My Secret Terrius: Episodes 9-10

by abirdword

There’s so much fun in this episode, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have some tension as well! Ae-rin’s close proximity to Yong-tae proves to be more dangerous than she’s bargained for, but Terrius comes out of the storage unit when needed to lend a hand. Bon does everything that he can to keep Ae-rin close, but it might not be enough to keep her out of harm’s way.

 
EPISODE 9 RECAP

Bon grabs his gun and sweet car from his secret storage unit, and Terrius is officially back to save Ae-rin. Ae-rin, meanwhile, is tied up in a warehouse, her thoughts on what will happen to her kids if she dies like this. Footsteps announce that her captor has arrived.

On the way, the GPS tracker sticker that Bon stole from Ji-yeon and stuck in Ae-rin’s bag earlier guides the way to the secluded warehouse where Ae-rin is being held.

Meanwhile, Ji-yeon’s stakeout goes sour, as Yong-tae and the new defense chief have managed to slip out the back.

Which means that Yong-tae has had enough time to kidnap Ae-rin. He steps forward now out of the shadows and peels the tape off of Ae-rin’s mouth. Yong-tae pulls up a chair for the interrogation.

Yong-tae asks if Ae-rin is familiar with the story of Blackbeard, and the women who were told not to enter a room. It turns out that while Ae-rin was snooping, Yong-tae received an alert on his phone, complete with video evidence of Ae-rin taking photos of the bags.

Yong-tae tries to appear intimidating, but it’s clear when his driver bangs a piece of wood noisily against the floor and Yong-tae jumps out of his seat right along with Ae-rin, that he’s not exactly a pro at this whole kidnapping thing.

He demands an explanation, and Ae-rin provides the truth without hesitation. She explains that she brought the ruined bag home to consult a friend, and when they couldn’t determine the brand, they kept digging in hopes of determining the real cost.

Ae-rin admits that the photos are all on a USB drive in her bag. She says that the photos aren’t on her phone anymore because she had to delete them to save space for photos of her kids. Yong-tae confirms this, pockets the USB and then moves on to another line of questioning: why was Ae-rin at the funeral home? Ae-rin admits now that she lied about something.

Bon arrives outside, and the lackeys are easy prey for the well-trained spy as he punches and kicks through them. Inside, Ae-rin confesses, not to investigating Chief Moon’s death, but to the fact that she lied about having a husband. She tells Yong-tae she wanted to avoid him hitting on her, and that she was at the funeral home to pick up paperwork.

The interrogation is interrupted when Yong-tae hears the commotion outside, so he sends his driver out to investigate. Unfortunately for the driver, he’s no match for Bon, who knocks him out with a single punch to the face. No one’s getting beaten with a two-by-four today.

When his driver doesn’t return, Yong-tae’s nerves drive him to untie Ae-rin and flee. He’s so scared, he pushes Ae-rin out of the warehouse doors ahead of him, ha.

Bon is right there, but he quickly hides when he realizes Ae-rin seems to be escaping. When Ae-rin reports all the beaten-up lackeys to Yong-tae, he races to his car. Ae-rin begs for a ride, but instead Yong-tae rolls down his window, fires her and drives away.

Ae-rin drags her feet down the desolate road alone, though Bon isn’t far away as he watches her progress. He calls her to check in and moments later, Bon’s car lights flash in Ae-rin’s eyes. He walks towards her, still in his suit, and asks if Ae-rin is okay. Ae-rin says that she was scared, but only just a little.

In the car, Bon says that he’s glad that Ae-rin was fired. At first Ae-rin is miffed about his response, until he reminds her that she was the one who told him that there was something strange about the company.

Ae-rin is curious about their phone call earlier. Without any explanation, Bon told her to watch out for suspicious people on the road, as if he already knew the kind of danger she’d been in. Ae-rin takes a guess: “Do you… have supernatural powers?”

Bon answers with an immediate, “Yes.” He tells her he can see the future, and Ae-rin can’t help but imagine a flamboyant psychic Bon, though she knows it’s completely at odds with the suited gentleman in the seat next to her. He tells her not to tell anyone else about what happened tonight, or else her family will be cursed.

