Haeundae Lovers: Episode 15

by kaedejun

This drama is about to end, but it’s not letting up on the drama! We get to see Tae Sung be all prosecutor-y, which is sort of like the first time ever in this series. Even though he was one, he acted like a detective, a prosecutor who only gets yelled at by the boss, or a bumbling undercover cop. He was a clumsy fisherman, a dolt at love, and the sweetest son-in-law. Even though he did spout laws here and there, never did we see him in a courtroom.

Until now.

EPISODE 15 RECAP

Tae Sung is driven all the way to Busan – quite the expensive cab fare! But all he can do is stand outside, and merely wanders all of the places in Busan he’s been to with Sora. At that same moment, Sora is having a hard time falling asleep, so she looks through pictures of Diamond Bridge. Suddenly she gets a call from an unknown number.

It’s Tae Sung on the other end, but he doesn’t say a word despite Sora’s “Hello’s?” Sora can sense that it’s Tae Sung, and they stay on the line in silence together. He finally hangs up, and then calls for a cab to bring him back to Seoul. (Poor cabbie was going to go home too!) Sora runs outside the fishery looking for Tae Sung, and misses him completely as his taxi drives past her.

She goes back home, and finds her rain boots sitting on the porch bench. The necklace of Diamond Bridge hangs around one of the shoes. He’s been here! Too bad he never let her see his face.

When Tae Sung arrives outside his home in Seoul it’s early morning, and Se Na catches him coming out of a Busan cab. He couldn’t have… really?! She’s so mad, but Tae Sung doesn’t bother explaining. She’ll never understand him anyway. He advises her to change her feelings for him. That might be faster than waiting for him to regard her as a wife.

Tae Sung’s boss – Prosecutor Ahn – repeats that he’s been transferred to Busan, but Tae Sung reacts differently: he wants to be re-transferred to anywhere but Busan! (Noo!) Prosecutor Ahn finds Tae Sung so odd for not accepting the transfer, and calls Mr. Lee about it.

Mr. Lee himself is having breakfast with Se Na, and they’re both in shock when they hear that Tae Sung was transferred to Busan by the prosecutor’s office. Mr. Lee assures both Prosecutor Ahn and Se Na that he’ll take care of it. Transfers happen to prosecutors all the time, but he’ll make sure Tae Sung never ends up in Busan.

Tae Sung enters the office to find Upset Stomach enjoying his ramen, thinking that Tae Sung will be out for the day. Upset Stomach quickly offers to open up the windows, thinking that Tae Sung hates ramen. Nope! The Tae Sung who’s returned actually loves ramen, and asks for a bowl himself. Poor Upset Stomach – he now feels like Tae Sung is a complete psychopath, being all normal, and fears that he won’t keep his job any longer.

Sora helps her father get ready for another day of school, and he excitedly tells her that the class is going to make rice cakes for Chuseok. He also requests that Sora kick the Yang gangsters out of the house, otherwise his little friends can’t come over and play. Haha that’s so adorable, and Sora agrees to do so. One more thing – Joong Shik asks where Tae Sung has gone. He misses him, and wants to give him rice cakes, and promises to never call Tae Sung stupid ever again. That saddens Sora again, since it’s so clear her father really liked Tae Sung. But at least he’s always with her through the necklace.

Sora and the uncles arrive at the hotel to make their mackerel delivery, and the Yang gangsters all come out to the loading dock to greet her respectfully. These henchmen are starting to crack me up. Sora tells them to stop embarrassing them like this, acting all gangster-like, and forbids them from coming to their home. All Min Shik wants is to make sure that their shares are protected and that the merger doesn’t happen. Until then, they’ll service the Go family in any way, including unloading the truck.

Min Shik and his men bump into Tam Hee on the way into the hotel, and boy is she displeased to see them. The feeling is mutual, as Min Shik no longer feels obligated to pay proper respect to her. She was only a madame when she was Man Ho’s wife; now she’s nothing. That enrages her further, and she kicks the boxes down and stomps on the mackerel.

Sora witnesses the scene and shoves Tam Hee out of the way to stop her from harming her fish. Well that’s just what Tam Hee needed – another reason to fight Sora. But then Ga Joon pulls her back before she can attack, and tells her to stop stepping on these poor dead mackerel that are just oh-so-delicious. Haha – I love how shocked everyone is over Ga Joon’s humanity. She pushes her son away, and then goes on to beat Min Shik and his men for treating her like some common housewife.

The riot gets a little out of hand, but it’s a pretty enjoyable sight to bear for Dong Baek and Uncle Hello Kitty.

Se Na returns home to find Tae Sung packing his things. He pours a cup of juice for her as they talk, and Se Na is surprised by the gesture – this is the first time ever that he’s done something for her. All the other times, she’s either been initiating their dates, or doing something for him. He feels grateful for receiving her unconditional love, but they obviously cannot continue further at this point.

