Nothing Uncovered – K-Drama Episode 13 Recap & Review

Lee Na-ri Is Found

Nothing Uncovered Episode 13 begins with a flashback to 2009. Woo-jae drives his father’s car to pick up Na-ri from the factory but ends up driving into her as she’s running on the road. He calls emergency services and then drives with Na-ri inside. His father calls and Woo-jae tells him everything. When he learns that Na-ri is dead, his father tells him to come home instead of the hospital.

At present, Woo-jae goes to his father’s house and tells him about Eun-sae. A flashback shows Eun-sae call Woo-jae and threaten to tell Jung-won about something he said in his sleep. Woo-jae figures it’s about the fact that he killed Na-ri. Back in the present, the father and son discuss what to do. Woo-jae is determined to hide it, now for the sake of his child.

Tae-heon and Secretary Gong share a meal. Gong advises Tae-heon to give up on Jung-won for both their sakes. Meanwhile, Jung-won visits her father’s resting place. She tells him that she needs to find out if Woo-jae is a murderer or not for the sake of her child.

She then goes to a place in Mueon that Woo-jae had visited. It turns out to be the location for the Bongto fire memorial. Ae-na calls Jung-won and tells her that Woo-jae’s father has released the news of her pregnancy. She calls Woo-jae and tells him that no amount of articles will make her move back. She also learns that he’s in Mueon for the new Mujin resort.

After a meeting with his father, Woo-jae tells him not to bother Jung-won. Pan-ho then leaves to meet with Assemblyman Mo. Jung-won watches them from afar. While having lunch with Mo, the assemblyman tries to get more profit from the resort project.

When he leverages his knowledge of Woo-jae’s 911 call, Pan-ho blames it on a driver and threatens Mo with finding the truth behind the scar on his solar plexus. Mo then reveals he has a piece of Pan-ho’s car’s bloodstained headlight, which puts Pan-ho in a pickle.

Tae-heon listens to the very same 911 recording and gets confirmation that it was Woo-jae. They realise that finding Na-ri’s body is of utmost importance. In Mueon, Jung-won follows Woo-jae all the way to a hotel room. Later, he leaves the room.

Elsewhere, Lee Ba-reun is digging the ground in a wooded area. He has a white pinwheel with him, which we see he got during the Bongto memorial. He also spotted Woo-jae there and followed him to the woods where he knelt against the ground and poured banana milk into the mud – Na-ri’s favourite.

At present, Ba-reun finds a skeleton in the same patch. But he’s not alone. Somebody grabs and chokes him till he’s passed out. Before the man can bury Ba-reun though, two security guards come by and force him to flee. We then see Tae-heon get a phone call.

Tae-heon arrives in Mueon and recognises Ba-reun’s body. Jung-won sees him and the other police and goes up to them. Tae-heon reluctantly tells her about Lee Ba-reun. She sees his body and, recalling their memories together, cries.

Later, Tae-heon realises that Woo-jae is also in Mueon. He also gets confirmation that the skeleton is Lee Na-ri which he conveys to Jung-won. The stalwart reporter that she is, Jung-won goes to Woo-jae and confronts him. She checks the security footage and a security guard tells her that Woo-jae went to the hotel bar and didn’t leave the hotel itself.

Back in Woo-jae’s room, Jung-won shows Woo-jae the clip of the man killing Eun-sae. She also says that this man killed her father. Woo-jae says it isn’t him. He calls a hospital director and confirms in front of Jung-won, that he was in a psychiatric ward during her father’s murder. Jung-won is relieved that it wasn’t Woo-jae. Meanwhile, Pan-ho spots something from his hotel room window.

The next morning, Woo-jae accompanies Jung-won since he wants to see the scene of Na-ri’s death. Tae-heon allows it. They reach the forest and the detective asks a nearby shop for their security videos. Coincidentally, the footage was all erased. They then go to the spot of the murder. Tae-heon asks Woo-jae if he met Na-ri on Christmas Eve in 2009. Woo-jae says he did before she went off to the factory.

Later while walking through the forest, Jung-won feels a bit sick.  While she’s in the restroom, Tae-heon plays the 911 call for Woo-jae. Woo-jae says his driver was driving when they hit Kim Min-chul. He tells Tae-heon he can check with Min-chul as well. Tae-heon reveals that he got the security footage from the shop the night before itself.

He caught a man dressed in black walking to the forest on the day of the Bongto memorial. Woo-jae denies it’s him but Tae-heon promises to catch him. Before parting ways, Jung-won shows Tae-heon the footage Yoon-young left her and the connection with her father.

A flashback to 2008 shows a student trying to take something out of a man’s pocket. It’s a knife with a spiral pattern. The man is none other than Secretary Gong. At present, a car rolls up to them and Gong gets out at the end of Nothing Uncovered Episode 13.

The Episode Review

Episode 13 does add a bit more meat to the central mystery of Nothing Uncovered. Of course, linking Jung-won’s father’s murder to the ones in the present is a bit unnecessary and definitely stems from the general K-drama practice of linking past and present. That said, the reveal of Secretary Gong being the culprit is a good twist, particularly since we’ve only seen him through Tae-heon’s eyes. It also makes sense that the Seol family wouldn’t get their own hands dirty and that they would hire somebody else to carry out the murders.

If the show dives into Gong’s character and his life, it would be interesting to see how a straight-laced cop became a killer. On the other hand, I wonder if the reveal is too early and will make the investigation a bore to watch. All in all, Yoon-young’s craziness is definitely missed and the mystery itself isn’t as compelling as before. It is also a shame that Jung-won has taken a backseat compared to the two leading men. Hopefully, this is just a one-time thing.