Eun-ha notes Bon’s upgraded attire when the two arrive home, but Ae-rin recalls Bon’s warning in the car and remains tight-lipped about where she’s been. She and Bon pick the twins up from Eun-ha’s and walk them home.

Each carrying a twin on their back, Ae-rin asks about Bon’s car. Bon lies that he bought it recently, after he started working as a sitter. Ae-rin sighs that she’s got to find a new job so that she can support his car payments. Bon points out that she’s got a lot on her shoulders with her mortgage, two kids, plus his car payments, and they smile together about it.

The next day, Yong-tae is frustrated that they’ve got no footage of the man that took down their look-outs at the warehouse. He thinks it was a professional, but K is out of the country. Yong-tae has no interest in following up on Ae-rin though, confident that she doesn’t know anything.

Ae-rin tags along to the driving range with her friends and tells them she’s been fired. But with Bon’s warning in mind, she lies and says that it was for the destruction of the bag. Her friends pity her, but Ae-rin is confident that she’ll find a new job.

Chief Kwon receives reports of Bon’s activities from the previous night. She’s furious with her team for losing sight of him after Star Tower, but now she has some leads to work with, and she swears she’ll catch him.

Do-woo senses a tail following him on his way to King’s Bag, so he swings into a bathroom and changes from his bright colors to an all-black ensemble. The swap-out isn’t enough to lose Bon though, who confronts him.

Do-woo brings Bon back to the secret headquarters. Ji-yeon arrives shortly after; surprised to see her colleague and Bon already talking like old, trusted acquaintances. Bon says he likes Do-woo because he’s like Ji-yeon, aww.

They discuss the new chief of security giving Ji-yeon the slip at the secret meeting and Bon recommends digging into J International, especially after Do-woo shares the calls to Chief Moon from Star Tower. Ji-yeon shares the file they have on K with Bon, real name Steven Kim.

An alarm interrupts their discussions, as Sun-mi and Sang-ryul come in to browse the store. This gives Bon an idea, and he suggests that Ji-yeon hire one more person to mind the shop. Hmmm, Bon knows someone looking for employment…

And indeed, Bon is at Ae-rin’s door right away with a help wanted flier from King’s Bag. He haltingly says that he thinks she should take this so that she can start paying him again, ha.

Ae-rin stops in to interview at King’s Bag. Ji-yeon awaits her arrival, mulling the details Bon provided regarding Ae-rin. Ae-rin isn’t just someone he knows, but is the widow of the witness Ji-yeon wanted to find. Bon warns Ji-yeon not to tell Ae-rin the truth about her husband’s death.

Meanwhile, Eun-ha shares Bon’s secret with the other parents: Ae-rin told her that Bon is a fortune teller. Sang-ryul laughs when Sun-mi suggests Bon turned up at all of their apartments to determine their feng shui, but all the same, they’re convinced he must be the real deal and plot to set up a meeting with him.

At the interview, Do-woo looks impressed when Ae-rin reports her previous experience as a programmer, while Ji-yeon shoots that the experience isn’t relevant to the available position at all. Ae-rin’s got one new thing on her resume though—she used to work at a company that imported bags. As Ae-rin says the name, J International, Ji-yeon’s eyes widen in recognition.

EPISODE 10

Yong-tae’s driver returns with the white bag, now full of the new defense chief’s money. Yong-tae says smugly that they made an offer Chief Jung couldn’t refuse, timed perfectly with his son’s wedding expenses.

Back at Ae-rin’s interview, Ji-yeon makes it clear that she’s interested in J International intel, and Ae-rin is quick to realize she’s got a bargaining chip. She says that she has a photo of the serial number inside the bag, that she will provide… if she is offered the position.

While the photos were deleted from her phone, she still has record of it in the group chat she sent to the other parents. Ae-rin has the job, and she even manages to negotiate full health benefits.

Ae-rin returns home jubilant, and she offers to treat everyone, Bon included, for dinner. Off they go for PPL sandwiches, where the twins and Ae-rin enjoy their meal. Bon offers to tag along while Ae-rin goes grocery shopping.

