Incarnation of Money: Episode 14

by gummimochi

Every fortress has a weak point and as the war of revenge begins, Cha-don zeroes in on the Traitagon’s weakest link to shake their resolve. It turns out that a band of baddies can actually stick together, but I don’t know if you can peacefully count sheep jumping over a fence at night if you don’t know who to trust. We finally learn who our murderer is and the answer may just take you by surprise.

Incarnation continues to slowly climb the ratings with this week’s episodes hitting 14.5% and 15.3%. Yay!

EPISODE 14 RECAP

Se-kwang returns home, furious, and barely keeps his composure long enough to tell Angelina about the DNA match until he finally roars: “Kang-seok is alive!” She drops her tray.

All of the Traitagon members are a bundle of nerves and the men raise an eyebrow when Angelina mentions that Lawyer Hwang once told her that the boy might be alive, but naturally she didn’t think anything of it at the time. The others entertain the possibility that there might be others just like them who may have also tried to counterfeit the genetic test results.

Their ears perk up at the news that the money and assets are being kept in a container yard. If they keep a sharp eye out, whoever comes to pick up the container will lead them straight to long-lost Kang-seok.

So they stake a car nearby the designated container and wait. Their hearts leap excitedly when a truck pulls into the area but it hauls an adjacent container out the yard instead.

Growing increasingly restless and impatient waiting for an owner who may never come to collect, they decide to check the container themselves and convince the reluctant manager to unlock the crate.

Much to their surprise, they find it empty – save for a note attached to the far end of the wall. Composed from various Bible passages, we hear Cha-don recite his message to his enemies in voiceover:

And I will bring the sword on you
to avenge the breaking of the covenant.
When you withdraw into your cities,
I will send a plague among you,
and you will be given into enemy hands.

When I sharpen my flashing sword
and begin to carry out justice,
I will take revenge on my enemies
and repay those who reject me.

Be afraid of the sword,
for wrath brings the punishment of the sword,
that you may know there is a judgment.”

Leviticus 26:25 (NIV); Deuteronomy 32:41 (NLT); Job 19:29 (ESV)

A montage teaches us that Team Shudal anticipated the Traitagon’s reactions and switched the container numbers in the dead of the night. Then we see that Chief Yang drove off with the container right under the enemy’s nose.

Se-kwang frantically runs outside, searching for a sign of Kang-seok. Clenching the note in his fist, he angrily bellows that he’ll make sure Kang-seok regrets sending him a declaration of war. He hollers Kang-seok’s name over and over again into the cold air: “Are you listening, Lee Kang-seok?!”

At the same time, we see Cha-don rise from the pew and walk out the church. He drives off to where the real container is hidden and Team Shudal waits with great anticipation to open it.

Sure enough, stacks of old currency and shelves of gold bars and jade vases lie perfectly intact inside (Chief Yang is so excited that he asks someone to pinch his cheek to make sure he’s not dreaming, ha).

When the Traitagon regroups, Prosecutor Kwon places the blame of the long-lost heir’s reappearance on Se-kwang because yunno, he didn’t make sure that Kang-seok was dead. Uh, whoops?

Se-kwang is plenty angry enough with himself already without the reminder. He sees this battle as a chance to rectify his mistake – an answer that pleases Prosecutor Kwon. The rest of the Traitagon confidently chime in their approval; between the four of them in various fields, they can take down a one-man army.

Meanwhile, Cha-don is mulling over his revenge board in his swanky new pad when Team Shudal arrives ready to work. He presents them with two briefcases – severance pay for their efforts since he doesn’t want to drag them into what will be a dangerous and difficult war ahead.

But his team won’t have it – they know that this is a rough time for Cha-don and they’ll stick with their team leader come hell or high water. Aww. Even Cha-don is so touched that he smiles.

They get to work to figure out who Lawyer Hwang’s killer was and Cha-don is positive that it was an inside job. Infiltrating the Traitagon will be an arduous undertaking but Cha-don assures his team that every fortress has a weak point: Angelina.

We’ve been given hints about Boss Bok’s health for several episodes and now her deteriorating memory adds to an ever-growing list of concerns. She’s still able to hide the truth from her daughter well enough, snapping at her daughter for fraternizing with the rival majority party.

