S. Korea has pretty strict laws on use of force and "excessive" self defense, but it's hard to believe that they couldn't reveal that Bok-hee had killed a guy who had kidnapped a kid and seemed to be trying to kill a policeman. Are they exaggerating? Contorting the law to fit the needs of the drama??? Here in "Murica" she'd be a hero.

Awful people, but at least to an extent, I understand Da Hyun's mom's situation because she had just escaped her abusive husband and was a single mom working till late night to feed her kid. There was a possibility of her going to jail for murder because it is not exactly self defence and the custody of the kid might have gone to the abusive dad. The only alternate solution to this could have been mom claiming she found Da Hyun unconscious on the road and Jung Ho attesting to it, but the drama set up this character to be dumb and the cops to be useless. This show has been consistently doing a good job of nailing all the crimes against women and how the law is not enough to protect them, which makes me wish the episode count was trimmed down to retain some of the earlier entertainment and excitement.

They really have an issue with how to handle a body.

It was completely stupid from the cop to burry the body. The guy kidnapped a girl and was trying to kill the cop, it was easy to prove it was selfdefense. But he made the mother being a murderer by hidding the truth.

I didn't feel pity for the old man who let Gye-Young alone, you don't let a child alone in the middle of the night when she asked for help...

Words are a scary weapon. Gye-Hoon's words to Bok-Hee were pretty hurtful. The poor guy, he's so frustrated by all these adults.

But in the same time he wasn't wrong, people did wrong twice. First, by acting like they did and then when they knew about Gye-Young, they kept the truth for themselves when it could have helped the investigation. The neighborhood accused Gye-Hoon because he wasn't there for his sister, they let his parents completely broken by the incident, Won-Tak being the son of a "Murderer" (I thought his ex-girlfriend knew his identity), etc.

But after everything, we still doesn't know if Gye-Young is dead and how. Young-hoon didn't really say anything.

If only the adults in this village are decent people the kids wont suffering this much..
The police is the worst, making dahyun's mom a murderer, saying dahyun and gyeyoung is different case when both girls literally missing at the same time. Let other people checking the house when know damn well that there is a kidnapper out there. Maybe he is just stupid.
The thing that drive Gyehoon crazy is because there is so many what ifs. I wish he could be happy at the end of this drama

So many have brought guilt upon themselves.

The last episode in particular was emotionally intense, because so many residents of the neighbourhood have brought guilt upon themselves and now have to live with the knowledge that they might have been able to prevent a crime if they had acted properly.
There is the mother who killed a man and was persuaded not to turn herself in. Or the policeman who made the wrong decision several times so that the crime could not be solved. If he hadn't persuaded the mother to keep quiet or searched the house himself, things would probably have turned out differently. And then there's the knowledge that he persuaded his friend to move to the area in the first place. Still, I feel enormously sorry for him, because he actually always meant well.
In contrast, I have no sympathy at all for the neighbour who didn't want to help the little girl. I could never forgive something like that.

This has to me the most wicked neighbourhood in kdramaland right? Even the cops are not better.

I'm finally tired of unlooking Yeo Jin-Goo's style in this drama 😩after 14 episodes. Who is responsible for this? So much wasted potential.

Another week of Gyehoon not opening his restaurant... At least he's generous with the food.

Why is she always walking in dark alleys all alone? Ugh!

I hate the episode 12ish break ups in kdramas but this one makes so much sense! As if her guilt wasn't enough, her mum didn't help. How do they overcome this?
I enjoyed Gyehoon reaction towards Dahyun's mom, it felt real.

I was just reminded while watching this episodes that I really love YJG's voice.

After all of this, can Gyehoon and Dahyun really be together?
I know that Dahyun is also a victim, she is also pretty and kind, they both care about each other, but will Gyehoon really be fine when looking at Dahyun will always remind him of what happened to his sister, especially her mother? Honestly, i don't see how they can work it out. It's a drama, i'm sure writer will find a way. But i don't think they can convince me.
I prefer Gyehoon to finish his business in that neighborhood then go far far away from that place with Jinhoo and start his own life. It'll be a long journey for him to get himself together and to finally search for happiness.

enter thoughts here

Throughout my time watching this series, I was so curious as to whether they would pull a murder on the orient express and they kinda did? Who knew that all it took was for someone to say something to avoid all this carnage?

I have to agree about Jung-ho. (tbh all the cops are whack in this show, dk how they were still employed) I was so shocked to hear that that was his reasoning towards BH (fr he said law enforcement officer who? and BURIED the body) don't get me wrong, I understand BH and that it must have been such a huge inner conflict for her as she had DH and past trauma. (Being honest here, idk how GH and DH are gonna move past this together, there's too much trauma and toxicity around)

Still have NO clue who tf the culprit is that took the girls (young-hoon was it). Correct me if i'm wrong, he was the guy that Chief Seo made give a whack statement on SJ's dad? Yet he didnt have much screentime?? As someone who was the main cause of all this carnage, I would assume they'd give him more screentime or at least make him pop out of nowhere or more interactions with the cast. (were they going for the least expected route?) They focused too much on LJE only to rush out this guy's reveal, which did not leave an effect on me.(I was so happy to find out that there was an accomplice only to see that he was a complete rando god)

Finally, ladies and gents, the moment you've all been waiting for! Lets hear it for Mr Dong-nam!! Tonight, he'll be receiving the award for Most Awful Individual for leaving a literal CHILD in the middle of a dark alley at night when she was begging him for help from a scary man!
(The way I had to pause and reflect on what in gods name this man had just said)

It was truly interesting for this show take a different route in terms of the "morals of people" element as we are accustomed to seeing people in kdramas do the "right thing" whereas in here they really said every man for themselves.

also glad this show is ending soon, my anxiety can't take anymore of them running out at night in a town where literal murders and kidnappings took place with zero protection.

