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Just when you think everything might be over, it never is. Things only escalate and get worse. With Soo-ho gone, our three characters work to discover the truth to his death and to uncover the corruption that his dad’s committed as chairman of W Group. But as our characters will learn, things aren’t as easy as they seem. With temptations, offers, and threats made at every turn, who will our characters turn to and what will they do?

Time (시간): Episode 14 Recap

Min-seok arrives at Ji-hyun’s place and apologizes to her. Now that he’s alone and left to survive on his own, he’s unable to go anywhere and he’s afraid he’ll get arrested. He reveals the truth about Mom’s death to Ji-hyun and claims that he covered up the truth because he got greedy. He wanted to live a different life. Min-seok pleads to stay at Ji-hyun’s place in the mean time to figure things out. Ji-hyun gives him permission to stay hidden.

Ji-hyun informs Chae-Ah of Min-seok’s whereabouts. Though Chae-Ah is shocked and concerned on the risky decision, she wants in on Ji-hyun and Min-seok’s next moves. Meanwhile, Dae-chul reassures Dad that Min-seok will take care of Ji-hyun as they had originally agreed on.

Dae-chul learns that Min-seok is no where to be found. He then meets with Chae-Ah who offers him to work for her instead of Soo-ho’s dad. She’ll save him from possibly being betrayed by Dad just like Min-seok was and will even pay him three times as much as he’s currently getting paid. However, Dae-chul isn’t worried about his future. He has evidence of Chae-Ah’s involvement with Ji-eun and Kang In-bum’s death and can out her anytime he likes. It seems like Chae-Ah’s the one who needs to be saved.

Ji-hyun meets with Mom to discuss their plans to take down Soo-ho’s Dad. Though their motives are different, Mom wants Ji-hyun to take over W Foundation as the Director so that they can both defeat Dad. Mom still hasn’t forgiven Dad for having an affair with another woman and helping her raise her child (aka Soo-ho). She emphasizes that this is the only way Ji-hyun will be able to stay alive.

Ji-hyun returns home to a worried Min-seok who warns her about the dangers of Mom and Soo-chul now that she’s planning on becoming director. However, Ji-hyun isn’t worried as she’s no longer the naive and trusting person she once used to be. Along with Chae-Ah, the three stop by Min-seok’s Dad’s funeral to allow him to mourn the loss of his father. While Min-seok grieves along with his mom, Chae-Ah steps outside to notify Dae-chul of Min-seok’s location at the funeral hall.

When Min-seok finishes the short visit, he waits inside the car so Chae-Ah and Ji-hyun can have a private talk. He’s then approached by Dae-chul who follows up on Min-seok’s plans to kill Ji-hyun. Will Min-seok really kill Ji-hyun like he was ordered to do? Min-seok claims that he will, but that he just needs some time and privacy to do so. Dae-chul trusts his words for the last time, but remains alert and cautious.

On the way home, Min-seok apologizes to Ji-hyun for making her bring him to his dad’s funeral. She must hate him since he never stopped by to attend Ji-eun or Mom’s funeral. Ji-hyun doesn’t mind, but rather states that Min-seok should act apologetic if he’s truly sorry than just merely apologizing.

When they return home, Ji-hyun warns Min-seok to stay put, and to not roam around the house freely. However, he grows anxious and uses the excuse of finding an escape route to move about the house. After sitting in her room to reminisce about Soo-ho, Ji-hyun confronts Min-seok outside in the dining room for simply drinking. He doesn’t deserve to do something as simple as drinking beer. In response, Min-seok grows nostalgic and questions what things would have been like had he and Ji-hyun never broken up. Does Ji-hyun regret the current situation they’re in right now? Ji-hyun doesn’t have any regrets, but is doubtful about her plans with Min-seok. Will it work? Min-seok claims that it will. He’ll do everything in his power to make sure things work out as planned.

Chae-Ah meets with Soo-ho’s Dad to clear her name. She warns him that if Min-seok is unable to kill Ji-hyun, he’ll come to him to bargain instead. Chae-Ah reminds Dad that Min-seok is the one who has all the files regarding W Group’s corruption.

The talk with Chae-Ah causes Dad to panic so he alerts Dae-chul to move their meeting elsewhere. As Dae-chul escapes with all the records and files documenting corruption committed by W Group, he’s stopped by Ji-hyun and Min-seok along the way. While Ji-hyun grabs the files in the trunk of Dae-chul’s car, Min-seok stays with Dae-chul and reiterates for Dae-chul to trust him. He just needs more time to execute the plan. Ji-hyun makes a bold request to Dae-chul to meet with Dad alone.

Dad meets with Ji-hyun on the same beach where Soo-ho passed away. She demands that Dad take responsibility for all that he’s done. If he truly is Soo-ho’s dad, he’ll turn himself in and claim responsibility for everything. Min-seok joins the two and lets Dad in on their plans: Ji-hyun and Min-seok has hidden the ledger containing records of corrupted acts that W Group’s committed. They’ll reward whoever finds the ledger first and will promote the reward online and in the press so as to spread the news. Ji-hyun gives Dad one last chance to make things right before she is to make her next move.

Dad prepares to give up his position to Soo-chul to inherit. Meanwhile, Ji-hyun visits the same kid who she and Soo-ho had visited the last time they were at the orphanage. When asked where Soo-ho is, Ji-hyun responds to the kid that he’s gone somewhere far away, but that he’ll remain in her heart.

