The Suitcase
Graceful Friends returns this week for an episode that doesn’t really advance the plot that much. It does, however, give more indication over exactly who may be involved with hiding Jae-Hoon’s evidence. Episode 15 of Graceful Friends begins at Namseo Hospital in the past. Jung-Hae goes into labour 2 months early. Jae-Hoon grabs her and rushes into hospital. When Goong-Cheol heads up, the doctors confirm that the baby has been delivered. He thanks Jae-Hoon for helping but given the baby isn’t premature, does this confirm that Goong-Cheol isn’t the Father? Back in the present, Jung-Hae takes the curry made by Yu-Bin and heads down to Hae-Sook’s bar to eat with her. As they sit together, Hae-Sook senses something up. Jung-Hae asks for a hug and as Hae-Sook heads over, she wraps her arms around her former best friend. This is especially significant as we see a flash to the past of the duo promising to be by one another’s side no matter what. They’re not the only ones either; Jae-Hoon struggles to hold back his tears as he thinks back over the past with Yu-Bin and their bond. Meanwhile, Detective Cho gathers the troops at the station and talks to them about the suspect of this case. He tells them that no matter what, they’re going to find exactly what happened in the case. And find it they do. The Detective uncovers the security cameras in the corner of the room. If they can use this and determine that it’s the same one in Jae-Hoon’s house, they can use this against him to figure out the true killer. Only, just as they do he receives a call that Jae-Hoon has turned himself in. At the same time, Ae-Ra and Kyung-Ja meet and discuss what’s going on. She apologizes, handing over an envelope full of money as settlement for breaking up with Ji-Wook. As we cut to Ji-Wook preparing food, Ae-Ra heads back and tells him to leave. Goong-Cheol sits by Yu-Bin’s side and sees Man-Sik standing before him. It’s a touching reunion and one that sees Man-Sik promise that Yu-Bin will wake up. Down at the station, Jae-Hoon admits to all charges against Kang-San and promises that the evidence can be found in his hidden room. And just like that, the two police officers open the hidden compartment in his house…and find nothing. It’s gone. This may well lead to Goong-Cheol spying what’s inside the hidden compartment several episodes ago. Has he taken it and left? As the plot thickens, it turns out the camera models in the house are different to the ones Jae-Hoon claims are there. With Jae-Hoon turning himself in and little evidence to go on, the detectives are certainly starting to grow frustrated. Back home, Ji-Wook and Kyung-Ja come to blows over Ae-Ra and what’s been happening. She tells her son to give up and this rift inevitably spills over to Hyung-Woo too who’s forced to watch this unfold. In the morning, Hae-Sook arrives at the hospital to check on Yu-Bin. Jung-Hae opens the door and lets her come inside to see. While the rest of the group leave them in peace, Eun-Sil suspects Chon-Book is having an affair thanks to a strange smell on his clothes. Of course, given he’s been dancing this is going to spill over into a big misunderstanding. Back at the hospital, Hae-Sook heads out but Jung-Hae encourages Goong-Cheol to see her out. He wishes her a safe trip and hands over her suitcase. She encourages him to continue being a good person and they say their goodbyes. I can’t help but feel the way she called him a good guy may be hinting that he’s the one who set the cameras up. Meanwhile, the detectives pore over the CCTV footage and figure out two people visited Jae-Hoon’s house in the past week. Hae-Sook and Gong-Cheol. First up is Goong-Cheol whom they greet in the parking lot and ask about that night. He completely lies through his teeth and admits that Mo-Ran messaged and gave him the door code. After showing the phone call records, Goong-Cheol admits that he wants Jae-Hun to rot. Ae-Ra heads out on a blind date in a bid to make Ji-Wook leave. Only, midway through kissing her date, she notices Ji-Wook storm off and pulls away. Unfortunately this guy is not taking no for an answer. Thankfully, Ji-Wook comes back in and swoops up Ae-Ra, taking her away. Back home, Eun-Sil puts all the pieces together and believes her husband is at the dance studio. Only, her interpretation is that h’s being scammed by this lady out of all his money. For now, they don’t come to blows but it’s definitely bubbling up to something dramatic. Meanwhile, Detective Cho hits a serious roadblock when he finds out the arrest warrant for Jae-Hun has been dismissed outright. Only, things become worse when it finds out they’ve searched Jae-Hun’s place without a warrant. Unfortunately this means the entire team are going to be audited. Much to Detective Cho’s displeasure, Jae-Hoon is released from custody. As he heads home, he and Goong-Cheol both figure out that Hae-Sook is the one who took the evidence and stuffed it in the suitcase. As she heads off alone, she leaves an envelope behind for everyone.
The Episode Review
As we get closer to the season finale, it seems likely now that Goong-Cheol was the red herring all along at Jae-Hoon’s place. The fact that Hae-Sook is involved certainly is a bit of a shocker but I still think either Choon-Bok or Hyung-Woo is involved in some way. Still, the fact that the detectives have been berated for their methods throws yet another spanner in the works. It seems like we’ll have to wait a little longer before we find out the fate of our characters. Yu-Bin waking up is certainly a relief but it’s also something that’s quite obvious. I’m intrigued to know exactly who conducted the hit and run along with exactly whether Hae-Sook was acting alone or not. It could be that Goong-Cheol and Hae-Sook were involved together but we’ll have to wait and see if this holds any weight. For now though, Graceful Friends bows out with another decent episode even if it’s one that eases up the tension a little.
