The fourth episode of Flex x Cop is replete with mind-boggling twists surrounding the murder of a famous painter. There are multiple suspects in the case, making it difficult for the cops to figure out the real intentions of each one of them. Isoo, however, is able to recognize the real motive of the killer! We are also taken down Isoo’s memory lane when he starts living in his old home after being driven out by Heeja. There are a lot of different flavors that this episode has tried to capture within a single framework. Will Isoo be able to capture the real killer? Will Isoo be able to deal well with his childhood memories at his new residence? Let’s find out!
Spoilers Ahead
What Incident Happened At The La Mente Gallery?
The people who had come in for an art exhibition at the La Mente Gallery were mortified to find the lifeless body of the painter, Noh Youngjae. Soon the cops were summoned, and upon observing the body, Ganghyun said that the man had been dead for over ten hours, as rigor mortis had set in. They also discovered red paint splattered all around the body!
When Noh’s student, Kwon Dojun, was interrogated, he said that he had left early from the gallery the previous night. The next day, he arrived at 8 a.m. but Mr. Noh was nowhere to be found. Then he decided to go to his home to search for him, but he did not find any trace of him. When he came back to the gallery, he found Noh lying dead. He said that the painter was quite popular among his students. Later, when Ms. Lee, the gallery director, was questioned, she said Noh was gaining a lot of fame as a painter but was known for his bad temper. She further said that Kwon had been working with him for the past 10 years, so he must have been quite devastated by the incident. She also mentioned to them that she had heard that a strange lady had come to the gallery a few days ago and destroyed one of Noh’s paintings by spilling red paint all over it. What was more surprising was that Noh had let the woman go without punishing her for her deeds. When the police asked for the CCTV footage, she said that the cameras had been changed yesterday, as the gallery had undergone a renovation. There was a strong reason for Ms. Lee to be counted as a prime suspect, as she said that the famous painter’s death had increased the fame of her gallery.
How Did Joo Hwayoung React To Noh’s Death?
When Isoo and Ganghyun went to Mr. Noh’s house to inform his wife about his death, they were shocked to find her relieved upon getting the news. Joo Hwayoung told them that she was about to get divorced from him. She also had her alibi ready, stating that she was with her boyfriend when Noh was killed. Upon a thorough background check on Hwayoung’s boyfriend, Bae Jinkyu they found out that he was a fraudster. When they investigated Hwayoung, they figured out that she had received $2 billion in death insurance after her husband’s death. It is possible that she needed the money for her greedy boyfriend. Meanwhile, Jinkyu was having an affair with another woman. When the police approached that woman, she told them that Jinkyu was planning to open a business because he had found an investor. This factor makes it possible that Hwayoung was the investor that Jinkyu had told her about. When Hwayoung was interrogated, she said that she did not like Jinkyu enough to give him that huge amount of money and was soon planning on leaving him. She hinted that they should be investigating Dojun, as he was secretly planning to study abroad after receiving help from the Artist Foundation.
Why Did Isoo Move Back To His Old House?
Isoo went back to his old home after Heeja asked him to move out of her house. Upon going back to his old home, Isoo was seen becoming very nostalgic. He thought about his childhood memories with his mother in that house. He was later warmly welcomed by his neighbor Misook (Ganghyun’s mother), who told him that they would help him if he needed anything. Meanwhile, Heeja was seen being confronted by Sangjeo for asking Isoo to leave the house. She immediately started crying to him, saying that he should not forget how much she had suffered for Isoo’s mother in the past. It is hence clear that Isoo was an illegitimate child, and his mother was the second woman in his father’s life.
During his stay at his old home, Isoo dreamt that he was drowning, which could have been a manifestation of his mental strain or any triggered childhood trauma. The very next day, when Isoo and Ganghyun found out that they were neighbors now, they were amazed. A comic twist was added when Isoo called Ganghyun to his place after encountering a rat. Isoo came in to save him, and he was seen building a tent inside the house to sleep in it to keep himself safe from rats! The scene again shifted to a very serious topic when Isoo talked about his childhood with Ganghyun. He told her that he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had seen misery after his mother passed away in a road accident. Now that he had come back to stay in that house, all the happy and sad childhood memories were rushing back to him simultaneously.
What Was Oh Gyeonsun’s Motive?
When Isoo and Ganghyun visited the gallery, Dojun said that a woman had broken into the gallery last week and had destroyed one of Noh’s best paintings and attacked him. He had managed to get a recording of the entire incident! While watching the recording, Isoo noticed that the attacker was wearing an orange scarf. Dojun further told them that he knew who the woman was. Later, Isoo and Gyanghun approached a woman named Oh Gyeongsun in a sauna, where she worked as a cleaner. When she was interrogated, she admitted to having destroyed one of Noh’s paintings. She said that she was happy that Noh had been murdered, as he had killed her daughter. She told Isoo and Ganghyun that he was Yeseon’s academic instructor and had stolen her painting. He had copied her painting and tried to sell it as his own! When Yeseon tried reporting it to the higher authorities, nobody believed her. Noh had asked her to keep the matter under wraps, and instead, he would pay for her to study abroad. Later, Yeseon found out that Noh accused her of plagiarism. The inability to do anything at that point forced Yeseon to kill herself.
What Happened After Isoo Bought The Painting?
Isoo bought the damaged art as he realized that the worth of the painting had gone up manifold after the incident at the gallery. Meanwhile, when the police were investigating the case, they found CCTV footage of a woman arriving at the gallery in a cab. When the driver was summoned, he said that he could not see the lady’s face as it was all covered with an orange scarf. Later, when Isoo took the painting to his house, he found that a part of the painting had chipped off. A layer had been superimposed on the signature of Dojun, and Noh had made his own signature there. It was proven that Noh had been selling Dojun’s paintings by superimposing his signature on them.
Isoo approached Dojun and said that he had spent a lot on the painting, but there was a fault. He referred to a painting by Millet, Angelus, which depicted a couple praying in a field, but that place was originally a coffin, and they were a sad couple who had lost their baby. They had just buried the infant in the field! This signified that there are many such paintings that do not bring out the reality behind them, one of which was the painting that Isoo had bought! When Dojun realized that his motive for murdering Noh was clear to Isoo, he attacked him by hitting him on the head with a heavy object from behind.
What Was Dojun’s Motive?
When Ganghyun investigated further, she found that Dojun was selected at a foreign university for higher studies. The opportunity was canceled when his mentor, Professor Noh, reported that Dojun’s portfolio was plagiarized. It is possible that Noh did so to make sure that his secrets of plagiarism would not go out of his gallery. He was also using Dojun to make paintings that he would sell off at exhibitions, making great fortunes himself. This could have given Dojun a major motive to murder Noh. It was also revealed through investigations that Dojun had bought a similar orange scarf that Gyeongsun was wearing when she attacked Noh. It is possible that he had bought the scarf to dress up like Gyeongsun when he murdered Noh so that nobody would point their fingers at him during the investigation.
What Will Happen Next?
The next episode of Flex x Cop will reveal the real motives behind Dojun killing Professor Noh. The mystery behind the tactics he used to commit the crime will also be made clear. He must have chosen to dress up like a woman to make sure that Gyeongsun would be held responsible. He knew that she had strong motives, and the police would easily believe that she was the killer when they saw the orange scarf that she had on in the CCTV footage. Right after the revelation of Dojun’s motive for the murder, a new case of serial killing would come up. The new case would pose a new challenge for Isoo and Ganghyun. It is also expected that their bond will be strengthened as they solve more cases together.