Scandal Episode 5

Hmm, how am I supposed to differentiate between two characters who will both be Eun Joong?

Yoon Hwa Young brings home the orphan she's going to present as her son, Jang Eun Joong. Go Joo Ran knows the kid is a fake.

Myeong Geun has brought the kids back to Seoul where he works at construction.

Joo Ran wants a sample of Jang Tae Ha's and Fake Eun Joong's hair so they can be sent off to America for a paternity test. (It's the Nineties. I'm pretty sure they could have done that right there in South Korea.) Hwa Young kept Real Eun Joong's first tooth he ever lost and she's looking at it meaningfully as she overhears Joo Ran announce she's mailing the samples off today. Obviously Hwa Young is going to mess with the package before it gets out the door.

Two weeks later. (Wow, even Maury Povich isn't that fast!) The test results have just arrived in the mail. Joo Ran eagerly rips open the envelope only to find the paperwork is all in English. She goes calling for Tae Ha in his home office. We see he's closing a secret door disguised as a book case just as Joo Ran enters. Tae Ha can read English (my ass) and ... 

Back at the office, Tae Ha is giving a briefcase full of money to Jo Chi Gook (played by Ahn Suk Hwan, who is just about to enter the Old Man Who Is In Absolutely Everything category.) They're interrupted by a secretary delivering a resignation letter from Engineer Kim, he of the big ugly glasses. Tae Ha worries that Big Ugly Glasses will spill company secrets. 

Big Ugly Glasses has moved on to a rival construction firm, the one Myeong Geun happens to work for. Not that Big Ugly Glasses would recognize the former cop. Real Eun Joong has come to the work site to give Dad #1 some pain patches. And here comes Dad #2 driving up as well. He's here to confront Big Ugly Glasses. Real father and son stand next to each other. 

Suddenly some big sacks of I don't know what start to fall. Tae Ha jumps out of the way leaving it to Myeong Geun to be the one to hasten forward quickly there and throw himself over Real Eun Joong to protect him from the sacks of I don't know what. Dad #1 makes sure to keep his face averted until Dad #2 leaves the scene. 

The accident causes Myeong Geun to have an emotional revelation. He'll return Real Eun Joong to his real family. He packs up the clothes Real Eun Joong was wearing the night he was kidnapped and takes the boy to the gate of Tae Ha's house. A ball comes bouncing over the high wall and Fake Eun Joong comes out to claim it. Real and Fake Eun Joong introduce themselves to each other and Myeong Geun is like, "WTF? Where'd this kid come from?"

The housekeeper takes Fake Eun Joong back inside. Fake Eun Joong tells Hwa Young about meeting another eight year-old boy named Eun Joong out front. Hwa Young goes tearing out to the front gate but by this time Myeong Geun and Real Eun Joong are gone. Ah, but there's that security camera up at the gate. She goes to check the video tape. The shot doesn't show Myeong Geun but it does have Real Eun Joong in it. Hwa Young, as only a mother can, instantly recognizes this is her true son. 

There's a long musical interlude featuring scenes from the previous four episodes as well as what just happened earlier in this one. I guess they really want to sell this theme song.

Oh thank goodness, now we're up to the present time and the adults will be taking over the roles. Kim Jae Won is now playing Real Eun Joong. The scene has him chasing a criminal as K-hip hop music plays. (I'm having a Crime Squad flashback from this scene. I really hate Crime Squad.) 

Elsewhere in the city a lawyer is cross examining a police officer in court. This is Fake Eun Joong, now played by Ki Tae Young. He's proving the cop has really poor eyesight and is therefore not a reliable witness against Fake Eun Joong's client. 

As Real Eun Joong continues his chase, he knocks over a young woman's food cart. She prevents him from going on any further as she demands reparation, which I don't blame her. Real Eun Joong threatens to arrest her for running an illegal business. She pretends to faint in order to avoid being arrested. This annoying woman is Woo Ah Mi, played by Jo Yoon Hee.

Fake Eun Joong returns to his office and - OMG, is that The Nerd from Heartless City?! Anyway, looks like Hwa Young finally returned to her law practice and Fake Eun Joong is working for his not-mom. Hwa Young receives some faxes to her office. She's had Real Eun Joong's picture digitally aged to see what he might look like in his thirties. It does kinda almost sorta looks like Kim Jae Won. 

Real Eun Joong has taken Ah Mi to the hospital and we learn she's pregnant. Well I wasn't expecting that since she's supposed to be his love interest in this show. 

Scandal Episode 4

Ha Myeong Gun and Jang Tae Ha are staring at each other through the train window. Yet just as Tae Ha attempts to board, the automatic doors close and the train begins to move. Tae Ha starts running after the locomotive because DramaKoreans love to chase after vehicles.

As the train starts to pick up speed you think Myeong Gun is going to get away. A-ha, not so fast. On the very last car Tae Ha jumps and grabs a handle bar. He struggles a bit and you think he may fall off. A-ha, he doesn't. He even finds the door on the back is unlocked. He's in! 