At least Jae-in now knows that she has a sizable stake in the Yellow Sea Savings Bank and rolls her eyes when she hears that she needs to persuade minority shareholders over to her side before the shareholders meeting. (It’s unclear where the show will be going with this plot point just yet, but I’m game for anything Bok versus Angelina.)

Turns out Jae-in’s candidness works to her advantage and she incurs the favor one such shareholder, President Go.

As for Cha-don, he keeps a watchful eye on Angelina at the driving range, his hatred of her just bubbling under the surface. Suffice to say that Angelina is not pleased that she’s unable to get an audience with President Go.

Using this key information as bait, Cha-don carries on a phone conversation with “President Go,” claiming to be the man’s legal advisor. He drops essential clues just loudly enough so Angelina can overhear and he even flatters her vanity, saying that he’s heard rumors of her beauty and business sense.

I love that he ignores her attempt to catch his attention and marches out the room and Angelina interprets this as playing hard-to-get.

She follows him to his car and shamelessly asks for a ride, legitimately surprised when he turns her down in a cold, professional tone. But she won’t give up that easily and raps on his window to introduce herself.

Cha-don purposely stalls for a few seconds before casually acknowledging that her name sounds familiar. When she suggests they go somewhere to chat, he doesn’t drop his business-like tone and asks if it’s a business or personal matter.

Taken aback, she answers that it’s business and Cha-don deadpans: “That’s a relief. If it was personal, then I would have refused.” Hahaha.

In the car, Angelina notes that Cha-don is eerily silent and he describes himself as a man of few words when he’s not in court. So Angelina smiles, asking if she should chat for the both of them instead. He turns on the radio to play rock music in response. This is awesome – I love that no one caters to the princess.

They sit to chat and once Angelina receives confirmation that Cha-don is who he says to be, she cuts to the chase and asks for President Go’s shares. She isn’t surprised to hear that the president intends to hand over the necessary 6 percent to Boss Bok – all she needs to become the majority shareholder.

Unfortunately for Angelina, her persuasion tactics fall short and Cha-don remains firm on his refusal. He’s heard enough and is about to leave when Angelina pulls out her last card: They’ll call it a business proposition and she asks him to name his terms.

Cha-don sits back down and agrees, on the condition that he becomes the bank’s legal representative when she acquires it. She readily agrees and they sign a contract.

Se-kwang finds it strange that the submitted paperwork reveals little to no information about the real Kang-seok apart from a name (Edward Lee) and that he resided in Britain. He wonders why the man chose to step forward at such a crucial time to claim his fortune.

Prosecutor Kwon answers that one thing is clear: Kang-seok must know who they are even if they don’t know who he is. And whoever he is, he did his homework and planned specific ways to block the Traitagon. That kind of detailed research, he adds, can only be done by someone in their vicinity. Don’t you hate it when the baddies are smart?

Prosecutor Kwon advises Se-kwang to think carefully – is there someone he would have have never suspected? Then Se-kwang recalls when Mom once called out to Cha-don as “Kang-seok.” He grips his glass tighter and it shatters in his hand.

Se-kwang breaks into an evil laugh, having made the connection.

You would think that by now, the orphanage director would be more cautious towards all these visitors dropping by to ask about Cha-don over the years, but he smiles when he hears that Se-kwang intends to reinstate Cha-don’s prosecutor status.

Filled with pride, the orphanage director cheerily hands over Cha-don’s file. But when Se-kwang looks at the picture, it’s of another boy and he hears a different tale of how he came to the orphanage.

Se-kwang angrily returns to his car and Prosecutor Kwon gives him a word of advice: “A skillful hunter never chases after his prey. He waits.” He’s certain there will come a day when Kang-seok will reveal himself.

Angelina gets invited to a round of golf with President Go, who wonders why he has to go through the trouble. Cha-don advises the president to assess the better financial investment – would he want to choose a successful entrepreneur or a young lady who lacks managerial experience?

President Go contemplates over the dilemma as Angelina catches the tail-end of the speech, piping that she’ll do her best. That seems to win the president over and they move on. Naturally, Cha-don brushes Angelina off yet again. HA.

Jae-in rushes over to the golf course, having heard the news about the golf date. She’s both surprised and hurt to see Cha-don so chummy with her enemies. He’s surprised to see her as well, but doesn’t betray a reaction when she marches up to confront him.

