Right now, there’s a lot going on with My Perfect Stranger. When it felt like we were getting closer to the truth, it now looks like we’re back to square one, not knowing who the serial killer is in Woojung-ri. A lot went down in this week’s episodes, so let’s quickly get into all the important facts we’ve learned.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In Episode 7?
Last week it came to our attention that Hae-Joon may have been looking at the cases completely wrong because he never thought of the possibility of an assailant that wasn’t on the suspect list in 1987. Yoon-Young and Hae-Joon now think it’s Baek Yoo-Seob who killed the woman because of the blue cap that he gave his brother and Yoon-Young’s father, Hee-Seob. Quickly, we understand that Yoon-Young, in the future, really doesn’t like her uncle because he’s a menace at home, and her father cares too much for him. That is why Yoon-Young feels like her father thought only of her uncle as his real family. Yoon-Young can fill in the gaps when it comes to any questions regarding her uncle, and that’s what she promises Hae-Joon. Hae-Joon asks Hee-Seob why he was near the motel, and he confesses it was to check if Joo-Young’s lights were off, as requested by his brother. At the same time, Hee-Seob realizes it’s the cap that’s bringing him bad luck and decides to throw it away, but unexpectedly, Mi-Sook picks it up.
Yoon-Young never knew how her aunt had died and was told it was a sickness because she was weak, but her aunt Kyung-Ae was the second victim, which is why Hae-Joon bought the house in front of Soon-Ae’s house. Kyung-Ae hopes to become Miss Korea and decides to hand over some money to some shady people who assure her that they can make her Miss Korea. At home, nobody thinks she can do it, and Soon-Ae is distracted by her own thoughts of going to college. She asks her family if she can get a tutor for math, even though she’s the top student in the class. It’s the 1980s, so all her family wants is for her and her sister to be married into good families. Later, we see Soon-Ae’s mom give her brother money immediately when he says he needs books. Disheartened, Soon-Ae gives her own saved-up money (for tutoring) to her older sister for her Miss Korea dreams. What she doesn’t know is that Kyung-Ae has already stolen their father’s emergency money. It is the day of the second murder, so Yoon-Young and Hae-Joon follow Kyung-Ae around. She meets with the shady people at the market who are scamming women of their money. Kyung-Ae realizes something is wrong but, moreover, is thinking about Soon-Ae’s dreams, so she decides to take back her money. The guy doesn’t let her go and begins to drag her into the van. Yoon-Young hates to watch this and has to move, but if she does, it will create a variable in the timeline. Still, she and Hae-Joon both join in and save Kyung-Ae, but there’s another person who “happens” to be there: Yeo-Seob. When Hae-Joon and Yoon-Young are talking to the police, Kyung-Ae and Yeo-Seob both disappear from sight, making them both worry. They split up to look at all the crime scenes. When it’s too late, Yoon-Young thinks there’s one more place they could be: the bong bong cafe. They’re lucky to find Kyung-Ae there, but surprisingly, Min-Soo is there too.
While waiting to see what happens next, Yoon-Young sees her mother being dragged by Bum-Ryong and decides to follow them while Hae-Joon waits for her aunt. To her shock, Bum-Ryong is trying to drag Soon-Ae to the motel because he can’t handle her breaking up with him. Yoon-Young hits him on the head and grabs Soon-Ae, but Bum Ryong is a huge man, and he’s about to hit Yoon-Young before Hee-Seob comes to save the day. Of course, Yoon-Young isn’t really concerned about what happens between Bum-Ryong and Hee-Seob and takes Soon-Ae home to safety.
In the meantime, Kyung-Ae gets followed by Min-Soo, who tries to choke her for insulting him, but she manages to push him off of her, and he slips and falls from the bridge. He will survive with a broken arm, as Hae-Joon suspects, and this also means he can’t tie any ropes, which is how the victims were found, so he believes they’re in the clear for now even though they don’t know of Yeo-Seob’s whereabouts. He warns Kyung-Ae to take care of herself, not be out late at night, and not drink alcohol. She’s embarrassed to admit that’s all she’s good at, but Hae-Joon tells the 22-year-old that she has a lot of time and that even though she’s not cut out to be Miss Korea, she can be a star on TV someday.
At the end of My Perfect Stranger Episode 7, Hae-Joon and Yoon-Young fondly look out of their window at Soon-Ae and her sister spending time together and are all smiles on the night Kyung-Ae was supposed to die. Just as they feel relieved, Hae-Joon gets a phone call, and it’s Bum-Ryong who has called to say that Joo-Young is dead. Hae-Joon is completely taken aback, considering she was supposed to be back in Seoul when he put her on the bus himself.
What Happens In Episode 8?
Hae-Joon and Yoon-Young rush to the crime scene, and Hae-Joon immediately jumps on Bum-Ryong, asking him why he would do such a thing and kill a woman. He thinks he’s the culprit immediately because the ring Bum-Ryong had stolen was missing from Joo-Young’s hand. Bum-Ryong admits he had met Joo-Young the previous day, and what he’s worried about and crying for is that the police will arrest him for communicating with a Communist and not informing them. They’re interrupted by the sound of a police van, and Hae-Joon realizes something horrible. He rushes from the scene, and by the time he reaches the spot where the police van is, it’s the next day. To the shock of Yoon-Young, it was her aunt’s body that had been found in a new spot that they hadn’t found out about.
