01x01 - Chapter 1

[bunniefuu]

[clicking]

[clicking continues]

[children chattering]

[in Korean] Hey!

FALL 1990, SEOUL

[humming]

[thump]

[narrator] They say I was always

different from the other kids.

Whatever the object was,

I wanted to take it apart

and understand what was hiding inside.

[teacher] Sewon!

Sewon, can you please

explain to me why you did that?

[children crying]

Sewon! [pants]

Are you okay? [pants]

[crying, sniffling]

Sewon, did you do this?

[mother breathes deeply]

It's okay. Wait for me here.

Listen Mrs. Koh, I understand

he might have been curious

about what was inside

the fire extinguisher.

But the problem here is

that while all the other children

were screaming and crying all around

[sighs]

Sewon just kept on playing

like there was nothing wrong at all.

Oh, I'm very sorry.

I'll talk to him about it

when we get home.

I'm afraid that we're far beyond that now.

He needs professional attention.

I think you know what I mean.

Sewon isn't really able to feel things.

He has no empathy.

[swallows]

[breathes shakily]

I'm sure you [gulps]

I'm sure that you

Even if you can't really smile or cry,

I know that you

I know that you can feel everything too.

I'm always going to be by your side.

Don't you worry, okay?

Stop that.

[sighs]

-[water running]

-[crying, sniffles]

[mother crying]

[crying continues]

Did you solve it all by yourself?

You're so smart! Good!

Can we solve another cube together?

[doctor] You don't want to?

Then how about we play with dice?

His cognitive skills have improved

greatly over the past two months,

but as far as social skills are concerned,

there's been no progress.

What does that mean exactly?

Daily routines won't be an issue,

however having a social life will be hard.

-Oh.

-Mmm.

We'll need to see him more often

and perform an occasional brain scan.

Let's see here

-[chair slides]

-Ah, here it is.

[items slide, clatter]

Hmm [sighs]

There is a new program

that started at our hospital.

I'll find out

if I can secure a spot for you.

This will be very helpful.

WHAT IS AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

(ASD)?

₩1,000,000 PER MONTH

[horn honks]

[breathes shakily]

[tires screech]

[people shouting]

[doctor 1] He saw his mother die

right in front of him,

but he shows no signs

of distress or any kind of emotion.

This is an MRI of his brain,

and as you can see,

the distance between his hippocampus

and amygdala is too far apart.

His memory is excellent,

but he does not display

any emotional reaction to those memories.

[doctor 2] You must be Sewon.

Do you remember what happened?

Can you tell me about the accident?

Short version, or long one?

What's the short version,

and what's the long version?

The short version is that my mom

was standing and got hit by a truck.

What about the long one?

A man in a blue hat,

his eyes opened wide, and then a crash.

The windshield of the truck

looked like a spider web.

Seoul 7 KA 1947.

[doctor 2]

You remember the license plate number?

White powder and white shards

spread like water over my mom's head.

And then my mom's mouth moved,

and then said something

Your mother spoke?

What did she say?

[echoing] Sewon.

"Sewon."

That child has

an extremely unique brain structure.

Just look at the ratio

of his hippocampus to the amygdala.

His hippocampus is twice the size

of an average child's,

but his amygdala is only a quarter of it.

He has a brain structure

worthy of a case study.

I'm very curious to see

how his brain develops.

[Sewon] Mom said that

she'd always be by my side.

But she left me.

What was she thinking in that moment?

From then on, I've always wanted

to know the human mind

My insatiable curiosity

gave way to brain research.

Unlocking what was inside the brains

of others became an obsession.

PRESENT DAY

[footsteps approaching]

[announcer] Now, please welcome

Dr. Sewon Koh for his presentation.

We all have the desire to understand

what people are thinking or feeling.

What started as a question,

born out of curiosity

has developed into

synchronization of brain waves,

done via quantum entanglement.

But wouldn't that entail

access to memories?

Or even access to one's thoughts?

It doesn't matter

how complicated the brain is,

since neurons just use

electricity to communicate.