Ae-rin loads up Bon’s cart with deals and offers to split things, while the twins admire the fish tanks. They decide they need some at home. Ae-rin tries to reason with them, but they decide to deploy temper tantrums instead. Ae-rin plans to just walk away from them, but Bon is just the sucker the twins are looking for.

So when they get back to Bon’s apartment, it has a new aquarium addition, with fish for the twins to admire. While they do that, Ae-rin admires Bon’s very clean apartment. Bon darts for the cupboards as Ae-rin starts to open drawers, and then watches as she dashes after her children, chasing and playing in the austere environment.

Ji-yeon wonders why Bon didn’t reveal that Ae-rin was working at J International, since he obviously had to know about it. Do-woo points out the obvious, that Bon didn’t want her involved in their business, but still wanted to help her out. Which leads Ji-yeon to the conclusion that Bon must like this woman. She shakes the idea from her head.

At home, Bon stares at his new fish tank, contemplative.

Ae-rin shows up to her first day at her new job fifteen minutes early, much to the chagrin of Do-woo. While Do-woo is surly with a customer, Ae-rin does her best to encourage the woman to browse and try things on.

Ji-yeon hands off an intel dossier on her new employee to Director Shim to request money to pay her salary. Ji-yeon tells him that she’s the widow of her witness, and that she needs her for more information.

Yong-tae goes through Ae-rin’s desk, where he finds her “Crazy Weirdo” file, with all the notes she’s taken on his habits and preferences. She’s made charts and graphs tracking him, and Yong-tae is impressed with her thoroughness.

Sales at King’s Bag don’t pick up during the day, which suits Do-woo just fine (since the store is just a front anyway) but Ae-rin begins to worry that her new boss won’t be able to justify paying both her and Do-woo. Ae-rin gets a phone call, and her look suggests she’s surprised to see who is calling.

The neighborhood parents have cornered Bon and conspiratorially tell him they’ve kept his secret. But now they’d like their fortunes read, and they each hand over their questions. Bon shifts uncomfortably, then promises to look into the future and report back to them as he flees the room.

Ae-rin meets up with her caller, none other than former boss Yong-tae. He has the gall to inquire whether she got home all right after their warehouse encounter without any apology, and then offers her another chance at the job as his secretary.

Ae-rin is happy to rub her new job in his face and let him know that no, she’s not interested in working for a mobster. Yong-tae can’t help but laugh to himself at his new gangster designation.

The neighborhood parents have called a late-night meeting. Ae-rin is there, and she’s got a favor to ask of them.

Bon meets with Ji-yeon and Do-woo at the secret headquarters. So far, J International’s business dealings look clean, and they have no leads to follow. They’re interrupted by the alarm, and watch incredulously while Ae-rin sneaks into the shop with her friends in tow.

Ae-rin is worried about the business not succeeding, so they’ve come to take a photo shoot to encourage their friends to shop here. They pose, using tin foil as makeshift reflectors to flash some light on their faces, all while the NIS agents watch.

By the next morning, the store is packed with enough customers to thoroughly annoy Ji-yeon and Do-woo all day long. Their secret headquarters/store is bustling thanks to Ae-rin’s efforts, hee. Ae-rin’s friends drop by and she introduces them all to her boss, whom Sang-ryul swears he recognizes.

Bon gets a text from Ji-yeon while he and the kids watch the fish, which says they should go into business selling bags, Ae-rin is so good at it. Bon smiles and asks the twins what their mother is best at. They name all her great qualities, from doing laundry to lifting heavy things.

Bon waits outside for Ae-rin to return, though he says he’s only out sorting his recycling when she spots him. Ae-rin smiles and holds out a gift, a wallet from her store, as thanks to Bon for taking such good care of her kids. Inside she’s placed his salary, so that he can keep making payments on his new car.

The news of the additional defense weapons purchase makes its way to TV, where Sang-ryul critiques the weapons they chose, until his wife yells at him from the bedroom to turn off the TV.

Ji-yeon and Do-woo have heard the news as well, and they’re interested in the company who has been selected to supply the new weapons, Lucascone, and its connections to J International. Ji-yeon suspects that there’s something bigger behind J International.

