#lee i will kill you with kindness dongsik

[eonni92]

this wasn’t the lee dongsik that han juwon came to arrest. actions can deceive as wells as lips can lie. he knows this. he learned that lesson from his father long ago, but this… this is different. this level of kindness, of compassion, can it truly be fake? this wasn’t the actions of the killer, lee dongsik, that han juwon had built up in his mind, and i think it terrified him

[vindicated-truth]

Beyond Evil Trivia: Lee Dongsik never killed Song Jiho

I’m glad this was clarified, because even though it was somehow “accepted fact” in the fandom that Song Jiho—the murderer of Lee Sangyeob—was killed by Dongsik, in the show this was actually never explicitly confirmed, even though it was in the initial script.

In the final iteration of the story—and with what I imagine was writer Kim Sujin’s careful consideration of the real victims and families she interviewed—Song Jiho’s fate was left completely vague because they didn’t want to promote the agenda of personal revenge or advocate the pursuit of vengeance.

From a character standpoint, this also makes the most sense to me because I don't think Dongsik would be the kind of person to actually kill someone, no matter his deep-seated hatred, just because he is at his core a good person, whom (as his surrogate family in Manyang always say) had to endure a lot of suffering.

He has never, in my opinion, seemed to me the kind of person who would give up his morals in pursuit of his own vindictive vengeance. Because if he was, then he should've already went down that path 21 years ago, when he was not only wrongly accused, but physically beaten into submission by actual police officers—Nam Sangbae included.

Granted, it's a different, immediate trauma to actually witness someone you care for die in front of you with what happened with Lee Sangyeob (with every other person he loved whom he lost, he only experienced it after the fact: his sister, his parents, Minjeong, Sangbae).

But as we've seen with how he acted in finding Minjeong's fingers and finally piecing all the clues together and realizing that the serial killer is in fact his pseudo-brother he trusted for 20 years, he had never succumbed to personal vengeance. He isn't as clear-minded as Joowon in taking steps to act, but he isn't as prone to letting his emotions free reign either. His actions with Kang Minjeong's fingers showed that clearly: he still set out with a plan of his own.

In the actual storytelling of Beyond Evil as well, I had never once thought that Dongsik killed Song Jiho for several logical reasons:

1) When it was revealed that he was demoted from the RIU, the reason that was repeatedly given was that he could not explain the death of his partner, Lee Sangyeob. That was the only reason. If he had killed Song Jiho, or at least when Song Jiho had been found dead at the scene, that would've been one of the major reasons why he was demoted. Therefore, Song Jiho did not die.

2) At the very least, Song Jiho was rescued at the last minute. When you watch Episode 7, you can already hear the sirens of the ambulance wailing while Dongsik was already beating up Song Jiho, so the paramedics would've already arrived at the scene shortly after. Lee Sangyeob had already died prior so they couldn't save him, but the paramedics would've arrived just in time to save Song Jiho.

3) The whole point of Dongsik’s character is that he’s someone who still bravely powered through life despite being wrongly accused as a murderer. He’s not going to turn around and suddenly prove the accusations right.

If for nothing else, he’s stubborn enough to fight the system precisely by proving them all wrong. He was stubborn enough to keep his silence in protecting Lee Sangyeob’s dignity even after his death, and he paid the price in being demoted. He’s fighting the system precisely by continuously defying them—and proving them wrong.

Him becoming a murderer would have only proved them right.

(As a side note: I actually addressed this in my fic here, which I'm glad to see now that my deductions were closer to canon. I could have never believed Dongsik capable of killing anybody.)

[a-very-fond-farewell]

Shipper Tag Game

the ever so wonderful @wangmiao tagged me in a game! yay :D I spend my days studying as of lately an I needed a little distraction eheh

-

1. what ship were you completely obsessed with when you were a teenager, but now you don’t care anymore?

aah man, it’s probably ed & winry from FMA if I’m being honest. now I know why, bc my baby gay younger self saw the potential for ftm!Ed and mtf!Winry since day 1 but I didn’t have the words to understand it as such back then. it’s not that I don’t care anymore but that fandom served its purpose and I am thankful for it. learned about my own stance on gender euphoria thanks to it actually even if the story has nothing to do with it in retrospect.

2. which ship would you consider your first one?

ik that, as a wee child, I was obsessed with Haruka from Sailor Moon flirting with Usagi, but I wouldn’t consider that as a proper “ship”. I learned shipping was a thing at, like, 19. but if I look back at my childhood... probably either Syaoran & Sakura (bi nation where u at??) or Touya/Yukito from Card Captor. I clocked the Tomoyo/Sakura waaaay later tho, which is a pity.

3. your first fanfic belonged to which couple?

first fanfic I read was a D. Gray Man one, so it was probably a Kanda/Allen situation yeah. I think I was 20. oh god.

4. do you remember the first couple you saw a fanart over?

hard to say. I think I had just discovered tumblr, so it means I was either 22 or 23... so I was either in the Pandora Hearts fandom or in the Tokyo Ghoul fandom. and I only followed people from those two so... I think it was an Arima/Haise one? hard to say fr.

5. did you ever get into ship discourse?

I tend to stay away from that. I just mute or block people and go back to play with my fictional people. me is petty at times, yes.

6. did you use to have any no-otp or have it currently?

I do have ships I don’t particularly like, but I find it silly to talk about them. I let people enjoy themselves.

7. who were the couples in the last fanfic you read?

Gaon/Yohan from The Devil Judge bc there’s only one fic in the whole fandom I follow and I generally don’t read fanfics that much. (I may or may not have read a fanfic from Evilive in the past month or so, but if I did I was feverish and recall very little of it).

8. currently do you have any OTPs?

man where do I start?

Shang Xirui/Cheng Fengtai from Winter Begonia

Zhou Zishu/Wen Kexing from Word of Honor

Gu Yun/Changgeng from Sha Po Lang

Seo Doyoung/Han Dongsoo from Evilive (current one)

Kim Gaon/Kang Yohan from The Devil Judge

Lee Dongsik/Han Joowon from Beyond Evil

Koo Ryeon/Park Joonggil from Tomorrow

(one sapphic ship I shall not name - for the discourse is rampant about them- but it involves ladies and dragons)

Eve Polastri/Villanelle from Killing Eve (I am waiting for the italian dub to drop season 3 and 4 in dvd, I am too attached to it to budge)

(if that news about Kim Goeun and Jeon Doyeon starring in the same thriller drama is true I will make it my entire personality so be prepared for it)

9. is there any couple that, to this day, you are extremely mad about not getting together?

is there?.... man I have no clue. they are all true in my heart. I can be anal about it and say that I call bullshit on the main girl in True Beauty kdrama not ending up with the second-male lead if I really have to be mad about something but... meh? that’s probably it? the characters were too young for me to empathize with them but I guess that’s still something I think about from time to time?? I feel so silly saying this ahah

10. is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they are kind of interesting?

honestly, ever since kun opened my eyes about soggy older men being bullied by grumpy older men I have changed as a person. I never disliked it per se but now everything has changed. I see the vision now. I see it. thank u kun :)

11. do you have any ship that, in the past, was considered normal but now you would be cancelled over?

listen. I ship changgu. it’s Gu Yun’s fault to be such a cougar, what was a growing kid like Changgeng supposed to do? not fantasize about his godfather? who, I might add, is only, like, 8 or 9 years older than him and didn’t even want to take that role to begin with and they got together when both were above their mid-twenties anyway? try again tag game. these new fandom babies are eating my face like smooth lions as we speak. (I am joking...)

