THURSDAY ON KILL ME HEAL ME - EPISODE 10 ON JOY PRIME @6:AM

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In Do-hyun’s dream, his child-self huddles in the basement playroom, but he smiles when a hand reaches towards him. Adult Do-hyun realizes that someone else was in the basement with him, and asks who it is. Child Do-hyun grips the hand and beseeches the figure not to go, to stay and play with him. They fall asleep together, hands clasped.

In the present, mirroring his dream, sleeping Do-hyun grips Ri-jin’s hand, and murmurs the same words.

They wake up facing each other, and Ri-jin asks him if he’s okay. Then her eyes widen, and she asks, “Shin Se-gi?” In a moment, he’s on top of her, demanding to know why she’s in Do-hyun’s bedroom. Trapped beneath him, she tells him about becoming Do-hyun’s secret doctor. Se-gi jumps to the conclusion that her job is to get rid of him.

He drags her out by the wrist, determined not to leave her at Do-hyun’s side, but she argues that she’s here as an arbiter so he and Do-hyun can work things out. Temper flaring, he says that this can only end if one of them disappears, and she can’t choose them both. “Would you like me to disappear?” he asks her. Cupping her hands over his, she says it’s not her choice to make.

“You’ve completely fallen for Cha Do-hyun,” he says. Does she really believe his intentions are innocent? Se-gi leaves her with the laptop containing his video message to Do-hyun.

She follows Se-gi instead, and he tells her that since Do-hyun broke the “rule,” he’ll have to punish him. He explains that Ri-jin is Do-hyun’s hostage, so he can both protect his woman, and threaten Se-gi. It’s funny that he’s not exactly wrong.

He sweeps out and Ri-jin chases him down and slips. On her knees, she begs him to tell her what he’s planning. He cryptically replies that he’s going to ruin Do-hyun’s world — so much that he can never clean it up: “So that he’ll hide and never come back, I’m thinking of punishing him thoroughly.”

He turns away, and Ri-jin clutches him in a hug. “Let’s go together,” she tries. He breaks out of her grip. “If you’re not going to have me, don’t touch me,” he tells her. He locks her in and leaves in the red Ferrari.

Ri-jin returns to the laptop, and gasps at the video of Se-gi warning Do-hyun not to mess with his woman. Ri-jin looks up Chae-yeon’s address, and Chief Ahn arrives. Ri-jin assigns the chief to stay at the apartment in case of Se-gi’s return. She takes to the road, with a good idea of where he went.

Chae-yeon’s reception of her engagement ring from Ki-joon is subdued. He sweetly apologizes for his reaction to the rumors, and for putting his reputation before her feelings. He puts the ring on her finger with a happy smile.

Later, she walks Ki-joon to his car. He spots the red Ferrari but doesn’t see Se-gi. Immersed in the shadows, Se-gi watches Chae-yeon go inside.

Chae-yeon’s phone rings, and she eventually answers what she thinks is Do-hyun’s call. She tells him she’s engaged to Ki-joon and he shouldn’t call again. Undeterred, Se-gi pulls her strings, telling her he misses her and wants to meet. She continues to be brusque, but is freaked out when he notes that she’s alone, since Ki-joon just left.

Her doorbell rings and Se-gi goads her to open it — it might be Ki-joon. Although she can’t see anyone, she opens the door anyway, only to be greeted by Se-gi. Note to readers: Don’t try this at home, seriously.

She tells him to leave, and reminds him of his (i.e. Do-hyun’s) warning to avoid him if he crossed the line. Se-gi is mildly impressed by Do-hyun’s forethought. Seeing her engagement ring, he muses that he wanted to put it on her, and Chae-yeon wears a caught expression.

He barges his way in in the name of wine, and the door clicks shut behind them.

Ri-jin parks up behind Se-gi’s car, and catches him coming out of Chae-yeon’s house. He doesn’t tell her what happened. Shrugging off her grip again, he heads to his car. She points him to her car — no, not the driver’s seat — and he complies with the enthusiasm of a sullen teenager.

She demands to know what happened with Chae-yeon. His answer, to use her imagination according to how much she trusts him, frustrates her. But he’s made his point. He tells her that the mad curiosity she feels about not knowing what he’s been doing is exactly how he feels about her and Do-hyun. And she betrayed his trust, he adds. I just noticed how much lower Se-gi’s voice is than Do-hyun’s.

Ri-jin is tired of his games, and asks him what it will take him to stop. Looking her in the eye, he says, “Instead of me, kill Cha Do-hyun.” She doesn’t even have that level of ability, she replies.

They’re met at home by an anxious Chief Ahn, and Se-gi chides him for not recognizing him. Chief Ahn suggests Ri-jin stay elsewhere for the night, but she declines — she and Se-gi have things to talk about.

Pouring himself some wine, Se-gi tells her that if she stayed in the hope of Do-hyun returning, she’ll be disappointed. “That jerk is never coming back. The seal to his memory has been broken,” he elaborates. Ri-jin asks if he knows about the year’s worth of missing memory. “Of course,” he replies, “because I was born to cope with them.”

Following a hunch, she asks if she is in them. He promises to tell her only if she chooses him. Ri-jin explodes. Is he stupid? She already told him she doesn’t have that ability, but he replies that the longer she delays in choosing him, the more he will ravage Do-hyun’s world.

She sleeps on Do-hyun’s couch, and a blanket is drawn over her. She opens her eyes, and asks, “Cha-gun?” He responds, “Yes, I’m Cha Do-hyun.” Oh no, this is too suspicious. That look in his eyes is too calculating. She was worried he was gone, and she tells him she can’t handle Se-gi. He thanks her for what she’s done so far.

The next morning, Se-gi pulls up at Chae-yeon’s house as she comes out. She’s startled by his full Se-gi glory, all sharp wardrobe and styled hair. But he’s only here to collect his car, and tells her he’ll be back tomorrow for the other one.

At the company, Ki-joon is disturbed to see Se-gi come out of the same car he saw outside Chae-yeon’s house the night before.

Se-gi’s edgy look turns heads all morning, and he plucks hearts left and right, while captions (“an uncommonly handsome man”) follow him. Hahahaha. He makes himself comfortable in Grandma Seo’s office, and greets dead Grandpa’s portrait from her chair, a cynical smile on his face.

