The Irrational (2023) s02e07 Episode Script
Stan by Me
1
Let's hear it
for tonight's emcee,
your favorite idol
- Yoonie Kang!
- [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Hello, Washington, D.C.!
Welcome to K-Bash!
- [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
- Thank you.
You truly are the best fans
in the world.
I'm so grateful to be here with you
and all the other Korean
singers and entertainers.
This is going to be an amazing weekend
full of panels, interactive games,
and live performances
with lots of surprises,
like the man in my life,
who also happens to be
the best producer ever.
Let's give it up for Sung-K!
[CROWD CHANTING]
Sung-K is here with me
to announce something very special.
We'll be releasing an album together
all duets, written and produced by us.
Yoonie!
And we can't wait
to close K-Bash performing
- our first single together.
- Yoonie, it's me!
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
- Stop, that's far enough.
- Yoonie, it's me!
- Miss, calm down.
- I still love you, Yoonie
through the good and not so good.
Don't forget that.
What the hell is wrong with you?
I love you all too.
Now, who's ready for our first act?
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
It's you.
[SOFT JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]
The online reviews say that this one
is nearly impossible to complete.
- They haven't met me yet.
- [BOTH CHUCKLING]
You're good, Mercer.
But I think you've met your match.
Ah, indeed I have.
- I love this.
- Hmm.
I can't remember the last time
I committed to a no-tech evening.
No TV, no computers, no phones
nothing to distract me
from the pleasure of your company.
To be honest, I'm surprised
how long you've managed this.
I have everything I need
right in front of me.
Mm.
More surprises are waiting
later tonight.
- Any hints?
- Mm.
The keyword being "later,"
after we finish this puzzle.
The concept of goal gradients says
if we're close to finishing something
- Hmm?
- We won't be able to stop.
[KNOCKING AT DOOR]
Must be dinner.
- Hold that thought.
- Mm, holding it.
[LAUGHS]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
Rose, I need your help.
♪
I was at the festival all day.
I wanted to clear my head,
so I walked over
to the park near the hotel.
Without your security?
I know it was stupid,
but I just wanted some alone time.
And it was late, and the park was empty.
I didn't think anyone would notice me.
Do they know where you are right now?
I texted them I was okay
and not to worry.
I didn't trust anyone besides you.
What happened when you were at the park?
I walked over to the fountain
and heard someone crying.
It sounded like
a woman in pain.
So I rushed over toward the noise,
and that's when I saw Mia
bleeding in the bushes.
Mia? You know the victim?
Not really.
Or not well.
I mean, she's a sasaeng.
It's Korean for what
Americans would call a stan.
- So she was stalking you?
- No.
She's like a super fan who follows me
from city to city, goes to all my shows.
Mia runs one of my fan sites.
But at K-Bash tonight,
she tried to rush the stage.
I mean, sasaengs can get
obsessive,
but they're harmless mostly.
So, when you found her, she was injured.
She'd been beaten and stabbed
with a glass bottle
[STAMMERS] I think.
I mean, there was
shattered glass everywhere.
Did you call an ambulance,
get her to a hospital?
There was no time.
I mean, she was dying.
And I tried to save her,
but it was too late.
The same person who tried
to charge me onstage
my fingerprints are probably everywhere.
I didn't know what else to do,
so I came to you.
Rose.
This a former client?
I did some image-consulting work
after her ex-boyfriend's DUI.
Big scandal in Korea.
Could have derailed her career.
This can do worse than that.
We need to get the police there
and an ambulance.
Looks like they're already there.
♪
I have to ask, did you have
anything to do with this?
No.
You know I wouldn't kill anyone.
Okay.
I'll do my best to protect you.
Hey, be careful.
The clothes you're wearing,
they're evidence now.
I know you don't want to hear this,
but we need to get her to the police.
I can't. Rose, please.
He's right.
We need to be ahead of this.
If we don't go to them,
they will come to us.
♪
We just processed the crime scene.
It was brutal.
You're saying your client
was there around 10:00?
Yes.
She was a witness to the aftermath.
Right.
And the victim was a fan of yours?
One of the biggest.
We got a livestream video from a witness
where we can hear
a woman screaming at 9:50 p.m.
That's 10 minutes
before you say you found her.
So where were you before then?
I don't remember exactly.
Walking from my hotel to the park.
You're staying at the
Four Seasons, though, right?
That's a few miles away.
So you just coincidentally
happened to be in the same park
as the person
who charged at you onstage,
who is also now a murder victim?
I was trying to stop the bleeding.
But it was too late.
♪
All I could do was
hold her hand.
♪
Detective Mendoza,
Yoonie came here of her own accord.
Come on, you got to admit,
her story is strange.
And after watching a young woman die,
she doesn't call the police,
she runs to a fixer?
[SCOFFS] This is what
she's been trained to do.
Her record label has arranged
everything for her
since she was 10 years old.
The principle of obedience to authority
can make us do things
we ordinarily wouldn't do
because an authority figure tells us to.
Okay. Dr. Mercer, you've helped us
with a number of cases over the years.
You're buying this?
Maybe the average person
would go to the police,
but a 26-year-old with
a multimillion-dollar empire
I'd say her actions would
likely deviate from the norm.
Her story still has more
holes than a golf course.
Can I help you?
Where is the detective in charge?
Who are they?
Yoonie's boyfriend, Sung-K,
and Yoonie's manager, Ji-Ho.
Uh, hi. Detective Mendoza.
Can I help you?
Do you have any idea who she is?
Not here. Let me talk to them.
You can't question her without a lawyer.
I didn't hear her ask for a lawyer.
She is asking now.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
Any more questions go through them.
Yoonie, come.
Rose, we'll talk later.
♪
Make sure your client
doesn't leave town.
You're saying she really is a suspect.
I'm saying Yoonie Kang stays in D.C.
- until we know who killed Mia.
- [CELL PHONE RINGING]
Hello?
♪
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]
It looks like Mia
was struck over the head
and then stabbed with a broken bottle.
Probably not premeditated.
Hey.
I just got off with
the district attorney's office.
I don't know who you know,
but I'm guessing
someone there owes you a favor.
A magician never reveals her tricks.
The DA's giving you a 48-hour
media embargo on this case,
so you're on the clock.
We'll need to act fast
assuming you're assisting me with this.
Detective Mendoza isn't wrong.
There are a lot of
inconsistencies in Yoonie's story.
Yoonie said that she was
trying to stop the bleeding
and then held Mia's hand
while she was dying.
But Mia's hands are clean.
If Yoonie was telling the truth,
both of their hands
would be covered in blood.
- Why lie about that?
- You think she's guilty?
I think she's hiding something.
Maybe so, but I've known
Yoonie a long time.
Nothing suggests to me
that she's capable
of not only murder
but a brutal one at that.
And if our investigation
starts to prove otherwise?
Then we'll tell the police, of course.
But it doesn't make sense.
Why would a pop star kill
her biggest fan?
[TENSE MUSIC]
[KNOCKING]
SAC Allen.
♪
Hi.
Oh, hey.
Special Agent Clark, good morning.
Sorry, Taylor's new album just dropped.
Ah.
It's great to finally meet you.
I heard about how you broke down
that drug-trafficking operation
in Texas.
- I'm excited to work together.
- Thank you.
Well, have a seat. Let's talk.
- Gummy bear?
- No, thank you.
Now, I know it's been
an incredibly rough year for you.
I admit that it has not been
the easiest year of my life,
but I assure you, my work
has not been suffering.
No, it isn't.
It looks to me like you've been
working 24 hours a day.
Well, last I checked,
criminals aren't exactly nine-to-fivers.
No.
But it's my understanding
that this department lost
a number of agents this year,
and over 40% cited burnout
as the reason.
