Viewership ratings in the primetime drama race saw mixed fortunes. While Kim Ji-won’s starring vehicle ‘Dr. X: Age of the White Mafia’ experienced a downward trend, 100 Days of Lies led by Kim Yoo-jung and Park Jin-young continued its upward momentum by breaking its own personal best viewership record once again.
During the 8th episode of the tvN 20th Anniversary Special Saturday-Sunday drama ‘100 Days of Lies’ (directed by Yoo In-shik and Kim Yoon-jin, written by Ryu Bo-ri), broadcast on the 1st, Lee Ga-kyung (played by Kim Yoo-jung) and Kim Tae-woong (played by Park Jin-young) were depicted waking up together at Huawon. Tension heightened as the Salvation Corps prepared a new operation ahead of the Joseon Government-General pneumatic tube delivery system opening ceremony.
The broadcast recorded an average of 10.7% and a peak of 11.6% for households in the metropolitan area, with a nationwide household average of 9.8% and a peak of 10.6%. These figures represent a new personal best, making it first in its time slot across all channels including terrestrial networks for both metropolitan and nationwide standards. It also claimed first place across all channels including terrestrial networks among tvN’s target demographic of men and women aged 20 to 49, proving its explosive popularity based on Nielsen Korea’s paid platform standards.
An unexpected guest visited Huawon on this day. Kim Tae-woong personally escorted a drunk Lee Ga-kyung back home. Yoo Pil-lip (played by Lee Moo-saeng) grew apprehensive, worrying that Lee Ga-kyung might have accidentally revealed her inner thoughts while intoxicated, and was on guard as to whether Kim Tae-woong had come to observe them out of suspicion regarding their relationship. Ultimately, to confirm his intentions, he proposed a private drinking session to Kim Tae-woong.
Although it was an unwanted gathering, Kim Tae-woong accepted it out of pride. Unaware that everything was a fabricated relationship, he could not look favorably upon Yoo Pil-lip, who maintained an inappropriate relationship with Lee Ga-kyung while having a wife, Yoo So-ran (played by Kim Hyun-joo). Eventually, with the alcohol kicking in, Kim Tae-woong unreservedly expressed his uncomfortable feelings toward Yoo Pil-lip, leading the two to engage in a midnight brawl.
Hearing about the previous night’s events the following day, Lee Ga-kyung rushed over upon learning that Kim Tae-woong was in her room. Her mission was to retrieve the pawn ticket inside the wallet she had stolen from him during their very first meeting. However, the pawn ticket was already in Kim Tae-woong’s hands. Kim Tae-woong revealed that the ticket belonged to his adoptive mother who left him behind during his childhood, and stated that he was tracking an individual named ‘Shin Tae-jin’ written on it in order to find his mother.
He then handed the pawn ticket back to Lee Ga-kyung, saying, “Keep holding onto it for a while. I did say I would return it if you found the Jongno pawnshop. I will trust you, Miss Geum Seo-hee. Let’s call you… my safe.” The intersection of caution and trust between the two foreshadowed yet another change in their dynamic.
Inside the Joseon Government-General, conflicts deepened surrounding the pneumatic tube opening ceremony. Following the bomb-throwing incident at the Emperor’s Birthday event, the Governor-General (played by Kim Seung-rak) held Sato Shinichi (played by Jin Seon-kyu) responsible for failing to wipe out the Salvation Corps and ordered the pneumatic tube opening ceremony to be postponed. However, Sato Shinichi countered, “Now is the time to use this momentum in reverse,” planning a commemorative banquet to outwardly demonstrate the regime’s resilience.
The Salvation Corps did not miss this opportunity either. Yoo So-ran devised an operation to detonate a bomb at the banquet, assigning Kim Myung-nam (played by Park Jung-yeon), Kim Tae-woong’s arranged fiancรฉe, the mission to smuggle a bundle of explosives hidden inside a package of herbal medicine. As the operation got underway, the tension within the drama escalated further.
Lee Ga-kyung and Kim Tae-woong crossed paths once again while hiding their true feelings for each other. Lee Ga-kyung drew a line with Kim Tae-woong, who was worried about her relationship with Yoo Pil-lip, saying, “My personal matters do not seem to be something for the interpreter to concern yourself with.” Kim Tae-woong similarly deflected when Lee Ga-kyung congratulated him on his marriage to Kim Myung-nam, responding, “My marriage is not something Miss Geum Seo-hee should concern herself with,” thereby concealing his complicated inner thoughts.
With a troubled heart, Kim Tae-woong visited Tomakgol and witnessed Ma Moon-mak (played by Lee Seok) assaulting Inoma (played by Hong Sa-bin), prompting him to step in between them. Recognizing Kim Tae-woong instantly, Ma Moon-mak dropped a cryptic remark: “There are people from Gyeam-ri in this neighborhood too. How do you think they would feel seeing the young master? Wouldn’t they want to burn you to death just the same?” Kim Tae-woong could not hide his utter bewilderment at Ma Moon-mak’s incomprehensible words.
Upon returning to the Government-General afterward, Kim Tae-woong set out to search the archives for records related to the Gyeam-ri uprising incident. There, he discovered mugshots of the ringleaders including Geum Seok-joong (played by Kam Woo-sung) and an English-language news article stating that Japanese troops had massacred 23 residents of Gyeam-ri at the time. Even more shocking was the name ‘Nobuyuki Ishikawa’ written on the first page of the incident statement. Next to it lay a photograph of Sato Shinichi side by side, leading Kim Tae-woong to realize that the name was Sato Shinichi’s real name.
When Kim Tae-woong erupted in anger upon facing the full truth, Sato Shinichi instead cornered him, saying, “In the end, you chose to do something stupid.” To Kim Tae-woong, who was venting his outrage over a reality he neither wanted to believe nor accept, Sato Shinichi referenced their very first meeting and left him with chilling words: “You chose to become Japanese of your own accord. Are you still unable to shed the blood of a Joseon-jin?” before walking away.
After Sato Shinichi left, Kim Tae-woong discovered the presence of Lee Ga-kyung, who had been hiding behind the curtain. Lee Ga-kyung, having visited the Government-General after work to move the explosives to an inconspicuous spot, had overheard their entire conversation. Although Kim Tae-woong reacted with frustration at having his emotions exposed, Lee Ga-kyung revealed that she had recovered her memories of that night.
Recalling the past bet where they promised to grant a wish to whoever recovered their memories, Lee Ga-kyung stated that she would use her wish ticket, telling him, “I’m using my wish ticket right now. Don’t cry, Interpreter Kim Tae-woong.” Lee Ga-kyung’s heartfelt comfort, soothing Kim Tae-woong as he struggled to conceal his emotions, infused a warm sense of flutter into the relationship between the two.
