Shark: Episode 13

by girlfriday

Hey guys, I’m jumping into the Shark pool, and it happens to be a pretty eventful episode. What can I say? Sometimes the universe just likes me. We finally get to the bottom of The Picture that kills everyone who sees it, and both sides step it up on the danger meter. But the thing we’ve really been waiting for starts to happen, when emotions—or is it hormones?—start to bubble up to the surface, and begin to mess with carefully laid plans…

 
EPISODE 13 RECAP

Yi-soo finally connects one very important dot: the bookshop ajusshi is Clicky the Assassin, and he’s been right under their noses all this time. He smiles menacingly and heads back in, where the ajusshi asks if he’s looking for a particular book.

Yi-soo just comes right out and says he’s looking for a book about the independence movement and great-grandpa Jo. And then he says he’s also interested in books about professional hit men, while staring right at the possibly poison pen in the ajusshi’s hand.

The ajusshi says he isn’t very interested in books about failed assassins, and Yi-soo laughs, agreeing that the best hit men are never caught, and are probably living quiet, seemingly innocuous lives among them.

He leaves, but not without pausing and lingering so suspiciously that I’m half expecting Clicky to throw a poison pen at his neck like a dart.

Meanwhile, Joon-young’s dad sits in his office and decides to call his boss to say that he has something urgent to discuss. The phone chain ends up where all information in this universe goes—straight to Grandpa Jo.

Grandpa Jo calls Prosecutor Oh to try and smooth over his nerves, but he seems determined to go through with his plan, whatever it is, and puts his copy of The Picture in an envelope.

Yi-soo waits till the bookshop is empty and sneaks back in to do some snooping. He doesn’t find much except HA—a drawer full of pens. In no other situation would a desk drawer full of pens seem so ominous.

He clicks one and then another, and frantically stars scrawling on a scratch pad to test them out. There’s no way he’s gonna find the poison one among these, right? They’re all ink, but he starts to panic and runs out before he gets through the whole drawer.

He drives like a madman and calls Yi-hyun to make sure she’s okay, and breathes a sigh of relief when she says that she’s with Mom.

He makes up a lame excuse about calling because he was driving past the juice store and thought of her, which is almost worse than telling her that a poison pen assassin might be dogging her.

Anyway, it makes Mom curious, and she mentions it to Dad. I’ve never known Detective Byun to drop a good lead, so I’m sure he’ll follow up, even if it’s just to make sure that Yi-hyun doesn’t have a creepy admirer, right?

Yi-soo arrives home, but as soon as he steps out of his car, a guy sneaks up behind him and knifes him in the gut. He fights the henchman off and threatens him with his own knife to say who sent him. Grandpa Jo, naturally.

Yi-soo lets him go and then just staggers upstairs instead of going to the hospital. Gah, are you going to stitch up your own wounds? He gets out of the elevator sweating bullets and bleeding out of his stomach, but then finds Hae-woo standing outside his door waiting for him.

He crosses his arms across his chest, like that’s somehow going to hide a gaping flesh wound, and… it actually works. It works? She doesn’t see it, and insists they have a chat. He gives her the brush-off and turns to go inside, and when she grabs his arm to stop him, that’s when she finally sees the blood.

She gasps and tells him to go to the hospital, but he refuses and just heads inside to deal with it himself like a badass. She follows him in, which is when she sees the painting hanging on his wall.

Her gaze lingers on it for a moment, but then Yi-soo squirming and pain (and bleeding all over his white leather couch—the horror!) sends her running over to him.

She grabs the first aid kit despite his attempts to get her to leave, and starts tending to the wound. She begs him to go seek medical attention, but he just watches her silently for a charged moment, and then pulls her close for a kiss. Whoa.

They pull away and search each other’s eyes, and he goes in for more. Rawr. Yunno, this guy moves like molasses in every other department, but I never see him hesitating with the kisses. I just love this lingering second where their lips pull apart, but their foreheads are still touching, like they might go back for thirds.

When he stops to look at her, he sees that she’s crying. She pushes his hand away and gets up to leave. She stops to say that she’ll let his secretary know about the stab wound, but he promises to get treated.

And then he turns to her: “Hae-woo-ya…” Omo. He said her name. In banmal. Has it been twelve years since he did that? He lets it just sit there and doesn’t finish the thought, and she walks away. I know I shouldn’t want her to stay but I want her to stay.