While re-reading Soo-ho’s letter that he wrote for her, Ji-hyun is suddenly visited by detectives who enter her house in search of the ledger that Min-seok and Ji-hyun has hidden. As they search around the house, they make a mess everywhere and leave Ji-hyun to clean it all up. While cleaning, Ji-hyun discovers Soo-ho’s wishlist that he had written down prior to his death and cries upon reading the list.

Dae-chul and Soo-chul continue the search for the ledger. Since it’s not at the house, either Min-seok or Chae-Ah must have it. Chae-Ah then enters the room at that moment and is threatened by Soo-chul to help them find both the ledger as well as Min-seok. Failure to do so could lead to Chae-Ah’s exposure as the murderer of both Ji-eun and Kang In-bum.

Ji-hyun, Min-seok, and Chae-Ah hide in a cabin in the woods. Now that they have the ledger with them, they can expose Dad for his corrupted acts. After the truth to that is revealed, Min-seok and Chae-Ah can be next in revealing their truths. Though Min-seok is committed to turning himself in after everything is finished, Chae-Ah remains silent on the issue. It’s clear that neither of them trust one another, but they must work together for now since they all have a common enemy.

Chae-Ah sends Soo-chul and Dae-chul the address to their cabin. She then has a talk with Min-seok and tempts him to change his mind. There’s other options available that they can take to end things well. They don’t have to stick with Ji-hyun if they don’t want to. Chae-Ah hands Min-seok a gun and then leaves shortly afterwards. Ji-hyun questions what the two were conversing about, but the neither of them say much.

Dad makes his way to the cabin along with Dae-chul and a few other men. Upon arriving, they search for the ledger. However, Min-seok stops everyone by pulling out the gun that Chae-Ah handed him and threatening everyone’s lives with it. He reveals the truth about the ledger to Dad: there is no ledger like they had claimed. The assumed ledger was actually just an insurance policy. Min-seok wants Dad to immediately give him the $10 million dollars like how he had promised. If he does, Min-seok will kill Ji-hyun right in front of him and then disappear with his mother forever.

Ji-hyun attempts to change Dad’s mind by reminding him about Soo-ho. Dad should do what is right and take responsibility for his actions for Soo-ho’s sake. However, Dad turns it on Ji-hyun and gives her one last chance to give up. Ji-hyun remains determined to fight though and won’t easily give up.

After being wired the $10 million dollars by Dae-chul, Min-seok then turns his gun towards Ji-hyun as promised. He aims at her and then shoots, causing her to fall over the balcony and plunge into a sea of water – similar to like how Soo-ho did seconds before his death.

My Thoughts:

Oh boy, there were so many things happening in this episode that was frustrating to watch, but I think the thing that stood out the most was the absence of Soo-ho’s character. There are so many possibilities as to what could have happened if Soo-ho was still alive to help Ji-hyun instead of Ji-hyun having to resort to Min-seok to take down Dad. I understand that Soo-ho’s early departure from the drama wasn’t planned and that they had no other choice but to take him out, but it pains me to think of all the ways the drama could have resumed had he not leave so soon.

We’re fourteen episodes in and we finally receive some kind of action. This made me realize that the last 14 episodes was just full of talk, threats, and warnings and this was especially evident up until the very last second in this episode. Dad continued to threaten Ji-hyun at the cabin and Min-seok still was making deals with Dad until the very last minute. There hasn’t been much going on in this drama this entire time if you really sit down to think about it. There’s a lot of back and forth talk and threats that are made, but nothing actually really happens and our characters aren’t in as much danger as they assume they are. Everyone has dirt on one another so no one can actually do anything because plans to expose someone will also lead to their own downfall as well.

I know Chae-Ah, Min-seok, and Ji-hyun were never on good terms and never trusted one another to begin with, but I was actually excited to see something new with the way that they were working together to take down Dad. Me being the naive and optimistic person I am, I thought that they were finally coming together for Soo-ho and working together to uncover the truth to his death (as much as I knew they really weren’t). I knew it was too good to be true when Chae-Ah betrayed Min-seok and Ji-hyun, and when Min-seok promised to kill Ji-hyun for money. Why couldn’t they have just worked together to take down Dad? Dad is a powerful man, but there’s so much more at risk for him than for our other three characters. Everyone in this drama is so busy worrying about themselves and protecting themselves that they get distracted and lose sight of their plans. It’s such a shame for someone like Ji-hyun who has to deal with all of these people just to seek justice for her family and Soo-ho.

Ji-hyun had a personality change in the last few episodes which I found refreshing and pleasant to see. After being taken advantage of for being so naive and trusting, she turned into a calculative, resentful, and cunning character afterwards. If her first try didn’t work, she worked hard to figure out other ways to achieve her plans. Despite the personality change, I finally saw hints of her true self at the end of this episode when she confidently told Dad that she wasn’t going to back down. She wasn’t going to give up and she was going to keep fighting. These comments reminded me of how she used to be in the very beginning of the drama prior to getting married and it was nice to see that side of Ji-hyun again. Though Ji-hyun might have had to change her methods to seek justice, she’s still ultimately the same person and has felt the same way all along: she won’t give up.

It’s unpredictable what is going to happen next as the drama continues to switch directions and change things up. Will Ji-hyun too die just like this and finally be able to reunite with her loved ones or will she survive to fight for the justice that she pursued this entire time? Though there’s no telling what will happen next, maybe in time the truth will be revealed and our characters will finally receive the closure that they seek.