12. what was your favorite crack ship?

before I left the m/dzs fandom... I guess Wen Q/ing & Lan W/angji as a “beard for beard” situation. they are gay and they are not vibing on prom night, having to dance with each other instead of looking for people they actually like. maybe it’s best that I left the fandom ahah

13. who is the couple you read most fanfics of?

I don’t really... read... fanfics... anymore. usually I’m either in a big ship or a niche show/book with no in between. in the second case... it’s bad bc I feel the urge to WRITE for the fandom and ship in question, which means that I don’t want to read fics about it unless I have finished my own fic for it (bc I don’t want to accidentally steal other people’s ideas. my subconscious is an octopus I swear, it latches onto anything that moves in my brain. I cannot do that to someone else’s creation!); in the first case it works only if I’m not active in the fandom:

take Word of Honor: I write for it and for the main ship too, so I don’t read fics about it

take Evilive or Winter Begonia: we have so few fics in there I MUST WRITE for the main ship, so I don’t read fics about it (sometimes I do cave in tho, yes I am human)

take The Devil Judge or Tomorrow: I’m not active on either of those, so I can enjoy reading fics (only two, one for each fandom)

my life is a struggle ik. the most fics I have read for a ship is probably that sapphic ship I shall not name (evil women come at me!!) and bagginshield from The Hobbit (we are talking 10 years ago tho)

14. what most of your ships usually have in common?

across all genders and all gender combos, I have generally 3 vibes going on:

twice divorced, never married

long suffering banter, but fond

not related, not chosen family, but a secret third thing

(additional flavor: either the younger one is the bossy one or they are the same age and they are making it everyone’s problem at that)

15. what you absolutely hate in a ship?

I would say conformity. if I don’t catch any queer vibes from the main source then what’s the point? even in a het ship I must latch onto some gender magic of some kind. some pegging for everyone would be nice too. or no sex at all, for a change, why not?

-

thank u once more kun for tagging me! imma tag anyone insterested in doing this and @amethystina and @danhoemei is they feel like doing it or if they just want to have a look at my replies, no pressure!!

[katierosefun]

jwds vampire au! because i was thinking it fits well within canon events and got all giddy~

so similar to canon the police is the vampire hunters association, the commander is han kihwan and juwon is one of the best hunters. Dongsik is too a hunter, let's say everyone believes lee yuyeon was killed by a vampire (she wasn't, it was still hkh while jinmuk is the vampire in disguise that killed all the women still). He joined the association to find the killer and he as in canon events got quite known for his skills yet he was demoted due to rumors saying he's crazy/a murderer/ a vampire working in the association to elude them all. Dongsik is a great hunter for sure but to quote jihoon "it's because he's lee dongsik" he's still kind to victims, that means he's kind to vampires that got turned and hate their situation, the one's that don't harm humans and he may or may not be in a group that tries to change society's preconceptions and stereotypes, the one's that are working to create a world in which humans and vampires can coexist (the manyang team is all in this together, they don't jump to conclusions and don't believe all vamps are the same of course). This utopia is already a thing in some parts of the big cities but it's still a big taboo. Juwon was raised very differently though, he can't stand dongsik's approach and believes he's the killer because 'you can't possibly sympathize with vampires if you're not one'. There's tension like in canon, the discover jinmuk and when everything started looking for the better juwon disappear for 3 months. He doesn't come back though, he will later be found by dongsik. Juwon got turned while he was investigating jinmuk's connections in busan, loathing himself even more now and in fear of harming humans he tries to fly under the radar, not harming anyone (but himself let's be real) all cooped up in his studio. Han kihwan got suspicious and after a month discovers the truth about juwon, disgusted he disown him and decides he will kill him but has to come up with a plan first, he can't let people know of juwon's situation or his reputation will be fucked so he locks juwon up in one of the many properties under his name owns. Dongsik starts investigating once he realizes juwon isn't simply taking a leave of absence/vacation and finds him after 3 months handcuffed and tied to a column in the living room of juwon's childhood house. As soon as he enters he hears whimpers, but they stop as soon as he approaches the door and a trashing sounds starts along broken words he can't make out then he sees him. Juwon is starved and while 3 months aren't enough to kill a vampire from starvation (if the vamp has an eating schedule that is and not a newly turned one that barely got around with little blood found in butcher shops) he still looks extremely weak in his useless efforts to distance himself from the intruder.

"han juwon!" dongsik tries to get near him but juwon moves trying to kick him but only managing to making him stumble a few steps back. Dongsik tries to get closer again and juwon this time turns towards him and hoarsely tells him to go away, but dongsik has always been a stubborn man so no he won't leave him there when he needs to be rescued.

"i said get out!" juwon sounds mad and he's now turned fully towards him, dongsik doesn't understand at first then he sees the canines and upon taking a proper look into the other's eyes he notices the red specks among the black of the irises. So it clicks and something must show on his face because juwon is now smiling bitterly and ducking his head, "get out lee dongsik".

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I'm taking you with me and get you the assistance you need".

Juwon is laughing but it's more of a gasp and it honestly sounds more like hiccups than anything "what"

"I'm gonna help you c'mon let's get you up an-"

"stay away!" dongsik's stops then "you're insane.. haven't you understood yet?" he's starting to panic

"han juwon please-"

"I'm a vampire now," the way these words tumble out of juwon's mouth sound pained and it breaks dongsk's heart "han juwon died already you can forget him and leave" he says while nodding towards the door and looking away.

Dongsik is now an arm length of distance and can't take this anymore so he hugs juwon. The latter still for a second gasping loudly only to begin trashing "why are you doing this to me?? go away! dongsik leave... please before i-" harm you he doesn't say but the broken, crying voice tells dongsik anyway. He caresses juwon's cheek, he guesses that if the other could cry he'd be wiping away his tears now.