Which means most of them didn't.
I'm sorry?
You said 40%,
which means 60% were just fine
with the workload.
Maybe so.
But I'd like to improve things here,
which is why I'm cutting
your caseload by 25%.
You're welcome.
Rose.
Lucy Cha, Yoonie's U.S. publicist.
I need to clear up some inconsistencies
in Yoonie's story from last night.
I'm sorry, but Yoonie can't
discuss this matter any further.
You can speak to me.
That what you want, Yoonie?
[TENSE MUSIC]
You're gonna scare her all over again.
I can't believe you took her
to the cops.
If I hadn't, she might have
been arrested already.
The DA kept her name
out of the press, thanks to me.
The label is aware of the situation.
I assured them that
we have it under control.
Right now I think it's best
to focus on why we're here.
Yoonie's album drops in a month.
We can't afford another public scandal,
not after last time.
So no one cares that
a young woman, a fan, is dead?
Of course we care,
but Mia wasn't exactly
some starstruck kid.
Mia was a troll.
Created multiple fan accounts
to start fights online,
harass anyone who disagreed with her,
even doxed her rivals.
You're saying a lot of people
had conflicts with her?
Even other fans, yeah.
But, you know,
Yoonie loves all of her fans.
You're the fixer, Rose.
Please fix this for us.
♪
Yoonie's publicist did
all the talking,
protecting the investment.
While you were dealing
with her entourage,
DCPD was searching Mia's place.
They took her laptop into evidence.
But Detective Mendoza gave us permission
to see if we could find
anything they didn't.
Then what are we waiting for?
[CHUCKLES] See you in a minute.
♪
Look at this place the colors,
the posters, everything.
It's a shrine to Yoonie.
Strong signs of idol identity diffusion.
What's that?
Mia doesn't have
a great sense of who she is,
so she intermixed
her own identity with Yoonie's.
She lived alone, worked from home,
made Yoonie her whole world.
Every photo, she's with
a different group of people.
So her only friends
were other Yoonie stans.
- Am I using that word right?
- [CHUCKLES]
I take it Yoonie and Sung-K
weren't Mia's favorite couple.
♪
#Yoon-Dae-4eva.
- It's their shipping name.
- I get that.
But who's this guy?
Yoonie's ex-boyfriend Dae-Min.
Dae-Min.
Dae-Min's a former
child actor and musician
turned adult heartthrob
and reformed troublemaker, because
Okay, relationships between K-pop idols
can be taboo, so they couldn't hook up
until Yoonie's no-dating clause
ended when she turned 22.
- They were together for about a year.
- What happened?
Dae-Min was driving and lost control.
Yoonie was in the car,
but, luckily, no one was hurt.
He got a DUI.
Caused a huge scandal in Korea
and a very public breakup.
Six months later,
Yoonie's dating Sung-K,
but lots of her fans
are still loyal to Dae-Min.
It completely divided her fan base.
Why do they care?
It's not their relationship.
That's how parasocial
relationships work.
One-sided connections
where people imagine
a personal bond with someone
they don't actually know.
Sounds like they could use a hobby.
Maybe this is their hobby.
How do you know all this K-pop drama?
Well, I went through,
like, a minor K-pop phase
in undergrad, but it's in the past.
Okay, fine, I still go
to a Stray Kids concert
every once in a while sue me.
You know, some fans can
suffer from team identification.
They feel a psychological connection
to a team performance
as validation for their own self-worth.
Maybe one of her fans took it too far?
A lot of Yoonie's supporters
are in town for K-Bash.
All it takes is one.
I still have access
to my old alt fan accounts,
so I can look into
Mia's online activity.
A phase, he said.
- Two semesters, I swear!
- It's okay.
Your closeted standom
is the perfect gateway
into Mia's world.
Well, take a look at this.
Dae-Min blocked Mia months ago.
Why would Dae-Min block
one of his biggest supporters?
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
- Dae-Min
- [SIGHS]
Thanks for meeting me
on such short notice.
Everything okay?
I need to ask you
some questions regarding Mia,
one of Yoonie's fans
who you blocked online.
Yeah, her. What about her?
She was murdered last night,
and Yoonie is considered
a person of interest.
Wait, what?
Yoonie couldn't kill anyone.
I agree, but I have to ask,
where were you last night
around 10:00 p.m.?
In my hotel room getting ready for bed.
You, during K-Bash? Come on.
There must have been
a million parties last night.
I was tired.
So why did you block Mia?
Mia was obsessive.
Yoonie and I broke up,
and Mia couldn't let it go.
I've got over 2 million followers.
Mia isn't the only person
I've had to block.
Mia have any enemies online
I should know about?
Mia had a lot of enemies.
But there was one fan
who was just as bad as Mia.
They got into it a lot.
- You know this fan's name?
- He goes by YoonieVerse.
After my DUI, he robocalled me so much,
I had to change my number four times.
So he's very protective
of Yoonie and not fond of you.
But he hated Mia even more
once threatened to fill her
full of holes.
If you're looking for someone
who had real beef with Mia,
I'd start with YoonieVerse.
Looks like YoonieVerse is a guy.
Claims to be the number-one
fan page for all Yoonie stats.
He's in town for K-Bash.
So he basically posts daily updates
of Yoonie's hits and chart positions?
When he's not debating
wild fan conspiracy theories.
His profile indicates he's pragmatic,
driven by facts, and confrontational.
Which gives me an idea.
Phoebe did an experiment
to test the best way
to get people to respond
to surveys.
We tested two groups.
Our control was given questions
with typical open-ended
blank spaces to respond.
Our second group
was given surveys
with prewritten
incorrect answers.
Both groups were told
they didn't have to respond
to the questions.
Phoebe found that when
students were given surveys
with missing information,
they were less inclined
to respond.
But when given surveys
with prewritten
incorrect answers,
students had a compulsion
to correct that information.
I think we can work with that.
We just need some
deep-dive fan knowledge
that only a hard-core stan
like YoonieVerse would know.
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
♪
[DEVICE BEEPING]
♪
YoonieVerse's socials confirm
he's at the event.
[TAPPING ON MICROPHONE]
Welcome to the Yoonie Kang Fan Brunch.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
I'm your host,
and you've all been invited
to this very exclusive event
because you are the biggest
Yoonie fans on the planet.
Give yourselves a round of applause!
Congratulations.
All right, we're gonna kick things off
with some Yoonie trivia.
So everyone knows
Yoonie's favorite color is
ALL: Purple.
So much so that she mentions
the word "purple"
in Korean in count them
six of her songs.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
But here's a tough one.
Anyone remember
what shape her earrings were
at the 2021 Korean Music Awards?
Anybody?
Too hard, huh?
- They were triangles.
- They were stars, actually.
All right, I'm sure everyone knows
Yoonie was born on April 2nd,
which is why her favorite
numbers are 4 and 2.
But did you also know
that she was born at 4:02 a.m.?
Okay, wrong!
Her birth certificate says
she was born at 2:40 a.m.,
but in an interview
with a Korean magazine,
she said she was born at 2:40 p.m.
4:02 is just wrong.
[SCOFFS] Whoa.
Five bucks that's YoonieVerse.
- Yeah.
- [CROWD GASPING]
- Um
- He's a troll.
I had to cancel my account
because of him.
He doxed me because I refused to delete
a Dae-Min appreciation post.
- Someone should dox him.
- Yeah, dox YoonieVerse.
- No.
- Good idea!
You're a real tough guy
behind a keyboard.
- See how he likes it.
- Don't.
- Yeah, take his picture.
- Get out of the way!
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
- Alec! Alec! You're hurt.
- I'm fine.
See if you can get him.
I'll call Mendoza.
- Okay.
- Security!
Suspect is heading east past vendors.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[GRUNTING]
♪
Out of the way.