And then there’s the real mystery of the whole drama: will Gye-hoon’s restaurant ever open?

Right now, this is all I care about.

As much as I really enjoyed the comedic elements and romance, if this is the direction they always intended for the story, a part of me wonders if it would've been better off as a gritty & dark drama. It's just too big a tragedy to balance the rom-com elements this show was laying out earlier, honestly the more I think about what happened to GY the more my heart really hurts. She was a tiny kid for god's sake, and most of the adults who stayed mum were parents themselves.

I also lowkey would rather GY and DH not to end up together & for both of them to get fresh starts away from everything. As romantic as it would be to have a love triumphs all situation, how can GY not be reminded of the everything when he's with DH/especially considering what he knows now about her mother's role in this? I totally understand DH is a victim herself and Bokhee was in a really tough place of her own, so I'm not trying to make her out to be the devil or blame DH in any way either, but it's not a small accident that GH could just sweep under the blanket. And vice versa for DH too. I think the way they took the story went past the point of return for a convincing happily ever after for those two imo.

Each new reveal in these two episodes was like a fresh knife wound, both for myself as a viewer and for Gyehoon and Dahyun's relationship. It seemed at the point Gyehoon had finally reconciled himself to the fact that Dahyun had made it out but without Gyeyoung, and had expressed to Dahyun how lonely he had been over the years and how much he needed her, he was faced with more and more evidence that Gyeyoung could have been saved, but for the idiocy and selfishness of the adults. Honestly it felt like he was being slowly tortured in these two episodes (YJG, why must you always take on these roles?). The two most innocent people in all this, Gyehoon and Dahyun, have suffered the most, and yet they are the continuing victims of adults seeking to unburden themselves of their own guilt through their confessions (I'm thinking of the construction worker mostly, but even DaHyun's mom seeking out Gyehoon to apologize seemed to me, as it did to Gyehoon, to smack more of a guilty conscience). The only benefit for Gyehoon is the realization that it's not his fault that Gyeyoung disappeared (which should have been made clear to him from the start, except for the constant guilt the adults around him laid on him, including his parents and Chief Seo).
The emotional relationship that Gyehoon and Dahyun have developed, even without the link that first brought Gyehoon to Dahyun, is real and beautifully portrayed by the actors. When you think about how damaged they were as individuals in the beginning of the drama, and how much they have grown together since then, I do feel they are meant to be together, because I can't imagine how they could develop a relationship with anyone else given their scars. DaHyun's loss of memory protected her initially and gave her a brightness despite her misfortunes that provided some levity at the beginning of their relationship. It will take some time for her to recover her natural optimism but I hope she does for the sake of both of them. Their relationship with Dahyun's mom will be strained and difficult but not, I think, insurmountable with the passage of time.
And I hope they do get to sing karaoke, play tag by the ocean, go to an amusement park, and play arcade games together because God knows, they deserve to. (And also, yes, please open the restaurant together -but not in Jihwadong...)

I don't think the mom should feel guilty. Frankly, I don't think the cop should either. It is neither of their faults except for trusting your friend too much. The only person whose guilt I agree with is the guy who left a child asking for help on the street. It is no one's else's fault except the murderer that she died. Still pretty sad all around.

With two episodes remaining I wonder if we will learn why Gye-young was abducted in the first place. Yes, Da-hyun was also taken but I believe it was because she had stumbled upon Gye-young and the kidnappers did not want to risk exposure. Was the motivation behind the kidnapping to extort money from Gye-young's family? Or was it more sinister? Also, what happened to Gye-young and Gye-hoon's father? Are we to assume that he also fell victim to the kidnapper?

This show is way darker and sadder than I thought it would be, but also better.

I thought I was going to watch a somewhat silly romcom with a few serious moments here and there, but instead, this is a crime drama set in a highly dysfunctional small town that breaks up the depressing backstory with some sweet romantic moments here and there. It makes the most of its ensemble cast, too, which I also wasn't expecting.

All that said, I am still watching and enjoying the story, although I'm not sure I buy yet that the connection between the leads is strong enough to overcome their shared childhood trauma. I'm not saying love can't find a way, but that I haven't yet seen a bond between them that suggests they need to be together to fully heal. Then again, it's impossible for me to imagine either one with someone else, even if that would be easier on their psyches. Their pasts are so intertwined and they both want to see the other safe and happy, so I guess it's somewhat believable that they could stay together and have a strong relationship.

But they need to move back to Seoul ASAP. Or anywhere that is not this creepy town full of people who simultaneously look the other way and then judge each other harshly.