In the prison grounds, Yo Han gives Ga-on some space to gather his emotions. When Ga-on has calmed down, Yo Han speaks.
Yo Han says at the church fire, everyone abandoned the others to save themselves. He says that is what most humans do. He says what wasn’t acceptable was when they all visited him at the hospital after the incident.
Flashback
Yo Han wakes up in the hospital after the incident. All the members of the Foundation are surrounding him. They all ask him how he managed to survive when everyone left behind died. They don’t hide their disappointment and shock at Yo Han surviving the fire.
They don’t waste time and start talking about Issac’s donation. They say they will put it to good use in Issac’s memory. Cha says they should continue Issac’s legacy. Heo says they all should live like they have been given a second chance.
Yo Han is quiet. Heo says they know how he is feeling as they are in the same boat. Yo Han looks at him in disbelief when Heo says they had the same experience.
At present, Yo Han says they had no qualms and that they were serious. He says he cant hypocrites and they make him nauseous. He says they will adopt the same attitude now. They will claim they did nothing wrong and that they are being persecuted for something minor.
Yo Han says, “If the Devil really does exist among us, it would be the self-pity of the powerful.”
On their drive back, Yo han comments that Ga-on looks a mess. He tells Ga-on to think only about himself and not anything else right now.
The night happenings run through Ga-on’s mind. Ga-on wonders, “To achieve his goals, would he not use another man’s pain? If the Devil did really exist among us.”
Elijah watches Yo Han return home late at night.
Back home, Ga-on weeps as he sees his parents photograph on his desk.
Ga-on comes to work the next day and finds Yo Han on the phone. Yo Han says some employees of the Foundation have agreed to testify.
K is on the other end. He tells Yo Han that they have a member from the accounting department who promised to call back but hasn’t yet. He says their phones are turned off too.
Yo Han hangs up and looks at the giant screen outside his office. He sees the news of Chairman Seo’s death and Sun-A taking over as Chairwoman.
Sun-A plays Seo’s last speech before his death. In the recording, Seo speaks about how greedy humans are how wrong he was to trust his subordinates with power. He says he has made irreparable mistakes. He apologises to the people.
Yo Han comments that Sun-A is crazier than he thought.
THE PREVIOUS NIGHT
Seo suggests that they should kill Sun-A and the others agree. Seo says he will prepare a statement for the nation now. After he leaves, Sun-A walks into the room. Heo, Min and Park ask her why they should take up her offer over Chairman Seo’s.
Sun-A says Seo’s statement is capable of altering public opinion. She says if he leaves his last words before taking his own life it would be more influential.
Heo realises that Seo is more valuable to them dead than alive.
SOMETIME LATER
Seo’s dead form lies in a pool of blood while Sun-A watches the statement which Seo recorded earlier. She sucks on the lollypop.
Seo mentions he will take full responsibility to catch Jung Sun-A who is responsible for the embezzlement.
Sun-A edits out the part where Seo mentions his name and smiles with a sense of accomplishment.
At present, Sun-A tells the nation that Seo has taken his subordinate’s guilt on himself and has left them. Sun A flashes up photos of the employees in the Finance and Accounting team. She accuses them of destroying the evidence and fleeing. She says they were rebel forces who got into the Foundation systematically. She promises to catch them and make them pay.
Yo Han tells Ga-on that Sun-A has pinned the embezzlement on the employees who were willing to testify against the Foundation. He says they are being framed.
Ga-on says they will have to issue a statement refuting this claim. Yo Han says the public will call them crazy if they try to stir something following Seo’s death. He says they will use the media to create an atmosphere of mourning.
Yo Han adds that they are converting a crisis into an opportunity.
Soon Heo releases a statement. He says that the employees were a part of the group which started the riots. He says most of them are foreigners without Korean citizenship. He says they are interrogating a few people and he is sure that they have an attack planned. He says the opposition party is to blame for this turmoil. Heo dramatically promises to build a safer country. He holds Sun-A’s hand and raises it in solidarity.
Yo Han repeats his words that there is no justice in reality but just a game. He says it is a dreadful unjust game. He tells Ga-on to pull himself together as the game has just started.
