My Secret Terrius: Episodes 27-28

by Helcat

Our ajumma-turned-agent goes into the belly of the beast, but this time it’s a calculated risk. Bon may not like it, but when Ae-rin is determined, he’s right there alongside her as back-up. And just as Ae-rin gets drawn more into Bon’s world, Bon is starting to feel at home in hers. With friends to help from every side, what can go wrong for our team?

 
EPISODE 27

A man points a gun to Ae-rin’s head, who cringes away in fear and pleads, “Please don’t kill me.”

The man pulls the trigger…and a flag with “Bang!” on it pops out.

Ae-rin turns to see Bon standing there, and she yanks the toy gun from his hands in anger. Unapologetic, Bon points out that Ae-rin lied to him and asks, “Were you scared? What you’re doing is dangerous. You never know when a gun might be pointed at you.”

Ae-rin answers that she knows that, but determinedly says that she has already made it through the interview, and will have Ji-yeon and Do-woo’s help. She softly adds, “I know you’ll help me too. Because you always look out for me.”

Resigned, Bon says, “If that’s what you want, I’ll make sure to protect you.”

Ji-yeon ushers the two into her car, and cutely praises a proud Ae-rin for passing the interview. Pleased, Ji-yeon adds that Ae-rin even got the interview through her KIS connections rather than NIS.

Sitting alone in the back, Bon grumbles that he feels like a loner with these two getting along so well.

Bon is still worried about Ae-rin though, not least because she is a housewife with no NIS training. He decides there’s only one thing for it—they’ll have to start training.

The next day, Bon runs literal rings around Ae-rin, as she is put through her paces on the race track. Bon yells that she’s too slow and promises a prize if she finishes (I’m getting real Oh My Venus flashbacks here, ha).

Ae-rin rolls her eyes as Bon tells her for the 37th time to just run away if danger appears, and boasts in response to his question if she’s a great actress—she even fooled con-man Yong-tae. Ae-rin smiles as she fondly tells Bon, “You can stop your nagging, Mr. Worry.”

Director Shim gives Ji-yeon only one more month on the King’s Bag operation, and asks if she knows anything about the secret Swiss safe deposit box that belongs to Bon that Chief Kwon found. Ji-yeon lies that she doesn’t, but after she leaves the director mutters, “She’s definitely hiding something.”

Ji-yeon is suspicious too, as she wonders how Chief Kwon knew about the account.

Yoon Chun-sang meets with Yong-tae to tell him that they’re flying out to Switzerland next week to retrieve Bon’s things from his safe deposit box. That will be when Yong-tae’s fate is decided. An unhappy Yong-tae phones Bon, who agrees that this is very short notice.

A knock on Bon’s door has him on alert… as the KIS trio stand outside, holding gifts. When he opens the door, he’s left stunned as they barrel past him into his apartment before he can say anything.

The trio look through his things, make themselves comfortable and brightly inform him that they’ll be throwing a party here tonight. Overwhelmed, Bon is loaded down with an armful of groceries, and given instructions on what to prepare, ha.

Ae-rin joins the gang for the feast, and waves at Bon to come sit with them. Bon sits down, a bit wary, but he’s warmly welcomed by the trio and they all tuck in. Talk turns to the terrorist attack at the school, and Bon catches on in time to enthusiastically praise them for their good work.

The KIS spies turn to the real reason they’re here—to figure out what’s going on with Bon’s love life, ha. Bon quickly lies that Ji-yeon is actually an old colleague of his, and Sun-mi gasps that she must have worked at Mount Gyeryong as another fortune-teller with him. The trio run with the idea, at only a little prompting from impish Bon.

At the King’s Bag office, Do-woo leads Ji-yeon outside for a walk under the autumn leaves. Ji-yeon smiles that Do-woo seems to have grown into a man from the child she knew. To Do-woo’s disappointment, she refuses to try and catch a red leaf, which will make her find her true love.