♪
Mia trolled me online,
so I kind of flamed her.
But that was, like, months ago.
I mean, honestly, I've been trying
to bury the hatchet
since K-Bash started.
I asked to buy her a drink,
but she was too busy
staking out the fountain.
"The fountain"?
Yoonie posted something
about three waterfalls at midnight,
and Mia was convinced
that it was a coded message
about going to the fountain
3 miles from the hotel.
So she started staking it out
every night,
hoping that Yoonie would show up.
Finally told her I'd meet her there.
- Did you?
- I flaked.
I went to a party.
I mean, I texted her to see
if she wanted to come with,
but she was determined
to talk to Yoonie.
And now you're saying that Mia's dead?
- Anyone see you at that party?
- [SCOFFS]
Only, like, 100 people. Ask anyone.
It was at the Marriott. [SCOFFS]
You said she wanted to talk to Yoonie,
not see her or get an autograph,
or get a selfie with her?
Mia went on this witch hunt
trying to find incriminating
information about Sung-K.
- The boyfriend?
- Did she find something?
Mia claimed to have some dirt
that would open Yoonie's eyes.
That's why she rushed
the stage that night.
She wanted to give it to her.
We need to talk to Sung-K.
♪
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
Marisa, great to see you.
Agent Allen, that's
a heavy piece of machinery
- you got there.
- Well, let's be real.
The coffee here kind of sucks.
I did the whole barista thing in college
and love making my own anyway.
Come by my office.
- I'll make you a cup.
- Oh, no, thanks.
I'm already heavily caffeinated.
Oh, well, let me know.
Bad coffee isn't good for the soul.
I emailed your office about
a program I'm implementing.
The agency escape room.
Sorry I didn't respond.
It's gonna be so fun.
The theme is "space odyssey."
All the other agents seem to be
really excited about it.
And it's after work?
- Mm-hmm.
- This evening?
Just for a couple hours.
Optional, of course.
This job can do a number on you.
You know, long hours,
anxiety, depression.
Sometimes a little night out
can be just the difference.
- [ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
- This is my floor.
Okay.
When people feel better,
they work better.
Don't you think?
Sung-K isn't answering his phone.
Lucy said he moved out of the hotel
due to security concerns.
That's not at all suspicious.
Detective Mendoza didn't have
any luck either.
[SIGHS] The label's private
jet is still at the airport.
So I'm betting he's still in the area.
- [CELL PHONE BUZZING]
- Hopefully Detective Mendoza got
all of Mia's phone records.
Looks like they back up
YoonieVerse's story.
His alibi checks out too.
Wait a minute.
Some of these messages are
between Yoonie and Mia.
Yoonie told us she didn't know Mia well.
Looks like they were
messaging one another
on Yoonie's private account.
Her label monitors all
her official public accounts.
She's probably not allowed to DM fans.
Or maybe she didn't want anybody to know
what they were talking about.
Time stamps show they've been
messaging for months.
Wow.
Hours before the murder,
Yoonie's last text message to her is,
"Leave me alone, you lunatic.
You're ruining my life!"
I hate to even think this,
but Yoonie's lies are piling up.
I bet you Detective Mendoza
is thinking the exact same thing.
[HANDCUFFS CLICKING]
- Let's go.
- I didn't do this.
You have to believe me.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING]
Out of the way. People, please.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
We're here for you, Yoonie!
♪
You know, when I first met Mia,
I barely had any friends at all.
She came to one of my
promo shows when I was 15.
And that's when you gave her
your private account info.
I know what people think of Mia,
how she acts online.
People think she's crazy,
possessive, obsessive.
But she was nothing like that.
Well, not at first, anyway.
"At first"?
I was dumb enough to think
that's what friendship
actually looked like.
When Dae-Min and I broke up,
a lot of the fans got mad.
But Mia would send me
these funny memes and videos
to make me feel better.
Sometimes celebrities form
unhealthy relationships with their fans.
Mia was an emotional pacifier
when Yoonie needed one.
So this friendship was
mutually beneficial.
When it was announced
that I was dating Sung-K,
she just flipped.
She wouldn't stop messaging me
about breaking up with him.
I finally got sick of it,
and that's why I told her
to leave me alone.
Mia had become so attached,
she felt betrayed.
Maybe because Yoonie
didn't tell Mia first.
So it sounds like now you
were the one who felt betrayed.
I guess, a little.
But I swear, I didn't kill her.
[SIGHS]
I know how it looks.
But, Alec, I believe her.
You lied about how close
you were to Mia.
Why should I believe you?
Now she's pushing
this escape-room thing on us,
in the middle of the week?
She should not be interfering
with an agent's personal time.
You have personal time?
That is not the point.
[CHUCKLES] And what would you be doing?
Not this agency space odyssey.
[CHUCKLES]
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
I was hoping to get someone
a little more capable.
[DOOR CLOSES]
Not to throw shade on Raina, but
But here comes the shade.
She was better on her résumé.
Oh. Girl, that's harsh. [CHUCKLES]
I know, that's not fair.
I just thought that we would get an SAC
who understood the Bureau
and the way that we run things here.
All right, I'm gonna say this.
It's possible that what you're feeling
stems from the "not invented here" bias.
[LAUGHS] And what is that, Alec, Jr.?
It happens when we reject ideas
because they come from someone else.
Ask yourself,
do I really not like Raina's ideas,
or am I a little biased
because they're not my own?
♪
Yoonie connecting with Mia
isn't surprising.
But then Mia turned on her.
Or maybe they turned on each other.
So Mia rushes Yoonie onstage
and shows up at the fountain.
Yoonie tells her to leave.
It gets ugly. Maybe she attacks her.
Or maybe it was somebody else.
We still haven't located Sung-K.
And we're looking for him,
but we have to entertain
the very real possibility
that it was Yoonie.
Detective Mendoza,
someone here to see you.
Where's Yoonie?
I need to talk to whoever's in charge.
Dae-Min, what are you doing?
I'd like to confess.
Yoonie didn't kill Mia.
I did.
♪
Mia was getting more and more
aggressive after I blocked her.
So I went to the park to clear my head.
That's when I saw her.
So you just happened to run into her?
She was stalking me probably.
She charged at me.
All I could do was pick up
that bottle in self-defense.
I didn't mean to kill her.
That's a good story,
but that's not what Yoonie told us.
Well, she's lying.
Please.
Just tell me what I need
to say, and I'll say it.
♪
Just the truth, Dae-Min.
[INHALES DEEPLY]
Rose.
[DOOR OPENS]
Will you give us a second, please?
♪
Obviously, he was lying to protect her.
Obviously, he thought you'd
be able to help him do that.
Why?
[SIGHS]
The night of the car accident
Yoonie was the one driving drunk.
She crashed the car.
Yoonie's people called me.
I knew that if she was caught
drinking and driving,
her career would be over.
You coached Dae-Min and Yoonie
through a falsified DUI?
Dae-Min was already
an established actor and a man.
The Korean press would be
more forgiving.
I figured he wouldn't be
punished as much,
if at all.
I laid out the options,
and Dae-Min insisted on taking the fall.
They made a mistake, Alec,
and my job was to fix it.
No one was hurt, and neither of
them have touched alcohol since.
Dae-Min got a slap on the wrist.
Ultimately, the label
forced them to break up.
♪
Unless that's not what happened.
♪
Good news. Your ex-boyfriend confessed.
We'll process your paperwork
so you can go.
What? No, that's crazy.
I know for a fact
that Dae-Min didn't kill Mia.
You seem awfully sure
for someone who wasn't there.
♪
You're sure because he was with you,
wasn't he?
♪
The two of you were together
the night Mia was killed,
weren't you?
It's obedience to authority.
