Original subtitles

[sirens wailing]

The First Responders Season 2

[♪ thrilling rock music playing]

The First Responders Season 2

The characters, places, organizations, and events in this drama are fictitious

-[Hogae] Hey. -[Pil] Hey. Over here.

[door closes]

I'm Song Seol, a paramedic with Taewon Fire Station.

[Sejin] You were a bit aggressive with the hemostasis.

The patient was in DIC, bleeding through the suture lines.

Gauze alone wouldn't stop the bleeding,

so I performed the treatment to minimize blood loss during CPR.

Did I do something wrong?

[Sejin in English] Life before Limb?

Life before Limb: A principle in emergency situations…

[Sejin in Korean] Nice.

…where less important parts are sacrificed to save vital organs

I'll get going now, then.

-Bye. -Bye.

[Sejin] Don't go.

[♪ tense music playing]

I'd like to hear the opinions of the first responder on the scene.

Judging from how you treated him, I assume you worked at a hospital before.

Am I right?

Yes, I used to be a PA at a hospital.

Please help us if you aren't busy.

CODE PURPLE: Code issued when someone exhibits

threatening behavior in an operating room

[Sejin] I'll remove the epidural catheter from the spinal cord now.

Lift it up, please.

Was this injected into the victim's body?

[Seol] Yes, I told him to press the button over the phone.

[Sejin] Over the phone?

[scoffs] What if there was poison in it?

[Seol] I checked the name of the drug,

and they would simply inject poison with a syringe,

not with a PCA in the spine.

[Sejin] That's just your assumption, isn't it?

Oh, well…

[Hogae] That's enough, Seol.

Are you examining the decision of the first responder too or what?

Let's not go too far.

[Sejin] I apologize if I was out of line.

I was just curious about the reason behind your decision.

[Seol] That's what I would've done if I were them.

[Sejin scoffs]

[Sejin] There may be fingerprints on the device,

so please hand it over to the trace evidence room.

Also, analyze the drug inside the tube.

It's probably a painkiller.

[forensic investigator] Yes, sir.

[Sejin] No trauma to the wrists, ankles,

or other parts of the body.

Let's make an incision.

Forceps, please.

[♪ foreboding music playing]

Around an inch of subcutaneous fat.

He's not obese, and his nutritional status is not bad.

[sighs] There's so much blood.

I'm going to remove all the organs and check them individually.

Let's start with the heart.

[exhales deeply]

[camera shutter clicks]

[Sejin] The heart is around 12 ounces.

The left lung is here, but there's no right lung.

He's missing a lung.

He's missing a lung?

[Sejin grunts] And he's missing…

the right lobe of his liver.

And he's missing…

his right kidney.

You keep saying he's missing something. What do you mean?

[Sejin] Exactly as I've said.

This corpse is missing some of its organs, the heart being the exception.

Everything but the heart?

[Sejin] He'd die right away if they messed with his heart.

As Officer Song mentioned earlier,

that must have been…

different from the perpetrator's master plan.

[in English] Master plan?

[Sejin hesitates]

[Sejin] In other words, the perpetrator's objective.

It seems to me

that this is a corpse of a victim who was murdered

with a meticulous goal and plan.

[Pil] How do you know that just by looking at the corpse?

[Sejin] If you look here,

there are no signs of binding, right?

But this isn't post-mortem damage.

He wasn't tied up but suffered this much damage?

As you know,

it means he was anesthetized.

Done properly

just like in an operating room.

You said he was submerged in ice at the time of discovery, right?

[Seol] Yes.

[Sejin] All right.

When your body temperature drops,

the functions of major organs, such as the heart and brain,

that are essential for life support, are protected.

That's the principle of hypothermia, which is used in clinical cardiac surgery.

In addition, they induced a state of profound hypothermia

in which the body temperature falls below 53.6°F.

[Seol] The same goes for the PCA.

Why did they anesthetize him

if they were going to kill him so cruelly?

[Sejin] That's what's strange, right?

[Sejin sucks teeth]

Something isn't adding up.

The right hand…

is a surgeon.

The left hand…

is a butcher.

A surgical specialist who's a butcher.

Everyone, would you mind closing your eyes for a moment?

[Pil] Pardon?

What is he doing?

[Sejin] Imagine it yourself.

He's saying to think from the criminal's perspective.

I do this a lot as well. Let's do it.

[Sejin] You too, Officer Song.

The first location is an operating room.

[♪ tense music playing]

[Sejin] There's no need for restraints.

One shot of anesthesia, and the victim is at my mercy.

The incisions were made with a surgical scalpel,

but cauterization to prevent bleeding was omitted.

Since there was no cauterization, the blood would have splattered a bit.

Splatter: To scatter or disperse

[Hogae] Cut the stomach open and remove the organs.

[Sejin] Removing the right lobe of the lungs.

[Hogae] While making sure the victim is alive.

[Sejin] Suturing layer by layer.

A typical surgical stitch.

Immersing him in ice water was some sort of exhibition.

He was put on display.

It aligns with the goal

of thoroughly destroying both the victim's body and mind.

You're wrong.

[Hogae] This wasn't done only to bring pain to Yang Chiyoung.

He was put on display for the first responders

from the fire and police stations.

[Sejin] Are you saying they wanted to induce trauma?

"I can…

do this whenever

and to whoever again."

A warning of the sort.

[Sejin] I believe this perpetrator

has done this multiple times.

[Pil] Are you saying this is serial?