At night, Ga-on calls Soo Hyun and says he misses her. They meet and walks to a restaurant as she wonders why he misses her. She watches a couple walking hand in hand and she acts like her stomach hurts. Ga-on smiles as he holds her.
At the restaurant, Ga-on tells Soo Hyun about the impostor at the prison. She says only someone very powerful can replace an inmate serving time. he says even Yo Han said the same. She says she gets suspicious if things make perfect sense. She says this also makes perfect sense. She says he presented the facts in a manner so that Ga-on would react in a way.
She says Yo Han has an ulterior motive. Ga-on tells her that he will play along with Kang Yo Han and find out more. He tells her not to get involved as he doesn’t trust her superiors.
Soo Hyun says it must be hard on Ga-on. Ga-on says he is surprised by how shameless the person behind this is. He says the person isn’t scared of getting caught as the imposter doesn’t resemble Doh Young Choon at all.
Ga-on says he has no clue as to what happened to his parents. His eyes glisten in sorrow and Soo Hyun goes to his side. She puts ear pods in his ear and hers. She plays Elliot Smith’s Between the Bars on her phone. She holds Ga-on close as he cries.
At her home the next day, Sun-A puts on make-up and appreciates her beauty in the mirror. She tells herself that she did well and that she loves herself. Sun-A tells Jae-Hee that she is proud of how hard she worked to get this far from the disgusting gutter. Jae Hee says Sun-A is incredible. Sun-A pauses for a while for the appreciation to sink in. She then says she is going to visit Master Yo Han.
Meanwhile, Heo introduces strict measures in the country. The police are given excess authority.
As they walk out of the subway station, Jin-joo comments that the higher-ups have ordered tighter control now. She says Ga-on is too busy carrying out tasks that he hardly notices the change.
Yo Han watches the news which says the sentencing guidelines will be revised to expand the heavy sentences delivered by the live court show to all courts. It says a team will be set up to support the operation and promotion of the live court show.
He hears a knock on the door and Sun-A peeps in with a bright smile. She walks in and he asks her how she dared to come here. Sun-A holds out her hand and says she is the one who will head the Operation and Promotional Committee of the live court show. She says she looks forward to working with him.
Yo Han notices that she is wearing Issac’s mother’s necklace on her neck.
Meanwhile, Professor Min opposes the new developments. He tells the Chief Justice that this will stop the court’s independent functionality. He asks if judges who hand over lighter sentences and who dismiss a large number of warrants will be penalised. The Chief Justice says the Blue House wants to strengthen the order of the society. He says there won’t be an independent court without a nation.
MIn says for a nation to exist, the court should be independent. The Chief Justice smirks after Min leaves.
At his office, Yo Han calls Sun-A funny and asks if becoming Chairwoman wasn’t enough. He asks Sun-A if she thinks she is capable of supporting him. Sun-A says she is being sincere as she is eternally indebted to him.
Yo Han says he created chaos in her sheep farm so she can steal her position. She says there is more to it. She says she saw a beautiful world for the first time in Yo Han’s house. She says everything was shiny and she has lived to go back there, not as a thief but as the owner of the world Yo Han kicked her out of.
Yo Han says she is still nothing but a starving little thief who has no idea how messed up she is. She traced a line on his coat as she says she likes it when he acts like this. She says it thrills her when he curses and hurts her. She says that is why she wants to harass him, scratch him and bite him.
Yo Han clenches her hands as he says she doesn’t know him yet. He steps forward as she walks back. He tells her that he doesn’t have patience and doesn’t differentiate between men and women. He pushes her against the wall and runs his hand over hers.
As his hands go over her shoulders she says Yo Han and she are alike. Yo Han asks if that is why she likes him and she says yes. Her smile fades when his hands close over her neck as he asks how much she likes him. She chokes as Yo Han tightens his grip on her.
Yo Han comes in just then and rushes to them. He pulls Yo Han away. Yo Han yanks Issac’s chain from her neck. Yo Han notices that there is a needle attached to the chain and there is blood on it. Yo Han glares at her as Ga-on checks if she is alright. Sun-A smiles at him walks away.