And from her apartment, Secretary Jang listens with a long face.

Hae-woo returns home, tensing up as soon as she sees Joon-young in the driveway. Kissing your not-a-husband can do that to you.

But he’s got a crisis of his own when he hears the voicemail left by Dad, in which he apologizes for everything and says this is the best choice he could make under the circumstances. It sounds a lot like a suicide note.

He panics and Hae-woo goes with him to look for Dad, trying to reassure him that it won’t be as bad as he’s thinking. Prosecutor Oh leaves his office that night and says a quiet farewell to the security guard, who’s retiring after his shift tonight.

They arrive outside the building just in time to see him get into a cab, and Joon-young turns around to follow him. As Prosecutor Oh heads over to confess the whole truth to his boss, we see Detective Oh hand him The Picture in a flashback.

“President Jo is a fake.” He shows him the picture of the young man who’s supposed to be Grandpa Jo in the photo with his father, but Detective Oh says it’s not him. He knows it isn’t proof in and of itself, which is why he’s searching for hard evidence. But all he knows is, Han Yi-soo died to protect this photo.

He adds that Prosecutor Oh restored his faith in prosecutors once, and asks him to prove that his trust was justified. Prosecutor Oh hangs his head in shame now as he thinks back to that request.

He arrives at his stop and gets ready to cross the street, when Joon-young and Hae-woo arrive. They call out to him after he’s already started to cross the street…

…and when he turns to face them, a Truck of Doom drives straight through the red light and careens into him. Gah, I knew that crosswalk was bad news.

Joon-young screams and runs over to Dad, who’s lying there bleeding to death. Hae-woo calls Soo-hyun to trace it on traffic cams as we see the truck speed away. It looks like Clicky the Assassin behind the wheel, though he’s wearing a mask.

Hae-woo puts a hand on Joon-young’s shoulder as they wait for Dad to come out of surgery, and he urges her not to lose that truck. He wonders, “Could it be Yi-soo? Is he repaying them in the exact same way?” Ooh, chilling thought. I’d almost prefer if you were right.

Hae-woo can do nothing but say that it’s probably not Yi-soo, and watch with a nervous expression as Joon-young vows that this is crossing a line—if it is Yi-soo, he’ll never forgive him.

Meanwhile Yi-soo comes out of the hospital after getting treated for his stab wound, and Friend texts him the news that Prosecutor Oh was attacked tonight. The family gets news that he survived, but he’s in a coma and will likely not live a normal life if he wakes up.

Detective Byun follows the truck trail, which leads him to an abandoned warehouse. Clicky just saunters past them unnoticed, looking like a harmless old ajusshi with a bicycle. Urg.

Yi-soo heads back home, where Hae-woo is waiting for him outside again. This time she asks point-blank if he ordered the hit on Joon-young’s father, and he says in his frustratingly vague way: “It could have been me.” Not the same, dude.

He does point her in the right direction though, and asks who has the most to hide. She demands to know who’s responsible, but he holds back and just says that nothing can be proven without evidence, so find evidence.

Hae-woo: “I know. I know what it is you want. Eventually you’ll destroy me too.” But she adds that as long as it’s the path to finding the truth, and as long as she’s not being fooled, she’ll take that path.

She asks one last thing—is she just a tool? Is that all she is to him? He’s got his back turned, so he does what he does best, and tamps down his emotions and answers yes. Hae-woo: “You’re cruel, Han Yi-soo.”

He turns around to face her: “I’m Kim Jun. Han Yi-soo died long ago.”

She just tells him not to get hurt anymore and walks away, the tears finally spilling out once her back is turned.

The cops find the truck abandoned, with no trace of the driver. Joon-young gets furious with Detective Byun, shouting that he’ll find the bastard himself if the cops won’t do their jobs. I was half expecting false clues to lead back to Yi-soo, but for now the truck seems to be a dead end.

Hae-woo comes home to get a change of clothes, and Grandpa conveys his regrets warmly. He worries about Hae-woo, and tells her that she’s the reason he carries on, adding another “Grandpa trusts you,” just to hammer that in.

She says, “I trust you too,” and I wonder how much she means that or just wants to believe it. Dad comes home drunk again, and when he hears about Prosecutor Oh’s hit and run, he blithely says that family’s got some kind of curse. What a prince you are.

