Longing For You has the kind of pacing where a lot of the events feel very abrupt. That has made it fast, but it hasn’t made it interesting, maybe because we are not able to see the intelligence of the investigation, which is crucial to the thriller genre. It also doesn’t help that Oh Jin Sang, one of the primary protagonists, is the most irritating character of recent times. Episode 3 of Longing For You hasn’t given us much, but here is a recap of it nonetheless.
Spoilers Alert
How Is The Case Resolved?
Jin Woo is under the spotlight for the pictures of women’s ankles that were recovered from his phone in Longing For You Episode 2. In his defense, Jin Woo says that he was abandoned by his mother as a kid, and when he saw her leaving, her ankles caught his eye. Since that day, women’s ankles have been something that he always notices. The episode doesn’t tell us at what point Jin Woo’s mother decided to bring back her child, but we cannot believe that the writers thought that this was an interesting subplot. It is not invoking the emotions they imagined it would, and for all purposes, it is rather cringe-worthy.
Additionally, did the writers even bother to read up on the rules for investigations? We are asking this because Cha Young Woon says that they have no proof of Jin Woo’s “innocence,” which is why he is a suspect. One needs proof of guilt to make someone a suspect. We don’t feel like the first three episodes of this drama or even the upcoming few want us to think too hard. This is why Oh Jin Sang brings in the fresh evidence that changes everything. When he met Eun Byul in the previous episode, and she heard Bae Min Gyu say that she was one of his “many girlfriends”, she revealed that Min Gyu hadn’t been with her that night at the club.
A junior actor had been there with her, and that person confirmed it. Oh Jin Sang recorded this whole thing, and this is proof that once again makes Bae Min Gyu the prime suspect. A warrant is immediately issued for his arrest, but the police find that he has left for the US just that day. Young Woon suspects that someone in his department, likely his senior, leaked some information, considering the timing of Min Gyu’s trip. But it was about an article in the paper about the incompetence of the police department in investigating the case and how they had not found the culprit so far.
To add another blow, the junior actor retracts his statement and says that he had only supported Eun Byul because she had forced him. The man cannot be charged with anything since his statement was given in an informal setting, but the case against Min Gyu depended on it, and without that, the prosecutors and the police were back to square one. Lucky for them, they catch a break when they come to know the identity of the person who was talking to Jin Woo under the username “lemontree.” It belonged to Lee Mi Jin, the sister of Lee Sung Yong, the nurse assistant at Bae Min Gyu’s clinic. The police also find that the internet cafe from where Lemontree used to chat with Jin Woo is near Sung Yong’s house. This is crucial evidence, and when they raid his house, they find the sashimi knife that was the murder weapon, pictures of the crime scene, and other incriminating evidence that firmly proves Sung Yong as the culprit. His past criminal record also adds to the case against him.
A citywide search is launched to look for Lee Sung Yong, and soon enough, the police get a call leading to him. However, to their shock, they find him in the tub, having committed suicide, leaving behind a note and taking responsibility for the murders so far. This effectively closes the case, keeping up Cha Young Woon’s impeccable track record, saving Young Joo’s neck, and earning Oh Jin Sang a promotion.
Did Young Woon’s Mother Kill Jin Woo?
Bae Min Gyu and Eun Byul’s lies were really pushed into the background once the craze around Sung Yong started. But there are a few pieces connected to Cha Young Woon that he himself has brought to the audience’s attention. When he reflected on Sung Yong’s death, which ended up solving the case, he said how convenient it was that it had all worked out in a single stroke. His career and the reputation of the police department had been saved simply because of a single loose end that ended up resolving itself. It is also important to remember that the police found evidence against Sung Yong right as Young Woon was about to leave for New York. While it doesn’t mean anything yet, we know that something sinister is cooking that is certainly linked to this cool-looking prosecutor. His mother wants him to quit his job, do an MBA in the US, and then start working for the company. She had also been a witness to the scuffle in the room where he had gotten punched in the chest by Ki Young.
We found it hard to believe that Young Woon’s mother did not hold a grudge against the reporter for this. She must have realized that the only way to get Young Woon to slack off was to resolve this case for him. This is strictly a theory that we have based on her behavior and the random things she keeps saying. Young Woon needs to get heart surgery within the year, and at the end of episode 3 of Longing For You, she tells the doctor to start the “life extension program.” We have absolutely no idea what that means, but Mr. Jang wants to go fishing when it is likely to rain, and Jin Woo is alone in the house at a time when everyone was supposed to be with him. It is almost as if his being alone was orchestrated, the way Jin Sang had a meeting, Young Joo had paperwork to deal with, and Jin Woo’s mother found herself in a competition with another woman for a flaky man’s affection. As Jin Woo is coming back home after catching the fish, someone pushes him into the rocks, and he is lying there, bleeding out, clinging to his life.
Final Thoughts
Jin Woo is alive for now and will be in the upcoming episode. Whoever has orchestrated the Sung Yong murder will lay low, but it is only a matter of time before the pieces start connecting that the serial killer is linked to Jin Woo and Young Woon. We have called Jin Sang irritating, but Longing For You has called him competent, so it is a matter of knowing how that shapes out.
