Nine Puzzles- Episodes 9-10

Confessions, Cover-Ups, and One Devastating Goodbye

Episode 9 of Nine Puzzles doesn’t just tug at your heart—it punches straight through it. What starts as a shocking confession spirals into a gut-wrenching ride full of deception, sacrifice, and one more puzzle piece dripping with meaning.

We open with Captain Yang confessing to everything. Yes, everything. Han-saem, crushed, cuffs his mentor. Everyone—from Chief Hyun to Dong-su—is stunned. But Yang calmly insists they need to call the press before he explains anything. Suspicious much?

I-na isn’t buying it. She confronts Yang herself, asking why he stood behind her all these years after murdering her uncle. Yang looks stunned. He says nothing.

The task force starts profiling. Yang’s background is bleak: no parents, no relatives, grew up in a shelter. Only ten known contacts. Registered home? A housing program for homeless young adults. Red flags? Maybe. But not the kind you're thinking.

Han-saem presses Yang again. The memory of Yang being a loyal, warm, justice-driven cop doesn’t add up. Eventually, Yang relents and reveals where he actually lives—a tiny motel room filled with books, photos, and heartfelt letters from the orphaned kids he sponsors. He even has a pet goldfish, and yes, Han-saem gets teary. Same.

I-na offers her signature tough love to get Han-saem back on track, and they head to Yang’s orphanage. There, the caretaker—an old friend of Yang’s—confirms he’s always been soft-hearted. He joined the force to find someone, but won’t say who. What he will say? “Yang is no killer.”

Han-saem flips that into strategy. He accuses Yang of covering for one of the 21 kids he’s sponsored. Yang breaks. He begs Han-saem to hold the press conference. Says the killings will stop. The team realizes: Yang’s not the killer—he’s protecting the killer. And his alibis? Rock solid. Han-saem lets him go. But Choi San tails him... until Yang knocks him out cold and takes his gun. Uh-oh.

Meanwhile, I-na drags Dr. Hwang out for a drive. She's got questions—like how he knew about her in the first place. And why he keeps referencing a “darkness” case where a boy killed his abusive father. I-na doesn’t think he is the boy—he always claimed to have met him. But Hwang suddenly shuts down and kicks her out of the car. Shady.

Elsewhere, we meet Mayor Kim and Kwon Sang-beom, an ex-prosecutor and current consultant. They’re on a hunting trip (because of course they are) and plotting to bulldoze green zones for a new highway. Lovely.

Yang, tracking a GPS signal, shows up at their site. So does Choi San—just in time to get knocked out. Again.

And then it happens: Yang spots the puzzle killer aiming at Kwon. He fires into the air to warn them, tries to pull Kwon to safety, but gets shot by Kwon himself. Chaos. Han-saem shows up seconds too late. Yang is bleeding out.

In his final breaths, Yang confesses—he “triggered” the killings. Says the kid behind them isn’t to blame. Mentions the victims were awful, but their deaths? Still on him. He gasps two names—Shindonga and Seo-jin—and dies in Han-saem’s arms.

Cue collective heartbreak.

The killer did graze Kwon, who’s rushed to the hospital. Mayor Kim? He ran off the second things got loud. Classic.

Back at the precinct, I-na starts digging. “Shindonga” leads to a corporation, an apartment complex, and a magazine. One of them holds the next clue.

The team also realizes Yang had a GPS tracker on the killer—but it’s missing. So I-na goes rogue. She leaks everything about the puzzle killings to the media. Chief Hyun blows up, but she’s sure that’s what Yang wanted. Now, it’s about watching how the killer reacts.

Han-saem’s keeping guard outside Kwon’s hospital room when the next puzzle piece drops—sent straight to a news channel. It shows a balloon seller, surrounded by kids. Wholesome... until you realize what it means.

Han-saem rushes in—Kwon’s still alive. But then, right in front of him…

Kwon flatlines.

End of Episode 9.

The puzzle killer is still one step ahead. Yang is dead, the clues are mounting, and trust is wearing thin. We’re three pieces from the end, and suddenly it’s not just about catching a killer—it’s about untangling a legacy of pain, loyalty, and one very personal game.

🧩 This isn't a case anymore. It's war.

The Killer Revealed, the Past Exposed, and the Puzzle Almost Complete

We’ve hit a major turning point in Nine Puzzles—Episode 10 delivers secrets, flashbacks, and a long-awaited name behind the madness. And it does not disappoint.

We open with the aftermath of Kwon’s death. He didn’t die from his wounds—he was poisoned through his IV. Which means the killer is medically trained. Han-saem and I-na collect the latest puzzle piece and learn that Yang was at The One City after Yoon-su’s death. Suddenly, the massive apartment complex is feeling more like ground zero.