You would rather be charged with murder
than go up against your label
and admit you're together?
You don't understand,
okay? It's not just about us.
My whole family in Korea,
they depend on me.
If my label drops me, everyone suffers.
Yoonie, we'll keep this to ourselves,
but you have to tell us what happened.
We met in his hotel room
at the Fairmont.
He was walking me home.
And that's when you found Mia?
She was already bleeding out.
I tried to stop the bleeding.
Dae-Min held her hand.
That's why there was no blood
on Mia's hands.
She handed him something
before she died
a necklace.
Dae-Min thought we should throw it away,
but somehow I couldn't.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
I'm sorry about Mia.
I'm sorry she's dead.
I'm sorry I wasn't
a better friend to her.
But I didn't kill her.
And neither did Dae-Min.
♪
Alibi checks out.
Looks like they both wore
hoodies to disguise themselves.
Livestream picked up
Mia screaming at 9:50.
Camera footage shows Yoonie and Dae-Min
exiting the Fairmont at 9:49.
So they can go?
Yeah, just tell your clients
to stick around
in case we need to follow up.
You should probably go.
Well, it looks like
I'm back to square one
on who did kill Mia.
Mm.
Not exactly.
This isn't just a necklace.
It's a flash drive.
It took a while,
but I was able to decrypt
the flash drive.
It turns out it was
Sung-K's financial statements.
Long story short, he has been
defrauding his artists.
How did he pull that off?
Mm, he's got
a fairly sophisticated scheme.
Sung-K registered in non-Korean markets
as the sole writer and producer
on all the work he's done for artists.
That way, he nets
all the international
publishing royalties.
And none of his artists
realize they're being ripped off.
He must be making millions this way.
Then he funnels the money
into American investments.
So you think Sung-K stealing
from his artists
may have something to do
with Mia's murder?
Or Mia was hell-bent on proving
that Sung-K wasn't
good enough for Yoonie.
If she knew he was stealing,
it's only a matter of time
before she goes public,
which could ruin him.
That sounds like motive.
You two need to find Sung-K now.
I tried reaching him.
Everyone is stonewalling.
I texted Yoonie.
She's not responding either.
Then we follow the money.
You got a list of those
American investments?
I'm sure I can find it.
So Sung-K has a club.
That man is on Yoonie
and Sung-K's security team.
My gut tells me
that Sung-K is hiding out here.
Hopefully we can talk our way in.
- Hello, Lance.
- Rose.
Club's not open yet.
We're here to see Sung-K.
He's busy. Doesn't want to be disturbed.
He actually called me earlier
and asked to speak to me.
He said no visitors.
That means no one.
Your body language
on the phone just now had
all the excitement
of a new relationship.
I'm guessing that wasn't your wife.
You and Julia have been
married, what, seven years?
It's all right. I won't tell her.
All you need to do is let us in.
♪
You were stealing money from artists
and hiding it in places like this club.
I don't know what you're talking about.
We found your signature
on every document,
every bank statement.
You know I'm going to have to
turn all of that over to the FBI.
I thought you were supposed to help us.
Yoonie is my client
and could go to prison
for something you did.
One thing I won't do is help
someone get away with murder.
Wait, what?
You think I killed Mia?
The last thing Mia did before she died
was give Yoonie the evidence.
Why did she do that, do you think?
Because Mia hated me.
Everybody knows that.
But I swear, I didn't kill her.
Then why hide here?
They told me to.
You can ask Yoonie.
We have to do whatever they say.
Who told you to?
Sung-K
♪
Tell me how the scheme worked.
What do you mean?
The royalties, the transactions
you signed for explain that to me.
How does a money-laundering
operation work?
I
Sung-K, tell us who put you up to this.
[SPEAKING KOREAN]
♪
[TENSE MUSIC]
Going somewhere?
♪
[SPEAKING KOREAN]
What's going on?
What's going on is Ji-Ho killed Mia
because she knew about
a money-laundering scheme
worth millions of dollars.
The only thing she had wrong
was who was behind it.
Ji-Ho, you got to put the gun down.
Yoonie and I are going back to Korea.
You'll be extradited.
I'll take my chances.
Yoonie, you don't have to go anywhere.
He wants to convince you
that you need him,
but you don't.
He forced you into
that relationship with Sung-K.
He monitored your phone calls.
He read all your text messages.
That's how he knew
you and Dae-Min were together.
He was gonna confront
you both that night,
but he ran into Mia first.
In that necklace, she had proof
that Sung-K and Ji-Ho
were stealing from you.
That's why he killed her.
[SIREN WAILING]
Oh, and we called the FBI.
It sounds like they're on their way,
and they'll probably bring
a trained sniper.
If they see you with a gun
on her, they'll kill you.
♪
He won't shoot me.
I'm worth way too much to him.
[SIRENS WAILING]
- [TIRES SCREECHING]
- FBI! Drop your weapon!
Hands! Let me see your hands!
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
♪
Oh, hey. Got a second?
Of course.
Sorry that I missed the escape room.
I was finishing up some work.
Oh, don't sweat it.
You weren't the only one with
more important things to do.
A lot of last-minute cancellations.
Well, if it helps,
I don't think it was to spite you.
People love doing
those kinds of activities.
They just don't want to feel
like it's part of the job.
I guess I made a huge miscalculation.
I know that it's important
to come in with your own big ideas.
Well, actually,
they weren't my big ideas.
When I was at Quantico,
I attended an ethics
and behavior seminar,
and one of the agents spoke to my class
about the importance
of team-bonding exercises.
You are talking about me.
You spoke so passionately
about agents' emotional health.
I wrote down everything you said.
I had a lot of big ideas back then,
and I have learned a lot since.
So
why didn't you take this job?
[SOFT MUSIC]
I thought that I would be
more useful in the field.
Okay, I love it.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
Maybe you're right.
The Bureau could use
a fresh perspective.
Maybe we work together
new ideas meets experience.
I like that.
How about we start over?
Now, that sounds like a great idea.
♪
So[SIGHS]
Do you want to try to resuscitate
our tech-free evening?
[CHUCKLES]
I thought maybe we should talk first
about my work.
Okay.
Let's talk about it.
I don't think of myself as a liar.
But sometimes it requires me to be
less than honest.
- The fudge factor.
- What?
Studies show that most people are able
to lie and cheat just a little bit,
even though they see themselves
as very honest.
We like to think of ourselves
as perfect,
but we're far from it.
I'm not sure if I did
the right thing back then.
I'm also not sure
I wouldn't do it again.
Rose
you are a smart woman
with a complex profession.
You wouldn't tell me how to do my job,
and I'm not gonna tell you
how to do yours.
That's not what I'm worried about.
What are you worried about, then?
That knowing what I do
and how I need to do it
might make it hard to trust me.
I wouldn't be
falling in love with somebody
that I couldn't trust.
[SOFT MUSIC]
♪
And I love you, Alec
so much.
♪
I feel your heart
[SINGING IN KOREAN]
In my heart ♪
[SINGING IN KOREAN]
♪
- Your song is great.
- [SIGHS]
Yeah, I think Mia would have loved it.
I'm dedicating the album to her memory.
I'm glad you're recording again,
and here in the States.
I couldn't have done it
without you and Alec.
You gave me my life back.
♪
Just glad we could help.
I thought the label wanted you
to do your next album in English.
What label?
We've decided to part ways, amicably.
Good for you.
A change of environment could be
just what you need.
Maybe.
For so long, I just did whatever Ji-Ho
and the record company told me,
even when I didn't agree.
I don't want to do that anymore.
I think I'm gonna go independent,
give it a shot on my own.
Taking a chance on yourself
that's brave and admirable.
And this time around,
we're gonna write our own songs.