Tae Ha starts moving towards the front of the train where he saw Myeong Gun. The tension builds (it really does!) as he moves up from car to car. Finally he spots Myeong Gun sitting up ahead. The only thing standing between him and vengeance is the snack cart. Tae Ha pushes the cart and the hungry passengers aside only to discover Myeong Gun has disappeared. 

Holy Hannibal, Myeong Gun has jumped off the train! 

Time jump to three years later. 

Yoon Hwa Young is sitting on the front stoop of the house as she sings a song to herself. There's a tell-tale bandage around her wrist. She sees Eun Joong coming up the street returning from school. Smiling, Hwa Young goes out to greet him, throwing her arms around the boy for a big hug. Yet a different camera angle shows this is Jang Joo Ha with short hair. She must be used to this as she simply pats the crazy woman on the shoulder. (Why does this girl looks so much like a young Lee Seung Hyo?)

Go Joo Ran comes out of the house and knocks crazy Hwa Young aside. Joo Ran tells the other woman she needs to accept that Eun Joong is dead and gone. Mother and daughter go back inside so I take it they're back to living with Tae Ha. It turns out Joo Ran is intentionally cutting her daughter's hair so Joo Ha will look like a boy. She even makes her daughter dress like a boy. I worry that my beloved Ahjumma has been fired by this trailer trash but my heart is soon at ease as I see her in the background. Don't you dare go anywhere, Ahjumma!

Tae Ha is looking a little bit older, some gray in his hair. (Engineer Kim still has those huge UGLY glasses, though.) Tae Ha reminisces with Kang Ho about how they've scoured the country for the past three years with no results. He dares to even wonder aloud is perhaps Myeong Gun did away with the boy. It's coming up on the anniversary of Geon Young's death so they think Myeong Gun might do something and finally show himself. 

Now we skip out to the country where an older Eun Joong is trying to teach his "sister" Soo Young the same song Hwa Young had been singing to herself earlier. I'm not sure if Soo Young (who was a baby when her birth mother died) thinks Eun Joong's mother is her mother or if Eun Joong thinks Soo Young's mother is his mother. Either way they both think their mother is dead.

As Myeong Gun gives Eun Joong a haircut, the boy begs to be allowed to go to school. Myeong Gun keeps coming up with excuses as to why Eun Joong can't go. (Most eight year-olds I've encountered are the opposite and beg not to go to school.) 

Hwa Young comes home to find Joo Ran is burning all of Eun Joong's drawings and pictures. It takes her awhile to work up the energy but finally Hwa Young bitch slaps the other woman. It doesn't take any time at all for Joo Ran to slap right back. 

The show makes it a point to show us Tae Ha has put up a security camera at the front gate. I'm sure this will be important later on. Tae Ha gets to come home to two screeching women fighting each other. As far as I'm concerned that's his just punishment right there. 

The TV is playing when Myeong Gun comes home from the store. The news reporter goes on and on about how Taeha Construction is doing so well here and overseas. Tae Ha's face is splashed across the screen. Myeong Gun starts getting that crazy look in his eyes again. When Eun Joong tries to talk to Dad #1, Myeong Gun takes it out on the kid. 

(Okay, sad music has been playing straight for the last thirty minutes and everybody is  acting depressed. Enough already! You're harshing my mellow, Show.)

Myeong Gun has bought the candy Geon Young loved to be a part of the funeral offerings. The kids don't know this and they've just helped themselves to the whole bag. Myeong Gun finally cracks and roughly throws Eun Joong out of the house. More sad music plays as this show just keeps dragging me down. 

Hwa Young wants to start up the search again and asks her husband for the money and manpower to search all the elementary schools. Tae Ha makes a condition that in exchange Hwa Young must leave the house. She's got it in her mind that when Eun Joong comes back he'll come to this house so she needs to be here for him. But since she needs the money for the search, she packs her bags and starts to leave. 

Before she gets to the door she receives a phone call claiming they have found her son. The guy is going by the age, blood type and a distinctive scar on the boy's leg. (Ya know, they had DNA testing way back in 1991.) Hwa Young knows that old biddy Joo Ran is listening in on the extension so she's all, "Oh that must be our son for sure!" just to stick it to Joo Ran. 

Kang Ho has been hanging around Myeong Gun's home village in hopes of finding him. Myeong Gun has told the villagers that he's on the run for debt and this Kang Ho guy is here to collect. The villagers band together to protect one of their own so they keep hiding and lying about Myeong Gun.

Kang Ho has a close encounter with Eun Joong and Soo Young but a villager intervenes and claims they're not who Kang Ho thinks they are. 

Hwa Young heads over to the orphanage where they've supposedly found her son. None of the adults seem to notice that this poor lady is totally out of her mind. The buck toothed orphan gives such a sad tale of missing his mom and wondering if his mother would ever come back for him that Hwa Young is moved. 