[Sejin] Not exactly.

I'm saying they're highly experienced in surgery.

It's possible they're a surgeon.

If they're experienced in surgery, a surgeon would make sense.

But if they're also familiar with murder,

they're a serial killer.

We just have to catch them.

Serial killers

are bound to make mistakes since they're full of themselves.

[Sejin] I hope that's the case.

I don't want to meet the second victim

of the same perpetrator in the autopsy room as well.

You probably don't know much from simply looking at a corpse,

but even these perverts

cave in when handcuffed.

[♪ upbeat music playing]

NFS National Forensic Service

[Pil] There he comes.

It took longer because there was something strange that needed a closer look.

-Let's discuss this first. -What is that?

This is the liver of a corpse

that was stabbed to death by a sharp blade.

And this is Yang Chiyoung's liver.

They're different, right?

Are you saying the culprit has mysophobia because he's a doctor?

There's only one reason to remove organs so neatly like this.

An organ transplant.

An organ transplant?

A right lobe resection of the liver was used in preparation for a transplant.

The lung, bronchial tubes, and blood vessels

were finely removed as well.

The bronchial tubes and blood vessels need to connect to the recipient.

You said the right kidney was missing too, right?

Yes.

Of the two kidneys, the right lobe is usually removed for transplants,

which is the case for the victim.

Liver, lung, and kidney.

Only organs that can be transplanted were removed.

This person…

had his organs stolen from him.

[Kang Doha] You're still not done?

You sure do take your time conducting an autopsy.

[Sejin] Should I be sorry for taking my time…

conducting an autopsy?

Hey, come by my room later.

-Let's go now. -Okay.

-Thank you. -Goodbye.

[Kang Doha] This bomb isn't a crude IED that you can copy

and make by watching a video.

They're a professional.

It's pretty sophisticated.

[keyboard clacking]

[Kang Doha] Here it is.

I tracked the product number on the pager's circuit board.

It's manufactured in China and sold in the US.

It's a model that has never been imported to our country before.

Should I get some information out of the Beomdongyeong faction?

They're also just customers,

so they won't know much about the manufacturer.

They must have received the item, so please check the delivery records.

Okay, I will.

Do pagers even work these days?

Services for the general public are gone

and only a few lines are being used for military and medical purposes.

Can you do a traceback with just that?

It's used for military purposes because it's hard to trace.

[sighs] I see they won't be easy to catch.

For now, I've requested cooperation from the Air Force EOD.

They should remain alert.

I have a grudge against the person who made the bomb.

Call me if you need help.

I'll call you if I need handcuffs.

I use this in most situations.

You use your brain, and I use my body. Okay, I got it.

Anyway, page me if you need help.

-[Hogae] Go. -[Pil] Okay.

Oh, right. What happened to Yang Chiyoung?

We'll have to look into it.

We have a pro on our side.

-You're still tailing Ma Taehwa, right? -Yes.

I heard he almost died again not too long ago.

Jeez, he sure is holding on.

Check up on him again, just in case.

All right.

Ma Taehwa

[♪ ominous music playing]

-Have you eaten yet? -Yes, at the braised short ribs place.

-The food there is delicious. -[cop 1] It is.

When is the next shift?

[cop 1] The next shift…

The perpetrator is the type to find pleasure

in inflicting maximum pain on the victim

and enjoys head-to-head fights with investigators.

Or they're a group of organ transplant brokers.

If that's not it either,

then they're an acquaintance with a grudge. They're one of these three.

-Give us a rundown of the victim. -Okay, I'll do it.

[clears throat]

The victim is Yang Chiyoung.

We all know him well, so let's skip introductions.

[Pil] We investigated his whereabouts before his death,

but there are three days that are a bit uncertain.

If they're an acquaintance, they'll be found there.

His personal cell phone has a limited recent call history.

As if an attorney wouldn't have a call history.

[Pil] That's what I'm saying.

He wouldn't engage in anything shady with his personal phone.

I think he used a burner phone,

but they're called burner phones because they're impossible to trace.

The site inspection is complete.

Did you find anything?

There wasn't a single fingerprint or strand of hair.

[Samsoon] I think they wiped everything down

and vacuumed up all the dust.

You can consider this a case of serious mysophobia.

Can you find anything on black-market organ trafficking organizations?

[Pil] Black-market deals are done

without anyone's knowledge, hence the name.

They're not easy to track down.

If it's hard to track down, we backtrack.

Organs that were trafficked have to be used in surgery immediately.

-That's right. -That's right.

Let's look into transplant surgery records from every hospital in the country

on the day of Yang Chiyoung's death.

Focus on liver, lung, and kidney transplants.

All right, I'll look into it.

-What about grudges? -Oh, right.

Attorney Yang always defended and stood on the side of money and power,

so he was known in the industry as "Bully," not Yang Chiyoung.

There are more than a few people who were wronged by Bully.

[sighs]

But based on the autopsy results,

it's highly likely that the culprit is a doctor, right?

So while looking into cases involving doctors,

this popped up.

[Hogae] What?

Seok Mijung's case?

A woman in her 30s found dead in an officetel

Officetel murder suspect Ma Taehwa arrested

Director of Masong, not guilty of the murder of a university student!

Mr. Ma Taehwa, you're under arrest under suspicion of murdering Seok Mijung.

You bastard!

Why can't you turn a blind eye just once?

Would you have done that, you bastard?

[groans]

We finally broke his alibi of Seok Mijung's case.

