Recap: Pinocchio Episode 9

No secret can be kept forever.

 

Episode 9 “The Pied Piper”

Jae Myung starts asking nicely, but grows more menacing as he approaches Dal Po- “Why did you hide that you were a reporter? Why did you come to my house? Why did you look in to my car?!”

Dal Po replies that he saw Jae Myung hyung’s truck by chance while he was investigating around his neighborhood and was just happy to see the it. Jae Myung is incensed by the fact that a reporter is calling him hyung so he grabs and pushes Dal Po against the tree and yells, “Don’t you ever call me hyung again. Don’t you ever come near me again! All reporters are sickening.”

Jae Myung drives off in his truck angrily, leaving Dal Po completely shaken.

Needing some guidance, Dal Po heads back in YGN and seeks Gyo Dong. He asks him, his face covered in confusion, “What if you had a family member you were separated from a long time ago, and what if you finally managed to meet that family member again, but that person doesn’t turn out to be what you expected. What would you do?”

Gyo Dong asks Dal Po what he means exactly, and Dal Po adds, “What if that person harmed someone?”

Gyo Dong immediately stops typing what he was typing and closes the door to the meeting room. He asks if Dal Po is sure, and Dal Po replies it is only a hunch, and still speaking in hypotheticals, “A hunch that no one else could know but you.”

Gyo Dong tells Dal Po that if it were him, he would investigate so he can find concrete evidence, not just rely on a hunch. If it were him, he would worry only after he found out the truth.

At the snowy intersection, Jae Myung crashes his truck into the sliding white truck to save the boy who was about to get crushed by it. MSC cameraman Lee Joo Ho makes sure to keep his camera on Jae Myung and captures the whole scene. He films Jae Myung getting out his truck, hobbling over to the boy, and asking the boy, calling him Ha Myung, “Are you okay?” Jae Myungs faints once he gets a positive answer from the boy.

In Ha and Beom Jo stare in disbelief at the situation in front of them. In Ha asks, “This is our exclusive, right?” Beom Jo replies in shock, “I think it is.”

Lee Joo Ho films Jae Myung being loaded onto the ambulance. He recognizes Jae Myung as a familiar face.

Il Goo gets the report from Beom Jo about this incident. He reports to Gong Joo who instructs Beom Jo to report the news from the scene and for In Ha to follow the ambulance to the hospital.

The MSC news heads have received the update about this incident too and they plan to add it to their show tonight. Everyone else thinks it is too small (with no deaths, only one injured) to make as the lead news, but Cha Ok disagrees. A water delivery man saves a junior high school student! Her eyes shine and excitement in written all over her face as she argues, “We can make the story bigger.” It will be more interesting than news about the icy roads and ski resorts being crowded, which was to be their lead story tonight.

It’s decided, then, to make Jae Myung’s story MSC’s lead news. Everyone is busy getting it ready for broadcast tonight.

Dal Po has returned to the police station where Yoo Rae is. They see a white truck being pulled in and they start asking for the story. They’re getting some answers when Dal Po spots his brother’s water truck, and putting two and two together, he asks what happened to the driver of the truck and finds out his brother has been taken to a hospital but he doesn’t know which hospital.

Dal Po calls Jae Myung but he can’t pick up. Jae Myung is unconscious in the ambulance and In Ha is there, following him to the hospital as instructed by Gong Joo. She is filming with her phone camera and asks the paramedic about Jae Myung’s condition. He seems to have only hurt his arm but they will need more tests.

Jae Myung wakes up in a daze and starts asking about Ha Myung again. “Is he safe? Was he hurt?” The paramedics assure Jae Myung that he is safe. In Ha wonders who Ha Myung is.

Yoo Rae is reporting to Hyun Gyu about the truck collision while YGN’s and MSC’s 10 o’clock news begins. YGN starts with the icy roads story, while Cha Ok starts with the truck collision story. Everyone is watching: YGN’s people with envy, Beom Jo’s mom with pride since her son is reporting on TV, and In Ha’s dad with curiosity, wondering where his daughter is.