Secretary Ri-jin and Chief Ahn scour the company looking for Do-hyun. A run-in with Ki-joon’s secretary makes them realize that it’s Se-gi in the driver’s seat, not Do-hyun.

Se-gi flips boredly through a presentation, legs resting on the table…in the middle of a staff meeting. Lol. Ri-jin and Chief Ahn burst in, and since Se-gi won’t leave quietly, they end up wheeling the recalcitrant VP out by the chair.

In the corridor, Se-gi fumes. He throws off Ri-jin’s arms, telling her not to touch him. Annoyed with his repeated anti-touch tirades, she puts her hands aaalllll over him while he flails, but Chief Ahn restrains her with the reminder that they’re at the office.

This puts Se-gi back in control. He points out that here, he is VP Cha Do-hyun, and he has a meeting to attend. He wheels himself back in. He’s such a teenager, ha. Chief Ahn tells her Se-gi’s right — the meeting is mandatory so he has to attend. He’s interrupted by a call from Do-hyun’s mom, inquiring after Ri-jin.

The staff meeting is properly under way, headed by Ki-joon. Se-gi is so focused on making notes that he doesn’t notice Ki-joon addressing him. Chief Ahn, hovering nearby, looks over Se-gi’s shoulder, and LOL his “notes” are variations on “Oh Ri-jin ♥ Shin Se-gi" and cusses against his cousin. Hahaha. Chief Ahn hurriedly disposes of it.

Ki-joon asks Se-gi if he's found Omega. Se-gi has no idea what that means ("Do I even have to catch tuna for you now?"), but Chief Ahn interjects that the film rights have been secured, and signed off on by the mystery writer himself.

Ki-joon grudgingly acknowledges his efforts, but tells him the production will now be turned over to someone else. “How cheap,” Se-gi shoots. He accuses Ki-joon of using him, and asks if he isn't ashamed to openly cast him off like this, now that he's got what he wants.

The rest of the employees gape, but Ki-joon doesn’t rise to it. He simply repeats that the other manager will now head the production. But Chief Ahn reports that Omega’s contract condition was that Do-hyun remain in charge of it.

But in his office later, Ki-joon loses his temper with his secretary (who’s impressed by Do-hyun’s puppy-to-hyena transformation) and has a fit of fury on his own.

Se-gi wonders to Chief Ahn how Do-hyun can be such a fool as to take being put down all the time. Chief Ahn schools him on “responsibility” — unlike him, Do-hyun endures what he must to take care of what he has to protect. Se-gi snarks that the chief and Do-hyun sure are a match made in heaven, but it’s a shame since Do-hyun’s never coming back.

Se-gi notes that he hasn’t seen Ri-jin for a while, and Chief Ahn says she’s meeting with his mom. The news causes Se-gi to seize the chief by the lapels, furiously demanding to know where she is and what the hell he was thinking in putting them together. He storms away after her.

At a restaurant, Do-hyun’s mom gifts Ri-jin a handbag. Although she doesn’t want to accept it, Mom makes her snip the label off and forces her to keep it. She admits it was a bribe, and asks after her son.

Remembering Do-hyun’s nightmares, Ri-jin asks Mom about his year of missing memories, and whether anything bad happened to him then. Mom shifts in her seat and says nothing happened.

Ri-jin then asks if he had a close friend his age when he was younger, and now Mom is really rattled. But she’s saved (or not) by Se-gi’s arrival. He barks at Ri-jin to get up, and before he drags her out, turns to Mom in warning, “Don’t call her out again.” After he leaves, Mom panics at the thought that he might have remembered everything.

Se-gi deposits Ri-jin in his car. She can’t understand why he’s so angry, and tells him his mom must be lonely and in pain. Se-gi, his voice rough with his own pain, spits back, “In pain? Lonely?” Should he take off her mask, he asks, and reveal what kind of woman she is?

“At the scene of abuse, where a person’s soul was being fragmented, there are three types of people. Victim, assailant…and bystander. If just one of those three were absent, the bad thing wouldn’t have happened.”

Ri-jin processes the confession of abuse with horror, while Se-gi continues. “That woman was a bystander. Using that [knowledge] as a weapon, she has survived in Seungjin. Even now, she orders them around under its threat. But could I love that woman?” he asks Ri-jin, struggling to contain his feelings.

Ri-on does some indoor rock-climbing with his editor, but his mind is elsewhere. He puts together all the pieces of his research, along with his encounters with Do-hyun and his various alters, until he figures something out. Ri-jin echoes in his head: “What if it happens against his will?” Her connection to Do-hyun, her job as his private doctor…a man she likes — it all resolves into a picture he doesn’t like at all.

Se-gi and Ri-jin arrive back at his apartment, and he orders her to pack up — they’re leaving. But she asks him why he keeps quiet, when he knows what the missing memories are. He’s slow to answer, and without meeting her eyes, he says, “That bastard can’t handle it.”

Ri-jin disagrees — Do-hyun can handle it. “Then we will die!” Se-gi shouts, “We were made to take his pain for him. If his pain goes away, all of us die.” His ultimatum to Ri-jin finally makes sense: Either Do-hyun carries on living like he has been, or Se-gi lives instead of him. It can only be one or the other.

She repeats her earlier question to him. The memories which he has, that Do-hyun doesn’t — is she in them? He doesn’t answer.

The doorbell rings, and Ri-jin is surprised that it’s Ri-on. Taking her by the hand, he tells her they’re going home. Ignoring her objections, he sticks her into his car and threatens to tell everyone at ID Entertainment that Do-hyun has DID if she leaves it. She’s shocked that he knows. He tells her that now he knows about the dangerous situation, he can’t leave her there, so she should just do as she’s told.

“Are you even her real brother?” Se-gi asks, arriving on the scene. “Cha Do-hyun?” Ri-on asks. The two men face off, and Ri-on clocks that this isn’t Do-hyun. Se-gi wonders how many people have caught on to their secret.

