Payback: Episodes 1-2

by Benjamin Liu

Payback: Episodes 1-2

by SugarSnow

Payback sets the stage nicely for a proper revenge story fighting back against the greedy and immoral. As our characters’ paths are set to intersect, the fight is right around the corner and it’s guaranteed to get messy.

EPISODES 1-2 WEECAP

To start our premiere week, we’re introduced to EUN YONG (Lee Seon-kyun) as he rides a horse around the fields of Mongolia planting red flags to mark the land that he just bought. We then flash back to 1990, where we see our main character being released from a juvenile center (younger Eun Yong played by Yoon Jung-il). Outside of the juvy center, he meets KIM SEONG-TAE (Lee Gun-myung), a shady man who works in construction. With word getting out that Yong can hold his own in a fight, the man gives Yong his card, telling him to contact him if he ever needs a job. Yong hands back the card and recites the number on it as he has already memorized it. Here is where we learn that Yong is gifted when it comes to numbers.

After surviving off of hospital food for a night or two, Yong meets with his sister, EUN JI-HEE (Seo Jung-yeon) who has a son that Yong is fond of – his name JANG TAE-CHOON (later played by Kang Yoo-seok.) While spending time with him, Yong finds out that Tae-choon loves to read books, so he promises to get him the books he wants to read at home. After being at his sister’s place that night and seeing how run-down it is, Yong becomes determined to make money and support his family.

Fast forward eight years to 1998, where Yong has been a part of a gang for several years. Riding a bus, we see Yong and other gang members prepare for a fight at a construction site. After a huge brawl and a sweet showcase of Yong’s fighting skills, a man by the name of MYUNG IN-JU (Kim Hong-pa) approaches him to offer him a better job. Yong accepts, not realizing he’s walking straight into the palm of the devil.

With the opportunity given to him by In-joo, Yong is able to earn a lot more money and doesn’t have to fight for it anymore either – literally. With the money he has earned working for In-joo, he buys his sister and Tae-choon a nicer place just as he promised. Here, the story transitions from Yong’s perspective to Tae-choon’s, and we see that Ji-hee opens her own bar but soon falls into the habit of coming home drunk every morning after being out all night. While this is happening, Tae-choon is working his butt off to pass the bar exam to be a prosecutor.

In the present, Tae-choon has finally made all of his hard work pay off. As a rookie prosecutor, he is feeling underwhelmed with the cases he is assigned by Chief Prosecutor PARK JUNG-SOO (Choi Min-chul) and he desperately wants to join the Special Investigations team, led by the stone cold HWANG KI-SEOK (Park Hoon).

One day, on his way out for lunch, he receives an anonymous tip from a mysterious woman. Rushing inside to read over the documents he was handed, he realizes that they are linked to a company named Solar Bio and an internet-famous stock market influencer who calls himself RAMBO. Needing help deciphering the documents, he finds Investigator NAM SANG-IL (Choi Deok-moon) to ask for help. Sang-il tells him that he was always suspicious of Rambo when he worked in the Special Investigations unit, but he was never able to move forward with an investigation because of the lead prosecutor on the case — that prosecutor being none other than Gi-seok. Things are tying together real quick.

As Sang-il is unable to decipher the cryptic numerical language used in the bookkeeping history, Tae-choon looks to his uncle for help, faxing over the documents to his remote Mongolia location (and his really nice yurt!). As Yong was unable to keep a promise he made to Tae-choon as a kid to take him to an amusement park, Yong is obligated to help with this. In order words, Tae-choon literally faxes over the signed promise to fulfill Tae-choon’s wish if Yong didn’t keep his promise.

So, Yong digs in and soon realizes it’s the same code used from when he was working for In-joo. Breaking the code, he sends it back to Tae-choon, who then goes to Chief Prosecutor Park requesting a warrant after seeing how all the documents and businesses are linked to In-joo. Prosecutor Park is skeptical until Tae-choon mentions how Ki-seok, Prosecutor Park’s rival, is son-in-law to In-joo, which hits the sweet spot getting Prosecutor Park to approve.

Moving forward with the case, Tae-choon gets Sang-il to join him on the investigation. After a dinner with OH CHANG-HYUN (Lee Ki-young), the CEO of GMI Bank, one of the companies Tae-choon is attempting to investigate, Prosecutor Park denies permission for Tae-choon to investigate them. Chang-hyun just so happens to be the former Attorney General and Prosecutor Park’s superior.