The only person who should be watching but is not is Dal Po and it’s because he is busy running around to hospitals, trying to find his brother. He finally sees MSC’s news segment when one patient at the hospital changes channels from YGN to MSC because YGN’s news story about the icy roads was boring. MSC’s lead story is far more interesting.

Lee Joo Ho has finally arrived at the hospital where In Ha and Jae Myung are at. Jae Myung is with the doctor and In Ha is reporting back to Il Joo. Lee Joo Ho finds out from In Ha that the truck driver’s name is Ki Jae Myung and he once again recognizes this name. In Ha wants to interview Jae Myung and asks the nurse if Jae Myung is still receiving treatment. No, says the nurse, Jae Myung has already left.

The MSC teams catches up with Jae Myung. Lee Joo Ho definitely now knows that the truck driver is Ki Jae Myung and the person who he thinks he is. It doesn’t look like Jae Myung recognizes Joo Ho, however, but he does recognizes Choi In Ha as Song Cha Ok’s daughter.  With a congenial smile, he agrees to the interview. Joo Ho is surprised.

Dal Po has finally found the right hospital. He finds a nurse who tells him that Jae Myung is okay (only fractured his arm), and that he is currently doing an interview.

Jae Myung is explaining to In Ha and the camera that about his family and that he must have called that boy Ha Myung because he was the same age as his brother who died. In Ha says, “You must hate those people slandered your father’s good name. Even though I am also a reporter, I am embarrassed.”

Dal Po runs to the lobby where they are filming. His eyes grow wide as he sees his brother and In Ha together.

Jae Myung continues to tell In Ha that the reporters who pushed his family all the way to the edge are still active. Joo Ho looks uncomfortable because he is one of those reporters. In Ha asks if Jae Myung remembers them all and Jae Myung replies he doesn’t remember all clearly but there is one person who was so vicious, he remembers very clearly- that person’s face, name, and even manner of speaking.

In Ha asks if Jae Myung can tell her who it is. Jae Myung leans closer to In Ha and smirks. He is about to tell her when both Joo Ho and Dal Po interrupt him with loud exclamations.

Dal Po tries to drag out In Ha while In Ha is busy telling Jae Myung not to give Dal Po an interview. Dal Po looks at Jae Myung uneasily, while Jae Myung glares at Dal Po.

Dal Po finally manages to bring In Ha outside. She thinks Dal Po is trying to ruin her interview, but Dal Po just warns her, terrified, that she should not contact that person she just interviewed- he is very dangerous and hates reporters. But In Ha already knows this because of the interview. She says she understands how Jae Myung feels. He is the son of the fireman whose remains were recently found at the factory. Jae Myung has good reason to hate reporters.

Dal Po exclaims loudly, “That is why he is dangerous! He might do something to you…I mean, to reporters so…” In Ha doesn’t believe Jae Myung will harm anyone; he just risked his own life to save someone else. Dal Po explains anxiously in concern and frustration that he knows that person and he is dangerous. So In Ha should leave this man to be covered by someone else at MSC.

In Ha wonders why she should be the only one to stay away from Jae Myung. She wants a reason she can understand from Dal Po. But Dal Po can’t tell so he asks hers, no, begs her to believe him because it is him, the person who cares about her the most. Dal Po is desperate to keep In Ha away from Jae Myung who he sees as dangerous and you can hare how frightened he is for In Ha as he begs her and holds her shoulders tightly. In Ha can hear his earnestness too and she agrees, even though she knows he is hiding something from her and he won’t tell her why. She promises to not ask him any more questions and to stop interviewing Jae Myung- “I believe in you more than him.” In Ha doesn’t hiccup and Dal Po is so relieved he falls back onto the bench behind him.

In Ha promises to not do anything that will worry him and Dal Po, grateful, holds her hand and brings her close. He leans his head on her and In Ha pats him to comfort him.

