Whisper: Episode 10

by odilettante

A missing dead body may be yet another link to the case that’s consumed our leads since the beginning, and perhaps could even the final blow that will free them from Taebaek’s nefarious clutches. It’s just one more step in this continual battle to see who has more influence and power — those who wish to reveal the truth, or those who wish to hide it.

 
EPISODE 10 RECAP

Dong-joon runs into Jung-il in the Taebaek lobby, and Jung-il smugly points out that it’s only ten minutes until Chang-ho’s trial — there wouldn’t be a problem, now, would there? Dong-joon warns him that they’ll find Sang-gu, and Jung-il will not only be accused of murder, but of abducting a witness as well. Jung-il simply tells him that he’ll take good care of Sang-gu until Chang-ho dies (and thus the trial will be over).

Dong-joon vows that he’ll find Sang-gu and have him testify, but Jung-il leans in and whispers that Dong-joon should just give up. As he heads up to his office, Jung-il calls his father.

In the old Taebaek office, Young-joo cautiously approaches the Chairman Kang’s body to retrieve his ringing cell phone, but before she can pick it up, Secretary Song knocks her over the head with a heavy glass award that was sitting on a shelf. After she drops to the ground, unconscious, he picks up Chairman Kang’s phone and ignores Jung-il’s call. Jung-il finds it suspicious that his father isn’t answering.

Lawyer Choi returns to the sleek, shiny offices of the modern Taebaek, where he finds a worried Soo-yeon fretting over the fact that Secretary Song didn’t show up at the trial. Even though it means he hasn’t testified against them yet, she wonders if he could have filmed a confession like she did.

She worries what will happen if Secretary Song testifies against them, since it would mean Chairman Kang would take over Taebaek. As she starts to cry, she apologizes for how much she hated him because he wanted her to live the rest of her life the way he had planned and not how she wanted to live. Lawyer Choi pulls her into an embrace and reassures her that everything will be fine.

He reminds her that he was the one who saved Chairman Kang from going to prison during each new change in governmental leadership. He reassures her that, even if Taebaek was started from Chairman Kang’s money, he’s the one who’s built the powerful company from the ground up. He reassures her that he’s paid back Chairman Kang everything he’s owed him. Well, that’s one way of describing it.

Soo-yeon seems reassured, but she sees a blood stain on her father’s collar, which causes her to wonder about what really happened.

Jung-il is still trying to reach his father, but his calls aren’t going through. Soo-yeon enters his office to let him know that her video confession will apparently be released at the next trial, but she also knows they’re in a stalemate because he still has Sang-gu. She muses that it’s just like their lover’s quarrels back in America — neither of them liked to lose.

Attorney Jo bursts into the office, revealing that Chairman Kang’s missed his next appointment. He whispers to Jung-il, wondering if something’s happened to the chairman, and Soo-yeon starts to piece together her father’s statements, the blood on his collar, and the missing Chairman Kang. She looks sick as she wonders what her father has done.

Back at the old office, Young-joo regains consciousness. But the office is empty — there’s only a faint trace of blood to show where the body was. Dong-joon calls her, worried that he couldn’t reach her for the past few hours and demanding to know what’s going on.

Secretary Song returns to Taebaek, appearing a little stressed and disheveled as he wipes at his hands and brushes off his suit jacket. He looks like he’s seen a ghost when he sees Young-joo get on the elevator with him. He tries to hold in his reaction as they ride up together, but she just silently brushes at the stains on his cuffs. She knows that he was there when Chairman Kang was killed.

She reveals as much to Dong-joon, assuming that Lawyer Choi was the murderer and Secretary Song was the one who cleaned up the mess. Dong-joon is stunned that Lawyer Choi would kill someone, but Young-joo points out that this means Taebaek will collapse and Chairman Kang’s company will also disappear — Jung-il will have no support.

As the only eye-witness of the crime, she’s planning to go back to the scene to gather evidence (such as fingerprints, etc.) that will prove Lawyer Choi was there. Just then a news report reveals that there was a fire in the office building, destroying Taebaek’s old offices. Any hope for getting evidence is gone.

