Undercover Miss Hong: Episodes 13-14
by quirkycase
We’re nearing the finish line, and the time for stealth has passed. Both sides go all in and play every card they have as the balance of power shifts. It’s a packed penultimate week full of intricate schemes, antics, and twists as we gear up for a final showdown between our scrappy team and the corrupt leaders who will stop at nothing to stay on top.
EPISODES 13-14
These episodes are fast paced with moves and countermoves, but before we dive into all the scheming, let’s check in on Mi-sook. We ended last week with her waking up and having a tearful reunion with her roommates. Mi-sook has enough on her plate without being party to her roommates’ very illegal shenanigans, so once she leaves the hospital, she stays with Geum-bo’s sweet parents alongside Bom. Going back to work is a struggle, but Mi-sook tries to hold her head high despite all her colleagues’ whispers and badmouthing.
At Hanmin HQ, Ju-ran is out for blood after hearing the shocking news that she’s been bested. When her lackey recognizes a photo of “Jang-mi” as Geum-bo, Ju-ran realizes who’s she’s up against and prepares accordingly. She can’t make a direct move unless she wants to explain to Chairman Kang that she’s lost his precious money, which will surely end her career. Ju-ran is smart enough to know Geum-bo must have allies and immediately suspects Bok-hee.
Bok-hee isn’t cowed or tempted by Ju-ran’s attempts to get her to switch sides and instead warns the crew immediately. When Ju-ran approaches Geum-bo hoping to catch her off-guard, she’s the one flummoxed by Geum-bo’s calm offer of a deal: she’ll return the stolen money if Ju-ran ousts Jung-woo from Hanmin.
Jung-woo isn’t far behind with his intel and gets Jung-il to spill that Deok-gyu sold his shares to an investment firm called Yeouido Pirates with a CEO named Hong Geum-bo. Jung-woo forgets not to be expressive and his jaw drops. Geum-bo doesn’t even try to deny it when he confronts her in the stairwell. When they go to leave, they find No-ra standing outside the door having heard everything.
Desperate, Jung-woo tries to get Geum-bo fired in the next round of cuts, but Ju-ran puts a stop to that. She suspects the money is hidden in the dorms, so she sends her lackey to investigate. Geum-bo and Bok-hee find him in their apartment, so Geum-bo holds the money hostage with a lighter and threatens to burn it all up if he doesn’t leave. Then, Bok-hee pulls the fire alarm and shouts about a burglar, so he’s forced to flee as a dorm full of angry young women chase him out.
Geum-bo makes her countermove, offering Ju-ran the recording of Jung-woo and DK Ventures’ treachery. Ju-ran decides to go along with Geum-bo’s demands and takes the evidence to Chairman Kang who does not take betrayal well. He gets his revenge by pressuring DK Ventures into pushing Jung-woo out in exchange for his silence about DK Ventures’ schemes for other Korean companies.
After all that planning, Jung-woo is officially out. His last words to Bok-hee as he leaves are to take care of Geum-bo (who is mighty pleased with herself). Having accomplished all she can from the inside now that her cover is blown, Geum-bo resigns.
Jung-woo’s fall from grace also means an end to his and No-ra’s engagement (on the day of their engagement party, no less). He has the decency to call her rather than just not showing up, and he seems genuinely sorry to hurt her. No-ra has clearly started to fall for him, but she takes the news gracefully and holds it together until they’re off the phone.
Heartbroken No-ra goes straight to her unnis at the dorm … which is how she spots the literal mountain of money that has taken up residence in her old bedroom. (It’s insane how they’ve kept a literal pile of cash in their room for so long.) They finally let No-ra in on everything from the ledger and Myung-hwi’s involvement to the slush fund money Chairman Kang has hidden in her name that they’re hoping she’ll withdraw.
After thoroughly ruining all Jung-woo’s carefully laid plans, Geum-bo meets with Jung-woo to gloat and then recruit him to join Yeouido Pirates. HA. Now that’s a power move. Jung-woo holds out briefly, but in the end, he can’t say no to a chance to stick it to Hanmin while also being close enough to reign Geum-bo in if need be. No one fully trusts the newest recruit and his stiff ways, but Jung-woo is useful and they trust Geum-bo, which means he’s in. (Although Albert and Yong-gi are less than happy to see how familiar Geum-bo and Jung-woo are with each other, especially once Bok-hee breaks the news that they used to date.)
Now that they’ve chipped away at Chairman Kang’s inner circle and have Jung-woo’s expertise on their side, the next phase is stealing the money stashed under various directors’ names. Bok-hee correctly guesses the bankbooks and seals are in Ju-ran’s office, and she’s even secretly memorized the code to Ju-ran’s safe. She and Albert break in and steal everything they need, leaving copies of the folders so Ju-ran won’t realize what’s missing. Then, the crew empties all the accounts.
With Jung-woo gone, Chairman Kang is planning to promote either Albert or No-ra as the next president. His test? Catch the Yeouido Pirates Captain who’s been snatching up their shares. Geum-bo uses this in an elaborate plan to get Ju-ran to kick out both Albert and Deok-gyu. Albert tells his father that he’s Captain, knowing Deok-gyu will hide it and create false evidence to convince Chairman Kang someone else is Captain. They know Ju-ran bugged the office and count on her to take the intel to Chairman Kang to get Albert and Deok-gyu ousted, which is exactly what happens.
With nothing left to lose, Albert straight up accuses his grandfather of ordering Myung-hwi’s death. He then confronts Deok-gyu who all but admits he knew what Chairman Kang did but chose greed and stayed quiet. Albert not only loses the chance to become Hanmin’s heir but is effectively disowned. He grumbles that Geum-bo is responsible for him now that he’s a pauper.
In Switzerland, No-ra’s courage fails her at the last minute, and she’s not able to withdraw the $75 million in her name from the offshore bank account. (Jung-woo’s call asking her not to do it also factored in.) Her fear is understandable given that she knows exactly who Chairman Kang is – he even refused to pay a ransom when No-ra was freaking kidnapped as a child. Yeesh. So when No-ra is officially named the next Hanmin president, she has no illusions about the precariousness of her role and power.
Despite not getting No-ra’s funds, the crew is able to scoop up 19% of shares, making them the second-largest shareholder. And they announce their plans to participate in management. Right as Ju-ran tells Chairman Kang that the Yeouido Pirates CEO is the same Geum-bo who investigated them for the FSS, Jung-woo calls as a representative of Yeouido Pirates to thank them on the Geum-bo’s behalf for the slush fund money that made their stock buying possible. HA!
This puts Chairman Kang over the edge. Realizing how badly he’s been had, Chairman Kang is determined to make all his enemies pay, starting with Geum-bo. We end as Geum-bo walks home that night and is suddenly blinded by headlights as she hears the screeching tires of an oncoming car.
He may run Hanmin, but Chairman Kang arguably knows the least about what goes on under his own roof. It took a while to get caught up, but now that he’s in the know, it’s an all-out war. At this point, his only way of stopping them is to physically hurt them, which we know he’s more than willing to do. He killed his own son, so he’ll obviously have no moral qualms about taking out acquaintances. His problem, though, is that no one is truly loyal to him – they only sidle up to him for the proximity to power.
Our crew, on the other hand, is willing to put themselves on the line to protect each other. I loved the moment of honesty we got from Bok-hee when she admitted to No-ra that she’s on Geum-bo’s team because Geum-bo is the only person in her whole life who protected her rather than looked the other way. Everyone on the team knows what it’s like to feel alone and powerless, and they’ve seen how much more they can accomplish as a team. I’m just hoping they can all keep each other safe during what will surely be a messy, brutal fight.
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