My Lovely Liar (2023) Episode 13

My Lovely Liar episode 13 starts with Do-ha accosting Eom-ji’s dad at a bar and demanding to know if he killed his daughter. Eom-ji’s alcoholic dad thinks Eom-ji might have been killed by his creditors, who had warned him they would use her to settle his debts. Instead of protecting his daughter, this jerk took out an expensive life insurance on her. 

He didn’t tell the police about his last call with Eom-ji, where she said she wanted to die. He thought it better to claim the insurance money and let bygones be bygones. Do-ha is shocked to hear this from Eom-ji’s dad, and Sol-hee confirms he is not lying.

Doo-mok grabs Eom-ji’s dad and demands to know the real culprit. At the same time, Jae-chan is among the crowd watching this scene unfold. Eom-ji’s dad sees and points to him.  He claims Jae-chan followed Eom-ji around all the time. Jae-chan takes off running and gets on his bike. 

Do-ha gets in his car and chases him. Doo-mok grabs Sol-hee and follows the two men. The chase continues for a while before Jae-chan eventually stops, believing he has outrun Do-ha. Fortunately for us, Do-ha is still on his tail and catches him off guard. He grabs him by the collar and insists on knowing if he killed Eom-ji. 

Jae-chan jokes he killed her and claims she was having an affair with him. Sol-hee arrives just in time to inform Do-ha that Jae-chan is lying. Jae-chan uses this as a distraction and grabs Sol-hee. He pulls out his knife and threatens to kill her if they don’t let him go. He asks for Do-ha’s car keys, releases  Sol-hee and takes off in a hurry. Do-ha hugs Sol-hee, but she is frustrated he sets Jae-chan free. However, Do-ha only cares about her safety.

They drive back home, and Do-ha thanks Sol-hee for helping him. He is afraid she is having a hard time because of him, but she assures him she is fine. As Sol-hee sleeps during the ride, Do-ha thinks about Jae-chan being the possible culprit. 

The following morning, they wake up and realize they both slept in the car. Do-ha tells Sol-hee that he intends to visit Deuk-chan to ask him about Jae-chan. Sol-hee asks to tag along, but Do-ha refuses. He trusts Deuk-chan will understand and help.

At Haekcheon police station, another reporter chases down Jin-hyuk, hoping for an interview. He manages to meet Jin-hyuk, but he refuses to talk about the case. Still, in Hakcheon, Gang-min investigates the case on his own and speaks to a witness. The witness tells him about seeing Do-ha and Eom-ji at the beach. It seemed like the two were in a disagreement. 

Gang-min wonders why the witness statement was never included in the case files and remembers Eom-ho’s warning not to trust the Hakcheon police. He later confronts Jin-hyuk about taking a bribe from Yeon-mi to protect Do-ha by messing up the evidence. Jin-hyuk denies these allegations and threatens Gang-min.The nosy reporter eavesdrops on their conversation.

In the meantime, Do-ha visits Deuk-chan in his office, and the staff is shocked to see him. Deuk-chan starts by telling him not to pay too much attention to the reports in the news. Do-ha asks about Jae-chan and why he was in Hakcheon. Deuk-chan claims maybe Jae-chan was gambling there.

He denies the possibility of his brother liking Eom-ji and wonders why Do-ha is talking about this. Do-ha admits he suspects Jae-chan, and Deuk-chan is disappointed. He reminds Do-ha that he can’t do this to him; they have come a long way. He asks Do-ha to leave his office.

On the other hand, Tae-seob visits Sol-hee’s cafe and finds it closed. Sol-hee closed to focus on helping Do-ha. Cho-rok informs Sol-hee that a man is looking for her and points to Tae-seob. Sol-hee is happy to see her dad, and they head for a meal at a restaurant. She is curious about how he is doing, and he says he has been well.

He is, however, worried about her relationship with Do-ha and that she might get hurt. However, she also clarifies that Do-ha is innocent. She tells her dad how Do-ha makes her happy and treats her well. She is glad he doesn’t lie to her and believes her. 

Tae-seob decides to support her and tells her to help Do-ha without holding back. After their meal, Sol-hee offers to give him some upkeep money, and he refuses. At the same time, Hyang-sook calls demanding she send 5,000 dollars to her account. Tae-seob grabs the phone and heavily scolds her for using their daughter as an ATM machine. Hyang-sook is too surprised to say anything. 

The scene cuts to her at a restaurant, waiting for her date. It is another old man, probably a widow. He gifts her a Chanel necklace, but she clearly doesn’t like him. She can barely stand him holding her hand. She only wants his money.

Later that night, Do-ha thinks about Deuk-chan’s words. He also worries he was too harsh on Sol-hee when she asked to tag along to see Deuk-chan. He goes to her place to apologise and finds her looking for her pet turtle. The turtle managed to get out of his fish tank.

He helps her find it, and she is relieved. She admits that the turtle is her only confidant and has had him since she was young. She trusts no friends and relies on her pet to keep her secret.

