Heartless City (Moojung Doshi) - Episode 19 (A SobCap)

kakashi: Brace yourselves, Cruel City Lovers, cause this is no easy ride before you. Episode 19 broke my heart into little tiny pieces and made me cry like a baby. You must know that I am as strong as a German oak, usually, and hardly ever cry. Well, at least the tissue industry is happy. We will give our best to squee for you on this final leg of the journey even though the squees had a tendency to get stuck in our throats.

Episode 19

kakashi: We are back on the Rooftop of Doom. As Soo-min demands to know in her loudest voice why he did it, he has a confused moment of deja-vu. This situation is exactly like back then, when he was standing in that warehouse with the now dead Boring Girlfriend.

kakashi: And while flashbacking uncontrolled, he puts up both hands, seeing and realizing that there is indeed another sniper there, and he jumps, to save her (be careful boy! Your herniated disc!). She doesn't shoot. I wouldn't have, either, but he is hit by what seems a tiny little bullet from the sniper that makes a tiny little hole into his nice suit. He pulls her to safety, holding her hand ... but upon seeing that she is okay, and asking her to trust him, he leaves the rooftop in a (relative) hurry. Chairman Jo has also fled the premises.
Shuk: Pyscho Jo was pretty spry for an old guy with head trauma. And we have now proof that the sniper is SK police; he couldn't have been anymore glaringly obvious if he had a brass band with him on his rooftop playing Sousa music. Given by the flicker in his eyes, Baksa saw him, and figured he was aiming for something other than himself. Or that if he was aiming for him, he was the safest one on the rooftop.
JoAnne: Sigh. He's dressed all in black, like my soul.

kakashi: The sniper is quick, but Herniated Disc Baksa is quicker. The poor boy. All I can see is pain, pain, pain in his face, no wonder Baksa seemed to be in pain so much, he didn't even have to act much! Baksa spots the sniper outside and starts pursuing him. Don't make
Shuk: Go Jacket Fu! And no one sees a guy in masked-black, carrying a shiny metal suitcase. Gah.
JoAnne: I also am rather overwhelmed with searching out the evidence of real-life trauma on our beloved Baksa's face. We noticed all of this weeks ago, and yet didn't REALLY pay attention except to demand more skin, more kick-ass fights like the beginning.  I feel unworthy.  And very very sad for the guy you KNOW was determined to give it his best, however less it might be than the best he initially intended.

kakashi: But ... before he can make him talk, he is shot dead by another person. Who looks disturbingly familiar as he runs away.
Shuk: The sniper wasn't anybody I recognized. But his Reaper sure was.
JoAnne: Sadness piling on sadness. I loved that guy. Not the sniper. The Reaper.  

kakashi: Baksa finds a cell phone in the pocket of the dead sniper.  When he calls (the last?) number ... it is Min's phone that is ringing. We now know for certain what we have been suspecting for a long time. Min, you terrible man. He is still sitting around in the meth factory (doing what? resting his feet?). He thinks it's his killer and asks how it went, but .... Oh Shit. Or rather, yay. Baksa recognizes the voice. Min realizes something isn't quite as it should be when the supposed sniper doesn't answer ... and hangs up.
Shuk: #WhenAWomanWantsToRakeHerFingernailsAcrossSomeonesFaceTilHeDies
JoAnne: I guess it's a good thing the last move that guy made was to call Min That Fuck, because if he'd ordered jjajangmyeon we'd all have been pretty confused.

kakashi: And Baksa has a well-deserved break-down. And he makes weird, high-pitched sounds. He really is channeling the disc-pain well. I don't like it.
Shuk:  Everything he is: revenge for his mom, justice for Kyung-mi, a chance to help society, just poofed out of existence like Jung Yoo-gun and his Plane of Nuclear Bomb. Implosion was imminent.
JoAnne: I can't hear noise like that without crying. Also without feeling second-hand embarrassment for the ugly faces. And now I'm quite worried about what I might sound like later.

