Who Was That Masked Man?: Seeking the Truth in My Lovely Liar

Image of the drama’s promotional poster from the drama’s official website (tvN), reproduced under Fair Dealing for educational purposes.

 

My Lovely Liar (소용없어 거짓말, tvN, 2023) presents a recurring scenario in k-drama storytelling, where a female lead has to investigate a crime in which her own husband or love interest–the male lead–is implicated. She is a strong character who functions as a representative of truth and social order. He is a vulnerable character who doesn’t have strong social ties. She can help him heal and reintegrate into society if he chooses. This pairing can appear in any genre of k-drama, from psychological thrillers to romantic comedies like this one, and their love story can have a tragic or a happy ending. Let us look at the way the scenario plays out in My Lovely Liar.

 

Both this poster, called the main poster, and the one above, called the rom-com poster, tell us through their visual design that the male and female lead will form a happy couple at the end of the drama. The captions indicate that their journey to happiness will involve Sol-hee learning who Do-ha really is. Poster from the drama’s official website (tvN), reproduced under Fair Dealing for educational purposes.

My Lovely Liar is a romance between a woman with the ability to hear when people are lying and a man who is hiding his identity from the world. Tarot cafe owner Mok Sol-hee (played by Kim So-hyun) isn’t interested in dating, but when kpop composer Kim Do-ha (played by Hwang Min-hyun) moves in next door, things begin to change. First, Sol-hee feels curiosity about her new neighbour, who is secretive about his life but who never seems to tell a lie. Then, as they start getting to know each other, interest and warm feelings develop. Suddenly, their deepening relationship is threatened when Do-ha’s past is revealed: five years earlier, he was suspected of the murder of his girlfriend, until his friend came forward to alibi him and the case went cold. Although he had to change his lifestyle due to the harm that was done to his reputation, and he still struggles with the memories of the traumatic event, his intentions toward Sol-hee are sincere, and he wants to keep seeing her. But there’s one big problem: when he tells Sol-hee that he didn’t kill his girlfriend, for the first time ever, she hears his words as a lie.

 

 

While he is asleep, Do-ha says he didn’t kill his girlfriend. Sol-hee hears his words as a lie. Photo from the drama’s official website (tvN), reproduced under Fair Dealing for educational purposes.

 

Is the gentle, softspoken Do-ha actually a violent criminal in disguise? You’ll have to watch to find out. But actually, you won’t, because the drama’s genre (romantic comedy) and everything about the way it is presented, from the colour palette to the music to the cute and quirky overall tone, tells viewers that this story will have a happy ending, and therefore Do-ha can’t be the murderer. Sol-hee’s power must be malfunctioning or have limits that aren’t fully understood.

 

The visual design of this character poster suggests a more sinister side of Do-ha. The caption says he has a secret he cannot tell, and that others do not know his truth. Despite teasing viewers with images like this and attempting to stretch out the suspense about whether Do-ha could have killed his girlfriend, the drama never makes Do-ha into a plausible murder suspect. Photo from the drama’s official website (tvN), reproduced under Fair Dealing for educational purposes.

 

From the moment she first hears him lie about killing his girlfriend, to the moment she decides what she believes, Sol-hee goes through a period of doubt, and the drama attempts to mirror her internal struggle with light suspense. We can see this through a visual device of a mask and through the sequence of scenes in the pivotal episode.

The idol for whom he writes songs (played by Lee Si-woo) attempts to exploit Do-ha’s weakness to gain his attention. This is the first time we see Do-ha get angry. Photo from the drama’s official website (tvN), reproduced under Fair Dealing for educational purposes.

 

In the episodes building up to the key episode, Sol-hee and Do-ha have been growing closer, to the point that he feels comfortable enough around her to remove the mask that he always wears to avoid being recognized in public. This symbolizes Sol-hee getting to know who he really is. While they are having dinner together, he receives a phone call from the k-pop idol for whom he writes songs. The idol is in love with him, and in order to make him pay attention to her, she threatens to harm herself. This triggers memories of Do-ha’s ex-girlfriend, who he believes died by suicide, causing him to have a panic attack. Sol-hee helps him, and observes as he confronts the idol who is acting out. In quick succession, Do-ha’s vulnerability and suffering are laid bare, and then his anger erupts, hinting that he could be capable of violence. This is the first time the mild-mannered lead has ever acted this way (a fact underlined in the subsequent episode, when the idol gets yelled at by her company’s CEO, and she says that both men’s angry outbursts scared her).