Considering that in the end, nothing changes, Hae-Joon’s spirits are dampened, and he decides to fix the car to go back home. Soon-Ae’s family devastatingly finds out the truth, and while the father and younger brother go to the crime scene, Soon-Ae stays home with her mother. Dong-Sik notices Hae-Joon and Yoon-Young are always near crime scenes and warns Hae-Joon that it would be best if he didn’t encounter them this often later on in My Perfect Stranger Episode 8. Soon-Ae’s mother begins to behave strangely, and while Yoon-Young waits for Hae-Joon to come out of the garage where he’s trying to fix the car, Soon-Ae comes crying to her, asking for help from her mother. Yoon-Young’s grandmother has accidentally cut her wrist while washing the dishes, and Soon-Ae rushes to the hospital. Yoon-Young has no idea how her grandmother died and believes that it is connected to these events.
On the other hand, Mi-Sook acts even stranger, smiling at people, specifically Hae-Kyung, who looks worried. Mi Sook tells Hae-Kyung that if she looks so worried, it will look like she committed the murders herself. It looks like Hae-Kyung knows something, but Mi-Sook has something over her that is making her hold back. Hee-Seob appears at the crime scene, too, and looks at Mi-Sook in a strange manner. Dong-Sik notices that there are bong-bong cafe matchboxes at both crime scenes. When he opens one, he gets the note that says clearly, “A woman who reads is dangerous.” This could indicate that, in fact, Mi-Sook is the perpetrator of all the crimes, but nobody is bothered to look her way.
Yoon-Young attempts to bring Hae-Joon out of the garage because she now fears that her grandmother’s death might be because of the variables she has introduced. Hae-Joon, on the other side of the door, looks torn and heartbroken. He doesn’t know what to do and is frustrated that nothing has gone right, even after so much hard work. Finally, he runs out when he hears Soon-Ae’s family screaming for Yoon-Young’s grandmother. Everyone follows him as if they know that he knows something, and he finds her at the edge of a cliff, ready to jump. Hae-Joon calmly explains to her that she shouldn’t do something that her other two children would have to live with for their long lives. His words are convincing enough for her to come back, and he helps her off the cliff to safety. The family embrace each other and finally, Hae-Joon has changed something for the better.
In the middle of all of this, the chief goes to pick up his son from the airport and has no idea what has happened in town. Yeon-Woo is happy to see his father, and the chief tells him that he wants his son to meet the new teacher of the school, who he really likes a lot, who is Hae-Joon. Yeon-Woo comments that he likes the name Hae-Joon, and when the chief says he needs help with something, Yeon-Woo immediately agrees to help. Yeon-Woo comes to the house and leaves a Rubik’s cube for Hae-Joon to solve while a confused Yoon-Young looks over. He tells her that he will think about helping Hae-Joon if he can solve the cube in 5 seconds. Now we find out the biggest secret Hae-Joon has been keeping: Yeon-Woo is his father, which means the chief is his grandfather, and that’s why, in the future, the grandson he “lost” is Hae-Joon himself. Now the pieces are tied together. Yoon-Young and Hae-Joon hug it out to be friends again as they’ve gone through a lot in the day, and Hae-Joon comforts Yoon-Young.
Mi-Sook summons Hee-Seob to have a conversation at the bong-bong cafe and gives him the blue cap. She tells him that she can help him hide the truth about his brother and whispers something in his ear. Hae-Joon and Yoon-Young show up at his house and tell him that his uncle is going to arrest him in about five minutes, so he needs to be honest with her.
Is Hee-Seob The Real Culprit?
Hee-Seob thinks Hae-Joon and Yoon-Young were informed by Mi-Sook that Yeo-Seob had done something. Hae-Joon looks frantically for something, and he sees a white, bloody shirt in his wardrobe. Hee-Seob immediately says that it is his when Hae-Joon asks why he’s hiding the shirt there. Hae-Joon is quick to note that his answer was not to the question he asked because he panicked and wanted to save his brother. Hee-Seob tells Yoon-Young and Hae-Joon that it is his shirt and that he did everything. Yoon-Young is shocked to hear these words come out of her father’s mouth. She knew he was someone she couldn’t understand, but this was not what she was expecting from him. She feels terrible that her father could do something like this, and the little trust she had in him is completely lost now.
But Hee-Seob acts strangely after confessing, and he hears the voice of his mother, who makes him promise that he and his brother will stay together. This is the reason Hee-Seob will go as far as to lie about committing murder for his brother? Maybe it’s the wishes of his dying mother. Hae-Joon brings Hee-Seob back to reality and tells him that the police will be here soon, so he should not be lying about something like this. Yoon-Young is fed up and tells Hae-Joon they should leave, and when they open the door, it is Dong-Sik waiting there who has heard the entire conversation. He arrests his nephew, who now begins to cry. Something is definitely amiss, but Dong-Sik is too taken aback to see things clearly.
At the end of My Perfect Stranger Episode 8, Yoon-Young cries profusely and admits to Hae-Joon that she can’t apologize enough to make his life better because her father is his murderer. She says this time around, though the police have heard his confession, everything will be fine, and her mother won’t have to marry him, so she will disappear, but Hae-Joon doesn’t care about any of those things. He knows Hee-Seob is lying, and so he takes it upon himself to bring the real criminal to justice yet again. With one more murder remaining, will Hae-Joon and Yoon-Young finally unveil the truth? We sure hope so, as we’ve crossed the midpoint of the season and are looking forward to the last few episodes of My Perfect Stranger.
