MaryMeKpop

We learn more about Hee-seob and his story whether that’s with his brother Yoo-seob or with Yoon-young and Soon-ae. Yoon-young may have resented her father growing up but there’s so much more to his story that she wasn’t aware of. She sees a new side to her father that she didn’t know about before and the lengths that he’s willing to go through to protect a loved one.

My Perfect Stranger Episode 9: Me in Your Darkest Night

Hae-joon and Yoon-young return back home and they discuss the possibility of Hee-seob being the culprit who killed Kyung-ae and Joo-young. But Hae-joon isn’t buying it and he doesn’t believe Hee-seob is the killer. Soon-ae also doesn’t believe Hee-seob is the killer and she shares her account of the night when Kyung-ae died. Hee-seob was actually with Soon-ae on the rooftop of their house so there was no way he could have killed anyone. He ended up staying with her all night as they waited for Kyung-ae to return (in which she never did). Grandpa warns that the entire family not share or spread this information with anyone else. There’s already enough chatter and gossip going around the village and he wants all of it to stop.

Meanwhile, Hee-seob is confronted by his uncle, Detective Baek, about the bloody t-shirt and his arrest. How could he have murdered someone? But Hee-seob grows confused. Murder? What is this talk about murder? Detective Baek assumes Hee-seob was the killer due to the fact that he once witnessed Hee-seob with a bunch of Bong Bong Teahouse matches and paper notes in his room one night. These boxes of matches were also found at the sites of the murder scenes. That was how Detective Baek came to the conclusion that it was Hee-seob behind the murders. Hee-seob denies any wrongdoing and claims that he didn’t kill anyone but he is brought into the police station regardless. They strongly believe that he was the one who killed Kyung-ae and Joo-young.

Soon-ae shares some more details about Kyung-ae’s death to Yoon-young and Hae-joon. She notes that Kyung-ae mentioned something about visiting someone who was kind and was her savior earlier that day. That immediately grabs both Yoon-young and Hae-joon’s attention and they reach the same conclusion as to who Kyung-ae must have been referring to: Yoo-seob. They assume Hee-seob must have been covering for his brother which is why he claimed that the bloody t-shirt belonged to him.

So Yoon-young and Hae-joon rush over to Detective Baek’s house in search of Yoo-seob but he’s nowhere to be found. Detective Baek’s wife admits that it’s been difficult to get in contact with Yoo-seob. He lives in a boarding house in Seoul and comes to visit every time when he can. But he’s not in the village at the moment and they’re unsure as to where he is or what he’s up to. After conversing with Detective Baek’s wife, Hae-joon and Yoon-young learn that Yoo-seob is a Seoul National University student just like Joo-young. So that means that Yoo-seob must have known Joo-young. Where exactly is Yoo-seob hiding?

Back at the police station, detectives discuss a necklace with a lock on it that they found at the site of the abandoned house where Kyung-ae was murdered. Detective Baek recognizes the necklace and confronts Hee-seob about it. Hee-seob – who had been getting tortured by other police detectives – lies that the necklace is his and that it doesn’t belong to Yoo-seob. But Yoon-young is confident that the necklace with the lock actually belongs to Yoo-seob. Hee-seob has the other part of the necklace with a key so it can’t belong to Hee-seob. Hae-joon declares his plans to save the bloody t-shirt found in Hee-seob’s wardrobe that can serve as important evidence. Originally, the bloody t-shirt had been contaminated due to the irresponsibility of the police officers but with Hae-joon around this time, he prevents the police officer from spilling anything on the bloody t-shirt and he even has the officer wrap it safely in a bag. The evidence will be important in supporting their belief that Yoo-seob is the killer. While the police investigate the bloody t-shirt, Hae-joon will go search for Yoo-seob in Seoul.

Soon-ae is locked inside of her bedroom and her dad refuses to let her out. So she sneaks out of her room through the window and she exits her house to find Yoon-young also sitting outside. Soon-ae pleads for Yoon-young’s help and requests for Yoon-young to help her free Hee-seob from the police. She knows he’s innocent and she’s worried about him. But Yoon-young feels otherwise and she doesn’t sympathize with Hee-seob. She believes he was involved in the investigation by covering for his brother and he’s played a role in some way. So no, she won’t help Soon-ae protect Hee-seob. Soon-ae might have made a promise to be there for Hee-seob and to protect him but there’s nothing she can do. Her dad finds her shortly afterwards and she’s dragged back home.

Rumors about Hee-seob’s arrest spreads throughout school and Mi-sook grows frustrated at Hee-seob’s sudden actions. His involvement just only made things more complicated (hmm). Principal Yoon attempts to calm everyone down and to put a stop to the rumors. Back at home, Yoon-young is reminded of a time in high school when her mom was admitted into the hospital and she couldn’t get in contact with her father. Just like many other times, her dad chose his brother over her mom and she came to resent him because of that. Whether later on in the future or in 1987, things have stayed the same. Hee-seob has chosen his brother over Soon-ae and Yoon-young once again.