And then he gives her the divorce papers. Se Na refuses to sign them – why did he request a divorce without her permission?! She is willing to sacrifice her entire life as long as she’s with him, but Tae Sung wants to live his own life. If he had a choice, he’d rather be Nam Hae than Lee Tae Sung.

Se Na reminds him that he promised to stay by her side as soon as he returned from the case in Busan while she was in the hospital. And now, he’s going to break the promise? If they divorce now, there is no way he can continue living the life he has now, as Mr. Lee will most certainly disown him. Ha – not like Tae Sung really cares about that… right?

Dong Baek and Uncle Hello Kitty have a riotous time reliving the moments from Tam Hee’s fight with the gangsters on his phone. They spot Tae Pyong Yang standing in the distance in the lobby though; if the Yang gangsters caught him, they would never let him off easy. Instead of getting involved, Sora tells them they need to wait for Joong Shik at home, and so they drive off.

Turns out Pyong Yang is at the hotel – in a disguise of course – to see his dear son Ga Joon. They make plans to meet in their original meeting spot, as their first rendezvous was interrupted by Tam Hee’s fight. Ga Joon and his mother head down to the lobby, waiting for the car, and Pyong Yang waits by the doors for when the coast is clear. But Min Shik and his men end up kidnapping both Tam Hee and Ga Joon!

Having felt disrespected by a woman who treats them like inferiors and had the gall to manipulate their loyalty, they planned to take her away and teach her a lesson. Unfortunately Pyong Yang witnesses it all and follows them in a taxi.

They end up in the woods, where Ga Joon and Tam Hee are taped up to trees. Tam Hee isn’t scared of them – if Min Shik wants to kill her, go ahead! Min Shik gives her an ultimatum – either she signs the petition to rid the casino and put her support behind Sora, or she takes Ga Joon and leaves the hotel quietly. Ha, like Tam Hee is going to back down so easily? Min Shik and his men leave, with the intent of leaving Tam Hee there for three hours and hopefully break her spirit. Little do they know, Pyong Yang is there to save the day!

Well, after he takes a picture of them in their situation first. Tam Hee sure knows how to get evidence so that she can file lawsuits really well.

The police are tired of listening to Tam Hee’s numerous complaints but they have to go and arrest Min Shik and his men anyway. They interrupt another board meeting (where the gangsters are still opposing the merger) to haul Min Shik and his men away, which confuses Joon Hyuk yet again. What is everyone doing outside of his plan!? The lawsuit also implicates the uncles at the fishery, so they’re hauled off. (Joong Shik, thankfully, can just go to kindergarten.) Joon Hyuk arrives at the fishery in time to see the uncles and Sora leave, and he immediately calls up Tam Hee.

That wretch is currently in the hospital with her son, faking a whole bunch of injuries to milk it all. She pulls out all her acting skills to play the beleaguered victim here, and cries out that her only crime of hiding her son’s birth father can’t be a motive to kill her! Ga Joon: “But Mom, that news was really shocking to me too.” HA! I love that he’s not the most helpful or supportive son ever. Tam Hee cries that she’ll pull out her shares and then go kill herself in the Haeundae ocean.

Though we never hear Joon Hyuk’s response, I’m pretty sure he said, “Okay – cool beans!”

In the holding cell, Soon Shin berates Min Shik and his men. This is why he didn’t want those Yang gangsters near them, because now the uncles all got caught up in their mess! But then Min Shik blames it on his other lackey – I’ll call him Mohawk because he has a tiny one – for ordering beer and falling asleep, so they couldn’t go and untie Tam Hee from the tree. Mohawk turns it on Min Shik: “You ordered the soju!!”

Joon Hyuk pleads with his lawyer friend to get Sora out of jail as soon as possible, making it very obvious that he’s doing everything for her alone. He’s at his wit’s end because he has to go to Seoul regarding the merger, and can’t help her. Meanwhile Tae Sung  – the best lawyer for this job – is getting hauled in front of all his superiors at the Prosecutors’ Office because of his recent demand to be reassigned somewhere else. His superiors are insulted that Tae Sung thinks he has so much power now because of his father and father-in-law. Tae Sung always causes problems for them too; last time he caused an uproar with the investigators.

Tae Sung says that he can’t explain his personal reason for not going to Busan, and if he has no choice he’ll go. Anyone would be a fool to give up being assigned to Busan because it’s such a good place to make a name for himself and continue his career. He adds that anyone who knows him would know that he never takes advantage of his family background. Instead of having insulted them, he feels insulted by his superiors’ insinuations of using favors and leaves the office. Tae Sung – once you’re in Seoul, you become quite a pain in the butt, don’t ya?

