Room No. 9: Episodes 9-10

by lovepark

Returning to their original bodies, our protagonists adjust back to their usual roles, but the secrets uncovered during the body swap have irrevocably altered both their lives. As they get closer to the truth behind the fateful evening thirty-four years ago, the noose around their necks gets tighter though they, themselves, don’t realize the danger.

 
EPISODE 9 RECAP

Yoo-jin ties Hwa-sa’s and Hae-yi’s hands together for the body swap, but having forgotten the gel, he steps out and notices Chairman Ki walking down the hall. Yoo-jin returns to the room, but when Chairman Ki enters, only Hae-yi lays on the bed, asleep. Chairman Ki sits next to Hae-yi, and right underneath the bed hides Yoo-jin and Hwa-sa.

Officer Oh begs his captain for additional traffic footage to find “Hae-yi,” but the captain nags at him to slow down. Officer Oh frantically writes down the names of the deceased as well as “Hae-yi” and argues with his captain that everything points to Chan-sung.

Hwa-sa stirs next to Yoo-jin, the drugs wearing off, and he covers her mouth, hoping that Chairman Ki didn’t hear anything. Luckily, Chairman Ki doesn’t hear their rustling, and tucks in Hae-yi before leaving. With the coast clear, Yoo-jin resumes the body swap plan.

Slowly regaining consciousness, Hwa-sa asks Yoo-jin for more time to finish her task before returning Hae-yi’s body, but given her medical condition, Yoo-jin won’t risk the chance of Hae-yi dying in Hwa-sa’s body. Despite her pleas, Yoo-jin tells her to switch bodies with him if this is heaven’s will and gives her a shock with the defibrillator.

As the strange defibrillator glows, the lights in the hallway flicker on and off, sending sparks flying over the chairman’s head, and Secretary Park goes inside to escort the chairman. Back in the room, “Hae-yi” wakes up, and after checking her reflection in the mirror, she happily calls for Yoo-jin. Looks like Hae-yi has returned.

After hearing that Yoo-jin left to get ice, Hae-yi goes searching for him, but remembering her current predicament with Chan-sung’s case and Attorney Ma’s murder, she stops by a payphone to call Intern Bang. While she tries to remember his number, Chairman Ki walks by, and the two lock eyes.

Chairman Ki takes Hae-yi to a private location and shows her security footage from the hotel of her entering Attorney Ma’s room. Meanwhile, Yoo-jin returns to the hospital and finds Hae-yi missing.

Before dropping her off at the law firm, Chairman Ki warns Hae-yi that she’ll stand on trial if she fails to get his son’s acquittal. To his surprise, Hae-yi asks him why he was at the hospital, and Chairman Ki says that he merely wanted to see the face of the inmate who killed his half-brother.

Intern Bang and Mi-ran are relieved to see Hae-yi arrive at work after having been missing all yesterday. In the privacy of Hae-yi’s office, Mi-ran reveals that they now have evidence to get Chan-sung arrested, but before she can elaborate, a worried Yoo-jin barges into the office. He thinks the body swap worked, but seeing Mi-ran in the corner of her eye, Hae-yi pretends to be Hwa-sa, which devastates him.

While Intern Bang reports to Prosecutor Kim about Hae-yi and her relationship with Yoo-jin, Hae-yi walks in on the two conversing, and notes the unexpected pairing. Prosecutor Kim brings up her unexcused absence so close to the trial, but Hae-yi reminds him of her 100% success rate. With a smile, she assures him, “Just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

Hae-yi’s assistant picks up her bag from Officer Oh, and the captain smacks him for making a fuss over nothing. He wonders if she was putting on a show to confuse him but smiles knowing that Hae-yi is safe. Meanwhile, Yoo-jin sits by Hwa-sa’s bedside, still thinking that the body swap failed, and kicks the defibrillator in frustration.

That evening, Mi-ran shows Hae-yi the video clip of Chan-sung greeting the deceased professor, and Hae-yi genuinely marvels at their ability for procuring the footage.

Yoo-jin comes home in a glum mood and spots Chairman Ki in the sauna. He approaches the chairman, who’s worried about Chan-sung’s trial, and he tells the chairman that he won’t be able to attend the trial tomorrow.

Hae-yi sits in the bathroom, lost in thought, when Mi-ran marches in, offering to scrub her back. Hae-yi yells at her to leave, and Mi-ran huffs at her strange behavior since “Hwa-sa” was the one who suggested sharing baths to conserve water.