Back inside the hospital, Joo Ho thanks Jae Myung for the interview, who says to him, “It’s been a long time since I last saw you.” *shiver*

Joo Ho tries to pretend that their first meeting was recent, when Jae Myung had stopped him and Il Joo to ask about the reporter standing next to Song Cha Ok on the huge poster in front of MSC. But Jae Myung corrects him, saying they met 13 years ago and he did a similar interview in front of him- “Don’t you remember, reporter Lee Joo Ho?” Joo Ho tries to pretend he doesn’t remember, but Jae Myung says, “I remember clearly. You were with Song Cha Ok.”

Jae Myung looks at In Ha’s business that she gave him and confirms with Joo Ho that In Ha is Cha Ok’s daughter. “It’s fascinating that I would meet reporter Song’s daughter through an incident like this.” Jae Myung emphasizes, “It’s interesting…” Jae Myung smiles eerily, “and I’m grateful.” Joo Ho cannot look Jae Myung in the eye.

Outside again. In Ha confirms again that Dal Po is not doing to steal the exclusive from her. He interrupts her in his usual duck mouth way. Before they head back in, In Ha stops him to let him know that once both their initiation period ends and they go home, her dad will find out about them. Dal Po knows. In Ha warns him that her dad might be mean to him but Dal Po knows that already too.

Our brave, honest In Ha says to Dal Po, “But still…don’t give up! I will talk to dad…” Dal Po interrupts her with his duck mouth move again. “I won’t. Ever.” In Ha smiles in happiness as Dal Po caresses her face.

At MSC, In Ha congratulates Beom Jo on his first TV reporting. She wants to give him a high-five but Beom Jo hesitates, his hand still remembering the pain from last time.

Eek! Jae Myung is at MSC, watching In Ha.

In Ha and Beom Jo are getting off the elevator when they run into Cha Ok. She casually compliments them on a job well down as she is closing the doors of the elevator, but In Ha won’t let this first and rare event just pass. She actually stops the doors from closing with her foot and asks, “What did you say?” Cha Ok grudgingly, almost shyly, repeats, “You did a good job.” In Ha asks, “I couldn’t hear. Louder, please!” Cha Ok obliges, and as she is closing the elevator door again, asks slyly while looking at In Ha’s shoes, “Do those shoes fit you properly?”

In Ha is left staring at the closed elevator door. She  can’t believe that, one, she heard a compliment from her mom, and two, the shoes she thought her dad had bought her were actually from her mom. In Ha is ecstatic and Beom Jo is happy to see her happy. He even allows her to give him a high-five again.

The ratings are in and Cha Ok’s strategy work. The ratings have been flipped with MSC on top of YGN. MSC plans to build off this momentum and will follow up with Jae Myung’s interview tonight. At YGN, Lee Young Tak reminds his team that MSC was just lucky so don’t be too hard on the rookies. He doesn’t want to do a follow up story to Jae Myung’s story, like how Jo Won Goo suggests, since he thinks this story will just be a passing thing and there are more important stories to report.

He is wrong, however, as Dal Po narrates that interest in Jae Myung only grew hotter as days passed.

The team as MSC watches YGN’s follow up with Jae Myung’s interview. Dal Po is watching his brother talk about him and his family. Jo Won Goo asks Gyo Dong and the rookies if they don’t have anything on Ki Jae Myung. Dal Po remains silent and Gyo Dong looks at him. Gyo Dong then suggests that they just let this story pass, but Won Goo insists they find out more about Jae Myung. So Gyo Dong orders Dal Po to drop everything else and investigate Jae Myung, by himself, and report directly to him. Yoo Rae asks if she should help but she is told no.

They continue to watch Jae Myung’s interview with MSC. He is talking about his dad, the false accusations made against him, and his recent discovery of his remains. “He didn’t run away.”

Dal Po narrates, “My brother became a hero that way. And my brother who became a hero was telling the world about the injustice our dad suffered. And he heard the apology that he wanted to hear so desperately 13 years ago.”

We see Cha Ok on MSC’s news, saying, “When we talk about the press, we say that the pen is stronger than the sword. Since it is stronger than the sword, it means the pen can cause more harm. We at MSC, as part of the press that shares responsibility, apologize to Ki Jae Myung who has suffered so much.”