Ri-on informs him that he’s taking his sister back, but Se-gi demands to know on what authority he’s doing so. “As her brother,” he replies. Se-gi threatens to take his eyes out if he carries on claiming a brother’s rights while looking at her with the eyes of a man. Ri-on remains unruffled. He tells Se-gi that he has even less right. In his ear, he finishes, “Because you are Seungjin Group’s son.”

His words root Se-gi to the spot. As they drive away, his eyes well up and his face contorts with pain.

In the car, Ri-jin asks what he said to Se-gi to make him look so sad. Ri-on is too angry to engage in their usual camaraderie. Arriving home, he instructs his sister to ask their parents’ forgiveness. He also tells her not to mention either Do-hyun’s name or Seungjin’s.

The family have company already. Dr. Seok regales the parents with proud stories of their daughter, who comes in right on cue.

After her confession, Ri-jin is all contrition. But her parents are still disappointed that she lied to them (and Mom tries to beat her with a pineapple, LOL), and even more shocked to find that Dr. Seok also knew. They deplore her for not trusting them, but Dr. Seok explains that it was because she had to keep the patient’s secret. He tells them that he’s ashamed of trying to dissuade her, when she followed her conscience as a doctor, and asks them to forgive her this time.

Ri-on burns the midnight oil looking through his Cha family scrapbook. He sighs that Do-hyun hasn’t, in fact, been living happily all this time, “Seeing how your heart has been broken to pieces.”

Ri-jin joins Dr. Seok for late-night snacks and thanks him for his support earlier. He asks about Do-hyun not coming back. She tells him that Se-gi said he went into hiding when the seal to his memory broke, but Dr. Seok doesn’t know what it means either. Ri-jin thinks the key to the memory is in the last nightmare he had.

She worries that he really might not return. Dr. Seok thinks there’s a possibility that when the seal broke, there was some kind of exchange between them. Either Do-hyun will come back stronger, or Se-gi will overpower him and stay in control.

Se-gi watches himself in the mirror, and Dr. Seok continues in voiceover: The most important thing for Do-hyun is how he’ll deal with the pain of his memories. “All we can do is trust him and wait,” he finishes.

“Are you there, Cha Do-hyun?” Se-gi asks his reflection. It’s time to deal with the past, he tells him. The people who made him into a monster can’t be let off. “Shall I do it, or will you? If you want to do it, come out. You can’t?” This scene is cut so hauntingly. If he can’t, then he should just stay crumpled up and never come back, he tells his distorted image. But a tear rolls out, belying his angry words.

He leaves the bathroom, and all that remains is an empty reflection.

Grandma Seo enters her dark office and is shocked by Se-gi’s presence. Se-gi tells her he was only doing what she said, “Like a night robber, making no sound. Living quietly as if I didn’t exist.” She’s suddenly fearful, and with that sharp smile, he asks if she remembers. He muses that everyone thinks he’s lost his memories — as if they hoped for it.

She asks him what he wants. Seungjin Group, he says. “Give it to me, Grandmother.” He tells her that waiting for her son to wake up is futile, and picks up his portrait. Grandma is frantic to retrieve her precious picture from him and they scuffle.

He purposely drops it, and to her distress, it shatters. Her usual ire returns and she raises her hand to hit him, but he blocks her easily. Se-gi offers to end her lingering attachment for her, and fear fills her face.

Se-gi drives furiously, and arrives at his father’s bedside. All we can see is Se-gi’s twisted reflection until he settles by his father.

Stroking his face, he tells him he shouldn’t have saved him back then, seeing how he’s in a coma now. “I became a monster because of you, father. Should I…let you rest peacefully?” His hand moves ominously towards a valve.

From deep inside, a disembodied voice asks why he’s being disturbed: “I’ve suffered so much.” Is Do-hyun back? With tears on his face, his hand touches his father’s cheek. “Father…” he sighs.

MONDAY KILL ME HEAL ME - EPISODE 7 ON JOY PRIME @6:AM

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We back up a little to fill in some of the gaps before last week’s cliffhanger (so to speak). Chief Ahn looks through a display case of Omega-3 murder mysteries at a bookstore, as part of his search for the elusive author.

Who else should sidle up next to him but Ri-on, the Omega writer himself. He greets Chief Ahn and observes impishly that the author of Omega-3 is supposed to be very handsome, I mean really handsome, like Won Bin level. Pfft. Chief Ahn didn’t think anyone had ever seen the author’s face, but Ri-on replies that he’s only repeating the rumors.

While heading back to the company Chief Ahn runs into Grandma Seo, who tells him to get into her car. She has noticed that something is off about Do-hyun, and is searching for answers. Chief Ahn sees Do-hyun walking away from the company, and although it seems strange he can’t get out of the car without rousing Grandma Seo’s suspicions.

This brings us to Yo-sub arriving at the rooftop, and the challenge to find him in one hour that ended last week’s episode. Ri-jin tries to call Chief Ahn, but he cannot answer as he is still being interrogated by Grandma Seo.

Step by step, Grandma Seo lays out the things that made her suspicious. She knows Do-hyun’s problem can’t be anything as simple as a hidden woman somewhere, because he practically exiled himself to America when he was only fifteen. There must be a reason he never came back, not even when his mother called him, and that reason is probably connected with why he is determined to return to America in three months. “What secret is he hiding from me?” demands Grandma Seo.



When Chief Ahn doesn’t pick up the phone, Ri-jin calls Dr. Seok for advice. She learns that aside from having suicidal tendencies, Yo-sub is seventeen, a painter who hates anything ugly, and has a near genius-level intellect. When Ri-jin relays Yo-sub’s words about the sky becoming his grave, Dr. Seok realizes that he must be on a rooftop somewhere.

They know he won’t be at the company, because there are too many people and CCTVs for him to be able to wait for an hour without anyone noticing. Ri-jin sees a skyscraper in the distance that gives her an idea, and she ends her call with Dr. Seok. “I’m taking chances—I’m either right or wrong. I have to at least try.”

Chief Ahn prepares to tell Grandma Seo the answers to her questions, but it turns out that she’s not interested. “I don’t care what he’s hiding, or what secrets he has,” she declares. She only wants Chief Ahn to make sure Ki-joon’s father doesn’t figure out the secret and use it to gain power. “Until my son comes back,” she says, “that child must be protected.” And what happens after that, I wonder?