kakashi: After a short, absolutely redundant scene between Neanderthal - or let's call him Thighs, he has been growing on me lately - and Min, we are at the Bak-cave. Baksa and Soo-min are not talking and there is a huge distance between them. They eye each other shyly and carefully. Sex, sex, sex! We want sex! She gets up to leave, but he grabs her by the arm.

kakashi: Finally, they talk. He tells her it's too dangerous for her, she wants to know why. The usual. And! He tells her he didn't kill her sister. About time. Could have said it earlier, I think? She also thinks so and breaks down, struck by grief and fear, and cries on his shoulder. There is much more blood on his back now but, hey! It's just another bullet in somebody's body. No big deal, really.
Shuk: Boy's got too much heartache and love to feel it anyway.
JoAnne: I wanted to kiss her when she said 'don't you think you could have told me that SOONER?' Man, these two. Ok, light, whatever. They LOVE each other.

kakashi: Huh?! Next, Min goes to see Pusan. WTF. WTeffinF. They greet each other like old acquaintances. And ... Min even provided an escort for the Big Psycho?! But ... Min isn't there to sweet-talk. He tells Jo that he is pretty much finished. And he better help him in bringing down Daddy Ji. Yeah, it's the old fight between police and prosecutors again, it seems, upped a notch by assholery deluxe on both sides. But Pusan says, no go, he doesn't have the info anymore, Safari has it. Min doesn't believe him. I also don't believe him. Never heard of backups, Jo?
Shuk: So, was Min going to kill Soo-min to save Jo? Or to keep her away from Baksa? Probably both, the evil toad. Die Toad Die!!
JoAnne: Min, You Fuck. You know what you are? You're that nasty boy that no one likes or takes seriously, and you grew up with a fucking chip on your shoulder so big we could put Safari's HEAD in it, and you learned to pretend to be human.  All so you could FUCK EVERYONE OVER. Because you're the smartest and you're the best and everyone is going to be SORRY.  Fuck you, you asshole. Your mother never loved you, and she was RIGHT. Also:  does this mean that 15-20 years ago when Safari GAVE Min the info about Jo - he's been in cahoots with him all that time, and this is so that Jo and Min can stick it to Cha and Ji?  That would mean that the whole 'find Pusan' business was two-fold:  one, good cover; two:  if they succeeded, he could step in without having done the dirty work.  Except all his work is dirty as sin.

kakashi: When Min steps out, there is a guy waiting for him in the corridor ... it's Baksa's driver!! Let me guess, no happy ending for him and the Ahn Doll, right?! Sorry, JoAnne. It was him who shot the sniper. Min wants to know whether he was spotted by Baksa Adeul (he denies), but he also has to admit that he couldn't take care of the body ... with the phone on it. Min now knows - or at least strongly suspects - that the guy at the phone before was Baksa Adeul.
Shuk: I wonder if he's a damn cop too. Did he get the rifle? Ballistics would tell if that was the weapon that killed Dead Boring Girlfriend. 
JoAnne: I think he must be another undercover cop. One good thing: he sure looks broken up about sneaking around on Baksa.

kakashi: He calls Baksa ... who rips the battery out of his phone. I see why ... cause Soo-min is still there. Of course he wants to be alone with her! She starts treating his wound ... by repeatedly dabbing some tiny piece of cotton on it. It is beyond me why he keeps his shirt on. I'd also advise you to remove the bullet, but ... well. I guess that's for wimps and ninnies? She thanks him for saving her and tells him how glad she is it wasn't him ... he closes his eyes. Weary, ah so weary ... the poor tired soul.
Shuk: I speculate they couldn't reproduce that spectacular wolf tattoo because of JKH's back injury, but dammit! I at least wanted a backhug by her. He deserves as least one really good backhug. Then we could have have an abs peek. And I'm sure the lines of pain bracketing his face are all too real.ne:
JoAnne: Pathetic moment of squee: His tiny lil' butt as he lay on his stomach.

kakashi: It's my new favorite couple next! Jin-sook offers Cutie-Soo a drink. She is still wearing the yellow dress (it suits her). He suspects something isn't quite right ... the initial location of the drug factory was false and the real one was raided by Min. How did he know about it? Hmmm, Cutie Soo is being so cute in this short interlude. I'll miss this guy. Has he signed on to his next project yet?