Jung-il goes to the burnt-out office once it’s been cleared, and as he picks up a disfigured shard from the broken vase, he remembers his father telling him — in that very office — that he’s planning to sell his company to pay for setting up a new law office just for Jung-il. But he also planned to make sure Jung-il was the new head of Taebaek, and promising to give him an authentic vase and not just a copy, like the one he had for Lawyer Choi.

Since the crime scene is destroyed by the fire and the body has disappeared, it will be difficult to make it a murder case. Young-joo is determined to find Chairman Kang’s body, and she and Ki-yong try to figure out where Secretary Song could have hidden in it in the few hours before he returned to the office.

Between her detective skills and his past as a criminal, they figure out Secretary Song’s door code and enter his apartment. They look around, being careful to leave no trace — but when Secretary Song returns home later that night, he sees a faint handprint on the wall. He knows someone was there.

Jung-il goes to see Lawyer Choi, who feigns surprise that Jung-il hasn’t been able to contact his father the past couple of days. He points out that Chairman Kang has been known to go “off the grid” when he’s hunting, so Jung-il should just be patient.

But Jung-il gets a call just then. It’s Attorney Jo, who was ordered to call him at this moment, but doesn’t know why. Jung-il answers the phone: “Hello, father.” Lawyer Choi manages to hide his shock, but the younger man keeps a careful eye on him as he talks to his “father,” passing along the message that the chairman wants to see Lawyer Choi. In hell, I bet.

He says that his father wanted to let Lawyer Choi know that he owes him something, and that Jung-il will pay him back. Ooooh, Jung-il definitely knows Lawyer Choi killed his father.

Later, he orders Attorney Jo to find Secretary Song — he assumes that his father’s body must be with him. He manages to keep his composure in front of Attorney Jo, who’s concerned for his friend, and simply says that he must finish the work his father set out for him.

But once Attorney Jo leaves, Jung-il breaks down in tears of grief and rage, remembering the last time he saw his father and how Chairman Kang told him one becomes like the person they hate. He counseled his son not to hate him too much so he doesn’t become like him.

Soo-yeon sees him weeping in his office, and realizes in horror that her suspicions about her father must be true.

Alone in his office, Lawyer Choi watches the news that reports on the missing Chairman Kang and a possible connection with the burned office building. Secretary Song enters, enraged, and informs Lawyer Choi that Young-joo is following him and even broke into his apartment. He angrily reveals that he was going to confess everything to the police the day Lawyer Choi killed Chairman Kang.

But when Young-joo suddenly showed up, he panicked, assuming she would think that he was the murderer. Amused, Lawyer Choi says he ought to show his appreciation for Young-joo helping him keep Secretary Song from testifying in court that day, or revealing the Lawyer Choi killed Chairman Kang, and sets up a dinner with her and Dong-joon.

He tells her to forget about what happened that day. She cooly asks him what, exactly, she should forget: the blood on the floor? Chairman Kang’s dead body? The fact she saw Lawyer Choi leaving the scene?

Amused, he attempts to bribe her with the promise of financial security, but Dong-joon intervenes, pointing out that she’s not motivated by money. Lawyer Choi does know what would motivate her, though, and reminds her that if Jung-il takes over Taebaek because Lawyer Choi is sent to jail, then he’ll have the power and authority to drag out Chang-ho’s trial until Chang-ho passes away. Her father would die without proving his innocence.

But if she forgets what she saw, then Lawyer Choi will make sure to take Jung-il to court instead. The decision is up to her.

Secretary Song still resents Lawyer Choi, who tries to persuade him that he’s doing all this for his sake. If Lawyer Choi falls, then Secretary Song will fall, too. Not just because he’s involved with Taebaek’s inner dealings, but also because he was the one who dumped the body. Secretary Song really doesn’t have much a choice but to continue to support Lawyer Choi.

Dong-joon points out that Young-joo is caught in a dilemma — catch Lawyer Choi, but Jung-il will go free. Catch Jung-il, and Lawyer Choi will go free. But she knows there’s another way out, and that’s to reveal to the public what she saw. Dong-joon will track Secretary Song’s movements from that day and Young-joo will try to find Chairman Kang’s body.

They’re not the only ones with this plan, as Attorney Jo and Jung-il are on the same track. It’s determined that there wasn’t enough time for Secretary Song to properly dispose of the body, so it has be near him somewhere. Jung-il simply asks that they find his father’s body so he can be given a proper burial.

