Vincenzo: Episode 14

by quirkycase

After publicly humiliating the chairman, it’s time for the next phase of the plan to destroy Babel. Jipuragi goes after the chairman’s paper company for evidence of illegal financial activity in the hopes of finding some charges that will stick. With the help of several eager tenants, our team does what they do best and employs some creative subterfuge to get their hands on the evidence the chairman has buried.

 
EPISODE 14

After the initial shock, security rushes onto the stage and whisks Joon-woo away. Prosecutor Jung meets them in the hall with a warrant for Joon-woo’s arrest. Myung-hee berates Prosecutor Jung, claiming he has no concrete evidence, and insists on going to the station with Joon-woo. Han-seo’s yells for everyone to stop taking photos is undercut by the smile he can’t hide.

As they all sit around a table at the prosecution, Cha-young argues the pig’s blood was merely a prank on her former intern. Myung-hee and the others call the video fake, but it doesn’t matter. Prosecutor Jung whips out a hard drive from the Vision Team full of evidence. Not only that, but Vincenzo and Cha-young have a recorded confession from the drunk driver saying he was paid by Wusang (Cha-young’s spy ex-colleague, to be precise) to run over the union leader.

When Prosecutor Jung announces they’re all charged with aiding and abetting murder, Myung-hee pins it all on Attorney Seo (the spy). Joon-woo focuses on Vincenzo, finding it ridiculous that Vincenzo the mafioso is now playing the hero. Vincenzo counters that he’s trash who cleans up other trash with a worse stench.

Vincenzo and Cha-young leave, happy with the results of their “smoke bomb.” Their main goal for the raid was to obtain evidence about Joon-woo’s paper company, the second charge Prosecutor Jung hopes to bring against Babel. Knowing the anti-union charge won’t have much impact, they’re primarily trying to make Babel fully recognize the union.

Without warning, Han-seo steps up and says he ordered the anti-union activities. Joon-woo wasn’t even chairman until a few days ago, so he didn’t know anything about it. Joon-woo eyes this unprompted confession with skepticism, but before it can go further, Chief Prosecutor Hwang arrives.

He argues that this is all a plot by loyalists of Han-seo’s protesting Joon-woo’s take over. Prosecutor Jung rolls his eyes when Myung-hee jumps in saying Team Leader Park must’ve been part of the plot and Attorney Han comments that Attorney Seo left Wusang after bad performance reviews. To Prosecutor Jung’s dismay, Chief Prosecutor Hwang orders him to let them go and reinvestigate.

At Jipuragi, they find a suspicious company called “The Jason Fund” in Babel’s records that’s registered in Malta with a branch in Korea. Vincenzo goes to CEO Park for insight into paper companies and uses their shared animosity for Babel to get him and his team to agree to help.

Our evil quartet celebrates their legal evasion thanks to Chief Prosecutor Hwang. Joon-woo insincerely thanks Han-seo for stepping up but clarifies he should only take the fall for serious charges with heavy sentences.

Later, Attorney Han confronts Han-seo confessing without discussing it with him first. Han-seo argues taking the rap for that small charge felt like the best deal for him. When Attorney Han mentions Vincenzo, Han-seo gets an idea and orders Attorney Han to arrange a meeting.

The next day, the press is already reporting the “botched investigation” and promoting Chief Prosecutor Hwang’s version of events. Everything is pinned on Team Leader Park and Director Kim (the union traitor). Prosecutor Jung is disheartened, but Vincenzo and Cha-young assure him they’ll start working on the next step.

Prosecutor Jung watches Vincenzo carefully as he muses about how the Guillotine file could take all these corrupt people down. Ah, so he was the man who met with Young-woon. Prosecutor Jung had berated him for messing up their plan and suggested they leave it to Vincenzo to figure out how to get the file.