Mr. Lee meets with Joon Hyuk in Seoul to go over the shares. It’s a shame that Joon Hyuk can’t get more shares, because they’ll need 50% to get managing power over the hotel. He adds that Sora’s been sued for criminal activity by Tam Hee, so if she’s indicted, it will help stop her progress in getting the hotel back. (Not like she was trying very hard to get it back anyway.) Mr. Lee then gets a call from the prosecutor’s office that Tae Sung has agreed to be transferred to Busan, and there’s nothing the father can do about it.

The transfer means that Tae Sung will be leaving Upset Stomach again – and Upset Stomach will now be Happy Stomach again!

Tae Sung checks in to Haeundae Hotel — Ha! I can’t believe he’s staying there – and sees a woman with rain boots walk across the lobby. It’s not Sora though… That evening, he gets a visitor in the form of Se Na! Though he has nothing to say to her, she invites herself in. She admits that she did have someone following him recently, but that person said he was a pretty boring guy. She’ll accept that he must be fated to stay in Busan, and so she’ll move down to Busan too. She won’t nag him – though her presence is bad enough – and wants to start over. Tae Sung once again tells her frankly that there’s nothing they can do. They cannot get back together, and she’s holding on to a pointless dream.

Se Na knows that Tae Sung is barely hanging on to his sanity in dealing with his family and their expectations, and she is convinced it’s because Tae Sung is trying to find a way back to her. What lies. He’s barely hanging on because he’s trying his best to protect Sora. Se Na bursts: “Why am I not the one!?” But she doesn’t stay to hear his answer and slams the door on her way out.

Joong Shik is waiting around at Joon Hyuk’s office and being watched over by Joo Hee temporarily. She eats his rice cakes respectfully (not enjoyably, because they doesn’t look too sweet) because there’s no one else he can give them to. 🙁 Joong Shik knows that Sora and Tae Sung must have had a fight because he no longer sees his favorite son-in-law and can’t give him rice cakes. In comes Tam Hee wearing the craziest tiger striped outfit ever, feeling very triumphant because Joong Shik has nowhere else to go now but to Joon Hyuk’s office.

The gangsters, uncles, and Sora go speak to their lawyer, Lee Tae Sung, who ends up being none other than Sung Dong Il! Min Shik explains that Sora and the uncles were never involved in the tying up of Tam Hee to a tree. The uncles feel that it’s unfair to be dragged in because the Yang gangsters are their rivals, but Investigator Sung points out that rivals don’t usually eat or play baseball together. He has Dong Baek type up the statement since he’s feeling lazy, but then the new prosecutor comes in… the real Tae Sung!

Well aren’t Sora and the uncles in for a surprise. Sung teases that Tae Sung must be here to give them food or is Sora’s boyfriend, and he treats him with utter disrespect… until Tae Sung says, “Hey the Chinese characters (for his name) on the name plate are wrong, so make sure they change it.” Whoops! Sung instantly turns on the charm and is suddenly respectful to the new prosecutor coming in from Seoul. Tae Sung gestures for him to get out of the way, and he takes over the investigation.

Joon Hyuk’s assistant informs him that Sora and the gangsters are all getting interrogated by their assigned Prosecutor. It’s some guy the assistant doesn’t recognize, a prosecutor from Seoul named Lee Tae Sung. Joon Hyuk: What!?

Tam Hee goes to meet the prosecutor and starts yelling at Tae Sung to read her case file carefully. He’d better not show any bias! She starts her yelling rant again and Tae Sung dismisses her, having had enough of her “testimony.” After she leaves, Sung says that based on his “awesome” instinct, he believes that Tam Hee’s testimony is true. There are no witnesses for Sora when she claims that she didn’t forge the signature anyway. He adds that the Yang gangsters probably didn’t act on their own, especially since Min Shik claims he’s part of the Go family gangsters. (Oh loyalties…) So why not indict them?

Tae Sung: “Are you the prosecutor? You’re not, I am!” Sung Dong Il: “I know… but I told you I have 25 years of experience and have really good instincts!” Ha! Tae Sung still kicks him out, and promptly calls his superior for Investigator Sung to be reassigned somewhere else. (Haha – he’s not even a real prosecutor!) He then has everyone else be led back to their holding cell except for Sora, so that they can have a private chat.

It’s an awkward chat, considering that Sora is now a criminal, and he’s a prosecutor. She compliments him, noting that the job seems to suit him well, but he tells her to hush – she’s in for a very serious crime right now. If she didn’t do anything wrong, why isn’t she denying it? It’s because Min Shik and his men keep insisting that they’re now part of the Go family, and follow whatever they say, and yet say that Sora didn’t order them to attack Tam Hee. Those conflicting statements make it hard to believe that Sora is not in charge. In addition, she can’t let her sick father pay for his crimes anymore, so she’ll take the blame. It’s a good thing Tae Sung signed the testimony his father wrote; he can get away with everything and live his life blame-free.