"juwon-ah"

He's shaking, whether from barely contained hunger, rage or shock dongsik doesn't know but he feels fiercely protective of the broken person in front of him. Juwon is now gasping and whimpering, dongsik offers his wrist with a kind smile and compassionate eyes, juwon can't take it anymore and gives in, then overwhelmed and exhausted he passes out, body still adjusting to metabolize blood. Dongsik calls jihwa for backup and unties the ropes, together they uncuff him and bring him to a clinic that helps vampires and humans alike. It will take time but with the love and care of the manyang found family and even more so from dongsik, juwon will find peace and heal. Oh yup they will also arrest han kihwan and get justice too🌸

I'm sorry i keep sending you badly written walls of self indulging text featuring jwds, my brain rot is still too strong alsjskd

part 2 of ask under the cut!

oh no caroline i suddently remembered i forgot to send you the most important part of the vapire au! the thought that inspired that whole thing hhh this is why i shouldn't send ask at 2am bUT picture jwds cuddling session on the couch: dongsik is reading and stoking juwon's head with his free hand, juwon is curled up in his lap, snuggling and nuzzling dongsik's neck and being all soft and lovely. After a while he starts craving attention so he switches to kissing dongsik's neck, at first it's some tiny pecks then after hearing dongsik's approving hums, he get's bolder and decides to tease lightly biting the skin too. Just a simple scratching of teeth and dongsik breath catches in his throat, he tosses the book aside turning to juwon who's watching him from under his lashes, reading him and breaking into a smile upon seeing how affected the other is. Dongsik won't hold back anymore, he cups juwon's cheeks and kisses him deeply. Everything else is up to your imagination~ 💕 Sorry if this is so long and makes little sense but i'm no writer and english isn't my first language but i wanted to share something with you too since you always write many lovely fics for us all!

wow, thanks for that lovely ficlet in my inbox, anon! i'm always down for jwds vampire au's, just because i've always been fascinated by them. thank you for the kind words and also for the sweet surprise in my inbox! i love how you incorporated such strong details, and this was definitely a nice way to start the day.

[vindicated-truth]

Agreeing with your tags wholeheartedly here:

And reposting the thoughts I've already written here and here about Lee Changjin, in his strange, soft spot for both Oh Jihwa and Han Kihwan.

Lee Changjin and Oh Jihwa

I do find it remarkable on the part of both the writing of the characters by Kim Sujin, and by the portrayal of the actors themselves, how even the four primary villains of the story—Kang Jinmook, Do Haewon, Lee Changjin, and Han Kihwan—all were three-dimensional characters that had nuance, complexity, and depth, and most importantly: all had distinct qualities that separate them as individuals, each with their own brand of evil.

Of the four of them, Lee Changjin did remarkably display the most tenderness, if only specifically for Jihwa.

One of the things the show put forth about the many different kinds of evil and the monsters who perpetrate them is that it’s actually possible for evil to come from loving too much: because you do everything to protect that person, even if it means everyone else will suffer.

This was best demonstrated by Do Haewon. In varying degrees, everyone else was also guilty of this, including Jihwa, whose worst guilt is trying to protect her brother when she could.

Changjin, remarkably, despite being a monster in so many ways himself, actually had the right kind of tenderness and whatever masquerades as love for him, for Jihwa.

He never overstepped his boundaries with her when she firmly set it. He let her go and let her divorce him, even as he still openly pines for her, but never pushes it on her. And he would always, always respect her, and openly admires her capability as a cop.

That’s also the most fascinating aspect of the show: how it showed that your love for a person can become your own undoing.

For Changjin it had been that maybe, if it wasn’t for his masquerade of a love for Jihwa, he would’ve been more of a monster than he already was.

For Haewon it had been the opposite: if it wasn’t for what masquerades as her excessive love for Jeongje, she would’ve been less of a monster than the one she had become.

Lee Changjin and Han Kihwan

The most fascinating parallelism of the partnership between Lee Dongsik and Han Joowon, and Lee Changjin and Han Kihwan, is that it’s hinged on the trust and devotion of both Lee halves of the partnership to their Han halves. And while Lee Dongsik’s faith in Han Joowon is warranted, it’s curious how Lee Changjin’s faith in Han Kihwan can almost be seen as naive.

I remember when Jihwa admitted this herself: that the reason she once married Lee Changjin was because she was drawn to his innocence. And I had wondered what she meant by it, because Changjin is far from moral—but seeing him with Han Kihwan affirmed it.

While Changjin is no doubt an immoral character, he is also, fascinatingly, so innocent.

If the entire plot of Beyond Evil can be likened to a card game, it was actually Lee Changjin who had all the aces. And it’s said that a game could only be won if the player knew how to play with the cards he had been dealt with—and yet Changjin fumbled the best hand he had been dealt with by trusting in the wrong partner.

He was the only one among the many, many “players” in the story who knew that Han Kihwan was Lee Yuyeon’s real killer. Not even Kang Jinmook knew this, because the one Jinmook witnessed as having run over Yuyeon was Jeongje, which is why it was Do Haewon Jinmook chose to blackmail all these years—to the point of coercing Haewon in providing him with a place to hide all the bodies of the women he had killed over the years.

(The horrifying fact should be noted that the bodies they dug up on the deer farm were more victims that hadn’t been previously identified nor connected to any of the other characters in the show, because even the prostitutes connected to Yoon Mihye—Jin Hwalim, Yeo Chunok, Wi Sunhui, and Lee Geumhwa—were already previously identified by Foreign Affairs.

The bodies in the deer farm were additional victims that the show did not choose to focus on anymore as they’re not connected to the central characters, but it’s enough to establish the horrifying fact that Jinmook killed far more women than was initially thought.)

For whatever reason, Changjin chose to follow Kihwan that night, which is how he happened to chance upon the exact moment Kihwan killed Yuyeon—and this should’ve been the biggest ace Changjin had up his sleeve in having the Chief of Munju Police Station and eventually the Commissioner General in the palm of his hand and yet—

He chose to let Kihwan go.

Changjin already had all the aces. Do Haewon was also already in the palm of his hand because Haewon is indebted to him for helping protect Jeongje. By all means, Han Kihwan should also be indebted to him as the only one who could possibly ruin Han Kihwan’s entire life, if Changjin came forward with the truth.

And yet there was no logical reason for him to have trusted Kihwan all this time and let him go—other than the naive belief that Kihwan would do the same for him.

Throughout the show, Changjin chose to protect Kihwan again and again, willingly killing anyone—even without Kihwan’s behest—who might come close to revealing Kihwan’s secret, for no other reason than he expects Kihwan will do the same for him.