Cha Ok ends her speech with, “Just like how MSC exclusively revealed Ki Jae Myung’s story of injustice, we promise that MSC will work hard to report the truth and bear the role of the pen properly and…” We don’t hear more and Jae Myung, who has been watching, looks unmoved by Cha Ok’s apology.

Dal Po narrates, “The news that made my dad the devil 13 years ago was now making my brother a hero.” We sees the news choosing to report only the good things about Jae Myung, leaving out his fighting incident at school, and focusing on how Jae Myung buys all the leftover food from a grandma selling kimbap so she can go home and how he gave away all his reward money to a children’s charity center. As Dal Po narrates, the world greatly complimented even Jae Myung’s smallest good deeds, and “like the music of the Pied Piper from the fairytale, all of his words and actions relayed through the news began to captivate the world.” You see students start to mimic Jae Myung’s fashion style, even wanting to get his autograph.

It’s a new day and at MSC, Beom Jo and In Ha are confronted with a crowded elevator with Cha Ok inside. In Ha doesn’t think they will fit, but Beom Jo, seeing a good chance, insists they will fit and they get on the elevator. Beom Jo keeps on pushing Cha Ok, forcing her to basically hug her daughter. In Ha knows what Beom Jo is doing and she can’t keep the smile off her face, happy to be so close to her mom. She also warns people loudly to not step on her shoes.

The elevator is too full, however, and Beom Jo gets offs. It’s still too full, and seeing another chance, he pulls Cha Ok out of the elevator.

Alone with an angry Cha Ok, Beom Jo explains he pulled her out to give her her cellphone back. It’s the one she left at his family’s house 13 years ago. He confesses to her that he used her cellphone number for 13 years and “stole” her messages. He apologizes. He tells her to read the text messages on the phone. Her daughter, In Ha, sent her messages for 13 years, not knowing her mom lost her phone and changed her number. She kept sending even without any response.

Beom Jo explains to Cha Ok that after reading those messages In Ha sent, he began to become curious about In Ha and that is how he ended about here, a reporter at MSC. Yes, like a fool,  he became a reporter because of a girl, he confirms to Cha Ok. He suggests that she reads the messages too. If she does, she will fall in love immediately. Like him, once she finishes reading all the messages, she will become a fool. “And like me, you will want to become a good person to Choi In Ha.”

Cha Ok reads the messages alone in the conference room. She now understands why In Ha wanted to see her phone at the day of the interview. We also learn that Cha Ok once ate all the yellow part of In Ha’s eggs. Cha Ok looks at her daughter through the conference room’s glass walls. There is a bit of pain in her face as she watches her, a little bit of regret and longing.

MSC news has continued to top ratings and at the police headquarters, Gong Joo is enjoying this new spot on top. He even teases the other reporters with a promise to give them footage if they allow it to air with MSC’s logo on it. Ha, fat chance of that happening!

The other reports asks why Jae Myung will not do an interview with anyone else except MSC- are they paying him? Gong Joo adamantly denies this. Jae Myung said he chose MSC because it seemed like it was sincere.

In the midst of this conversation, Gyo Dong gets a call from Dal Po. He is reporting that he plans to meet Jae Myung, alone.

At MSC, Joo Ho spots Jae Myung stuffing a flyer for Song Cha Ok’s seminar in his pocket- “Fact and Impact.” He has a bad feeling about this.

He finds Song Cha Ok who is eating in the cafeteria alone at a table. He tells her about Jae Myung taking the flyer and he warns her that Jae Myung might be planning to cause trouble. After what she did to him 13 years ago, he is definitely planning something! Cha Ok gives Joo Ho the death glare. But Song Cha Ok isn’t one to back down. She tells Joo Ho to bring a camera because if Jae Myung does cause trouble, it will be a good news story. Cha Ok isn’t even afraid when Joo Ho says Jae Myung might be planning to terrorize her because she’s covered far more dangerous stories. In fact, she welcomes the possibility of Jae Myung terrorizing her since she believes that the larger the scale, the better new story it is.