I hate how she loves him so much she just wants him to be happy.

He has her escorted back to her cell, and sees her wearing his necklace. As she walks through the halls, she sees Joon Hyuk there, and she looks down as she passes by him. Joon Hyuk goes in to talk to Tae Sung to see if he’ll really indict her. Ya think?! Tae Sung tells him he has no right to tell him what judgment to pass. Instead of wasting time threatening him, Joon Hyuk ought to find witnesses and evidence that would exonerate her. Joon Hyuk accedes – Tae Sung should know the case best, and how to resolve it. After all, the other prosecutors in Busan are in Tam Hee’s pocket, all except for Tae Sung.

He then goes to visit Sora, and tells her that the defense attorney he’ll send in will help her in the best way possible. She in turn requests Joon Hyuk to take care of her father.

Later that evening, Tae Sung receives a call from his father, who’s come down to Busan after hearing the entire situation from Joon Hyuk. Mr. Lee wants him to indict Sora – “Lock her up with your own hands. That way you can continue your marriage with Se Na.” Can I just bust Daddy Lee’s chops? Tae Sung doesn’t want to be married to Se Na! Daddy Lee has got serious short-term memory issues.

Tae Sung refuses to betray his conscience, which Mr. Lee interprets as Tae Sung choosing to betray the father that raised him. He’s not pleased to find out that Tae Sung gave Se Na divorce papers after he had worked so hard to get her father in his favor. He had hoped his son would also take over his law firm, a firm that he worked so hard to build. Tae Sung feels guilty as well, but he’s not going to throw Sora and the uncles into the fire – even if Mr. Lee thinks they’re “gangster scumbags who will never change.”

Tae Sung asks his father a crucial question – if he were just a normal “Nam Hae,” would Mr. Lee still have accepted him as his son? Mr. Lee: “You were able to become my son because you were better than others. A son who’s not a prosecutor is a son I don’t need.” That’s a striking blow to the heart. The only reason why Tae Sung worked so hard was because he loved his father, but clearly that does not apply both ways.

The trial begins, and Tae Sung begins his interrogation of Min Shik, who testifies that he acted against Tam Hee out of his own accord. Tae Sung then asks if Sora is really at the head of all the criminal activities they’ve been charged with. Min Shik says that they were only acting in the name of the White Beach Gang (Go family gangsters’ official name), but that gang is really nonexistent, and the uncles just fish like gangsters. Tae Sung then asks who the real leader of White Beach gang is, and Min Shik gestures to Joong Shik, who’s asking if anyone else wants to play ddak-ji with him.

Tae Sung points it out for the court’s official record that Joong Shik is clearly mentally ill, and has the mind of a six-year old. He’s mentally incompetent, and no form of the White Beach gang existed under Sora’s name. In addition, they have not been associated with any criminal activities. Therefore, Go Sora and the uncles will not be charged for any of the criminal activities.

Well Daddy Lee sure isn’t happy, and Tam Hee throws a fit in the courtroom. So Tam Hee goes and reveals to the court that Tae Sung used to be Sora’s husband, so he’s totally biased. Wow what a pain…

The judges then ask if Tae Sung became the prosecutor of this case just so he could free them of the charges. He replies that he only took on this case and brought it to court because if he didn’t, it would have gone to another prosecutor that would most definitely indict them of something they never did.

But now the case has to move on to another charge – the one where Sora was charged with forging President Son’s signature. With that, Tae Sung removes his prosecutorial robes and says that as of this moment, he resigns as prosecutor. Because… he’s taking the blame for being the one who forged the signature.

WHAT!? WHAT!? WAIT WHAT!?

He requests that they put him on trial for the crime, and for the trial to begin now. 

Comments:

Omigod what!? I was absolutely expecting for him to find a way out of the mess, instead of taking her place in the mess.

It is a very gallant and self-serving thing to do though. Tae Sung saves Sora from being indicted in any crime, thus keeping her record clean. But it also sets him free from his father’s grasp. He is no longer the son Mr. Lee wants, because he’s no longer a prosecutor, and if he ends up in jail then he gets away from Se Na. I bet Se Na’s father would even push for divorce, refusing to let his daughter stay married to a criminal. Though he may waste a good number of years in jail, he will at least be in Busan… (Naw – he’ll never end up in jail… but still!) I kind of want Mrs. Lee to come in and shut her husband up with, “Let him do whatever he wants. Clean him off my hands and family.” And then face the court and say, “All this happened because my husband’s a needy man. Drop the charges and let’s all go home!”

Looking back at the first episode, I was initially very concerned over the fact that Tae Sung was married to Se Na, and how I could ever feel sympathy for a man who falls in love with another woman. Nope! Not anymore! The writer justified why these two should end up together despite his marital status, because how could you not root for a man who is clearly happier living a simple life?

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