At NIS, Chief Kwon stares out her window, contemplative.

Yong-tae receives a call from his mysterious boss, and with his new instructions, he updates the astrology website with a new forecast for Aries, including the High Priestess tarot card.

Moments later, a dark figure breaks into the NIS office and snaps a photo of Ae-rin’s dossier sitting on Director Shim’s desk.

The next morning, Ae-rin takes her kids to the bus while Bon checks in on his favorite website. He’s never seen the High Priestess card before, and he goes pale when he sees that the embedded coordinates are for their apartments, King Castle Complex.

Bon rushes down to the stop. He sees Ae-rin, and then turns to spot a reflective light in a window. His mind aligns this with Candy’s death in Poland, and he shouts for Ae-rin. As the other parents watch, Bon takes a flying leap and throws Ae-rin to the ground, the two landing in a pile together.

 
COMMENTS

This was such a fun episode. I was all prepared to gush about the warehouse scene as the best of the hour, but the show just kept making me smile, scene after scene, until I could no longer pick a favorite moment. And that is how you make a great show.

Normally my favorite scenes each week are the moments when Bon is being domestic, and while this episode didn’t lack for those moments (Bon and Ae-rin carrying the twins on their backs! Bon pretending to die from a laser shot from Joon-soo! The kids naming a fish “Uncle”!), this episode let some of the building character relationships pay off for some really great comedic and endearing moments.

I loved the “meeting” of the neighborhood parents and Ji-yeon’s NIS team. It’s kind of perfect that the parents have no clue that the NIS was watching them while they ran their photoshoot in the secret headquarters. It sets up this amazing back and forth between the two groups, the KIS always kind of bumbling their way into the real intel while the NIS just watches, dumbfounded. How long will it take before Ae-rin has figured out King’s Bag is a front? Given how long it took her to figure out J International, my guess is not long at all.

Are Ji-yeon and Sang-ryul going to be from the same special forces class? Though Sang-ryul recognizing Ji-yeon could just be more of the running joke for Sang-ryul and his obsession with the military, I think it’s going to be more. With Sang-ryul established as both an engineer and a military nerd, I think he’s going to be vital to the team once finally formed.

I think it’s no secret by now that one of my favorite elements to the show is Yong-tae. He’s not too bumbling, but moments where he is out of his element in the crime world make for both great humor and build intrigue for his past. He’s not a great guy. He kidnapped his employee, abandoned her at a secluded warehouse to save himself, and then actually tried to hire her again without even apologizing for those actions. But he’s not interested in hurting Ae-rin without reason either, and he obviously both wants her to stay out of the way, and stay by his side.

It makes complete sense that Ae-rin wouldn’t go back to work for him, and I think I’d be disappointed in her character if she had. But all the same, I feel like it’s a misstep to keep Yong-tae too far away from her. It’s Yong-tae and Ae-rin’s interactions that make him a multi-faceted villain, and without those, I fear we risk losing him to just another mid-level bad guy doing what he’s told. Speaking of which, if he’s the one who put the tarot card out for K, that means he knows who the target was. And that means he has a moment to show us who he is, and either put out the hit like an obedient servant, or intervene to save Ae-rin.

While the show was landing with its humor this hour, it also managed to generate some tension, which I didn’t expect from it. I thought for sure that Ae-rin’s kidnapping would turn out to be a misdirect, but then there was Yong-tae standing over her. And even though he gave himself away pretty early on that he wasn’t there to actually hurt her, the initial moment of realizing that it was actually him and not a plot by someone like Chief Kwon made it really scary. I wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but thankfully his cowardice prevailed over any other plans.

I’m not sure how Bon will handle this threat against Ae-rin, even if the sniper shot turns out to be fake. It’s pretty clear that he is affected by her and that her company has started to sand away his aloof edges. But this is the second time that Bon has had personal feelings for someone who is supposed to just be part of the mission, and Bon clearly sees the similarities. I suspect that he won’t be willing to risk someone dying on his watch again. But does that mean doubling down on how often he’s near her, or pulling away from Ae-rin entirely?

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