JoAnne: I'm glad he's in one of his least objectionable outfits for this next-to-last episode. I want to remember everyone at their best.

kakashi: In thought, she goes to the Bak-cave next, to wait for Baksa. Oh SHIT. Well, we know who is there and we also know with whom ... and we see them lying there together, holding hands. And even though (or just because) they look so innocent as they rest there, fully clothed, Jin-sook noona walks away in shock, with deepest sadness in her eyes. 

Shuk: Innocent nothing. That pose is more intimate than if she caught them knocking boots.  I bet he's never let down his guard long enough to ever just sleep in her presence. But what is she gonna do? Please, writer-nim, don't make her into the Hateful Jealous Woman in the last two episodes! 

JoAnne: That would be such an insult to her, because she is awesome. And yes, a thousand times - to sleep like that is far more intimate than anything else she could have witnessed. It must have crushed her. Her back as she walked away, that moment when she let her head fall a bit. It was really, really sad.

kakashi: Baksa drives Soo-min to the police station and tells her to stay with Thighs, for safety. I am not so sure it is very safe near him, but oh well. Details. She shows concern for him and tells him to quit, too! But he tells her that he is Baksa Adeul. Meaning: there is no way out for him. She looks after his retreating car, almost crying. 
Shuk: The relationship has no chance, but it is oh so beautiful. He's no longer in an impecable suit but he has put on the Baksa persona, maybe for good this time.
JoAnne: He has to finish this. He has to save his people and he has to get the bad guys.  He has to avenge Kyung Mi. He may fail at those things, but at least he will put her out of harm's way if he can. Sigh.

kakashi: Inside the police station, the entire Ineptness Squad is gathered, getting a debrief about the Meth Factory business. They have not yet identified the identity of the dead body found there (= the sniper). Baksa calls Thighs and tells him once again to protect Soo-min, which Thighs is promising to do. Yeah. I seem to be remembering similar things said and promised before, but hey! Details. When Soo-min walks into the Ineptness Squad Lair, he takes her to his office to tell her how worried he was. She gives him back his gun. Uhm ... what's with the non-reaction there, Thighs?! I mean ... it is your gun! And I am pretty sure they do not take losing your gun lightly in Korea either?! Oh well ... details. She tells him that Baksa Adeul's name, who saved her, is Jung Shi-hyun. He tells her that Kyung Mi and Baksa Adeul also seem to have known each other.
Shuk: Nothing we didn't know before. And no loose end-tying. Let's move on people.
JoAnne: I like how they spend a moment marvelling that she's known him all along, ever since the convenience store. And this sort of unspoken acknowledgement by them both that despite appearances, he's one of the good guys.  

kakashi: Gun-wound surgery on Safari! Success. Who needs kidneys, anyway? Or anaesthetics? This guy will make me watch 170 of unsubbed episodes of I live in Cheongdamdong next!
Shuk: One of the very few times I actually cracked a smile in this episode.
JoAnne: I think I have to watch that, too, and man... I love Safari so much. My unspoken fear at this point is that the likelihood of dying is directly proportional to how much I love a character, and so at this very moment, I'm waiting for a bullet to come through the window and pass through Safari's big frizzy lion-maned head.