Attorney Jo goes to investigate Secretary Song’s car, but ducks out of sight when he realizes that he’s not the first one to think of it. Ki-yong and Young-joo are already breaking into the trunk, following their own hunch where the body might be hidden — but it’s empty.

Soo-yeon must have confronted her father about what she knows, because he tells her that she can ask him anything she wants about Chairman Kang. Instead, she tearfully tells him that he got blood on her hands because of her, and wonders if she should just remain a spectator or help him clean it up.

Secretary Song runs into the office, angry that Young-joo has just broken into his car. They have to hurry and take care of this matter before she discovers anything else. Lawyer Choi promises to figure something out, but it might not be in Young-joo’s favor, since he points out that if Young-joo falls, then Jung-il will fall, too.

Young-joo, Dong-joon, and Ki-yong carefully study CCTV footage of the parking garage that shows Secretary Song checking the trunk of his car the night Chairman Kang was killed. She’s convinced the body had to be in the trunk, since there wasn’t enough time to move it. But then she realizes that the car in the footage has a license plate ending in 62, but the car Secretary Song is currently driving has a license plate ending in 26.

They’re both company cars, and Ki-yong confirms that Secretary Song was using car 62 that night, but it was never returned. Young-joo points out that Secretary Song was once a prosecutor, so he should know as much as she does the most effective way for a criminal to “hide” a car. She looks up the car’s information online on a database that shows cars towed for parking violations, and voila, car 62 is one of them.

It’s late at night when Secretary Song goes to the impound lot to retrieve the missing car, and if there’s any doubt that it’s the right one, he opens up the trunk to reveal a large duffel bag — with, presumably, Chairman Kang’s body hidden in it. Young-joo follows him as he leaves the impound lot with the car.

As Dong-joon waits to hear from them, he watches the news. But when Young-joo’s face appears as the main culprit for Chairman Kang’s disappearance, he immediately calls to warn her. They’ve got a cleaning lady as an eye-witness of Young-joo entering the building that day, and now the police are looking for her — Young-joo’s at the top of their “most wanted” list.

She’s waiting to get through a police blockade that’s checking for drunk drivers, and Secretary Song spots her tailing him as he blows into the breathalyzer. That makes him nervous until he points out that she’s the fugitive they’re looking for. She does a u-turn and leads the cops on a chase, swerving through lane changes (and poor Ki-yong, in the passenger seat, looks like he’s going to be sick).

She turns down an alley and parks in the middle of a row of cars, hidden from the police cars that pass by. Whew. Safe, at least, for now.

Lawyer Choi explains to Soo-yeon why Young-joo will be the ideal culprit. After all, revenge is the most reliable motivation for murder. Jung-il killed Sung-shik and framed her father, who’s dying. So in return, Young-joo killed Jung-il’s father. Lawyer Choi is pleased with the story, convinced no one will find fault with it.

Dong-joon rushes to Chang-ho’s side after he gets the message that his health has deteriorated to the point where paramedics are taking him to the hospital. He reassures Chang-ho that Young-joo’s matter (which is still the breaking news of the night) will be settled soon — it was all just a misunderstanding.

Young-joo contacts Dong-joon through Ki-yong’s phone (since the police are likely tracking hers), and she begs him to tell her father that she’ll be there soon. Dong-joon warns her not to come because there are police waiting for her, but she’s determined to see her father before he has his emergency operation. When she gets to the hospital, Ki-yong tries to convince her to stay in the car, warning her that detectives are there, too.

Spotting a spare paramedic uniform in the empty ambulance, she realizes how she can sneak into the hospital. Blending in with the rest of the paramedics rushing her father to the operating room, she grabs his hand. He recognizes her, and they gaze at each other in silence as she runs along side the gurney. It’s a brief moment, but a meaningful one, and she tearfully watches as he’s escorted into the operation room.

Doctor Dad informs Dong-joon that Chang-ho’s cancer is spreading more rapidly than they thought. He probably won’t live more than a month, now. But Doctor Dad is more concerned about the hospital’s tax audit than the dying Chang-ho, much to Dong-joon’s frustration. When he asks if Dong-joon can take care of it, Dong-joon coldly replies that it’s not like it affects his own life.

