Prosecutor Princess: Episode 4

by kaedejun

General Choi saves the day!!!!! Or more like, Prosecutor Yoon Se Joon!!!! Poor Park Shi Hoo – he looks completely helpless and lame on the sidelines… Ditto to that Heartbreak x 1000…

I think episodes 3 and 4 were the transition episodes for Hye Ri’s character. It’s hitting home now that she really needs to change her ways. She won’t do it right away of course, but she knows she’ll have to – and recognizing the problem is the first step in resolving it!

Song Of The Day:

Prosecutor Princess OST: Goodbye My Princess by Monday Kiz [download]

As aberdeen_angus had mentioned, this song plays frequently throughout these two episodes. I love it though and am not sick of it at all!

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Episode 4

Thank goodness one of the evil men starts to take out a knife. In Woo takes an alcohol bottle and lights it up. As the evil man gets ready to stab Se Joon, In Woo throws the flamethrower right into the electricity hub. That catches Se Joon’s attention and he manages to fight the man, but gets slashed in the process. The electricity inside the factory goes off, causing chaos within as all the ajummas and gambling lords try to grab as much money as possible.

As one of the evil men takes a large boulder to throw over Se Joon, Hye Ri thinks quickly and throws her shoe (noooo! Grace!!!) right at the guy’s head and he drops the boulder. Se Joon knocks out the men and drags Hye Ri along. She wants to get her shoe first, but he picks her up princess-style and starts running.

The cops come soon enough, and Hye Ri awkwardly tells him to put her down. She sees the blood on his arm and starts freaking out, but Se Joon starts reprimanding her for her foolishness – she could have gotten hurt, and how would she have been able to deal with this situation then? Is this her idea of trying to prove she’s a great prosecutor?

Ma Hye Ri responds, “I did it so I could live!” She wants to prove to the people around her that she can do something and isn’t as stupid as others think. She takes his handkerchief and wraps it around the wound, and tells him stubbornly, “Sunbae, I showed you – I succeeded.”

Se Joon asks where she got the tip from about the illegal gambling houses, but Hye Ri had promised In Woo she wouldn’t tell anyone about his help. She delays answering by asking Se Joon to take out the tape recorder from her back – putting him in the REALLY uncomfortable position of feeling up a strange girl… He refuses and she takes it out herself, only to find out that the tape is broken, and the evidence all destroyed.

It’s too bad because now the police can’t do anything about the illegal gambling house – there’s no real evidence that it happened since most escaped with the money. She mourns about her failed attempt – and her broken nails – as In Woo watches from afar.

Se Joon drives Hye Ri home, even though she insists on taking him to a hospital first. He asks if her parents will be worried about her returning home all beaten up, but she says, “That’s why I have to go home in this condition.” The police might be able to do something about the illegal gamblers, but Hye Ri might have to resign for making a mistake this big.

Of course – her parents are shocked to see her condition, most especially her mother. Her father asks if she succeeded and she honestly says that she almost did. He doesn’t say anything further.

He’s not disappointed in her failure, but he’s not exactly proud that she tried to be a good prosecutor either. It’s like, he sees the situation as a bump in the road that Hye Ri has to overcome, but just because she came back alive does not mean he will shower her with praise right away. Hye Ri still has more, bigger bumps to overcome – and until she wins over them without stumbling, she will have her father’s approval.

As her mother tends to her wounds, Hye Ri mourns the fact that she won’t be free of her father until she marries. She begins to dream about Se Joon and how he heroically saved the day…

At the same time, Se Joon is thinking about the fight in the fields as a nurse tends to his wound in the hospital…

And in the privacy of his home, Jenny applies some ointment onto In Woo’s bruises. Jenny tells him that things aren’t going his way so far, and that he should get out of the game. But In Woo is preoccupied with the fact that Hye Ri got hurt, and he feels that it is his fault he didn’t take her safety into consideration.

The next morning, the Ma household is awakened by the shrill screams of Hye Ri – her closet has been chained and locked! Hye Ri’s mother rushes in, but tells her that it’s typical of her father to act before he speaks. Hye Ri’s father wants her to file the case, and to go to work. Her mother asks her to endure it – “I’m really sorry for being a mom like this but – my life is in your hands as well.” (HA!)