Catching her mistake, Hae-yi blames the upcoming trial for her uncharacteristic outburst and asks Mi-ran to print out the rest of the documents from their investigation. As Hae-yi gets ready, Mi-ran hands her the files and asks if she can do the trial. Hae-yi throws the question back at her, and Mi-ran whoops at her confidence.

On the courthouse steps, reporters badger Chairman Ki for a comment, and he tells the crowd that he believes in his son’s innocence. Hae-yi addresses them next, spinning the tale so that Chan-sung looks like the victim, and Mi-ran watches her in confusion.

During the trial, the prosecutor mentions Eun-sung’s statement of not noticing anything strange while in the car that night, and points out that he should have felt some symptoms if there was a faulty brake hose. However, when it’s Hae-yi’s turn to cross-examine the witness, she asks him what music was playing, and shows the judge the speaker system installed in Chan-sung’s car—suggesting that the music drowned out everything, including the faulty brake symptoms.

Impressed with Hae-yi’s performance, Chairman Ki holds a party to celebrate Chan-sung’s acquittal early. Among the partygoers, Director Bong mentions the void left by Attorney Ma to Prosecutor Kim, but the latter doesn’t share in the sentiment.

Intern Bang congratulates Hae-yi for her surefire win, but as he spills champagne on himself, Hae-yi leaves him to go talk to Chairman Ki. He compliments her performance today, and Hae-yi cuts to the chase, asking about her victory compensation.

In his office, Hae-yi shows Chairman Ki the footage of Chan-sung greeting the deceased professor, and she offers him a bargain: this clip in exchange for the one of her in the hotel. As a bonus, she hands him the envelope containing the other documents from Hwa-sa’s investigation and asks him to make her a senior partner as his bonus to her.

As Hae-yi comes home, Officer Oh confronts her about playing with him, but she mocks him for falling in love so quickly. She tells him to stop being clingy since she has a boyfriend, and scoffs at Hwa-sa for dating while in her body.

Hae-yi stops in front of Hwa-sa’s board of information, unable to determine the connection between all the people plastered on it, but she dismisses it since none of it concerns her. Munching on a candy bar, Hae-yi comments on how amusing her life is.

Chairman Ki remembers Secretary Park telling him about the deceased professor being his classmate back in university, and looking through the envelope Hae-yi gave him, Chairman Ki orders Secretary Park to look into the mystery woman, Esther.

The doctor in charge tells Yoo-jin that Hwa-sa is in a semi-coma, and while he goes out to process the information, Hae-yi stops by to retrieve her rings. As she grabs the necklace, Hwa-sa sudden wakes up and stops her.

When Hwa-sa asks about the trial, Hae-yi gloats about her easy win and Chan-sung’s upcoming acquittal. Hwa-sa asks her to call Professor Kang as a favor, but Hae-yi declines since she knows about her goals to get Chan-sung handcuffed in front of Chairman Ki.

Yoo-jin returns to the room as Hae-yi leaves, but when he tries to check on Hwa-sa who’s now awake, she casts asides his touch. Realizing the truth, he chases after Hae-yi, and she admits lying about her identity because of Chan-sung’s trial. She apologizes for not telling him sooner and places the rings into his hand. His anger turns to relief, and Yoo-jin hugs Hae-yi, thanking her for coming back.

When Hae-yi returns to her office, a new nameplate greets her—she made senior partner. Like her dream, the law firm employees enter her office with cake and flowers, singing congratulations. While Hae-yi goes shopping and gets a massage, she narrates in voiceover about how living as Hwa-sa gave her a chance to reflect on her life and realize all the things she took for granted, such as her success and youth. Though this sudden extravagance causes Mi-ran to worry, she quickly drops her suspicions when Hae-yi hands her some money to go on a break.

Hwa-sa meets with Professor Kang and Sung to discuss her stay of execution, and she tells them that she needs to leave as soon as possible because she has something to do before she dies. Soon after, Hwa-sa is allowed to leave the prison, and the guard returns her old belongings.

Looking at her worn clothes, Hwa-sa thinks to herself that the things she received back are her past life with irreparable holes and insight left from false love. Though she was sent here to die, she didn’t, and now, she walks outside towards death. While she might have lost Hae-yi’s body, she still has something to do: “When death comes for me, Choo Young-bae, you’re coming with me to that place.”

