Why Does Kim Yoo-jung's Character Quit Over a Test Set by Her Own Allies in 100 Days of Lies?

Jinyoung's Sato Hideo muttered a curse at the end of the 18th's episode of tvN's weekend drama 100 Days of Lies, after Lee Mu-saeng's Yu Philip put an arm around Kim Yoo-jung's Lee Ga-kyung and played the part of her lover. The jealous outburst capped an episode that moved from armed intimidation to a quiet hospital scene, and it showed how the drama is using its love triangle to carry the larger spy plot.

The episode opened with Lee Ga-kyung dragged off by armed men, threatened and beaten. Pressed to name who was behind her, she refused to break. She told them she was no spy, that the only force behind her was the twenty million people of Joseon, and she shouted for Korean independence.

The ordeal turned out to be a test arranged by the Gukguk-dan, the independence group she is working with. Learning this, Lee Ga-kyung did not take it as a compliment. She asked whether they had not trusted her enough to give her the task, told them to stage a play properly if they were going to stage one, and said she was quitting. Why, she asked, would she risk her life as a spy for people who did not trust her?

A gun drawn, and a confession

Yu Philip responded by aiming his gun at her. Yu So-ran (Kim Hyun-joo) stepped in front of her and aimed back, defusing the standoff. She then disclosed a tragic personal history: Seohui, she said, is the name of her daughter, killed by the Governor-General's chief of staff, and she told Lee Ga-kyung she needed her help.

Yu So-ran also asked Yu Philip to share everything about Lee Ga-kyung's situation. Her private remark added a colder note: the group believed Lee Ga-kyung would not betray them easily, and she must never learn that there was no way to send her to the United States in the first place.

Sato Hideo's quiet concern

Sato Hideo, meanwhile, had noticed that Lee Ga-kyung was limping from the previous day's injury, and he followed her without being seen. She assumed he was there to monitor the elevator and was prickly with him, but she recognized his concern and asked for help. He took her to a hospital.

Lee Ga-kyung, awkward at being treated for her own pain, joked that she was bruised all over. Sato Hideo bandaged her foot himself. Touched, she thanked him, adding that it was not a lie but sincere.

His worry shifted to Yu Philip. Sato Hideo told her he had to keep friendly relations with Yu Philip, and that she had used the same connection to get into the Government-General. If her professed feelings for him were real, he said, she should keep them hidden from Yu Philip. He asked whether Yu Philip hit her. She avoided answering.

Then Yu Philip appeared. To pull her away from Sato Hideo, he wrapped an arm around her waist and posed as her partner. Sato Hideo, watching, cursed under his breath.

The scene works because both men are performing for different audiences, and Lee Ga-kyung is caught between them. Whether Sato Hideo's concern or Yu Philip's act proves the more dangerous is something later episodes will need to settle.