[SINGING IN KOREAN]
♪
Forever with you
♪
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Let's hear it
for tonight's emcee,
your favorite idol
- Yoonie Kang!
- [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Hello, Washington, D.C.!
Welcome to K-Bash!
- [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
- Thank you.
You truly are the best fans
in the world.
I'm so grateful to be here with you
and all the other Korean
singers and entertainers.
This is going to be an amazing weekend
full of panels, interactive games,
and live performances
with lots of surprises,
like the man in my life,
who also happens to be
the best producer ever.
Let's give it up for Sung-K!
[CROWD CHANTING]
Sung-K is here with me
to announce something very special.
We'll be releasing an album together
all duets, written and produced by us.
Yoonie!
And we can't wait
to close K-Bash performing
- our first single together.
- Yoonie, it's me!
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
- Stop, that's far enough.
- Yoonie, it's me!
- Miss, calm down.
- I still love you, Yoonie
through the good and not so good.
Don't forget that.
What the hell is wrong with you?
I love you all too.
Now, who's ready for our first act?
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
It's you.
[SOFT JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]
The online reviews say that this one
is nearly impossible to complete.
- They haven't met me yet.
- [BOTH CHUCKLING]
You're good, Mercer.
But I think you've met your match.
Ah, indeed I have.
- I love this.
- Hmm.
I can't remember the last time
I committed to a no-tech evening.
No TV, no computers, no phones
nothing to distract me
from the pleasure of your company.
To be honest, I'm surprised
how long you've managed this.
I have everything I need
right in front of me.
Mm.
More surprises are waiting
later tonight.
- Any hints?
- Mm.
The keyword being "later,"
after we finish this puzzle.
The concept of goal gradients says
if we're close to finishing something
- Hmm?
- We won't be able to stop.
[KNOCKING AT DOOR]
Must be dinner.
- Hold that thought.
- Mm, holding it.
[LAUGHS]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
Rose, I need your help.
♪
I was at the festival all day.
I wanted to clear my head,
so I walked over
to the park near the hotel.
Without your security?
I know it was stupid,
but I just wanted some alone time.
And it was late, and the park was empty.
I didn't think anyone would notice me.
Do they know where you are right now?
I texted them I was okay
and not to worry.
I didn't trust anyone besides you.
What happened when you were at the park?
I walked over to the fountain
and heard someone crying.
It sounded like
a woman in pain.
So I rushed over toward the noise,
and that's when I saw Mia
bleeding in the bushes.
Mia? You know the victim?
Not really.
Or not well.
I mean, she's a sasaeng.
It's Korean for what
Americans would call a stan.
- So she was stalking you?
- No.
She's like a super fan who follows me
from city to city, goes to all my shows.
Mia runs one of my fan sites.
But at K-Bash tonight,
she tried to rush the stage.
I mean, sasaengs can get
obsessive,
but they're harmless mostly.
So, when you found her, she was injured.
She'd been beaten and stabbed
with a glass bottle
[STAMMERS] I think.
I mean, there was
shattered glass everywhere.
Did you call an ambulance,
get her to a hospital?
There was no time.
I mean, she was dying.
And I tried to save her,
but it was too late.
The same person who tried
to charge me onstage
my fingerprints are probably everywhere.
I didn't know what else to do,
so I came to you.
Rose.
This a former client?
I did some image-consulting work
after her ex-boyfriend's DUI.
Big scandal in Korea.
Could have derailed her career.
This can do worse than that.
We need to get the police there
and an ambulance.
Looks like they're already there.
♪
I have to ask, did you have
anything to do with this?
No.
You know I wouldn't kill anyone.
Okay.
I'll do my best to protect you.
Hey, be careful.
The clothes you're wearing,
they're evidence now.
I know you don't want to hear this,
but we need to get her to the police.
I can't. Rose, please.
He's right.
We need to be ahead of this.
If we don't go to them,
they will come to us.
♪
We just processed the crime scene.
It was brutal.
You're saying your client
was there around 10:00?
Yes.
She was a witness to the aftermath.
Right.
And the victim was a fan of yours?
One of the biggest.
We got a livestream video from a witness
where we can hear
a woman screaming at 9:50 p.m.
That's 10 minutes
before you say you found her.
So where were you before then?
I don't remember exactly.
Walking from my hotel to the park.
You're staying at the
Four Seasons, though, right?
That's a few miles away.
So you just coincidentally
happened to be in the same park
as the person
who charged at you onstage,
who is also now a murder victim?
I was trying to stop the bleeding.
But it was too late.
♪
All I could do was
hold her hand.
♪
Detective Mendoza,
Yoonie came here of her own accord.
Come on, you got to admit,
her story is strange.
And after watching a young woman die,
she doesn't call the police,
she runs to a fixer?
[SCOFFS] This is what
she's been trained to do.
Her record label has arranged
everything for her
since she was 10 years old.
The principle of obedience to authority
can make us do things
we ordinarily wouldn't do
because an authority figure tells us to.
Okay. Dr. Mercer, you've helped us
with a number of cases over the years.
You're buying this?
Maybe the average person
would go to the police,
but a 26-year-old with
a multimillion-dollar empire
I'd say her actions would
likely deviate from the norm.
Her story still has more
holes than a golf course.
Can I help you?
Where is the detective in charge?
Who are they?
Yoonie's boyfriend, Sung-K,
and Yoonie's manager, Ji-Ho.
Uh, hi. Detective Mendoza.
Can I help you?
Do you have any idea who she is?
Not here. Let me talk to them.
You can't question her without a lawyer.
I didn't hear her ask for a lawyer.
She is asking now.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
Any more questions go through them.
Yoonie, come.
Rose, we'll talk later.
♪
Make sure your client
doesn't leave town.
You're saying she really is a suspect.
I'm saying Yoonie Kang stays in D.C.
- until we know who killed Mia.
- [CELL PHONE RINGING]
Hello?
♪
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]
It looks like Mia
was struck over the head
and then stabbed with a broken bottle.
Probably not premeditated.
Hey.
I just got off with
the district attorney's office.
I don't know who you know,
but I'm guessing
someone there owes you a favor.
A magician never reveals her tricks.
The DA's giving you a 48-hour
media embargo on this case,
so you're on the clock.
We'll need to act fast
assuming you're assisting me with this.
Detective Mendoza isn't wrong.
There are a lot of
inconsistencies in Yoonie's story.
Yoonie said that she was
trying to stop the bleeding
and then held Mia's hand
while she was dying.
But Mia's hands are clean.
If Yoonie was telling the truth,
both of their hands
would be covered in blood.
- Why lie about that?
- You think she's guilty?
I think she's hiding something.
Maybe so, but I've known
Yoonie a long time.
Nothing suggests to me
that she's capable
of not only murder
but a brutal one at that.
And if our investigation
starts to prove otherwise?
Then we'll tell the police, of course.
But it doesn't make sense.
Why would a pop star kill
her biggest fan?
[TENSE MUSIC]
[KNOCKING]
SAC Allen.
♪
Hi.
Oh, hey.
Special Agent Clark, good morning.
Sorry, Taylor's new album just dropped.
Ah.
It's great to finally meet you.
I heard about how you broke down
that drug-trafficking operation
in Texas.
- I'm excited to work together.
- Thank you.
Well, have a seat. Let's talk.
- Gummy bear?
- No, thank you.
Now, I know it's been
an incredibly rough year for you.
I admit that it has not been
the easiest year of my life,
but I assure you, my work
has not been suffering.
No, it isn't.
It looks to me like you've been
working 24 hours a day.
Well, last I checked,
criminals aren't exactly nine-to-fivers.
No.
But it's my understanding
that this department lost
a number of agents this year,
and over 40% cited burnout
as the reason.
Which means most of them didn't.
I'm sorry?
