Who killed Gukhan Gyeon? A Theory (SPOILER WARNING)
** MAJOR SPOILERS FOR HAND JUMPER (FAST PASS EPISODES/IMAGES POSSIBLY MENTIONED/ READ AT YOUR OWN RISK) **
There's considerable debate about whether Ryujin Kang killed the Gyeon twin, Gukhan. Many people seem confused about what does or doesn't add up in the timeline. This is my reconstruction of what might have happened - and whether there was a second person with Gukhan when he died. So follow me through this reconstructed timeline. (Remember this is just a theory)
A TIMELINE RECONSTRUCTION:
PHASE 1: THE ORDINARY MOMENT
Ryujin returns to the Nest with groceries. Not much more to say yet. This seems to have been the first encounter.
She finds the Gyeon twin mid-massacre. Everyone's already dead or dying. The twin is a Level 9 officer - experienced, brutal, and the corp’s ‘Dog of War’. He had been sent to eradicate rather than arrest.
PHASE 3: MS. HEO'S INTERVENTION
The critical question: How did Ryujin escape Gyeon's clutches and end up outside the building with Jiwon?
Ms. Heo steps in. She's the head of this Concordat branch. That scar on her forehead? She seen battles, plus she is the Head of that Nest, I doubt she is weak. She's probably survived worse than some Corps lapdog. She tells Ryujin to grab Jiwon and run.
(My guess: Ms. Heo was probably shopping with Ryujin and Jiwon. Ryujin got to the door first while Ms. Heo and Jiwon trailed behind.)
Ms. Heo fights the twin. Not to win - she's pragmatic enough to know she probably can't - but to buy time. To give Ryujin a chance to escape with Jiwon. To protect the kid she raised, who she taught to play the piano, the one she saw potential in. Believe me, I know Ms. Heo isn't doing back-flips or cartwheels, not all fighting is physical, but I still see her giving him a hard time.
Whether the twin did it to eliminate Ms. Heo, basically leveling a building just to kill her, or destroyed her and the evidence along with, either way, Ms. Heo dies in that blast.
Ryujin turns back. Sees it.
The woman who raised her is now dead. Makes more sense why she turned around and wouldn’t move (other then that being her home), that woman took Ryujin in when Raoni left and raised her. Ms. Heo was probably the closest she would have to a mother/family, and a mentor. Ryujin has frequent flashbacks of Ms. Heo and the advice she gave her. Clearly Ms. Heo had left her impact.
(Honestly, I'm seeing Ms. Heo as the Kung Fu Hustle landlady now. Haha)

Now we see fragmented images: Jiwon crying.
Jiwon is crying and she knows what Ryujin is about to do.
Ryujin wants revenge. It's not even a question. Ms. Heo is dead. Her Nest family is slaughtered. The Gyeon twin is still alive, and that's unacceptable. Jiwon begs her not to go because Jiwon understands what Ryujin doesn't yet: revenge will cost her everything.
But Ryujin doesn't listen. She never does when rage takes over, she is known to have a short fuse, and this was over the top.
Jiwon follows her anyway. Because love is idiotic like that. Because she's terrified of losing Ryujin more than she's terrified of dying.
(Maybe this is why we always see that flashback - Ms. Heo telling Ryujin to "not get involved," to "keep to her own business." Because Ryujin didn't listen the first time. She got involved. And it led to Jiwon's death.)
THE SWEATER DISCREPANCY
In the flashback panels, Ryujin wears two different sweaters.
Red and black sweater = Day of the massacre (returning with groceries, Ms. Heo's intervention, the explosion)
Solid red sweater = Day/Days later? (Jiwon crying, the confrontation with Gyeon and Han, Jiwon's death)
What this might mean:
Ryujin and Jiwon didn't immediately chase after Gyeon. They escaped. They hid, long enough to process the trauma, and for Ryujin to track down where Gyeon would be.
This time gap (1-3 days possibly):
- Jiwon had time to beg Ryujin to let it go
- Ryujin had time to think and still chose revenge
- Gyeon had time to regroup
- Plan revenge (or in Ryujin's case, obsess over it)
I doubt the different sweaters are an error - they're just proof that Ryujin chose this path even after having time to calm down.
PHASE 5: THE CONFRONTATION
Ryujin and Jiwon track down the twin. Maybe he's injured/weakened from Ms. Heo's fight. Maybe he’s regrouped, either way - Ryujin engages him.
They fight. Jiwon helps, but Jiwon is too weak for someone like Gyeon.
