Pro Bono: Episodes 7-8
by solstices
The price of stardom is a hefty one to pay, and this week’s case examines the unfairly high standards that celebrities are often held to. As if the industry itself wasn’t corrupt enough already, the exploitation our client is enduring hits much closer to home. Is blood truly thicker than water? And what is the meaning of family?
EPISODES 7-8
Picking right back up from where we left off, this week opens with Gi-ppeum’s realization. While under anesthetic, David unknowingly kicked up a fuss that looked exactly the same as in the bribe video. Having grown up with Deaf parents, Gi-ppeum is accustomed to closely observing people’s facial expressions and gestures, which means she immediately picks up on the behavioral discrepancy.
However, they don’t have time to dwell on it, because bad news is on the way. Chairman Oh has just issued a disbandment notice, which means the whole pro bono team is out of a job. Never one to back down, David barges straight into Chairman Oh’s office to demand an explanation. Then David places a bet — he’ll make sure the supposedly unprofitable pro bono team increases the company revenue beyond its competitor Baekseung. (And of course that rival law firm is the one Myung-hoon belongs to.)
Needless to say, it looks like a losing battle. Joon-woo finally bursts from the pent-up anxiety over how his career is hanging in the balance, accusing David of taking it lightly. That’s when David finally comes clean about his disgraceful downfall, apologizing for not trusting them sooner. Ultimately, our team forgives him — not only because he’s proven his dedication to his work, but also because he’s not the type to accept a bribe so openly. “You’d be crafty about it,” they say, leaving David perplexed as to whether he should be grateful or offended. LOL.
With that, our team immediately receives their first client – the top star ELIJAH (Jung Ji-so), also known as the nation’s sweetheart. (LOL at the clueless David and his Girls’ Generation reference!) Elijah’s entertainment company is run by her mother CEO CHA (Oh Min-ae), who’s an elitist snob. The issue at hand is a video of Elijah tossing high school fans’ gifts and cameras to the ground, cursing angrily at them.
Of course, nothing is as it seems. After an expensive makeover sponsored by Jung-in, our team goes up against Baekseung in a pitch meeting. Myung-hoon’s team proposes a quick settlement that mitigates the damage and caters to public sentiment, rather than protecting Elijah. But our team has done way more research. Not only has Young-shil discovered that the video had been filmed by the sasaeng taxi driver and subsequently uploaded on a cyber wrecker’s channel, but Joon-woo has also unearthed CCTV footage of the students in question harassing Elijah’s stylist.
The true key to this case, though, is Nan-hee. It turns out she’s been a member of Elijah’s fanclub for three years, and at a fansign, Nan-hee admitted that she’d been bullied back in school. That’s what motivated her onto the path of a pro bono lawyer — she wants to overcome her cowardice and fear of the world. Now, Elijah’s encouragement comes full circle, with Nan-hee promising to protect her idol.
Thus begins a trial against the cyber wrecker MA YOUNG-SOOK (Jung Yeon), in which our team argues that Elijah is a human before she is a celebrity. After picking apart semantics, David swaps out with Nan-hee to let her take the floor, sharing a cute little fist bump on the way out. Then Elijah makes an appearance, apologizing for her outburst and challenging the cyber wrecker to say her malicious comments aloud to her face. (To no one’s surprise, she can’t.)
Unfortunately, the fight isn’t over just yet. In fact, this is only the tip of the iceberg. The opposing attorney GU JI-HWAN (Lee Kang-wook, who hilariously also plays the reporter that used to hound David) reveals that CEO Cha had been the one to tip him off about Elijah’s boyfriend. Then after Attorney Gu releases photos of Elijah’s cheating boyfriend on his tabloid site, David pressures him into spilling the beans. CEO Cha has a history of invading Elijah’s privacy and hiring fake “boyfriends” to deter Elijah’s suitors, claiming that it’s for her daughter’s own good.
