I want all of you to know Kmuse has been spamming me with “Kiss, Kiss, Kiss!” since the picture popped up for episode 8. The question is, will this be a sincere kiss, or is this just another manipulation on Moo Young’s part? Pucker up and prepare for an episode that you may have to watch twice (or the just watch the kiss scene over and over again).

Let’s just start off with a bang

So instead of following one storyline, we are going to just explode into all the storylines at once. Yoo Ri is with Jin Kook as he takes her to the apartment building to try to remember what happened the night her friend died. Jin Kang is running (this poor girl seems to always be running in this drama) stricken with the news of Seung Ah’s car wreck.  Seung Ah isn’t dead (that’s a pity), but  Creepy Fiance died in the wreck. Moo Young is nowhere to be found, but we’ve got flashbacks flackbacking everywhere from his point of view from the wreck and his childhood.

Creepy Fiance’s hottie minion has a new boss

Manager Choi is Creepy Fiance’s hottie minion. Kmuse isn’t the only one who sat up and noticed when he came on the screen. I can’t help but love a hot bad guy. He walks off for a private conversation with Seung Ah’s jailer, oops, I mean mom. Now we have a mystery. Suddenly it was Creepy Fiance in the car with Seung Ah and not Moo Young. It looks like Creepy Fiance’s Sister is the person in charge now and everything is being swept under the rug. Jin Kang chases Manager Choi down and asks where Moo Young is but he’s not telling. We discover that Moo Young is hidden away in a hospital room. He gets to leave only after signing a nondisclosure contract.

Facing the Past

We already know there is some bad blood between Jin Kook and the team leader at the police department. Grumpy Team Leader makes snide comments anytime he gets the chance. He likes to drop tidbits like the fact that a team was broken up and somehow Jin Kook was involved. Jin Kook meets with an old collegue and finds out Moo Young is in the hospital. As they prepare to go their separate ways, his collegue tells him the boy he was searching for came looking for him about 20 years ago. Whoa, Grumpy Team Leader sent him off like a stray dog and never said anything! Now we know why Moo Young keeps asking him about his police contacts.

A tangled web

As Cutie Cop investigates, he discovers a connection between Moo Young and the victim. Apparently she was a big problem at the beer festival they held and Moo Young had to intervene so she didn’t go to jail.  So Moo Young took her home. He is just a magnet for women who need help, but is he a hero? Cutie Cop is on the case and I’m pretty impressed with his investigative skills.

The kiss (Are you happy Kmuse?)

Moo Young is home and looking pretty healthy. He spies a shadow across his window and Jin Kang is outside feeding his cat. She is mumbling to herself when she senses he’s behind her. She gets up and prepares to walk right past him, but he grabs her arm, turns her around and lays one on her. She’s mad at him, but just like any of us would, she melts. Only for a minute though, then she walks away even though he wants her to stay. This girl has strength I do not possess, how does she keep walking away from him? The push and pull between these two characters is so good.

Finally!

Seung Ah is dead! While it’s horrible for an innocent character to die, we all knew this was going to happen. We need her to die so the plot can move forward and we can see this web start to untangle. I will say I have zero sympathy for her mother. Jin Kang sobs at the funeral home while Moo Young smiles and goes on with his life. Jin Kang is breaking my heart with her mourning of her friend.  So now that Seung Ah and Creepy Fiance are gone, what happens next?

Jin Kook snaps

As Moo Young leaves his house, Jin Kook is waiting for him. He wants to know if Moo Young is out for revenge and that’s why all this is happening. Jin Kook then proceeds to spew a lot of angry words at Moo Young and  he slugs him. Then he does the one thing destined to make Moo Young and Jin Kang become closer, he tells both of them to not see each other.  It seems like our easygoing Oppa is no more, as he goes to interrogate Yoo Ri one more time and he pushes her to remember what happened that night. As she is screaming that she didn’t kill anyone, Jin Kook looks at her and says he killed someone when he was only two years older than her.  Stunned silence as he walks away.

I can’t fight this feeling anymore

Jin Kang calls Cutie Cop for a date, but he’s discovered footage Jin Kook found of Moo Young on the night of the crime. Now he’s a puppy with a clue, so he tells her to have a good meal alone. She wants to tell him something and I smell a break up. Of course, as she sits eating in silence, in walks Moo Young who joins her. In typical Jin Kang fashion, she glares at him and leaves in a bit of a huff. Even more typical is that she is standing in front of his door when he gets home. This poor girl is so conflicted, she has feelings that make her feel uncomfortable and guilty, but she can’t seem to stay away. She is such a prickly pear though, she reaches out for him only to push him away every time he tries to embrace her. While she’s walking home, Cutie Cop and the team drive up and arrest Moo Young for murder.

My Thoughts

I am pretty sure Moo Young is not the murderer. I may be proven wrong later, but I really don’t think it was him. I do think it was Yoo Ri and he helped her clean everything up. I’m just not sure what his motivation is for helping her. While I don’t think he’s a murderer, I do think the only person he actually cares anything about is Jin Kang. I also think this goes way back to childhood. I’ve got a million and one conspiracy theories about the Police Team Leader too. He’s way too bitter and shady acting. I think we are going to discover that there is much more to the story of Jin Kook killing a person and I’m betting Grumpy Team Leader plays a part. Remember, I haven’t watched the original Japanese version so I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m trying really hard to not go and look at spoilers. Moo Young’s been arrested, so what happens next? I’m hoping we will get at least a little clue as to who the real killer is.

Until the next smile,

Clkytta

Dramas With a Side of Kimchi 

You can find the latest episodes of The Smile Has Left Your Eyes HERE on Viki