Yi-soo sits in the dark for a while and then calls Friend to say that plans have changed.

And then when Grandpa Jo opens the newspaper the next morning, there’s a giant ad inside, asking for any information on a Chun Young-bo born in the ’30s. Ooh, nice. Why didn’t we do this from the get-go?

That must be Grandpa’s real identity, from the sudden spike in blood pressure. He has a fit and crumples up the paper in a rage.

Secretary Jang asks Yi-soo if he’s okay, not able to let on that she knows he’s been stabbed, but worried all the same. Dong-soo notes that he doesn’t look well, and asks if he’s got troubles.

Yi-soo leans in: “They’re problems I can’t share with others.” Hee, I love that he enjoys pulling Dong-soo’s leg. Dong-soo says that being different is always difficult, but adds that he wouldn’t ever treat him differently because of it. Aw. Not really gay, but it’s the thought that counts. You’re a good friend.

Yi-soo drops in on Daddy Jo and gives him an invitation to the grand opening party for the hotel that Giant stole out from under them, and says with this completely patronizing smile that he’s learned a lot from him, and Giant’s inaugural party in Seoul wouldn’t be complete without his presence.

On his way out, he exchanges a knowing bow with Daddy Jo’s secretary.

Hae-woo reaches a dead end with the search for the truck driver, and Soo-hyun says he’s clearly a professional—there’s no evidence left behind.

But just when they’ve run out of leads, the security ajusshi comes by with an envelope for Hae-woo, saying that Prosecutor Oh gave it to him last night. We see in flashback that he stopped to hand it to him, saying that if anything happens, he’s to give it to Hae-woo directly, and no one else.

She opens it… and it’s The Picture. The handwritten description on the back, “With Sang-gook,” gives her pause.

And at the same time, the housekeeper goes through the newspaper that Grandpa Jo crumpled up in such a rage, and comes upon The Ad. If you people would just pool your knowledge, you’d be way ahead in the game.

Detective Byun sees The Ad too, and he stops to check Great-Grandpa Jo’s hometown. It’s the same as the one listed in the ad…

Hae-woo rushes home and goes straight to Grandpa’s library, where she digs out a family album. She flips through it, but they’re filled with recent photos, from the time she was a baby.

She reaches the end and finds blank page after blank page, but she keeps flipping… and then finds one lone picture towards the back of the album. It’s dated 1959, and shows Grandpa and Grandma with a baby Daddy Jo.

She takes out The Picture (dated 1950) to compare, and looks back and forth between them. It’s no smoking gun, and frankly they look awfully similar, but it’s a huge step in the right direction.

She searches the bottom drawer in Grandpa’s desk, but this time she finds it unlocked and filled with nothing special. She puts the album back and heads out. The housekeeper stops her with the newspaper in hand, and shows her the ad that got Grandpa all huffy this morning. Oh good, now we’re getting somewhere.

Daddy Jo leaves his girlfriend’s house in the middle of the day, and she warns him to be careful of reporters. He manages to slip away unnoticed, but as he drives away, a gloved hand reaches toward him from the back seat. Eep.

It’s not an empty hand either—when they get out of the parking garage, the masked man sticks a gun into Daddy Jo’s ribcage.

We know it’s not Yi-soo, because he stops by the juice store to pay Yi-hyun a visit. He asks sheepishly if he scared her last night, but she doesn’t seem very put off by it, only belatedly wondering how he got her phone number. Oh crap, you mean you didn’t give it to him? Awkward.

He futzes for an answer, and says that he has a friend at the juice store’s parent company. She doesn’t seem mad that Yi-soo got her number, but she knows enough to be upset at the company, frowning that that’s an invasion of privacy.

No kidding. He should’ve prepared a better lie. Evil mastermind my ass. He asks when she gets off of work, and notes the time.

Detective Byun brings The Ad to Hae-woo’s office, and she seems perturbed that he’s on the same trail. He says that this Chun Young-bo’s hometown is the same as Grandpa Jo’s, but she argues that lots of people are from that town.

He says it’s weird because Chun Young-bo is dead, and that fact is public record… which means that the purpose of The Ad lies elsewhere. He traced the source, and says it’s the same pattern as the telescope—a chain of favors, all paid in cash.

