Well it has been quite a week of skullduggery! While our leading couple admit their feelings for each other, there is plenty of plotting and indeed some hints as to who are the real power players behind all of the dastardly deeds. Hold on to your popcorn because these episodes were absurdly entertaining with a great dose of humour thrown in.
EPISODES 7-8
Starting where we left off last week, Wan-soo’s brother – OH HYUN-SOO (Kim Young-pil) — was arrested for embezzlement. Mr. Han, who is taking more center stage this week, knows it was Yong-min who reported the foundation and he goes to Hyun-soo’s aid at the prosecutor’s office. Hyun-soo is very calm and seemingly clever; he already knows it was Yong-min who did this. Hyun-soo tells Mr. Han he wants access to all the fake bank accounts in his name and he will give back the evidence of bribery he has, so Mr. Han needs to get him out. It is amazing how Mr. Han insists that it wasn’t Yong-min but Do-yoon who reported the embezzlement after stealing the ledgers. Anything to protect Yong-min! Interesting.
Wan-soo is put firmly under the microscope with Mr. Han and Chairwoman Park, because Mr. Han has been whispering in the chairwoman’s ear about how this trouble had to be Do-yoon’s doing because he has the original ledgers. Chairwoman Park puts Wan-soo on the spot with pictures she has of Wan-soo when Do-yoon was comforting her after her mother had passed away. Chairwoman Park is so crass sometimes it makes me cringe, insinuating Wan-soo and Do-yoon are having an affair, and that Wan-soo is a fool for falling for her bodyguard. Wan-soo admits she asked Do-yoon to get the ledgers, and of course Chairwoman Park’s response is for Wan-soo to get them back — or she’ll fire or maybe even kill Do-yoon. *Boo-hiss*
Going for a run to their quiet spot, Wan-soo questions Do-yoon’s loyalties yet again! Wan-soo tells him she’s suspicious of him, and that she told Chairwoman Park that he took the ledgers under her orders and he needs to give them back. Overwrought Do-yoon refuses, telling her that the ledgers are all the power they have, so he isn’t giving them back. It feels like a bit of a love confession when Do-yoon vows to protect Wan-soo and get her out of her living hell. And then there’s the hug. Swoon. Wan-soo hugs him back, and this is a sign that they are back on the same page. Yey!
But skullduggery continues when we see Mr. Han manipulating Chairwoman Park into exposing Wan-soo’s “affair.” Chairwoman Park agrees to send Wan-soo and Yong-kook to Busan for a couple photoshoot, but according to their plan, Wan-soo will go first with Do-yoon. Yoon-kook and his security detail will follow the next day. Obviously, this gives Mr. Han the opportunity to get (more haha) incriminating photographs of our favorite couple.
With the lovely backdrop of the seaside of Busan, our leading couple are enjoying some one-on-one time together. All the while, Mr. Han’s henchman – Agent Jin – is catching innocent enough photos of our leading couple. But, if taken out of context (and you know they will be), our heroine will be in some hot water. Later that night in Wan-soo’s room our main couple do get a private moment together with a cute back hug, and a promise to each other that they will keep their hearts on hold for now. This cutesy moment doesn’t last for long, though, because Wan-soo is attacked as soon as Do-yoon goes out to patrol the grounds.
It seems Mr. Han’s plan was to have Wan-soo stabbed and Do-yoon to take the blame! (That is some evil scheming.) Get that popcorn ready, because the fight that ensues when Do-yoon goes to protect Wan-soo is brilliant. Not only does Do-yoon have superhuman healing, but he seems to have superhuman reflexes too, and at first blocks Agent Jin without even looking at her. *Round of applause*
Do-yoon fights off Agent Jin while Wan-soo escapes, going off to hide on a yacht. Agent Jin chases after her, with Do-yoon in pursuit, and he ultimately protects Wan-soo (who has been knocked out) and uses Jin’s own moves against her to win the fight. (Can I just mention the shot where Do-yoon punches Agent Jin in the face and the blood spatter appears on the screen made it feel so real!)
This assassination attempt on our leading couple has made them closer than ever. Do-yoon takes the boat out to sea to get away from Agent Jin, and Do-yoon tells a distressed Wan-soo he promised to her. They end up embracing, followed by their first kiss — and what a kiss!
When our couple get back to the hotel the next morning, Wan-soo bandages Do-yoon up and I have to admit I had no complaints at this view. Our leading couple discuss testing Yong-kook at the photoshoot to see what he knows, and it seems they are getting closer to the truth now that they both have targets on their backs.
After the photoshoot with Do-yoon in earshot, Wan-soo asks Yong-kook if he knows Young-min was born out of wedlock – which he does. Then Wan-soo asks if Yong-kook knows where his father died and did he never suspect foul play? Yong-kook seems taken back by this question; it seems he just took what he was told at face value. From what we have seen of Yong-kook he doesn’t hide his emotions well, so I would be surprised if he did know more than he’s letting on at this point.
Chairwoman Park whooping like a monkey in a rage has to be one of my highlights of this show so far — so over-the-top and in keeping with the melodrama label. What happened was the press was tipped off about Chairwoman Park’s “beauty treatment” — which is a total scam. Chairwoman Park paid three hundred million won for saline solution and it’s all over the papers. Excuse me while I pull myself together – hahahaha.