Ri-jin sees a craft store, which triggers her memory of the sound of Yo-sub’s spray bottle over the phone. She recreates the scene in her mind, watching Yo-sub purchase art supplies and then head across the street to a building that is conveniently closed for remodeling.

After painting all seven personalities as his dying message, Yo-sub waits on the rooftop of the building. He checks his watch and sees that the hour is up.

Rising to his feet, he advances to the edge and balances on one foot. He leans forward, arms spread to the sky. “NO!” Ri-jin’s shout makes him freeze, and Yo-sub turns away from the ledge.

Ri-jin confronts Yo-sub, telling him he doesn’t have the right to die when he pleases, since he shares the body. Yo-sub believes he’s only doing what the others don’t have the courage to do. He’s tired of living this way, as a mutant, never knowing which personality will control the body next.

Ri-jin” “Everyone has several people living inside of them. There’s the me who wants to live, and the me who wants to die. I live every day fighting against the me who just wants to give up. You don’t even have the courage to fight!”
“Come down,” Ri-jin says, holding out her hand. But Yo-sub holds up two fingers, since she was two minutes late in finding him. “If you wanted to save us,” he tells her, “you shouldn’t have been late.”



Ri-jin grabs at Yo-sub’s leg, but he shakes her off. She crashes into bundles of poles, which land on her head and inflict a nasty gash. Yo-sub looks dismayed to see her hurt, but he turns to the ledge nevertheless. Shaking off the pain, Ri-jin climbs up next to him and throws him to the lower level of the roof.

As Yo-sub struggles, Ri-jin grabs him by the collar and starts to call Do-hyun by name. Heedless of the blood dripping from the gash on her forehead, she yells for Do-hyun to stop being scared and come out.

We see the real Do-hyun suspended in dark, murky water, representing how he is trapped and senseless inside his own mind. Then Ri-jin’s voice echoes from somewhere far away, calling Do-hyun’s name again and again. His fingers twitch; his eyes open.

Do-hyun wakes up—the first thing he sees is Ri-jin’s face, bloody and tear-stained, as she pleads with him to come to his senses. “I am Cha Do-hyun,” he whispers. Ri-jin looks into his eyes, and what she sees there finally allows her to relax: “That’s right,” she confirms. “You really are Cha Do-hyun.”

With the danger averted, all the emotions Ri-jin has been suppressing come welling up. She starts to cry, wailing that she thought Do-hyun was really going to die. He caresses her cheek, wiping away both blood and tears, and hugs her close.

Do-hyun doesn’t say anything, but only holds Ri-jin as she cries. A few tears run down Do-hyun’s face as well, and they cling to each other on the rooftop.

Back at the hospital, Ri-jin recovers while Do-hyun reports to Dr. Seok. The doctor asks Do-hyun not to pursue Ri-jin as his secret physician. She will be in danger the longer she stays near him, and she has the opportunity to study at Johns Hopkins and further her career. As if Do-hyun didn’t already feel guilty enough, Dr. Seok points out that this is the second time Ri-jin has been in the emergency room because of him.

Do-hyun recalls how it felt to be drifting within his mind, when suddenly he could hear Ri-jin’s voice calling to him. He admits to Dr. Seok that he wishes someone would call for him every time he loses himself. “Is that just my greed?” he asks. “Must I keep living like a monster?” Torn between his compassion for Do-hyun and his fear for Ri-jin, Dr. Seok has no answer for him.



Do-hyun sits on the hospital stairs, staring at his reflection. Ri-jin joins him, asking if he’s looking at anyone in particular. “If you see Yo-sub,” she says, “tell him I’m not letting him off easy next time I see him!” Tell it, sister.

Do-hyun replies with a seeming tangent—he says that everyone who ever found out his secret became rich, and then left him. As a child, he often wondered why people always wanted to get rich, and never wanted to play with him. But as he grew, he understood that they were only being smart; that people too close to him got hurt. “I thought I could pay you to stay by my side and not get emotionally attached,” he admits to Ri-jin. “But now I’m not confident.”

Do-hyun takes back his offer, asking Ri-jin to leave and not look back. “I’m not a beast who will turn into a handsome prince when the magic wears off,” he says. “I’m just a monster.” He leaves Ri-jin behind as he walks out of the hospital.

Do-hyun prepares for work alone, staring into his mirror. He receives a call from his mother, who asks him whether he still gets nightmares these days. She’s still worried about the “I am Nana” message that Do-hyun scrawled in the wine cellar, though she doesn’t mention that to him. Do-hyun claims that he doesn’t get those nightmares any more, while remembering the dream in which an adult Ri-jin appeared before his child self.

Do-hyun’s mother hangs up when her private investigator arrives. She orders him to look into Min Seo-yeon, the ex-chairman’s first wife, in order to find her missing child. She makes him promise to maintain the utmost secrecy.



Ri-on meets with his editor, getting past the other employees by posing as the leader of Omega-3’s fan club. The editor has read the new storyline and wants to know more. Ri-on is happy to oblige, presenting the story of his past as if it were the outline for a novel.

He was adopted as a child, but lost all memories of what happened before his adoption. One day he overheard his parents talking about his adoption. They mentioned a certain chaebol family, which first put Ri-on on the trail. As Ri-on lays out this tale before his eager editor, we see his mother searching his room, growing ever closer to the wooden board which hides his Wall of Stalkery. Mom slides the board aside, revealing… dirty pictures. Very classy, Ri-on.

Ri-on stops his story there, much to his editor’s dismay. But his editor muses that Ri-on even went to America to cover this story, so he wonders if it’s fiction or nonfiction. “We’ll just have to wait and see,” Ri-on replies.



Chief Ahn reports to Do-hyun about the Omega-3 writer. He believes that they may be able to approach the author through his fan club. Do-hyun asks Chief Ahn to think of ways to attract Omega-3’s interest, then leaves for a blind date arranged by his grandmother.

Chae-yeon meets Ki-joon’s parents for lunch, but Ki-joon himself does not show. Chae-yeon grows annoyed when he brushes her off, since she canceled her appointments to eat with his family.