Hae-yi has her assistant remove any traces of Hwa-sa from her apartment, but she keeps her office intact, including the board.

Professor Kang and Sung treat Hwa-sa to a meal in celebration of her stay of execution, and Professor Kang suggests that she stay in a room next to his office. She declines his offer since he’s already done so much for her, and turning to Sung, she tells him that Hae-yi told her about what happened and expresses her apologies as well as gratitude towards him. Though they insist on helping, she tells them that she has something to do.

Intern Bang happens upon Mi-ran, who’s packed and ready to go on vacation, but as they bicker back and forth, Mi-ran’s older gentleman friend from before suddenly appears. He apologizes for abandoning her, promising to buy her jewelry, but Mi-ran lies about not knowing him and drags Intern Bang away.

The two drink multiple bottles of alcohol together, and a drunk Intern Bang seeks Mi-ran’s advice about which side to choose. Though she tells him to side with Hae-yi, Mi-ran leaves a note to Intern Bang, after dropping him off home, advising him to side with Prosecutor Kim since Hae-yi and Yoo-jin are breaking up.

Hwa-sa catches an ex-inmate just before she leaves for vacation, and the two happily reunite. Warning the ex-inmate to only trust her, Hwa-sa asks about the footage of Chan-sung, but ex-inmate informs her that they already handed it over to Hae-yi. Just as Hwa-sa thinks all is lost, tech guy tells them that he could recover the video clip.

Yoo-jin makes dinner for Hae-yi, recreating the evening of his birthday since that was the day everything started to go wrong. They eat cake for dessert, and Hae-yi carefully takes a bite, teasing Yoo-jin about hiding rings inside. He tells her that he’s more creative than that, but their evening is interrupting by the doorbell, just like last time.

Hae-yi finds the antique box outside her door again, but this time, Yoo-jin opens it, revealing rings inside. His stunt upsets Hae-yi, and he apologizes, explaining that though he never learned why Attorney Ma sent the box, he did see his mother’s face.

Getting on his knees, Yoo-jin admits that it took him too long, and he places the ring on Hae-yi’s finger. She does the same for him, and Yoo-jin cups her face as he leans in for a kiss. Right then, the doorbell rings a second time, and another package sits outside the door.

Yoo-jin opens the package and takes out another antique box—similar to the one before, though this one appears empty. Elsewhere, Director Bong cuts something up and enjoys a glass of wine while talking aloud to himself, “If he figures it out, I’ll continue forward. If he doesn’t, then I’ll stop right there.”

The final day of Chan-sung’s trial arrives, and while the judge gives the verdict, Hwa-sa enters the courtroom and silently sits in the back. As the judge announces the incident as an accident, Officer Oh barges in, declaring the case as a pre-mediated murder. He reveals evidence to prove his claim, and though Hae-yi objects, Hwa-sa’s laughter pierces the room, drawing everyone’s attention.

EPISODE 10 RECAP

A voice tells Hwa-sa to ride the elevator down ten floors, and as Hwa-sa walks down the hall, she thinks to herself, “Everyone has a subconscious room where they bury their most painful memory and move on. God’s greatest blessing to people is said to be oblivion. However, oblivion isn’t God’s gift, but a punishment from one’s self, a consolation, and a confession of one’s weakness.”

The voice tells Hwa-sa to go back to that day in the car, and when she’s told to open her eyes, Hwa-sa sees the real Ki San sitting next to her. The voice commands her to wake up when she screams in agony, and Hwa-sa sees Yoo-jin sitting in front of her. Staggering towards him, Hwa-sa grabs his lapels and cries, “The one who died wasn’t Choo Young-bae, it was you.”

Fifteen days prior, back to the moment of Chan-sung’s verdict, Officer Oh enters the courtroom and brandishes evidence of Chan-sung’s pre-mediated murder. Hae-yi argues that this is against protocol, and while the judge agrees with her on that, he believes the possibility of pre-meditated murder is too grave a crime to ignore new evidence.

Rewinding to earlier that day, Officer Oh planned to drown his sorrows with alcohol in remembrance of the victims, but the news playing Chan-sung’s upcoming trial suddenly changed to the video footage of Chan-sung greeting the deceased professor. As Officer Oh and the private investigator tried to figure out what was happening, the ex-inmate and tech guy slinked out the door, leaving behind a gift for Officer Oh.

