I'm here to dive headfirst into the deep end of the ocean of revenge where sharks make their dwelling. It's Operation: Rescue on Shark as Yi-soo hunts down the one who's taken what's most dear to him. The chase keeps our hearts pumping throughout the episode as every turn threatens to force his hand. It's definitely not easy swimming in a sea of sharks, but with that menacing glare, I don't think he intends to become sharkbait anytime soon. Hoo ha ha.
EPISODE 15 RECAP
Yi-soo staggers in shock to discover Yi-hyun's shoes in his apartment. He can barely keep it together long enough to inform Soo-hyun of her kidnapping before he's gripped by the gravity of the situation, clutching the shoes in his hand.
But he soon regains his composure, his eyes ablaze with fiery determination. He calls Grandpa Jo, urging the old man to pick up as it rings.
Grandpa Jo doesn't pick up because he's busy spinning his web of half-truths to his granddaughter about Chun Young-bo. He pauses at all the right moments and even turns on the waterworks as he recounts the horrific crimes the man (er, he) committed, including the fire that destroyed their village.
That prompts Hae-woo to ask how her grandfather knew Chun Young-bo was behind the arson and is left slightly confused at his answer that he was told by eyewitnesses. She wonders why a man would set fire to a place without reason, a question that gets Grandpa Jo all shifty-eyed.
Hae-woo ruminates over their conversation once she leaves the study, disturbed by how much it conflicts with the professor's account that the culprit was never found and the remaining survivors died soon afterward.
Yi-soo finally gets through to Grandpa Jo, who initially plays dumb about Yi-hyun's disappearance. Yi-soo's threat to expose the old man falls on deaf ears since he can just return the sentiment in kind.
So he asks what it is that Grandpa Jo wants, only to hear him cackle back, "You don't have what I want." Click.
Another phone call comes in shortly afterwards—it's Clicky. If Yi-soo wants to see his little sister again, he'll need to pay with his life and the original documents which incriminate Grandpa Jo.
Yi-soo claims that he has them, but Clicky calls him on his bluff, telling him that they're in Junichiro's possession. That's news to Yi-soo but when he's reminded again that Yi-hyun's life is on the line, he grits out: "If you dare lay a finger on her, you'll die by my hands." Time's a-wastin', Clicky tells him.
…and Secretary Jang removes her earpiece, having overheard the entire conversation.
Yi-soo wastes no time to give Soo-hyun instructions we don't get to hear. However, we do see Yi-soo prepare a gun.
Detective Byun is nearly run over by Clicky's truck just outside Yi-soo's place, unaware that an unconscious Yi-hyun is bound and gagged in the back. He tries to stop Yi-soo to talk, but the man's on a mission and blows right past him.
"Yi-soo ya!" Detective Byun calls after him. That makes Yi-soo hesitate for a brief moment, and then rushes into the elevator ahead of the detective, who finally learns of Yi-hyun's kidnapping.
Yi-soo's head is filled with thoughts of Yi-hyun as he speeds down the road. He puts in a call to find out Junichiro's whereabouts. Secretary Jang tamps down her worry and offers to call him back after she confirms his location.
Hae-woo calls Yi-soo as soon as she hears the news. To her relief, he picks up. She guesses that Yi-soo already knows who Yi-hyun's kidnapper is, and asks if he's been threatened when he doesn't answer. "Trust me, Yi-soo," she pleads, "I can help you."
But Yi-soo replies that her involvement will only endanger Yi-hyun further. He explains, "Who that person is really afraid of is you, not me."
He tells her not to act rashly since Yi-hyun's life depends on it and abruptly hangs up. Hae-woo runs out anyway and uses a GPS signal to trace his location.
Yi-soo heads to the royal suite once he arrives at Giant Hotel and finds it empty, thanks to Secretary Jang's tip-off. Little does he know that his entrance is caught by one of Junichiro's henchmen.
As for Junichiro, he's currently entertaining a guest in the form of Daddy Jo at the hotel bar. He keeps the drinks coming in an effort to tease information out of Daddy Jo, who calls himself "the idea bank" at Gaya Hotel. Then Junichiro isn't pleased to hear that he has an unexpected visitor.
Meanwhile, Yi-soo rifles through the drawers in search of the papers. He looks through a pile of USB drives (which reminds me of the drawer full of pens, ha) but that turns up nothing, so he then searches through the computer.