Then the twin has Jiwon pinned against a wall - the same pose we see in those panels. He's about to kill her. Ryujin snaps.
She unleashes her gift. Blood manipulation. Full force. No control. No restraint. Ryujin knows he is too strong and the only way to kill Gyeon AND save Jiwon is to unleash everything she has towards him.
She kills the Gyeon twin.
But Jiwon is too close. He had her pinned to the wall, Ryujin was probably unleashing everything from behind him. Gyeon likely underestimated her - she's just a kid, right? He seemed like the type to be overconfident.
Ryujin's blood constructs - spikes, blades, whatever form they took - don't discriminate. They tear through the twin and Jiwon. Those gashes on Jiwon's body may not have been from another Corps member’s attack, but from Ryujin.
The girl she loved. The girl she was trying to save. Dead because of her.
This is why she blames herself.
If Ryujin truly believes she was the cause of her family's death, it makes sense:
She may have unknowingly led the Corps to the Nest
That led to the massacre and Ms. Heo's sacrifice
Then Jiwon died by Ryujin's own hand
Ryujin is left standing over two corpses: the Gyeon twin and Jiwon.
"It's my fault my family is dead."
She couldn't control her power. She was reckless, driven by rage, and she destroyed the one person who mattered most.
That's why she's checked out.
That's why she refuses to use her gift.
That's why she's a walking death wish.
She doesn't deserve to live, in her own mind.
She probably stayed with Jiwon's body until the Corps found her. Or maybe she turned herself in. Either way, she didn't run. She wanted to be punished.
WAS THERE A SECOND PERSON WITH GYEON?
Sure, let us go this route, much more interesting.
Lets say Gyeon did regroup. There was indeed a second person with Gyeon, but it is NOT a person weaker then Gyeon, but someone stronger.
Captain Sungwoo Han. Ryujins possible captor.
The Gyeon twin destroys the Nest. Kills everyone except Ryujin and Jiwon, who escape thanks to Ms. Heo's sacrifice. But he loses them in the chaos - two targets slipped through his fingers.
He regroups with Han.
Han and this Gyeon twin were partners - their joint missions included eradicating Concordat Nests. Han is Level 10. The twin is Level 9. Once again, they're the Corps' "Dogs of War."
They have eradicated Nests before, why wouldn’t they end up at Ms. Heos Nest eventually back then. Makes sense to me.
The twin reports: Nest destroyed. Two survivors escaped. Maybe they went searching for them. Maybe they found them first.
Ryujin and Jiwon track down the Gyeon twin - but they don't realize Han is there too.
They engage. Ryujin, driven by rage, fights the twin. Jiwon tries to help but she's outmatched - she's not a fighter.
Han steps in.
Maybe he doesn't fight directly at first - just observes. Evaluates, or maybe they are just beneath him. But when Jiwon gets too close, when she becomes a liability, Han strikes.
Then those gashes on Jiwon's body were not from explosions, or Ryujin's blood constructs (maybe).
Ryujin Snaps:
Jiwon is dying. The Gyeon twin is still standing. Han is watching.
Ryujin loses it.
She unleashes her gift - full force. Blood manipulation at its most catastrophic state like we’ve seen with Raoni. She's not thinking about control. She's thinking: kill them both.
She kills the Gyeon twin. Tears through him with blood spikes, blades, constructs - whatever form her rage takes.
However, Han doesn't kill her.
Why?
- He sees her potential. That display of power - uncontrolled, raw, devastating - is exactly what the Corps needs.
- He might know Raoni. Ryujin's mother, the infamous "Lamia." If Han has history with her, if he knows Ryujin's bloodline, capturing her becomes strategic.
- Bait. Keep Ryujin alive, use her to lure out Raoni. Classic hostage play.
Han captures Ryujin instead of executing her.
She doesn't resist. She's catatonic. She wants to die. But Han denies her that mercy.
He drags her back to the Corps. Hands her over to Ahn for "processing" (torture, interrogation, conscription).
Why the Surviving Twin Minguk Became Han's New Partner:
The twin Ryujin killed was Gukhan Gyeon, and he was Han's original partner.
The surviving twin was Minguk Gyeon, who transfers to Han's unit to replace his brother.
Minguk doesn't know Ryujin killed his brother yet. Or if he does, he's biding his time. Waiting for the right moment.
My personal crack theory:
There may have been a small gap between the next confrontation and fight, Ryujin hunting Gyeon. I want to assume that Ryujin ended up killing the WRONG twin, and the twin who blew up that Nest is still alive. Which gives her motive for another boss battle with the Gyeon she meant to kill. Now that would be badass.