Cheat on Me If You Can: Episode 14

by quirkycase

Our heroine’s decision to participate in a TV program investigating her frenemy’s murder has a ripple effect that brings together a lot of familiar faces, each with their own motivations. Tensions run high as the group reluctantly works together and walks through the details of the case. This unorthodox investigation leads to the reveal of new information that might just mean we’re finally closing in on the culprit.

 
EPISODE 14

We back up eight hours before Yeo-joo’s supply run. While she’s busy harvesting her poisonous plants, Soo-ho learns from Ji-eun that the publishing deal with Yeo-joo was a part of their operation.

He confronts Director Ma for not trusting him and leaving him in the dark on matters related to Yeo-joo. Director Ma isn’t sympathetic and orders him to focus not only on keeping Yeo-joo out of trouble but also keeping an eye on Woo-sung now that he’s running for office.

That night, Soo-ho and Ji-eun follow behind Yeo-joo and Woo-sung on their way to the cemetery. Ji-eun comments on how often Yeo-joo frequents this place, so Soo-ho explains that the land in this area is owned by Assemblyman Park.

In the car, Yeo-joo asks Woo-sung what might, theoretically, make him lie to her. He, of course, responds that it’d only ever be a white lie for her own good. They arrive at the cemetery, and Yeo-joo announces she’s going to tell him everything he’s been curious about.

Yeo-joo dons her apron and loads the duffel bag up with her supplies. Woo-sung worries they’ll be digging up a grave and reminds her he just got out of a holding cell. Yeo-joo assures him he won’t have to do anything and leads the way while Woo-sung follows behind with her chainsaw and duffel bag.

They’re deep in the mountain when Yeo-joo tests out her chainsaw on a tree branch and then walks up to a terrified Woo-sung. “Do you have any secrets? Because I’m about to tell you mine.” Like that time on the roof years ago, Yeo-joo seems to be struggling to remain calm.

Soo-ho and Ji-eun see Yeo-joo holding up a chainsaw in front of Woo-sung and wonder if they should intervene. But when Soo-ho calls Director Ma, he’s told to only reveal himself if Yeo-joo is in danger. Ji-eun is ready to take Yeo-joo down, but Soo-ho says he’ll handle it if things come to that.

Yeo-joo starts to have a panic attack and lets Woo-sung take the chainsaw. He tries to get her to sit down but she collapses. In voiceover, Director Ma says this is the place Yeo-joo most fears. Ji-eun grabs Soo-ho to stop him from going to Yeo-joo, chiding that he’s crossing a line. Soo-ho argues it’s his job to protect her, but Ji-eun reminds him that Woo-sung is the one doing that right now.

Elsewhere, Mi-rae wakes and cries when she hears Jae-ha and her mother callously discussing her “tantrum.” These people are the worst.

At the cemetery, Yeo-joo leads Woo-sung to the grave of Kang Yeong-ok. Woo-sung cleans off the grave mound as Yeo-joo lovingly touches the headstone and apologizes for not visiting for 25 years. Soo-ho watches and thinks of Director Ma’s remark that Yeo-joo has finally found her mother’s grave.

In a flashback, Yeo-joo’s mother steps onto the railing on her balcony. A cheerful Yeo-joo walks home from school and stares in horror as her mother’s body lands on a car right in front of her. In front of the grave, Yeo-joo tells Woo-sung to greet his mother-in-law. She admits it’s her first time coming here, but she’s glad to see it’s not too much of a mess.

We flashback to five years ago when Woo-sung had brought a team to help him clean up the grave. Once finished, he’d formally paid his respects to Yeo-joo’s mother and later visited again with Mrs. Yeom, vowing to his mother-in-law that he’d make Yeo-joo happy.

In the present, Woo-sung cries as he says he’d forgotten the way he’d felt about her. Yeo-joo wipes his tears. Now he knows why her mom wasn’t at the wedding, but isn’t he curious about her dad? Woo-sung is willing to wait until she’s ready, so Yeo-joo promises to tell him one day.

At the hospital, Mi-rae climbs up towards the roof. We see flashbacks of when she’d found Jae-ha in bed with another woman a year ago, as well as his regular physical and sexual abuse of her.

On the drive back, Woo-sung hears the buzzing of his secret phone while Yeo-joo is asleep. He readies to dispose of the phone at a rest stop, but he has a bad feeling when he reads the goodbye text. Woo-sung stashes the phone in his pocket and goes back to Yeo-joo.

Mi-rae stands atop the ledge of the building and looks down at the street below. A tear rolls down her face as she places one foot over the edge. She pauses to answer her buzzing phone and cries when she hears Woo-sung’s voice.

She tells him she’s fine but asks him to stay on the line because she’s scared. Mi-rae calls herself useless, but Woo-sung counters that she’s a very important person to him – she saved his life. Mi-rae says he saved her life too. After they hang up, she huddles on the roof and sobs. Inside the hospital, her captors notice her missing and start to search.