She also admits she was angry with Do-ha for not letting her tag along, but she understands his decision. She says she envies him for having good friends like Deuk-chan, who believe him. While he hangs out with Sol-hee, he gets a text from Gang-min asking to meet. They meet, and Gang-min asks what he remembers from the night Eom-ji was killed. 

Do-ha admits she was never at the bar with Deuk-chan. He also wonders why a witness is coming up now. He wants to tell the truth and find the culprit, who he believes is Jae-chan. Gang-min finds this strange since Deuk-chan and Jae-chan are the alibis listed for Do-ha in the case files. Do-ha explains he is innocent and wants to prove it. He also asks Gamg-min not to ask for secret meetings anymore. He says he can’t lie, nor does he intend to lie to Sol-hee. 

Elsewhere, Jin-hyuk’s sick daughter takes a turn for the worse, and the doctors ask him to brace for what is coming. The next day, he meets with Yeon-mi, who casually brings his daughter up, and Jin-hyuk takes it as a threat. He lashes out at her and says she can’t use Min-ji’s hospital bills to leverage his help. He angrily leaves, but Yeon-mi seems unperturbed by his outburst. 

In the meantime, Do-ha and Sol-hee work together to find Jae-chan. They stop by his restaurant and find another man looking for him. He claims Jae-chan ran away with his money. Sol-hee pretends to be a victim, too and gets the man to give them one of Jae-chan’s acquaintance numbers. Do-ha calls the number and messes it up since he is a bad liar.  

On the other hand, Gang-min thinks about Do-ha’s confidence in his innocence. He gets a call from Jin-hyuk asking to meet. Jin-hyuk gives him the ring he confiscated from Eom-ji’s burial site. He comes clean about receiving bribes from Yeon-mi and explains he needed the money for his daughter’s hospital bills.  Unfortunately, the ring can’t be used as evidence anymore. Gang-min will have to find new evidence to get justice for Eom-ji. 

Gang-min continues to work the case and follows up on the ring. His partner suggests he look into jewellery designers since the ring looks unique and customized. He finds the store that made the ring and discovers a man claiming to be Do-ha once called the store (Seung-ju). He said he had lost the ring and asked for a replacement. He asks for the number, but the phone has been switched off.

Back to our other sleuths, Do-ha and Sol-hee get a call from Doo-mok, informing them his men caught Jae-chan. They rush there but are disappointed to learn Deuk-chan paid Doo-mok’s men to free Jae-chan. They decide to call Deuk-chan and see what he will say.

Deuk-chan denies seeing or hearing from Jae-chan. Unfortunately, Sol-hee can’t distinguish his lies on the phone. As for Jae-chan, he’s at Deuk-chan’s house.

Gang-min calls Sol-hee and asks to meet. He asks Do-ha about the ring and if he ever lost it. Do-ha is surprised to hear this and insists he threw his ring into the ocean and has never lost or replaced it. Logically, they agree that the ring Jin-hyuk found must belong to the real culprit. Gang-min shows Do-ha the culprit’s number, and he recognizes it as Jae-chan’s. They decide to help each other find answers by finding Jae-chan.

The scene cuts to Jae-chan sleeping on Deuk-chan’s sofa. The TV is on, and Yeon-mi is campaigning hard. The campaign was going well until a video of her conversation with Jin-hyuk leaked to the media. This creates a huge problem for her and her campaign strategy.

Yeon-mi is immediately stressed, but it gets worse; Jin-hyuk comes forward on a show and admits to taking bribes from her. Do-ha also sees the news and decides to hire Sol-hee for her services.  He texts Do-ha and apologises before asking to meet.

They meet at the Oasis Jazz Club, and Sol-hee listens to the conversation in secret. Do-ha starts by apologising again and revealing he sometimes plays the piano at the club.  He then asks about the ring and whether Deuk-chan believes it belongs to Do-ha. Sol-hee signals that Deuk-chan is lying when he says the ring is Do-ha’s. Next, Do-ha asks about Jae-chan, and Deuk-chan says that he is probably in Haekcheon to turn himself in. 

The scene cuts to Jae-chan heading to Hakcheon police station and Sol-hee, signalling to Do-ha that  Deuk-chan is telling the truth.

The Episode Review

Jae-chan’s surrender comes as a big surprise and seems off. This was a man determined so hard to run away. Why did he turn himself in to the police? On the same note, did Deuk-chan really choose Do-ha over his brother? He is a good friend in this case, but something still feels off. 

As for Yeon-mi and Jin-hyuk, it is time to face the consequences of their actions. They messed up the whole case. They thought they were helping Do-ha but only helped the real culprit get away for five years. 

It is sad to think that Eom-ji’s dad didn’t care about her to such an extent. We now understand where Eom-ho gets some of his character! However, we do acknowledge he is a victim, too. It also explains why Eom-ji hung onto Do-ha; she wanted him to save her from such a life.