Then that old hag Joo Ran shows up at the orphanage. Again, just to stick it to Joo Ran as well as Tae Ha, Hwa Young claims the boy is her long lost son.

Which is totally not right! Now Hwa Young is just as evil as all the other adults in this drama. I'm disgusted with all of you.

 

 

Episode 5

Heartless City Episode 16

His arms poked through the paper walls, Doctor's Son holds Prosecutor Ahn hostage. Through the paper Shi Hyun suggests he and Ji Hyung Min team up together to take Pusan down. Ji demands to know if Doctor's Son was or was not behind Gyung Mi's murder. The way Shi Hyun denies being her killer makes Ji wonder if Doctor's Son knew Gyung Mi personally. 

Shi Hyun tosses Ahn at Ji in order to make his escape into the surrounding woods. 

Back at Chez Hole In the Wall, Shi Hyun meets with what's left of his gang. His minion Gi Chul is probably happy to hear Doctor's Son wants Joo Young taken away from Ahn. Shi Hyun asks Jin Sook how her project is coming along. She's supposed to be finding Professor Jang, Pusan's head chemist. 

Ji goes home to meet with Soo Min. She finds it strange that Doctor's Son, instead of having her killed, actually helped her by warning Ji that Soo Min's cover was blown. This doesn't sound like the gangster they all know and hate. Ji confesses he's starting to have his doubts that Doctor's Son is the one who killed Gyung Mi. 

Jin Sook calls Soo Min to request a meeting. Ji doesn't want Soo Min to go but she's confident that Jin Sook doesn't know she's an undercover cop. Once again Jin Sook is sending Soo Min off into danger as she wants the young woman to be the one to find Professor Jang. 

Chairman Jo knows Doctor's Son is looking for Professor Jang. He orders his minions to be prepared. Ji also orders his minions to start concentrating on finding this Jang guy. Shi Hyun figures out that Jin Sook is going to be using Soo Min to find the professor. 

Soo Min is really undercover now as she's wearing a terrible wig and a teeny tiny pink dress. Jang isn't doing much to hide. He's out having a drink with the girls and singing karaoke. Soo Min calls Jin Sook to alert her to where the target is. She also tells Ji the same info. Now it's time for a costume change. You may ask, "Where did Soo Min's change of clothes come from?" Don't you know by now not to ask logical questions? Just be thankful she took off that terrible wig.

Jin Sook arrives with a couple of big guys. Soo Min tells them there are only two guards outside of Professor Jang's hotel room. Oh no, it's a trap. Inside his room is Wooden Stick and a whole bunch of goons with pipes and sticks. Thank goodness when they get to the door Jin Sook's hooker instincts tell her things aren't right and they need to make a hasty retreat down the hall.

Wooden Stick and his forces come flooding out from everywhere. Jin Sook's men put up a useless defense in order to give the high heeled women time to make a run for it. They duck into a storeroom and make it appear they've taken the service elevator down when really they're still in the room hiding behind stuff. And somehow Ji has suddenly joined them. 

Now everyone is down in the boiler room. They must have had Scotty transport them down. Ji offers to stay behind and keep the thugs busy so the women can once again make their escape. Plus he's got a gun while they've just got sticks. Surprisingly the stick men don't seem deterred by bullets flying at them as they attack. 

Ji is outnumbered, disarmed, and knocked down. (Hee, he's even got a shoe print on his chest. Good on ya, Show.) Wooden Stick pulls out a knife and is about to kill Ji when Shi Hyun shows up. He picks up Ji's gun and finds there is only one bullet in it left. Wooden Stick addressed Shi Hyun as Doctor's Son. At last there's nothing to block Ji's view of his nemesis. He can clearly see what Doctor's Son looks like. 

Shi Hyun easily takes down the remaining hoodlums without even breaking a sweat or putting a tear in his suit. Wooden Stick grabs the woozy Ji and uses the cop as a human shield. He orders Doctor's Son to drop the gun, which he does. This distracts Wooden Stick long enough for Ji to put an elbow in his face. 

Since Doctor's Son helped him, Ji allows Shi Hyun to leave the crime scene. Oh yeah, and Shi Hyun successfully makes off with Professor Jang.

Prosecutor Ahn reports all the arrests of Pusan's men to Daddy Ji. You'll never guess where Daddy Ji is. Never in a million years. He's at that #*&% Japanese restaurant. Chairman Jo comes into the room to remind Daddy Ji how both he and Congressman Cha are where they are because of Pusan's money and influence. Therefore he expects all his men to be released from custody.

Annoying Reporter Cha drops by HQ to tell Ji how the Nerd's wife (who stood to have inherited all the shares in Sky Investments) has mysteriously killed herself by jumping off a roof. (She was probably jumping for joy over the Nerd being dead and she simply got too close to the edge.) Seriously, it's obvious the woman's father-in-law had her killed.