Outside, Jin Joo watches Sun-A cursing as she massages her neck. She greets Sun-A who says they will meet soon before going on.
Yo Han tells Ga-on that Sun-A will head the committee.
Jin-Joo goes to Yo Han’s office. She objects to being left out. Yo Han comments that she has become more ambitious than the first time they met. He wonders what has caused this. He says Jin-Joo said she was honoured to sit just by his side. Jin-Joo walks away.
Ga-on asks Yo Han how he intends to fight the powerful when he cuts out the people who are by his side. Yo Han looks at his bleeding hand. He says they should talk later. He tells Ga-on to drop by as Elijah is getting anxious.
Minister Cha tells her secretary that she was completely excluded from everything. She says first Seo died and now the violent gang. She is told the interrogations are done by the NIS and he cant obtain information from them.
Cha tells the secretary to instruct the team following Heo to dig up information on Sun A. She says a puppeteer is pulling the strings of the puppet president.
Yo Han and Ga-on come home. Ga-on waves to Elijah but she doesn’t seem in the mood to talk. Yo Han and Ga-on talks over coffee. Yo Han says he doesn’t include Jin Joo in the discussions because the panel has 3 judges and 2 is more than half. Ga-on says Jin Joo is a good person but Yo Han says he doesn’t believe in fickle things like good intentions and beliefs. Ga-on notes that Yo Han is more of resentment and anger.
Ga-on says Yo Han went after Cha because of what she did to Elijah at the church. Yo Han says it is not that simple. He says when the people who control the world are united, there is nothing we can do.
Yo Han says Cha is the easiest target to isolate because she is the strongest. He says Cha holds all the cards to others’ weakness, so they will be happy if she is cornered. He says he wants her weakness. Ga-on realises Yo Han is going to corner Cha further but says Cha has to agree to a deal to make this possible.
Yo Han gives him a flash drive and asks him to go the list of potential cases for the live show as the show must go on. He says public support is their only weapon.
When asked, Yo Han says he is not sure as to who took Doh Young Choon out of prison. Ga-on wonders why Doh Young Choon was important. He says Doh wasn’t a person of importance. Yo Han says it is usually for money as it is a strong motivator for people.
Later, Yo Han is on a call with K. K asks if it is necessary to include Ga-on. Yo Han says he can’t have Gaon stand behind his back but should be beside him. Yo Han says he needs Ga-on by his side or they have to get rid of him as he is a risk factor.
Ga-on visits Elijah. She asks why he hasn’t been around. He says he had work. Elijah says that they kill Doh Young Choon. Ga-on is taken aback as she says she can hack into the prison system and find his whereabouts. He thanks her but says it won’t be necessary. He asks her what would happen if she assumed that Doh Young Choon was swapped out. She asks how he can imagine something this crazy and she asks why would they do that. Ga-on says it has to be a weird person with a weird purpose.
The next day, Elijah goes shopping with Soo Hyun. Soo Hyun’s jaw drops open when she sees the prices of the handbags. Elijah asks what is up with Ga-on and Soo Hyun says nothing much. Elijah selects one and asks Soo Hyun to take one but she declines.
Next, Soo Hyun takes Elijah to Ga-on’s terrace. She brings Elijah home-cooked food. Elijah spoons it up in delight. Later, they have ice cream. Elijah asks if Soo Hyun likes Ga-on. Soo Hyun says she has asked Ga-on out five times since kindergarten and he declined all five times. Elijah asks why she kept asking him. Soo Hyun wonders why she did it too.
Soo Hyun says Ga-on had to quit kindergarten when his parents lost everything. She says Ga-on cried then. She says she hated to see him cry and that was the first thing she blurted out. She says she has seen him cry 5 times so far. Soo Hyun says they should go. Elijah calls her as’élder sister’ and asks Soo Hyun to come with her. Soo Hyun smiles.
Ga-on meets his classmate who is a prosecutor. Ga-on requests for a personal favour. He asks for information regarding an inmate since the prosecution was in charge of everything back then. The friend asks Ga-on to sign a few autographs in return for the favour.