Just then, he hears muffled voices in the hallway. And on the other side of the door, Secretary Jang tries to dissuade her boss, using Daddy Jo's drunken state as an excuse. It actually cracks me up that Junichiro's like, Duly noted, and walks in anyway.
That brings him face-to-face with Yi-soo, who comes right out with it to ask Junichiro about the papers. Yi-soo doesn't miss the surprised reaction briefly that flashes across Junichiro's face, and says that he'll have to take them.
Yi-soo makes a move for his gun when the henchman steps forward, but Junichiro puts up a hand and orders the others to leave. Secretary Jang sends a worried look in Yi-soo's direction before she steps out.
Now that they're alone, Yi-soo says that he'll be the one asking the questions. His suspicion that the the documents are indeed in Junicho's possession are affirmed when he's told to state why he needs them.
So he asks if it was Junichiro who was behind his hit-and-run accident, not Grandpa Jo. Junichiro reminds him that he was the one who saved Yi-soo from Grandpa Jo's hitlist.
That leads to the burning question in Yi-soo's mind of how Junichiro managed to save him. He argues that if Grandpa Jo was his enemy, then he would have made sure to finish the job then and there. However, it only makes sense that someone who was already at the crime scene would have had the opportunity to save him.
Junicho counters that Grandpa Jo likely took him for dead, and it was lucky for him that he arrived not a moment too soon. "The heavens gave you another chance to live again."
He reminds Yi-soo that they share the same goal to bring Grandpa Jo down. Yi-soo is too clever to be used as someone's puppet, and Junichiro considers himself as merely an aid to help Yi-soo get his revenge.
Yi-soo pulls out his gun and demands Junichiro where the documents are—it isn't his intention to hurt the man. Gah, that pained look on his face kills me. "You are my son," Junichiro replies, "I could give you everything you wish. Even my life."
Yi-soo's phone rings and he keeps his eyes leveled at Junichiro when he demands to hear his sister's voice. His expression softens as soon as he hears Yi-hyun's frightened voice whimper, "O-o-oppa?"
Through her sobs, she asks if it's really him. Oof. Yi-soo says that it is and you can see how her cries just breaks him. It takes all of his willpower to tell her in a shaking voice to wait for him and promises to come for her soon.
"Nothing's going to happen. It's all right." he tells her. Is it? IS IT ALL RIGHT, YI-SOO?! Then Clicky takes over the call and instructs Yi-soo to meet him by the seashore with the warning not to enlist Hae-woo's help.
After Yi-soo hangs up, he whips around in alarm, thinking Junichiro has gone. But no, Junichiro holds out his hand containing a USB drive, which houses the original documents. D'aww, d'you feel a little less of an jerk now?
Detective Byun calls Mom from the car to inform her about Yi-hyun's kidnapping. Ack, I know she was going to find out sooner or later, but could we have waited for a plan before we wracked Mom's nerves?
It's only NOW that Detective Byun connects the dots that Yi-soo was in a hurry to find Yi-hyun earlier. So he calls Hae-woo, who has just arrived at Giant Hotel, for Yi-soo's number.
The question stops her dead in her tracks. Detective Byun calls her out for already knowing who Yi-soo really was, and he has an inkling that Yi-soo knows where Yi-hyun is.
Detective Byun angrily demands for the number and Hae-woo relays to him what she knows about the situation. They have to be careful because it could threaten Yi-hyun's safety.
"There's isn't anyone else who wants to save Yi-hyun more than Yi-soo does," Hae-woo tells him. Yi-soo wouldn't do anything that would put her in danger. "Please trust Yi-soo."
Detective Byun gruffly retorts that he can't and tells her that she just made herself into a murder suspect's accomplice. If Hae-woo won't tell him where Yi-soo is, he'll hunt Yi-soo down himself. Eek.
Upstairs in the suite, Junichiro reminds Yi-soo that the only reason why Grandpa Jo wants those files is to verify that Junichiro was the original sender. But he understands that Yi-soo still needs to take them and asks if he'll be okay on his own. He doesn't miss Secretary Jang's look of concern when Yi-soo leaves.
Hae-woo waits for the elevator, hoping to catch Yi-soo. She runs into her father instead and blows past him twice when she catches Yi-soo out of the corner of her eye.