Back at their hideout, Shi Hyun hides just in time when he see Jin Sook has brought Soo Min along with her. Kim Hyun Soo is understandably upset that Jin Sook has brought in an outsider. Soo Min recognizes Soo from the prison security video. Shi Hyun calls Jin Sook and orders her to get rid of Soo Min immediately. Soo Min was expecting this and leaves but now she wonders if this dank dump is the hideout of Doctor's Son.

Soo Min immediately reports back to Ji and is somewhat surprised when he's not all that excited that she may have found the lair of Doctor's Son. 

The next morning Ji is all ready to start the interrogations of the Pusan gang only to learn they've all been released. Wooden Stick probably wishes by now he had stayed in jail. Because of his failure in losing Professor Jang, Chairman Jo has one of Stick's phalanges cut off. 

Since Scale knew where the gang was going to set up their drug production factory, they worry he may have told Chairman Jo and so they plan to relocate. Safari (wearing a decent suit for once!) feels left out of the loop. He tells his own little gang that they should start moving one step ahead of Doctor's Son. Safari knows there's an even bigger fish behind big fish Pusan and that's who they should go after. 

Shi Hyun follows Prosecutor Ahn who is going to meet Daddy Ji. You know where they're at. Shi Hyun barges into the private dining room and attempts to make a deal with the chief prosecutor. Shi Hyun pours Daddy Ji a drink (important Korean etiquette). Daddy Ji pours the drink on the table (rather insulting). Daddy Ji is not impressed with this wet-behind-the-ears upstart. Is anybody going to clean up this mess on the table?

Daddy Ji leaves the restaurant (it's about friggin' time!) to go meet with Safari. It looks to me like Daddy Ji is setting Safari and Doctor's Son against each other as they fight over Chairman Jo's position. 

Ji Hyung Min tells Min Hong Gi about meeting and seeing Doctor's Son. Min is not pleased with this development and calls Shi Hyun to yell at him. 

Jin Sook returns to her office to find Wooden Stick and his men waiting for her. Soo Min hides as she witnesses the men taking Jin Sook away. As the group reaches the parking garage Soo Min (again in high heels) attacks one guy with her purse while Jin Sook takes down another with hers. What have they got in there - bricks?

The two women run for their lives as Wooden Stick and his remaining gang give chase. Hiding in a stairwell, Jin Sook thinks it would be better if they split up. She gives Soo Min a phone number and tells her to seek shelter with this person.

"Who is it?" Soo Min asks.

Jin Sook replies, "His name is Jung Shi Hyun."

Heartless City Episode 15

Chairman Jo gives the order to his peeps to do whatever it takes to wipe Safari and Doctor's Son off the face of the earth. This throws us right into an action scene as Kim Hyun Soo (wearing lime green pants) is attacked by pipe-wielding thugs. Soo rushes over to Casa Mold n Mildew to warn Doctor's Son but Shi Hyun is off somewhere agonizing over his mother. Soo at least calls his frenemy, Jin Sook, to warn her not to go to her office because Pusan's men might be waiting for her.

There's an important envelope in Jin Sook's desk that she needs so naturally she sends Soo Min straight into the face of danger to retrieve it. About five men, including Wooden Stick (I'm not the one who came up with these nicknames, ya know) come in and start roughing Soo Min up. She won't reveal where Jin Sook is so Wooden Stick takes out a hypodermic needle and injects something in Soo Min. 

Only now does Wooden Stick recognize Soo Min as the woman who's throat they were supposed to slit in front of Doctor's Son the other night. He decides Soo Min is worth taking with them. Before they can leave the room Doctor's Son comes in and starts kicking ass as only Shi Hyun can.

Shew, and this is just the first ten minutes. I'm exhausted already.

After beating up his own passel of Pusan's people, Safari goes to special forces headquarters to speak with Ji Hyung Min. He plants the suspicion in the team leader's head that there's a traitor in the unit. 

Lime green must be the color for this episode as both Annoying Reporter Cha and her prosecutor friend are both wearing it. As I can't stand Cha, I'm going to skip over this. Oh wait, at least we finally get to see her father, Congressman Cha Myung Suk. It's that long faced old man who's in absolutely everything. 

Daddy Cha is meeting Daddy Ji at that same damn Japanese restaurant. Seriously, does Daddy Ji live there or something? Anyway, the two men are talking and don't realize that Chairman Jo is just in the next room and that these paper walls are, well, paper thin and he's been listening to them. 

Daddy Cha mentions how their kids having been hanging out together a great deal lately. Perhaps he and Daddy Ji will end up as in-laws. (God, I hope not.) If that's the case, however, Daddy Cha gently but strongly suggests this would be a good time for Daddy Ji to reel in his zealous son and leave Chairman Jo alone. So now we know who's been buttering your biscuit, Congressman.