Now we can analyze

the changes of these signals

and probe the depths of consciousness

in ways we've never seen before.

I get the connections with brain waves,

but why understand the language?

What benefits are there?

First, let's talk about

the medical aspect,

which concerns life and death.

We can help patients with brain disease,

those who cannot communicate,

or those who suffer from severe dementia.

We would also be able to extract

the thoughts of a comatose patient,

which could potentially lead to

a diagnosis and subsequent treatment.

The day may come

when we will be able to communicate

solely through thoughts

and without language.

So you're saying that you're trying

to hack into the human brain?

That would be correct.

This could have several uses

in the medical field.

Though aspects of your research

clearly disregard fundamental issues.

For example,

if all of your thoughts are unfiltered,

can you imagine how seriously

disturbing that would be?

Yes, brain synchronization

might present human rights dilemmas.

And certainly has a risk of being abused.

Meaning, it's critical that

before we establish the actual system,

stringent laws and proper protocols

must be enacted to avoid such matters.

In a few months' time, my pilot

experiment will be proof to you all.

Thank you for your time.

[scattered applause]

[sighs]

[chattering]

Hello, Dr. Sewon Koh.

My name is Jiwoo Hong.

I report for Science Magazine.

Thank you for your presentation.

Oh, yes. Thank you.

[mutters] So, off the record, of course,

I was wondering if I could ask you

some questions I've been curios about.

Sure, go right ahead.

Is your research at all driven

by any kind of personal interest?

Are you asking me

what my personal motives are?

Yes.

Well, it seems only natural to wonder

what other people are thinking, no?

Our family, friends, wife, or children.

We want to know

what's going on in their minds

A neurologist would be fascinated

with the subject alone,

without involving any personal motives.

Yes, of course.

You see, as a journalist,

I always make sure

to do as much homework as I can

on people of interest, such as yourself.

I discovered that your mother was k*lled

in a car accident when you were a boy.

I also learned things

about your wife and son.

Could what happened to them

be your personal reasons?

My condolences.

Very sorry to hear about that.

I take special interest

in what personal motives

drive accomplishments, big or small.

I've even written articles on the topic.

I don't know.

Can a civilization exist without ambition?

Please excuse me. Sorry, I'm late.

It's been a pleasure.

[thunder rumbles, rain pattering]

[doctor] Here are the test subjects.

They've been anesthetized.

-[beeps]

-Subject 72 has a normal brain.

Subject has learned through training

where to find the food.

Subject 32 is untrained.

It has no knowledge

of what's at the end of the maze.

Our objective, transfer memories

of the white mouse to the black mouse.

Initiating brain sync between the mice

while still anesthetized.

[beeping, pulsating]

Let's raise the frequency.

Raised by 1.5.

Raise it by three.

[pulsating intensifies]

[pulsating sputters out]

-[computer beeps]

-[sighs]

Test 32 concluded.

Good evening.

Don't you think you need a break?

Why's that?

You're pushing yourself pretty hard.

-Namil, we're going out for drinks.

-Oh, yeah?

-Sewon, you wanna to join us for a--

-[Sewon] I'll pass.

You're too nice. [clicks tongue]

Why even bother?

You can keep trying,

but he won't really care,

so there's no point.

Still, we should try to be friendly.

Showing some humanity sure wouldn't hurt.

So what's the point of being humane

to a man who isn't even human?

Yeah!

You know, what's really weird,

is how he can show

zero emotion after such a loss.

[mutters]

Can we be more discreet? We're all family.

Hey, Dr. Koh!

How about a drink?

[Sewon] No, thank you.

Come on

A man needs to relieve his stress

with a drink on a day like this.

Forget it.

I don't why I even bother.

[swallows, sighs]

Don't you have any friends

to hang with on a rainy day like today?

I don't.

[cat meows]

[thunder rumbles]

[object thumping]

[Sewon] I had a wife and son

[echoes] Jump, jump! Be careful.