At the office, the Chief lectures Se Joon about how irresponsible Hye Ri is for dispatching a lot of police cars and investigating a case before reporting it. Se Joon defends her, saying that she did manage to gather strong evidence, and that he had investigated without reporting before. The Chief is surprised at Se Joon taking her side, but he says, “I feel responsible being her mentor prosecutor.”

Hye Ri arrives at work – wearing flats (oh the pain of having flat feet on the floor!), a long dress (Omo! The legs! Where are the legs!?), a long raincoat, and a hunched posture. She turns around and sees her sunbaes – all of whom can’t believe the outfit she’s wearing. When Hye Ri apologizes to the Chief for being late, the Chief brushes it off. But when Hye Ri apologizes for getting Se Joon hurt, that’s news to the Chief. Se Joon tries to downplay it, but Hye Ri says even more – it was a knife wound. The Chief blows his top at Se Joon – he got stabbed!? Why didn’t he say so!? Did he not mention it because Hye Ri might get fired for it?!

And this is why Se Joon thinks Hye Ri is an idiot and should have just shut her trap…

The Chief reports the matter to the president of the department and says that Hye Ri’s actions, however rash, proved that she really wants to be a prosecutor and that they should give her another chance. (He can’t even believe he’s defending Hye Ri.) Hye Ri is let off with a warning and she has to write an apology letter. Se Joon helped her this time and even procured a warrant for her, so she better not mess it up.

The Chief: If you are unable to repay your debt, then Se Joon will have to pay in your stead.
Hye Ri: What kind of prosecutor does that? A case is not even money. So how would Prosecutor Yoon repay it if I don’t resolve the case?
The Chief: We would transfer him to Dokdo or somewhere! (Dokdo is the disputed group of islets that are mostly of volcanic rocks)
Hye Ri: A prosecution office is being made in Dokdo?
The Chief’s expression: O_O
The Chief: Yeah! Because the Japanese people keep insisting it’s their land, we’re trying to make one! Do you want to go to Dokdo too?!

(I love how freakin’ gullible she is)

Hye Ri bumps into Se Joon, and she’s now officially enthralled with him. He gives her a child abuse case and tells her to do well. She thanks him profusely and then asks about his wound. He tells her he’s fine, but she insists on looking at it herself – even trying to unbutton his shirt to check it out! (The gall of that woman…) He tries to brush her off, and Jung Sun comes in at that very moment.

Thankfully, there’s a guest for Hye Ri so she leaves the awkward triangle. Jung Sun immediately sits down and asks why Se Joon is doing so much for Hye Ri – even getting hurt for her. Se Joon denies that he’s helping Hye Ri because of her resemblance to his wife. They’re completely different in personalities, and Se Joon says that his wife, Eun Ji, was far prettier. (I agree – Hye Ri’s hair is atrocious.) Jung Sun is somewhat relieved, but still uneasy.

Hye Ri runs outside to a park bench to meet In Woo – her secret guest – and he’s immediately impressed by her dowdy clothing: “Did you stop wearing heels? You’re quite short.” Hye Ri notices that he’s wearing sunglasses too and pulls them off to reveal the cut under his eye. She asks if he got into a fight, but he throws it right back and pulls off her glasses to reveal her bruises.

They switch gears and Hye Ri shares excitedly that she got a case. He unceremoniously dumps her Grace shoes on her lap and her bag and clothing that she left behind. (You’re supposed to present the shoes to her like Prince Charming did for Cinderella!!!! Or wait – wrong drama…?)

She sees the Grace shoes and realizes that In Woo was at the illegal gambling house the day before. She asks how he knew the location changed, and he says, “If I knew that, would I come one step late?” Acting cool, he says that he realized he didn’t want to be caught in that sort of situation – so he was never really there in the fight. She asks about his bruises, and he deflects by making a call.

Inside Hye Ri’s bag, a box starts ringing. She opens it and finds a new cellphone – which of course he’s gifting to her because that’s what all proper love interests do. Hye Ri is genuinely touched, but she tells him frankly that she doesn’t like to lead people on – she doesn’t want him to like her. She is jumping the gun a bit, and he tells her he can’t do that. Besides, does Se Joon even like her back?

Hye Ri is shocked – how could he know that!? He says that he has “powers” but really we all know that she’s just plain easy to read. Not to mention, watching Se Joon save her from afar kind of made it easier to guess. In Woo tells her that if they meet, they’ll meet. Besides – she owes him for his legal services.