Somewhere at a secret location Shi Hyun lives up to his Doctor's Son moniker as he cares for Soo Min. Gosh, she does look awful. Kudos to the make-up department. Shi Hyun again begs Soo Min to stop doing this dangerous work. (Shi Hyun, when are you going to learn? Every person you've asked to get out of this dangerous lifestyle has not listened to you. It's not working. Perhaps you should try some reverse psychology. That's what Zhuge Liang would have done and he would have gotten results. But I digress...)

Soo Min starts telling him about her dead sister (never mentioning Gyung Mi's name) and says something that Shi Hyun once said to Gyung Mi. Soo Min doesn't notice the horrified look on Shi Hyun's face as he realizes the connection between the two women. 

Soo Min recovers (yet still looks awful) and returns to Jin Sook to give her the important envelope. Jin Sook throws her arms around the young girl and cries about how worried she's been about Soo Min. (If you're that worried about her, stop sending her into such dangerous situations!) 

Ji, in a clever move I must say, brings Joo Young into the headquarters and is showing her around. He introduces her to Prosecutor Ahn like the two haven't been bonking each other for some time now. Ahn is as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Yet once they're off alone together, Ji lets it be known that he knows Joo Young knows Prosecutor Ahn. What Ji wants to know is who was it who got the two together in the first place. Joo Young only knows Shi Hyun as "President Jung."

Ahn, sweating bullets now, pulls Ji into his office and asks what exactly Ji wants. The team leader tells his temporary boss to stop seeing Joo Young and to start helping in catching Doctor's Son. Ahn claims he has been helping. Ji quickly grabs Ahn's arm and pulls up the sleeve to reveal the needle marks. 

Ooh, Shi Hyun has snuck into Gyung Mi's old house. He finds Ji's corkboard will the pictures of all our key players stuck on it. On a nearby table is a picture of Gyung Mi with Soo Min. Don't need any more dots connected do you, Shi Hyun?

As Doctor's Son, Shi Hyun calls Ji Hyung Min to let the cop know his plant has been made, even using Soo Min's name, so Ji had better pull her out. Ji calls Soo Min and warns her she's been exposed. She comes back to the apartment where Ji is waiting for her. Guess she's not totally over whatever Wooden Stick injected her with as Soo Min collapses to the floor. Now it is Ji's turn to nurse her. 

Jin Sook goes to meet with Safari. She's wearing green as well but at least it isn't lime green. Was this episode filmed during St. Patrick's Day? Safari asks Jin Sook if she's the one who told Shi Hyun that he was responsible for the death of the boy's mother. This is all news to Jin Sook.

A jealous Eun Soo waits out in the hallway with her blurry knife to attack Jin Sook as she leaves. Jin Sook takes her down. Much respect, ya old whore! 

Next stop is the office of Min Hong Gi. Jin Sook knows he's the one who told Shi Hyun the story about his mother's death despite Min's denials.

Ji finds out that Fat Cop Yang was once on the same narcotics team as Safari yet Yang let on like he didn't know Frizzy Hair. This leads Ji to Director Min who now has to admit he's the one who sent Safari in undercover. Furthermore, Ji finds out there's a connection between Min and Jin Sook. 

Min has an emergency meeting with Shi Hyun to tell him about Ji's suspicions as well as Min's own that high powered politicians and prosecutors are aiding and abetting Pusan. 

Chairman Jo has a beating meeting with Scale and tries to get Korean Joe Pesci to trick Doctor's Son into coming over. Shi Hyun isn't fooled. Pusan has Scale killed. Shi Hyun is quite upset.

Ji gets a call from Prosecutor Ahn because the junkie has an appointment to meet with "President Jung." Ji hustles his unit together. They're dressed like waiters and chefs so I take it the meeting is going to be at a public restaurant. But why the hell is Detective Kim wearing that hat? 

By God it's that damn Japanese restaurant! Are there no other restaurants in Seoul? Shi Hyun easily spots all the undercover cops. Remember those paper thin walls? Well now there's a reason for them. As Ahn anxiously awaits his guest, Shi Hyun's arms burst through the paper and grab the prosecutor, a blurry knife at his throat. Ji is there with his gun drawn but he can't fire because there's a hostage involved. Ji can't see Doctor's Son's full face, only a sliver of it through the crack.

Scandal Episode 3

I just see no reason in writing all that 'shocking and wrongful incident' stuff. 

We go back in time a bit to the day of the kidnapping.

Go Joo Ran is in costume and practicing her lines when the outraged producer of her drama comes storming in. He throws down the gossip rag that features Kang Joo Pil's story on her sex tape. Joo Ran is fired from her job and is forced to do the Walk of Shame out to her car. She figures it was her nemesis, Yoon Hwa Young, who leaked the tape to the press.

That evening as Hwa Young and her son, Eun Joong, are waiting for Jang Tae Ha to come home, Joo Ran comes bursting into the living room. Hwa Young asks Eun Joong to go outside and play for awhile as she knows there's probably going to be some yelling and bitch slapping going on here.