In the morning, everyone arrives at Taebaek at the same time and it’s a face-off in the lobby as Lawyer Choi and Jung-il politely greet each other. But everyone’s concealing their true agendas.

Lawyer Choi (and by default, Soo-yeon, since she’s declared her allegiance to her father) is convinced the police will find Young-joo soon and then Chairman Kang’s murder will be cleared up (and Lawyer Choi will avoid taking the blame). Jung-il and Attorney Jo want to find Young-joo because they believe she’s an eyewitness and can be used against Lawyer Choi. But only Dong-joon knows where she is, and he warns her to stay hidden.

Jung-il goes to Dong-joon. He wants to find his father and he believes Young-joo knows what happened. Dong-joon says he wants to find Sang-gu and to know what really happened that night at the fishing site. If they’re going to work together, they might as well get the truth, right?

He warns Dong-joon that Young-joo is in danger, but Dong-joon still has some semblence of his principles, and refuses to side with a monster in order to catch the devil. Even so, he expresses his condolences for Jung-il’s father.

Soo-yeon’s assistant has gotten a lead on where Jung-il has been hiding Sang-gu, and it turns out to be a vacation house where she used to meet with Jung-il — in much happier times, of course. As they approach the villa, her assistant is worried about their safety, but Soo-yeon is confident she can buy off Jung-il’s men.

Except it’s not his men that are waiting for her — it’s Jung-il himself. Was it a trap? It certainly looks pleasant as they sit outside, sharing a bottle of wine as though they had planned to meet up for a picnic date.

But appearances are deceiving, and as they sip their wine, Jung-il reveals that she won’t be able to find Sang-gu. He’s made sure to send him far away. Indeed that’s true, as he’s trapped on a shipping boat presumably bound for the Philippines. At least he’s still alive. For now.

Jung-il then asks her where his father is, but instead of answering, she just takes a drink of her wine. He reassures her that he’ll find his father, then muses that now that they’ve emptied the wine bottle, what should they fill up with next — her tears, or her father’s blood. Yikes.

Dong-joon carefully studies a timeline of Secretary Song’s movements the day Chairman Kang was killed, but quickly hides it when Soo-yeon enters his office. She tells him that she has connections to the highest political offices and can make sure Dong-joon is protected for life — if he stays by her side. He just laughs and tells her that he’s received enough punishment for the time he’s been forced to be in the same room with her, and tells her to leave.

She points out that married couples should communicate, and he says that it’s also good for married couples to have their privacy. When he sees Ki-yong calling, he pretends it’s his mother, and tells “Mom” (who is really Young-joo) that he’ll meet her later. Soo-yeon spots a bag filled with women’s clothing in his office and realizes that it must be for Young-joo.

Later that night, he meets with Young-joo down by the river. She’s most concerned about her father, and Dong-joon solemnly tells her that it’s not good — Chang-ho won’t last the month. Even though it makes her cry, she appreciates his honesty.

As for Secretary Song, Dong-joon is still convinced, based on the time table, that there was no way for him to bury Chairman Kang’s body, so it must still be in car 62’s trunk. Young-joo knows that he’ll get rid of the body as soon as she’s arrested.

While they discuss their plan to get Secretary Song to move car 62, a mysterious hooded person watches from a distance. They’ll report the car as stolen, declaring it had thousands of dollars of valuables inside, so it will be a priority case. Dong-joon is still worried about Young-joo’s safety, but she wryly points out that she’s never exactly been safe since the beginning.

Dong-joon begs her to think about what will happen if she gets caught, her father dies, and then he, Dong-joon… Instead of finishing that thought, he quietly adds that he’s found her a safe house and hands her the bag full of clothes, asking her to stay hidden and promising he’ll take care of everything. But she tearfully insists that she needs to see her father off, and that if anyone is to get hurt, it will be her.

The next day, Secretary Song reports to Lawyer Choi, telling him about Dong-joon declaring car 62 stolen and the resulting search to find it. Lawyer Choi muses that he’ll have to set his next plan into motion. Noticing Secretary Song’s stiff and resentful attitude, Lawyer Choi chuckles. Even though he knows Secretary Song hates him, he’s at least confident of his loyalty, pointing out that Secretary Song needs him in order to exist.