[Pil] Seok Mijung's father, Seok Moongu,

was an anesthesiologist.

He would have a grudge against Ma Taehwa, so why Yang Chiyoung?

While the victim's parents were also in court, Attorney Yang did something

that was the equivalent of killing the victim twice.

[Chiyoung] Do you know

what kind of relationship the victim and my client had?

She met him as a hostess

at a very low-quality bar--

What nonsense are you spewing?

[people murmuring]

How dare you say that about my daughter!

[crying]

Oh, my goodness.

-[Moongu] Honey! -[relative] Someone call an ambulance!

Call an ambulance!

[Pil] After the trial, Seok Mijung's mother

couldn't stand the malicious comments made about her daughter…

[Mijung's mother] That bastard.

…and committed suicide in the mountains.

[Mr. Baek] My goodness.

His daughter died and was defamed,

and he also lost his wife?

He wouldn't have been satisfied even if he removed all of the organs.

Which hospital is Seok Moongu working at now?

He quit his work and is living in the mountain

where his wife committed suicide.

Ma Taehwa kills people with his hands, Yang Chiyoung kills people with his mouth!

My goodness, are you just now opening up?

Well, look who it is!

Our Kang Doha.

It's been a while.

You've got more stuff since the last time we saw each other.

That's because people keep throwing away perfectly functioning things.

Let me welcome our VIP customer inside.

Please go in. [chuckles]

Uncle, I need to fix this. Do you have any parts?

Jeez, would you look at that?

A one-of-a-kind antique.

My goodness.

[technician] Where did you get such an antique?

[Kang Doha] If only I knew.

It's a product that isn't sold in the country.

That's not right.

This is originally from Hong Kong

with a different make that sold like crazy.

[sighs]

This is why I like you.

So can you fix it?

[sighs]

This is why I like you.

Of course, I can fix it.

Wait one moment.

[technician] ♪ Pager, pager ♪

♪ Where did I put the pagers? ♪

I found it!

Ta-da.

-[chuckles] -So you can fix this, right?

Lately, I haven't been able to see properly.

You fix it with your hands, not your eyes.

[cheeky exclaim]

[Dex] I'm assuming you heard the news.

I knew you'd contact me.

[Chuljoong] If Yang Chiyoung gets investigated, it'll cause me trouble.

Where are the drug trafficker's case files?

I'm sure you know where they are.

[Dex] I can't give you that for free.

You received something interesting

from Detective Moon Youngsoo of the NOI.

This is a copy.

Death of Assemblyman Ma Joongdo case report

Thank you.

I'll make sure to solve the mystery that you left behind.

[Dex] Bring me the case files on the death of Assemblyman Ma Joongdo.

I really hate it when someone…

pries into my past.

Come to this address to make the exchange.

An exchange between Attorney Yang's files and Ma Joongdo's files.

If you refuse,

we'll go after Detective Jin Hogae.

[♪ tense music playing]

Safe 7334 Please enter the passcode.

[Chiyoung] Do you know what the most unlucky crime is?

It's the crime of getting found out.

[Chuljoong] I'm sorry, Hogae.

[♪ suspenseful music playing]

[Chuljoong] Assemblyman Ma Joongdo's death

is definitely Dex's doing.

[♪ music stops]

[Hogae] Are you sure this is the place?

[Pil] Yes, it is.

[Pil grunts]

Darn it, that stings.

Hey.

I think this is the place.

Come on. Hurry.

[groans]

There it is. Over there.

Oh, my gosh! That startled me.

There's a mannequin.

Damn it. That scared… Be careful.

What is this?

Court

I think we found the right place.

[Pil] Hello?

-Is anyone here? -There's a fire.

[Pil] Hello?

What the heck?

You seem to have lost your way.

Have some water before you go.

You know Attorney Yang Chiyoung, right?

Who are you?

[sighs]

[Moongu] I lost everything

the moment he was released.

These darn bastards!

[Mijung's mother] What's wrong?

Look at this.

Ma Taehwa released on bail for drug trafficking charges

[Mijung's mother] This guy…

was released?

These bastards! [sobs]

[gasps]

The fall of a gold digger

Well deserved! Retribution for a gold digger!

[breathing heavily]

[Moongu] I heard it was spread by his attorneys.

They deserve to be beaten to death.

That's how they usually do things.

Have you heard any news about Attorney Yang?

[sighs] Look.

I don't even use a cell phone.

I stopped keeping up with the news a long time ago.

Mr. Yang Chiyoung…

is dead.

[♪ ominous music playing]

[groans]

[sucks teeth, cackles]

-Are you okay? -What amazing news.

[laughing]

Hooray! Yes!

Mijung. [cackles]

Honey.

Goodness.

That bastard finally took his last breath.

[mumbles]

If you meet him over there,

crush him into little pieces!

Mr. Seok Moongu.

Where were you, and what were you doing on January 19?

[Moongu] Every day is the same here for me.

How can you prove that without a cell phone?

[wheezing laugh]

[laughing]

What are you guys going to do?

I don't have a cell phone.

I'm talking about the alibi to prove…

that I was at the scene

of Yang Chiyoung's murder.

That darn alibi you guys like.

[Moongu] I'm sorry, Mijung.

I'm sorry, honey.

[sobbing]

I'm sorry.

Gosh, I'll do better.

I'll do better.

My goodness.

[Pil sighs]

This feels like a dead end.

