HAPPINESS

EPISODE - 1

officer KIM JUNG-KOOK (Lee Jun-hyuk) trying to talk down a teenaged JUNG YI-HYUN (Park Hyung-shik) who is calmly sitting on the edge of his school roof. Everyone assumes he's suicidal after hurting his leg badly enough that his baseball career is shot.

Fellow classmate YOON SAE-BOM (Han Hyo-joo) makes her way onto the rooftop and tells Jung-kook she's got this. She hops onto the ledge and plops down next to Yi-hyun, complaining that she's stuck at school because of him. Yi-hyun sighs that they're making a big deal out of nothing – he only came up for some air, and then some idiot called the cops.

Sae-bom asks if baseball is that important to him. He says it's all he knows how to do, and now he'll never do it again. What's he supposed to do with his life? Sae-bom looks supremely unbothered and shares she's never been good at anything, and she's fine. Ha.

She reminds him the future is full of possibilities for them. "You've got nothing to lose," she says as she holds out her hand. Yi-hyun scoffs but lets her help him up. "Like me," Sae-bom finishes as she freaking PUSHES HIM OFF THE ROOF onto the inflatable safety mat below.

Yi-hyun stares at her in shock as he falls, but he smiles when he hits the mat. Above, Sae-bom explains to the open-mouthed cop that she made sure to push Yi-hyun so he'd fall onto the safety mat. Cut to her in handcuffs running over to Yi-hyun, asking him to tell the police to let her go. "Do you want to date?" Yi-hyun asks instead.

12 years later

Gunfire and sirens sound while the Special Operation Unit [SOU] of the police force swarms a building. Adult Sae-bom helps carry in a wounded officer and yells at the newbie to begin treatment. He diagnoses a collapsed lung and hesitates before plunging the needle into the man's chest.

When the officer starts convulsing, the terrified newbie begins chest compressions. The officer stops him and sits up, taking off his medical vest and admonishing the newbie for jabbing the clavicle. Sae-bom deducts points, calling the new recruit slow and indecisive.

Officer Seung-young recalls their own training years ago. Sae-bom had unhesitatingly drove the needle into the fake victim's chest ... except he wasn't wearing protective gear. Seung-young notes they wear these protective vests now thanks to her decisiveness.

Meanwhile, a motel staff member investigates a strange banging in one of the rooms. When no one answers, he lets himself in. He's pulled into the room, and the door slams closed. Ominous zombie-esque sounds ensue.

As Yi-hyun drives, a radio announcer talks about how nice it is to not wear masks anymore after COVID. Yi-hyun arrives at the motel – which is now a murder scene – wearing a baseball uniform, although he only plays as a hobby. Yi-hyun is also a cop and works alongside Jung-kook.

He and Jung-kook are assigned to the motel case and begin investigating the scene. Sae-bom would appreciate Yi-hyun's decisiveness as he takes the lead and thoroughly checks the room. He opens every door and even peeks under the bed.

Jung-kook thinks Yi-hyun is messing with him when he calmly orders, "Come out." Then Jung-kook leans down and sees the bloodied culprit staring back at him. The man sits docilely on the bed and says his memory is fuzzy. He experienced the murder as if in a dream.

When Yi-hyun asks how he killed the man, the culprit oddly says he was thirsty. Yi-hyun sees his bloody teeth and pries open the culprit's mouth. "Did you bite him?!" he asks.

Elsewhere, Sae-bom and Seung-young eat at the cafeteria. She sees a notice about a new apartment complex where three units are being awarded to lucky police officers of merit. While Sae-bom tries to think of a way she could score one of the units, she gets a call from Yi-hyun.