Upon learning of this, Elijah files for termination of her contract. To strengthen their case, David requests for the company’s financial statements — and much to the chagrin of the executive director and Elijah’s brother KIM JOO-WON (Yang Joon-myung), our team uncovers his money laundering.
Alas, there’s a specific clause in the law that exempts direct family members from property crimes. CEO Cha puts on a crying act and takes the blame, thereby getting off scot-free without a lawsuit.
This raises the question — how much can we pardon in the name of family? Offering further perspective is the client that Young-shil has been advising. SONG JI-HYE (Baek Seung-yeon) has a cognitive disability, leaving her defenseless against her uncle’s physical abuse and embezzlement of her parents’ death benefits.
When the disillusioned Elijah laments the meaning of family, Young-shil opens up about his own experience. He’d run away from home in high school — his mother had been the second wife, and Young-shil had been beaten by his father for his nervous stutter. Sometimes, it’s the people bonded to us by blood who have the capacity to inflict the most pain.
Resolving to push for change, David escalates the case to the National Assembly in order to protest the unjust law. In the meantime, under Myung-hoon’s instructions, CEO Cha holds a press conference to cry crocodile tears, blame Elijah for being boy-crazy, and hang Joo-won out to dry for his embezzlement. It’s clearly a ruse to manipulate public opinion and milk sympathy over the sacrifices of a mother, despite doing the exact opposite by exploiting her children for personal gain.
To expose CEO Cha once and for all, David calls in a witness. In walks the pretty boy KANG MIN-HA (Jang Deok-soo), a sales associate at a high-end luxury store. Turns out it’s actually CEO Cha who’s boy-crazy — smitten by Min-ha’s looks, she gave him a company card and bought him an apartment. Except Min-ha decided to testify ~because David threatened to sue him as an accomplice to embezzlement~ because CEO Cha reneged on the apartment and gave it to a host bar employee instead. LOL. The crowd goes wild, and hilariously, the drama lampshades its own dramatics by having the National Assembly chair remind our attorneys that they aren’t in a courtroom.
Once the furor has calmed down, Elijah speaks on behalf of her fanclub members who are also victims of family property crimes. Even as she argues for their right to seek justice, however, Elijah is clearly contending with guilt over pursuing legal action against her mother. After all, CEO Cha had protected her young children from their father’s abuse, and in turn, Elijah chose to turn a blind eye to her mother’s embezzlement. But a crime is a crime, regardless of familial bonds.
One month later, the law is declared unconstitutional, in a historic ruling that was passed in real life as well. As of December 31, 2025, the special provision is officially abolished, allowing victims of familial property crimes to seek recompense.
Liberated at last, Elijah finally breaks free from her mother’s clutches. (I love that Elijah bonds with Gi-ppeum’s parents using the sign language she learnt for a film project!) This case perfectly encapsulated the emotional turmoil of stepping away from a family member’s toxicity despite one’s love and gratitude towards them, serving as a reminder that sometimes, we have to put ourselves first in order to forge our own path and live life to the fullest.
Peaceful times never last too long in dramaland, though. Already, there’s a new storm brewing on the horizon — our team’s latest client reveals that his father died due to a judge abusing his power and manipulating a trial. And that client is none other than YOO JAE-BEOM (Yeon Je-wook), the apple box scammer. Oh no.
Our team has only just begun to properly place their trust in David and accept him into the fold, which makes me worry just how much this accusation will shake their precarious bond. The flashbacks we’ve seen of David’s mother showed her toiling away and suffering up till her final moments, which makes me wonder if David went a step too far in ensuring justice was served. Even so, the David we know is far more likely to utilize loopholes and legal jargon to reframe the law in his favor, not to break it entirely.
I also wonder if this means Jae-beom is striking out on his own? Jung-in — learning from her avaricious and capitalistic father — is more than capable of planting the seeds for people to create their own weaknesses. But with Chairman Oh currently breathing down the pro bono team’s necks, somehow I doubt that she’s throwing yet another volatile variable into the mix. Unless she’s playing an even bigger and even longer con? I suppose we’ll have to wait and find out.
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