The two relocate and Jae-in asks if President Go transferred his shares over to Angelina with Cha-don’s encouragement. He doesn’t deny it and mocks her, noting that she’s gotten smarter now.

Working with Angelina means betraying his benefactor and she accuses him of paying her mother’s gratitude with evil. Cha-don counters that a person lives in this world according to their abilities. “I’m competent so I snatched President Go, and because you’re incompetent, you lost him.” Ouch.

He’s heard that Jae-in is looking to take over the bank presidency but he says it with such scorn that he implies that she’s just another chaebol who asked Mommy to help her out. But before he can say another word, she throws the glass of water in his face.

Cha-don sits there for a moment and he leaves her with a final word: “If you feel like it’s unfair, then try to hone your skills and live on your own instead of hiding behind your mother all the time.”

He walks out and lingers outside for a few moment before he leaves.

Boss Bok is informed of the situation and she turns on her recorder to add another audio diary entry. She adds Cha-don onto her Shit List and vows to destroy him. As for Jae-in, she drowns her sorrows in soju and downs shot after shot despite Assistant Kim’s best efforts to dissuade her.

Angelina sits at the bar with Cha-don and suggests they toast to a job well done. He brushes her off and she powers through the awkward moment to ask if he’s taken. She’s surprised to hear that he’s single and then Cha-don turns the question on her – why hasn’t she married her lover yet?

She asks how he found out and he sighs that it would be stranger if she wasn’t taken, given her beauty and financial prowess – words that clearly flatter her. When she’s asked what her boyfriend is like, she shares that it’s a one-sided relationship and he doesn’t seem to care much for her.

In a soft voice, Cha-don replies that that must be why her eyes look so lonely – he can tell if a woman is loved or not just by her eyes. Hook, line, and sinker.

Then he gets up to leave, citing that he’s no good at taking care of a drunk. Pfft.

Boss Bok barks at Assistant Kim to go find Jae-in, who’s gone missing. Before he leaves, she stops him to ask his opinion on whether Cha-don truly betrayed her or not. Assistant Kim answers that he does, but can’t fight off the nagging feeling that his sudden personality change seems odd.

He asks after what she told Cha-don when she saw him last and her expression tells us that she can’t recall. Wait, I can’t remember either – I’m not suffering from memory loss too, am I?

The moment frightens her but she covers it up and sends Assistant Kim away.

A past audio entry confirms such a meeting and we flash back to that very night where Cha-don told her that they’ll likely lose the bank with Jae-in’s lack of credentials. So he outlined his plan to Boss Bok: If she concedes the majority stake to Angelina, he’ll make sure to bring her down and return the savings back to Boss Bok’s hands.

She figures that this must be why he was gone for a while and he answers, “Wasn’t it for cases like these that you invested in me to become a prosecutor?”

So Boss Bok connected him to President Go and in the present, Boss Bok panics, wondering what other chunks of memories she may have forgotten.

We find Jae-in drunkenly stumble to Cha-don’s lawyer office and she raps on the door repeatedly. He listens from the other side as she yells at him for two-timing her family.

Cha-don reaches for the doorknob to open it when he hears her shout, “But my love for you was genuine, you jerk!” He stops, surprised.

She wails that she went on a diet simply because she wanted to be acknowledged by him. Then she slumps onto the ground, crying until she passes out.

Cha-don opens the door and catches her. Holding her in his arms, he tells her softly not to love someone like him. “I don’t have the leisure to be loved by someone else anymore. I’m sorry Jae-in.”

Cha-don brings Jae-in back home and tucks her in. He runs into Boss Bok outside and thanks her for help. The way that Boss Bok replies that he’s repaying her investment carry a ring of endearment. She asks why Cha-don is targeting Angelina but he evades the question.

Assistant Kim worries that keeping Jae-in in the dark about Cha-don’s involvement with the case might be a detriment but Boss Bok firmly believes in perseverance: “Just wait and see – [Jae-in] will completely change after she gets through this event.”

Thanks to Chief Prosecutor Jo, Cha-don reviews the murder case file and resolves that they’ll have to find the missing culprit’s car before anyone else does, including Ji-hoo.

The day of the shareholders meeting arrives and the Traitagon watch as Angelina greets the stakeholders. The Bok family don’t reciprocate her fake nicety act and Jae-in has a different gleam in her eyes.