But when Do-woo finds one in Ji-yeon’s hair, it gives him the courage to step close and place the necklace he bought for her round her neck. From the look on her face, she isn’t unaffected by Do-woo’s close proximity. To cover, she asks if he’s crazy, since it’s so expensive, but thanks him for the gift.

Do-woo grins and asks if they can go to Iceland now that the King’s Bag operation is almost over, as he reminds Ji-yeon of what she said the night she was drunk. Ji-yeon smiles, but Do-woo adds that she’ll have to pay for him, since he spent all his money on the necklace, and skips off.

At the KIS dinner, Ae-rin sadly admits that there’s no one to look after the Joon-Joon twins since Bon got a new job in “insurance”, so they’ll have to stay on Jeju. The trio rally round, as they promise to help Bon in his new job AND to look after the twins until Ae-rin can find a new sitter. They all toast to the plan and wait for Bon to raise his mug to theirs. Aww.

Later that night, Ae-rin lies to Eun-ha that the USB was her husband’s, sent as a threat by someone who didn’t want a book to get published. Relieved to hear that the man in the video didn’t actually die, Eun-ha accepts the explanation. When Ae-rin has to dash off to another meeting, Eun-ha smiles knowingly (because of the late hour) despite Ae-rin’s protests.

Unfortunately, it really is a meeting. Ae-rin and the King’s Bag team discuss the plan: Ae-rin will get the layout of Yoon Chun-sang’s house, which the spies will use to search for evidence while he’s out of the country with Yong-tae.

Do-woo instructs Ae-rin to use special contact lenses so they can see what she’s doing, and to place the listening stickers in Yoon Chun-sang’s room. Yong-tae moans that they gave him glasses which covered his handsome face, but grandly compliments Ae-rin on her spy skills… and then winks at her, ha. Bon sits up and asks if there’s something in Yong-tae’s eye.

After the meeting, Ae-rin wonders if she will get a code name, and asks Bon to think of one for her. He suggests “Alice” because Ae-rin has entered a real Wonderland of her own.

“Alice” enters Yoon Chun-sang’s house the next day, making sure to take a long look around the garden and entrance, so the team can see what she is seeing. There’s a wrinkle in the plan though—Ms. Ahn orders Ae-rin to stay in the kitchen, or else she will be fired.

Which is how Ae-rin ends up peeling garlic. From a huge bowl. All day.

Ae-rin complains to the team that night, because she can’t really do anything, but she did find out something interesting from the other workers. Only Ms. Ahn is allowed on the second floor, and all the doors are locked except when she’s in there to clean.

The team sigh about what they can do when everything is so tightly guarded—when Ae-rin has a bright idea.

EPISODE 28

Ae-rin sneaks into the cleaning cupboard the next day, and places a miniature camera onto the hoover. Before she can congratulate herself, Ms. Ahn appears from behind and demands to know what she’s doing. Ms. Ahn scrutinizes the cupboard, but doesn’t find anything and warns Ae-rin to just do her job properly.

And today, that means preparing a huge bowl of green onions. Ae-rin glares at the bowl, and watches curiously as Ms. Ahn eats a spoonful of honey powder before she leaves.

Ae-rin’s risk pays off when Ms. Ahn takes the vacuum upstairs to Yoon Chun-sang’s library, and the team spots the high-security safe he keeps there.

Do-woo declares that he will need Chun-sang’s fingerprint and specialized equipment to crack the safe. He goes to retrieve the equipment from the engineer, the same one who gave Do-woo the stickers. There’s no evidence that the stickers were signed out, and Do-woo muses that must mean they were snuck out by someone.

Once Do-woo leaves, Chief Kwon pops out, and asks the engineer what he was doing with Do-woo.

Bon meets with Ae-rin after work to walk her home, and praises her on a job well done. When Yong-tae sends her a series of cute animal emojis and a request to go to dinner, Ae-rin is confused but Bon takes matters into his own hands and sends back an angry little pig, ha.