Yeo-joo and Woo-sung stop for a meal on the way home. When Woo-sung’s phone rings, he tells Yeo-joo to answer it for him; he got rid of the passcode. Jin-ho is on the other line, nagging Woo-sung about the divorce case.

In a flashback, Yeo-joo had taken one look at the CCTV photos and informed them that the husband is an abuser. Can’t they see the bruises on the wife? Now, she tells Jin-ho to let the divorce go through.

At the hospital, Mi-rae goes back downstairs and thinks of Woo-sung’s remarks about her being important to him. Then, she remembers Secretary Choi’s hedonistic advice that she can have anything she wants by buying or taking it. “Can I really do that?” she wonders. It looks like she’s officially set her sights on Woo-sung.

Yeo-joo guesses that the abusive husband comes across as harmless and has everyone, including the police, on his side. Even though there might be domestic abuse, Woo-sung hesitates to go against his client. His determination stems more from self-interest than professionalism – Attorney Park told Woo-sung she’d disappear from his life if he won in court.

Yeo-joo warns that the domestic abuse will escalate, and the woman could die. She tells him to let the divorce go through and have the wife get a restraining order.

Secretary Choi is exasperated to find Mi-rae at home while everyone is searching the hospital for her. She’s baffled when Mi-rae asks for unhealthy ramyeon and watches her curiously as she downs it.

Elsewhere, Assemblyman Park meets with Consultant Nam, upset that he recruited his son-in-law for an opposing party. They got a president elected together, so why go against him now? Consultant Nam makes his position clear when he tells Assemblyman Park to focus on convincing Yeo-joo instead.

At the station, Se-jin and Seung-cheol take issue with the PD’s program investigating Soo-jung’s case. It’s still open, and Yeo-joo is a suspect. The PD wants them to join the show, which Seung-cheol is opposed to, but he begrudgingly agrees when Se-jin points out they could use the opportunity to further question Yeo-joo.

The PD’s next visit is to Investigator Kwak since he hopes to recruit him as an advisor. Investigator Kwak perks up when he hears the case is Soo-jung’s murder. When the PD says that Yeo-joo recommended him, Investigator Kwak laughs that she must have gone crazy.

At home, Woo-sung pretends to be disappointed that Yeo-joo is not shadowing him at work today, but his fake upset turns real when she says she’s going to a meeting for the “Unanswered Questions” program. Woo-sung makes a hasty trip to Attorney Park’s office and angrily accuses her of using this show to get at Yeo-joo.

When that’s not effective, he drops the aggression and tries cajoling her to drop out of the show rather than take the risk of Yeo-joo exposing their affair. Attorney Park reminds him all he needs to do is win in court, and she’ll be gone. Otherwise, she’s not going anywhere.

Seung-cheol and Se-jin head to the meeting too, and Se-jin makes a point of riding in the back since Seung-cheol suggested they maintain some distance so his wife won’t be suspicious. Yeo-joo and the PD are the first to arrive. He’s disappointed Investigator Kwak refused to join the team, but Yeo-joo assures the PD that he’ll come around.

Attorney Park arrives to find Woo-sung in the parking lot too and thinks he’s following her. They childishly race inside where Woo-sung makes his case to the PD for why he should be added as another legal consultant. He worked with Soo-jung before, served as Manager Kim’s lawyer, and was even questioned by the cops on the case.

In the middle of campaigning, Assemblyman Park is informed that Yeo-joo is going on “Unanswered Questions.” He calls Director Ma who assures him it’s handled. Director Ma pulls Ji-eun from the convenience store and gives her a new assignment.

Meanwhile, Investigator Kwak storms into the meeting, yelling “Kang Yeo-joo!” She greets him pleasantly (calling him Team Leader Kwak), but he angrily demands to know why she visited his hospitalized wife.

When he blames Yeo-joo for whatever happened to his wife, Woo-sung jumps up and his embarrassingly inept attempt at intimidation has Yeo-joo rolling her eyes and silencing him with the calm rebuke, “Attorney Han.” Soon after, the detectives walk in, and Se-jin fangirls over the legendary ex-cop Investigator Kwak.

Soo-ho is startled to see Ji-eun, now a junior scriptwriter, at the “Unanswered Questions” meeting. Soo-ho grumbles about being in the dark again, but Ji-eun implies she’d have told him if he’d taken any interest in her or her life.

As the tense meeting begins, Mi-rae gets the obligatory outward change to match the inner determination and now sports a colder, more mature look. She warns Secretary Choi that she’ll no longer abide her being a spy for her mother. “If you’re my employee, act like it.” Secretary Choi remarks she’s like a different person and looks concerned when Mi-rae says she’s learned a lot from her parents.

That night, Investigator Kwak’s wife encourages him to do the show. She’d been swayed by Yeo-joo’s argument that this was his last chance to solve the case from 10 years ago and restore his reputation. Investigator Kwak gives in and promises his wife he’ll do it.

