The Manipulated Episode 1: Tae-Joong’s Framed Crime

The Manipulated Episode 1 opens with Park Tae-joong locked in an intense chase against a mysterious man driving a yellow car, vowing to take revenge even if it costs him his life. The story then jumps back in time, revealing how his ordinary days slowly spiral into a nightmare.

Tae-joong works as a delivery rider, moving from one job to another across the city. A wealthy couple intentionally knocks over one of his food parcels, assuming he bumped into them earlier. Refusing to let it slide, he blocks their car with his bike and forces them to pay for the damage. Despite the daily frustrations, he remains devoted to his younger brother Tae-jin, bringing him food and talking excitedly about his dream of opening a cozy cafe.

Back home, Tae-jin livestreams his study sessions while Tae-joong prepares a rooftop garden for his upcoming cafe launch. His girlfriend Su-ji spends the night, offering emotional support as he juggles work and plans for their future.

During his next round of deliveries, Tae-joong helps an elderly woman carry her suitcase uphill and even leaves a nurturing note beside a stranger’s houseplant. Moments later, he spots a ringing phone abandoned near a convenience store. When he answers, a woman pays him to return it to a specific tunnel. There, he leaves the phone in a booth and finds his compensation waiting—an errand that seems harmless at first.

The brothers later visit their mother’s memorial, unaware that their lives are about to fracture. That night, police burst into Tae-joong’s cafe and arrest him for rape and murder. A dismembered body has been discovered near the Han River, and shocking circumstantial evidence places Tae-joong as the prime suspect.

Held in custody, Tae-joong insists on his innocence while Su-ji hires a lawyer who urges their friends to gather receipts and CCTV footage to prove his alibi. At first, the lawyer believes the case is winnable.

But the trial quickly turns against him. The prosecution argues that Tae-joong lingered too long at the victim’s home during a delivery, claiming it as suspicious behavior. CCTV footage then shows him dragging the elderly woman’s suitcase uphill—without her in the frame. The same suitcase is later found near the victim’s body, implying it was used to move her remains.

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The phone he delivered to the tunnel also turns out to be the victim’s, and most damning of all, Tae-joong’s DNA is found inside the body. Su-ji notices his bracelet in crime scene photos, pushing her doubt even further. Overwhelmed by the evidence, the lawyer withdraws from the case and Su-ji leaves Tae-joong, removing their matching bracelet as a final sign of disbelief.

With no one left defending him, Tae-joong is ultimately convicted and dragged away in despair, setting the foundation for the chilling revenge story hinted at in the episode’s opening scene.

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