He must have believed that the reason Kihwan quickly closed Yuyeon’s (and Bang Juseon’s) murders as cold cases is because Kihwan technically “owes” Changjin for his protection, and that Kihwan was protecting the “image” of Munju so that Changjin’s development project—which was his passionate, “innocent” ambition, as Jihwa once wistfully remembered—will finally push through.

Changjin had it completely wrong, because he didn’t know what Han Joowon already knew about his own father: Han Kihwan doesn’t look out for anyone else, other than himself.

Yet Changjin somehow had this innocence in him, as Jihwa had once described, especially with his strange unfounded belief in Kihwan. For 20 years, Changjin could’ve “cashed in” the debt Kihwan definitely owes him anytime throughout those years, and would have had Kihwan do his bidding—which Kihwan would have had no choice in, considering the weight of the secret Chanjin was keeping for him.

Instead, Changjin chose to be faithful to Kihwan, protecting his secret until the end—until Kihwan inevitably betrayed him, too.

What’s fascinating is that Changjin’s innocent and naive faith and belief in his perceived partner is actually mirrored by Dongsik’s own seemingly blind devotion to his perceived partner—one that Jihwa herself warned Dongsik against, pointing out that Han Joowon is still Han Kihwan’s son.

The parallelism in both father and son is there too: they are in fact the most powerful examples of the butterfly effect, in that their smallest actions set forth an entire series of events in the story, in completely opposite ways:

Han Kihwan set forth a chain of events 21 years ago that led to so many deaths and bloodshed; while Han Joowon set forth a chain of events 21 years later that finally brought about justice to everyone who deserved it.

Both Lee halves devoted themselves into blindly believing in the Han halves of their partnerships.

The primary difference is: only one Han proved himself worthy of his Lee’s devotion to him.

And I think, all things considered, it’s something to pity Lee Changjin for.

He trusted the wrong Han.

lee changjin is such a satisfying character for being hella quirky and complex (but still staying ridiculously underrated); only one point that had left me kinda sceptical for a while, was his russian background, since that's just way too corny for 2020s; BUT until i realized this fun fact of actor heo sung tae:

so most likely using russian was his own investment in lee changjin role, or the character was written especially for him. wow. in both ways, that's really cool ans speaks loud for the creative approach in making this drama. btw, his accent is so damn charming (:

also that mention of the brilliant way he started his acting career. i love this guy

[my-otp-list]

Albeit the fact that I’m suffering another wave of serious withdrawal (the only other time this ever happened was due to The Guest), I do consider myself blessed to have been able to cross path with a drama like this in this life.

While my feelings about the show are still very raw, and since I’ve been doing nothing but thinking about Han Joowon and Lee Dongsik 24/7 for the past 2 weeks, here I am, dedicating a review to this compelling, one-of-a-kind sort of show, whose lead characters’ chemistry has transcended my very own definition of ‘perfection’.

Beyond Evil (K-Drama)

Genre: Psychological, Thriller, Mystery, Investigation, Drama

Synopsis (taken & modified from MyDramaList):

Meet two fearless men who are willing to go to extreme lengths in their pursuit of a serial killer that has shaken up their quiet town.

Lee Dongsik, a once capable detective, is now demoted to perform menial tasks at the Manyang Police Substation. Just as he is beginning to settle into a peaceful life, Han Joowon, a young, arrogant, elite detective whose father is the star candidate for the National Police Agency’s next chief, is transferred in and becomes his new partner.

When a string of gruesome killings occurs in town, the pattern that takes shape is oddly reminiscent of several serial-murder cases from 20 years prior, for which none other than Lee Dongsik was the main suspect.

As the two’s investigation proceeds, they are forced to look far deeper than what the evidence suggests and to question the culpability of all those surrounding the case, including their own.

Length: 16 episodes - 70 minutes each

Personal review:

+ The Plot: Beyond Evil may come off looking all very similar to the usual small town murder, where you’re made to anticipate that the core of the show is a whodunit mystery.

But then, it isn’t.

At its very core, Beyond Evil is a powerful story of grief, guilt and greed, masked behind a remarkably intricate web of human relations and their ugliest, rawest desires. Where no one seems innocent. Yes, not even the lead characters.

Did Beyond Evil do a good job at being a Mystery? Likely, yes, though I’m aware some might’ve preferred the mystery bits to stay on a little longer. Did it do a good job at being a Psychological Thriller? Oh, god, yes.

+ The Characters: This is probably the first K-drama I’ve ever watched that somehow manages to spare a proper backstory for almost all major characters, including the villains. We’re talking about at least 8 of them here, within mere 16 episodes.

Most interestingly, this is also the first show I’ve ever watched where every single character’s ethics might lie in a grey zone. As easy as it is to judge them for such questionable behaviours, the reasons why they do what they do will probably keep you awake at night, wondering if you could’ve done any better had you been put in their shoes.

Intriguingly, when it isn’t dealing with the darker sides of life, the show oozes a quality Found Family vibe, a warm depiction of how far a close-knitted community will go to protect their own people. Get ready to be attached to certain characters, because you simply will.

And of course, I can’t be done with this part without talking about our two leads, Lee Dongsik and Han Joowon. Lee Dongsik certainly makes it to my list of characters with such profound depths, despite the fact that the show’s runtime isn’t even that long, and the subtlety, the complexity of his struggles is brought out even more amazingly thanks to Shin Hakyun’s acting. His partner Han Joowon, one who walks into the show looking nothing short of the annoying brat you’ll want to punch in the face, reaches what I would gladly define as peak character development by the end of the show, the sort that almost feels as though he’s been through a lifetime of troubles.

+ The Chemistry: Here’s the point where I want to share with you my personal experience trying to appreciate and interpret the two male leads’ dynamic.

(one can’t talk about these two’s dynamic without joking about the space between them, or lack thereof, but I shan’t digress)

In my first watch of Beyond Evil, this was what I said to myself: “Cool, seems like bromance isn’t the focus, but not bad.”

In my second watch of Beyond Evil, this was what I screamed to myself: “Goodness gracious was I f**king blind in my first watch?”（￣□￣；）

Here’s the thing, Shin Hakyun himself said something along the line that “this is the type of script that, if done well, will make the audience want to watch twice.” I heeded his words, and guess what I found? So many minuscule details, so many subtle movements.

I believe in the first watch, I was so overwhelmed by the convolution of the plot and all the characters’ emotional grapples that the two leads’ dynamic was somehow majorly sidelined from my attention. By the second watch, I was dead-set on focusing on these two, their every line, their every gaze, their every gesture and their incapacity to stop flirting when they’re with each other.

The result? By the time I reached the ever-famous ending scene in the second watch, I was a horrible mess.