kakashi: Soo-min is thinking hard in her room, being pretty. Thighs is going out and tells her to stay put - but she wants to go see Jin-sook. For the last time. He agrees (of course) so she is going there, wearing the most ridiculous dress yet. Seriously. Who designs such things?
Shuk: It looks like she is being attacked by couture-hating zombie moths or something. Wrapped in barbed wire.
JoAnne: How do you wash something like that? Even if it goes to the dry cleaner, won't the wings get all crumply? But it's far from the ugliest thing she's worn. She's had some cute stuff...but most of the sexay night time clubby clothes were hideous and trashy. And let's not forget that pepto-bismol monstrosity on her head that one time.

kakashi: Jin-sook isn't in her "office", but calls her. She tells her to come up to her room. Man, she looks so sad ... Soo-min seems to think that's a bit strange. I brace myself. After cryptically asking her whether she can borrow her clothes, she takes her on a drive. Jin-sook doesn't speak and Soo-min is puzzled by the sudden ice-age.
JoAnne: I am so afraid. I figure the clothes thing was either a sad thought that if she looked like Soo Min she could have what Soo Min had...or a backhanded way of telling Soo Min that SHE took something of Jin-Sook's. Either way, odd interlude and I'm just praying for class and a bit of grace. Jin Sook deserves to be well-represented by this writer. We deserve not to be insulted.

kakashi: They are in Jin-sook's "office" next. Go lightly on the alcohol Jin-sook, it will destroy your beauty! Finally, the silence is broken. Jin-sook asks her straight out how long she has known her Shi-hyun? Does she love him? Yes, Soo-min says. And Jin-sook's quiet, controlled crying ... just breaks my heart over and over, every time I watch her. Instead of being angry or attacking, she just apologizes to Soo-min ... telling her she isn't ready for this and asks her for some time. That's the end of the Jin-sook Soo-min sistemance: Soo-min packs her things and leaves.
Shuk: [breathes a sigh of relief] But very very classy, Jin-sook unni. Cutie-soo will make you feel better!
JoAnne: Sobbing. Her hand shaking? Killed me. She loves them both so much. And I am SO GLAD that they didn't turn her into the means of destruction. Although I suppose it could still happen.

kakashi: Baksa goes to see Safari. How many bullets do they have stuck in their bodies collectively? They exchange intel on what happened at the factory ... the gist of the conversation is this: All roads lead to Rome - or rather, Min. He is behind it all, from beginning to end.
Shuk: B.A.S.T.A.R.D.
JoAnne: That Fuck. I'm not ever saying his name again. He is That Fuck from this moment forward. I should have done it weeks ago.

kakashi: At his favorite Han River spot, Baksa is flashbacking to Min stuff. Dude, you have a problem. Cause Min, the big liar, is the only one who can actually prove you are a police officer.
Shuk: When he told his woman that he is Baksa Adeul, he was already facing that he's not coming out of this on the right side of the law. Ever. So his 'coulda-woulda-shoulda' thoughts are all but over.
JoAnne: I guess they could go off and start a new life somewhere else? Baksa, Soo Min, Cutie... Jin-Sook? And Safari too please? Where's Meth Kim and Kim Eun Soo? I kinda like them too but I don't really see them stepping away from crime. And oh please, please... let Driver redeem himself so he and Ahn Doll can make the world's cutest little babies.
kakashi: At Ineptness Central, they have identified the dead sniper. He is a former cop. And lo and behold, there is a connection to Min, who knew him. When Thighs goes to ask him about the guy, Min lies, but of course, he lies. A lot. But it seems that the brain cells under the mop are working after all, because Thighs has a very sinister look on his face. He goes to have some bromance on the rooftop next! These two should hug.

