The Manipulated (2025) s01e02 Episode Script

The Manipulated
Wake up time is 6:20 a.m.
After morning roll call,
you go to breakfast.
Inmates with court hearings
prepare for departure.
Everyone else goes
to their assigned labor.
Exercises held
in the morning and afternoon.
Cells are locked at 5:30 p.m.,
followed by evening
roll call and then dinner.
Lights out at 9:00 p.m.
Remember, hot water
is turned on once a week.
If you behave yourself
and follow the rules,
you'll earn a Level One classification
and receive
a padded jacket for the winter.
You may even be granted parole later on.
If you're going to be in here a while,
I would recommend that you take time
to reflect on the choices you have made.
Next person.
When the day finally comes
for you to wear
your civilian clothes again,
I hope by then you'll be a changed man.
The Manipulated
LAWYER
KIM SANGRAK
I'm a public defender.
I'm not some hotshot lawyer.
I had a chance to look over your case.
Something caught my eye.
They ruled out all other suspects
from the beginning.
Everything was very calculated.
It was almost as if they were
following the script.
I, uh
I've never seen Chu Nayoung before.
I promise I'm not lying.
Still
Nobody believes me at all.
I don't agree with the prosecution.
That's why I wanted to speak with you.
Please.
Please help me, sir. I'm begging you.
I'm telling you the truth.
I swear, I didn't lay a finger on her!
Hmm.
Think. Is there anything
that might be able to corroborate
your version of what happened?
You've had plenty of time
to think it over.
Uh Uh
That's all right.
Try to think through it carefully.
Down to the tiniest detail.
Okay, any details.
Come to think of it,
there was one thing that stood out.
And it was really concerning.
-What was it?
-Well
during the trial,
I was really out of it,
so I didn't say anything.
They said they found
a bracelet at the scene, right?
EXHIBIT PHOTO 2
Someone else left that.
I don't know who but it's not mine.
I mean, I've never been there before,
so there's no way it could be mine.
My bracelet
My bracelet
It fell off in Taejin's room that night.
-Keep studying.
-I stopped by.
I took a short nap at his place.
Then I went straight out
for my delivery shift.
Are you sure?
Yes.
I'm sure.
Then we'll need to look into that.
Do you think that now, with this proof,
they'll finally admit I didn't do it?
And that I'm actually not a killer?
We can definitely open
a new angle of investigation.
Now give me the address
of where your brother is staying.
I'll look into it.
Oh, and just to be safe,
don't tell anyone that
we're looking into your case again.
-Understood?
-Okay.
Thank you so much, sir.
I really appreciate it.
Ah!
Wait, wait. Officer!
- Officer! Please, wait!
- Get in.
Get in there, you little punk!
I said get the fuck in there!
Let's go, you son of a bitch! Get in here!
Get in! On your knees, asshole!
Sit down!
How many years did you get?
Something wrong?
Hey, hey, hey. Where do you
think you're going? Come here!
- Stay down and shut up.
- Ah!
Where are you running off to?
Planning on locking yourself
in your room or something?
Now listen up.
If you force me to repeat myself again,
I'll cut off that hand of yours
and use it as a soccer ball.
Ah!
So how many years did you get?
I I'm in here for life.
Wow, you messed up big time, didn't ya?
What for?
Why? Are you ashamed?
Ashamed to say you raped a girl,
cut her up,
and dumped her body in the river?
I didn't.
I didn't do it.
Hey, get out of here!
Enough chit chat. Let's go!
I'll see you around.
Hey.
I hear you just met the boss.
You're really screwed now.
I heard you raped someone, right?
Did you like it?
Yeah. You liked it?
You want me to give you
something you'll enjoy?
You enjoying this, huh?
Hey, why the hell aren't you answering me?
What? Can't you talk?
Look at me and I'll kill you,
you little piece of shit!
These bastards always come in
and they have no respect
and no manners towards their seniors.
Seriously, this son of a bitch. Shit.
LAWYER
KIM SANGRAK
That's him. 3158.
KIM JINHUN
Ah.
You'd better pay me back soon.
Otherwise, the interest
will keep on growing.
Eat up now!
Ah.
Do you want me to spoon feed you?
Yeah!
Hey, move. Hey.
Stop it! Quit staring at him.
That guy over there is no joke.
Damn, your face is really messed up.
That guy is Yeo Deoksu.
He's in charge here.
He's got operations outside too.
When he got here, he was doing life.
But that asshole was filthy rich,
and he got it reduced to 12 years.
Hey, hey, come here.
Yeo Deoksu used to have a little sister.
But then some bastard
stuck it to her and killed her.
S Stuck it?
Stuck it to her?