From outside the dining room, Chae-yeon overhears Ki-joon’s parents arguing about her and Ki-joon. His father thinks Ki-joon is busy finding a “weapon” he can use to take out Do-hyun, while his mother worries that if Ki-joon keeps treating his marriage lightly, Do-hyun might marry Myeongsun Group’s second daughter and consolidate power more quickly. It’s clear that, despite their disagreement, both parents see Chae-yeon only as a bundle of stock options.



Do-hyun spaces out during his blind date, looking at the snow through the window. His date calls him out, but then Chae-yeon swoops in with a major chip on her shoulder. She says that Do-hyun isn’t nearly as innocent as he looks, since he’s out dating even though he already has a doctor girlfriend.

She asks Do-hyun’s date if he told her to run away from him too, and takes vicious pleasure in throwing Do-hyun’s words back in his face about not stringing multiple people along.

Ri-jin meets Dr. Seok before leaving for Johns Hopkins. He says he was worried that she might not leave because of what happened with Yo-sub. As he shakes her hand, he reminds her that a doctor is not a savior—they can’t save everyone, and it’s dangerous to think they can.

As Ri-jin carries her belongings out of the hospital, she runs into Ki-joon. He helps her gather everything up before heading to Dr. Seok’s office. The doctor is tormented with thoughts of Do-hyun asking if he’s condemned to live like a monster.

Ki-joon turns on the charm for Dr. Seok, claiming that Do-hyun recommended his skills. But Dr. Seok sees right away that Ki-joon only wants to figure out why Do-hyun needed to see a doctor in the first place.

Rebuffed by the loyal Dr. Seok, Ki-joon asks a receptionist about Oh Ri-jin, who is his other lead. He finds out that he missed her by minutes, and realizes that the woman he ran into in the hallway must have been Ri-jin.

On a whim, Do-hyun decides to go up to the rooftop where Yo-sub tried to commit suicide. Ri-jin has already been there, clearing snow away from Yo-sub’s mural and making a cute little snowman. Do-hyun pauses at the stairs, looking down at the “KILL ME” message Yo-sub scrawled on the floor. Ri-jin has spray-painted over it, so it now reads “HEAL ME.”

At the airport, Ri-jin says goodbye to her family. Mom is all teary, while Dad asks for a nice pair of black shoes from America—he even has the catalogue with him and the page marked out. “The caramel brown is better,” Ri-jin sniffs. “Limited Edition.”

There’s one thing left to do, and that’s to take a family picture. Dad grumbles at first about being a nuisance to the other customers, but that doesn’t last long as they get out the selfie stick. The four knuckleheads jump in a circle, chanting “Johns Hopkins!” and coming perilously close to whacking one poor lady in the head with their camera. I’ve said it before, but this family is my favorite.

Ri-on presents Ri-jin with a pair of shoes with wings on them, reminding her of his promise that he would always be there to help her fly. Whatever choice she makes is the right choice, he says, dropping his goofy persona to let his sincerity shine through. “I love you, Ri-on,” says Ri-jin. Poor Ri-on knows she means it like a sister, and the stricken look on his face shows his dilemma.

Back at his house, Do-hyun asks Chief Ahn to make sure that his next secret physician is male, because having a female one could lead to “complications.” But he is distracted by the sound of someone entering his passcode at the front door. Ri-jin enters, trailing her luggage, and Do-hyun’s jaw drops.

“My introduction is a little late,” Ri-jin says cheerily. “I’m your new physician, Oh ri-jin!”

Ri-jin promises three things. First, she will not put either Do-hyun or Se-gi to sleep (i.e., kill one of the personalities), but she will try to calm down Se-gi if the situation calls for it. Second, she will act as a mediator between Se-gi and Do-hyun, so the two of them can communicate. Third and last, she will try to talk down the other personalities so that Do-hyun can live his life and perform his duties without fear.

In voiceover, Ri-jin apologizes to her family for deceiving them. She has been blessed with such a loving, supportive family, and she feels sorry for Do-hyun because he has no one. She wants to help him, to provide some of the support she has received all her life. We see Ri-on stretch out on the bank of the Han River, troubled by his thoughts and emotions.

Ri-jin holds out her hand to Do-hyun. “One of the things I want to teach him,” she thinks, “is that it’s okay to take someone’s hand if she offers it to you.” Do-hyun doesn’t take her hand right away, so Ri-jin huffs that she’ll just go back to Johns Hopkins. Do-hyun reaches out to stop her from leaving.



Do-hyun says that if she really takes his hand, there’s no turning back. “Even if it’s just a ball that rolled accidentally into my castle, I won’t return it. Is that okay?” He holds out his own hand.

Ri-jin laughs, accepts his outstretched hand, and the two of them trade the most adorable shy smiles. Then her eyes narrow, and she squeezes Do-hyun’s hand mercilessly. “Why is it harder to shake your hand than a Hallyu star’s?” she snarls. “Just go for it!”

In voiceover, she asks her parents for their understanding. Chief Ahn follows them around the room as Ri-jin continues to crush Do-hyun’s hand. There’s a moral here, I think: Be careful what you wish for!

MONDAY ON REBEL - EPISODE 9 ON JOY PRIME @ 8: AM

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The mysterious scholar leads Gil-hyun into a court of students all furiously studying Confucian text. Gil-hyun remembers the time in his youth when he loved to read but was punished for his unfitting intelligence as a slave. As Gil-hyun looks around in awe, the mysterious scholar explains that all these students are studying for the upcoming civil service exam.

He then turns to Gil-hyun and asks who he is (in reference to his family ancestry). Gil-hyun quickly thinks back to the information he gathered at the deceased man’s home in the woods. He repeats the family credentials listed in the man’s will as his own, and then the scholar asks about his parents. Gil-hyun is saved by an interruption by a fellow student, who calls the scholar “Teacher” — we’ll call the scholar TEACHER SONG now. Teacher Song introduces Gil-hyun to the student.



The friendly student walks with Gil-hyun and asks if he also met Teacher Song in front of the stationary stand. It seems Teacher Song frequently picks up new students in this manner, and we learn that he does so because this house is a place for scholar-hopefuls whose fathers have passed away early, like him, or who lack the money, background, and social standing to pursue this path.

