LTNS (2024) K Drama Episode 2

Episode 2 of LTNS starts with another frisky make-out session, this time between Kwak Byung-woo and Lee Ga-young. Byung-woo is a married man who stops the session, saying that he needs to go home, but first, they enjoy some drip coffee sitting in the boot of his car.

He talks about how meeting Ga-young was destiny even though he is already married, and they promise to love each other forever since marriage is the tomb of love. 

Meanwhile, Woo Jin and Samuel experience financial troubles with their family. Samuel’s father’s birthday is coming up, and he must contribute towards the party and the gifts. Woo Jin’s niece is a genius, and her mother needs help covering the expenses for her tuition, piano lessons, and study abroad.

Their first target turns out to be a prosecutor, so Samuel thinks they should give up on blackmailing him. The second target falls on Woo Jin’s lap when the housekeeper at the hotel asks for her help dealing with a client who left the room too messy for them to clean up. Woo Jin finds a smartwatch at the hotel, and she has a reason to call the client back to come pick it up. The woman happens to be Ga-young, and the watch belongs to Byung-woo. 

We learn that Woo Jin and Samuel’s plan is for Woo Jin to take note of cheaters who book a room at the hotel; then Samuel picks them up in his car and secretly follows them around, taking incriminating photos. Ga-young and Byung-woo became their first target. They live in the same neighbourhood, and Byung-woo’s wife is pregnant. 

The couple starts to get closer on the spy missions, and Samuel asks about Woo Jin’s past and wonders if she has ever dated a married man. Woo Jin quickly answers no, changes the subject, and starts asking about the evidence Samuel has collected so far. She tells him they need conclusive proof, like a photo of their targets walking into a motel together. Samuel thinks it would not be conclusive since he has ever walked into a motel to sleep with a friend. Woo Jin gets curious, but Samuel says it was long ago and drops the subject.

Woo Jin notices Samuel’s drowsiness and decides to book a room for them at a motel nearby. As they lay in bed, Woo Jin asks Samuel why he had earlier asked for hourly booking, and he says it was out of habit since Woo Jin always wanted them to do the hourly booking and preferred the suites.

Woo Jin is surprised that Samuel still remembers and says he has forgotten nothing about them. Samuel expresses his satisfaction that they are sleeping under the same cover, saying they have not done that for a long time. Samuel rolls over to hug Woo Jin, and she asks if that is a signal for them to have sex. Samuel says he was trying to hug her since they hadn’t slept close together for a long time. 

Woo Jin thinks that they should have sex since it is essential for a married couple. She suggests just closing her eyes as he penetrates her, but Samuel does not like the idea since it feels like something animals would do during mating season. Therefore, he suggests they say nice things they want about each other and try to get in the mood, but it does not work.

Eventually, they get bored and get back to sleep, setting their alarms to wake up at four in the morning to get back on the stakeout. Samuel likes that they get to spend a lot of time together.

Suddenly, Woo Jin brings up the topic of the prosecutor whom they gave up on blackmailing earlier. She thinks it is challenging for them to go after someone higher up while getting photos and addresses of the middle-class target is easy. She believes it is infuriating that they can easily harass the middle class while they can never touch the higher-ups, just like how it would be easy for them to get harassed. 

The next scene delves deeper into their targets, and we learn they are colleagues at the same bank. During lunchtime, their targets meet at the parking lot to have lunch and some hot car sex before going back to the office. Woo Jin and Samuel take videos of their moments in the car and have the final evidence they need to blackmail Byung-woo. 

Byung-woo receives an iPad with the incriminating videos and photos and a message asking for 15 million or else they expose his adulterous affair. He tries to ask Ga-young for help with the money, but it ends badly. Byung-woo leaves the money at a fire hydrant on the roof, and Woo-jin is on the lookout while an extremely nervous Samuel picks up the money. Byung-woo left term 7 million with a letter begging for forgiveness since that is all he could get.

With the 7 million, Woo Jin and Samuel hold an extravagant birthday party for Samuel’s father, and Woo Jin helps his sister pay for her niece’s sessions. At the end of the episode, a person wearing a delivery person’s costume leaves an envelope in what looks like Byung-woo’s delivery box. 

The Episode Review

The episode is realistic, especially in Samuel’s restrained, nervous, and anxious character. It shows that it is his first time blackmailing someone and that he empathises with his targets. He feels terrible for the lady when she starts crying after Byung-woo leaves and thinks asking for 20 million is a lot of money, given that their targets are not rich. Regardless, Woo Jin and Samuel make a good team, and watching them try to pull off their plans is exciting.

The episode has subtle thought-provoking themes, such as how it is easy to harass the poor while the rich are untouchable even when they are in the wrong. Despite this episode’s smut and questionable morals, I can’t wait to see who becomes their target next. Will Woo Jin and Samuel continue to grow closer as they spend more time together on the stakeouts?