Shuk: Min's wide-eyed "Chincha??" look reminds me of when I was caught doing something bad.  As a three-year-old. As for our boys, I'd settle for a backhug for Baksa from Hyung-min. With both shirtless, framed by that traffic....[nods off into fantasyland to avoid any more lump-in-the-throat revelations]
JoAnne: That Fuck isn't even trying to pretend anymore. Tiny, pathetic moment of squee for the rooftop.

kakashi: Soo-min has the brilliant idea to look through an old photo album ... and finds a picture of Jung Shi-hyun with her sister. She calls someone from the orphanage to ask about Shi-hyun ... and she hears the whole story, about how he liked her sister, how he bought a house for her, etc.
Shuk: Sister Exposition to the rescue. At this late end of the game, I wonder why DeadBoringGirlfriend never talked about him, since he was in her circle right up to her graduation from the academy.
JoAnne: EGG-ZACTLY.

kakashi: Feeling a strong urge to rip Baksa's clothes off (NOT), she runs (=drives) to the Bak-cave. Where the traitorous Driver sees her. Min, who miraculously knows that she just got there, orders the kill. This time, the door is just wide-open, because there is no lock-fiddling. He is stepping in behind her, hiding the gun behind his back, thumbing off the safety catch. Jeez, girl, what are you babbling?! She tells him the Ahn Doll likes him a lot. He points the gun at her head when she turns her back on him and ...
kakashi: ... doesn't shoot. awwwwwwwww, most certainly because she brought up the Ahn Doll. Min isn't particularly pleased about it, but we find out that The Driver is also an undercover cop. Lol. Add one more to the list.
Shuk: I knew it. 
JoAnne: Me too. I'm glad he couldn't kill his sweetie's pal. It means he probably can't kill our sweetie, either.

kakashi: Min meets Daddy Ji, who is trying to get Pusan's head out of the sling. But Min quasi laughs at him without laughing and tells him he has all the information on him he needs. The thing he wants? The police to have the same power as the prosecutors. See? Told you. It's about that. Always about that. Daddy Ji isn't pleased, and calls Safari, ordering him to take care of the matter. I.e. kill Min. Safari walks swiftly and strongly. Sure, it was only a bullet in the kidney, but hey! Details. Safari goes to see Jin-sook, but in secret ... He talks to her on the phone, hiding somewhere in her establishment, and I feel tears coming on again, because this? It feels like a final farewell. And he tells her that he loves her. Even after he has hung up.
Shuk: Oh the heartache. He knows that the odds are stacked against him at this point, so he wants to get out what he's held in for twenty-five years. [sniff]
JoAnne: That Fuck. I know he's going to kill Safari. I just know it.

kakashi: Baksa calls Min, pretending nothing is wrong. He asks him what to do about Chairman Jo: He'll just kill him, alright? Min says they need to talk, but after hanging up, he calls Psycho Jo right away and gives away Baksa Adeul's position. Which he knows with the same miraculous abilities he showed before.
Shuk: It's the Dead Pink Elephant in the room.  In order for it to seem normal, it has to be one of their normal meeting locations.  Which either means amusement park or church.  And I guess there's a tiny bit of fear in that blackened soul of Min's not to spill blood in a church.  Maybe.
JoAnne: How can That Fuck DO this to a man he practically helped raise? At least when Safari was being an ass to him, it was done grudgingly - and often, in an attempt to get him OUT of danger.

kakashi: Baksa flashbacks to happy times with the Min-Ass and Jin-sook on the carousel. And there is our amusement park connection! Behind him, thugs arrive, like insects. 
JoAnne: Oh, that was a creepy moment, when those guys start piling out.

kakashi: Soo-min is at the wide-open Bak-Cave again and discovers his treasure box. Including Pororo. Sigh ... And his police ID. Ahn-Doll calls her to tell her ... uhm, about what is happening to Baksa? Soo-min calls Thighs, to give him the same info. And Safari follows Min.
Shuk: So the driver double-crosses Min and tries to help Baksa. A tiny mercy, but not much.
JoAnne: I don't think it was a double-cross, mostly because of what happens next. 
JoNote, edited to add:  Shuk is right, I am wrong.  I hadn't seen this part with subs yet.