Ae-rin smiles up at Bon, seeing that the emoji is the same one he (accidentally) sent to her before, and happily agrees to go back with Bon to get dinner together. Poor Yong-tae sits pathetically alone in his apartment, disappointed at being rebuffed.

At Bon’s apartment, Ae-rin hovers and badgers him about cooking incorrectly until Bon exasperatedly tells her to go sit down and relax. He explains that he’s cooking because she worked hard all day. Hee.

Ae-rin effusively compliments the finished meal (while Bon looks at her with adoration) and thanks him for letting her experience the best kind of meal—one made for you by someone else. Bon shyly says that this was the first time he ever cooked meat for someone in this house.

Meanwhile, Yong-tae’s former secretary Mr. Park hides outside Yong-tae’s base and calls Yoon Chun-sang to inform him that Yong-tae hasn’t done anything suspicious. Mr. Park isn’t very good at hiding though, and Yong-tae catches him in the act.

The next day, Ji-yeon impresses on the King’s Bag team that the operation to retrieve the information—details on the assassinations and corrupt officials—from Yoon Chun-sang’s safe is their last chance before they get shut down, so they must succeed. Bon decides that he will do the actual retrieval, since no one apart from Yoon Chun-sang knows his face.

Ji-yeon runs over the plan again—Ae-rin will cut the WiFi wire, so that Ms. Ahn is forced to call in a repairman, Bon in disguise, who will use the opportunity to crack the safe. Ae-rin warns that Ms. Ahn is formidable and doesn’t let anyone she doesn’t know enter—but KIS did hear a rumor that she has a weakness for handsome men.

Yong-tae heaves a big sigh, and says that he will take the risk, since he’s needed. Everyone else around the table turns to stare at him, preening as he sits beside Bon. Bon scoffs that he already said he would go in, and besides, it’s too dangerous for anyone else. Yong-tae pouts.

The next day, Ms. Ahn almost doesn’t let Bon in… until Bon does the classic makeover move and takes off his cap and glasses. A halo of light surrounds him, Ms. Ahn goes weak at the knees for the handsome repair man, and Bon is allowed in.

He “fixes” the TV, and asks if there are any more computers or TVs so he can set up the new password. Just as Ms. Ahn is about to refuse, Bon picks up his drink and downs it in such a sexy way (while “Careless Whisper” plays, lol) that Ms. Ahn asks him to follow her.

Upstairs, Ms. Ahn is glued to Bon’s side… until a massive crash is heard from below, and she runs out to investigate. While Bon sets to work on the safe, Ms. Ahn finds Ae-rin standing beside the broken honey jar, and is apoplectic with rage.

Meanwhile, Chief Kwon tips off Director Shim that the King’s Bag team have borrowed the safe-cracker. The director hurries over to discover the office empty and there’s a post-it note with Bon’s handwriting on it.

The director phones Ji-yeon and demands an explanation. Anxious to keep the mission on course, Ji-yeon and Do-woo decide to go back to the King’s Bag office to appease him, while Bon stays behind to complete the recovery.

In more bad news, Yoon Chun-sang receives a phone call, and to Yong-tae’s consternation, he orders that the car is turned around. Out of the corner of his eye, the driver notices Yong-tae sending a text to someone.

At Yoon’s house, Bon finally cracks the safe, and hits the jackpot with Yong-tae’s USB and files on the assassinations inside. Except, an alarm rings out across the house, which alerts Ms. Ahn to the theft and she flies back upstairs.

Bon bundles the incriminating evidence into his bag, and delivers a swift blow to Ms. Ahn’s back that puts her to sleep. Storming out of the room, Bon orders Ae-rin to meet him outside in the garden. He narrowly dodges the security guards, and slips out to a balcony where he spots Ae-rin waiting for him below… and the killer K advancing on Ae-rin from behind with a raised gun.

Bon leaps from the balcony, and runs at Ae-rin. Just as K pulls the trigger, Bon crashes into Ae-rin and sends them both flying to the ground.