She stops him before he gets into his car and asks what she can do to help save Yi-hyun. The situation is too dangerous to face on his own, Hae-woo tells him. Yi-soo tells her that she can help by staying out of the way. With that, Yi-soo climbs into his car and drives away.
At that moment, Joon-young calls with good news and suggests they visit his father, who has regained consciousness and in stable condition. Hae-woo hurriedly tells him that she can't and hangs up before he can get another word in.
In the car, Yi-soo calls Soo-hyun for an update on his location. He promises to call Soo-hyun when he gets there and turns his phone off. Gasp, without taking the battery out first?
Which means that Hae-woo has lost her GPS signal on Yi-soo, and she suddenly pulls over. After she collects herself, she calls Detective Byun to ask if he still has a copy of The Picture.
Back at the hotel, Junichiro asks why Secretary Jang didn't report Yi-hyun's kidnapping to him sooner. He doesn't buy her excuse that she intended to inform him at the bar, and asks if it was an attempt to buy Yi-soo more time.
At Secretary Jang's concern, he firmly tells her that this is a battle that Yi-soo must face on his own, and he's certain that Yi-soo will find a way to resolve it.
Joon-young runs into a still-tipsy Daddy Jo on his way out of the office. When Daddy Jo learns that Joon-young is on his way to the hospital alone, he blurts out that he saw his daughter at Giant Hotel.
Joon-young covers for her, saying that she probably went to meet their mutual friend Dong-soo. But he hangs on Daddy Jo's remark that he probably mistook "that person" for someone else and wonders if it was Yi-soo.
Soo-hyun calls Yi-soo on his other phone to tell him that he's arrived to the designated location as per his instruction. He apologizes for not protecting Yi-hyun, to which Yi-soo haltingly replies that there's no time for that.
We see that Soo-hyun is at a nursing home, but he runs into a little trouble at the reception desk. So he spins a hilariously rich sob story on the spot, complete with dramatic family opposition to the woman he loves. Luckily for him, it works.
Meanwhile, Detective Byun tracks down the car of the computer dude captured on video to a PC bang (a room where one can play computer games). He instructs the officers back at the station to keep looking for a GPS signal on Yi-soo (at least, Kim Jun's phone).
Joon-young drops by the station at the same time and catches a glimpse of Yi-soo's face on the monitor.
Dong-soo heads up to Yi-soo's office to find Secretary Jang in a bundle of nerves. Clocking her concerned state, he tells her that she can lean on him anytime. She asks, "What if… Han Yi-soo was still alive; what would you do?"
Dong-soo rattles off a whole list of things they would do such as eat, drink, and travel together. His eyes well up with tears just at the mere thought of such happiness.
Then he bucks up the courage to ask Secretary Jang out on a date, only to be cut off mid-confession that he shouldn't like someone like her. Aw, his post-rejection face makes me laugh-cry.
Detective Byun manages to drag the same computer dude who passed the note to Yi-hyun into the interrogation room. He doesn't hesitate to use his fists to demand information: "I'm not a detective! I'm Yi-hyun's father!"
Unfortunately for him, the computer dude hasn't the faintest idea who his employer was.
Detective Byun steps outside to speak with Hae-woo, telling her that he knows that there's a connection between Yi-soo and Yi-hyun's kidnapping. Is it Daddy or Grandpa Jo who's behind the order?
Hae-woo rules out her father, but reminds Detective Byun that they can't act on suspicion alone to go up against her grandfather. She asks for the copy of The Picture because that's the only way she can help Yi-hyun by her own methods.
She asks him to trust her and not ask anything just yet. He hands it over. With it, she heads straight for Grandpa Jo's study.
In the meantime, Grandpa Jo visits Prosecutor Oh's family at the hospital, and Joon-young all but rolls his eyes at the old man's concern for his father. Grandpa Jo places his hand in Prosecutor Oh's, whose mostly paralyzed state can still shoot death glares with his eyes.
Yi-soo pulls up at the seashore next to the truck. Turning his phone on, he takes out his gun before he gets out. He approaches the truck with caution and presses an ear to the door to listen. Oh god, please say she's still alive. And then Yi-hyun's muffled sobs break the disturbing silence.
Yi-soo tugs on the doors, only to find them locked. He tugs harder in desperation, calling out Yi-hyun's name over and over…
…and then we hear a gun cock. Then the camera pans back to reveal a gloved hand with a gun pressed to Yi-soo's head. Ohgodohgodohgod.