You said 40%,
which means 60% were just fine
with the workload.
Maybe so.
But I'd like to improve things here,
which is why I'm cutting
your caseload by 25%.
You're welcome.
Rose.
Lucy Cha, Yoonie's U.S. publicist.
I need to clear up some inconsistencies
in Yoonie's story from last night.
I'm sorry, but Yoonie can't
discuss this matter any further.
You can speak to me.
That what you want, Yoonie?
[TENSE MUSIC]
You're gonna scare her all over again.
I can't believe you took her
to the cops.
If I hadn't, she might have
been arrested already.
The DA kept her name
out of the press, thanks to me.
The label is aware of the situation.
I assured them that
we have it under control.
Right now I think it's best
to focus on why we're here.
Yoonie's album drops in a month.
We can't afford another public scandal,
not after last time.
So no one cares that
a young woman, a fan, is dead?
Of course we care,
but Mia wasn't exactly
some starstruck kid.
Mia was a troll.
Created multiple fan accounts
to start fights online,
harass anyone who disagreed with her,
even doxed her rivals.
You're saying a lot of people
had conflicts with her?
Even other fans, yeah.
But, you know,
Yoonie loves all of her fans.
You're the fixer, Rose.
Please fix this for us.
♪
Yoonie's publicist did
all the talking,
protecting the investment.
While you were dealing
with her entourage,
DCPD was searching Mia's place.
They took her laptop into evidence.
But Detective Mendoza gave us permission
to see if we could find
anything they didn't.
Then what are we waiting for?
[CHUCKLES] See you in a minute.
♪
Look at this place the colors,
the posters, everything.
It's a shrine to Yoonie.
Strong signs of idol identity diffusion.
What's that?
Mia doesn't have
a great sense of who she is,
so she intermixed
her own identity with Yoonie's.
She lived alone, worked from home,
made Yoonie her whole world.
Every photo, she's with
a different group of people.
So her only friends
were other Yoonie stans.
- Am I using that word right?
- [CHUCKLES]
I take it Yoonie and Sung-K
weren't Mia's favorite couple.
♪
#Yoon-Dae-4eva.
- It's their shipping name.
- I get that.
But who's this guy?
Yoonie's ex-boyfriend Dae-Min.
Dae-Min.
Dae-Min's a former
child actor and musician
turned adult heartthrob
and reformed troublemaker, because
Okay, relationships between K-pop idols
can be taboo, so they couldn't hook up
until Yoonie's no-dating clause
ended when she turned 22.
- They were together for about a year.
- What happened?
Dae-Min was driving and lost control.
Yoonie was in the car,
but, luckily, no one was hurt.
He got a DUI.
Caused a huge scandal in Korea
and a very public breakup.
Six months later,
Yoonie's dating Sung-K,
but lots of her fans
are still loyal to Dae-Min.
It completely divided her fan base.
Why do they care?
It's not their relationship.
That's how parasocial
relationships work.
One-sided connections
where people imagine
a personal bond with someone
they don't actually know.
Sounds like they could use a hobby.
Maybe this is their hobby.
How do you know all this K-pop drama?
Well, I went through,
like, a minor K-pop phase
in undergrad, but it's in the past.
Okay, fine, I still go
to a Stray Kids concert
every once in a while sue me.
You know, some fans can
suffer from team identification.
They feel a psychological connection
to a team performance
as validation for their own self-worth.
Maybe one of her fans took it too far?
A lot of Yoonie's supporters
are in town for K-Bash.
All it takes is one.
I still have access
to my old alt fan accounts,
so I can look into
Mia's online activity.
A phase, he said.
- Two semesters, I swear!
- It's okay.
Your closeted standom
is the perfect gateway
into Mia's world.
Well, take a look at this.
Dae-Min blocked Mia months ago.
Why would Dae-Min block
one of his biggest supporters?
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
- Dae-Min
- [SIGHS]
Thanks for meeting me
on such short notice.
Everything okay?
I need to ask you
some questions regarding Mia,
one of Yoonie's fans
who you blocked online.
Yeah, her. What about her?
She was murdered last night,
and Yoonie is considered
a person of interest.
Wait, what?
Yoonie couldn't kill anyone.
I agree, but I have to ask,
where were you last night
around 10:00 p.m.?
In my hotel room getting ready for bed.
You, during K-Bash? Come on.
There must have been
a million parties last night.
I was tired.
So why did you block Mia?
Mia was obsessive.
Yoonie and I broke up,
and Mia couldn't let it go.
I've got over 2 million followers.
Mia isn't the only person
I've had to block.
Mia have any enemies online
I should know about?
Mia had a lot of enemies.
But there was one fan
who was just as bad as Mia.
They got into it a lot.
- You know this fan's name?
- He goes by YoonieVerse.
After my DUI, he robocalled me so much,
I had to change my number four times.
So he's very protective
of Yoonie and not fond of you.
But he hated Mia even more
once threatened to fill her
full of holes.
If you're looking for someone
who had real beef with Mia,
I'd start with YoonieVerse.
Looks like YoonieVerse is a guy.
Claims to be the number-one
fan page for all Yoonie stats.
He's in town for K-Bash.
So he basically posts daily updates
of Yoonie's hits and chart positions?
When he's not debating
wild fan conspiracy theories.
His profile indicates he's pragmatic,
driven by facts, and confrontational.
Which gives me an idea.
Phoebe did an experiment
to test the best way
to get people to respond
to surveys.
We tested two groups.
Our control was given questions
with typical open-ended
blank spaces to respond.
Our second group
was given surveys
with prewritten
incorrect answers.
Both groups were told
they didn't have to respond
to the questions.
Phoebe found that when
students were given surveys
with missing information,
they were less inclined
to respond.
But when given surveys
with prewritten
incorrect answers,
students had a compulsion
to correct that information.
I think we can work with that.
We just need some
deep-dive fan knowledge
that only a hard-core stan
like YoonieVerse would know.
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
♪
[DEVICE BEEPING]
♪
YoonieVerse's socials confirm
he's at the event.
[TAPPING ON MICROPHONE]
Welcome to the Yoonie Kang Fan Brunch.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
I'm your host,
and you've all been invited
to this very exclusive event
because you are the biggest
Yoonie fans on the planet.
Give yourselves a round of applause!
Congratulations.
All right, we're gonna kick things off
with some Yoonie trivia.
So everyone knows
Yoonie's favorite color is
ALL: Purple.
So much so that she mentions
the word "purple"
in Korean in count them
six of her songs.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
But here's a tough one.
Anyone remember
what shape her earrings were
at the 2021 Korean Music Awards?
Anybody?
Too hard, huh?
- They were triangles.
- They were stars, actually.
All right, I'm sure everyone knows
Yoonie was born on April 2nd,
which is why her favorite
numbers are 4 and 2.
But did you also know
that she was born at 4:02 a.m.?
Okay, wrong!
Her birth certificate says
she was born at 2:40 a.m.,
but in an interview
with a Korean magazine,
she said she was born at 2:40 p.m.
4:02 is just wrong.
[SCOFFS] Whoa.
Five bucks that's YoonieVerse.
- Yeah.
- [CROWD GASPING]
- Um
- He's a troll.
I had to cancel my account
because of him.
He doxed me because I refused to delete
a Dae-Min appreciation post.
- Someone should dox him.
- Yeah, dox YoonieVerse.
- No.
- Good idea!
You're a real tough guy
behind a keyboard.
- See how he likes it.
- Don't.
- Yeah, take his picture.
- Get out of the way!
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
- Alec! Alec! You're hurt.
- I'm fine.
See if you can get him.
I'll call Mendoza.
- Okay.
- Security!
Suspect is heading east past vendors.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[GRUNTING]
♪
Out of the way.