This is when Eun Joong goes out to the gate and mistakenly thinks Myeong Gun is his father. Tae Ha's car drives up and he sees a man carrying a young child around the corner but he thinks nothing of it. He goes inside to see that indeed there is some yelling and bitch slapping going on. Tae Ha has to pull Joo Ran off of Hwa Young. (C'mon, Hwa Young; you can fight back better than that.)

Joo Ran tells him that his wife turned their sex tape over to the press. Hwa Young denies it, explaining she remembers quite clearly she gave the tape back to Tae Ha. He quickly admits he's the one who leaked the sex tape. Joo Ran goes outside to cry on the front stoop. Tae Ha asks where his son is as he's anxious to meet him. Only now with all the excitement died down does she realize she's not really sure where Eun Joong is.

Everyone in the house comes spilling out to start searching the streets. They all ignore Joo Ran who has to go back inside to get her handbag that she had left behind. The housekeeper's daughter comes back inside to call the police. Learning that Tae Ha's son may have been kidnapped, Joo Ran just sits there and laughs to herself. 

Myeong Gun takes Eun Joong back to his house. Eun Joong starts playing with Geon Young's toys and making himself right at home. When Myeong Gun serves the boy some dinner, Eun Joong starts asking his "Dad" some hard questions like whose house is this and why hasn't "Dad" come to visit him before? For a brief moment Myeong Gun doesn't see Eun Joong but Geon Young asking these questions. He comes to his senses and plans to take Eun Joong back to his mother after the boy has eaten.

Someone starts banging out at Myeong Gun's front gate. It's a drunk Joo Pil come to apologize for letting Myeong Gun down. Joo Pil doesn't make things better as he rambles on about selling out to Tae Ha and how he's the kind of guy you can never beat, never win against. Thanks for nothing, Joo Pil.

Myeong Gun calls Tae Ha's house and gets the answering machine. (Remember, this is the Eighties still.) All he says is he's taking Tae Ha's son and not to bother looking for him. He dresses Eun Joong in Geon Young's clothes and takes him out to the country. Eun Joong is having the time of his life and has no idea anything is wrong. 

After seeing a crazy shaman, Joo Ran stops by the house to basically torment a grieving Hwa Young even more. When she leaves, Joo Ran can't help but do a dance of victory out on the stoop. She's caught by Ahjumma (my hero!) who asks the old hag to please do her night club act somewhere else.

Tae Ha is down at the police station when Myeong Gun comes in. The police chief is hoping Myeong Gun can come in to work tomorrow. Instead, Myeong Gun hands in his resignation. As those two are talking, Tae Ha suddenly makes the connection between Myeong Gun and the man he saw carrying a child the night Eun Joong disappeared. Tae Ha starts yelling and accusing the now ex-cop of kidnapping his son. Myeong Gun gets to throw Tae Ha's words back into his face to come up with some evidence or else he'll sue Tae Ha for slander. 

In a room alone together there's a tense moment when Tae Ha tells Myeong Gun, "I know you're my son's kidnapper." Myeong Gun replies, "I know you're my son's killer." [Insert chills here.]

Tae Ha wants to compare Myeong Gun's voice to the voice on the answering machine, which does make sense. The police tape the detective reciting the same words as the kidnapper's message. Since it is so late in the evening, though, the chief doesn't plan to send the tapes to the lab until the morning. 

Joo Ran, with poor Joo Ha in tow, holds a press conference where she spills the beans about Tae Ha being the man in the sex tape with her as well as being the father of her daughter. 

Tae Ha lays a guilt trip on his wife about having never gotten to hug his son because Hwa Young kept them separated all these years. 

The police get the results of the voice comparisons. The lab reports the voices are not similar enough to make a match. Tae Ha is still adamant that Myeong Gun is the culprit. He and Kang Ho go to Myeong Gun's house and tear it apart looking for clues. They find a train ticket stub and investigate further. 

Myeong Gun is already at the station trying to buy a ticket out of town. He sees a homeless man hanging around which triggers a flashback. As suspected, Myeong Gun recorded Homeless Guy reciting the kidnap message. The detective then went back to the police station later in the night and was able to switch the mini tapes before they were sent off to the lab. 

Tae Ha (with a bloody forehead from banging against a desk repeatedly) arrives at the train station just as Myeong Gun is being seated. The two men glare at each other through the train window. 

 

 

Episode 4

Heartless City Episode 14

Ji Hyung Min gets a call out of the blue from none other than Doctor's Son himself. Jung Shi Hyun wants to arrange a meeting between them. (Yet he hangs up before telling Ji where to meet him. No worries - Drama Koreans always know where to go for these secret meetings.) Ji alerts his special forces unit to get ready for everything to go down. Doctor's Son leaves his seedy hideaway, a briefcase full of drugs in his hand.