Everyone waits outside as the judge reviews the evidence along with the prosecution and defense attorneys, but Chairman Ki pushes his way inside and sees the video clip of his son. The trial resumes, and with the new evidence shedding light on the case, the judge declares holding Chan-sung while the trial ensues.

The guards handcuff Chan-sung as he calls for his dad, and Chairman Ki attempts to reach him, shouting that his son is innocent. Unable to stop them from taking Chan-sung away, Chairman Ki directs his anger towards Hwa-sa who’s already left. As soon as he steps outside, reporters surround him, blocking his path, and Hwa-sa turns around to face him with a smirk.

The prosecutor and Officer Oh interrogate Chan-sung, asking why he lied before about not knowing the deceased professor. Chan-sung claims that he feared being framed for murder, and Hae-yi snidely remarks on their flimsy reason for suspicion.

Once they’re alone, Hae-yi covers the camera and asks Chan-sung what he talked about with the deceased professor. He tells her that they hired her to win without knowing the facts and calls for Yoo-jin who’s waiting in the hall.

While Chan-sung scarfs down the food Yoo-jin brought, Yoo-jin asks about the deceased professor, and immediately, Chan-sung jumps from his seat and hollers at his uncle for pissing him off. Unperturbed by the outburst, Yoo-jin hands him a pill, and Chan-sung obediently swallows it.

Hae-yi overhears Yoo-jin instructing the guard with Chan-sung’s prescription medicine, and during their car ride, she asks what’s wrong with Chan-sung. Yoo-jin ignores her question, asking instead if she knew the truth, but she also avoids answering his question.

After a call from Secretary Park, Hae-yi arrives at Chairman Ki’s office, and a pencil cup comes hurling at her as soon as she enters. Secretary Park barely manages to hold back the chairman before he attacks her, and despite his heart acting up, Chairman Ki screams at her. Though shaken, Hae-yi holds her ground against him and asks if he’ll represent his son without her.

Calming down, Chairman Ki questions her about the footage and how she obtained it herself, and Hae-yi tells him that she confiscated it from Hwa-sa’s ex-inmate, Han-byul—who’s currently with Hwa-sa as they speak. Chairman Ki then asks about Mi-ran, and Hae-yi explains how she kept her close in order to figure out what Hwa-sa was hiding. However, upon further reflection, Hae-yi realized that none of this was her business since her immediate concern was defending Chan-sung.

Hae-yi gets a call from security about an attempted break-in at her apartment, and outside her door is Mi-ran, having returned from her vacation. Hae-yi blocks her from entering and asks if she still thinks she’s Hwa-sa. Mi-ran asks where Hwa-sa is then, but Hae-yi doesn’t know either.

Chairman Ki eats soup with Prosecutor Kim since he needs his help to find Hwa-sa. Meanwhile, Han-byul hides Hwa-sa at a motel but can’t stay with her since the private investigator might have seen her face at the restaurant.

Hae-yi and her team are busy preparing for Chan-sung’s trial, but she pulls aside Intern Bang for a secret task: find out Chan-sung’s medical condition.

Mi-ran arrives at the love motel where Hwa-sa hides, but seeing Hwa-sa in pain, Mi-ran calls her doctor friend to examine her. The doctor tells Mi-ran that Hwa-sa has pancreatic cancer, and given the fact that she left the prison, she probably doesn’t have much time left. The news hits Mi-ran hard, and she weeps next to a sleeping Hwa-sa.

Needing funds, Mi-ran sells her possessions, and later that evening, she sneaks into the law firm to steal money. Intern Bang catches her in the act and secretly follows her to the love motel. He reports everything to Hae-yi as well as Prosecutor Kim.

Secretary Park informs Chairman Ki that they’ve located Hwa-sa, but the chairman silently stands in the sauna while Secretary Park waits patiently, sweating in his suit. Chairman Ki finally speaks after a long while and orders Secretary Park to stop Hwa-sa from harming Chan-sung.

Mi-ran makes porridge for Hwa-sa, much to the motel owner’s disapproval, but she ignores the banging at the door and encourages Hwa-sa to eat up. The doctor visits again to give Hwa-sa an IV, and Mi-ran leaves Hwa-sa to rest as she escorts the doctor out.

A man in a cap watches Mi-ran exit the motel, and soon after, he enters Hwa-sa’s room with a syringe. He inserts something to Hwa-sa’s IV, but she stirs awake, much to his surprise. He grabs a pillow to suffocate her, but Hwa-sa starts shaking uncontrollably—the contents of the syringe taking affect.

