In the Nine Puzzles episode 11, it starts with a blast from the past. We go back 20 years. It’s Dream Land amusement park. Something strange happened. Every single thing there turned into puzzle pieces. Rides, the throne room, everything. These pieces vanished. But they started showing up again later. One by one.
Jump forward ten years. Jung-ho meets Seung-joo. They’re both in medical school. He gives her two things. One is her mother’s diary. The other is her mother’s handkerchief. Jung-ho shares important news. He tells Seung-joo that her mother tried hard to find her. These items aren’t just keepsakes. They hold big clues to the mystery.
Now, in the present, I-na confronts Doctor Lee. It’s a tense moment. I-na finally understands. That feeling she had? It was Doctor Lee all along. Lee admits something. She kept her distance from I-na. Why? She felt deep guilt about herself. Then, Lee asks a chilling question. Does I-na want to know about the final victim? I-na gets into Lee’s car. Han-saem tries calling her. She ignores it. Her phone gets tossed aside.
The Present Confrontation: I-na and Doctor Lee
Doctor Lee explains her actions. She stopped killing after Dong-hoon’s case. Why stop? She felt nobody cared about the victims. Not really. Then I-na appeared. I-na showed real concern. That changed things. I-na asks Lee a direct question. Why did she spare her life? Lee’s answer is simple. I-na had done nothing wrong. She wasn’t involved in the past hurts. Lee reveals another shocker. She didn’t shoot Jung-ho.
Years before, Jung-ho pleaded with Lee. He begged her to stop killing. Later, he saw the handkerchief. It was at Yoon-su’s murder scene. He took it. Why? He hoped it would help Lee stop. He thought it might bring her peace. Lee shares her deep pain. None of the people she blamed ever apologized. Most didn’t even remember Nam-suk.
Seung Jo’s Unforgiveness
Lee gives I-na a clue. It’s a keychain. A number is on it: Unit 5802. I-na goes there immediately. She finds something inside. It’s a puzzle piece. But this piece is different. It’s completely black. No image, no drawing. Just black. Suddenly, something terrible happens. A man’s body crashes down from above. It lands right near her. It’s Assemblyman Kim. He’s covered in blood.
Han-saem and his team rush to the One City building. They see the awful scene. They are stunned. Han-saem finds I-na. He tells her to stop taking these huge risks. But the puzzle isn’t done. More clues surface. I-na learns something dark about her uncle. He accepted bribes. How? He got three apartments put in I-na’s name. He already sold one of them. Her parents are linked too. They were part of a land cooperative. This group was connected to the Shindonga market.
I-na and Han-saem think someone from that group could be key. This person might be the last player in the case. Then, Choi-san calls Han-saem. She’s at the funeral home. Superintendent Yang’s body is there. They need to split up. Han-saem heads to the funeral home. I-na makes a different choice. She goes back to Dream Land. The place where it all began.
The Final Puzzle Piece: A Story of Loss and Finding a Way Back
Doctor Lee stood in the rain. She was outside the funeral home. She didn’t go inside & just stood there. Doctor Lee looked at the building for thirty minutes. Then she quietly walked away.
Later, I-na found her. Doctor Lee was sitting inside a ride at Dream Land park. It was very still. Doctor Lee held a medicine bottle. I-na’s mother waited at a restaurant nearby. She didn’t know I-na was at the park. Music played softly around them. I-na recognized the piece. It was Nocturnes Op. 15 by Mi-young. Doctor Lee spoke quietly. She said she didn’t pick the music. Mi-young had played it herself before.
I-na tried to reach her. She apologized & begged Doctor Lee to keep living. She asked her to try again. Doctor Lee shook her head. She said she was too tired & couldn’t go on. Doctor Lee couldn’t forgive herself for what happened.
Then Han-saem arrived. He told Doctor Lee to surrender. But Doctor Lee had a different plan. She pulled out a lighter & flicked it on. She set the ride around them on fire. Flames quickly spread. Doctor Lee stayed seated inside. She didn’t try to escape.
Her final words hung in the air. She asked a painful question. Why must someone die for others to live better? Then her screams filled the space. The fire consumed everything. It was a terrible, tragic end.
After the Fire: Questions and Withdrawal
Police questioned I-na later. They asked about her talk with Doctor Lee. What did they discuss before the fire? I-na said she remembered nothing. Her mind was blank. I-na went home. She locked her door. She shut the world out. Then she did something big. She submitted her resignation. She quit her job.
Time passed. Eventually, I-na returned to Dream Land park. She went back to that place. Han-saem was there too. He saw her & tried to convince her. Han-Saem wanted her to return to profiling work. He believed she was needed. I-na refused. She said no. She wasn’t ready.
A Step Towards Emotional Closure After Tragedy
They had dinner together. Talk turned easier. I-na asked Han-saem a question. How did he get an apartment at the One City building? It was a nice place. Han-saem explained. His mother applied for it. She worried. She thought he wouldn’t earn much money as a detective.
Something shifted for I-na. Later, she made a decision. She decided to go back to work. She rejoined Han-saem’s team. A new murder case needed solving.
I-na examined the details. She shared her insight with Han-saem. The killer knew the local area very well, she said. That was important. Then she showed him something small. It was a single puzzle piece. This piece held meaning. It was the key to wrapping up the whole case. Finding this emotional closure after tragedy was a start. Her journey back, symbolized by that puzzle piece, was beginning. True emotional closure after tragedy takes time, but she had taken the first step.
Kavita Mishra is a dynamic writer and passionate Korean entertainment enthusiast, combining her love for K-pop and K-drama with a flair for storytelling. With a keen eye for the latest trends, Kavita crafts articles that capture the pulse of K-pop idols, chart-topping hits, and the most buzz-worthy dramas taking over screens worldwide.