Vincenzo is reserved as usual when he and Cha-young visit Kyung-ja in the hospital. Kyung-ja gives Cha-young a handmade scarf and a card that she asks her to read later. While Kyung-ja happily eats the bungeoppang they brought her, Vincenzo gets a call from Attorney Han asking to meet. Meanwhile, Myung-hee makes a call to a man who I believe is Vincenzo’s adoptive brother Emilio and asks in English if he knows Vincenzo.

At Geumga Plaza, CEO Park has arranged for the gold prospector to visit the next day. He agrees to take the blame if Vincenzo finds out and gets upset. Mi-ri plays along and smiles, but she’s struggling to hold in her frustration.

Vincenzo meets Attorney Han and Han-seo at a fancy restaurant and sits like he owns the place. He skips the pleasantries and tells Han-seo to get to the point. Attorney Han is miffed but Han-seo laughs that he likes Vincenzo’s tough vibe.

Han-seo cuts to the chase and offers to help Vincenzo kill his brother in exchange for his own life and leaving Babel alone. Vincenzo declines and refuses to get involved in familial disputes. If he starts exploiting betrayal in others’ families, his own family might betray him. He tells Han-seo to keep that in mind and walks off.

At Jipuragi, CEO Park gives a presentation on, according to his whiteboard, “pepper” companies. He explains how they’re used to evade taxes and invest in stocks illegally. If you’re caught, the penalty is a massive fine as well as possible jail time.

CEO Park muses that Babel must have a company in Korea they launder things through and recalls Deok-jin talking about doing work for a paper company. He’s currently working as a trot singer at a club, so Vincenzo and Cha-young pay him a little visit and have no problem getting him to cooperate.

While Myung-hee briefs Joon-woo on her new plan to use Vincenzo’s enemies to get rid of him, Deok-jin gives the lowdown on Babel’s paper company Ragusang Gallery. The accountant has a desk in the director’s office, which suggests Director Jung manages the books herself. Security is tight, and Deok-jin recalls there’s some expensive painting titled “Nothing” in the office.

At Geumga Plaza, the tenants wait excitedly for the gold prospector to arrive. He shows up with a dog in his arms and announces he now runs an animal rescue center. He tells them that gold is in their hearts and leaves. Mi-ri breathes a sigh of relief, but everyone else is disappointed.

Vincenzo and Cha-young glare from across the hallway and sit the tenants down again. Everyone’s eyes are downcast while Vincenzo says it’s totally fine – he wouldn’t trust a dirty Mafia member either. Cha-young and Joo-sung chide the chastened tenants and follow Vincenzo out.

Mi-ri approaches the trio and asks outright when Vincenzo is going to get the gold out of the secret basement. She drops a bomb on them: she’s the one who designed both the iris-recognition software and the triggered demolition. She managed to escape being killed like the others since she didn’t work on-site.

Mi-ri wants to work together and take out the gold. It’s her system, so she can easily open the hatch. They’re all thrilled, but Vincenzo says they need to plan since it’ll take a lot of time to get all the gold out of the room.

Feeling guilty, Hong-shik and Hee-soo stop by Vincenzo’s with gifts: a white dress shirt, tteokbokki, and a memorandum signed by all the tenants stating they’ll trust Vincenzo after all he’s done for them. They plan to focus on protecting the plaza rather than chasing gold. Vincenzo accepts their apology and promises to continue helping them.

The next day, Jipuragi gathers the tenants and updates them on their Babel plan. Everyone is pumped up and ready to kick some Babel butt.

Vincenzo and Cha-young take a trip to Ragusang Gallery and scout out the director’s office which is guarded by two men. They notice an advertisement for private rental of the gallery for events. It’s booked months out, so Mi-ri hacks into the reservation list.

Joo-sung suggests Vincenzo and Cha-young pose as a couple. Mi-ri is all eager to volunteer herself when Cha-young says it’d be awkward, but Cha-young agrees in the end. With a few strokes, Mi-ri swaps in their photos for a couple on the list.