I always knew I couldn't be

an typical husband or dad.

But occasionally, I felt like

I was living a normal life.

[cat meows]

But I was mistaken.

What was that?

Mika!

-[Sewon] Get rid of it.

-What?

Get rid of the cat.

It makes a mess of everything.

-We need him.

-[Mika meows]

We need Mika for Doyoon.

You know that Mika

is Doyoon's only friend.

Please, Sewon.

They help with empathy,

communication, and social skills.

Doyoon could seriously benefit

from a program like this.

[Sewon] He doesn't need that.

I was like Doyoon when I was young.

I'm doing just fine

with every aspect of my life.

I get along with colleagues fine too.

All I want is for my little boy

to be a little more ordinary.

[Sewon] My son was k*lled in an accident

when he was five years old.

[bell tolls]

After losing our son, my wife spiralled.

She refused to accept his death.

[breathes shakily]

-[distant footsteps]

-[Mika mewling]

What are you doing?

I told you to get rid of it.

And I already told you

that cat is Doyoon's only friend!

[Mika meows]

What's wrong with you?

Doyoon is dead.

Doyoon is not dead!

He died in the fire.

We recovered his body.

You're being unreasonable.

You need to accept reality.

Our son is clearly dead.

[breathes shakily]

[Sewon] My wife just kept

repeating that our son was alive.

I couldn't accept what she was becoming.

-[wailing]

-She fell into further despair.

And eventually

[siren wailing]

Someone get the monitor

and get an IV going!

-Is the monitor ready?

-Yes.

Check for a pulse.

Epinephrine, stat!

[Sewon] In the end, I wasn't able

to protect my son or my wife.

[rain pattering]

[beeping, pulsating]

[pulsating speeds up]

[pulsating intensifies]

[computer beeps]

[pulsating sputters out]

[sighs]

-[machine beeps]

-[pulsating starts up]

[squeaking]

Test 37 concluded.

After the death of Subject 77,

a complete transfer

to Subject 37 occurred.

Brain wave sync successful.

[Sewon] The experiment was successful

because the mouse died.

There can be memory retrieval only if

the brain sync subject is deceased.

-I need a clinical trial!

-You want a trial?

Yes.

I need a fresh corpse as well.

You know how fast neurons decay

without proper blood flow.

For brains to sync, I would need

a recently deceased human body,

one that died within 36 hours.

Tell me you're not asking

for a human subject, Sewon

Let's say I manage to get you one

Then who would be the recipient?

Me.

You think you'll find

a better test subject?

First, I'd need

a dissertation draft of your results,

but I doubt

the institutional board would approve.

You'd have to collate

the results of the pilot experiment,

which we would need to review.

And we'd need follow-up measures.

Just bring me the results, Sewon.

The experiment means nothing

if it's a secret.

But that might take years.

Just for one day.

Find me a body.

[scoffs] You must be crazy.

Go away. And go back to work.

What? It worked because one of them died?

That's why I need a body.

Look, that's great and all,

but you can't go to human trials

just because it worked with mice.

Which is why we need a corpse.

But you're saying

you'll be the recipient as well.

[inhales] No way!

That could be very dangerous.

It doesn't matter.

If we succeed,

we can come up with a protocol

that will be work on someone conscious

or in a coma.

[sighs] Look, I mean

How can this work if you rush it?

Just calm down and maybe just

take your time with the experiment.

I've asked the clinical team,

but they refused.

I need an alternative.

You have access to the morgue, am I right?

Oh [scoffs]

Oh!

No way! No, I won't!

And you shouldn't even

be thinking about it either.

-Even if the test was successful--

-I've made my decision.

So, are you in?

[sighs]

Wait, hold on!

[sighs]

If you want it that badly

[distant footsteps]

I think I have an idea.

[cart rolls]

[guard] Who's there?

-Who are you?

-Uh Excuse me!

I'm Dr Hong

Oh, yes! How have you been?

I'm so sorry.

I'm sorry, I should have told you.