They agree to go to Grandpa’s hometown to do some digging. She gets up and almost says something, but decides against it, and notably keeps The Picture and the album search to herself.

Junichiro stops by for a visit and asks Yi-soo out for drinks. He turns him down because he has a prior engagement… and then we cut to Daddy Jo squirming in a chair, tied up and duck-taped.

He’s being filmed, and then we see the feed play on Yi-soo’s TV. Oh no, he IS behind it.

Yi-hyun gets off of work and finds Soo-hyun waiting outside to drive her home. Dude, right after Oppa stopped by to ask what time she was done? Fishy, fishy.

He insists and practically has to drag her into the car, but once she’s home she thanks him. Out of the blue he asks, “You like me, don’t you? I like you too, so it’s okay if you like me.” Pfffft. Who says things like that?

He leaves her flabbergasted, and then she taps on the window so she can set him straight: “I don’t.” He just smiles at her and drives away, and then once she’s alone, Yi-hyun cracks a tiny smile. Aw, you DO like him.

Suddenly the air turns ominous. Someone’s watching her. Ack. It’s Clicky! Not the baby sister! He starts to approach from across the alley, but Mom comes out to meet her just in time, and they head inside before he can get any closer. Phew.

Meanwhile, Joon-young discovers that Daddy Jo has been missing all day and calls Hae-woo to let her know. She asks him to keep calling around, and follows a hunch: Yi-soo.

She waits outside for him to get in his car and follows him, but she’s not exactly stealthy about it, and he sees her right on his tail.

Grandpa Jo sees that someone’s touched the family album and left it sitting askance on the shelf, but before he can check it out he gets a video message on his phone. He opens it, and it’s his son strapped to a chair and pleading for his life.

He immediately gets a phone call from a man with a distorted voice, but we see that it’s Yi-soo on the other end of the line. He asks if he got his present, and Grandpa Jo asks what the hell he wants.

Yi-soo says it’s simple—all he has to do is confess everything he’s done to the public. Grandpa Jo pretends he doesn’t understand, and Yi-soo says he knows full well: “You’re a fake. Because you killed the real Jo Sang-gook.”

Grandpa Jo laughs that this desperate stunt is because he doesn’t actually have any proof to back what he’s saying. But what he doesn’t know is that Yi-soo is playing this whole conversation for Daddy Jo to hear. Someone enters the warehouse…

And from his car, Yi-soo asks Grandpa Jo again—the truth or his son’s life?

 
COMMENTS

I didn’t much care that Daddy Jo was kidnapped because I have zero sympathy for the hapless buffoon, but I really enjoyed the twist that he was let in on the conversation. Because IF he survives, he’s petty and vindictive enough to turn on his father. I have my doubts that Yi-soo will actually go so far as to kill him, but I do often find myself wishing he were that dark, if only because the conflicts that we’ve been set up for in this drama seem to dance around that line but never cross it fully.

In general I’m happy with the developments in this episode, because the net is closing in around Grandpa Jo, and Hae-woo is on the fast track to imploding. She’s simultaneously learning more about her grandfather while falling deeper for Yi-soo, and when those two paths converge… well, kablooey. In that respect, I sort of wanted her to get a little farther with the family album. I feel like the conclusion that they reach in this episode about The Picture—that Grandpa Jo killed the real Sang-gook and stole his identity—was fairly straightforward and the outcome we all expected. On the one hand, I’m glad we finally got the answer, but on the other, I’m a little disappointed that there wasn’t another twist, given how much story time was spent on the goddamn photo.

My question is why we’ve left Clicky in the wind, when his identity is finally known. Maybe Yi-soo is cooking up some extra special torment for him, considering he’s the man who killed his father, but right now I’m more worried about Yi-hyun, and clearly he’s worried about her too if he’s checking on her every night with lame excuses (and maybe possibly sending Soo-hyun to drive her home, unless that was a red herring).

In any case, I’m actually looking forward to Yi-hyun being sucked into the big mess, not only because it raises the stakes in a great way, but because she’s Hae-woo x 10,000 when it comes to cutting through Yi-soo’s cold exterior. Not that I wouldn’t mind if we took our time chipping away at him with kisses. But surely if his little sister’s life is on the line, he’ll cut the crap and just run to her rescue, right?

 
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