What are you? Some kind of prude?
Stuck it, you know?
That's why you're here, right?
Yeo Deoksu
he's famous for tearing apart guys
who come in for that kind of thing.
Until they get out of here, it's hell.
I'll help you out, all right.
Don't worry. Come on, have some food.
Here. You like potatoes?
I'll tell you more after we eat, okay?
Hey, it's all right.
-It's okay. It's okay. Let's just talk.
-Yeah. It's okay.
-We just wanna talk.
-What are we doing here?
Don't worry. It's just Yeo Deoksu.
Hey, don't worry. Everything's fine.
Too bad you're on his bad side.
No. no, no.
Finally.
Hey, stay still!
Whoo!
It's been a while.
Let's stick it to him.
Stop it! Don't do this!
HANGING
DEATH CERTIFICATE
PARK TAEJIN
By the time I got there,
it was already too late.
Everything is too overwhelming.
STUDY WITH ME
GOAL 5 HOURS
VIDEO CANNOT BE PLAYED
I'm sorry I couldn't do anything.
CHU NAYOUNG MURDER CASE
I'm coming.
Hey, you.
What are you doing?
Huh?
What are you doing here, huh?
Where you headed, huh?
Hey, wait up.
Hey! Wait up!
The cold winds blow ♪
The darkness swallowed my soul ♪
By tearing me into pieces ♪
There is no way out ♪
No way to begin ♪
Taejoong.
You really learned a lot
-from following Mom around.
-Hmm?
When we were younger,
we learned how to do this together.
And yet why is it that my plants
always die so easily?
My Hoya Lisas are already dead.
Well, that's because
you're impatient, Taejin.
-You think?
-Yeah.
If you keep watering them like that
before the leaves dry,
then, of course, they're gonna die on you.
Even so, it's like you have this gift.
You bring them back to life
even after they're dead.
You want to know?
Here's the thing.
All you have to do
is take the root cuttings
from the ones that survived. Uh
Now that won't work with the other plants.
But, oddly enough,
it does seem to work with Hoyas.
Impressive, huh?
They're tough as hell just like you.
Come on.
Once I can get it to take root,
I'll move this one to a new pot for you.
But after that
take good care of it, okay? Don't kill it.
Tell me.
Why did you do it?
Do what?
You brought everything else back to life.
So then why did you kill yourself?
Taejin.
Go.
Leave me alone!
Get away from me! Just go!
Hold him.
Keep pressure on it.
Okay.
Hang on a second.
I've seen that guy before.
Oh, don't get me started.
This is his third suicide attempt
this month.
So, conventional
therapy isn't working.
We're currently using
other treatments. It's not easy.
Let's go.
The inmate has refused visitation.
Can't you make the request one more time?
No, please come back another day.
All right, then we'll come back.
Let's go. That's enough.
We've been coming here
every month for over a year
and he's refused every single visit?
That's a bit extreme, don't you think?
I'm sure Taejoong has his own reasons.
-We should go now. All right?
-I want to know what the reason is.
This guy keeps saying he doesn't want
to see us, and it's bullshit.
-Come on, let's get going.
-Can't you just try one more time?
I mean, we have a right
to know what's going on, please!
We can come back later. Sorry.
- Happy Easter.
- Here you are.
-Thank you very much.
-Sure.
Thank you.
Happy Easter. Enjoy.
Today is Easter Sunday.
I asked Father for permission
to let me eat with you.
I saw you crying
while I was exercising in the yard.
I bet they make fun of you for that.
Saying a grown man
shouldn't cry in front of others.
But in here, we have no choice.
There's no personal space
once you're in prison.
Taejoong.
Park Taejoong!
My name is Noh Yongsik.
But everyone calls me the altar guy.
I have some cake.
It's pretty good.
During mass
the person who assists the priest
is called an altar server.
And come to think of it,
I've been an altar server for
fifteen years already.
Even then, I'm still not used to it.
I guess it takes quite a while.
The metal beds we sleep on,
the sound of the iron doors,
the fences wrapped in high voltage wires,
and that cold, narrow strip
of concrete they call the floor.
No matter how much time passes,
it never feels like home.
Despite all of that,
you'll have to adjust quickly.
I don't think you realize yet
that this is a prison.
I remember how terrified I felt
when I first arrived.
I was miserable.
I felt furious, like I had been wronged.
For the first few months,
I could hardly breathe
under the weight of it all.
But we have to continue.
We have to survive.
DAILY SCHEDULE
Life can feel
pretty empty in prison.
But remember that even this life
is a gift from God.
So don't waste it.
Use this time to reflect on your past
and to discover your purpose here.
Man, you're slow.