While Chairman Ki waits for news of Hwa-sa’s death, Mi-ran finally returns to the room and finds Hwa-sa passed out. She starts calling someone for help, but in her unconsciousness, Hwa-sa remembers the night in the car with the real Ki San and calls out Yoo-jin’s name.

Yoo-jin asks his private investigator to continue looking for Esther when he receives a call and ends up at the love motel. He gives Hwa-sa an antidote and places her in an ice bath. The owner walks in at that moment, and the mess in the room makes her assume they are drug addicts so she kicks them out.

With no place to go, Yoo-jin drives them to a safe location, but the man in the cap follows behind on his motorcycle. Fortunately for Hwa-sa, a car suddenly swerves onto the motorcyclist’s path, causing him to crash and lose Yoo-jin.

The safe place turns out to be Hae-yi’s apartment, and she stares in disbelief as Hwa-sa walks into her home with Yoo-jin. She asks for an explanation, and Yoo-jin shows her a picture of his mother that Hwa-sa found.

Hae-yi recognizes the photo as the one she gave Chairman Ki and stays up late into the night muddled with her thoughts. She spots Hwa-sa opening the refrigerator, and when she confronts her, Hwa-sa asks about the alcohol in her fridge.

Hae-yi buys Hwa-sa her drink as well as some cheese, and probes Hwa-sa about her relationship with Chairman Ki. Hwa-sa refuses to answer, willing to leave rather than tell Hae-yi the truth. She asks about the defibrillator, but Hae-yi tells her to forget about it.

Hwa-sa tells Hae-yi that she enjoyed her time in Hae-yi’s body, and Hae-yi also admits that being in Hwa-sa’s body wasn’t all bad. However, she has no desires to laugh and drink with Hwa-sa, and tells her to find a new place within the next few days.

Han-byul’s fingerprints are found on the USB containing the evidence for Chan-sung’s case, and the private investigator remembers seeing her at the restaurant since he was also the one who threw her in jail. With the help of a colleague, Officer Oh tracks down Han-byul at a PC café.

He asks her who’s calling the shots from behind, so Han-byul tells him that Hae-yi ordered everything. She even has a picture to prove it, and Officer Oh excitedly leaves the room, thinking that Hae-yi was on his side all along.

Yoo-jin asks about Esther, but Hwa-sa doesn’t trust him even if he saved her life since he’s still Chairman Ki’s brother. He tells her that this woman is more precious to him than his brother, so Hwa-sa informs him that the deceased professor was friends with Esther. Yoo-jin also shares some information: Esther is dead.

Hwa-sa suddenly gets a headache since looking at Yoo-jin reminds her of something, though she doesn’t quite recall what. To help her memory, Yoo-jin introduces her to a senior doctor specializing in hypnotism.

As in the start of the episode, the hypnotist guides Hwa-sa through her recollection of the night in the car, and Hwa-sa opens her eyes and sees the real Ki San besides her, though she assumes it’s Yoo-jin. Waking up, Hwa-sa locks eyes with Yoo-jin, crying that he was the one who died instead of Young-bae.

Hae-yi informs Chan-sung that the judge refused their bail request, so instead, she suggests that he leave on a sick bail. Chan-sung smiles carefreely, saying that he has no illness that would let him out, and Hae-yi doesn’t push the topic further. Officer Oh interrupts their meeting to deliver a drink to Hae-yi, and his smile leaves her flabbergasted.

After locating Hwa-sa’s new hiding spot, Chairman Ki waits with Secretary Park in the parking lot of Hae-yi’s apartment complex, and they watch Yoo-jin drop off Hwa-sa. Yoo-jin assumes Hwa-sa was hallucinating before, but Hwa-sa is certain of what she saw. He sighs, still unsure of what to make of everything, but trusts Hwa-sa to tell him the truth one day.

Mi-ran sends Hwa-sa upstairs first, and as Hwa-sa gets dressed, she hears someone enter the apartment. In the middle of Hae-yi’s living room is Chairman Ki, and he notes Hwa-sa’s lack of surprise at seeing him.

He asks when she knew he was still alive, but Hwa-sa wants to know why he tried to kill her. His list of reasons ultimately boils down to the fact that love wasn’t enough for him, and when Hwa-sa asks if he tried to kill her at the motel, he replies, “You never should’ve touched Chan-sung.”