In Woo tells her that they’ll just keep their relationship as it was, and he hands her a present to get rid of the bruise on her face – a hard boiled egg. He coolly walks off, but says to himself, “Yoon Se Joon – you’re better than me.”

Hye Ri is hard at work with the case that Se Joon gave her (much to the surprise of Hyung Soo and Jung Hee). She rushes into Se Joon’s office to ask a few questions, but he directs her to Jung Sun – she knows how to deal with child abuse cases better. Thankfully, Hye Ri doesn’t pout or put up airs with Jung Sun, but she actually takes lots of notes and writes down all of Jung Sun’s advice.

The case is as follows: the mother brings her 7-year old daughter Ji Min to have music lessons with a famous instructor. One day the mother’s store flooded from broken plumbing and couldn’t pick up her daughter in time after the lesson. The instructor said it would be ok to take care of Ji Min, and he played with her in his office. He touched her, and then closed the door (thus suggesting rape). When Ji Min’s mother arrived, her daughter was fast asleep. The following week, Ji Min refused to go to her music lessons because she felt sick, and the next day the mother found out about the situation when she gave her daughter a bath.

Hye Ri interrupts the mother’s testimony – did she not give her daughter a bath for one full week? Even if a child protests, don’t mothers usually give their kids a bath anyways? The mother says that when she’s tired from working sometimes she wouldn’t give her daughter a bath, but the look on her face shows that she knows it’s a flimsy excuse.

That night, Hye Ri and her mother show off a picture to her father that names her head prosecutor on a case file. Now can he unlock the closet for her? Just because she got a case doesn’t make her a prosecutor, but Hye Ri argues that if the case doesn’t go into prosecution, her guidance prosecutor will be sent to the rural regions. Hye Ri’s father hands her the keys to her closet, but withholds the car keys and credit cards until she wins said case.

The next day, Kim Min Shik – the music teacher – comes in for questioning. Hye Ri is markedly stricter with him, and asks if he ever touched Ji Min. He folds his hands in his lap and says that he has only patted her butt in praise of her. He brought her into his soundproofed office to play games with her, and when his 5 o’clock student arrived early, he told that student to wait because she was early – not because he was making Ji Min promise not to say a word.

Hye Ri says that Ji Min had accused him, but Kim Min Shik argues that the mother needs money, and that’s why she’s making a case. Min Shik had already given the mother a discount on the lesson fees because the mother had complained about not having the finances to support her daughter after the divorce. That is news to Hye Ri, and her strong facade begins to crumble.

Hmm… the day after she gets her closet back all the bruises on her face are gone too… were all her makeup really in that closet!?

Hye Ri assaults Se Joon just as he comes out of the bathroom to seek his advice. He tells her that with such a strong statement from the defendant, she is going to have to get Ji Min’s testimony and needs a children’s advisor with her when she gets it. Hye Ri says that Kim Min Shik’s background is clean – no past criminal charges, and his wife is pretty. He has no real motive to rape a child, but that does not excuse him. Similarly, the child wouldn’t lie about such a thing…would she? And the mother isn’t producing any evidence… Hye Ri is confused and doesn’t know what or who is telling the truth.

Lesson #2 for Ma Hye Ri: It’s her job as a prosecutor to find the truth hidden within the case.

Hye Ri meets with Ji Min and her mom, with an advisor by her side. Despite Hye Ri’s friendliness, Ji Min hides behind her mother. Hye Ri opens up her day planner/diary and starts reading from a list of lines she can use (LOL!) – she starts out with “Ooh, you look exactly like your mother!”

No go.

So Hye Ri suggests they play with dolls. Pretending that the dolls are the music teacher and Ji Min, she tries to ask questions about what happened that day but Ji Min is unresponsive. Frustrated, Hye Ri suggests they play with puzzles again. This triggers fear within the girl – Ji Min had been playing puzzles with the music teacher that day. Ji Min begs to go home, and Hye Ri takes this inopportune time to ask Ji Min’s mother to step out. Ji Min begins to cry. Clearly, Hye Ri doesn’t realize her method of questioning is borderline traumatizing.

At the end of the questioning session, the children’s advisor tells Hye Ri that children are perceptive – if she wants to get the information, she is going to have to understand how the child thinks first, not put up pretenses.

