Myung Se and Ha Ru solved a mysterious murder case involving a cult leader in the previous episode of “Brain Works,” and Myung Se got praised for risking his life in the undercover operation, but Ha Ru didn’t like it. Although Ha Ru enjoys solving the cases, he still remembers that he wants to take revenge on Myung Se. Luckily, he finds a controversial video on Myung Se’s tablet that is enough to ruin his career. He plays that video during Myung Se’s award ceremony, and now Myung Se has a lot to explain if he wants to save his career and reputation.
Spoilers Ahead
Who Does Bum Soo Mistake His Wife For?
Myung Se tries to explain to everyone that the high school girl in the video was a part of a sting operation and that he didn’t sleep with her. However, nobody believes him, and the reporters are eager to get their hands on a controversial piece of news. They ask him to reveal the details of the girl involved, but Myung Se refuses to do so to protect the girl’s privacy. Ha Ru is excited to see Myung Se’s downfall, but surprisingly, the girl in the video, Han Sun Mi, shows up at the event to congratulate Myung Se and advocates for him because she can’t bear to see him getting dragged into trouble for something he didn’t do. She announces that Myung Se got her out of the crime world and led her to live a righteous life. Ha Ru’s plan fails again, and Myung Se only gets more praise from others. He doesn’t join the team dinner and goes straight home. However, Myung Se calls him afterward, and they meet only to get into a physical fight, though in the middle of the fight, Myung Se goes to help an old lady and returns. It makes Ha Ru curious about Myung Se’s brain structure.
The next day, Myung Se runs into a man who looks hesitant to enter the police station. Myung Se asks him about his problem, and he tells Myung Se that his wife has gone missing. The man, Heo Bum Soo, says something weird: his wife has been hurt because of Cherri. Cherri is an AI bot, and Bum Soo believes she is in love with him. Bum Soo files a missing report for his wife, and Myung Se informs Ha Ru about Bum Soo’s condition first. Ha Ru tells Myung Se that he will get an answer if he goes to Bum Soo’s home. Bum Soo answers Ha Ru’s call but doesn’t open the door for a long time. His neighbor thinks Myung Se is there because Bum Soo’s wife reported him for domestic violence. At the same time, Bum Soo opens the door and lets Myung Se in. When Myung Se asks him about Cherri, whom he sees at home, he tells him that she is not home. Myung Se finds this suspicious, so he looks around the house and finds his wife hurt, lying in a corner. Bum Soo’s wife tells Myung Se that he tried to kill her, and Myung Se arrests him for domestic violence.
Ha Ru guesses that Bum Soo must have some neurological issue, so he tests him and confirms that he has Capgras Syndrome. This is a rare illness where people cannot recognize the people they are close to and mistake them for someone else. Bum Soo’s wife, Jae Sook, tells them that Bum Soo has completely forgotten her and has started thinking that she is Cherri. He hit her because she told him that she would tell his wife about their affair. After diagnosing his illness, Jae Sook signs a non-punishment petition so that Bum Soo can get treatment, but she feels restless. She wants to know why Bum Soo mistook her for someone else and what he really feels about her. Ha Ru shows her a way to understand Bum Soo’s real feelings for her. She pretends to be Cherri and asks Bum Soo if he loves his wife. Bum Soo tells her that he loves Cherri because she has heart-to-heart talks with him, unlike his wife, which comforts him, but he still loves his wife. Other than this one issue, his wife is still perfect for him, and he will choose her over Cherri.
Jae Sook feels guilty for not spending more time with Bum Soo and thinks that she might be the one responsible for his illness. However, Bum Soo recognizes her after the surgery. This unusual illness brings the couple close to each other again. Bum Soo’s case is over, and Ha Ru goes back to planning his revenge against Myung Se. He is done studying his brain and concludes that he truly has an altruistic brain, so he possibly cannot do anything wrong in his life, but Ha Ru comes up with a plan to use this altruistic side of him against him. The next day, Ha Ru goes to the police station and announces that he is quitting the team. Myung Se tries to persuade him to stay but to no avail. As Myung Se follows Ha Ru outside, Bum Soo appears in front of them with blood on his clothes and confesses that he has killed someone.
What Evidence Does Myung Se Find Against Jae Sook?
Ha Ru stays because Bum Soo’s case has been extended, and they go together to the murder site. Bum Soo has killed his neighbor in his home, and his wife, Jae Sook, is a witness. The neighbor teased Bum Soo for falling in love with a bot, and Bum Soo hit him with a trophy out of anger. Jae Sook claims that she watched it happen as she came back from her workout. However, the trophy also has Jae Sook’s fingerprints on it. The detectives enact the murder scene according to the description and deduce that the murderer should have blood splattered on their clothes, but Bum Soo didn’t have any. This makes Jae Sook a suspect as well, and captain Seol asks both of them to take the polygraph test. Jae Sook refuses to take the test, stating stress as the reason, but Bum Soo takes the test. The test shows that Bum Soo is speaking the truth, but captain Seol thinks that it is easy to fool a machine.
Ha Ru already noticed that Jae Sook is lying because she is having spasms all of a sudden, which happen due to extreme anxiety. No one understands the brain better than Ha Ru, and he finds a way to get the truth out of Jae Sook by misguiding her brain. He tells her to try not to think about the murder, which only makes her think about it more, and her spasms only increase due to heightened anxiety. While Myung Se and Ha Ru are on their way to Jae Sook’s home, they see her walking outside with bags in her hand.
Myung Se and Ha Ru follow Jae Sook and see her emptying a bag into the trash can. Myung Se goes through the trash can later and finds out a trophy similar to the one the neighbor was killed with. He sends the trophy to forensics, but they find nothing more than Jae Sook’s fingerprint on it. However, they send another report, which strengthens their suspicion. A fiber was found near the neighbor’s dead body, and Myung Se immediately recognized it. It is from Jae Sook’s dress, and Myung Se saw her taking it to the laundry the other day.
‘Brain Works’ Episode 8: Ending
Myung Se summons Jae Sook again and shows her all the evidence they have compiled against her, but she pleads that she hasn’t done anything. However, Ha Ru doesn’t stop playing mind games with her. As her hand tremors keep increasing, Ha Ru forces her into revealing the truth, and she confesses that she murdered the neighbor. Jae Sook had a brief fling with the neighbor when Bum Soo was acting weird, but the neighbor still tried to get close to her after Bum Soo had recovered from the illness. Bum Soo heard them talk, and the neighbor humiliated both of them for being an unfaithful couple. As Bum Soo and the neighbor started fighting, Jae Sook couldn’t hear his words anymore and hit him with the trophy. Bum Soo took the blame on himself, but Jae Sook couldn’t handle the guilt and finally gave in.
Ha Ru doesn’t believe in love because he thinks that it makes people weak, and they do unimaginable things because of it, just like how ridiculously both Bum Soo and Jae Sook acted. However, he still gives advice to captain Seol on how to confess her feelings to Myung Se, who is dense when it comes to understanding emotions. Ha Ru’s aunt thinks that Ha Ru should try falling in love once, and Ha Ru wonders if it can really happen to him. However, he has other things to keep himself invested in, and he has been working on his secret plan against Myung Se. Ha Ru and Myung Se are amazing teammates, but they are frenemies outside work, which gives “Brain Works” a refreshing touch amid the complex neurological criminal cases. Following Ha Ru’s advice, Seol takes Myung Se hiking to confess her feelings for him. At the same time, Ha Ru also runs into a woman and, unexpectedly, feels his heart beating faster. Love is in the air, but will it lead anywhere good?