kakashi: The thugs charge Baksa - he draws out his gun and starts shooting them (in the legs and arms). They look like an army of zombies, all dressed exactly the same (the ties again ... )! When he is about to stick his knife into one of the thugs, he has a flashback moment again. He drops his knife. We see how Min gives The Driver a gun. The thugs go in for the kill and beat Baksa to the ground. Is it goodbye Baksa already??!
Shuk:  Those damned Gryffnyndor Goons.  But weren't they Psycho Jo's shock troops? Or are they from some Rent-A-Thug company??  Do they give Multi-crime discounts?
JoAnne: Those are Jo's guys, working for Min at the moment. Baby is HURT.

kakashi: No it is not! Safari to the rescue! Also armed with a gun, also shooting arms and legs. But, alas, the gun is already empty and he has to use his little stick again. Baksa is slowly getting up, when Safari gets knifed. At this stage, I'm just crying. Baksa is back on his feet, beating the crap out of the gangsters (who suddenly all disappear, miraculously). He bends down to see how badly hurt Safari is, when he hears the click-click of a gun ... it's his driver.
JoAnne: NOW comes the doublecross, in 3, 2, 1...

kakashi: He asks him whether this is Min's doing and starts walking towards him, when ... shot to the head, dead. Not Baksa, but The Driver. It is fucking Min, who killed him because he betrayed him. Min now aims for Baksa. He fires ... and shoots Safari right in the heart ... because Uncle Safari jumped in front of Baksa. I am sobbing now. Min leaves. What the bullet to the kidney didn't do, the bullet to the heart does. Safari is dead. But! Only after giving the red USB stick to Baksa. And making me cry even more with his death-speech. His last words: "Let's go to Jin-sook. I miss her."
Shuk:  Just a beautiful and horrible scene. I didn't give a rat's ass about the rental goons.  Just kill them already.
JoAnne: That Fuck had to be there to see it play out, all his horrible little plans coming to fruition. And as it turns out, maybe he doubted the cute driver a little bit. I'm sorry to see him die, but SAFARI... oh, Safari. You were so awesome. Even when you were a terrible man, you were awesome. I'm glad that your love for Baksa won out in the end.

kakashi: And Baksa drags Safari's body to Jin-sook ... and ... I am not recapping this. Too sad.
Shuk: Hyun-min and Soo-min arrive just before Uncle Safari dies, and witness the whole apology and goodbye.
JoAnne: Just tears. Tears and me saying no and the dog getting all worried.

Shuk: At her home, Jin-sook just repeats "What happened?", all the more horrible for for this completely blank expression, as her brain has totally gone into denial. She walks over to the body on her sofa and entreats him to wake up, as the realization overcomes her and she starts crying and screaming, finally hugging him as Baska looks on. Oof.
JoAnne: More tears, nose-blowing, and accidently swallowing an entire whiskey tumbler of booze. Ouch.

kakashi: Awful Min broods in his office when Baksa calls. Blood is flowing down his face prettily as he demands answers from Min. Why it all? Why? Why? And lying Liar Shithead says ... to protect him ... his undercover identity. But Baksa is calling the lie: No. He did it all for himself. Min starts shouting is was to fight corruption! But you are so far gone, Min, I can't even see you anymore. This is it, Baksa says. Wait for me: I'll come kill you. Not if I kill you first, says the Fucking Liar. Oh no ......... I'll close my eyes for the final. Seriously, I will.
Shuk: Neither one is going to give quarter. I fear the fallout.

Final Thoughts

kakashi: Wow. Just wow. This is the best episode yet and I am in awe ... in awe of the writing (it wasn't always great, but this guy? He knew exactly where he was going to take this show), in awe of the actors (Kim Yu-mi! Oh my goodness, I adoooore her!!), in awe of the directing. That's it. No more words.
Shuk: I'm pretty transparent about my complete and utter disgust for the portrayal of the police; however, the storyline between the cobbled together family kept me watching and squeeing week after week. And now Dad is gone....
JoAnne: This is glorious TV but if That Fuck lives through this I may have to give up KDrama.