This place doesn't have a hiking trail or CCTV cameras.

It's impossible to trace Mr. Seok Moongu's whereabouts.

People used to conduct investigations and catch criminals

when there weren't any CCTVs or cell phones.

We'll find a way.

He seemed a bit insane.

[♪ suspenseful music playing]

[beeping]

Okay, it turned on.

All right.

Let's see what they did with a pager.

127, 142, 009, 002.

What's that?

Four consecutive three-digit decimal numbers.

Consecutive three-digit numbers.

[both] An IP address.

Hello?

I'm at the Chinese restaurant the Beomdongyeong faction often visited.

Recently, they often ate whole-grilled Beijing duck.

[Youngsoo] It's slang for receiving a delivery.

First, we'll look through all the CCTV footage nearby.

The culprit wouldn't have flown here.

I've got a lead as well.

Let's do a two-way approach.

[Youngsoo] All right.

[groans]

-Hey. -You're here.

Were you waiting for me?

Petition

Oh, right. This.

I have to sign this before Chief Dokgo's summons, right?

Yes.

Yes, of course, I have to sign it before.

[chuckles]

[♪ soft music playing]

Petitioner: Jin Hogae

-Okay. -Thank you.

We're all family.

Have you eaten?

Not yet.

Okay, let's go.

I've seen a lot of people die

in the hospital and as a paramedic,

but today was my first autopsy.

I see.

You must've been shocked. [chuckles]

I feel like I've taken

a closer look at the world you live in.

Our work isn't always so unsightly.

A person

should never do something like that to another person.

How cruel of a person are they to do something like that?

It was so terrible and terrifying.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

You said…

they could do this to someone else, too.

Mm.

That's why I need to catch them.

What's wrong?

Do you have to be the one to catch them?

You're making things awkward.

Are you worried about me?

[scoffs]

If you don't want me to worry, don't get hurt.

I can never turn a blind eye to crime

for my own livelihood.

I've never done that before.

I can't promise that I won't get hurt, either.

But…

no matter how badly I get hurt,

come to me.

I mean…

Come save me as a paramedic.

[nervous chuckle]

[groans]

I'm tired, so I'll head home first.

Take care of the bill for me.

[Hogae] She's going to pay.

Thank you for the food.

[Seol] Just stay alive.

I'll run to you wherever you are.

[Youngsoo] You shouldn't have any problems regarding the serial arsonist case.

The prosecutor in charge should be here soon.

Oh, hello. You can have a seat here.

Here's a petition written and signed by

all of Taewon Fire Station and Taewon Police Station.

They attest that there was no problem

with the field command and response that day.

-Please wait outside, Detective Moon. -Pardon?

I said please wait outside.

All right.

I'm Prosecutor Yang Mooyoung from the Central District Prosecutors' Office.

A peculiar document was discovered

during the search and seizure.

Woosung-dong shantytown fire investigation report

Why was this…

in your desk, Chief Dokgo Soon?

I was going to review

whether there were any faults in the fire investigation at the time.

What faults were there?

There was an opinion from the fire station

that there was a possibility of arson, but it was disregarded.

That case has already been closed. You know that.

Are you going to hold on to the past

and ruin your entire future?

[♪ ominous music playing]

[Mooyoung] I'll see this end with just a reprimand

for the failure to respond to the serial arson,

so please corroborate the prosecution's account.

Ma'am, there's still a plausibility of arson.

We shouldn't rule it out yet. If you give me some time--

Dojin, even the police are frustrated because they can't find the body.

They said they'd close it as a missing case.

Let's submit our report and close it too. Okay?

I understand how you feel.

But about this fire case…

we need to go along with the police.

Goodness.

Why are you drinking coffee again? [chuckles]

I heard you went to the NOI today.

It's been rough for you, hasn't it?

[exclaims] Aren't you drinking too much coffee?

You have to take care of your health at times like these.

I brought this for you to drink and get your strength back.

Here. We can have one each.

[♪ soft music playing]

Thank you for the petition.

Of course, we're neighbors.

[chuckles]

But did it help at all?

Yes.

I think it'll end with a reprimand.

That's a relief.

Everyone has been so worried.

There's something else, isn't there?

Would you ever…

put your job on the line

to reveal the truth about something?

I believe

that my pride is at stake in this job.

Even if I get beat up a lot on the frontline,

I live with my pride as a police officer.

So I'm not an embarrassment to my juniors.

[sighs]

I shouldn't do something

that'll make me an embarrassment to Dojin, right?

This is a copy of the investigation report of the shantytown fire

that occurred ten years ago where Next Officetel stands now.

Why do you have this?

[exhales sharply] At that time, the fire broke out

when the conflict between the contractors and shantytown residents was at its peak.

However, the fire burned the shantytown down that day,

and the residents were forced out with nothing.

Woosung-dong shantytown fire investigation report

NFS National Forensic Service

[♪ pensive music playing]

[Sejin] The heart is around 12 ounces.

The left lung is here, but there's no right lung.

He's missing a lung.

[Pil] He's missing a lung?

[Sejin] And he's missing…

the right lobe of his liver.

And he's missing…

his right kidney.

[Pil] You keep saying he's missing something. What do you mean?

[Sejin] Exactly as I've said.

This corpse is missing some of its organs, the heart being the exception.

[Pil] Everything but the heart?

-[Sejin] He'd die right away if-- -[recording stops]

[♪ thrilling music playing]

This is Han Sejin from the NFS.