How lucky must I be to be able to watch such a mesmerising enemies-to-partners-to-(how-should-I-even-define-this-relationship) development? This is two characters who come to ruin yet save each other, two persons who stand against the whole world, and two men who are willing to fall into Hell for the other.

Such. Fervour.

+ The Acting: You know, let’s just go straight to the point. Everyone, please stand up and give every actor and actress a standing ovation. Just, please. (I personally will stand a tad longer for Do Hae Won’s actress. I got goosebumps from how mental that lady was, in all earnest.)

+ The Filming/OST: I’ve never found any aspect to fault a K-Thriller’s filming, and I’m certainly not gonna do so for Beyond Evil. Perfection, 11/10. But, I’ve never commented on any show’s OST before, so let me make the first exception today: That is some god-tier OST, one that matches too well with the show’s heavy atmosphere and tension among the characters. Look up the full OST folks, especially The Night by Choi Baek Ho.

- The Negative: Yes, I have something to complain: How am I supposed to move on from this, at all?

If you’re giving this show a go-ahead, here’s an advice: Proceed with caution, because I won’t be responsible for your subsequent withdrawal and/or inability to find other shows that could fill in the void that Beyond Evil leaves behind. You’ve been truthfully warned.

[tiffanylamps]

help. you've probably watched the show many times and have better memory than i do. juwon has to know what happened to dongsik's old partner and what dongsik did about it, right? do we ever find out what he thinks about that?

Hey anon!!! Thanks for stopping by and asking this question. I appreciate you coming to me for help :)

TL; DR: Joo Won mentions it once but Dong Sik distracts him with accountability and gay panic. He doesn't mention it again. We, the audience, don't find out the true ins-and-outs of what happened. So, no, we don't get to know if Joo Won is aware of what happened that night, nor do we get his opinion on the matter.

For a more in-depth explanation: keep reading!

Okay!! So.... In episode 1, whilst Joo Won is still working for Foreign Affairs, he presents the Manyang cold case to his colleagues as a potential lead for the numerous murders of sex workers within the Busan area. He links the only suspect of the Manyang cold case (Lee Dong Sik) as his main suspect. Which makes sense as it's the only lead he has to go on, at that point in time. This is when his colleagues point out that Dong Sik is infamous throughout the different departments because of his mysterious involvement in his partner's death. Some derogatory language is thrown around when discussing Dong Sik's mental health, only helping to fuel Joo Won's suspicions of him. Nine months pass, Joo Won investigates Dong Sik as best he can whilst still working within his department. He starts his sting operation, loads of things happen, and he gets himself transferred to Manyang to be close to Dong Sik.

In episode 4, Joo Won has gotten to the point of Desperate™️️ where he makes the brainy decision of... breaking into his suspects house and pointing gun at him. He then makes the even smarter decision of bringing Sang Yeob's suspicious death as an excuse for his behaviour (i.e, he's got the gun for his "protection"). Dong Sik has a trauma response to this and quickly diverts the conversation away from the subject, as a way to protect himself.

This is kind of last time Joo Won mentions it.

It is implied through his actions, and the way the subject is discussed throughout the different police departments, that the events surrounding Sang Yeob have been made hush, hush. It would seem that police saw that a rookie went after a murder suspect (it could be argued, semi-legally), ended up in a physical altercation with said suspect, which resulted in his murder. His partner (a Senior Inspector, if I remember correctly) then got injured himself.... and maybe... kills the suspect with his bare hands???? and wanted to cover it up... It is implied that it was brushed under the rug and all the details were kept from sight. (Don't quote me on this next bit) In the scripts, it is stated that Dong Sik only got demoted because he had a nervous breakdown and was stating things like "I killed them" whilst at work. Which is....... yeah..... (they really let my man go back to work without any counselling???)

The full details of what happened that night and the following years after are not explicitly fleshed out in the show. This is obviously purposeful, as it isn't entirely necessary for the plot, and it leaves room for Dong Sik to be a more sympathetic character. If we were completely privy to the fact that Dong Sik murdered a man with his bare hands, his role in Joo Won accepting what he did the Lee Geum Hwa would not be as impactful. (Plus... if Dong Sik did kill Song Ji O, and the audience knew he did without question, it would give the audience the power to add morality into the whole affair. Which would distract away from the main messages and themes of the piece.) So, instead of setting themselves up for a messy failure, the creators leave it up for the audience to decide. (Personally, I believe he did kill him or at the very least, hospitalised him. I don't think Joo Won knows the full details of what happened throughout the canon. During this time period, I don't think Joo Won and Dong Sik were having heart-to-hearts about the past. They were busy with a 20-year-old murder investigation, and neither are very good with healthy communication. But I do think he'll come to know in the future- once he and Dong Sik are both in a better place.)

I hope that answers your question!! Thanks again. If you have anything further follow-up questions or thoughts, please feel free to send them my way : )

[leedongsik]

you said we could rant to you about BE so here i am! i just think that what makes BE so special is the themes that were at the forefront of this show like classism or mental health disorders or sexism. they weren't just addressed in the show as passing remarks like yeah these things exist and they're bad and we can only question them we can't solve them. in fact they were fully integrated into the story and the characters (1/?)

we have juwon who's a Classic Stoic Chaebol Male Lead(™) with OCD who represents rich people physically and metaphorically looking down at poor people and their 'dirt' but over the course of the show he's transformed into a completely different person and overcomes his OCD through seeing people for who they are. we have dongsik explicitly addressing sex workers and how they deserve to be seen as human beings (and juwon's entire arc being about not forgetting lee geum hwa no one else does) and in the end we have a happy ending where the issues were resolved by the good people teaming up to defeat evil rather than giving the message that good is essentially powerless against powerful people. im sorry for throwing shade at TDJ directly like this but TDJ cant even come close to all these raw and meaningful messages so carefully laid out through the characters and the plot and the story in BE. (3/3) thanks for listening to my rant, have a nice day!

Welcome, welcome!

Very well put, (I was about to diasgree a little about Juwon looking down on people but I understand now what you mean).

This show has just SO much respect, be it by the way we have characters speaking up for victims and that it shouldn't matter what kind of life they lead because a bar girl/sex worker is still a human being and does not deserve to be killed or the producers deciding not to give too much spotlight to the killer and the killings out of respect to real victims, let's not forget the amount of research and heart that was put into the script, like you had the author crying over the character she created herself and that's why I respect her and the show so much.

