Thanks to Woo-seong’s habit of recording everything, Maeng Se-na and Do Ra-ik uncover the true culprit in IDOL I episode 11.
Aired on January 26, IDOL I episode 11 shows Jae-hee waking from his coma and seeking Hye-joo, revealing that he was with her before the car incident and that he never attempted suicide or wrote a suicidal note. Meanwhile, Maeng Se-na and Do Ra-ik decode Woo-seong’s hidden messages in their album songs. They discover audio recordings from the time of his death, revealing the real culprit.
Disclaimer: This article includes spoilers for the series. Continue reading at your own discretion.
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IDOL I Episode 11 Recap: Jae-hee Wakes Up—and Asks for Hye-joo
Do Ra-ik takes his signature diamond piercing from his safe, realizing that he may know who else came to his house that night. Moments later, Young-bin calls with the news that Jae-hee has woken up from his coma. However, when Ra-ik speaks to him, Jae-hee immediately looks for Hye-joo and says he doesn’t know what happened to him.
Later, Ra-ik finally tells Maeng Se-na the truth about the diamond piercing. He reveals that he and Hye-joo once had matching piercings, one of only two in the entire country. After their breakup, Ra-ik removed his and locked it away, proving that the piercing seized by the police was not his.
Meanwhile, suspicion deepens that same night. While searching for Woo-seong’s missing phone in the dorm garden, Chung-jae discovers a security camera. The footage shows a small figure walking through heavy rain without an umbrella. The figure appears to be a woman, casting new doubt on Hye-joo and her possible connection to that night.
Jae-hee’s Statement to Byeong-kyun
Jae-hee finally gives his statement to Prosecutor Byeong-kyun, insisting that he doesn’t remember what happened that night. However, he recalls that after ending a call with CEO Geum, Hye-joo suddenly asked to meet him. She brought him a drink, told him to eat afterward, and said she would follow him. She also lied by claiming she learned about his visit to Ra-ik’s house through the news, even though she was the one who told the prosecution about it.
Before he starts driving, Jae-hee begins to feel drowsy and loses consciousness in the parking lot. He then reveals the truth to the prosecutor—he never wrote a suicide note and never attempted to take his own life.
Jae-hee then explains why he spoke up. He recalls Byeong-kyun telling him that even innocent people can be judged as guilty depending on how a case is viewed. “Look at what’s real. Don’t turn innocent people into criminals,” Jae-hee says. He urges Byeong-kyun to properly investigate Hye-joo so the truth can finally come out.
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Maeng Se-na Urges Byeong-kyun to Investigate Hye-joo
Still troubled by Jae-hee’s statement, Prosecutor Byeong-kyun meets with Prosecutor Maeng Se-na, who brings him the evidence they have gathered so far. Byeong-kyun dismisses it as circumstantial, but Se-na pushes back. “If the truth gets buried like this, someone innocent will live their whole life carrying a crime,” she warns.
She adds that time is running out—Hye-joo is about to leave the country—and hands him Hye-joo’s medical records showing her mental instability.
That night, Ra-ik calls Hye-joo after she texts him to say she is leaving. He asks if she went to his place that night, but she denies it and tells him not to believe what others are saying before abruptly ending the call to catch her flight. Moments later, the police stop her at the airport and take her in for interrogation. Hye-joo insists she didn’t do it.
The next day, Byeong-kyun faces pressure from his own father, who demands Hye-joo’s release. Instead of backing down, Byeong-kyun confronts him, asking if he spent his entire life suppressing the truth through power. He sarcastically asks his father to teach him how to ignore the truth while pretending not to know it. When his father vows to stop what he calls a “stupid mistake,” Byeong-kyun stands his ground and declares that, for the first time in his life, he will fight back.
Woo-seong’s Password
Do Ra-ik apologizes to Young-bin, feeling responsible for everything that happened, for hurting them, and for not knowing what his members were going through. Young-bin admits that they didn’t understand what Ra-ik was feeling either. He adds that it would be helpful if they had Woo-seong’s phone, since Woo-seong used to record everything out of habit.
Later, Maeng Se-na visits Ra-ik, who explains that Woo-seong’s recordings might be synced to iCloud—but they can’t access it because of the password. Se-na then asks a co-fan about Woo-seong’s secret messages hidden in their album CDs using Morse code.
As they go through the Gold Boys’ songs in the album, Ra-ik shares his amusement that fans discovered Woo-seong’s hidden messages. She explains:
Fans want to know everything, even the tiniest little things. Every shade of meaning in a lyric, every tremble in a voice, every look onstage. Because all of it is him.
In the track “Missing You”, they decode the first letters of each word in the hidden Morse code, which spell out “remind”—the password to Woo-seong’s iCloud. Inside, they find recordings from the time of his death.
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The Real Culprit in IDOL I Episode 11
That night of the crime, Hye-joo did go to Ra-ik’s place and pressed the door keypad to get inside. She searched for Ra-ik, but Woo-seong stopped her. When he confronted her about how selfishly she had hurt Ra-ik and told her that Ra-ik no longer loved her, Hye-joo lost control. She tried to take her own life, but Woo-seong intervened—and was stabbed instead.
Once she regained her senses, Hye-joo saw Woo-seong drowning in his own blood in Ra-ik’s living room. Panicking, she took the knife, cleaned up the scene, and noticed her piercing was missing. Before she could look for it further, Jae-hee knocked. Terrified, she waited for him to leave and then took Woo-seong’s phone.
Soon, Hye-joo faces life imprisonment, indicted for Woo-seong’s murder and Jae-hee’s attempted murder, as it was revealed that she had slipped sedatives into Jae-hee’s drink that night.
Meanwhile, Prosecutor Byeong-kyun thanks and apologizes to Maeng Se-na, hoping that the truth about her father will come out as well.
Hye-joo’s Reason
Do Ra-ik visits Hye-joo in jail to ask why she did it. She blames him, explaining that after their breakup, she didn’t go abroad but stayed in a hospital psych ward, feeling suicidal, while she saw Ra-ik keep smiling brightly on stage.
She admits she just wanted him back and says, “If you hadn’t pushed me away so coldly that night, I never would’ve gone to your place. And if Woo-seong hadn’t made such a big deal out of it, none of this would have happened.”
Hye-joo adds that she hopes Ra-ik dreams of her every night and can’t sleep, wishing he would hate her and himself forever. But Ra-ik refuses, saying he won’t waste his time on hate. Instead, he asks why she took the knife. He tells her that if she thinks she did it because she loved him, she’s wrong. That wasn’t love, he says:
Real love is cheering someone on no matter where they are or who they become. Believing in them. Wishing them well with your whole heart. Wanting their happiness.
IDOL I Episode 11 Review
I never expected Hye-joo to be the culprit—what a shocking twist! After ten episodes with no clear clues, IDOL I drops the bomb in episode 11, and it hits hard.
I was left both stunned and amazed—this drama kept me guessing until the very end. The tension with Jae-hee waking from his coma, the hidden messages in Woo-seong’s songs, and the critical recordings all came together flawlessly. The reveal of the truth was executed brilliantly and left a lasting impact.
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Have you guessed who the real culprit is?
Source: Studio Genie, ASTORY