Ah, Shi Hyun is leading Ji and the police back to where Chairman Jo is enjoying a very nice dinner. (I'd hate to be a minion to a Kdrama villain. There's so much standing around doing nothing involved. You can't offer your goons a chair, Pusan?) Ji, as usual, walks right in without any visible backup. Ji, as usual, single-handedly takes out the guards at the door. Inside, Shi Hyun (as usual) is surrounded and attacked by Chairman Jo's personal guards. He takes them some of them down - using his friggin' jacket! 

Enjoying the floor show for a few minutes, Pusan is finally escorted away. Just as Ji bulldozes his way into the banqueting hall, Doctor's Son grabs the briefcase and takes after Pusan. Somehow Shi Hyun beats Pusan down the stairs and grabs the old man in the hallway. He holds his blurry knife to what little neck Chairman Jo has. Pusan dares Doctor's Son to kill him. Ji, through with beating up the guys upstairs, arrives on the scene with his gun drawn. Once again Shi Hyun is just around corner so Ji doesn't get a good look at him. Doctor's Son kicks Pusan and the briefcase of drugs in Ji's way and then coolly makes his own getaway.

Ji takes Chairman Jo down to the special forces headquarters. A nervous Prosecutor Ahn makes a phone call to Chief Prosecutor Ji, Hyung Min's father, to report the arrest. Prosecutor Ji then makes his own mysterious phone call about Chairman Jo. Everybody is on the phone as now Min Hong Gi is calling Fat Cop Yang to find out what's going on. Suddenly a group of old men invade Min's office demanding to know why the esteemed Chairman Jo has been arrested. 

Shi Hyun calls together his gang, which now includes Scale. He announces that from now on they're not just going to be in the distribution business. They're going to build their own drug factory. 

Soo Min retrieves her lipstick listening device from Jin Sook's office and throws it away. Is she doing this to protect her unnie? 

Ji is infuriated to hear the charges didn't stick against Chairman Jo and the sweaty man is to be released. Now a free man, Chairman Jo goes to have a nice lunch with Prosecutor Ji. Daddy Ji commiserates with Pusan over his dead son, then gives a veiled threat that the Chairman Jo needs to hurry up and finish his business and then get out of Seoul. Pusan in turn compliments Daddy Ji on having such a fine son, then gives a veiled threat that Daddy better keep said son safe.

In another scene, Daddy Ji (who must love Japanese food as he hasn't left that restaurant) has dinner with Prosecutor Ahn. It's Daddy Ji who suggests that Ahn's dealer, that he only knows as President Jung, may also be Doctor's Son.

Hyung Min begins to investigate Han Joo Young, Ahn's mistress. Ji figures Doctor's Son is Joo Young's real sugar daddy. 

Every woman on this show is having man trouble this episode. 

Meth Kim - remember him? Ten minutes left in the show and only now are they getting around to him. He's been tied up inside some storage building. Or has he? Kim Hyun Soo wants revenge for the killing of his girl. He pulls out a blurry knife and starts walking with a purpose towards Meth Kim. Only it turns out Kim has only been pretending to have his hands tied behind his back. What he really has back there is a long metal pipe that he uses to knock Hyun Soo silly in order to make his escape. 

As Meth Kim reaches the highway there just happens to be a taxi driving by and he grabs it. Let this be a lesson to you, kids: always get a good look at the taxi driver before you get in. In this case it turns out Shi Hyun is the driver. Doctor's Son was going to let Kim go in order to track him back to Safari.

Safari tells Shi Hyun that he discovered it was Chairman Jo who had Gyung Mi killed. (Don't believe him, Shi Hyun. I still think Min Hong Gi had something to do with it.) Shi Hyun accuses his former father figure of being the one who sold the drugs to Shi Hyun's addicted mother. Safari defends himself saying he wasn't responsible for her death. He further knocks Shi Hyun's world off kilter by revealing that Mom was a drug dealer herself.

After having a crisis of faith and who to truly believe in, Shi Hyun shows signs that he's cracking and starting to turn to the Dark Side.

Heartless City Episode 13

Once again Work has interfered with my life. Boo, Overtime. Boo.

Soo Min is meeting with Ji Hyung Min out in the open as Jung Shi Hyun watches them from the shadows. He leaves to get back in his car, the gears in his mind whirling. Is he starting to make the connection that Soo Min is an undercover cop like himself?

Min and Shi Hyun meet at a church to discuss plans. Shi Hyun wants to make sure the big guy, Pusan, learns it was Safari who had his nerdy son murdered. Shi Hyun asks Min if Ji has an undercover agent of his own. For once Min is out of the loop and isn't sure.

Shi Hyun learns that Hyun Soo survived The Nerd's attack. It's rather anti-climatic as we don't get to see how he did it, only that he's still alive. Shi Hyun warns his gang that when Scale gets released they need to get to him first before Safari does.