[petekaos]

hellooo let me ask: top 5 dongsik batshit moments aaaaand top 5 scenes/moments in beyond evil in general!! 🥰🥰💛💙

HIIII NICO!!!! 🥺💙💛 you already know what i wanna talk about LMAO!! this will be under the cut because of spoilers and again in no particular order! 🥰

top 5 batshit dongsik moments:

1) the moment that really cinched my love for dongsik was already in episode one when he, at the end, smiled that evil ass big ass smile. LIKE!!! juwon literally asks him if he killed his sister and he JUST GRINS LIKE THAT? un poco insane un poco unhinged! 😭

2) the next one that i can remember is when juwon puts a gun to dongsik’s head and instead of freaking out like any normal person would do, dongsik gets up like a crazed man and presses juwon into that small room of his basement and then CRITIQUES the way he uses the gun?? like the whole “point at the head or the heart” scene like LEE DONGSIK FOR GOD’S SAKE 😭 why are you like this 😭 i know exactly why he’s like this 😞

3) this is also a #dongsikhornymoment but in ep 2 i believe when dongsik steps close to juwon and goes “what is it about me that interests you?” like please 😭😭😭 that moment is so unhinged honestly, imagine knowing this guy for like two days and flirting LIKE THIS because you want to use him and then he later ends up falling in love with you. ABSOLUTE MESS 😭

4) again in one of the early eps after juwon’s involvement in the case is exposed (the burner phone stuff) and he decides to take a break (take a shot for every time someone wants to take time off the job 🤡) and dongsik goes to wish him goodbye and bows and just starts laughing. WHAT THE HELL LEE DONGSIK 😭 it made for a great moment bc it was juwon’s excuse to drag him in by the collar AGAIN 😑 insert poor hakyun talking about how he wasn’t ever sure when jingoo was gonna grab his collar 😭

5) and of course THE lee dongsik moment. when he’s arrested and they’re trying to walk him through the station without him revealing his identity with the baseball cap and the blanket and dongsik just SHAKES the blanket off with his hands holding the rim of his cap. unhinged? yes. batshit? yes. a little slutty? also yes. changed the course of my life? perhaps.

top 5 scenes/moments overall (as of rn):

1) “let me do it … i will arrest him … i will do it … i’ll set up a trap … I’ll be the bait … i’ll be a monster, take han kihwan with me, and dive into hell when he’s reached the peak … that’s my way of atoning … that’s the best revenge you can take on that man … if i don’t do it, if you think i can’t do it, feel free to release the recording … YOU CAN’T. NO MORE … PLEASE DON’T DO IT … I … I WILL GO TO HELL." who is surprised? [hears the deafening sound of nobody moving] THE RAIN SCENE! because this is one of the scenes their entire relationship has been building up towards and I ADORE IT SO MUCH. one of the best scenes in film. the way juwon sinks to his knees, the way he wants absolution and forgiveness and the way he sacrifices himself and the way there’s so much love in his actions and the rain pelting down his shoulders and—

2) “juwon-ah.” truly everything to me. the way that dongsik is so kind and insists that he arrests him even though he said he wouldn’t ever give himself up and the way juwon sobs because he doesn’t want to arrest him even though that was all he wanted to do at the beginning. when the handcuffs cinched on dongsik’s wrists and when juwon bent over his hands and clasped them like a prayer i had to pause and scream into the void. juwon-ah. JUWON-AH. 💔💔💔

3) in ep 7 when dongsik and jaeyi have their conversation about finding their mother/sister. the relationship between dongsik and jaeyi is so special and lovely simply because they are bonded together by this shared guilt and loss. seeing them talk about how much they’ve suffered made me cry so hard, it was truly one of the most touching scenes of the series for me 😞

4) THE BACK HUG. you already know how i initially reacted to that scene. how juwon comforts dongsik and tugs him back into this hug, this comfort. and how dongsik just collapses against him because he’s been through so much and had to see and deal with so much loss. what truly killed me was dongsik’s hand closing around juwon’s. why. why did they do that. i can’t move on. i’m eternally suffering.

5) and, of course, the finale. there’s never been such a perfect finale to any show ever. dongsik calling out juwon’s name with such familiarity (“juwon-ah!”), telling him to eat, sleep, and poop well in only the way that dongsik can, juwon telling him not to use informal speech… god, the way dongsik softens when he says “keep up the good work, inspector han.” a silent confession of all the pain they’ve carried together but a pat on their backs for doing well and bringing justice to the people. the way they smile at each other. i’m ruined. i can’t get up. i can’t love any other show like this one 😭

some honourable mentions:

“what’s a pretty flower like you doing in broad daylight?”

dongsik finding yuyeon in the basement of his house where he had all the missing posters up 🥲

juwon’s breakdown in ep 5 where he swears to not forget his mistakes and the woman he got killed (according to him) and wanting to serve justice.

juwon and jaeyi’s conversation about how it’s good to care about people, actually

the whole sacrifice thing in eps 15 and 16 — juwon with blood on his hands and dongsik asking him why the hell he did that and dongsik telling jihwa he can’t let that fool go down alone 🥲🥲🥲

thank you for the ask nico!! 🥰 it got a little long but i love beyond evil SO much 😭💙💛

[vindicated-truth]

It's fascinating to see the way Dongsik was needling Joowon during Jihwa's interrogation of them in a whole new light after you know what really happened.

Dongsik, at this point, already knew for sure that Joowon is not the culprit. He knew, at this point, that Kang Jinmook is the real killer, he just has no strong evidence to back it up.

And there's a sort of bitter irony in all this, for Dongsik of all people to have discovered the real killer, because it's his own experience of not being indicted due to lack of evidence that he also knows Jinmook would not be indicted because there isn't enough evidence.

So what does he do, instead?

He needles Joowon for it. He tries to use Joowon's own "reasonable doubt" against him, despite the fact that he knows it isn't Joowon.

He does this for two reasons:

1) He's confident that no matter what happens, unless someone tampers with the evidence (ironically enough, given what Dongsik also did), Joowon would not be indicted simply because of the sheer fact that he's innocent. That's why Dongsik can "play" with Joowon as much as he wants, without fear of having the wrong man be persecuted, because Joowon is innocent.

2) He needed Joowon angry. He needed Joowon just angry enough to want to defend himself, because he needed Joowon to move. To take action, to be interested in this case if only for self-preservation—because at this point he sees Joowon as just another Han after all, out to protect his image and privilege and nothing more—because perhaps if Joowon is interested enough, he'll pursue the case the way his own father never did.

Dongsik can already see, at this point, that Joowon is a stubborn man, one that's surprisingly determined to solve the case—again, perhaps for self-preservation, given what Dongsik assumed is Joowon not wanting his image ruined for what happened to Lee Geumhwa—and Dongsik can use that stubbornness and determination to bring light to his sister's case once more.

It's all the more apparent when the next scene is Joowon telling his own father, "It's too bad I can't just stay quiet and lay low about this", which is exactly what Dongsik wanted—and what Han Kihwan does not want.