Can we meet?

A total of five buildings,

including Next Officetel and the neighboring

mixed-use buildings,

were built after the shantytown fire.

The development profit must have been astounding.

Oh, you haven't gone home yet?

No, not yet. You guys haven't eaten yet, right?

It's on me, so let's go eat.

What's the special occasion?

You two can go ahead. I'm not hungry.

Hey, get him.

No! You're going to eat instant food again, aren't you?

-No, I'm just not hungry. -You can't have any more instant food.

-Come along. Let's go. -[Hogae] I said I'm just not hungry.

-[Pil] Just go eat. -[Hogae] I'm not hungry.

[Pil] What are you saying? You will be.

I've discovered one similarity and one difference between the organs

that have been removed.

[Seol] A similarity and a difference?

An obsessed criminal

never acts without reason.

Look here.

[Sejin] The first organ that was removed

is the key point.

The first organ.

[♪ tense music playing]

-Was it this one? -[scoffs]

As expected, you have a good eye.

I knew you'd recognize it right away.

We have to let Taewon Police Station know right away.

I contacted you

to get a second opinion before we notified them.

If that's the case,

you should discuss this with someone else from the NFS.

"That's what I would've done if I were them."

That's what you said in the autopsy room, right?

[Sejin] I apologize if I was out of line.

I was just curious about the reason behind your decision.

[Seol] That's what I would've done if I were them.

I'll ask you one question.

Would you have done it this way

if it were you?

Yes, I would've done it this way as well.

Okay, then.

I'm going to Taewon Police Station. Would you like to come with me?

Me?

I don't really like detectives.

You didn't drive here, did you?

Let's take my car.

[photos thud]

[door slides open]

Why do you dislike the police?

We always end up fighting when we meet.

That's why I went to Jeju Island to avoid conducting autopsies for criminal cases.

I see.

Autopsy results don't always match the results of the investigation.

It's like a coexistence between conflict and cooperation.

[scoffs] Don't firefighters feel the same way?

Well…

I believe cooperation is more important than conflict.

It seemed like you tried very hard

to save the victim's life at the scene,

so I'm sorry for letting you see him lying on the autopsy table.

I was a bit insensitive.

It's okay.

You know, we're pretty similar.

I see death's extremities,

and you see life's extremities.

And both of us have very daring hands.

-Daring hands? -Yes.

You hurt your hand while using a stapler during treatment.

Oh, this?

[sucks teeth]

It's become a habit to think about causality when I see damage.

[chuckles]

You may end up conducting autopsies on the living at this rate.

[scoffs]

I've wanted to look…

into a living person's mind before,

but I'm more comfortable with the dead.

Even if I put a knife to their body,

there isn't a hint of hate or resentment

as they quietly tell you what happened to them.

In a way, it's the most genuine relationship.

Hmm…

That's a bit too lonely.

Aren't we all lonely, anyway?

[chuckles]

[background chatter]

[Pil] Yes. Thank you.

[Hogae] So you're saying that the people who benefited from the reconstruction

of Next Officetel are trying to prevent Chief Dokgo from exposing the case?

There's something suspicious about it.

I think huge cartels are lurking in the shadows.

Why did a prosecutor from the Central District Prosecutors' Office

suddenly come into the interrogation room at the NOI?

I don't know how far,

but someone high in the ranks is involved.

How do we find evidence for an arson that occurred ten years ago?

Hey.

The statute of limitations for arson is 15 years.

Should we give up despite having five years left?

No, that's not what I mean.

So the key is finding evidence.

If the purpose of the arson was to burn down the shantytown,

they would have used flammable substances.

The problem is how we find evidence of that.

Whatever the case, you should find out how it differed from normal fires.

You mean, conventional fires.

Interrupting us as we speak. It's the same thing.

-Over here! -Hey.

Did you get anything?

I've checked all the surgical records from every hospital in the whole country.

On the day of Attorney Yang's death,

not a single hospital performed a transplant,

whether it be…

for a liver, lung, or kidney.

This means that they built a hospital and operated in it,

they shipped the organs overseas,

or I've been looking in the wrong place the whole time.

How are you guys able to eat?

[♪ quirky music playing]

I take it back. This looks good.

An investigation isn't supposed to be easy.

Oh, that. That's really good. Eat up.

Mmm! My goodness, it's delicious.

Then should we work with Interpol to check hospital records--

I'm sick and tired of hearing the word "hospital."

But, Ms. Woo, hospitals abroad…

Enjoy your food.

-It tastes so good. -[phone buzzes]

-What's this? -It's good, right?

-[Samsoon squeals] -It's an unknown number.

-Hello? -Yes, this is Han Sejin from the NFS.

You're not at the station.

I came in person because it's an important case.

You're at the station right now?

I'm not in a hurry, so take your time.

[beeps]

He seemed like a well-mannered person, but he just hung up on me.

Let's go.

I'm not done!

You should eat more before you go.

He sounds like he's lost it.

-He's always been that way. -What about me?

I need to go, too.

We weren't even able to finish all of this.

Organ transplants are all about speed,

because organs lose oxygen supply from the moment they are removed

from the blood vessels of the human body, and the cells begin to die.

I'm sure you've all seen helicopters transport organs in ice boxes.

Speed is the key to organ transplants,

but not a single hospital in the country performed an organ transplant.

How will you explain that?

I'm going to explain it, so please be patient.

If you look at the liver and the lung,

they look like they were removed for an organ transplant,

but the level of extraction is too wild.

