Tear Jerker / Solomon's Perjury

• The series is jock-full of these, especially in the second half.
  • The scene in episode 1 where Joon-young attempts suicide because of his negative family life. Seo-yeon's subsequent breakdown, as she asks why he would choose death when they're only 18.

  • Ji-hoon's past. Need. We. Say. More?

  • Ji-hoon's emotional outburst at the end of the eighth episode, where he tearfully yells that he knows Woo-hyuk's pain all too well, having experienced the same during his own childhood. What really drives this scene home is the fact that despite being calm, composed and level-headed most of the time, (so much so, that even the adults are surprised by his maturity and levelheadedness), Ji-hoon, just like his peers, is still a mere teenager, one who had been subjected to unimaginable cruelty at the tender age of seven. While he has gotten better over time thanks to Kyung-moon, the scars, both the physical and the psychological ones, still remain.
  Woo-hyuk: What can you possibly know about me?! How can you know my heart?!
  Ji-hoon (pushing Woo-hyuk away): I do! I don't want to, but I know it so well!
  (Stripping to his T-shirt, he reveals the scars on his arms and neck)
  Ji-hoon: This is from when I got beat with a broken bottle. This is from when I was dropped on the dinner table. This is when I was burned with a cigarette! On my back, waist, and legs! There are countless marks from being whipped with a belt! You think... I still don't know what you're feeling? (Completely on the verge of crying) My own biological father! Beat my mother to death in front of my own eyes! (A few tears fall from his eyes) You still...You still don't think I know what you're feeling?
  (Woo-hyuk and Joon-young stare in shock, the former almost on the verge of tears)
  • Extra props to Jang Dong Yoon for delivering the aforementioned scene so well. The pain in his eyes, the tears, and the raw emotion in his voice just make you want to give Ji-hoon a hug, and tell him that everything's gonna be okay.

  • Woo-hyuk's Villainous Breakdown at the end of episode nine, where he finally comes to regret his horrible actions. Sure, he's an asshole and a VERY BIG ONE at that, but the look in his eyes as he realizes the hurt he caused to all his victims is really moving. He truly regrets his cruel actions, and that's what counts.
  • The reason Joon-young's mother hates him so much is because of his brother's death, as she blames him for whatever happened to his brother. Joon-young, finally having taken enough of the his mom's abuse and tantrums, at last breaks down, telling his father about how much he's been suffering, and runs out, crying. Thankfully, Ji-hoon finds him just in time, and cheerfully welcomes him to share his room, and even cooks ramyeon for him, offering the poor boy some comfort.
  • After coming to know about the expulsion of the trial club students, Ji-hoon figures out in no time that his father is once again pulling the strings. However, when he asks him about it, his father insists that it's for his sake, much to Ji-hoon's chagrin, who then threatens him that if he doesn't treat him like the rest of the club members, he'll drop out voluntarily. Which is outright heartbreaking, as he is forced to go against the very person who saved him as a kid. While he does manage to maintain a straight face throughout their conversation, once he's alone, he breaks down completely, whimpering, as the whimpers turn to racking sobs in no time. No matter how strong he appears to be, and in fact, is, all of this is clearly taking it's toll on him. Outside the bathroom, Joon-young, who was actually awake and had probably overheard the conversation between him and his dad, can only sit on the bed as he listens to Ji-hoon miserably sob his heart out. The guy really just can't catch a break, huh.
  • After his father gives false testimony in the trial, Ji-hoon begs him to tell the truth, at least to him, if nobody else. However, Kyung-moon, stubborn as ever, sticks to his lies, much to Ji-hoon's further heartbreak and disappointment.

  • The reveal about Ji-hoon and So-woo's fight on the rooftop has to be one of THE most gut-wrenching scenes in the whole series. To think that Ji-hoon threw his whole self into finding an answer for why So-woo should live... and to his utter dismay, he failed. And not only did he fail, but he even broke himself in the process. So when they were face-to-face on the rooftop, all he could do was lash out in pain, and he- who loved So-woo the most, the one person So-woo turned to for a reason to live- told him to go ahead and jump... and So-woo did. And Ji-hoon was left alone, buried with unimaginable guilt, still without an answer to So-woo's question or understanding why So-woo was asking it in the first place .
    • What makes this scene even more heartbreaking is the fact that Ji-hoon, still a child himself, was unable to save So-woo because his own Survivor's Guilt from his mother's murder was still a gaping wound for him; that despite him saying that he was 'okay' throughout the series, it's clear that he definitely wasn't, the events from his past were still equally painful for him. He himself felt that he had no more right to live than his mother, so how could he possibly tell another to live? And despite all this, he still blames himself for So-woo's death, when it clearly wasn't; what drove So-woo to suicide was the school, not him.

    • The scene, where all the jury members stand up one by one, declaring the verdict "innocent", while Ji-hoon quietly sits on chair, crying, a very heavy and equally frightening burden finally lifted off him, will reduce you to tears.

  • Poor, poor Ji-hoon. His life falls apart a second time now, with him losing his best friend and the reveal about his adoptive father. Fortunately, though, his newfound friends at the trial club are there for him, and will help him get through this tough time. While he does send letters to his father, who's in prison, it's highly unlikely that their relationship will ever go back to the loving father-son relationship that it was in the past, because of So-woo's death. It's so heartbreaking and poignant, and ironic at the same time, that the person due to whom all this happened was the same person who saved him all those years ago- the father he loved and adored so much.