I-na revisits the latest murder scene and makes a chilling observation: Yang isn’t the accomplice—he tried to stop the killer. Which means... the killer cared about him. Enough to spare him. Enough to try and save him.

Now it gets juicy. The puzzle piece came while I-na was watching Kwon. Dr. Hwang's clinic is located in The One City, and I-na’s suspicious. She pays him a visit, swipes his keys, and snoops through his apartment. Jackpot: it’s full of art—and his signature, “H,” is on the puzzles. He drew them.

But here's the twist: Hwang isn't the killer. He just illustrated the puzzle pieces... for Dr. Lee.

The realization hits hard—Lee Seung-joo, I-na’s long-time therapist and confidante, is the puzzle killer. She's the only one who knew about I-na's obsession with puzzles, about Dong-hoon, about every intimate detail. And suddenly, she’s gone. Her room? A hoarder’s den of puzzles, balloons, toys, and masks. On the floor, one more puzzle piece: a “king surrounded by insects.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Hwang is picked up and confesses to drawing the puzzles, but refuses to believe Lee could be a killer. Still, he shares one important clue—ten years ago, a cop spoke to Lee at her university. After that, she disappeared for a year. No friends, no family, except I-na. And one more person: Sergeant Nam.

Nam says they went to the same school but barely spoke—until one skipped field trip. Lee confessed that her mother abandoned her at an amusement park, and she’d kill her if she ever saw her again.

Boom.

I-na and Han-saem connect the dots. Yang was the cop who spoke to Lee ten years ago. That conversation must’ve triggered the murders. That’s why he blamed himself.

I-na contacts a private investigator and digs deeper. They find a missing child report from Dream Land, filed by a woman named Lee Nam-suk—whose daughter, Lee Seol, disappeared when she was seven. Lee Nam-suk’s listed address? Seo-jin Diner, Shindonga Market. And Yang used to work there.

Everything is connected. Cue the flashback that changes everything.

Shindonga Market, 10 years ago: A redevelopment project is underway. The area’s being cleared for the future One City complex. But some shopkeepers refuse to leave—led by none other than Lee Nam-suk. Mi-young owns a shop and wants the deal. Her then-fiancé, Chi-mok, is the subcontractor in charge of evictions.

We see Mi-young sweet-talking Nam-suk, trying to push her out. Nam-suk stands her ground—she believes her daughter is still alive and might come back one day.

Yoon-su, funding the project, refuses to pay Chi-mok until it’s done. So Chi-mok escalates. He and his men storm the market at night, throwing Molotovs and forcibly removing tenants. Yang is among the victims. So is Nam-suk.

Chi-mok blames Nam-suk for the delays and brutally assaults her. A burning beam falls. He leaves her to die in the fire.

It gets worse.

Cheol-jin, leading construction, calls in favors to block the police. Dong-hoon—yes, Dong-hoon—makes sure no one investigates. He’s bought off by Assemblyman Kim, who uses the success of the redevelopment to become mayor. Kwon, the prosecutor, dismisses Nam-suk’s case. And Reporter Lee? He smears her reputation, calling her a criminal and a greedy arsonist.

All of them—Dong-hoon, Mi-young, Chi-mok, Yoon-su, Kwon, Cheol-jin, and Lee—were in on the cover-up of Lee Seol’s mother’s death.

Now we know: Lee Seung-joo is Lee Seol.

She didn’t die. She grew up. She watched it all burn. And ten years later, she started sending out puzzles.

The episode ends with I-na heading home... only to find Dr. Lee already there. Standing. Waiting.

End of Episode 10.

Ten pieces in, and the puzzle is no longer just about revenge. It’s about truth, survival, and a system that failed a child so completely, she rebuilt her entire life to make them all pay.

Three more pieces to go. And the final player just stepped into the light. 🧩💀

DramaZen's Opinion

Plot Twists, Burned Secrets, and the Queen Behind the Game

Episodes 9 and 10 of Nine Puzzles just blew the doors off this mystery. We finally get answers—and they are so much darker than I expected. Yang’s heartbreaking death? Gut-wrenching. The guy was never the killer—he was protectingone. And that final scene with him dying in Han-saem’s arms? I’m not okay.

But Episode 10? Next level. The flashback to Shindonga Market was horrifying. Every puzzle victim played a role in destroying one woman’s life and covering it up. Turns out, Dr. Lee—sweet, mild, quiet Dr. Lee—is actually Lee Seol, the girl everyone forgot. And now she’s the puppet master behind every twisted piece.

Also, props to I-na for catching on before anyone else and running straight into danger again. That last shot with Lee waiting in her house?? Chills.

We’re officially down to the final three puzzle pieces, and I have no clue how this ends—but I’m obsessed. 🧩🔥