 

After his dinner with Sol-hee is interrupted because of a crisis, Do-ha has a panic attack. This is the first time we see the extent of Do-ha’s vulnerability. Photo from the drama’s official website (tvN), reproduced under Fair Dealing for educational purposes.

 

After Do-ha has dealt with the crisis and handed the idol off safely to her manager, he and Sol-hee return home, at which point he dozes off in the car and says the key line, “I didn’t kill her,” which Sol-hee hears as a lie. As soon as he wakes up, he puts his mask back on. If Sol-hee thought she knew the real Do-ha, she should think again. The mask signifies that her access to his true self is cut off.

Do-ha senses that he let Sol-hee see too much of his true self, and he begins to wear his mask again. Photo from the drama’s official website (tvN), reproduced under Fair Dealing for educational purposes.

Continuing the effort to inject some ambiguity into Do-ha’s character, the writers begin the next episode with a flashback to Do-ha’s teenage years and the innocent, happy love he shared with his girlfriend. The very next scene shows the couple fighting about Do-ha leaving his hometown and going to Seoul. He gets angry at his girlfriend, again suggesting that he could have done violence to her.

 

Flashbacks show a happy and innocent romance between Do-ha and his high school girlfriend, played by Song Ji-hyun. However, we also see the couple going through difficult moments. Photo from the drama’s official website (tvN), reproduced under Fair Dealing for educational purposes.

 

Then the story returns to the present, with Sol-hee taking Do-ha home. When he wakes up in the car, he realizes how much of himself he has shown her and puts his mask back on, signifying his attempt to pull back and refuse her help from now on. She notices in the elevator that he has a fever; he coldly rejects her expressions of concern. Back in their respective apartments, Sol-hee worries about Do-ha. She knows he got home safely, but she still feels that he’s suffering and needs help. She goes to his apartment to bring medicine. There, she finds him in a really pitiful state, passed out on the floor after taking sleeping pills (this suggests that he suffers from insomnia in addition to panic attacks; we later see him talking to his doctor about the effects of the past trauma). In his unconscious state, Do-ha reaches toward Sol-hee, indicating that he wants her to stay with him; Sol-hee falls asleep next to him, suggesting that she trusts him.

 

When Do-ha is suffering, Sol-hee wants to help him, and he instinctively reaches for her. Photo from the drama’s official website (tvN), reproduced under Fair Dealing for educational purposes.

 

When they wake up, Do-ha, confused to find Sol-hee in his apartment, asks, “Did I open the door for you?” She answers, “You didn’t open it. It was left ajar.” This dialogue sums up their relationship thus far: he unintentionally gave her openings to see his true self, and she took them. Sol-hee still goes through a period of doubt while trying to figure out what it meant when Do-ha said he didn’t kill his girlfriend and she heard it as a lie. Ultimately, she chooses to believe that he is innocent despite her power telling her he’s lying. She senses that there must be more to the story. This often happens in k-dramas with this type of storyline: the female lead chooses to believe in the male lead, despite not yet having found evidence to support his innocence, and then she continues to dig until she finds the evidence.

 

When Do-ha repeats that he did not kill his girlfriend, Sol-hee listens intently, trying to judge the truth of his words. She is open to the possibility that he is telling the truth, even though her power indicated that he is lying. Photo from the drama’s official website (tvN), reproduced under Fair Dealing for educational purposes.

 

When Do-ha finally tells Sol-hee what he remembers from the night of his girlfriend’s death, she realizes she heard “I didn’t kill her” as a lie because Do-ha feels responsible for his girlfriend’s death, even though he didn’t kill her. Inspired by Sol-hee’s belief in him, he finally removes his mask once and for all, literally and figuratively, sharing his innermost feelings with her and crying as she comforts him. He chooses accepts her help to heal and reintegrate into society.

 

When Do-ha finally opens up to her completely, Sol-hee understands why she heard his words as a lie even though they were true. Hearing her tell him that he is not guilty is a breakthrough for Do-ha. Together, they are able to resolve the mystery surrounding his girlfriend’s death and move toward a brighter future with each other. Photo from the drama’s official website (tvN), reproduced under Fair Dealing for educational purposes.