On the patio, Mrs. Yeom comments on the lovely smell of the flowers, but Yeo-joo says that’s just her perfume. These flowers don’t smell nice. Yeo-joo seems to know something as she asks Mrs. Yeom if she has anything to tell her. When Mrs. Yeom acts innocent, Yeo-joo gets up and leaves.

Later, the team all meets at Soo-jung’s apartment where Seung-cheol explains about the missing knife in the kitchen. “This one?” Yeo-joo asks as she casually whips a large knife out of her purse.

While Mrs. Yeom downs soju and wonders if Yeo-joo knows, Yeo-joo explains to the room she bought the knife on the way. Soo-ho notes from the wounds that the attacker wasn’t very tall or strong. When Se-jin says they were 170 cm, Yeo-joo pointedly states that’s taller than her, but Seung-cheol argues it’s about right if she were wearing heels.

Mrs. Yeom is still panicking and says it’s all “her” fault. We flash back to Mrs. Yeom witnessing Yeo-joo throwing water in Soo-jung’s face at the café. Now, she mutters that she shouldn’t have left it there since Yeo-joo goes in there daily.

At Soo-jung’s apartment, Se-jin shares that a witness saw a woman throw a body into the river from a bridge. At home, Mrs. Yeom starts digging in the patio garden, muttering about how you have to be wary of women like that. We see that she’d also heard Soo-jung threaten to steal Yeo-joo’s happiness.

Seung-cheol says that a perfume bottle was also missing, although a fragment of it was found in Soo-jung’s dress. They hold up a bottle of perfume that analysis determined matches the fragment. It’s the one Yeo-joo wears. Woo-sung looks over at her nervously, but she doesn’t state the connection.

Mrs. Yeom digs out the black bag and pulls out a bloody piece of cloth. Her hands shake, and the objects wrapped inside fall to the ground: a knife and a perfume bottle.

 
COMMENTS

I would not be surprised at all if Mrs. Yeom killed Soo-jung in a misguided attempt to protect Yeo-joo after learning about the affair and witnessing Soo-jung’s threat. Then again, we do have two more episodes left, so it’s possible there’s still more to the story. If she did kill her, I imagine she would’ve needed help dealing with the aftermath. Could Mrs. Yeom have contacted Assemblyman Park for help, knowing he wouldn’t want this to come back on Yeo-joo or link to him in any way? He’s clearly connected and has been influential for a long time. I’m guessing his sketchy behavior goes way back and maybe Yeo-joo blames him for her mother’s suicide. What a traumatizing thing for Yeo-joo to have witnessed. No wonder she’s closed off. It’s taken her five years to even tell Woo-sung that her mother died, although he already knew. I’m guessing Mrs. Yeom told him since I don’t know how else he’d have found the grave, and we know they went there at least once together.

Woo-sung may have his considerate or supportive moments – like how he maintained Yeo-joo’s mother’s grave – but his myriad of dishonest, selfish behaviors shows that he’s mostly in it for himself. He’s always justifying his questionable actions, just like how he’s been “helping” Mi-rae. I’m not condemning him for wanting to help someone who obviously isn’t okay, but if he truly wants to help her, there are more useful and aboveboard ways. If he thinks she’s too poor to eat or is in danger, shouldn’t he be trying to get her in touch with resources or services? As a lawyer, he must have access to that kind of information. He could’ve told Yeo-joo about being called to the police station and how he’s worried Mi-rae is alone and in trouble. Instead, he chose to give Mi-rae a secret phone number so she can reach him without anyone knowing. He can chalk his secrecy up to not wanting to “worry” Yeo-joo, but that’s just an excuse.

Thanks to his ambiguity and savior act, Mi-rae has seized onto him like he’s a lifeline and seems about to cause trouble. I was hoping we wouldn’t go this route with her character. Rather than having her try to steal Woo-sung, I’d hoped to see her come into her own and realize her worth doesn’t depend on a man. She’s grabbing for power now which is understandable given how powerless she’s felt, but it’s looking less like an empowering move and more like a downward spiral. I’m all for her gaining agency and claiming what’s rightfully hers, but she can do that as herself and not a copy of her awful family.

I’m still curious how Mi-rae’s storyline will tie in more to the main plot because I’m assuming her character doesn’t exist solely to crush on Woo-sung. This drama has integrated almost everyone else into the main mystery by now, especially with this “Unanswered Questions” program. I appreciate how it’s bringing so many of our characters and threads together, even down to Attorney Park. And it didn’t just come out of nowhere either – this program has been mentioned since the early episodes. This drama has done a good job of dropping hints and letting things fall into place naturally, following through on small details that could’ve been forgotten. Everything feels well thought out and intentional. With only a week to go, we have not only our murder mystery to solve but our heroine’s personal life. I have no idea where we’re going with our main couple, but I will be very upset if Yeo-joo doesn’t get definitive proof of Woo-sung’s duplicity and call him to account. She’s had enough family trauma already.

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