Prosecutor Park’s disapproval doesn’t last long as a man sets himself on fire at Chang-hyun’s public engagement for his book, screaming out that GMI Bank is corrupt and should be investigated to the fullest extent. With this now being public knowledge, Tae-choon gets the green light.

Back in Mongolia, Yong gets word of Bluenet CEO YOON HYE-RIN’s (Kim Mi-sook) death by suicide – supposedly. Shaken up by this, he decides to make his way back to Korea as her death is personal to him. And he leaves in style, I tell ya. He’s built up quite a bit of money since leaving Korea and with the mind that he’s got, he’s bringing a lot to the table for this upcoming war.

Going back to 1990 again, we see when Yong and PARK JUN-KYUNG (Moon Chae-won) first meet — Jun-kyung being revealed as the “mysterious woman” who dropped off the packet to Tae-choon in the present day. On a train, some goons are harassing people. Not wanting to get in any trouble straight out of juvy, Yong stays put in his seat until a brazen and noble teenage Jun-kyung takes his umbrella and uses it to fight the men. As more goons enter the train car, Yong is forced to step in and fight in order to help her. The two get arrested, and Hye-rin shows up to help Jun-kyung get released. Realizing that Yong helped her daughter, and has nowhere to go, she asks to have him released as well, as she will take responsibility as his guardian — despite the officer relaying his past to her.

After getting a full night’s sleep, Hye-rin invites Yong to eat breakfast. While eating, she asks him why he was in juvy. Surprising her, he says he robbed a bank and was able to get out with a solid chunk of money too. She encourages him to stop committing crimes, and gives him a business card and offers him a job if he wants to begin to have a stable life. Yong, grateful, believes she is the only person to treat him like a human being.

Back in the present, it is revealed that Hye-rin was wrongly convicted of bribery charges for sending money over to her old friend, Minister Son, and Ki-seok was leading the case. Minister Son was leading the race as a candidate for governor but had to withdraw his candidacy due to bribery charges. Meanwhile, Hye-rin was acquitted in the first trial, so the false bribery charges were used to manipulate the election.

Now, her daughter is in the hot seat for the documents she gave to Tae-choon. Although unable to question her for long as she is a soldier and soldiers get investigated by the military, Ki-seok watches Jun-kyung intently as she leaves the room with a serpent-like stare. He looks so calculated and power-hungry, just his gaze is enough to make me shiver!

Attempting to push him to the side and cut off his investigation, Ki-seok meets with Tae-choon in his office and tries to butter him up and hint at the possible acceptance of him joining the Special Investigations team. Interrupted by a phone call, he dismisses Tae-choon. I don’t think Tae-choon is the kind of guy who would choose position over justice, but he did have a look in his eye that makes me think he might be tempted over the possibility of joining the S.I. team. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity after all.

Revealing how In-joo and Yong’s relationship went sour, we see Yong’s final job for him in the past. After working for In-joo for so long, Yong started to look for his own path and stand on his own, so he struck a deal with Hye-rin. Around the same time, Yong was sent out for a “job” for In-joo, but while at the location, he was set up and jumped by a bunch of In-joo’s men. They beat him down and In-joo shows up and forces him to sign over his stocks.

After his near-death experience, Yong tells Hye-rin what happened and they form a plan to bite back. Gathering a bunch of people together, Yong plans to manipulate the stock price to turn the tides their way. Fighting back, In-joo attempts to turn the media against them but his attempt is unsuccessful which leads to Hye-rin patenting her chip technology. 1-0 for Yong.

Yong makes a surprise appearance at a dinner meeting In-joo is having with a prosecutor. Yong tells him they can settle things peacefully as long as In-joo doesn’t mess with his family. If he does this, Yong swears he will come back and bring the fight to him which is exactly what he’s doing now. Ending this week, we see Yong finally meet with Jun-kyung and shield her with an umbrella from the rain.

What a first week! The pace is blitzing and we’re already getting into the thick of things. I’m excited to see Yong and Tae-choon’s reunion along with their assembly of a team to take down the corrupt and evil In-joo. We didn’t really see much of Jun-kyung and Yong’s relationship so I’m looking forward to getting some of that next week.

The drama has set up a strong baseline for a revenge plot. With all of our characters disjointed right now, the impending team-up is something on the horizon to look forward to. A group of people working together to take down the evil and corrupt? Sign me up.

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