In the parking lot, Officer Oh scares Hae-yi when he appears out of the blue, and happily states that this is her true form. Hae-yi makes it clear that she has no interest in him, but Officer Oh remains convinced that she’s just hiding her good nature—otherwise, why would she give him the USB? Hae-yi walks passed him, clearly done with his shenanigans, and from afar, Secretary Park watches their interaction.

Chairman Ki suggests that Hwa-sa live her remaining days in peace, but she has no plans of stopping. He knew that would be her reply, so he tells her that Chan-sung is off limits. She warns him that she’s not the Hwa-sa he used to know, but Chairman Ki also reminds her that he’s no longer the Young-bae from her past.

As Chairman Ki turns to leave, Hwa-sa bellows, “Do you know what I’m afraid of? Death? No. Leaving you to live in this world and die as Ki San, that’s what I’m afraid of.” Chairman Ki exits without responding and runs into Hae-yi on his way out. Before she can explain herself, he tells her that there’s no need.

Yoo-jin examines the empty antique box and notices something strange with the lining. He manages to peel away the bottom layer, and hidden inside the box is a photo of Ki Se-woong with the real Ki San. Written on the back of the photo are the words, “In Chicago with my loving son San,” and Hwa-sa’s words about him dying in the car echo in Yoo-jin’s head.

Hae-yi arrives at the law firm when Officer Oh calls out to her. She asks him what he wants, and he declares that she’s under arrest for the murder of Attorney Ma. He handcuffs Hae-yi, and she fights back, professing her innocence.

 
COMMENTS

The show continues to tease a possible team-up between the lead protagonists, and in this point of the game, I’m surprised that they’re still divided. Though an important event has happened this week with the leads returning to their bodies, the episodes feel slow because no major revelations concerning the overarching mystery was revealed nor were new questions raised. Overall, the plot feels relatively stagnant with the same issues moving the story forward, and character development has slowed to a crawl. Hwa-sa continues to act brashly in her revenge plan without fully thinking through the consequences of her actions. Though it was understandable for her to want to see the moment when Chairman Ki witnesses his son getting handcuffed, revealing herself so early with no plans afterward almost got her killed. Similarly, Hae-yi ignores the warning signs flashing ahead of her as she butts heads with Chairman Ki, and carelessly uses her bargaining chips without realizing what’s already on the betting table. Both leads still seem to underestimate Chairman Ki and his willingness to kill people, and for their sakes, I hope that they realize their mistake soon and rectify it because Hwa-sa needs Hae-yi’s expertise while Hae-yi needs Hwa-sa’s inside knowledge about Young-bae. As for Yoo-jin, he remains a passive actor for the most part, but hopefully as the truth reveals itself to him, he takes on a more proactive role in uncovering Ki San’s death and taking down Chairman Ki.

The show revealed another traitor among the chairman’s minions: Director Bong. His method of introduction was purposely patterned after Attorney Ma’s, but I felt that there needed to be more differentiation between the two to make Director Bong’s betrayal stand out. The current circumstances of the two are different, so while Attorney Ma’s felt mysterious because everything was still new then, Director Bong’s felt more repetitive because the secret he revealed has been known to the audience for a while. Though the picture might come across as groundbreaking to Yoo-jin, it’s old news to the audience which lessens the impact of the reveal. Also, it seemed all too convenient that Director Bong happened to send the package the exact day Yoo-jin decided to recreate his birthday dinner. While it adds dramatic flair, I did think the show exchanged it for some gravitas and believability.

While Chairman Ki remains volatile and dangerous, I’m actually starting to fear Chan-sung and Secretary Park more than the chairman. This is partly due to the fact that less has been revealed about these characters, but there’s also something frightening about blind loyalty which both seem to have. Chan-sung’s carefree attitude while being detained doesn’t seem to be an act of bravado but actual delusion or indifference concerning his current predicament. He feels like a loose cannon, and though he’s Chairman Ki’s Achilles heel, he might also be a threatening opponent our protagonists may face once they draw their sword against the chairman. As for Secretary Park, he clearly feels no qualms about ordering hits on people, and I’m starting to wonder if he’s actually a puppet who only takes orders before acting or a guard who makes preemptive strikes without his master knowing. Either way, Chairman Ki clearly trusts Secretary Park, who has proven his worth thus far as a tight-lipped and steadfast aide willing to do the chairman’s dirty work.

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