Do You Know What They Call People Like Us – The series begins with what appears to be drone footage following a path along a wooded road that eventually leads to an isolated cabin. A narrator poses the age-old question – If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? As the question is asked, there are several brief scenes that seemingly suggest a man Jeon Young-ha (Kim Yoon-Seok) has drowned a young woman in the cabin’s outdoor pool or will drown her in the future.

This suspected murderer, Jeon, is later shown driving to a Laundromat in town where he drops off a rather large load of laundry. Jeon’s brief conversation with the attendant suggests a familiarity but is soon sidelined by the arrival of Yong-Chae, and his tales of spotting a wild bar. After confirming that Yong-Chae actually saw a boar, the attendant expresses great concern for Jeon due to his cabin’s close proximity to the mountain.

Jeon and Yong-Chae later return to his cabin where Jeon maintains the cabin’s pool while Yong-Chae rants about indefinitely closing the pool due to its constant upkeep. Jeon toys with the idea of closing the entire rental until the issue with the boat is resolved.

Yoon Bo-Min (Lee Jung-Eun) attends a young girls’ soccer game before visiting the local police station. During her drive, she speaks with her husband about their recent relocation to the area. It soon becomes clear that he hasn’t joined them yet but is set to do so in the next week. She finds the station abandoned but leaves even quicker when the young, aloof officer shows up. She is gone before he even steps outside.

Gu Sang-Joon (Yoon Kye-Sang) is asleep at the reception desk of Lake View Motel when he receives a call from Jong-Du (Park Ji-Hwan), requesting his presence. Merely minutes later, he and Jong-Du are in front of the family supermarket enjoying a bowl of noodles. This is until their mother shows up and harps at them for not eating healthier. Although she offers to make them something, Gu apparently has to get back soon or face the wrath of Eun-Gyeong (Jennifer Aquino).

Gu returns just in time to help the young female tourists with their exit, but Eun-Gyeong doesn’t appear to be happy with his absence. With the hotel now seemingly empty, Gu sets out to tend to typical upkeep. As he does just that, a brief conversation between two men plays over the context. Despite the tone being conversational, it almost feels like an interrogation about the Hotel.

On his way to the Laundromat, Jeon finds a young woman Yoo Seong-Ah (Go Min-Si) stuck in the mud on the trail that leads to his cabin. After getting the vehicle out, he tells her that she likely took a wrong turn because there is nothing up ahead. Without questioning him, she leaves. It’s merely hours later that he runs into her again while dropping off Yong-Chae’s laundry. Gu not only keeps the young boy occupied while Yong-Chae shows her around the property but he attends to him much later while she tends to some shopping errands.

Yoo Seong turns down Gu’s offers for dinner that evening but does express an interest in his record player. He wastes little time showing it off to her but when he leads her to the cellar to choose from his vast collection, she apparently knows nothing of music or musical artists. He doesn’t give it much thought and chooses a record.

Gu has a bit of a strange encounter with a stranded commuter who he rescues during that afternoon’s torrential downpour. After paying for a room, the man mentions running out of gas. He also requests a smaller room on the second floor but Gu gives him a larger room for the same price. The man appears grateful but later refuses Gu’s offer to have gas delivered to the motel.

At dinner that evening, Jeon and Yong-Chae discuss everything from Jeon’s daughter, Jeon Ui-Seon (Roh Yoon-Seo), to their new guest. Surprisingly enough, Yong-Chae suspects that Yoo Seong has a career in the arts because she gives a similar vibe to Jeon’s wife. Jeon doesn’t correct his miscalculation but does mention Yoo’s refusal of dinner. Yong-Chae attributes it to young tourists wanting to be left alone while traveling. Yong soon turns the discussion to his son marrying Jeon’s daughter which appears to be a topic he is even less enthused to traverse.

Jeon is tending to some shopping errands of his own when he receives a call, seemingly from Jeon-Ui-Seon, who is inquiring about bringing along a guest during her visit. Despite that guest being male, Jeon agrees. Gu is back asleep at the reception desk of the Lake View Motel but he is woken this time by Eun-Gyeong and encouraged to go home. He ends up back at the supermarket where he convinces Jong-Du to make his lunch. They are right in the middle of enjoying that lunch when a unit of police cars speeds by with sirens and lights flashing. The police’s destination is soon revealed to be the Lake View Motel where a gaggle of spectators and reporters have already gathered.

Jeon returns from his shopping errands to find that Yoo Seong has returned to where she got stuck in the mud the day before. This time, she doesn’t appear to be stuck and is alone. He passes her by without even as much as a glance. When he returns to the cabin, he discovers an unaddressed envelope full of cash and his record playing spinning.

Gu returns to the motel to learn that the man he rented the room to was a serial killer. This eventually leads to him becoming anxious and guilt-ridden that his actions might have resulted in the death of another individual. His fears are later confirmed when he slips past the police and sees the bloodbath left behind in the second-floor room.

The episode ends with Jeon realizing that turning off the record player has left his finger covered in blood. Upon closer inspection, he learns that the blood has come from the record’s cover.

 

The Frog Review

This was somewhat of an intriguing premiere and an altogether different experience being that it was all subtitled. I didn’t even think of the possibility of flashbacks. It’s possible that some of these scenes were in fact flashbacks and I didn’t realize it. If that was the case, the creators did a poor job of indicating so. I don’t know if it was a language barrier or something else, but some of the context was confusing. Jeon’s passing by Yoo without even acknowledging her would be the perfect example.

Was she there? Was that a memory? Was she some kind of ghost? Other than tidbits such as that and the incredible difficulty of identifying the cast, I enjoyed the episode. I’d have to give it a 5.3 out of 10.

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