Cha Ok has had enough of Joo Ho’s anxious worrying so she gets up with her plate and moves to In Ha and Beom Jo’s table. This makes In Ha extremely happy as she gives mom the yolk part of her fried egg and her mom gives her the white. Once again, Beom Jo watches with a very pleased smile on his face.

Camerawoman Im Jae Hwan hands Dal Po a small black case that Gyo Dong told her to give to him. We don’t see what’s inside and Jae Hwan wonders why a rookie like him would need it.

Dal Po is at the cemetery where his father ashes are. He has brought him flowers and he sees the notes left on the glass encasing for his father’s ashes from people apologizing for their false accusations and attacks and now calling him a hero. Dal Po sheds a tear reading these notes, which he quickly has to wipe away when he hears his brother’s voice. Dal Po turns on the recorder on his tie clip- it’s what Gyo Dong gave him.

Jae Myung wants to know why Dal Po is here and Dal Po tells him he wants to interview him. Jae Myung says he will be only be interviewed by MSC and Dal Po asks why MSC, while turning his phone’s recorder, when MSC was the one 13 years that portrayed his father in the worst way. Jae Myung replies there is no special reason other than the people at MSC now don’t distort his truth the way people like Dal Po do.

Jae Myung takes Dal Po’s flowers and walks out to throw them away. Dal Po follows him and abruptly asks Jae Myung, “Do you know Moon Deok Soo?” This stops Jae Myung in his tracks, his back still turned to Dal Po. He replies, “No, I don’t know him.”

Dal Po explains that Moon Deok Soo is the man who framed Ki Ho Sang 13 years ago and recently disappeared after killing two colleagues. Jae Myung turns around to face Dal Po and says, “I guess it was ‘what goes around, comes around’ for everyone. That man was a someone’s father and someone’s husband. I hope he turns himself in soon and stops his family’s suffering.”

Dal Po is unsettled by Jae Myung’s answer. He asks him why Jae Myung spoke of Moon Deok Soo in the past tense, like he was dead, not just missing. And why did he say it was “what goes around, come around” for everyone when Dal Po only said Moon Deok Soo was the one who framed Ki Ho Sang. How did already know that the other two that Moon Deok Soo supposedly killed also framed Ki Ho Sang?

This catches Jae Myung off guard.

Dal Po walks closer to Jae Myung. He asks, “Do you want to receive an apology from the world, or do you want to get revenge?”

Jae Myung steps even closer to Dal Po and states in a low, calm voice, “If you told me to choose between the two, it would be revenge.” Jae Myung takes Dal Po’s phone, which has been recording, and walks away, throwing  it into a fire later.

Back at YGN, Dal Po listens to his other recording…from the tie clip. He can’t shake this awful feeling about this brother and what he might have down to Moon Deok Soo.

Dal Po gets a call from Gyo Dong asking for an update on his meeting with Jae Myung, but Dal Po lies, saying he didn’t get  much. He narrates, “If it is magic that can deceive the whole world, can it become miracle? If it is a lie that can deceive the whole world, can it become the truth? If I am silent in a world that believes my brother to be a hero, won’t he be able to live as a real hero?”

Dal Po continues to narrate, “Truth which was entrapped inside a wall of lies seemed tranquil and calm like water, but without anyone knowing, was flowing out into the world, finding a little crack in the wall.”

We see Yoo Rae recognize Ki Jae Myung’s name from the newspaper as the name on the note that Gyo Dong asked her to give to Dal Po. She wonders what Dal Po has to do with Jae Myung. Chan Soo also recognizes Jae Myung’s face from the newspaper telling the story about Ki Ho Sang as the man he saw Dal Po with at the cafe with at the night of the plaza chase.

Dal Po: “Truth flows slowly through the crack and wears away at it, bringing down the wall that once seemed so strong, and reveals to the world its violent stream.”

Joo Ho calls In Ha into a video editing room. He wants to ask her a favor. He starts to tell her about the history between Ki Jae Myung and her mom, Song Cha Ok.

