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| “ | I never said I’d kill the boy. I said I’d kill, but I never said who. | „ |
| ~ Jung Ba Reum to Ko Moo Chi, moments before he kills his brother. |
Jung Ba Reum (in Korean: 정바름) is the villain protagonist of the South Korean TV series Mouse. He is a rookie police officer by day and a manipulative, sadistic serial killer by night.
He is portrayed by Lee Seung Gi.
Personality[]
| “ | Have you ever met a psychopath? It’s a frightening monster that a naive puppy like you can’t ever imagine. | „ |
| ~ Ko Moo Chi to Jung Ba Reum. |
On the surface, Jung Ba Reum is an extremely kind and well-meaning man. This soft exterior makes him the target of mockery and criticism. Indeed, his goodness sometimes borders on naiveté or incompetence.
He comes across as weak and sensitive: someone who has a hard time stomaching the sight of dead cats, let alone dead bodies. As a result, fellow officers and neighbors alike are convinced he is harmless. To them, he is the epitome of the boy-next-door.
In reality, every kind gesture is calculated, every altruistic act carefully planned to craft a facade of agreeable neighbor or colleague. His cunning nature is best illustrated when he purposefully waits for Ko Moo Chi's car to be near before squatting down to "rescue" a bird.
Ba Reum's true colors show when no one is looking. He is cold, unfeeling, cruel. His personality appears much closer to the one he had as a child, while living under the name Jae Hoon. However, he shows more affect as an adult and seems to feel genuine pleasure, laughter and excitement as he commits his evil deeds.
After receiving a graft of Sung Yo Han’s brain, Jung Ba Reum still experiences sadistic urges but he also has access to a wide range of emotions he couldn't experience before: guilt, protectiveness, pain, love... His demeanor grows more confident as part of his memory is gone and his reason for acting meek is forgotten.
Due to the traumatic brain injury he suffered, he initially does not remember his past actions in season 2 and is troubled by the homicidal thoughts he is dealing with. His compassion and emotions are authentic. While he still is an opportunistic killer, he now wrestles with a conscience and all kinds of moral considerations. He has to act under the guise of vigilantism to make his crimes feel justified.
Biography[]
| “ | There was a monster who couldn't be saved. But the Almighty granted him emotions. And in the end, he died in extreme pain and misery as he repented for his sins. Did the deity do that to punish him or to save him? | „ |
| ~ Ko Moo Chi summarising Jung Ba Reum's life. |
Past[]
Jung Ba Reum, born Jung Jae Hoon, was one of the few children knowingly born with the 'psychopath gene.' The fetus was tested during his mother's pregnancy but was not aborted as the bill making it an obligation had been rejected. He and Sung Yo Han were switched at birth by their mothers in hopes that, if they turned out to be monsters, it would be easier for the women to kill a child who wasn't theirs.
Jae Hoon is an odd child. His first displays of cruelty start at a young age. In grade school, he sneaks a mouse into a zoo and drops it into the snake vivarium. He goes on to abuse and kill animals for petty reasons, such as curiosity or getting revenge on their owners. In response to his killing of a rabbit and general lack of empathy, his adoptive father is physically abusive towards him, which only results in more violence from Jae Hoon's side.
He kills his adoptive father's fish, and then his dog, and when the man hits him as retribution, he attempts to bury his step-brother alive for telling on him. He is stopped by Sung Ji Eun. The boy already showing murderous tendencies causes his mother to try to smother him with a pillow, as per her promise to the other woman. Because of her attempt on Jae Hoon's life, she and her family are murdered by an unidentified man.
Sometime during this period, Jae Hoon comes across an agonizing Oh Bong Yi – who had been brutally raped, beaten and left to die from her injuries by Kang Duk Soo – yet he walks past her indifferently. Fortunately, the girl is saved by a young Sung Yo Han.
Jae Hoon is also seen repeatedly praying to God not to let him turn into a monster. After his family is murdered, however, he seems to embrace the idea of hiding behind a 'mask', a kind persona presented to the world, while he searches for the one responsible for the murders. That man would go on to be his first victim.
Ba Reum is revealed to be Dr. Han Seo Joon’s biological son, a brilliant neurosurgeon and infamous serial killer known as ‘The Head Hunter.’ He is unaware of that fact for the majority of the show.
Victims[]
Attempted murders[]
- 1: His adoptive brother, buried alive, for allegedly telling on him
- 2: Pride: Na Chi Kook, stabbed and slashed, because he did not take credit for stopping bullies
Murders[]
- 1: Song Soo Ho, beaten and burnt alive, as revenge for killing his adoptive family
- 2: Lust: A hard-working single mother, with a blunt object, for not having sex with her coworkers
- 3: Gluttony: A young woman, on suspicions of purging food after her mukbang livestreams
- 4: Sloth: A young man, for working so hard on his studies and at the factory
- 5: Kim Joon Sung, for being Sung Yo Han’s best friend and accomplice
- 6: Bong Yi’s grandmother, bludgeoned to death, for finding out he was the killer
- 7: Wrath: Ko Moo Won, killed by cutting his throat on live television, for forgiving his parents’ killer
- 8: Envy: Kim Han Kook, for not feeling jealousy towards his father’s new family
- 9: Woo Hyung Chul, lawyer and Tie Knot Murders culprit
- 10: Lee Jae Shik, rapist
- 11: Kim Byung Tae, butcher and child murderer, killed by chemical burn
- 12: Kang Duk Soo, serial child rapist, castrated and bludgeoned to death
- 13-14: Two OZ agents at a motel, by beating, strangulation and defenestration
- 15: Han Seo Joon (his father), the Head Hunter, beaten and strangled
Animal Victims[]
- 1: A fish, killed by pouring toxic chemicals into the tank as revenge against his adoptive father
- 2: A dog, disposed of in a nearby lake, killed as revenge against his adoptive father
- 3: A rabbit, killed by cutting its stomach open to “see if it was pregnant.”
- 4: At least a dozen cats, to collect their teeth or relieve his urges
- 5: The bird he nursed back to health, crushed to death, for making too much noise