♪
Mia trolled me online,
so I kind of flamed her.
But that was, like, months ago.
I mean, honestly, I've been trying
to bury the hatchet
since K-Bash started.
I asked to buy her a drink,
but she was too busy
staking out the fountain.
"The fountain"?
Yoonie posted something
about three waterfalls at midnight,
and Mia was convinced
that it was a coded message
about going to the fountain
3 miles from the hotel.
So she started staking it out
every night,
hoping that Yoonie would show up.
Finally told her I'd meet her there.
- Did you?
- I flaked.
I went to a party.
I mean, I texted her to see
if she wanted to come with,
but she was determined
to talk to Yoonie.
And now you're saying that Mia's dead?
- Anyone see you at that party?
- [SCOFFS]
Only, like, 100 people. Ask anyone.
It was at the Marriott. [SCOFFS]
You said she wanted to talk to Yoonie,
not see her or get an autograph,
or get a selfie with her?
Mia went on this witch hunt
trying to find incriminating
information about Sung-K.
- The boyfriend?
- Did she find something?
Mia claimed to have some dirt
that would open Yoonie's eyes.
That's why she rushed
the stage that night.
She wanted to give it to her.
We need to talk to Sung-K.
♪
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
Marisa, great to see you.
Agent Allen, that's
a heavy piece of machinery
- you got there.
- Well, let's be real.
The coffee here kind of sucks.
I did the whole barista thing in college
and love making my own anyway.
Come by my office.
- I'll make you a cup.
- Oh, no, thanks.
I'm already heavily caffeinated.
Oh, well, let me know.
Bad coffee isn't good for the soul.
I emailed your office about
a program I'm implementing.
The agency escape room.
Sorry I didn't respond.
It's gonna be so fun.
The theme is "space odyssey."
All the other agents seem to be
really excited about it.
And it's after work?
- Mm-hmm.
- This evening?
Just for a couple hours.
Optional, of course.
This job can do a number on you.
You know, long hours,
anxiety, depression.
Sometimes a little night out
can be just the difference.
- [ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
- This is my floor.
Okay.
When people feel better,
they work better.
Don't you think?
Sung-K isn't answering his phone.
Lucy said he moved out of the hotel
due to security concerns.
That's not at all suspicious.
Detective Mendoza didn't have
any luck either.
[SIGHS] The label's private
jet is still at the airport.
So I'm betting he's still in the area.
- [CELL PHONE BUZZING]
- Hopefully Detective Mendoza got
all of Mia's phone records.
Looks like they back up
YoonieVerse's story.
His alibi checks out too.
Wait a minute.
Some of these messages are
between Yoonie and Mia.
Yoonie told us she didn't know Mia well.
Looks like they were
messaging one another
on Yoonie's private account.
Her label monitors all
her official public accounts.
She's probably not allowed to DM fans.
Or maybe she didn't want anybody to know
what they were talking about.
Time stamps show they've been
messaging for months.
Wow.
Hours before the murder,
Yoonie's last text message to her is,
"Leave me alone, you lunatic.
You're ruining my life!"
I hate to even think this,
but Yoonie's lies are piling up.
I bet you Detective Mendoza
is thinking the exact same thing.
[HANDCUFFS CLICKING]
- Let's go.
- I didn't do this.
You have to believe me.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING]
Out of the way. People, please.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
We're here for you, Yoonie!
♪
You know, when I first met Mia,
I barely had any friends at all.
She came to one of my
promo shows when I was 15.
And that's when you gave her
your private account info.
I know what people think of Mia,
how she acts online.
People think she's crazy,
possessive, obsessive.
But she was nothing like that.
Well, not at first, anyway.
"At first"?
I was dumb enough to think
that's what friendship
actually looked like.
When Dae-Min and I broke up,
a lot of the fans got mad.
But Mia would send me
these funny memes and videos
to make me feel better.
Sometimes celebrities form
unhealthy relationships with their fans.
Mia was an emotional pacifier
when Yoonie needed one.
So this friendship was
mutually beneficial.
When it was announced
that I was dating Sung-K,
she just flipped.
She wouldn't stop messaging me
about breaking up with him.
I finally got sick of it,
and that's why I told her
to leave me alone.
Mia had become so attached,
she felt betrayed.
Maybe because Yoonie
didn't tell Mia first.
So it sounds like now you
were the one who felt betrayed.
I guess, a little.
But I swear, I didn't kill her.
[SIGHS]
I know how it looks.
But, Alec, I believe her.
You lied about how close
you were to Mia.
Why should I believe you?
Now she's pushing
this escape-room thing on us,
in the middle of the week?
She should not be interfering
with an agent's personal time.
You have personal time?
That is not the point.
[CHUCKLES] And what would you be doing?
Not this agency space odyssey.
[CHUCKLES]
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
I was hoping to get someone
a little more capable.
[DOOR CLOSES]
Not to throw shade on Raina, but
But here comes the shade.
She was better on her résumé.
Oh. Girl, that's harsh. [CHUCKLES]
I know, that's not fair.
I just thought that we would get an SAC
who understood the Bureau
and the way that we run things here.
All right, I'm gonna say this.
It's possible that what you're feeling
stems from the "not invented here" bias.
[LAUGHS] And what is that, Alec, Jr.?
It happens when we reject ideas
because they come from someone else.
Ask yourself,
do I really not like Raina's ideas,
or am I a little biased
because they're not my own?
♪
Yoonie connecting with Mia
isn't surprising.
But then Mia turned on her.
Or maybe they turned on each other.
So Mia rushes Yoonie onstage
and shows up at the fountain.
Yoonie tells her to leave.
It gets ugly. Maybe she attacks her.
Or maybe it was somebody else.
We still haven't located Sung-K.
And we're looking for him,
but we have to entertain
the very real possibility
that it was Yoonie.
Detective Mendoza,
someone here to see you.
Where's Yoonie?
I need to talk to whoever's in charge.
Dae-Min, what are you doing?
I'd like to confess.
Yoonie didn't kill Mia.
I did.
♪
Mia was getting more and more
aggressive after I blocked her.
So I went to the park to clear my head.
That's when I saw her.
So you just happened to run into her?
She was stalking me probably.
She charged at me.
All I could do was pick up
that bottle in self-defense.
I didn't mean to kill her.
That's a good story,
but that's not what Yoonie told us.
Well, she's lying.
Please.
Just tell me what I need
to say, and I'll say it.
♪
Just the truth, Dae-Min.
[INHALES DEEPLY]
Rose.
[DOOR OPENS]
Will you give us a second, please?
♪
Obviously, he was lying to protect her.
Obviously, he thought you'd
be able to help him do that.
Why?
[SIGHS]
The night of the car accident
Yoonie was the one driving drunk.
She crashed the car.
Yoonie's people called me.
I knew that if she was caught
drinking and driving,
her career would be over.
You coached Dae-Min and Yoonie
through a falsified DUI?
Dae-Min was already
an established actor and a man.
The Korean press would be
more forgiving.
I figured he wouldn't be
punished as much,
if at all.
I laid out the options,
and Dae-Min insisted on taking the fall.
They made a mistake, Alec,
and my job was to fix it.
No one was hurt, and neither of
them have touched alcohol since.
Dae-Min got a slap on the wrist.
Ultimately, the label
forced them to break up.
♪
Unless that's not what happened.
♪
Good news. Your ex-boyfriend confessed.
We'll process your paperwork
so you can go.
What? No, that's crazy.
I know for a fact
that Dae-Min didn't kill Mia.
You seem awfully sure
for someone who wasn't there.
♪
You're sure because he was with you,
wasn't he?
♪
The two of you were together
the night Mia was killed,
weren't you?
It's obedience to authority.
You would rather be charged with murder
than go up against your label
and admit you're together?