Han Kihwan after all doesn't care if his own son's reputation is ruined as long as his own reputation remains unmarred, hence why he was so quick to throw him under the bus with his public denouncement of Joowon's own public announcement of a 20-year old serial killing.

It makes sense, later on, why Dongsik only smirked and snorted when he watched Joowon do what he did on national television, because it's what Dongsik wanted.

But also—it left Dongsik impressed.

Dongsik only wanted Joowon to be angry enough to defend his reputation. Instead, Joowon went the entire opposite direction and was willing to throw it all away, if it means solving the case. It meant Dongsik was wrong in his assumption that Joowon was doing this for self-preservation.

And I think that's why at some point later in the story, Dongsik grew alarmed and somewhat guilty because he was the one who started all this, provoking Joowon enough to want to solve his sister's case—because it alarmingly looked like Joowon does not care about ruining his life at all.

It's partly why it makes sense then that Dongsik was also determined to stop Joowon from ruining his life, because this was not what Dongsik wanted at all. He just wanted Joowon to solve his sister's case and that of all the other victims'—not for Joowon to ruin his own life in doing so.

And that's the second thing he was impressed by about Joowon:

He's doing all this for no other reason than because it's the right thing to do.

When Joowon, pushed to the breaking point by Dongsik himself, burst out with the fact that he wants to catch the serial killer to bring justice to Lee Geumhwa, vowing that he will never forget her even if no one else remembers her, that—

That's exactly the kind of cop Dongsik needed to solve his sister's case. Except—Joowon isn't even doing this for a loved one. He's doing this for a stranger. Someone he doesn't even have to care about, because she's completely unrelated to him.

And yet—Joowon cares enough to stand by her. Even when no one else at Foreign Affairs or the rest of the institution does. Because she's an immigrant, because she's in the country illegally, because she's a prostitute, because she's Chinese.

Because she's a woman.

And that—that's exactly why Dongsik realizes—

He can't let this boy fight this battle alone.

If Joowon is going down—Dongsik will go down with him.

[cumberbatchedandproud]

@rumpleteasa Im wondering if Dongsik’s misplaced chivalry as you put it has to do with the fact that its only been women that have been victims, so he has reason to have that extra sense of overprotectiveness towards the women he loves in his life. Then Minjeong dies and that kind of solidifies it for him, that he’s right to be that extra bit of protective to Jihwa and Jaeyi. @vindicated-truth Oh for sure, it's part and parcel of it. The misplaced chivalry isn't necessarily mutually exclusive to his understandable concerns over a gender-based violence. I'd even go so far to say that part of the reason why Joowon doesn't have that gender bias against asking for the women's help is because he doesn't have the deep-seated love for them (yet) borne out of a long history of relationship, the way they do with Dongsik. Which is again as I've always said is part of Joowon's strength (and weakness, when taken to the extreme): it's precisely because he doesn't have attachment to people that he has a more objective relationship with them. With Dongsik in particular, I do also believe that is not *only* his concern over the gender-based serial killing that is the reason for his misplaced chivalry, because he's always acted this way even with Minjeong. I mentioned it in detail in this post: (https://vindicated-truth.tumblr.com/post/7578) how Dongsik has shades of that overprotectiveness in Minjeong similar to that of Do Haewon's over Jeongje's. Again, it's also because (as he's demonstrated when he roughed up that man Minjeong was with) he knows the kind of gender-based violence women like Minjeong have to deal with, so that is of course part and parcel of it. But as I've also mentioned in that post, his overprotectiveness also failed to take into + @striving4mikey One more point lol. I would like to point out as part of the partnership between Dongsik and Juwon, Dongsik also has the chance to feel something he hasn’t in a long time: safe. He trusts Juwon not only to protect himself but also HIM. Which is something he hasn’t experienced since his mom was healthy. And that makes Juwon stepping in front of that gun so much more powerful @vindicated-truth Oh I love this point so much 🥹 And isn't that what Joowon finally feels like? Home. 🥹 Where Dongsik can finally allow himself to feel truly safe. And that also makes me remember too—the word for "home" in my native language literally translates to: "a place where you can stop crying." And I think that's what Joowon symbolizes for Dongsik too: someone who has finally ended his misery of injustice, after 21 years. Safety and peace. That's who Joowon is to Dongsik. (Filipino. ❤️ The Filipino word for “home” is “tahanan”, which comes from the word “tahan”, which means “to make someone stop crying”—similar to the way a mother would to her crying infant. ☺️ I just think that’s a perfect word to encapsulate what Joowon is too, to Dongsik. ❤️) @rootofallevil I like the most that part about Dondsik being safe with Joowon, my god, yes. He's strong and capable and - willing - to protect Dongsik in every way. Shield him fron hell. Hold him when he cry. Bear everything with him. I love them both and how good they can be for each other. @vindicated-truth And isn’t that what love is about? What being home is about 🥹 When you can finally let down all your walls before this person, knowing you can allow yourself to be weak with them. There’s a quote by M.J. Fields that says: “Falling in love is like giving another person a loaded gun pointed right at your heart and trusting them to not shoot you.” And it’s so remarkable that with Dongsik and Joowon, it’s not only figurative: it’s LITERAL. And a belated realization of a clearer symbolic juxtaposition of the difference between Dongsik and Joowon with the women: During the car chase with Lee Changjin and Han Kihwan, Dongsik made sure he was with Jihwa still and that he was also the one driving instead of her, symbolic of how he’d (literally) take the wheel for himself so Jihwa wouldn’t have to, ensuring that Jihwa is beside him to watch over and protect. Contrast that to how Joowon left Jaeyi to her own devices, trusting that she’s fully capable of chasing down Han Kihwan on her own and that she can handle things on her own. (Joowon I think does have in turn this perhaps misplaced belief that women aren’t necessarily in more danger than men when put in situations like this, because women ARE more vulnerable. His experience with Lee Geumhwa should have already taught him that. Although it also IS pretty telling that in some ways he’s also too naive about women’s real proximity to danger, in general, the way it’s clear he doesn’t see the “necessity” of extra protection for them. Which is both good and bad, depending on the situation. But also shows so clearly how he and Dongsik fit SO WELL as partners, because of how they balance each other’s weaknesses with their own strengths 🥹)

Replying to @striving4mikey's latest comments on my post re: the juxtaposition of how Dongsik is with Jeongje, Jihwa (and Jaeyi), and Joowon in turn.

Oh Jihwa and Yoo Jaeyi

I don't know if it's the right English word for it—or if there even is an English word for it—but with both Jihwa and Jaeyi, Dongsik has what I can only describe as a strange sense of misplaced chivalry. It isn't even ill-intended, because it's coming from his trauma-based fierce protectiveness over everyone he loves, and both Jihwa and Jaeyi are enfolded tightly under that umbrella of care.