Soo Hyun visits Ga-on at night. She reminds him that this is his home. He says that there is someone there who needs care too. Soo Hyun tries to tell him something but they are interrupted by Professor Min.
Min, Soo Hyun and Ga-on have a meal inside. Min says the Chief Justice wants all the courts to function together. Soo Hyun says that the police have been ordered to fire live bullets. Both Min and Soo Hyun say this isn’t what they signed up for. Ga-on says it is abnormal for officers to get beaten up by drunk people. Min says the live show is the reason for all this. He says he is going to break the live court as he has lost faith in the court. He says he plans to raise an objection through civic organisations and cover it on media. He says the opposition will take it up from there. Min says he will need Ga-on help on this and asks Ga-on to turn in everything he found so far. He apologises to Ga-on as it is all his fault.
The next day, Yo Han calls Ga-on to his office. He notices Ga-on is preoccupied with something else. he walks away after saying that he has something to show Ga-on later.
At night, Yo Han brings Ga-on to an abandoned building where K is waiting for them. They both dislike each other instantly.
Yo Han says he will answer Ga-on’s question as to how he plans to fight. Yo Han says he makes sure he wins before the game even starts. He says it is tough to do it alone so he has people who help him.
Suddenly, a few people walk in and Ga-on recognises them as Lawyer Ko (attorney of JU chemicals) and the first witness who made a video call in Young Min’s case.
Yo Han says the woman is an aspiring young actress and he liked her tone.
Later, Ga-on asks if Yo Han has put on a show in the name of trials. Yo Han says he doesn’t care if Ga-on criticizes him but tells him not to call the trials fake. He says they just helped the real witnesses to come forward.
Just then, Soo Hyun’s Chief, Cho Min Sung walks in. Ga-on asks if Yo Han pays all of them enough.
Lawyer Ko says he lost his daughter to the Domestic Sanitiser case. He says he had defended conglomerates all his life and when he was a victim he didn’t know what to do. He says he is no longer a lawyer as he deceived his client (Chairman Ju). He says he will accept his punishment when this ends.
He adds that the actress (fake witness in Young Min’s cake) was sexually harassed when she was drunk and she had to see the defendant walk away on probation. She says the Judge said the offender was a promising medical student and should be treated favourably. She asks Ga-on in what way she was inferior to the offender.
Chief Cho Min Sung says his sister worked 365 days a year at the departmental store as she was the breadwinner of the family. He says she was on duty when the building crumbled. He asks if Ga-on recalls the sentence on that case.
Yo Han and the others watch Ga-on.
Elsewhere, Jin Joo meets Sun-A. Sun-A promises to cut ties with the politicians and make the Foundation like it was before. Jin Joo is awkward throughout the conversation but she offers to help. Sun-A smiles as she says Jin Joo is pretty. She says the public needs hope, smile, tears and familiarity. She says Jin-Joo is perfect for that.
She says Yo Han is charismatic and mysterious but is like he is from another world. She adds that many people are against Yo Han being the Head Judge and want Jin-Joo to head the live court show instead.
Later, Jin Joo watches herself in a mirror. Sun-A comes and puts her pearl necklace around Jin-Joo’s neck. She says Jin-Joo must be familiar but when on stage she must overpower everyone. She says power is appealing. Jin-Joo watches the pearl necklace sit on her neck. Sun-ah traces a hand over Jin-Joo’s hairline.
Meanwhile, Elijah starts painting a portrait. She receives a call from Soo Hyun.
At work, Ga-on receives a call from his prosecutor friend. Ga-on meets his friend and obtains the files. He checks the reports of termination of the investigation.
Yo Han comes back to his office to find Ga-on sitting in Yo Han’s seat. Ga-on says Yo Han knew that the day Do Young Choon was moved coincides with the date the investigation into Doh’s criminal profits were stopped.
He says Joongwon FNB (Cha’s husband’s company) was facing bankruptcy, Cha became Minister of Justice. And Ga-on says that was when the fraud who conned people of millions of dollars disappeared. He asks Yo Han why he didn’t tell this. Yo Han says Ga-on wouldn’t have trusted Yo Han if he hadn’t found out for himself.
