The penultimate episode of Like Flowers In Sand is another proof of why this series should have been many episodes shorter. The episode by itself is not boring, but there is a fatigue that has set in with such little happening weeks after the start of the series. Regardless, this is the recap of the episode 11.
Spoiler Alert
What is the progress on the investigation?
Now that the entire gang is back together, the only thing left for them to do is solve the case. Hyeon Uk is hesitant to reveal the details of the investigation to civilians, but Du Sik doesn’t bat an eyelid before telling them what is going on. This means that Jin Su and Seok Hui are officially part of the investigation. Seok Hui tells them about his suspicions regarding Snowball and admits that he released her himself one time to understand why someone kept doing that. That is when the dog went to the reservoir and dug up Chil Seong’s burner phone. All the clues point towards the fact that Snowball is a witness to the murder of Chil Seong, and whoever is releasing her wants to find out where the deceased’s phone is. It is either that or something else entirely.
When Baek Du is walking back home, he accidentally takes a turn towards Snowball’s house, where he finds Park Pil Du. Baek Du finds it suspicious that he is there, especially so late in the night, but it is not enough to call him a suspect. However, the doubts against him keep stacking up. Jin Su hears his mother say that Pil Du was the last person to see Cheol Yong on the day of his death. Meanwhile, Seok Hui and Hyeon Uk have become fast friends and are questioning people all over town for their alibis. They find that Pil Du is the only one who doesn’t have a strong alibi. He just says that he must have fallen asleep in the evening on the day the murder happened, and since he lives alone, there is no one to vouch for him. Snowball’s owner told Seok Hui that she was sure someone had tried to untie Snowball in the night, and while she did not get a look at his face, she understood that he was a man and she believed he had a medium build. That adds to Pil Du being suspicious. While there is no strong evidence against Pil Du, his name is constantly coming up in the investigation. Hyeon Uk had noticed that Pil Du had momentarily paused when Chil Seong’s death was mentioned. Unlike the others, Pil Du had not shown Seok Hui even an ounce of indignance. This was not evidence against him, but he was not looking good either. That day, Pil Du goes to Tae Baek’s house, and they discuss the past one more time. Baek Du eavesdrops on them and finds that Pil Du has just been aimlessly walking all over town because of his doubts and guilt. That is why he was near Snowball’s house that day.
Is Mi Ran in danger?
All the murderer knows is that Chil Seong was back in town. Chil Seong must have had some business other than meeting Mi Ran, and this man knew about it. This man has no idea about Mi Ran or about Du Sik. Them keeping their identities a secret is the only advantage they have and the only way in which they can draw out the culprit. Therefore, Mi Ran finally tells the villagers her real identity and that she is Cheol Yong’s daughter. The village is understandably in turmoil over this news. Mi Ran had been living there for three years, yet she never mentioned who she was. It is a mystery as to why she would come back, considering what happened to her and her father. Most people don’t even remember that Cheol Yong had a daughter, and those who do say that she was painfully shy and would hide behind her father whenever she was addressed. That explains why Baek Du had a hard time remembering her.
Mi Ran has simply told everyone that she is revealing her secret now because it is time. There is no elaboration as to what that time is, but people are just shocked at what they did not know. First, it was Baek Du who reminded the town about what happened to Cheol Yong and Du Sik, and now, it was Mi Ran who just showed that she was still living and breathing her past, which is why she had returned to this village and been living there for so long.
When Baek Du is eavesdropping on his father and Pil Du, he understands that Pil Du is not the culprit. In fact, his hesitation and guilt stem from what happened to Du Sik’s father (Jun) and Cheol Yong. He was aware that someone had tried to involve Cheol Yong in match-fixing, and Jun had pulled him out of it, which is what their ‘big fight’ was about. It is correct that Pil Du had seen Cheol Yong go to Jun’s place, but he never believed that he could be the culprit. During the actual case, it was Pil Du’s testimony that placed Jun under suspicion, but Pil Du remembers it differently. He remembers that he had never explicitly said that Cheol Yong was heading to Jun’s house and had told the police that there were others living in that area. But the police had already made up their minds about Jun’s guilt and were simply asking him leading questions. Pil Du believed that if he had been stronger that day, maybe Jun wouldn’t have had to go through what he did.
At the end of Like Flowers In Sand episode 11, Tae Baek tells Pil Du that while leaving, Jun had been blaming himself for Cheol Yong. He had felt that his rash words and actions may have caused Cheol Yong to drop out of the match-fixing scheme, but they may have also made him a target. In the present day, thanks to Baek Du, Pil Du is cleared of suspicion. But Du Sik remembers something important. When they were all playing outside Mi Ran’s house, a man took a photograph of the children upon their request. This man had escaped their minds all this while, and he could be the final clue to the puzzle. Meanwhile, there is someone in Mi Ran’s cafe, and he threateningly asks her about the evidence she has hidden. There is no doubt that he is the killer of Chil Seong and Cheol Yong.
Final Thoughts
The preview for Like Flowers In Sand finale shows that this mystery is going to be solved in the first half of the episode, with the second half being about Du Sik accepting Baek Du’s confession of love. The slow burn is finally coming to an end.