Another shot shows us that it's none other than Clicky, who asks through his surgical mask if it was Junichiro who had the files. Yi-soo answers no, he had the files all along.
He tells Clicky to let Yi-hyun go, and is promptly reminded that Yi-soo's life was also part of the bargain. Yi-soo argues that Clicky can take it as soon as he sees Yi-hyun safe and sound. He is a professional after all, isn't he?
But Clicky doesn't particularly like that plan and knocks Yi-soo unconscious instead.
Yi-soo wakes hours later to a more horrific sight: a gun pointed at Yi-hyun's temple. He gets up with a start. They look at each other for a long minute until Yi-hyun says in a trembling voice: "…Oppa."
She breaks down in tears, her voice mixed with relief and sorrow: "It was you, Oppa." She asks why it took him so long and why he didn't reveal himself to her sooner. Her voice trails off: "You don't know how much I missed you…"
Tears stream down Yi-soo's face as he blames himself, telling her how sorry he is. But Yi-hyun firmly shakes her head and says that it's not his fault. She whimpers: "I'm so scared." I'm not crying; I've just been cutting onions.
That's when Clicky (literally) shuts Yi-hyun up and tells Yi-soo to get into his car and drive it into the ocean. Yi-soo refuses to unless Clicky lets his sister go free first. But Clicky says that means he won't be able to save Yi-hyun and tells him to get in the car.
Grandpa Jo returns to his study, happy to hear that his granddaughter wanted to see him. Hae-woo silently hands him the copy of The Picture and listens as Grandpa Jo smiles at it.
As expected, he doesn't recognize the young man in the photo, so Hae-woo answers for him: "That's Jo In-seok's son." Ahhh!!
We cut back to the seashore and Yi-soo slowly backs away. Yi-hyun's sobs grows increasingly desperate with each step, and Yi-soo waits for the last possible second to turn his back to face his car.
He places a hand on the car handle… which is when a car drives down to join them. It's Soo-hyun with a woman sitting next to him. Oh, is this Clicky's wife? Smart, smart.
Now Yi-soo has a bargaining chip of his own and he demands that Clicky let Yi-hyun go free in order to save his wife. He waits… and then Clicky tells him to get back in the car. Ohhh crap.
Then we cut back to the study where Hae-woo lays out her own deal: if her grandfather lets Yi-hyun go, then she won't dig into her grandfather's past anymore; but if something should happen to Yi-hyun, then she'll never forgive him.
Hae-woo: "If Yi-soo can't come back, I'll find the truth you're hiding no matter what it is."
COMMENTS
Dayum, nothing like looking at Hades, er I mean Grandpa Jo, in the eye to get your point across. Although this episode felt more like run-run-run for Yi-soo, I like that we're finally getting somewhere with The Picture, and that Hae-woo has made her play with it. She's still offering her grandfather an out in this confrontation, bargaining the truth for Yi-soo and Yi-hyun's lives. Thus, I like how the Orpheus allegory is being used in this final scene: to strike a deal with the god of the Underworld. And if the story should continue the myth, then (hopefully) it isn't the end for Yi-hyun. Or I'll just keep my fingers crossed.
Yi-soo's confrontation with Junichiro did make me wonder about the man's intentions behind saving him, even if we've heard Yi-soo ask that same question time and time again. The desperation in Yi-soo's voice almost makes me want to follow that logic—what enemy wouldn't finish the job to the end? Then again, this is dramaland so the answer is: a lot. In any case, although I still don't know how Junichiro fits into this puzzle, I'm relieved for now to see that he's doing his part for Yi-soo to get his sister back.
In a strange way, I found it refreshing to watch how powerless Yi-soo was in this episode. We've seen how he's been carefully plotting his Ultimate Revenge Plan for so long that I've been waiting for something to throw him off-kilter and yunno, shake some emotion into the revenge bot. Though his vengeance towards his enemy still largely remains the same, it's the vulnerability and the helplessness that's painted on his face during this rescue that actually moves me.
I honestly thought that the sympathy card would work against Clicky, and was actually surprised to see that it didn't. It's a nice little twist in the storyline, but it still sends chills down my spine that Clicky would call the bluff and stick to the plan. And now I'm biting my nails trying to think of ways that Yi-soo can get out of this if Hae-woo's plan doesn't pan out. Here's hoping that our hero doesn't end up swimming with the fishes.
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