They used right lobe resection, in which case…

The liver will function properly when blood flow is restored

after the hepatic vein and portal vein are anastomosed

to the recipient's blood vessels.

[Seol] But if you look here,

the veins are haphazardly cut, so anastomosis is impossible.

The lung is in a similar state.

[Sejin] It's not suitable for a transplant.

So the liver and the lung can't be transplanted?

Oh… Uh…

You, Mr. Han, mentioned organ transplants,

so I had to look through so many surgical records.

There's one organ left.

-The kidney. -Precisely.

Based on the degree of bleeding or inflammation around the tissue,

the first organ removed from the victim was the kidney.

And the most finely removed organ was the kidney.

In particular, the blood vessels, ureters,

and other parts needed to connect to the recipient's body

have been cut very finely,

The opposite of the liver and lung.

[Sejin] It's an organ that was properly extracted for a transplant.

[sucks teeth] So the kidney was the only organ…

used for a transplant?

Yes.

The rest were a smokescreen.

You should've told us sooner.

[Sejin] The reason why I didn't realize this sooner is because

until an organ removed during an autopsy

is placed in formalin and becomes rigid,

it's too soft to notice anything.

And there's the most important fact.

Everyone has two kidneys,

so even if you remove one, the victim could've been saved.

That's the cruelest detail about the perpetrator.

So the culprit

is someone who tampered with the liver and the lung

to hide the fact that they need a kidney?

[exclaims]

I found Ma Taehwa.

I heard he almost died again not too long ago.

Jeez, he sure is holding on.

-[monitor beeping steadily] -[groaning]

Ma…

[sighs]

It's Ma Taehwa.

Ma Taehwa. Darn it.

[♪ suspenseful music playing]

They all have hasty personalities.

[Sejin] Anyone who's stolen the victim's kidney, I mean…

Anyone who had an organ transplant

should be lying in an aseptic room and being administered immunosuppressants.

[cop 2] It's mine. Don't eat it. Don't touch it.

It's mine!

Darn it.

[♪ suspenseful music playing]

We're from Taewon Police. We contacted you earlier.

[doctor] You need permission to be here.

[Hogae] We just want to check if there's a patient in there.

-Wait. Excuse us. -No.

-Wait, have we seen each other before? -What are you doing?

We're from Taewon Police Station. Ma Taehwa is inside, right?

You can't go in until visiting hours.

Darn it, move. Ma Taehwa, you bastard!

Who are you?

[panting]

Well, you see…

He just asked me to lie here in his stead.

How did you meet Ma Taehwa?

We just ended up talking to each other

after hours of dialysis.

[patient] He said that all he had was money.

So he paid for my dialysis

and my hospital bills.

He seemed like a very nice person.

He's a murderer.

[patient chuckles]

I only have a month left to live,

so why should I care if he killed someone or not?

You just helped a criminal escape,

and Article 147 establishes that aiding an escapee is a crime.

You could spend your last month in jail.

Where's the nurse?

Excuse me…

You shouldn't have done that.

[♪ light music playing]

[soft chuckle] You didn't have to do this.

Thank you.

I just wanted to have a drink. Don't worry about it.

Thank you.

Hold on.

[♪ soft music playing]

A paramedic shouldn't leave their injury unattended like this.

It's okay. It's not a big deal.

Let me treat it for you.

[Sejin] You must have several wounds like this.

Pardon?

You may get physically hurt again.

You may get emotionally hurt if there's a problem you can't fix as a paramedic.

You feel guilty…

about Mr. Yang Chiyoung's death, right?

[Sejin] A paramedic can't save everyone.

Everyone dies in the end.

I know.

There's a saying first responders like us keep in mind.

"No matter how soon we arrive at a scene, we're late."

The incident or accident has already happened,

and the reports are always made one step late.

I know that,

but it doesn't lessen the guilt.

You're done.

Thank you.

Just throw that guilt away.

Is that even possible?

Maybe?

You try to be a perfectionist,

so to be perfect,

you need to throw it away.

You said that an autopsy harbors no resentment or hatred

and is the most genuine relationship you can have with a corpse.

Is that why you're so nonchalant in front of death?

[clicks tongue]

I'm sure Ms. Yun is the same way.

That's what an autopsy is.

You can't miss the story of the deceased.

If you're not nonchalant about it

or if you don't steel yourself,

you'll miss their last story.

Just think of it as fulfilling my duties to the fullest.

A medical examiner is a doctor you meet at the end of your life.

[sighs]

It's likely that the perpetrator of this case is also a doctor.

How ironic.

[sighs]

They killed him using a scalpel,

and we used a scalpel to find out what happened to him.

It's quite ironic, isn't it?

Thanks to you, the culprit will definitely be caught.

You found the evidence.

And…

Detective Jin is working hard on the investigation.

But…

I'm a bit worried.

I don't think it's going to be easy, seeing that they removed his liver

and lung to confuse us.

The ones who manipulate evidence are harder to catch

than the ones who destroy it.

There was emergency dialysis for Ma Taehwa at dawn on the 18th.

[doctor] His potassium level was unusually high

and his saturation level had fallen to 80%.

Cases like these always get emergency dialysis.

Is there a way to deliberately induce such an emergency?

Well, it's possible if you consume alcohol or salty foods.

[doctor] But who would do such a crazy thing?

They could die if something goes wrong.

There's a bastard who would do just that.