Us doctors keep some strange hours.

-[guard] Yes, of course.

-Then

-We'll get going--

-However Where are you going?

Oh, well To the morgue.

-Oh, I see.

-Thanks so much.

[typing]

Presents facial injuries

But there was no brain damage.

It was internal bleeding

from a car accident that k*lled him.

[shaver buzzing]

[breathes heavily]

Let's start.

[beeps, pulsating]

[beeping]

[soft instrumental music plays]

[music continues]

-[steady beeping]

-[music fades slowly]

[beeping continues]

Sewon.

Sewon!

Hey!

Hey, Sewon!

Damn it!

[grunts]

[pants] Sewon!

Hey!

Wake up!

[pants] Hey!

Dr. Koh!

[pants] Come on!--

[breathes heavily]

-[panting]

-[breathing heavily]

I thought that you died!

Get off me.

Huh? Oh

[breathes deeply]

[Sewon grunts, pants]

You okay?

I might have seen something

Is that important right now?

You were dead a second ago!

[breathes heavily]

[grunts]

You can't be serious right now!

[sighs]

You really can't remember anything?

No.

Bye

Yeah?

I thought about it, and

We need to increase

the theta wave frequency

to about 2.1 second intervals.

All right

Dr. Sewon Koh.

Senior Researcher at BC Brain Center.

And you are?

PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR

KANGMU LEE

Are you with a detective agency?

[scoffs]

Yeah "Detective agency".

You could say that I deal

with sensitive issues for my clients.

Do you know Junki Lim?

I'm afraid not.

Seems you've found the wrong guy.

Jaeyi Jung.

I'd like to find out what happened

to your wife, Jaeyi Jung.

What happened, Doctor?

Why are you asking me about my wife?

Mr. Lim is a client of mine.

And he would like to know

what happened to your wife.

Junki Lim?

I've no idea who that is,

and you're on private property.

I suggest you leave.

Okay.

I'll be seeing you.

[sighs]

[high-pitched ringing]

[groans]

[groans]

[groans]

[panting]

[high-pitched ringing]

[groans]

Oh [pants]

[Sewon's mother]

I'm always going to be by your side.

[tires screech]

My name is Taesuk Myung.

I study the brain, you know.

Sewon.

And it's safer that way!

-[doorbell rings]

-[gasps]

[pants]

[doorbell rings]

-Sewon Koh?

-Yes, that's right.

I'm Lieutenant Ji Un Choi

from the ST Unit.

We have a few questions. Can we come in?

What's going on? It's pretty early.

Are you Jaeyi Jung's husband?

I would like to have a word with her.

-[door closes]

-[alarm chirps]

BRAIN SCIENCE RESEARCH AWARD

It doesn't seem like

your wife is home today.

What's going on here?

Any chance you know a man named Junki Lim?

I don't.

Are you sure?

I think Junki Lim was close to your wife

for a long time.

And then, yesterday he was found m*rder*d.

-What?

-Thursday, March 12th.

Can you tell us where you were

and what you were doing?

I was home.

And can anyone confirm that?

Perhaps your wife can?

Are you accusing me of m*rder

because some dead guy knew my wife?

We never meant to imply

anything like that.

In any case, let your wife know

we'll be in touch soon.

Thank you for your time, Doctor.

Do you know Junki Lim?

JOKWANG SECURITY

GWANGRYEOL AHN

His name is Junki Lim.

He was m*rder*d two days ago.

Yes, of course.

You'll be well compensated.

Yeah.

[Sewon] A man died.

The police think I'm a suspect

because he was close to Jaeyi.

I need to find out why everyone

keeps asking me if I know that man.

This can't take more than an hour.

JUNKI LIM, MALE, AGE 38

BRAIN HEMORRHAGE, HEAD TRAUMA

[wife, echoing] Heejin!

Come, baby.

-[Junki] Heejin!

-[wife] Careful, careful!

Peekaboo!

[laughs]

I want to put her in my treasure box.