You can punch faster that that, can't you?
Take up something
you've always wanted to try.
If you're out of shape,
then work out as much as you can.
CERTIFICATION TES
If you slacked off in school,
now's your chance to study.
The most important thing
is that you keep yourself busy
while you're here.
If you can do that,
then these first few years,
which I know feel impossible to endure,
will start to become more bearable.
And then one day, you'll look up
and you'll wonder
where all that time has gone.
Time is the greatest enemy
that you'll ever have to face
while you're in here.
The secret is, the only way to defeat time
is to surrender to it.
SIT-UPS
PUSH-UPS
SHADOW JUMPING
Hey, let's grab something to eat.
SIT-UPS
PUSH-UPS
SHADOW JUMPING
Hold him still.
So, you think you're tough now?
How's that?
A gift for you.
Learn to trust in the Lord.
The Lord will help you build the strength
and resilience that you need to survive.
And in reading his words,
you will learn how
to reflect on your sins.
It's good to see you eating well.
Hey!
5 YEARS LATER
It's a very good thing that
you called me right away.
It'll give me more time
to handle the situation.
I'll make it seem
as if it never even happened.
Just think of it as a security detail.
And once it's all over,
you and I, Mr. Chairman,
will be the closest friends.
Every time I come here,
more plants are sprouting.
Hey, why don't you plant
some edible stuff over here, hmm?
Vegetable prices have gone up a lot.
That scar on your face
never seems to go away.
Are the other prisoners
harassing you again?
I must have stepped on
someone else's vegetables.
Don't worry, it's no big deal.
All right.
Everyone needs a little turf of their own.
But with that said,
I still prefer your turf to theirs. Hmm.
They can try all they want.
They'll just make things
harder on themselves.
Here, look.
Someone recently
gave this to me as a gift.
But then last week, these black spots
started showing up all over.
Have you seen this before?
I guess it isn't very common.
It's nutrient deficiency.
They gave you a sun-loving plant.
So if you're keeping it indoors,
it won't survive.
Ah.
Leave it with me. I'll make sure
it gets better and I'll repot it for you.
But you have to bring me
a larger pot, okay?
All right, so
it needs a bigger pot to grow.
Okay.
I had a feeling
I knew you'd know how to take care of it.
Thank you.
Hello.
Well
who would have thought you'd end up
becoming a doctor of plants, huh?
Oh, here.
- What is this?
- Tada!
What's the occasion, hmm?
Is there some special holiday
I don't know about?
I asked Father to get one for me
when he came by today.
-Hmm. Enjoy.
-Mmm.
I think that if you stay here too long,
-you just start to wither away.
-Hmm.
The guys all brag about
the things that they did,
talking about their priors, as if
they're proud of it.
Like a badge of honor.
They forget they're supposed to be atoning
for the crimes they committed.
Taejoong.
I hope you stay exactly as you are.
You seem
off today, you know?
Oh, really?
Hey, give me your hand.
Huh?
They say you use soap
to wash the dirt off your skin
and tears to wash away
the sins from your heart.
I don't really know
what's in your heart, Taejoong, but
I hope your days
of shedding tears are behind you.
Uh, why are you acting so weird?
I mean, is everything okay?
I
I'm getting out today.
Uh-huh.
Oh.
Oh, and I already spoke to Father.
I told him today was my last day.
Which means you'll have to be
his new altar server from now on.
Mmm-hmm.
Go on.
This is really great news.
Do you have any idea what you're gonna do
once you get out of here?
My dad used to repair electronics,
so I thought I might give that a shot.
Hmm.
I didn't realize
you could still make a living
off a thing like that, I'm surprised.
Well, I have to do something.
You could save up some money
and help me open the shop.
Hmm?
-Finish.
-Okay.
Looks like spring's
coming early this year.
Hey, there's something
I always wanted to ask you.
Why were you so good to me?
I thought you were the one
being good to me.
Wasn't that how it always was?
Not true.
You were nice from the start.
But what would you have done
if I turned out to be a weirdo?
Well
I just
I just wanted to make sure
you kept on living.
I think that's why.
No one else would listen
to what I had to say.
You were the only one.
Thank you for that.
Let's go.
Yes.
Now, get going.
Noh Yongsik!
Huh?
Thank you for everything.
I'll see you.
"He who covers his sins will not prosper,
"but whoever confesses
and forsakes them will have mercy."
THE HOLY BIBLE
Ha, whoa! Look at this guy.
Nice moves, huh?
What are you looking at?
Hmm.
Come on. It's okay.
Eat it.
It's technically not allowed,
so I didn't want the others
to see you and get the wrong idea.
It's difficult
getting used to living here.