[Youngsoo] Hey, you can't even watch him properly?

-[Pil] Hey. -And you call yourself a detective?

-You little… -[Pil] Wait, stop it.

You could hardly see his face with the plastic in the room.

I'm sorry.

Jindo Dog, I'm really sorry.

[Youngsoo] I'm ashamed of myself.

Let's not do this. Let's go through the hospital's CCTV footage.

I'm sure we'll find something.

[Mr. Baek] No luck with the CCTV.

If they vacuum up dust to clear their tracks,

they wouldn't leave any footage, would they?

[groans]

[reporter] We have news that Ma Taehwa,

an inmate who was granted a stay of execution due to kidney failure

and undergoing dialysis at a hospital, escaped after setting up a decoy patient.

The police are looking into a possible connection between him

and the recent incident in Taewon-gu,

in which a victim had several organs removed, including a kidney.

An hour after realizing he was on the run, they began a public search

and are putting all efforts into the search.

Also, Ma Taehwa…

It hurts my pride to admit,

but we've been fooled.

[Samsoon] It wasn't a coincidence

that he had kidney failure right after his father's funeral.

But what should we call this case?

Kidney theft and murder?

Murder should come first.

And kidney theft falls under mutilation of the body.

No, he was alive when it was removed, so it's special bodily injury.

Or special theft since he ran off with it?

Ma Taehwa really complicated things this time.

Darn it.

[Hogae sighs heavily]

[Hogae] Someone is controlling this bastard behind the scenes.

He planned everything from the Bang Pilgu case to this case.

None of this ends until we catch them.

[Taehwa] Hey, Jindo Dog,

you could be reborn.

You could bark all you want.

But in front of them,

you'd be nothing…

but a mutt.

This was a big stunt.

It would've required a lot of resources.

By resources, you mean money.

Right. If we try to get a transplant at a hospital,

it would cost us a fortune.

All he has is money,

so maybe he bought out a whole hospital.

Look into his accounts.

Find any and every transaction

made with his assets since he went to prison.

He must have inherited Ma Joongdo's assets when he died,

so let's go to the National Tax Service first.

And this bastard should be lying in an aseptic room somewhere,

so please check for patients in aseptic rooms

in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.

Okay. Gosh, hospitals again.

That's a Jindo Dog warning, right?

It's not a warning. It's the real thing.

-[Hogae] Hurry up! -[Pil] I'm coming!

[tax officer] After his father, Assemblyman Ma Joongdo's death,

some of the assets were returned to society.

The rest…

were split in half between his wife and only son, Ma Taehwa.

Have there been any suspicious cash flows recently?

[tax officer hesitates]

Among the inherited assets, land properties were sold.

[tax officer scoffs]

I thought he was raising cash to pay the inheritance tax,

but the said tax is still unpaid.

How much did he receive from the sale?

About 34 billion won.

Where did that money go?

It was deposited into an account in Switzerland.

In order to trace the usage,

we have to work with Interpol in Switzerland to view account information.

But it could take months of going back and forth with various documents.

[sighs]

-All right, then. -[tax officer] Goodbye.

We don't have time to wait for Interpol.

What do we do? It's an account in Switzerland.

He must have thoroughly managed the money left in his name.

Yang Chiyoung would have managed it for him while he was in prison.

It's not like we can ask someone who's already dead.

Even in death, a trace is left behind.

He didn't make a single call, so how do we find anything?

Hey.

There's no way Yang Chiyoung didn't make any calls.

[♪ thrilling music playing]

This is cell tower data on Yang Chiyoung's cell phone location over the past month.

What if we find a phone with the matching location data?

-[Pil] Yang Chiyoung's burner phone? -Exactly. Ms. Woo?

Yes, yes. I'm already on it.

We found it. 010-1346-6431, a prepaid phone.

No one else can perfectly match their movements for a week.

Nice to meet you, phone.

Let's look into it.

Let's see which apps were downloaded first.

Bytecoin, a cryptocurrency trading app.

How much did you get out of this?

-Thirty-four billion won. -The amount he got from selling the land.

He turned the money into cryptocurrency through Switzerland

and deposited it into Yang Chiyoung's account.

That bastard paid him for his kidney, no, his life.

Look at this. Out of the 34 billion won,

18.7 billion won was used to take over a hospital.

-[Samsoon] An orthopedic clinic. -Send us the address of the clinic.

-Okay. -[keyboard clacking]

[♪ suspenseful music playing]

[tires screeching]

What the hell?

-Just open it. Take them down. -My gosh.

[Pil] Careful.

-Go to the left. -Okay.

Darn it. Where is it?

Darn it.

[Pil] Nothing.

[Hogae] Ma Taehwa!

Operating Room

[Pil] Did you find something?

He had the operation here. Where's the aseptic room?

We have to go up a floor.

[♪ suspenseful music playing]

Detective Jin, it's over there.

Ma Taehwa.

[♪ music stop]

[monitor beeping]

[♪ tense music playing]

[Pil] What?

[panting]

Why isn't he here?

[♪ ominous music playing]

[cell phone buzzing]

[door beeps]

[Chuljoong] As I expected.

I was right.

This is his weakness.

[Youngsoo] Hello, how may I help you?

Ma Taehwa has disappeared?

Oh, yes. Goodness.

I'm ashamed to face Detective Jin.

All right.

We'll speak later.

How much do you know about Ma Taehwa's mastermind?

I know one thing for sure.

It's not something someone like you can handle.