We see the interview we never got to see from the night 13 years ago when young Ki Jae Myung had met Song Cha Ok after waiting outside for her for days at the TV station. He had been clutching his father’s trophy and we had seen Song Cha Ok agree to an interview. We now finally see what he said.

Young Jae Myung was desperate to clear his father’s name. He displayed the trophy as proof of his father’s good deeds as a fireman. A person with such a record would not run away, abandoning his fellow firemen and his family. He is sure his father is dead. You hear Song Cha Ok ask how could that be when a Pinocchio saw his father alive. Young Jae Myung screams, “I believe in my father, not that Pinocchio.”

Jae Myung continues, “I wish he was alive! What son would want his father to be dead?! Even if he were to live his whole life receiving criticism, or that we won’t be able be able to see him, I still wish he was alive! But he isn’t. He isn’t the type of person to abandon his colleagues and family and hide. As his son, I don’t want to conclude that my father is dead, but as his son, I know that my father died.”

The interview video ends like this and we see that In Ha is shocked. But there is more. Joo Ho explains that on that night after the interview, Jae Myung had heard Cha Ok instruct Joo Ho to edit the interview so that the only part that goes out is when Jae Myung says he wants his father to be alive regardless of criticism. Joo Ho doesn’t want to do this but Cha Ok finds Jae Myung to be just a shameless as his father. She doesn’t believe him.

Jae Myung in his anger attacks Cha Ok, threatening her with his father’s trophy. He ends up being taken away by the police, and while Joo Ho insists that they settle the charges with the boy so he can go home to his family tonight, Cha Ok refuses. She has been hurt (you can see she has been scratched), although Joo Ho also explains that all that Jae Myung really did was punch the wall with the trophy.

The story doesn’t end there, however, for Cha Ok and Jae Myung. That night is the night Ha Myung’s mom committed suicide with Ha Myung. Jae Myung believes that if he was able to be with his family that night, his mother and brother would not have died. He screams at Cha Ok, standing there by the cliff instructing Joo Ho to film Ha Myung’s shoe, that this is her fault.  Cha Ok insists that Jae Myung would have also died if he had been there with his family. Completely distraught, Jae Myung screams, “I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill you!”

In Ha is shocked that her mom knows all this yet. She stares at the shoes on her feet that her mom bought her and starts to hiccup. She can’t believe how ruthless her mom is. She doesn’t even hear Joo Ho asking her to speak to her mom about the seminar and the danger of Jae Myung appearing. Only when she takes off the shoes does In Ha stop hiccuping.

In Ha takes another look at the sneaker on the cliff from the footage from 13 years ago. She recognizes it. She saw one exactly like it at her house, belonging to Dal Po. In Ha runs out without her shoes and goes home.

In Ha confirms with her grandpa that the shoe inside their house is Dal Po’s and he was wearing it the day grandpa found him out at sea. He also tells her that Dal Po is home, on the roof currently.

As In Ha runs to him, the pieces all start to fit together- Dal Po saying she was her enemy, the bad things he said to her about her mom, his outburst at the debate, him not wanting her to be a reporter, and him asking her to stay away from Jae Myung. In Ha repeatedly hits her chest, the tears suffocating her as she thinks about all the pain that Dal Po endured and hid while he lived with her and while he loved her, the daughter of the woman that destroyed his family.

On the roof, she tearfully approaches Dal Po and holds onto him. She asks, “Are you Ki Ha Myung?” Dal Po’s look of surprise is her answer and he asks, “How do you know this?”

In Ha drops to the ground as the full impact of this revelation hits her.

Dal Po narrates, “The truth I wanted to hide, the person I wanted to keep it from the most found out.”

End of Episode 9

Comments:

Never a dull moment in this drama, especially this episode. Episode 9 was packed with character and plot development, as well revelations for many, with truth seeping through the cracks and the full history finally told.