They had Team Leader Ahn look into the painting “Nothing,” and he discovered it’s worth 10 billion won. Both the former and current owners haven’t exhibited it, so there aren’t even photos of the piece.

Vincenzo insists Cha-young needs to dress the part for their upcoming couple ruse, so they have fun shopping for a snazzy dress and accessories. Then, it’s showtime.

Joo-sung kidnaps the real couple renting the venue and takes them to Geumga Plaza while Vincenzo and Cha-young arrive at Ragusang Gallery. The couple they’re masquerading as is foreign, so Director Jung greets them in English. She knows one of them is supposed to be able to speak Korean, so Vincenzo jumps in and says he’s fluent, leaving Cha-young to pretend to speak broken Korean.

The tenants turn Geumga Plaza into a fake gallery, serving the kidnapped couple a meal and having Larry put on a lovely dance performance. At Ragusang, Director Jung keeps winking at Vincenzo in this conspiratorial way as they head to view paintings.

As she shows them a painting depicting everlasting love, violins begin to play. Director Jung presents Vincenzo with the rings “he” prepared for the surprise proposal. Staff gather around holding flowers and taking photos. Vincenzo is forced to get on one knee and propose.

Unsurprisingly, Cha-young gets into the performance and has fun with it. Vincenzo slips the ring that magically fits on her finger, and they think they’ve pulled it off. That is, until everyone starts chanting, “Kiss!”

Vincenzo tries to get out of it by saying he’s uncomfortable in public, but Cha-young grabs him and kisses him. He has a moment of wide-eyed damsel shock before kissing her back. They definitely go over and above the call of duty and get very into the moment.

When they finally separate, Director Jung claps and exclaims at the beautiful moment. Staring at Vincenzo, Cha-young says, “This is a magical night I won’t forget.” Vincenzo agrees. The real couple is having their own magical experience in Nanyak Temple where the monks chant congratulations for their engagement.

Mi-ri, kept company by CEO Park and his subordinate Miss Yang, waits outside the gallery in the van with her hacker setup. CEO Park tries to create a friendly atmosphere, but he’s no match for the two women’s stoicism.

Inside, Director Jung continues the tour, but Cha-young pretends to be tired so they can rush things along. Director Jung initially refuses to let them see “Nothing,” the painting in her office, but she relents when they remark that they’ll just go somewhere else to buy some paintings then.

Outside, Hee-soo and Yeon-jin cause a fuss and terrorize the guards. Hee-soo insists she needs to get something she left inside while Yeon-jin screams that she needs to see the director about plagiarism.

In her office, Director Jung shows Vincenzo and Cha-young the famed “Nothing” … which is a white backdrop with two faint footprints in the vein of a kid’s art project. As they try to act impressed, a guard rushes in to tell Director Jung about the women outside demanding to see her.

Once she leaves to handle the issue, Vincenzo and Cha-young hurry to her computer and connect their flash drive. They contact Mi-ri who hacks in and starts cracking the password.

While the real couple has a grand time playing drinking games with the tenants, Cheol-wook and CEO Park’s minion Soo-nam pose as cops and arrive at Ragusang. Yeon-jin supposedly called them about her art being plagiarized.

After Mi-ri cracks the password, she turns it over to Miss Yang, the experienced accountant for paper companies. Miss Yang struggles with all the English file names, but she finds the overseas transactions she’s looking for and copies them to the flash drive.

As they wait nervously for the files to copy, Hee-soo finds what she “left” in the building: a piece of gum stuck to the wall (eww, she actually chews it). Yeon-jin continues arguing one of the paintings is just like hers, although the picture she shows looks nothing like it.

When the “cops” agree the paintings look the same, Director Jung starts to realize something is off. Vincenzo and Cha-young remove the flash drive right as she walks into the office. She asks who they are and what they’re after.