[Dex] You have a very talented son.

Detective Jin Hogae from Taewon Police Station.

Is that enough to convince you?

[Samsoon] Imagine yourself as a patient on an operating table.

[detective] Do we really have to take photos lying down?

[Samsoon] Imagination.

Let's use our imagination.

♪ Where, oh Where would they have touched? ♪

♪ Let's figure that out ♪

Here.

[♪ quirky music playing]

[Samsoon] They would have cleaned the obvious places

since they have mysophobia.

So can we find something they missed

or not?

Lift your arm up.

Too dark.

As expected.

-Powder! -[detective] Yes, ma'am.

Capture this, please.

[Samsoon] Come on.

Please let there be something.

It's there.

It's there!

[laughter]

But how did they leave fingerprints behind when they had gloves on?

Gloves aren't foolproof.

[Samsoon] They touched the outside of the glove while putting it on.

-Run this through AFIS immediately. -[detective] Yes, ma'am.

[hospital director] Yes, this is him.

He said he was the attorney representing an angel investor.

He said it would be turned into a dermatology clinic

and attract foreigners looking for plastic surgery.

But this punk scammed us?

I won't let this slide. Where is he now?

He's dead.

[Pil] Detective Jin. Excuse me.

All of the CCTVs are dead.

We have to look through 24 hours of footage,

but thousands of cars passed by.

-Regardless, we have to find something. -Darn it.

Hey.

He got surgery.

Both of them were patients.

Yes, so to move both patients…

[both] An ambulance.

Look into any ambulances

that show up on CCTV footage in the area on the day Yang Chiyoung died.

-We narrowed it down. -Okay.

We have the data for the entire 24-hour duration of the 19th,

pertaining to all the ambulances in the area.

[Pil] The last moments before he was killed.

-It has to show up. -Let's begin.

Check private ambulance, 5426.

Done. It went to the nearby Myeongjo Hospital.

Next. Private ambulance, 6535.

I checked 6535,

and it transported Kim Soonae who had acute pneumonia.

Next. General ambulance, 7552.

Checking 7552 now.

[Samsoon] Done.

Last ambulance. [clears throat]

There were no users, and it was returning to its station.

Check the CCTV footage to see for ourselves.

Okay.

[clicking]

[clicking rapidly]

We checked all 57 ambulances that passed by on the day of the incident.

Ma Taehwa was nowhere to be found.

[clicks tongue]

We got a match for the fingerprints found on the operating light.

Darn it!

Personal identification check Seok Moongu

Move, let's go!

Move. Hurry.

[♪ suspenseful music playing]

He could've run away, so surround the area.

-Yes, sir. -Close it off.

[Pil] Mr. Seok Moongu!

[♪ ominous music playing]

No entry POLICE LINE

Ms. Woo.

[Samsoon] It's an anesthetic. I think this was the cause of death.

[cell phone buzzing]

Father

I supposed you've hit a dead end

with Yang Chiyoung's murder.

Do you know which cases serial murderers make a lot of mistakes in?

It's their very first case.

If their first murder in Korea

remained a hidden crime…

"Hidden crime: An unreported and unregistered crime"

…you should look into that first.

There was a hidden murder?

Take a look at this.

Search and seizure warrant for autopsy-use

This is our first collaboration.

Integrated Detective Team

[Chuljoong] I was going to give up.

However, Dex…

will not stop.

Now that Ma Taehwa has disappeared,

he must be planning something bigger.

It's your choice.

-[worker 1] Okay. -[worker 2] Just a little more.

-Careful, we're going downhill. -Careful.

[worker 3] Slowly.

I thought you wouldn't come.

You said I would regret missing this autopsy,

so I came out of curiosity.

Kim, be careful!

[worker 4] Goodness.

Jeez.

[exhales deeply]

[♪ tense music playing]

[Chuljoong] This is Assemblyman Ma

who was once mentioned as a presidential candidate.

He's the father of Ma Taehwa, a murderer who stole someone's kidney

and is on the run.

The purpose of this autopsy is very clear.

Finding traces of murder.

[Sejin] At the time of his death, there was no

circumstantial evidence of murder,

so he was buried without an autopsy, right?

-Yes, that's right. -[Sejin] Then why do you suspect murder?

I have…

my reasons.

[Sejin] A 70-year-old man who has been buried for 48 days.

He was about five foot seven and weighed about 137 lbs when he was buried.

Autopsy requested of the body in its buried state.

No noticeable trauma at the time of the funeral.

The current time is 09:47.

Let's begin the autopsy.

[♪ upbeat music playing, Jeon Woong, Lee Daehwi "Fire"]

Special thanks to Choi Musung for his special appearance

The First Responders Season 2

Do you really believe Assemblyman Ma's death was homicide?

I believe it was a homicide.

We're doing a full-scale reinvestigation.

A body bomb manufacturer.

In the name of the Green Mothers' Association, I won't forgive that bastard!

We got the location of the body bomb delivery guy.

When you catch that jerk, handcuff him. Don't hit him.

[Hogae] Assemblyman Ma Joongdo. 9:00 a.m.

Found dead at home on his couch.

[Sejin] A solid residue in white opaque crystalline form

has been identified.

Hey, Im Sunyeol. Come here.

Come here. I said come here, you bastard!

Dex is not only perfect at planning but executing as well.

You just witnessed it yourself!

It's blood.

[Pil] Detective Jin!

Translated by Rebekah Hyonha Kim