With so many dramas basically being filmed live and with episode time increasing, the use of flashbacks has grown in order to add minutes to a hurriedly and incompletely written and filmed episode or to give a brief review of the story for modern viewers with short attention-spans. But this drama wastes no such time. I’m grateful as a K-drama viewer for a story well-thought out and planned before being filming and we saw much evidence of careful planning in today’s episode. From Ha Myung’s shoes, Jae Myung’s interview with Cha Ok, and Ki Ho Sang’s trophy, the details from the beginning of the drama were brought back today as evidence of a story yet untold about the Ki family’s tragedy. The writer is definitely doing some onion peeling of her own.

It is also refreshing to see Dal Po and In Ha refuse to become tragic lovers, faced with her father’s opposition and, unbeknownst to In Ha at the time, Cha Ok’s connection to Dal Po. This drama doesn’t dwell on romantic angst and there is always a little bit of happiness and solace for In Ha and Dal Po despite all the sadness they can succumb to. We see so many main characters in K-dramas choosing to dwell in unhappiness and loneliness for the sake of being tragic heroes and heroines, but Dal Po and In Ha, choose to pursue happiness with each other and so early in the drama!

If I didn’t think Dal Po needed In Ha, I would love to see her with Beom Jo, who sincerely wishes for her to be happy. It’s so sweet to see him try to bring Cha Ok and In Ha together and also to see him smiling just because In Ha is smiling. So far his love for her has been selfless, a true and honest wish for her happiness.

Ah, to see In Ha and Cha Ok finally grow close and to see Cha Ok reach out to her daughter, only to have it revealed to In Ha what her mom did to Cha Ok. Cha Ok has always been an interesting, multi-faceted character to me, and I suspected there was more to her than was let on. We witnessed a small moment of vulnerability as she read through her daughter’s messages, reflecting on what she missed out on and reading her daughter’s longing for her mother all those years. We also saw that she is not completely immune to other people’s advice since she complimented In Ha on a job well done like how Gong Joo suggested.

Why was Cha Ok the most vicious and the most insistent 13 years ago with the Ki family? Its one part ambition and one part a strong belief in a Pinocchio’s testimony. How could she not? She had a daughter with the Pinocchio syndrome and had experienced their inability to lie first-hand. She believed a Pinocchio like her daughter more than the words of a boy who looked so desperate to clear his father’s name. She is just like Jae Myung who believed his father more than the words of a stranger who says he is a Pinocchio and says he saw his father. She is like In Ha who believes Dal Po over Jae Myung. You believe in those you love. Both stood at their own viewpoints and believed what their experience told them to believe. But this doesn’t excuse Cha Ok’s entire behavior, especially her editing instruction for Jae Myung’s interview. She should have given Jae Myung a chance to present his father’s story no matter how much she believed in the Pinocchio’s testimony. She gave no room at all for doubt.

And that’s the power of news media or any media. It can present one side of the story, weed through all the facts to to get the picture they want (like how MSC chose only the good things about Jae Myung to report), and then build it up so much, it becomes the one and only truth. It wouldn’t be so dangerous if it the media didn’t reach so many people. As I watched Jae Myung’s story become more and more popular and the public’s opinion of his rise and solidify, I could only only think about how far his fall will be, how painful and vicious the public’s response will be, and how much Dal Po will suffer.

I still remain baffled by why Dal Po confides in Gyo Dong. It’s not like Gyo Dong can’t figure out that Dal Po is talking about his brother. It’s not like Dal Po has no inkling of what might happen if Gyo Dong finds outs out about Jae Myung’s crimes. Couldn’t Dal Po have figured it out himself that he needed to find out more about Jae Myung? Is Gyo Dong’s sole purpose in being part of this knowledge to provide Dal Po with recording device? Now Dal Po has to hide things from Gyo Dong and it’s not like Gyo Dong is not going to be curious. Does Dal Po believe that Gyo Dong will be able to help him if he really does confirm that his brother is a murderer?

I finally made the connection earlier today that Jae Myung is played by the actor who was Deok Man in “Faith.” He was such harmless goof and puppy in that drama. So strange to see him so scary.