Hae-joon returns from his trip to Seoul and he shares his updates with Yoon-young. Yoo-seob actually wasn’t the killer. He talked to people who knew Yoo-seob and some of them pretended as if they didn’t know him and some others revealed the last time that they saw him. Yoo-seob was actually at a protest in Seoul on the night that Joo-young and Kyung-ae were killed. So if Yoo-seob is innocent and the blood on the t-shirt doesn’t belong to either victims nor Hee-seob, then whose blood is that on the t-shirt? Just then, two police detectives from Seoul enter the police station and they take Hee-seob away with them. Hae-joon and Yoon-young arrive at the police station right at that moment and witness the entire scene unfold. Hae-joon attempts to chase after the van with Hee-seob inside while Yoon-young waits back at the police station. It doesn’t take long for Hae-joon to notice a pattern and he grows puzzled when he notices the van circling around the same neighborhood over and over again.

While waiting outside of the police station, Yoon-young questions where Yoo-seob could be hiding and then she’s reminded of a moment back when she was in high school. She had confronted her dad about his carelessness towards her mom who was in the hospital. Yoo-seob was also there during the intense confrontation and he made his way to the attic in their house to hide. So Yoon-young rushes over to Detective Baek’s house to search the attic. And sure enough, she discovers Yoo-seob sitting inside all alone in the attic. He’s wounded and bleeding and it’s obvious he doesn’t look so good. But he’s worried about Hee-seob so Yoon-young updates him on the situation.

Meanwhile, Hee-seob is tortured by the Seoul police detectives who pressure him to reveal the whereabouts of his brother. They failed to catch him after the protest so they assumed he must have gone to see his brother instead. Hee-seob refuses to dish any details or information to the police detectives and is brutally tortured and beaten up as a result. So what exactly happened that led Yoo-seob to come back home wounded and bleeding? He had gone to a protest in Seoul and managed to escape back home. Hee-seob found him miraculously alive outside of their house and the two brothers talked to each other about the situation. The two brothers only have each other after their parents and brother were killed by the government 7 years prior in 1980. Their lock-and-key necklaces are proof of their brotherhood with each other and Yoo-seob attended the protest since he clearly hadn’t forgotten what happened to their parents and brother. Yoo-seob and Hee-seob shed tears together over both their past and current situation and Hee-seob is afraid to lose his brother. So he demands that Yoo-seob take off his white bloody t-shirt and that’s how the t-shirt ended up in his wardrobe. While laying in the bathroom of the room where he was brutally tortured, Hee-seob is reminded of his mother’s parting words to him and his brother and he continues to cry. What should he do now?

Back in the attic, Yoo-seob pleads for Yoon-young’s help. He wants to save his brother and he’s aware that the police are after him. So the two make their way to the police station but they encounter Hae-joon on the way and they change their plans. The trio head to the inn in the neighborhood where Hae-joon had witnessed the van circling around and Hae-joon is certain that Hee-seob is inside the inn. So Yoo-seob and Hae-joon enter the building while Yoon-young anxiously waits outside.

A while later, Yoon-young finally spots Hee-seob leaving the building and he’s seen limping on one leg with a bloody face and beaten up body. It all makes sense to Yoon-young now why her father walked with a limp (wow, this scene made me speechless!). She quickly approaches Hee-seob to check in with him but Hee-seob downplays the situation. He’s okay and he reasons that he must have done something wrong to warrant this type of beating. Because if he didn’t do anything wrong, then why in the world would something this horrific and tragic happen to him? Hee-seob begins to cry and he lets out all his emotions. Just why did this happen to him? What did he do wrong? Yoon-young also cries at the sight of her dad crying and she begins to question herself. Who is she and what is she doing there? How can she explain any of this to her dad? There she was, sitting with her dad and crying with him on what was the darkest night of his life. Yoon-young and her dad continue to cry their heart out together. No words can accurately describe their feelings and emotions in this moment.

My Thoughts:

I think this episode may have been the heaviest one so far in the drama. It was a brutal one to watch with all the beating and torturing that Hee-seob unfortunately endured. Then there was also the backstory of Hee-seob and Yoo-seob’s family and the tragic events that led to their family’s deaths. There was also the heartbreaking conversation that Hee-seob and Yoo-seob had with each other where Hee-seob was afraid to lose his brother but Yoo-seob couldn’t help but express his anger for the entity who murdered their family members. This episode had a lot going on and was a lot more emotional than the other episodes which made it so much more interesting to watch.