With 14 episodes, which is a slightly shorter run than the average drama length, “Longing for You” wastes no further time in getting to the inciting incident that changes our main trio’s lives. Oh Jin Sung (Na In Woo) doesn’t know who to trust after the latest bit of evidence indicating that his brother Oh Jin Woo (Ren) could be the prime suspect in a trio of killings rocking Korea. But little does he know that there’s something even worse coming his way.
Here are four suspicious characters that are shaking things up:
Warning: spoilers for episodes 3-4 below.
Prosecutor Cha Young Woon’s (Kwon Yool’s) mother Yoo Jung Sook (Bae Jong Ok) isn’t pleased with the hours her son is putting in at the office. Young Woon digs into the pictures of ankles found on Jin Woo’s phone and pulls him in for questioning once more. Jin Sung is beside himself, especially when Jin Woo admits that he took the pictures. It turns out that Hong Young Hee (Jang Hye Jin), Jin Woo and Jin Sung’s mother, attempted to abandon Jin Woo at an amusement park when she was young, certain that his sweet temperament meant that anyone would just take him in. Crying on the floor and witnessing the passing ankles of those around him caused Jin Woo to have a strange fixation on them. But he still isn’t the killer.
Jin Sung produces evidence that leads him, Young Woon, and Go Young Joo (Kim Ji Eun) down the trail of a suspect, who works at the same dental office as Bae Min Kyu (Jung Sang Hoon), the initial prime suspect for the murders. The other suspect takes his life before he can be caught but leaves all the evidence necessary to prove that he was the culprit and for the case to be closed. Jin Sung gets a promotion to lieutenant, and Young Woon’s and Young Joo’s careers get boosts. But Jung Sook is antsy.
It turns out that Young Woon’s fragile condition is owing to him having a coronary artery bypass graft a year ago. He desperately needs heart surgery as his body is rejecting the transplant. She wants to send Young Woon off to the States for surgery under the pretext of bettering his career, but he keeps refusing, resulting in her kickstarting what she calls a “Life Extension Program.” She puts her trust in secretary Jung Woo No (Kim Chul Ki), but the Life Extension Program doesn’t seem to be anything benign.
With the culprit behind the murders having been caught, Jin Woo is free to return. He plans a feast for his brother and Young Joo when they return from receiving high honors in Seoul. It’s a rainy night, but Jin Woo’s hard at work preparing fancy meals. Only, Jin Sung and Young Joo both end up having to cancel. It’s a rainy night, and Jin Woo pops out of his restaurant to check on his fish traps in the sea, something he’s done hundreds of times.
But someone follows him as he does it. And that person shoves him down the rocks, ensuring that he cracks his head against them. A flash of light illuminates who the man is: Reporter Park Ki Young (Lee Kyu Han), Young Woon’s longtime rival and someone with a deep grudge against him. The fact that Ki Young resents Young Woon’s wealthy upbringing and opportunities in life is well known to everyone. But the two are strangely still friends because Young Woon doesn’t see to think the other man means him harm. Jin Sung thinks he’s a trash reporter after reading Ki Young’s exaggerations in his articles. But could that really be the reason Ki Young attacked Jin Woo? Was Ki Young really Jin Woo’s assailant? Or did he see the whole thing happen? Either way, he was at the scene of the crime when he had no reason to be there. It’s suspicious.
Jin Woo is found before death, but he’s fading fast, and there’s no hospital that can take him. The next thing we know, a terrified Young Joo is begging Jung Sook for help. Seeing that she’s a head doctor at Jinjin Group’s hospital, if anyone can get Jin Woo a room, it’s her. Jung Sook graciously agrees. But after surgery, all they can tell a devastated Jin Sung, Young Hee, and Young Joo, is that Jin Woo is in a coma. And things start to happen suspiciously quickly.
From what we’ve seen of Young Woon’s life, his mother exercises a fanatical level of control over him. She packs his food for every meal. She secretly monitors his vitals without him knowing. She uses her power and influence as a doctor to the elite to control Young Woon’s life. He seems to hate it and also appears unaware of how she measures his vitals. It isn’t even clear if he knows he’s had a coronary bypass. But when his superiors suddenly send him to the U.S. for “training” right after he told his mother he had no intention of going, Young Woon knows she’s pulled strings. He confronts her, but there’s nothing he can do when she lies that she had nothing to do with it. In the midst of Jin Woo’s horrible condition, he has no choice but to leave.
And something strange happens that night. Jin Sung tries to visit his brother but is told that no visitors or family are allowed inside. Yet, Jung Sook enters Jin Woo’s room whenever she wants. Jin Sung pleads to see his brother the whole night, but she coldly informs him that doctors know best, and that it’s for Jin Woo’s benefit if he stays away. A mysterious Code Blue occurs that night in Jin Woo’s room, and the next morning, he’s brain dead. And guess who had signed up for organ donation seven years prior? Jin Woo.
Jin Sung, Young Hee, and Young Joo are heartbroken but vow to honor Jin Woo’s wishes. Jung Sook smiles as they agree to donate Jin Woo’s organs. A funeral is held. And a year passes. Young Woon is back from the States. But this Young Woon is different. He’s no longer the pale, sickly man that Young Joo and Ki Young remember. He drinks now and can partake in sports. There’s something odd about how quickly he got better, and he seems to be keeping it a secret. And he’s not the only one.
Dr. Chu Young Choon (Kim Hyung Muk) is a longtime family friend of Jin Sung and Jin Woo’s. He even provided an alibi for Jin Woo when he was under investigation. But in the year since Jin Woo’s death, he’s taken up drinking heavily and changed somewhat from the man everyone knew for years. It’s especially odd because it was Young Choon who requested a fish soup from Jin Woo, which was the whole reason that Jin Woo was checking his traps at the sea when he was attacked.
Jin Sung, Young Joo, and everyone else still have no idea that Jin Woo’s death wasn’t an accident. And Jin Sung has been doing his best to move. He searched the scene for any foul play right after Jin Woo was taken to the hospital and found nothing, so he’s accepted that it was a horrible accident. But right after Young Woon’s return, someone messages Jin Sung a life-altering set of videos of his brother being murdered. And Jin Sung’s nightmare begins all over again.
Right when it seemed like the show was about to send Jin Woo to jail, it went and killed him instead. It’s looking horribly likely that Jung Sook engineered Jin Woo’s death and used his organs to save Young Woon’s life. The implications here are awful. How long has she been doing this? Is Young Woon the only person she’s done it for? What is Ki Young’s role in all of this, and how much does Young Woon know? Jin Sung is about to find out. And I have no doubt that the answers will be harrowing.
Source: Soompi