Back in the office, Hye Ri paces back and forth – she has no idea how to relate to a 7-year old because she doesn’t know any, and when she was 7 all she liked to do was eat. Hyung Soo tells her that Se Joon has a daughter who’s exactly 7.

Bombshell #1: So he is married? No – Jung Hee says – he was married. Bombshell #2: His wife is dead. (I think she’s overreacting a little here, but Hye Ri being Hye Ri – overacting is better than underacting. Not to mention, this totally shatters her dream of a white knight who is purely and solely hers).

Se Joon is reviewing the case about the slapping-ajummas. He sees the photo with the slap-mark on the victim ajumma’s cheek and tells his assistant to call the victim ajumma in. He cross interrogates her – asking if the attacking ajumma hit her with a right hand. She says yes – that’s why there’s a print on her left cheek. Se Joon asks her to show him where the thumbprint is, and the ajumma puts up her own left hand up against the picture to show him how the slap mark looks like – the imprint matches completely with the shape of her hand.

CAUGHT RED HANDED!

On her way home, In Woo suddenly calls her, asking if she needs help on her tough case (that she hasn’t even told him about). He supposes she doesn’t need help, but before he hangs up, Hye Ri says she does need help.

In Woo suggests that she practice being friendly with kids on Se Joon’s daughter – she’ll need to get on the daughter’s good side anyways if she wants to marry Se Joon. Hye Ri is shocked – seems like the whole world except her knew that Se Joon was married. She reveals her old-fashioned thinking, saying that it doesn’t even make sense for her to fall in love with a single father. In Woo doesn’t see a problem with that though, but Hye Ri argues that love shouldn’t have to be like that.

The next day the police force hands off all the warrants that need to be processed by the prosecutor on night duty – which so happens to be Ma Hye Ri. The files just keep on coming and she stamps through all of them without paying attention. Turns out – one of those warrants happens to belong to a case In Woo had worked on, and the father of the client asks for In Woo’s help. (I can feel a clash coming soon…)

As she goes home, Se Joon joins her in the elevator. She awkwardly asks what he does on weekends, and he says he plays with his daughter. She doesn’t press any further, but at home she thinks about all the times Se Joon has been there for her when she was wearing the Grace shoes no less. She comes to the conclusion that he is her destiny, and happily bakes cookies with her mother. They reminisce about the times when they used to bake together several times a week, and Hye Ri tells her mother that it’s ok if she lets go a little – she’s already married and doesn’t really have to watch her figure.

Cut to the father playing golf with a pretty, skinny, young thing and we all know the mother definitely has something to worry about.

That weekend, Se Joon plays in the park with Bin and Jung Sun, and he tells Bin to keep playing on the jump rope until she can do 10 straight. Already they act like a cute family. Suddenly, Hye Ri calls and asks if she can visit him; she’s already in front of his house.

Se Joon is put in an awkward spot, and he rushes over to his house. He tells her to never come near his home ever again, and Hye Ri apologizes, then says with refreshing straightforwardness:

There are no kids in my vicinity. Your daughter is 7 years old and Ji Min is 7 years old, so I was wondering what girls at that age liked. I was going to ask you…but what I’m saying right now is an excuse. My excuse is I wanted to see you. I was curious about what kind of house you lived it. It is possible to like a person…right?

Se Joon is shocked, and Hye Ri plows right on: “I like you. Can’t I say that?” Se Joon says she can’t. She should just concentrate on work and, he can’t like a girl who brings harm to him. Despite his harsh words, he doesn’t look like he really believes in them. Hye Ri leaves just as Jung Sun and Bin return. Bin doesn’t see Hye Ri, but does spot the gift basket Hye Ri brought and pulls out a cookie bearing her name.

Hye Ri visits Ji Min’s mother at the shop and brings up the subject about the discount for the music lesson fees. The mother looks completely unsettled by the fact, and Hye Ri finds out later from the Chief that the mother wants to change prosecutors. Hye Ri doesn’t understand why the mother would do that, and calls In Woo for help.

