, Dong-myeong asks if he’s alright and Min-sung admits he wants to hurt himself. Dong-myeong takes Min-sung with him and although he’s slow, Min-sung grins happily as they work.

Superintendent Hwang answers a frantic call from Min-sung’s mother that he’s missing. He finds the boys at the packing plant and frowns they they’re violating the law because as minors, Min-sung needs permission and neither can work after 10pm. Dong-myeong admits he knows but Min-sung needs money to survive. Hwang asks when they get off and says he’ll wait in the car. Grinning, Min-sung runs back to work and Hwang smiles after them.

The detectives have meeting to debrief, and the others agree that the new information fits Young-jin’s assertion that there was a mastermind and one of the Millennium Hotel staff is the culprit. Superintendent Han sighs their superior wanted to close the stigmata serial murders before retiring so extending the case will be difficult. Byung-hee and Jin-su are undeterred so Han joins in.

The last known whereabouts of Ki-ho place him near Seo Sang-won’s residence so Young-jing orders Byung-hee and Jin-su to chase that lead. Han frowns that the only thing they can slam Millennium Hotel with right now is violating fire law (with the shortened lifeline) and it’s not enough for a search warrant. Jae-hong says they need Young-sik’s testimony and Byung-hee adds Eun-ho’s.

Jin-su marvels at Eun-ho’s choice to jump and Han praises Eun-ho’s resourcefulness. Byung-hee credits Young-jin, thinking they even look alike. The meeting is derailed by the team snickering good-naturedly at their similarities but Young-jin draws the line at personality: “Eun-ho is not like me. He’s sweet and thoughtful. That’s why we could be friends for so long.”

After breakfast, Hwang pays and the owner coos his grandsons are handsome enough to be actors. While Min-sung fetches drinks, the other two get into the car and Dong-myeong confesses he was approached by Nosy Ajusshi about Eun-ho. He passes the number he received to Hwang, who immediately texts Young-jin.

She meets with Nosy Ajusshi, who claims he hasn’t seen Ki-ho since Seo Sang-won died and insists he doesn’t know anything. Handing him her card, she tells him to tell Ki-ho Eun-ho almost died because of him. After she leaves, Nosy Ajusshi pulls out his phone but hesitates to report to Sang-ho. In the parking lot, Young-jin calls Byung-hee (passing them in the lot) and orders him and Jin-su to tail Nosy Ajusshi.

Calling Officer Hong to track Eun-ho’s cell records between receiving the item from Ki-ho and losing his backpack, Young-jin learns he was only shown near school and home. While thoroughly searching her apartment, Young-jin has yet to find anything when Ja-young calls to have her turn on the news. The report reveals Young-jin’s relationship with Soo-jung and slams her for chasing the stigmata serial murders for 20 years for personal reasons rather than duty.

Young-jin visits Eun-ho and covers Mom with a blanket before sitting with Eun-ho. She asks if he was fearless or brave when he unbuckled the safety harness and tearfully thanks him for being alive. She breaks down but looks up when Eun-ho mumbles, “Ajumma” and asks about the plants. He opens his eyes and she cries with relief.

  
COMMENTS

Our boy is awake!!! For real this time… probably. This episode was such a whirlwind and I cannot gush enough about the writing. With Young-jin and Sun-woo working out the outline of what happened – and Sang-ho cracking open a whole new can of worms – it makes sense to wake Eun-ho up. His mystery needed to close for us to get back to the stigmata serial murders, the New Life Church (cult???), and whatever secrets the book Ki-ho gave Eun-ho holds. Young-jin fully suspects Sang-ho now, but he’s slippery and careful enough with his network of underlings that even with Eun-ho’s testimony, it will be difficult to pin him with anything other than being a creepy weirdo. I was excited to have a lot of what I’d already guessed confirmed through Young-jin and Sun-woo puzzling events out between cuts of Sang-ho and his evil monologuing.

I find it crazy that Sang-ho is searching so hard for Ki-ho’s item without even knowing what it is and I’m curious how this all ties back to Seo Sang-won and the murders (because it has to, right?). From Sang-ho claiming a similar experience to Eun-ho meeting Young-jin, I’m gathering he was referring to Seo Sang-won. Him being a protégé would confirm him as the one who killed Soo-jung and his interest in Young-jin lines up. Sun-woo is adamant Sang-ho is innocent, and I loved how Young-jin pointed out she wasn’t accusing him of anything, but people can be deceiving, and you can’t ignore leads based on personal connections. Sun-woo and Young-jin balance each other out so well, that while it was really great to see Sun-woo sleuthing on his own, I will always prefer them together. That scene with the lollipops was so touching, I can’t wait to see them continue to support each other as they face off against whatever darkness Sang-ho is hiding.

Honestly, I’m unsure about Sang-ho’s plan to oust Young-jin’s relationship with the stigmata serial murders. While having personal stake in a case is certainly frowned on, it’s not exactly illegal. The concern is always that personal feelings will cloud judgement but while Young-jin will disobey orders and investigate when she’s told not to, we’ve never seen her break protocol in the field. At most, her last interaction with Seo Sang-won could be called into question and worst-case scenario, Young-jin is suspended or fired… which only means she can watch Eun-ho 24/7. What’s more, losing her job wouldn’t stop Young-jin from chasing Sang-ho down, rather unburden her of doing things by the book. Regardless, Young-jin’s team is on Sang-ho’s trail and something I’ve appreciated but failed to mention is how great Young-jin’s team is as a whole. While Byung-hee can be a bit of a turd, Young-jin’s unit is full of smart detectives who aren’t incompetent or unwilling to listen when she says things aren’t right. There’s a level of respect and even if the revelation that Young-jin has been keeping a secret puts a strain on their relationship and teamwork, it doesn’t change the fact that they’ll get the job done.

The kids continue to shine and although Eun-ho’s ordeal was traumatic and heartbreaking, his ability to think on his feet was remarkable. He immediately caught Sang-ho’s slip and did a 180. I’m not sure if it was the realization of Sang-ho being duplicitous or whatever he’d read in the book, but Eun-ho’s anxiety was palpable. Even knowing the evening ended with him being rushed to the hospital, I still couldn’t help rooting for him to get away. He took all the right steps – except when he ran upstairs instead of down, classing horror movie mistake – and it was just bad luck he got caught. Maybe Sang-ho wouldn’t have hurt him, but we’ve seen Sang-ho flies by a unique moral compass and I’m glad Eun-ho didn’t chance it. His friends also continue to be absolutely precious and I love seeing Dong-myeong and Min-sung growing and healing with Hwang, Young-jin, and Sun-woo’s guidance. There’s a lot to praise about Nobody Knows but the support system forming for these kids is probably my favorite.

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