The student suggests that Gil-hyun join them, since people like themselves need to stick together to succeed. But Gil-hyun claims that he does not plan on taking the civil service examination and that he merely visited the scholars’ hall because he was curious about what it looked like. Unfazed by the rejection, the student insists that Gil-hyun study with them, saying that he feels like he’s known Gil-hyun like an old friend. The music cue at “old friend” gets my spidey senses tingling…



We revisit the Choongwongoon residence, where Madam Jo thanks Choongwongoon before she leaves to support her son, who’s taking the civil service exam soon. She seems to have some regret about not completely obliterating Amogae’s followers and warns him about Gil-dong. Quoting her own son, she claims with urgency: “He’s strong. He’s a beast.”

Choongwongoon laughs in response. He knows that eliminating all of Amogae’s followers will take time, since Amogae ruled as the Ikhwari Elder for over ten years. With Amogae’s death, he claims that the root of their enemies has been destroyed, so the rest will follow. He assures Madam Jo that Gil-dong died, since no beast could possibly survive the fall from that cliff. He laughs at her overrated fear, but she seems to sense something ominous.

As Madam Jo leaves, Choongwongoon offers her the best brushes he could find as a gift for her son. She thanks her savior, calling him the nation’s pillar. He responds humbly, that he’s merely preserving social order. Behind him, Heotaehak scoffs that he’s spewing out bullshit. Wary of the consequences, Heotaehak’s son stands between Choongwongoon and his father as a buffer, but fortunately, it doesn’t seem like Choongwongoon heard the comment.

As Heotaehak walks around with Amogae’s prayer beads, we jump back to the new Bandit HQ, where Gil-dong explains the plan. He says that the first thing that Heotaehak took — upon Amogae’s defeat — were the prayer beads, which symbolize social power. He reminds his team about Amogae’s vow during the blood brothers ceremony to protect his family, friends, and even their dog. Gil-dong says they must live up to their reputation as gangsters and seek revenge.

That night, Yonggae gets up and quietly leaves the house while the rest of the gang sleeps. As he walks away, he’s followed by Segul. They’ve decided that they can’t follow Gil-dong’s crazy plan. Segul seems ready to head off, but a remorseful Yonggae lingers to give Amogae a formal farewell bow from outside.

Before they can leave for good, Gil-dong comes outside to ask if they’re really leaving. Turns out, the rest of the gang wasn’t asleep, and they listen in. Yonggae apologizes to a tearful Gil-dong and says that he’s scared of Choongwongoon. They leave, and Gil-dong cries outside while Amogae listens from his room somberly.



The next morning, the gang’s quiet breakfast table is interrupted by Magistrate Eom, who starts blabbing away at how no one saw him come to the house. He asks about Yonggae and Segul, which only intensifies the tension in the room. Keutsae slams his bowl on the table and mutters about the traitors.

Ga-ryung feeds Amogae in his room, and he ushers her to eat. She claims to have eaten already and continues to feed him as she talks about Gil-dong’s ridiculous requests for her to stop cooking and cleaning. She asks incredulously as to what else a woman should be doing other than cooking and cleaning (ah, internalized gender roles, there you are). Amogae smiles at her, and she freezes in surprise at the first smile she’s seen from him. She lets slip her comment that Gil-dong must be handsome like his father before she can hold her tongue, and that makes Amogae smile a little wider.



In the next room, Magistrate Eom shakes his head at the two runaways, but demands to know how Gil-dong plans on capturing Heotaehak. Everyone’s in a bad mood, and Il-chung pointedly asks why Magistrate Eom continues to visit the house. Didn’t he cause this whole tragedy? Isn’t he the reason why Gil-hyun and Eorini are lost? Taking the hint, Magistrate Eom stands up to leave and never come back. Before he exits the room, he says that he was the happiest when he lived with all of them, though he admits that he knows that he’s at fault.

Magistrate Eom struggles to take charge in his own office, since his secretary knows that he’s nothing without Amogae to back his power. As he continues to nag his secretary, he spots his undergarment robe hanging outside, splattered with blood. He tells his secretary that no one has survived Amogae’s wrath after such a sign. The secretary insists that Amogae is dead, but Magistrate Eom claims that Amogae’s gang is still alive. He continues to overact and fan the fire for the secretary to take action.

And the secretary does. He takes the bloody robe to Heotaehak and tells him of the curse. Heotaehak doesn’t believe it, and just then, they’re interrupted by an urgent message about Magistrate Eom.

They follow a bloody trail into his office, where they find a small box on the desk. Heotaehak’s son opens it to find a severed tongue supposedly belonging to Magistrate Eom. Heotaehak opens a letter that explains that they cut the magistrate’s tongue for his sins against Amogae.

We return to Bandit HQ, where we see Magistrate Eom sitting among the gang, now forced into hiding. He didn’t leave them, after all. In a quick flashback, we see Gil-dong following an upset Magistrate Eom outside. He asked if Heotaehak trusts that Magistrate Eom betrayed Amogae, since that fact alone would be enough.

With the ball rolling, the rest of the gang wonders what they’re going to do. Soboori worries that they only have three pairs of fists against their enemies, and Gil-dong claims that he’s able to fight as the fourth addition. They’re not convinced, and Keutsae reveals that he actually lost to Gil-dong on purpose in their previous arm-wrestling match. Gil-dong challenges Keutsae to another match and asks to be included as a fighter if he wins.

Keutsae and Gil-dong have an arm-wrestling rematch, and Gil-dong looks more at ease than ever. Amogae and Ga-ryung come outside as the match begins, and they watch Keutsae struggle more and more as Gil-dong holds his position. Eventually, Gil-dong slams his arm down and defeats the all-powerful Keutsae. Everyone looks alarmed, and Amogae looks at his son curiously.



Inside his room, Amogae stares forward intensely, enough to stop Ga-ryung from feeding him chestnuts. She eats them herself and talks to him (but mostly to herself) about Gil-dong’s strength. He continues to look forward intensely while Ga-ryung continues to cover her lips with black ash from the chestnuts.

Finally accepted as a useful body in this fight, Gil-dong says that they’ll slowly torture Heotaehak. They adopt a form of guerilla warfare, just to be a little extra petty and sneaky. They leave snakes in Heotaehak’s bed, dig a fatally deep hole along Heotaehak’s path, poison his food, and throw a knife at his house as a morning greeting. They’re all little things, but they definitely torture Heotaehak to the brink of insanity.