With a 38 percent stake, Angelina is established as the Yellow Seas Savings Bank presidency as planned. The Boks rise to leave and run into Cha-don just outside and Boss Bok greets him icily.

But he stops Jae-in to ask if returned home safely and she cuts him off: “For the first time in my life, I have a goal. You – Cha-don.” This answer doesn’t surprise him – wasn’t he always because she like him?

Jae-in bites back: “Don’t be ridiculous. The biggest mistake of your life was to betray my mother.”

Cha-don watches her leave and smirks, impressed.

Prosecutor Kwon is not pleased to arrive home to find Ji-hoo waiting for him. Furthermore, he’s offended when she asks all three of them, including his son Hyuk, to confirm their alibis.

He does and when Ji-hoo checks the elevator security tapes later, they match up to their stories. However, the stairs’ tapes were mysteriously erased that night…

Before she can dwell on it further, she gets invited to eat lunch with Cha-don, who asks about any updates to the case. She remains silent to his pointed questions about the car owner, especially when he asks if the suspect is within the prosecutor’s office.

But she receives word that the missing car has been found in a junkyard and rushes out (She doesn’t know that Team Shudal found it first and tipped her off.). Her team finds a scarf with the initials “H.J.S” (Lawyer Hwang’s) and we see Team Shudal record the investigation with a video camera.

Meanwhile Prosecutor Kwon sits uneasy in his office and to his surprise, receives a message from “Lee Kang-seok.” He watches the video clip and asks if Kang-seok is behind the murder. His answer taunts the prosecutor, saying that he’s sorry that he isn’t the murderer. The message writes: “But I wonder who framed you for it?”

His blood boiling, Prosecutor furiously demands to know who betrayed him, shouting as he types. But Kang-seok leaves the chatroom at that moment and Prosecutor slams a fist on his desk, infuriated.

On the other end, Chief Yang asks if he’s checked the black box on Prosecutor Kwon’s car yet. Cha-don hasn’t so he plays the video.

And behind the wheel is Angelina, calling Lawyer Hwang to come meet her at midnight.

 
COMMENTS

Well, well, well. One mystery solved. I can’t say that I was too surprised to find out who was behind Lawyer Hwang’s murder since it was easy enough to guess that it was someone within the Traitagon. I wouldn’t have necessarily guessed that it was a 50:50 chance between Angelina and Reporter Go; however, I was still wondering if the murderer was one of our prosecutors because they are so untrustworthy to each other. They (presumably) aren’t in want of money, but it’s clear that they now have to trust and work with each other in the face of Kang-seok who always seems to be one step ahead of them.

Even though Cha-don discovered his original name and identity this week, I’ll be sticking with Cha-don until he publicly acknowledges himself to this world. It’ll be confusing as we proceed since I imagine he’ll be dropping more confusing clues to his enemies but I’ll work around it as best I can. In any case, I love that we’re seeing bits and pieces to the revenge and seeing how it shakes the various Traitagon members in different ways. ‘Cause you know me – I love watching Angelina get kicked off her high horse any day. I don’t think Cha-don could have guessed that Angelina was the murderer he was looking for but that final grin seems to hold some satisfaction, as if he couldn’t have planned it better even if he wanted to. Their interactions are really one of the highlights of this episode as it’s now Angelina’s turn to misinterpret Cha-don’s intentions. How far will Cha-don string along his father’s ex-lover (I know – that sentence sounds icky to me, too) to bring down the rest of his enemies?

Though I’m happy to see that Jae-in was more fleshed out this episode, the change seemed too sudden and surface-level so I’m not fully onboard with her character 180 just yet. I mean, it’s still about a boy: She underwent a physical transformation because of him and now an emotional transformation. And at this point, the reason behind both of them is the same: To be acknowledged by Cha-don. I want to be able to root for our heroine with a character motivation that speaks to her own identity and I’m not sure if we can imagine Jae-in without Cha-don or without her mother because everything is clouded by her dependency to them.

On a happier note, I love that the humor has been more subdued and nonverbal as of late. Like how Chief Prosecutor Jo sneaks sips of Chief Yang’s coffee or the numerous times Cha-don ignores Angelina’s advances. It’s these subtle moments that have me giggling more than the farce. But believe you me, I’ll give anything to watch Kang Ji-hwan cross-dress again any day.

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