The problem is that Dongsik's protectiveness over them robs them of the chance to make informed decisions for themselves precisely because Dongsik locks them out of pertinent details that should have been their right to know. In essence, he's lying to them by omission.

Case in point is how Dongsik tried his best in the beginning to lock Jaeyi out of the truth about Kang Jinmook, even though it should have been her right to know as the victim's daughter. With Jihwa, while Dongsik did need her help with Lee Changjin, with the rest of the details of the case—involving Han Kihwan and Kang Minjeong in particular—he also locked her out, if only so that her reputation as a cop won't be tarnished.

To a certain extent he does the same to the other men of Manyang, like Jihoon and Gwangyoung, but there seems to be in Dongsik's case a well-intentioned yet still gender-biased view of the women as those who need his protection, rather than those who can fight for themselves and make decisions for themselves. In essence, he makes those decisions for them instead.

Contrast this, for example, with how Joowon doesn't have that gender-based bias at all when he sees how capable Jaeyi is as he continuously asks for her help, both in chasing down Han Kihwan and then later on in saving Jeongje. He sits side by side with Jihwa in their interrogation of Lee Changjin and they keep each other well-informed of the progress of his case.

The difference is, if there are certain details the women doesn't know, Dongsik intentionally doesn't reveal it to them in order to protect them. With Joowon, his intention isn't based on his relationship to them but rather based on their relationship to the case: if the detail isn't pertinent enough yet or he still lacks evidence about it, the less people know, the better.

In this as in everything else, Dongsik bases his decisions on emotion, while Joowon bases it on logic.

Park Jeongje

There's a moment the day after Jeongje's breakdown at the restaurant, and Joowon was reviewing the facts of the case so far, that Dongsik deliberately interrupts him and refuses to listen to what Joowon was trying to say about Jeongje.

This is of particular interest because it demonstrates what I have always theorized: that Dongsik has always known the possibility that the reason his guitar pick was found by Bang Juseon's body is because it was previously in Jeongje's possession.

Joowon himself was getting to this point in the conversation when Dongsik abruptly cut him off—because Joowon was right when he said the night before that Dongsik wasn't ready to hear this yet.

Dongsik had known all along that Jeongje was the last person he was with before his guitar pick disappeared, that night at the deer farm. It was the last place he had brought his guitar case and played his guitar in—whether or not what he says that he doesn't remember using the guitar pick there is true.

Because in the flashback, he was very clearly using the guitar pick at the deer farm with Jeongje.

A case can be made, in fact, that he knew all along, but omitted saying the truth when the detectives repeatedly questioned him 21 years ago about his guitar pick, for the same reason that is still very in character of him, 21 years later: he protected Jeongje.

He let the police arrest him, question him, and beat him up, even when he knew the possibility that the guitar pick had been in Jeongje's possession.

This was never confirmed in the show itself. But it wouldn't be out of his character to do so, because that's always been quintessentially who Dongsik is: keeping secrets to protect the people he loves.

He alluded to it later on himself, when he finally exploded and threw it all in Jeongje's face, asking him if he ever wondered why Dongsik never asked him anything all these years. Why Dongsik didn't question Jeongje belatedly stepping up as Dongsik's alibi, both in Bang Juseon's and Lee Yuyeon's case, and with Kang Minjeong's case. Why Dongsik didn't even question the fact that Jeongje lied to him about going to the US and was in fact admitted to a mental hospital, which he found out from Joowon.

Part of it I believe is that Dongsik himself didn't want to know. He didn't want to face the possibility that the person he trusted back then, and still chose to trust all these years later, despite everything, could ever hurt him—betray him—like this.

Joowon himself pointed this out to Jeongje before he dropped him off at Dongsik's basement: that even after all this time, Dongsik was still waiting for Jeongje himself to come clean—because Dongsik trusted him.

Because Dongsik loved him.

And when Dongsik couldn't anymore deny the truth of what Joowon has been trying to tell him all along, that's when Dongsik finally snapped—and with it, a three-decade long friendship.

The person Dongsik loved, trusted, and protected all these years—couldn't even tell him the truth.

And this is who Dongsik is, too: He will love you unconditionally, until you break him.

And he will break off his love for you.

Han Joowon

This now makes Dongsik's treatment of Joowon all the more fascinating.

He doesn't have a strong desire to protect Joowon the way he does with Jihwa and Jaeyi; part of it is because their history isn't (yet) as long and deep-seated as it is with the women, part of it may even be perhaps again a gender-biased view of Joowon as not "pure" enough to warrant his protection anyway, compared to the women.

Because Dongsik, remarkably, trusts Joowon with everything. Throughout their partnership, there is no secret he hasn't kept from Joowon himself: not even his hand in tampering with the scene of the crime and planting Kang Minjeong's fingers as fake evidence.

It's remarkable because Joowon at this point isn't (yet) someone he has come to love as long, or as deeply, as the people of Manyang.

But as @striving4mikey pointed out: he's getting there. Fast and intense and oh so deep in such a short period of time that it surprises both himself and Joowon with how uninhibited, how unconditional Dongsik's trust is for Joowon.

It may not be love just yet: but it has a great potential to be. The greatest love Dongsik has ever and will ever let himself feel, in fact, simply because he has never been so open—and so free—with anyone else, like this.

Because as @striving4mikey also pointed out: no one has ever proven himself to Dongsik, like this.

Not even Jeongje.

(Even when Dongsik wanted it so much to be Jeongje.)

Because that's what fascinates Dongsik about Joowon: that he isn't even doing any of it to prove himself to Dongsik. Joowon does what he does simply because it's right.

And it's that kind of unwavering moral compass and unrelenting pursuit of justice that Dongsik can finally, finally let himself go.

He doesn't have to worry about Joowon being unable to protect himself, because Joowon can.

He doesn't have to worry about Joowon breaking his promises to him and betraying him, because Joowon won't.

He doesn't even have to worry about Joowon not listening to him, because Joowon does.

Here, now, is the one person who will never let him down.

Here, now, is the one person that Dongsik knows is competent enough, capable enough, clever enough, and strong enough, to bear all of it with him.

Here, now, is the one person who can finally keep up with him in every way, in the truest sense: as his partner.

More than anything, Dongsik doesn't have to worry about not having his trust—his love—not returned in full. He doesn't have to worry about not receiving the same trust and love he's been investing in all the people he loved and trusted all these years.

Because it does, with Joowon.

Which is why Dongsik doesn't mind having Joowon arrest him. Why he wants no one else but Joowon to arrest him.

Because it's only with Joowon that he's finally free.