Choongwongoon addresses the rumors about the threats from Amogae’s followers, but Heotaehak denies them. Choonwongon calls Heotaehak boring, stupid, and pathetic, and reminds him that he’ll be invited by the king to move to Hanyang soon. If these rebels disrupt their move, Heotaehak will be severely punished.



He dismisses Heoetaehak, but asks his son to stay in the room. Choongwongoon asks the son for his name (finally!), and we learn that it’s MORI. He’s not Heotaehak’s real son, but he was an adopted nomad. He initially asked to become a slave so that he could eat, but Heotaehak offered to teach him his art. After his introduction, Mori follows Heotaehak outside and assures him that they’ll find the rebels, but Heotaehak isn’t too convinced.

Ilchung returns from his village trip and reports back on the heightened tension between Heotaehak and Choongwongoon. Gil-dong plans to steal the prayer beads next to elevate the threat, since Heotaehak sleeps with the beads at his bedside. Ilchung says that there’s a way to do this via the women Heotaehak recruits to please Choongwongoon. They would need a trustworthy person on their side…



From the corner of the room, Ga-ryung volunteers. She offers to help, and the rest of the gang agrees that she would be the most trustworthy person, since she’s already on their side. Keutsae worries about the consequences if the plan goes awry, and at that, Gil-dong refuses to let Ga-ryung help. He tells her to go home, but she says that she has no home to return to.

Outside, Ga-ryung confidently says that she can do well. Gil-dong coldly says that he won’t care if things go awry and she dies. Ouch, that hurts, but Ga-ryung doesn’t make it too obvious. He tells her that she must steal the prayer beads and one of Heotaehak’s undergarment robes without being caught. She’ll have someone to help her, but she must pretend that she doesn’t know the helper.

The friendly student at the scholars’ house comes out with a smile. He sees a familiar face waiting for him and calls out to his mother. She turns around, and omo — it’s Madam Jo. She calls her son’s name, SOO-HAK, with gifts in hand.



Gil-hyun wanders around the halls, watching students study and practice their writing. He sits down at one of the tables with a brush in hand and overhears a conversation about getting selected into the court. The students claim that the current king specifically wants a Buddhist ceremony (one that requires a food offering for a lonely spirit). The students don’t seem to understand the king’s reasons.

Neither do the court officials, as they express disapproval at the king’s insistence on the ritual, since it conflicts with the former king’s laws and progress based on Confucian ideals (which is considered the modern form of government in Joseon). They state that a dutiful son will not change his father’s laws for three years after his death. Going against these rules would make King Yeonsangun disloyal.

Yeonsangun finds the criticisms hurtful and tells his court that he is settling into his role. He simply wants to send off his mother with the Buddhist ceremony, but the officials have consistently refused to allow this. They collectively express their deep disapproval of the ritual, but one official defends the king’s actions, sympathizing with his sorrow for his mother’s death years ago.

But another official argues that this sympathizing official is simply flattering the king, and they go on to shame the sycophantic official. As the officials continue to argue, Yeonsangun observes these arguments and thinks back to his father’s last words about the bickering officials who claim their side is more virtuous than their weaker opponents. His father told his son to remember the Confucian texts and follow their path, as it is the only safe way.

In the palace, the gisaeng troupe chatters about the rumors surrounding the mysterious king, and Nok-soo listens in. Wolhaemae stops the gossiping by playing her instrument and urging others to join in the fun. They play their music until one of their own rushes in warning about someone from the palace entering. It’s Eunuch Kim and another advisor, and they choose three women to perform at the palace. Nok-soo is not included in the selection, and she looks up at Eunuch Kim, wondering if he’s the reason.

Nok-soo follows Eunuch Kim outside and tells him that she sensed that he wasn’t a simple mat merchant. He responds that he expected much more of her as well, but he seems to have reservations about her relationship with Gil-dong. Nok-soo claims that it’s all in the past and that all gisaengs have one person they hold dear. She claims that there are even some gisaengs with children (though she doesn’t reveal that she does), so she tries to persuade Eunuch Kim that her past admiration of Gil-dong shouldn’t impede her.



Eunuch Kim agrees, but he tells her that she shouldn’t consider directly serving (marrying) the king. Nok-soo isn’t discouraged by his warning and slyly says she has no control over the king’s decision. Her ambitions and will all depend on the king, she says with a smile.

Back at Choongwongoon’s house, Mori scans through the lines of slave-hopefuls — where Ga-ryung is planted — and selects a few to join the house. He initially picks Ga-ryung, but he spots a scar on her neck and turns her away. She protests that he promised to feed her, but she’s dragged away from the house. She escapes by biting the man’s arm — her specialty — and runs away.

She’s dragged away by another man, who quickly ushers her under the house. He covers her with hay bundles and quickly orders her to stay there until dark. Then, she will see a servant girl delivering water to Heotaehak. The man diverts attention away from Ga-ryung’s hiding spot, effectively leaving her on her own.
Gil-dong walks through the village market with a worried look towards the house, and we transition into nighttime. Ga-ryung sneaks out of her hiding spot and scurries over to watch the guards in front of Heotaehak’s room. She hides behind a bush as Mori walks past, and she intercepts the platter from the servant girl with her effective lies.

She quietly enters Heotaehak’s room, tiptoeing to keep her presence unknown. She sits down by the sleeping Heotaehak and waves her hand in front of his face. He doesn’t respond, so she goes forward with the plan. She remembers the gang saying that Heotaehak keeps his prayer beads above his head, so she opens the box placed there. She doesn’t find anything, but Heotaehak shuffles in his sleep and reveals the prayer beads wrapped around his right wrist.



Ga-ryung quietly hops over to the other side of the sleeping Heotaehak and carefully reaches for the beads. She slowly shifts the beads off his hand, when suddenly he sits up, yelling, “Choongwongoon!” Oh my god, my heart. He slumps back onto the floor and back into sleep, and Ga-ryung looks relieved as she proudly holds the prayer beads in her hands.