Mr. Han arrives to spoil my fun manipulate Chairwoman Park some more. Mr. Han tells Chairwoman Park that Do-yoon has an ulterior motive (Ju-hyuk’s death) and that they should expose Wan-soo’s “affair” now so they can force a divorce and they challenge her inheritance rights later. (Nice little bow you’ve tied on your plan there, Mr. Han.)
When Wan-soo returns to the Grand Palace she tells Mr. Han that she nearly caught the “robber,” downplaying what actually happened to make him nervous. Cut to Mr. Han slapping Agent Jin repeatedly for failing in her mission again, shouting that he will give her back to the Eight Star Gang and she should think about her family in China. Just how far down the scheming rabbit hole is Mr. Han?
Next up, the article on Wan-soo’s affair is released and Yong-kook is seething! Yong-kook storms into Chairwoman Park’s office and screams at her for what she has done, while Chairwoman Park says it’s for “his” benefit. Yong-kook tells Chairwoman Park he will never divorce Wan-soo because he loves her, and he continues to say she’s not a filthy creature like Chairwoman Park. This earns Yoon-kook a slap off Chairwoman Park – ouch – it turns out Yong-kook feels broken because he caught Chairwoman Park and Mr. Han in bed together when he was a child and they didn’t care that he had seen. Yong-kook blames Chairwoman Park for him not being able to love properly.
Yong-kook’s character arc is finally becoming more two-dimensional. He definitely has his flaws, but he feels like a “shell of a man” and has trouble expressing himself. We see a flashback of Yong-kook proposing to Wan-soo and all he does is show her the rings — it’s not very earth shattering. Yong-kook does love Wan-soo in his own way, though, and in another flashback we see him visiting his deceased mother-in-law to pay his respects and asking why Wan-soo never includes him in her sadness even when their child died. Wan-soo tells Yong-kook they don’t do things like that; they’re still married because they don’t love each other. And as Yong-kook cries by himself into his whiskey I do feel bad for him.
Continuing with Yong-kook’s character growth, he decides to confront Mr. Han. Yong-kook is very like Chairwoman Park in the sense that he can get under your skin and push all of your buttons.. as Mr. Han soon finds out. Yong-kook asks him outright why he killed his dad (!). He even asks Mr. Han why his own son (Yong-min – who knows he’s Mr. Han’s son but doesn’t acknowledge him) despises him alongside Chairwoman Park. Yong-kook takes delight in saying it’s because Mr. Han is nothing more than a manservant/slave and Chairwoman Park is ashamed of him and Yong-min. Yong-kook warns Mr. Han to leave Wan-soo alone or he will kill Yong-min with his bare hands. *Gasps*
However, Yong-kook still has a jealous side when it concerns Wan-soo, and after witnessing Wan-soo and Do-yoon holding hands and seeing the pictures in the article, Yong-kook is very angry. Yong-kook confronts Do-yoon with a rifle. Very mature, Yong-kook. *eye roll* Do-yoon explains he does have his friend’s death to solve, but he is committed to protecting Wan-soo. At this point Wan-soo comes in and grabs the barrel of the gun and puts it to her own head, telling Yong-kook to shoot her first. Yong-kook asks if she really loves Do-yoon and she says yes, much to Do-yoon’s surprise. Yong-kook’s heartbreak is etched into his face, but Wan-soo consoles him and says she trusts him, holding his hand and hugging him – this diffuses the situation. Now that our lead couple knows Yong-kook’s not a threat, it’s a good thing as they may need to trust him in the future.
In a flashback, Mr. Han remembers Chairman Kim saying he flew to New York to have his will revised, and that it will be read out on his 70th birthday whether he is dead or alive. (Did Chairman Kim know he might not make it to 70?) Chairman Kim also knew that Yong-min was Mr. Han’s son. Mr. Han asks why Chairman Kim went to New York, and it was because Chairman Kim knew that Mr. Han had influence over most of the law firms in Korea so he wanted it dealt with elsewhere.
Do-yoon breaks into Mr. Han’s annex again and gets into his safe, seeing documents where Yong-min is the trustee. The puzzle pieces are starting to fit together for Do-yoon, as he knows the ledgers all point to Chairwoman Park (meaning she will take the fall for the embezzlement). Now, the new documents point to Mr. Han as wanting to take over Hwa-in Group. Do-yoon remembers a conversation with Hyun-soo where he explains the ledgers point to Chairwoman Park, and Hyun-soo tells Do-yoon if anything ever happens to him, his wife will have something for Do-yoon. This may be jumping the gun, but I sincerely hope that doesn’t mean the show is going to kill off Hyun-soo next week.
The episodes close with a time jump to two weeks later. The whole family is gathered at the Grand Palace and Chairman Kim’s will is being read. Chairman Kim had asked Wan-soo to stay in the family until this day… because the eighteen trillion won he has hidden is all going to the NOW Foundation. To top it off, Wan-soo is the only person who can access this money in person at the bank in Switzerland. The looks on everyone’s faces is priceless. What will the finale bring us next week?