[footsteps]

[sighs]

During the synchronization

My heartbeat seems

to have remained stable.

Brain waves and all vitals were normal.

But it's unclear

whether the test was a success or not.

I may have gotten a glimpse

into some of his memories.

But I can't recall any of them clearly.

My memory has always been infallible.

So why can't I recall his memories?

Hey, I'm gonna grab something to eat.

Wanna join?

I guess not.

Wait! I mean I'll go.

Have to eat at some point, right?

Bye, guys.

Was that Dr. Koh?

[in Japanese] Welcome.

-[in Korean] Hello.

-Hello, how are you?

Namil, sit over here.

[Sewon sighs]

-You like sashimi, right?

-Yes, uh, but it's raining.

But sure

Okay, we'll do

The sashimi plate and some beer.

-Huh?

-What?

Well, this is new!

Never seen you with anyone here,

let alone drink.

I never thought I'd see you drink.

I'm surprised.

Uh, yeah

I just feel like a drink for some reason.

Maybe it's the rain.

[chuckles]

[both chuckle]

Yeah, sure.

"Looking into memories and thoughts

by scanning a person's brain.

Brain wave synchronization possible

through quantum entanglement."

FIVE-YEAR-OLD DIES IN GAS expl*si*n

[Choi] The victim, Junki Lim.

His lover, Jaeyi Jung.

FIND JAEYI JUNG, THE WIFE!

[whistling]

-[chimes]

-[soft instrumental jazz plays]

[humming]

[humming continues]

[Namil] Hey, Sewon.

Have you always been left-handed?

1. I AM RIGHT-HANDED.

[Sewon] Brain sync not only

transfers memories

2. I DO NOT LIKE ALCOHOL.

but also habits and quirks

of the deceased.

3. I DO NOT ENJOY

LISTENING TO MUSIC.

I need to separate what is mine

from what belongs

to those who have died.

[sighs]

[door opens]

Oh I forgot my umbrella.

Don't worry. I won't bother you.

What's that?

Is that your bio?

A bit bored, are we?

Or maybe doing a self-help questionnaire?

[laughs]

Dr. Koh, you drink coffee now?

Good point.

4. I DO NOT LIKE COFFEE.

See you. Don't work too hard.

[door closes]

5. I'M NOT FRIENDS WITH DR. NOH.

Who's there?

Dr. Noh?

[car alarm beeps]

[Sewon] Weird things are happening

after syncing with the dead.

I'm experiencing strange feelings

for the first time, and

I'm seeing things,

and I don't know what they are.

[gasps]

[brakes squeal]

What the hell? You almost k*lled me!

[breathes heavily]

[horn blaring]

[high-pitched ringing]

[grunts] Ah!

[groans]

[gagging, retching]

[Sewon] This could be

a side effect of my brain waves

colliding with the deceased.

[gags]

[panting]

[retches]

[gagging]

[gasps]

[mutters] What

[pants]

[screaming]

This has to be a hallucination,

just a brain sync side-effect.

[gags, gasping]

The memories of the dead

are creating these illusions.

[person] Who is it?

-[Jaeyi] Doyoon? Doyoon.

-[overlapping voices, indistinct]

[Sewon] I need to strip them away

and look into the actual memories.

Doyoon isn't dead.

[voices echoing]

Wait

What do you mean?

Doyoon?

My son Doyoon is alive?

[thunder rumbles]

-[alarm beeps]

-[door opens]

[door closes]

[thunder rumbles]

[door creaks]

[breathing heavily]

[Sewon] That girl said

the same thing as Jaeyi.

That Doyoon is alive.

[machine beeping]

Why did Jaeyi believe that?

There is only one way to find out.

I'm sorry.

I didn't believe you.

I think you were right.

Jaeyi, please help me.

[beeping continues]

[breathes heavily]

Do you know where our Doyoon is?

Could he really be alive?

Show me what you know.

[breathes shakily]

[beeps, pulsating]

BASED ON "DR. BRAIN" WEBTOON

BY HONG JACGA