Chairman Jo is in a men's bathroom either having a fit or a really rough bowel movement. I'm gonna go with the fit at hearing about his nerdy son being dead. After getting that out of his system, Pusan is cool and collected as he receives the report from Wooden Stick, Nerd's minion. Stick is firm (ha) in his belief it was Doctor's Son who killed Nerd. Pusan announces he's heading up to Seoul himself.

Min Hong Gi presses Ji to somehow get Prosecutor Ahn off of the special forces unit. Ji makes Ahn nervous enough to get in touch with Shi Hyun. Also, it appears that Ahn is hoping to score some drugs off of Shi Hyun.

Hmm, this is interesting. It looks like Joo Young, friend of Soo Min, mistress to Prosecutor Ahn on Doctor's Son's orders, might have a thing for Gi Chul, one of Shi Hyun's minions.

Ji has to unfortunately meet with Annoying Reporter Cha as he's had her look into Sky Investment, the company that bought out Donghae Construction (the money laundering front). Remember, when Ji was listening to his bug in Jin Sook's office he heard Jo Ha Neul (The Nerd) introduce himself as the president of Sky Investment. Ji just doesn't realize he's already met Jo Ha Neul. Well, he's met the corpse of Jo Ha Neul.

Jin Sook has lunch with Hong Gi to pump him for information on what Scale is and isn't saying. He tells her he knows the dead man isn't the real Doctor's Son and warns her to stay away from the real one as she's likely to get hurt in the crossfire. Oh yes, and Hong Gi has also gotten a divorce.

At a more private meeting back at the house, Ji jumps on Soo Min's case for being an accessory to murder concerning the Nerd. At least Soo Min is able to identify Safari and his groupies as the ones she let in through the back gate. 

After ordering Meth Kim to get rid of Scale, Safari gets the call he's been dreading to go face Pusan. Chairman Jo might be old and overweight but he can still beat the shit out of Safari for letting the Nerd die. Pusan gives Safari one last chance (again) to live by bringing in Doctor's Son. It doesn't matter what shape he's in as long as he's still alive.

Scale has just been released from police custody and he catches a cab which in turn is followed by almost every character in this drama. 

But not by Shi Hyun. He's off to walk straight into the lion's den and meet with Pusan. (Why is that guy in the background standing with his legs so far apart?) Doctor's Son tells Chairman Jo he wants to make a deal and that it was Safari who killed the Nerd. Naturally Pusan doesn't take Shi Hyun's word for it. Shi Hyun suggests Pusan call Scale and have him tell the story behind that night.

Only Scale's not answering his phone. He's too busy fending off Meth Kim and his blurry knife.

Doctor's Son is in trouble as he's surrounded by Pusan's men and their own blurry knives. Can I hope for an action scene? Aw heck, no, because Scale's calling back after disarming Meth Kim (with the help of Hyun Soo, of course.) Scale tells the truth that it was Safari after all. Pusan looks like he's about to have another fit/bowel movement. 

However, Doctor's Son isn't out of the woods yet. He's knocked out cold. When he comes to it is to find his hands are bound. Pusan steps on Shi Hyun's throat and informs the young man that the grieving father still blames him in some way for being responsible for his son's death. Therefore it's going to be tit for tat. Shi Hyun must give up someone he loves so Pusan can slit their throat in front of Doctor's Son.

When Shi Hyun doesn't say anything, Wooden Stick quickly searches him and finds two cell phones. One phone doesn't have any contacts at all but the other one... oh crap, it's Soo Min's number. 

Who wears high heels while they're washing their face? Soo Min, that's who.

Using Shi Hyun's phone, Pusan sends a text to Soo Min asking to meet her someplace. Soo Min thinks she's being the bigger person to meet with Shi Hyun so he can apologize for last time. Shi Hyun desperately tries to think up a way to save Soo Min but all he gets  for his trouble is a tooth knocked out. (A very fake looking tooth but we'll go with it.) 

When Soo Min arrives at the rendezvous place she's apprehended by Pusan's goons and dragged before him. She gets knocked around a bit because she WON'T SHUT UP. At least she's caused a distraction long enough for Shi Hyun to work on his bonds. Just as one of the goons is coming over to slit Soo Min's throat, Shi Hyun leaps into action.

Finally a fight scene as the two lovers beat off the goon squad and run for their lives. And when I say run you should know Soo Min is still wearing high heels but damn if she ain't keeping up! They make it down to the garage and jump into Soo Min's car. Shi Hyun drives recklessly through the traffic (while safely wearing his seat belt) to shake their pursuers. 

He drives them to... where are they exactly? They're in another parking garage is all I can say. Soo Min confesses she has feelings for Shi Hyun. His reply is only to delete his phone number and get out of this mess while she still can. Just then she receives a phone call from his cell phone, the one Pusan still has. Shi Hyun answers it. Chairman Jo tells him they may have gotten away this time but he never goes back on his word. Soo Min's life is still in danger.