Bad Guy
Episode 2 of You Are My Spring begins 18 years back at a rowdy bar. Young-Do is encouraged to have a drink but instead he heads into the restroom. In doing so, he notices Chae-Joon washing his clothes in the sink. Skip forward to our current timeline, and it now becomes clear that these two have history. Da-Jeong isn’t exactly happy about Chae-Joon being so touchy-feely though, acting coldly toward him when he heads off to meet her. In the morning, Da-Jeong accompanies Cheol-Do to a fortune teller. The woman confirms there’s going to be more pain in the future and there’s apparently something shining brightly in front of her. There’s also darkness below her feet too, which Da-Jeong takes with a pinch of salt. Well, Young-Do continues his therapy sessions for different patients. The latest is a girl with an eating disorder, whom he gives encouraging words to while they have their session. This also brings back some memories of his past too, although it’s not elaborated on that much in the coming scenes. After though, Ga-Yeong shows up and admits that there’s someone she likes. She tells her ex husband not to laugh and admits he’s an idol singer and popular; a guy called Patrick. She’s unsure whether to proceed with this and clearly afraid of falling in love. The next day, Young-Do drops off a heavy package for Da-Jeong. She struggles to carry it across the rooftop but eventually does so. While they’re alone, Da-Jeong questions Young-Do about just why he didn’t want her to date Chae-Joon. He’s pretty shifty, constantly looking away, while Da-Jeong calls him out for it. Although he remains nonchalant about the whole affair, it does get Da-Jeong thinking. Later that day she visits Chae-Joon again and this time speaks the truth. She believes she’s just reciprocating his feelings to make him feel better. Chae-Joon isn’t going down without a fight though and tells her she can change. At home, Da-Jeong settles in but she receives a call from Tae-Jung telling her that Chae-Joon is moping about at the bar. Da-Jeong inevitably heads out to see him, where she takes him aside and speaks to him outside in the snow. Chae-Joon immediately tells her he missed her, which Da-Jeong replies to positively, heading out to watch a movie with him not long after. While this is going on, we’re greeted to narration over the top about sociopaths and how they act empathetic in front of others – more so than normal people. Is this what we’re seeing with Chae-Joon? It certainly adds an extra dimension to their conversations and an air of uneasiness too. In fact, Chae-Joon continues to pop up, even appearing at Da-Jeong’s workplace. This is one step too far for Da-Jeong though, who calls him out for it and sternly tells Chae-Joon not to try anything like this again. While she takes a break from the table, she spies Chae-Joon from afar trying to break into her phone. When Da-Jeong finally returns to the table, Chae-Joon is nowhere to be found. Instead, Young-Do walks past and sees her sitting on her own. Young-Do seizes his opportunity and sits with her inside, explaining different terms like “fine” and “not bad” to her. The pair get along well, which is eventually concluded with the pair talking over one another. Detective Ko sends over a picture of Chae-Joon after they part ways, confirming that they’ve received a tip-off that he is the killer. Well, at the same time Da-Jeong finds a message in her paper rose regarding a locker in the station. This holds a music box, the same one that Da-Jeong mentioned she wanted during coffee. Turning it on, the box flips over to reveal a school photo inside. We then skip forward in time slightly. Anyway, the man who hit the car and killed himself last episode happens to be Chae-Joon. It looks like he commits suicide as he tumbles to his doom, as Young-Do shows up and sees him face-down on the windshield. Cutting back to Da-Jeong, she grips a letter and the photo in her hand outside. It turns out Chae-Joon knew her from school, given he’s the one who patted her head affectionately. On the back of the paper are the words “I finally found you.”
The Episode Review
So it seems like Chae-Joon being the killer is a red herring and he’s not actually the apartment killer after all. So who else could it be? Personally, I’m going for Young-Do instead. The fact that we received some narration partway through that sociopaths can seem very empathetic almost lends itself into thinking it could be Young-Do. He’s incredibly intelligent already and can read situations well given he’s a psychologist. It would be a nice switch and bait if he is – and one heck of a shocker too given the show seems to be leaning into Young-Do and Da-Jeong together. And what’s driven Chae-Joon to commit suicide? Sure he’s been a bit of a loose cannon these past few episodes but nothing in him seems to hint that he would kill himself. Chae-Joon has certainly had a lot of issues though, namely paranoia and anxiety which has manifested itself in the worst ways possible. We obviously haven’t seen crucial moments that evening so hopefully we’ll see that across the coming season. This has been a surprisingly dark drama though, with plenty of tantalizing question marks and lots of intriguing plot points still to be explored. Unlike fellow murder mystery Mine, this one has started with a bang and it doesn’t look like letting up any time soon. Roll on the next episode!