Ga-on asks what led Yo Han to look Doh Young Choon up. He answers his question by saying Yo Han wanted to show Ga-on how Doh lived like a King inside the prison. He says Yo Han wanted to shake him up.
Yo Han says he wanted Ga-on to be on his side. He says if needed, he would’ve done something worse than switching Doh out. He says that is his method and it won’t change in the future.
Ga-on meets Professor Min over drinks. They overhear a couple of civilians laughing at Heo’s live stream.
Elsewhere, a couple of vans pull up and hooligans jump out of them claiming to be citizens who will take back the country. They have a camera live streaming this online. They break up nearby shops and hit the people who are protesting.
Min tells Ga-on that they have to stop their anger and craziness. Ga-on asks Min who created the anger and craziness.
Soo Hyun is driving Elijah back when she sees the rioters. She gets out and walks towards them. She fires a shot upwards and points the gun at them.
Meanwhile, Ga-on asks if Min thinks the people are angry because they are fools and were instigated. He says it started with bad people who made good people shed tears. He asks if wanting to see those people punished is too much to ask. He tells Min that the Judiciary should have done a better job and if they had done that, the people needn’t have to do this.
Min asks if Ga-on has made a decision. Ga-on says Min is the one who forced him to choose. Ga-on says, “If there is no Justice in reality and it is just a game, I would like to be on the winning team.” Ga-on gets up and walks away.
Min watches as an SUV pulls up next to Ga-on and Yo Han climbs out of it. Yo Han and Ga-on look at Min before going way in Yo Han’s SUV.
Meanwhile, Soo Hyun holds the gun at the rioters. The man asks the camera to pan on her. He puts down his weapon and asks challenges her to shoot an unarmed civilian.
Yo Han and Ga-on speak by a bridge. Yo Han asks if Ga-on regrets this. Yo Han promises to make the person who stole from Ga-on’s parents and the people who smuggled him away pay for their crimes cruelly.
Ga-on says it is not about revenge. Ga-on says he wants to fight the corrupt world.
Image Courtesy-TVN
Review
Ga-on finally chose to side with Yo-han despite having opposing inputs from Soo Hyun and Min. He finally understood that the normal judiciary stands no chance against their enemies.
Genuine loyalty cannot be bought. This is one of the reasons why the members of the Foundation backstab one another at every given chance. Yo Han’s selection of team members also goes to show the same. Yo Han’s aides are emotionally driven and neither money nor power can buy them as they were hit hard by the corrupted system. Yo Han’s team though smaller in number will be fiercely loyal towards him. This may also be the reason why Yo Han chose not to include Jin-Joo as she doesn’t have a bad experience with the system.
Jin-Joo ticks all the boxes for joining Sun-A’s camp and Sun-A didn’t waste any time in making her move. Pinning the embezzlement on the employers who were willing to testify was an evil move from Sun-A’s part. Sun-A is increasing the number of puppets who dance to her tunes. It was interesting to see that the formidable Minister Cha is on to her.
The scene where Sun-A watched Seo’s statement portrayed her as an insane/evil child in a woman’s body. With every passing episode she looks and carries herself around like a Woman-child.
It was revealed that Yo Han used his team to get the real witnesses to speak up. It is intriguing that he employed the same strategy on Ga-on as well. Ga-on saw for real that there are people who were wronged by the system on Yo Han’s side.
It wasn’t right on Soo Hyun’s part to bring Elijah (a minor) outside without Yo Han’s permission. She was also reckless when she ventured into a mob on her own. I wonder why she didn’t gauge that she was outnumbered before she interfered in the situation.
Soo Hyun is in a tight spot now. She mentioned earlier that she has orders to fire live bullets at the civilians and yet it goes against her morals.
The dialogues in the scenes where Yo Han and Ga-on shared screen space were well-written. The scene where Ga-on makes his decision was well made.
With Sun-A now on the board and after she has roped in Jin-joo it doesn’t look like 2 is a majority anymore. It looks like the game is on and the battle has begun!
-By Soul Sword-
The Writers Room 
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