I know it can be scary,
but that's only natural.
Who wouldn't be scared of prison?
Now, I don't
want to pressure you or anything.
But here
consider believing in God.
God will give you
the strength to endure.
And he'll give you courage.
I've done nothing wrong.
Listen, what I really want to say is--
If only I hadn't gone to the park
to find the owner of that phone
then I wouldn't be sitting here right now.
What phone?
Someone used it to frame me
for a crime I didn't commit.
I found this lost phone
and the lady said she'd pay me
if I delivered it to her.
You just bring it to me yourself.
I'll pay you 300,000 won for your trouble.
The whole thing was caught
on security cameras
and was used against me in court.
They found my belongings and fingerprints
at this hideout that I'd never been to.
I swear to God,
I've never been to that place before.
I thought my alibi would be strong enough.
This public defender came looking for me,
saying that he wanted to help me.
LAWYER
KIM SANGRAK
LAWYER
KIM SANGRAK
I'm a public defender.
I'm not some hotshot lawyer.
He said there's no proof.
No record of it.
That fucking bastard.
I'm sure he was one of them.
I know he was.
Oh, and just to be safe,
don't tell anyone
that we're looking into your case.
Then today,
I was told my mom committed suicide.
Everything is too overwhelming.
STUDY WITH ME
GOAL 5 HOURS
VIDEO CANNOT BE PLAYED
She always told me
there's no salvation for suicide.
She'd say life itself is a gift
and spend your time on what truly matters.
I know my mother.
She wouldn't kill herself.
Those bastards think they can fool me.
I see right through their lies.
Every single one of them.
They won't get away with this!
I know what they did.
Over here!
- Get inside.
- What happened?
Over here!
Is he breathing?
- What happened to him?
- It's a shame.
He stuffed pages from the Bible
into his mouth and suffocated.
Get him into the infirmary.
It's been a while.
So you have new information?
That's great.
Tell me about it. What is it?
Mr. Park?
Can you tell me what it is?
One of the new inmates
killed himself earlier today.
But before that, he told me
that you had offered to help him.
Is that right?
Uh, yes.
I heard about that.
I was afraid he would do
something like this.
I wanted to help him.
If I gave you new evidence,
will you actually help me?
Yes, of course I will.
That's what I'm here for.
And how are you gonna do that?
Well, I need to know what you have.
Tell me this new information.
Look at me.
What do you see when you look at me?
Is this the face
of a cold-blooded murderer?
Or someone framed to look like one?
Mr. Park, what are you doing right now?
Do you think I want to be wasting my time?
Did you tell him
the news about his mother?
That she committed suicide?
You don't have any information, do you?
Did you also tell them
that when you went to see her
-she was already dead?
-You lied to me.
You have no evidence.
My brother didn't kill himself, did he?
So who was it?
Huh?
You son of a bitch!
- Answer me!
- Hey, get in, get in!
Who killed my brother? Who killed Taejin?
Hey, hey! Get off!
Hey!
Get off of him!
What do you think you're doing, punk?
-Grab him! Here, grab him! Hold him down!
-It's all right.
Let him go.
What? It's been years,
and you still haven't moved on?
Seriously?
Fine.
Let's say you're right.
And someone really wanted to frame you.
So they planted
that phone there on purpose
to make sure that
you were caught on camera
and you fell for it all.
- And then they erased all the evidence
- It was here all along.
SUJI
TAEJOONG'S BRACELET
and they killed your brother.
Everything is too overwhelming.
What difference does it make?
Huh?
Man, you've got to let this thing go.
It would be easier
to convince yourself that you did it.
Out there, murder is a crime,
but in here it's like a badge of honor.
Hey, if you think about it,
your brother died because of you.
It's your fault he's dead,
fucking dumbass!
Who killed Taejin?
Did you do it?
Yes.
I killed Taejin.
You
I swear to God
I am gonna find a way to kill you.
You're fucking dead!
Locked in here?
And how are you gonna do that?
Here's a piece of advice.
Why don't you write a suicide note,
then hang yourself?
You never know
they could reopen the case.
He's all yours. We're done.
PUBLIC SERVICE DESK
We've been compromised.
I think we need cleanup.
Argh! Son of a bitch!
Yes? What's going on?
What's the emergency?
Sorry for calling so late.
I needed to tell you something.
From now on
"HOLY BIBLE"
I can no longer be your altar server.
Why not?
Are you feeling unwell?
There's something
Noh Yongsik once told me.
I must think of myself as already dead.
And consider this new life
a gift from God.
If you think about it,
your brother died because of you.
It's your fault he's dead,
fucking dumbass.
I swear to God,
I am gonna find a way to kill you.
The Manipulated