Forewarned Murder

screenshot via Netflix

**"Forewarned Murder"** is the first episode of the first season of Busted!

## Summary

A man named M invites seven people to a murder game party hosted by his boss, known as K. As soon as the game begins, M is shot by an unknown perpetrator, which turns the game into a real crime scene. They soon realize that the murder is related to an operation called "Project D", in which they are also involved in. The seven witnesses must attempt to find the culprit before it reaches the next victim.

## Plot

The episode begins with Yoo Jae-suk trapped in a room, surrounded by bombs that are about to explode. He is shouting for someone outside to open the door, but nobody answers and he continues to panic. Images of murder and blood flash across the screen, foreshadowing events to come later in the series. As the countdown to the explosion is shown going down, the words 'Murder game', 'Project D', 'M', 'K', and 'C' flash across the screen and a voice says "Always beware of those around you". The screen fades to black.

Going back 3 months, Jae-suk is shown sitting on a bench in a park. We see a strange symbol on the back of his neck and he says he is a detective. He opens a bag that he received earlier that contains an invitation and a black mask. He remembers back to earlier when he was with his client, a tarot reader Ye Ji-won, who asked him to find her lost cat. He quickly deduces where her cat must have gone - and is surprised at his correctness when the cat is actually there. As payment, his client offers him a free tarot reading.

* 1st Card: He has lost a certain memory in the past.
* 2nd Card: People who are a bit dull (like him) will soon gather around him.
* 3rd Card: ??? (is not yet revealed)

After leaving the tarot reading tent, he opens the mysterious invitation that he received earlier. It invites him to a *Murder Game* Party that will take place on the 27th of September. As he puzzles over that invite, we see the Ye Ji-won inside her tent, wondering if he will be able to survive.

We then see Jae-suk entering the location of the Murder Game. He is wearing the black mask and is greeted by another man wearing a similar mask, who gives him a notebook with a mysterious symbol on the front. 6 more people enter in a similar way after him and stand in a semi-circle in a large hall, each at their own table. None of them knows what is happening or why they were invited there.

An unidentified host enters the room via the staircase wearing an elaborate golden mask. He allows the guests to remove their masks and greet each other. He then introduces himself as being M - standing for Memory, Murder and Mystery.

> *''There is no mystery in this world that cannot be solved''* - M
>
>

He goes on to say that he has been serving under his master, K, whom he describes as determined and very charismatic. He then describes C, a genius, who is also working with K but previously laughed at M when he made a mistake. M describes C as a lunatic. M then explains that his recent order from K was to bring them here today to play a Murder Game. He briefs them, stating first that the lights will go out and he will let off a signal. This will start the game and one of them will become the victim and the perpetrator. The detectives are confused, but he reassures them that there won't be a real murder, it's just a game. The culprit and murderer already know who they are since they were told in their invitations.

The toast to the game and the lights go out. M lets off the signal and then a gunshot is heard. When the lights come back on, it appears a real murder has occurred, as M is collapsed on the stage and covered in blood. The detectives rush towards him, shocked at what has happened. A car engine is heard starting they run out to see a blond man getting into the car and driving away before they can catch him. They see the name of the catering company on the side of the van.

They gather back around M's body and organize themselves in order to figure out what really happened. Jong-min says that his invitation said that he was the culprit but he didn't actually commit this murder. Jae-suk starts to accuse him but Sehun points out that it was only supposed to be a game and this is a real murder and different situation entirely. They decide that the shot came from behind them, but there are now broken windows where the bullet could have been shot through, meaning it must have come from inside the building. The detectives then find M's phone in his pocket and try to unlock it. They try different words beginning with M, Yeon-seok tries Murder, Jae-suk tries I'm your Mom, Jae-wook tries Mung Mung (Korean sound for a dog's bark lol) but none of these work.

Moving on from the phone, the decision to check the building and its surroundings. They discover various ways in which the murderer could have escaped. Jae-suk finds the gun in the garden outside the house along with a tarot card, similar to the one he previously received, meaning death. The cards are numbered No 1 and No 2, meaning perhaps a second murder will occur soon.

After hearing them bark, Kwang-soo then notices that some of M's dogs have key's attached to their collars. Jae-suk teases Kwang-soo, saying that he looks like an Afghan Hound, a big breed of dog.

The detectives then make their way upstairs, to look for more clues. Before leaving, Yeon-seok insists that he will look after the gun as evidence. They find a room upstair that unlocks with the key they found, and inside they find a knocked over teacup and empty jewel case. Min-young moves onto M's study, where she figures out the puzzle to unlock his laptop. She finds an email from Rena, telling M that she has opened a pole-dancing club and talks about two other people, Jae-yong and Jeong-tae. She describes Jeong-tae as being crazy and wanting to break-up with him. Could Jeong-tae be C? They manage to find an adress for her club. Meanwhile, Sehun finds a wallet that contains a card for the catering company they saw on the van earlier.

The detectives gather outside to analyse their clues and Min-young finally solves the password to M's phone. They find a picture of M and possibly C at a Car Wash Contest event and discover from the calender app that it is happening today.

After gathering enough information from the crime scene, they decided to split into three groups and investigate their leads so far. Jae-suk and Jae-wook go to Rena's bar, Sehun, Min-young and Jong-min go to the car wash and Kwang-soo and Yeon-seok go to the catering company.

## Cast

### Main

* Yoo Jae-suk
* Ahn Jae-wook
* Kim Jong-min
* Lee Kwang-soo
* Park Min-young
* Oh Sehun

### Guests

* Yoo Yeon-seok
* Kangnam
* Kim Jung-tae as C
* Lee Jae-young as M
* Park Na-rae as Rena
* Ye Ji-won

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busted!