You don't understand,
okay? It's not just about us.
My whole family in Korea,
they depend on me.
If my label drops me, everyone suffers.
Yoonie, we'll keep this to ourselves,
but you have to tell us what happened.
We met in his hotel room
at the Fairmont.
He was walking me home.
And that's when you found Mia?
She was already bleeding out.
I tried to stop the bleeding.
Dae-Min held her hand.
That's why there was no blood
on Mia's hands.
She handed him something
before she died
a necklace.
Dae-Min thought we should throw it away,
but somehow I couldn't.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
I'm sorry about Mia.
I'm sorry she's dead.
I'm sorry I wasn't
a better friend to her.
But I didn't kill her.
And neither did Dae-Min.
♪
Alibi checks out.
Looks like they both wore
hoodies to disguise themselves.
Livestream picked up
Mia screaming at 9:50.
Camera footage shows Yoonie and Dae-Min
exiting the Fairmont at 9:49.
So they can go?
Yeah, just tell your clients
to stick around
in case we need to follow up.
You should probably go.
Well, it looks like
I'm back to square one
on who did kill Mia.
Mm.
Not exactly.
This isn't just a necklace.
It's a flash drive.
It took a while,
but I was able to decrypt
the flash drive.
It turns out it was
Sung-K's financial statements.
Long story short, he has been
defrauding his artists.
How did he pull that off?
Mm, he's got
a fairly sophisticated scheme.
Sung-K registered in non-Korean markets
as the sole writer and producer
on all the work he's done for artists.
That way, he nets
all the international
publishing royalties.
And none of his artists
realize they're being ripped off.
He must be making millions this way.
Then he funnels the money
into American investments.
So you think Sung-K stealing
from his artists
may have something to do
with Mia's murder?
Or Mia was hell-bent on proving
that Sung-K wasn't
good enough for Yoonie.
If she knew he was stealing,
it's only a matter of time
before she goes public,
which could ruin him.
That sounds like motive.
You two need to find Sung-K now.
I tried reaching him.
Everyone is stonewalling.
I texted Yoonie.
She's not responding either.
Then we follow the money.
You got a list of those
American investments?
I'm sure I can find it.
So Sung-K has a club.
That man is on Yoonie
and Sung-K's security team.
My gut tells me
that Sung-K is hiding out here.
Hopefully we can talk our way in.
- Hello, Lance.
- Rose.
Club's not open yet.
We're here to see Sung-K.
He's busy. Doesn't want to be disturbed.
He actually called me earlier
and asked to speak to me.
He said no visitors.
That means no one.
Your body language
on the phone just now had
all the excitement
of a new relationship.
I'm guessing that wasn't your wife.
You and Julia have been
married, what, seven years?
It's all right. I won't tell her.
All you need to do is let us in.
♪
You were stealing money from artists
and hiding it in places like this club.
I don't know what you're talking about.
We found your signature
on every document,
every bank statement.
You know I'm going to have to
turn all of that over to the FBI.
I thought you were supposed to help us.
Yoonie is my client
and could go to prison
for something you did.
One thing I won't do is help
someone get away with murder.
Wait, what?
You think I killed Mia?
The last thing Mia did before she died
was give Yoonie the evidence.
Why did she do that, do you think?
Because Mia hated me.
Everybody knows that.
But I swear, I didn't kill her.
Then why hide here?
They told me to.
You can ask Yoonie.
We have to do whatever they say.
Who told you to?
Sung-K
♪
Tell me how the scheme worked.
What do you mean?
The royalties, the transactions
you signed for explain that to me.
How does a money-laundering
operation work?
I
Sung-K, tell us who put you up to this.
[SPEAKING KOREAN]
♪
[TENSE MUSIC]
Going somewhere?
♪
[SPEAKING KOREAN]
What's going on?
What's going on is Ji-Ho killed Mia
because she knew about
a money-laundering scheme
worth millions of dollars.
The only thing she had wrong
was who was behind it.
Ji-Ho, you got to put the gun down.
Yoonie and I are going back to Korea.
You'll be extradited.
I'll take my chances.
Yoonie, you don't have to go anywhere.
He wants to convince you
that you need him,
but you don't.
He forced you into
that relationship with Sung-K.
He monitored your phone calls.
He read all your text messages.
That's how he knew
you and Dae-Min were together.
He was gonna confront
you both that night,
but he ran into Mia first.
In that necklace, she had proof
that Sung-K and Ji-Ho
were stealing from you.
That's why he killed her.
[SIREN WAILING]
Oh, and we called the FBI.
It sounds like they're on their way,
and they'll probably bring
a trained sniper.
If they see you with a gun
on her, they'll kill you.
♪
He won't shoot me.
I'm worth way too much to him.
[SIRENS WAILING]
- [TIRES SCREECHING]
- FBI! Drop your weapon!
Hands! Let me see your hands!
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
♪
Oh, hey. Got a second?
Of course.
Sorry that I missed the escape room.
I was finishing up some work.
Oh, don't sweat it.
You weren't the only one with
more important things to do.
A lot of last-minute cancellations.
Well, if it helps,
I don't think it was to spite you.
People love doing
those kinds of activities.
They just don't want to feel
like it's part of the job.
I guess I made a huge miscalculation.
I know that it's important
to come in with your own big ideas.
Well, actually,
they weren't my big ideas.
When I was at Quantico,
I attended an ethics
and behavior seminar,
and one of the agents spoke to my class
about the importance
of team-bonding exercises.
You are talking about me.
You spoke so passionately
about agents' emotional health.
I wrote down everything you said.
I had a lot of big ideas back then,
and I have learned a lot since.
So
why didn't you take this job?
[SOFT MUSIC]
I thought that I would be
more useful in the field.
Okay, I love it.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
Maybe you're right.
The Bureau could use
a fresh perspective.
Maybe we work together
new ideas meets experience.
I like that.
How about we start over?
Now, that sounds like a great idea.
♪
So[SIGHS]
Do you want to try to resuscitate
our tech-free evening?
[CHUCKLES]
I thought maybe we should talk first
about my work.
Okay.
Let's talk about it.
I don't think of myself as a liar.
But sometimes it requires me to be
less than honest.
- The fudge factor.
- What?
Studies show that most people are able
to lie and cheat just a little bit,
even though they see themselves
as very honest.
We like to think of ourselves
as perfect,
but we're far from it.
I'm not sure if I did
the right thing back then.
I'm also not sure
I wouldn't do it again.
Rose
you are a smart woman
with a complex profession.
You wouldn't tell me how to do my job,
and I'm not gonna tell you
how to do yours.
That's not what I'm worried about.
What are you worried about, then?
That knowing what I do
and how I need to do it
might make it hard to trust me.
I wouldn't be
falling in love with somebody
that I couldn't trust.
[SOFT MUSIC]
♪
And I love you, Alec
so much.
♪
I feel your heart
[SINGING IN KOREAN]
In my heart ♪
[SINGING IN KOREAN]
♪
- Your song is great.
- [SIGHS]
Yeah, I think Mia would have loved it.
I'm dedicating the album to her memory.
I'm glad you're recording again,
and here in the States.
I couldn't have done it
without you and Alec.
You gave me my life back.
♪
Just glad we could help.
I thought the label wanted you
to do your next album in English.
What label?
We've decided to part ways, amicably.
Good for you.
A change of environment could be
just what you need.
Maybe.
For so long, I just did whatever Ji-Ho
and the record company told me,
even when I didn't agree.
I don't want to do that anymore.
I think I'm gonna go independent,
give it a shot on my own.
Taking a chance on yourself
that's brave and admirable.
And this time around,
we're gonna write our own songs.
[SINGING IN KOREAN]
♪
Forever with you
♪
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