Ki-yong delivers Secretary Song’s schedule to Dong-joon, and both men puzzle over the fact that Secretary Song has an appointment with Dong-joon’s father. He knows his father only treats VIP clients, and a secretary isn’t exactly someone he would normally see. They deduce that this must be when Secretary Song will make his move to swap cars, and he calls Young-joo so she can be at the hospital tonight.

She waits in the parking lot, keeping an eye out for Secretary Song. Sure enough, he leaves the hospital, but instead of getting back into the car he drove there, he unlocks a nearby car — car 62. He also carefully checks the trunk, and based on the face he makes, it seems like Chairman Kang’s body is still there.

As she follows him in her car, Dong-joo enters Lawyer Choi’s office, where his own father is waiting for him. Doctor Dad expresses his appreciation for stopping the tax audit. Even if he couldn’t save Chang-ho, he’s thankful at the least the hospital could be saved.

Young-joo calls Dong-joon, letting him know she’s followed Secretary Song’s car to a police security check. She tells him that the’s going to end it here, and then zooms in front of Secretary Song’s car, blocking him in. She leaps out and opens up the trunk of car 62, staring in surprise at what she finds there.

Soo-yeon, who’s been quietly sitting in her father’s office until now, suddenly tells Dong-joon that Chairman Kang’s body will be found in Soo-young’s car. With her trademark smirk, she reveals that she knew he would be meeting with Young-joo last night, and helped her father put a plan into motion to move the body from the trunk of car 62 to Young-joo’s car. So that’s what the mysterious man — who was actually Secretary Song in disguise — was doing while they were having their conversation down by the river.

Dong-joon is shocked, but Lawyer Choi digs the proverbial knife deeper as he reminds Doctor Dad that the forensics team were students of his once, and since Dad is in his debt, it means he has the ability to manipulate evidence and prove that Young-joo was responsible for Chairman Kang’s death.

So that’s why Young-joo was so surprised when she opened up the trunk: it was empty. As the cops grab her, Secretary Song gloatingly muses that the body must be somewhere nearby. A policeman opens up Young-joo’s car trunk to reveal the large duffle bag, and when he unzips it, an arm dangles free. They’ve found the body.

 
COMMENTS

Aw, I kind of wish we could have had a little more time with Young-joo as a “fugitive on the run.” But only because I like to see her outsmarting everyone as she avoids detection and also because watching Dong-joon worry over her for once is so satisfying. At long last, I’m finally convinced that he might care about her personal welfare instead of his own. Not that he’s exactly been cold and unfeeling, but most of his motivation so far has been focused on how to protect his job and reputation (which, by default, meant saving Chang-ho and thus helping Young-joo).

I also really love this whole “partners in crime” budding friendship between Ki-yong and Young-joo. They make such a great duo as they break into places and track down evidence. When you think about it, Ki-yong is kind of like Dong-joon’s Secretary Song, but with a more sincere loyalty that was generously given, instead of stolen after making sure he had no one else to turn to.

Because speaking of Secretary Song… he’s definitely on the edge of breaking, isn’t he? Even if Lawyer Choi holds all the cards, Secretary Song’s absolute rage and loathing has me convinced that there will be an implosion soon. It might not be a pretty one, because it means that essentially Secretary Song will have to sacrifice himself — but when he doesn’t have much to lose, taking down his enemy might be the only thing left that fuels him. He might as well to go prison on his own terms instead of being at the mercy of Lawyer Choi’s whims. After all, we’ve seen how quickly Lawyer Choi can change his promises, taking down anyone who stands in his way. Secretary Song is walking a doomed path, no matter how you look at it.

Which sounds depressing, but then again, who isn’t walking a doomed path on this show? Just when you start to think someone’s got the upper hand, another character comes along and steals it, spinning everything around and making me wonder who will suffer next. At least I can appreciate the parallels of Young-joo being framed for a murder that she didn’t commit, just like her father was. It does seem like the sins of the fathers are being passed down to their children, unfortunately for everyone. Except this time, Dong-joon has the opportunity to make things right. He might not be able to save Chang-ho’s life, but he’ll at least be able to make sure Young-joo doesn’t suffer the same fate.

 
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