Ae-rin is unscathed, but Bon has been shot in the arm. Panicked, Ae-rin fusses over the wound, but Bon reassures her that he’s fine and hands her the bag of evidence. He directs her to escape while he deals with K and grimly says, “I have unfinished business with him.”

Bon manages to get the drop on K, and Ae-rin escapes in the chaos. Bon puts up a good fight, but with only one good arm, K quickly overpowers him. Bon lies incapacitated on the ground, as K raises his gun to fire.

Ae-rin makes it out of the house, and stumbles into the road. The sound of a gunshot rings out.

 
COMMENTS

I’m glad to say that after a minor slump last week, we are (mostly) back on form. The Joon-Joon twins are still a missing hole in my heart, but the joy came back, which is the most important thing to this show.

For instance, it was wonderful to see Bon be welcomed into the KIS trio. From the slightly stunned look on his face throughout their meal, I have to wonder if Bon has ever had friends, but one thing is for sure—he’s never had friends like these. The closest friend that he had, Ji-yeon, was his work colleague and one that he didn’t contact after he went on the run. His walls were up so high that it would take a totally shameless, hilarious lot like KIS to get through, and Bon might pretend that it’s an imposition but we all know better. The KIS crew are treating him like one of their own now, with all the loyalty and expectations that go along with that, and Bon is going to fit right in. He already enjoys fondly teasing them, and he needs that happiness in his life after all the years of loneliness he went through. KIS are getting a good deal too, since Bon goes above and beyond for those people who are close to him. What I’m saying is, I want to go hang out with this lovely gang of friends. And maybe invite Yong-tae. He can keep everyone entertained by repeatedly talking about how handsome he is, and pouting when his “brother” makes fun of him.

It’s not just the KIS trio, as Bon and Ae-rin’s relationship continues to be peppered with sweet moments and meaningful connection. Bon is so in tune with Ae-rin and goes out of his way to make her life easier because she was the one who noticed him and treated him kindly when he didn’t have anyone. It’s a bit sad to think that Bon was so cut off that he believed Ae-rin’s kindness was suspicious, but now he’s surrounded by people he loves. You can tell that he’s not taking that for granted now, because he’s determined to do everything right. So he suppors Ae-rin in her decisions even when he doesn’t like them and pushes her when she needs it–doing small things that means a lot. Their meal together was a highlight of the episode for me, because it felt like a date, but it also felt like they were a couple totally comfortable with each other. It’s so easy to see how they would be together that it feels like they are already family. I guess the dating timeline gets a bit muddled when you basically live together and have the heightened tension of being constantly in danger. My heart tugged for Ae-rin when she admitted that this the first meal someone had made for her—as we saw in the first few episodes, Ae-rin was so busy being a mom it was like she was single. But Bon wouldn’t be the same kind of partner or father as her husband was, as he promises to be involved and present in their family unit.

In what has turned out to be too common in this show, Ae-rin hasn’t explained why she is so determined to go after Yoon Chun-sang herself, and put herself directly into harm’s way, which I would have appreciated. I expect we are to assume that it’s in the name of justice for her husband’s death, but Ae-rin also genuinely seems to enjoy working as a spy. It makes use of her diverse set of talents, there’s a thrilling element to it that has been missing from her life as a housewife, and Ae-rin is very good under pressure. It’s no wonder that Ji-yeon wants her as part of the team (even if it is incredibly unprofessional). And on that, I absolutely loved seeing Ji-yeon compliment Ae-rin and trust her to carry out this important stage of the mission. Ji-yeon so easily could have fallen into the cliche of scorned second lead, and instead she is here cheerleading our heroine. And yay to Do-woo finally getting Ji-yeon to see him in a romantic light—it only took a little unexpected skinship.

There’s very little plot left to this show, but Bon came face to face with his worst fear in this episode—as Candy’s death was almost re-enacted before his very eyes with Ae-rin. At least this time he was able to save Ae-rin, and he made good on his promise earlier to protect her. As we go into finale week, I hope that the show stays true to what made it so good—which is to say, keep it light on the spy front and give us oodles of fun.

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