Vincenzo whips out a badge and says he’s with the Italian intelligence service; Cha-young shows the gun holstered to her thigh. They’re investigating a tip about Italian stolen art ending up in Ragusang Gallery. When the guards go to grab them, Vincenzo fires a couple of warning shots in the air sending everyone for cover.

They bring in Team Leader Ahn and claim the Italian and Korean agencies are cooperating. After being pressured about art smuggling, Director Jung cracks and admits there is one piece smuggled from Italy. She relinquishes the piece to Team Leader Ahn in exchange for not being charged, and she erases all CCTV footage of Vincenzo and Co. Meanwhile, two men from Italy arrive at the airport.

In the car, Vincenzo and Cha-young talk about how much fun the operation was. They try to be nonchalant and joke about the kiss, but it doesn’t ease the awkwardness between them.

They decide to have a drink and snacks on the rooftop, but Vincenzo notices a man in the shadows. He sends Cha-young to get beer and heads up to the roof alone. Two men with guns follow, but Vincenzo manages to swipe one man’s gun. He holds him hostage while his partner points his gun at Vincenzo.

He asks if Paulo sent them and is forced to relinquish the gun when a third man approaches from behind. They knock Vincenzo to his knees and hit him upside the temple with a gun. Blood trickles from his head as he glares.

 
COMMENTS

I knew the Mafia would come into this at some point. I’m pretty sure that was Emilio on the phone with Myung-hee, and we know he does hate Vincenzo, so it would make sense. Vincenzo asked if the men were sent by Paulo, which could be someone from a rival family or a friend of Emilio’s maybe. You’d think it’d be easier to just leave Vincenzo alone since he’s out of Italy and uninvolved in their business, especially after the last attempted hit went so poorly. And I’m not sure how smart it is on Babel and Wusang’s part to bring the Mafia in on their dispute. If things go wrong, this could bring international attention which seems like a bad idea since they’re trying to cultivate a positive image. The simplest answer is usually the best: if you want to be perceived as trustworthy, then be trustworthy. The more Babel gets involved in all these twisted schemes, the more likely they’ll be to shoot themselves in the foot. And we know they’re already doing a pretty good job of shooting themselves.

On that note, Han-seo finally approached Vincenzo about joining forces. I wasn’t surprised Vincenzo turned him down, but I didn’t anticipate it’d be because of the family dispute aspect. It makes sense that he wouldn’t want to be known as someone who supports family disloyalty and give his brother and his associates more reasons to come after him. Of course, it looks like that’s happening anyway, but Vincenzo can honestly say he didn’t do anything to encourage it.

The troubles just keep piling up for Vincenzo, but at least he and his team are making headway on exposing Joon-woo’s illegal financial activities. Jipuragi is at its best when it engages in these undercover missions – maybe they should consider going into the private detective business. They could concoct schemes and play different roles to their heart’s content, and maybe they could even express some of their repressed feelings along the way. I get that Vincenzo and Cha-young don’t want to get too involved when he plans to leave soon, but I think they’re past the point of being able to convincingly lie that they’re not interested in each other. No matter how much they try to laugh off their kiss, they both know they got a little too into it to blame entirely on the role.

I love that they’re making full use of the tenants in their operations now. Everyone is so game, and they have bizarrely useful skill sets. Even Mi-ri has a secret badass background. I was not expecting that she was the one who designed the entire security system, but it certainly explains how she caught onto so much when the other tenants were oblivious. Now that she’s on the team, Vincenzo may actually get his gold. I’m not holding my breath, though, since he was standing in the room and still managed not to get ahold of a single gold bar. Of all the people Young-woon could’ve been partnering with, Prosecutor Jung wasn’t who I anticipated. But I’m glad to see the Guillotine file could go to someone who wants to release it and take down the corrupt officials. That’s assuming Prosecutor Jung is who he seems to be and isn’t some evil boss in disguise. Someone has to be decent … right?

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