As she disappointedly walks out of the building, she is met with the “attacker ajumma.” The ajumma snidely comments that Hye Ri must like tomatoes because she’s so thin, and in front of all the other prosecutors, dumps a pail of crushed tomatoes. (Jung Sun is even sympathetic and shocked at the sight.) She’s angry that Hye Ri didn’t even bother listening to her in the first place, even though she was finally cleared of all charges. A crowd forms and people take pictures. In Woo arrives at the same time to see the commotion.

Attacker Ajumma leaves, and Se Joon goes down the steps to be at Hye Ri’s side… but just then In Woo sweeps right in, wraps his suit jacket around her and swiftly brings her to his car. Prosecutors Chae and Lee wonder if that’s Hye Ri’s lover right there, and of course, Jung Sun does not miss Se Joon’s chivalric attempt.

In the car, In Woo hands her a packet of tissues to clean herself, and she tries to suppress her tears. In Woo tells her to just cry it all out, and she begins to sob. He brings her to his apartment and lets her clean herself up in the bathroom, leaving his clothes for her to borrow by the door. When she comes out wearing his suit, it’s completely loose, and he says, “Wow… you should gain some weight.” (I love how they’ve been infusing a lot of weight comments in these two episodes – she even hesitates over a cup of hot chocolate! Not just because it’s from a guy who shouldn’t like her, but it’s CHOCOLATE!)

Just then, Yoon Ah calls and asks if Hye Ri wore her clothes today. Turns out – the video of her being attacked got leaked onto the internet. If she weren’t embarrassed already, the person who posted it up made sure she is by now. Hye Ri bursts out and starts crying, venting out her anger on why they always pick on her. In Woo is shocked, but he lets her cry it out before he brings her home later that night.

Hye Ri can’t sleep, and early before dawn, she hires a taxi and leaves for the airport with her luggages. She leaves a card for her mother, apologizing that she can’t make it as a prosecutor – no matter what she does it’s not working out. She is going to hide for 3 months and doesn’t want her father to know – or better yet, mom can tell dad that she went somewhere to die instead. After buying her ticket, she heads to the departure gate – but In Woo grabs her arm and says she’s not allowed to go anywhere at all.

Comments:

She has to end up with In Woo. He’s already completed the Three Cardinal Rules of getting the girl:

Rule #1: The guy who wins her heart is the first to see her naked.
Rule #2: He saves the day, and if he doesn’t save her the first time, he’ll save her the second time, and the third time, and the fourth, until it’s many more times than the other lead. (He’s already done that City Hall-move of wrapping his coat around her after she’s been attacked with tomatoes. Thankfully it doesn’t rip the scene completely since it happens much more swiftly and the effect is completely different.)
Rule #3: He has to stop her at the airport.

Ok there are many more rules and many more exceptions – but it generally goes like that.

I can see the dimensions being drawn in on In Woo already with these last two episodes. Se Joon still seems stiff to me, but perhaps that’s part of his appeal – as time goes on, Hye Ri will make cracks in his armor. However, In Woo is growing on me. It’s a little annoying how he is so omniscient and just knows when Hye Ri will do something and what she will do; it’s like, for every two points he gets from me for being so good to Hye Ri, I must subtract one point because of his uncanny ability to just know what she’s going to do next. The writing has been solid so far – and the dialogue quite hilarious – but this is stretching believability. Even if they knew each other from their childhood, I can’t believe that a guy would be so obsessive over her. It’s so very stalker-ish, and yet at least Park Shi Hoo deftly pulls it off so that he’s not so creepy.

I’m curious how they will deal with her profession – will there be a new case every episode? Every week? I don’t mind if there are always new cases, as long as they are substantive and well-plotted out. Small cases like the Slapping Ajummas case are fine as filler because they help with character growth, but this child abuse case is a meaty one. It’s actually quite exciting for me because I want to know who is the liar in this case. (I think it’s the mom – anyone? anyone?)

Also – Hye Ri’s opinions on love are so skewed. She supposedly represents the present generation of young prosecutors who have no passion for the law and protecting the citizens, and enjoys frivolities such as shopping and spas. But she is very old-fashioned and somewhat materialistic in regards to love. I think she is overreacting when she learns that Se Joon has a kid, and her dream to be with a man with a “clean fresh slate” so to speak – who can devote all his attention to her materially and emotionally – just makes Hye Ri that much more of a selfish character. And amazingly, I don’t hate her just yet, because I can completely relate.

Perhaps her parents’ marriage has brought upon this weird view of love.

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