Idol I

Choi Jae-hee, a member of the idol group, Gold Boys,

who has been questioned as a witness in the murder case of the late Woo-seong,

was involved in a car accident last night and is now confirmed to be

in critical condition and unconscious.

Authorities are currently investigating

the exact circumstances and cause of the accident.

Witnesses report that Mr. Choi had been showing

signs of instability following the incident,

and a document believed to be a will was found at the scene,

prompting investigators to consider the possibility…

We controlled the bleeding through a craniotomy

and removed the hematoma.

For now, all we can do is keep him sedated in the ICU

and monitor his condition closely.

Then,

what's going to happen to him?

If the damaged area of the brain continues to swell

and the pressure compresses the nerves,

he could suffer neurological damage.

What does that mean?

La-ik.

What happened?

I said, what happened?

Hey, come here. Let's talk over here.

I need to see him. I have to see him myself…

Hey! You can't be here right now!

- You need to get out before the reporters… - That's what you're worried about?

Jae-hee ended up like that!

Why would he…

Why would he try to kill himself?

They found a note.

A suicide note saying he'd confess to everything.

What?

How is Choi Jae-hee doing?

They say he might not make it through the day.

And when we checked his call log,

he had tried calling quite a few people besides you.

He called Do La-ik, he called Geum Bo-sang.

The only person he actually got through to was Bo-sang,

but apparently, he hung up right away without saying much.

People tend to do that before attempting suicide.

They cling to their phones because they're distressed…

I heard they found a suicide note at the scene.

We secured his phone.

Everything was written in there. "I killed Kang Woo-seong."

"I will atone with my death. Do not forgive me."

But something's bothering me.

Why would Choi Jae-hee

call you at the very end?

It's not like you two were close.

I don't know. I've been wondering that too.

Actually…

He left me a voice message that day.

He did?

CHOI JAE-HEE - VOICE MESSAGE

Why aren't either of you picking up?

Are you with La-ik right now?

I'm in a situation, and I need some help.

There's something I forgot to tell you earlier.

About the day when that happened to Woo-seong.

I called Woo-seong again at dawn, in the parking lot.

I'm sure it was his ringtone.

But thinking about it now, I think that ringtone

came from the garden side.

Yes, understood.

He probably mistook it for another sound.

Maybe. But doesn't it seem strange?

A man who left a suicide note confessing to everything,

says something like that right before he died.

You're saying Choi Jae-hee wasn't the real culprit?

If the sound he heard really was Woo-seong's phone,

then it means the killer took his phone

and fled in that direction.

Could you ask the residents over there if they noticed anything that night?

Let's stop this.

You're not La-ik's lawyer anymore.

Do you remember?

You told me once,

"If you keep holding on to the past,

you're the only one who ends up stuck there."

"You need to step out of it."

This is your second time already.

You do know repeated offenses come with heavier penalties?

What else can I do? I have to make a living.

Anyway,

what goes through your mind when you stand in front of it?

- What? - You said you remember me.

We see each other at the columbarium every year, must be the same memorial day.

When you stand there,

in front of the one you lost, what do you think about?

Why are you asking me that?

Because if I were you, I'd be ashamed to be living like this.

- Excuse me? - The reason your sentence was reduced

was because of the difficult life you'd been through.

But that doesn't excuse anything.

No matter how hard your past was,

using it as a shield to justify the way you live is self-deception.

You don't know anything about me.

I'm not the one treating you carelessly. It's you.

Whenever I stand

in front of that place, I make the same promise.

THE LATE MAENG JI-YONG, THE LATE PARK SU-HEE

As long as I'm alive, I'm going to live with dignity.

If you keep clinging to the past,

you're the only one who ends up stuck there.

People who lean on their misery to live their lives,

I can't defend people like that.

After you said that, I really tried to live differently.

I tried to bury the past and keep my eyes forward.

So why are you the one clinging to the past now?

Why are you stuck on Do La-ik?

You told me not to do that.

Do La-ik…

Is already gone.

He was never part of our world to begin with.

I heard they caught the culprit.

The suspect confessed, but he's in a coma.

The investigation will be on hold until he wakes up,

and if he dies, the case will be closed.

So what's your plan?

If you only play safe and defensive like this,

there comes a moment where you can't attack at all,

and all you can do is throw in the towel.

That girl you investigated last time, Hong Hye-joo.

You do know she's the daughter of Chairman Hong of Imhwa Group?

Yes, I'm aware.

Chairman Hong was furious.

Seems the girl…

Had some sort of relationship with Do La-ik,

and the chairman despised it.

If we'd pinned everything on him

and gotten him 20 years,

I would've made a clean entrance into politics,

and you would've strengthened your hold on the prosecution.

It would've been the perfect scenario.

A shame it didn't work out.

I had no idea you had such intentions.

Byung-gyun.

A long time ago,

I went through something similar.

We had a suspect.

Motive was solid, but no evidence.

And he wouldn't confess.

No matter how hard we pressed, he kept insisting he was innocent.

Then…

He hung himself

in prison.

It caused quite the commotion.

They called it coercive interrogation,

and almost cost me my badge.

But then…

How do you think I ended up sitting here?

If you want,

you could throw in the towel here and end the game.

But there's still a chance left.

It depends entirely on you.

Hello, this is Choi Jae-hee.

The real person who killed Kang Woo-seong

wasn't Do La-ik. It was me.

My fear and anger over a bleak future

ended up driving me in the wrong direction.

I made a mistake I can never undo.

CHOI JAE-HEE

I'll apologize to Woo-seong in person.

I'll be able to see him soon anyway.

And…

Please tell Do La-ik that I'm sorry.

My death is entirely my own doing.

No one else is responsible.

I will atone with my life.

Please, don't forgive me.

I had nowhere else to go.

I didn't know where I was supposed to be.

So I just walked.

And ended up here.

Everyone says Jae-hee is the killer now.

Not me, but him.

JAE-HEE'S CONFESSION NOTE SHAKES UP THE CASE

I can't believe it.

Why would he…

They found a knife,

presumed to be the murder weapon,

and a suicide note in his car. You heard that, right?

The note says

he killed Woo-seong.

The police consider it decisive evidence.

And with his suicide attempt confirmed,

the case will be closed.

How does that make any sense?

The prosecution won't reopen the case.

They're already being criticized for focusing solely on you

and missing the real culprit.

If they reopen the case now,

it's basically admitting their entire case was a mess.

I don't care about any of that.

I just want the truth.

Tell me.

Do you really think he's the culprit?

The police, the prosecution, everyone outside,

they can say whatever they want and believe whatever they want.