Gil-dong waits just outside the house, and he spots Ga-ryung peeping her head over the manor’s wall. He runs toward her and motions her to hop over. She looks around and carefully climbs onto the wall, and as she carefully inches her way down, she slips and falls down toward Gil-dong. He rushes to catch her fall, and they’re both shocked by the fall and their following proximity. Still holding onto him tightly, she looks up and smiles. “You’re my orabeoni now,” she says, and he smiles back.



Heotaehak wakes up from his deep slumber and notices his empty right hand. He jerks up with widened eyes and immediately goes through his clothing. He can’t find his undergarment robe and yells for Mori, who rushes in. They go outside and find his white robe, covered in blood and hanging from a tree. Heotaehak is completely shaken.

Ilchung reports to Gil-dong that Heotaehak has fired his whole team out of distrust. When he reassembles his team, they’ll make sure to include a few of their people to destroy Heotaehak from within. Amogae limps out of his room with the help of Soboori, and he sees Gil-dong with the prayer beads in his hands. He looks at his son with deep longing eyes as we get a glimpse of the past, from Amogae’s murder to Gil-dong’s resolve to get revenge. We hear Gil-dong’s plea as we watch this montage:

Gil-dong: “There are people in the world that refuse to watch people like us live like humans. It is not because these people are bad people — it’s because we are not human in their eyes. Is that their fault? It’s our fault. When they tell us that we’re not human and we acquiesce to say ‘Yes, we’re not human,’ they treat us like we’re not human. Instead of humans, shall we live as monsters?”

Gil-dong covers his sleeping father with the blanket and leaves to execute his revenge. When he leaves the room, Amogae opens his eyes, still deep in thought and unable to sleep in the wake of the revenge talk.

The four Amogae Avengers prepare to leave the house under the watch of Magistrate Eom and Ga-ryung, who looks worriedly at Gil-dong. Magistrate Eom jokingly worries about old Soboori, who’s long past his prime, and it’s only a half-joke because they are undeniably older now. As they leave, Ga-ryung tells Gil-dong that they better be home by the next morning. She’ll have seven bowls of rice prepared.



That night, Heotaehak struggles to fall asleep, tossing and jerking upright with anxiety. He urgently yells for Mori and sighs in relief when his trusted follower arrives promptly. Then suddenly, they hear someone enter through the gates. It’s an unknown injured man covered in blood. Mori tells his minions to guard the house and runs outside to site of the commotion. Then the “injured” man looks up and smiles. It’s Gil-dong in disguise.

Outside, Soboori, Ilchung, and Keutsae fight off their enemies, still pretty swift for their age. At the sight of Mori and more troops, they run away. Mori senses something off and orders half of his troops back to the house.

Our three avengers face their opponents and wonder why there are so many to fight off. Soboori prepares himself to return to his prime fighting days, as do Ilchung and Keutsae. But before they can begin, one of their opponents gets beaten and thrown toward them. Behind the crowd, Eop-san announces his arrival and beats his way toward his hyungs. Eop-san says he’ll save his story for later, and the four of them jump right into the fight, now with some necessary young blood on their side.

When Mori returns to the home, he finds all of his guards beaten and thrown onto the roof. He sees the door to Heotaehak’s room broken open, and sees a figure flying over the roof. It’s Gil-dong kidnapping Heotaehak, and Mori runs after them.

The next morning, Heotaehak wakes up tied to a wooden pillar. Four shadowed figures mock him and wonder how they should bury him, which only makes him squirm even more. A masked Gil-dong enters and pulls down his mask, which the music makes into a more epic and exciting scene. He greets their captive, saying that it’s been a while since they’ve last met.



At the palace, Eunuch Kim apologizes to Yeonsangun about their troupe, which seems to lack the talent to please the king. Yeonsangun doesn’t seem too bothered, as he’s still conflicted by his father’s advice on how to rule. He seems tired of the persistent Buddhist ceremony disapproval from the officials and knows that the officials are trying to tame him to their liking.

Eunuch Kim reminds him that his father rose to the throne at the early age of thirteen and tells him not to be discouraged. Yeonsangun nods and says that his father became a flag before asking if a person can live as a flag.

We flash back to the king’s deathbed, where the king told his son that Joseon is a Confucian state and must remain that way. He advised his son to point out the wrongs if someone suggests otherwise so that he can become the highest and most virtuous flag (we see that he was referencing the symbolism of a flag).

Wolhamae goes outside to find Nok-soo, who’s staring blankly at nothing. She says that she thought Nok-soo would flourish inside the temple, but she had no idea that the mat merchant would be the obstacle. She curses the merchant, who watched Nok-soo’s whole relationship with Gil-dong, and then curses Gil-dong for stumbling into their gibang, of all places.



Gil-dong approaches captive Heotaehak and puts a knife at his throat. He slices the ropes tying Heotaehak’s hands and lets him free, because he claims he can capture him anytime he wants. Gil-dong dares him to test them and advises him to pray for good fortune — to not get bitten by a snake, fall into a hole, or eat poisoned food. This proves to Heotaehak that those past incidents were not accidents, and he shrinks smaller in fear.

Gil-dong gives him the option to continue living in fear, or to help them capture Choongwongoon. Heotaehak initially refuses, but Gil-dong knows that he’s treated like a dog in that house. He berates Heotaehak for killing his father, only to become a dog for it. Gil-dong offers him a spot on the Amogae brotherhood. Amogae’s people are not treated like dogs and always repay what they’ve suffered, he adds. If Heotaehak joins them, then Amogae’s people will avenge the people who’ve made him suffer. So is he in?



Mori searches for Heotaehak through the night, and he sees someone walking towards them in the distance. It’s Heotaehak, but he doesn’t acknowledge Mori and continues to walk forward.

It’s the day of Choongwongoon’s big move, and Gil-dong is disguised as a servant. He nods at Heotaehak, who seems to have accepted the offer into the brotherhood. Choongwongoon exits the gates and walks down to his horse, where Gil-dong happily gets on his knees for the royal family member to use him as a mounting block. Choongwongoon looks pleased and tells Heotaehak that he’s trained the servants well.

While Gil-dong kneels, his innocent smile slowly drops and forms into a sly smile, one ready for revenge.