Again My Life: Episodes 5-6

by DaebakGrits

Our time traveling lawyer continues to strategically accrue more allies for his future takedown of our Big Bad, but the final battle seems so far away. A time skip helps speed up the process, and our lawyer takes another step forward in his quest for justice.

 
EPISODES 5-6 WEECAP

After last week’s big reveal that Ji-hyun, Tae-sub’s right hand woman, was the one who sent Sung-hwan a text before his meeting with Chaunha’s (former) CEO, I assumed we’d pick up that story arc again going into Episode 5. Nope!

Apparently we are done with Ji-hyun for now because — other than a short scene of Geong-young taking orders from Tae-sub — we don’t see her again this week. I was so confused by the lack of continuity that I double-checked that I was starting the correct episode, but after confirming the episode number, I just rolled with the plot as we’re introduced to — yet another — case that has ties to Hee-woo’s past life.

A recent murder just so happens to be connected to Hee-woo’s first case as a prosecutor, so he remembers the details vividly. The murder was sloppily investigated, and the wrong man went to jail. Ten years later, the accused murderer’s son PARK SANG-MAN (Ji Chan) came to Hee-woo with evidence that proved his father’s innocence, and Hee-woo was able to clear his father’s name.

In the current timeline, Hee-woo convinces Il-hyun to take over and investigate the murder more thoroughly. He hints that the victim’s wife was having an affair, and her secret lover would crack easily in interrogation if Il-hyun pressured him and suggested he knew that evidence was hidden in — oh, I don’t know, the kimchi fridge.

The case is wrapped up quickly because its main purpose was to introduce Sang-man, a gifted computer hacker who Hee-woo takes under his wing and adds to his growing cast of allies. But, his fight against the ultimate Bad Guy must be put on pause, because duty calls. Literally.

Hee-woo’s parents tearfully hand Hee-woo his conscription notice, and he resigns himself to serving his mandatory military duties for the second time. Conveniently, Hee-ah is going to study abroad, too, and the gang seems set to go their separate ways for now.

Well, at least we’ll now get to see Hee-woo use his second round of military service to hone his fighting skills and gain a few beefy, muscled allies for his future takedown of Tae-sub, right? That would be another nope, folks.

We skip seven years into the future, and Hee-woo — who is a full-fledged prosecutor at this point — begins his career at the Gimsan Branch Office, where everyone questions why a “top rated” prosecutor would voluntarily choose to be at their dinky little seaside office. But this is Hee-woo, and what they don’t know is that he does everything with intention. He’s there to recruit Branch Chief JEON SEOK-KYU (Kim Cheol-ki), who’d also been building a case against Tae-sub in Hee-woo’s past life.

Hee-woo wastes no time trying to take down the small town’s corrupt leaders, and he and his new sidekick Sang-man infiltrate an illegal gambling establishment. It’s all very James Bond-like with hidden doorways that swivel to reveal a fancy casino, and Hee-woo rolls up with a bag full of cash money that he and Yong-soo earned from their investment dealings. Annnnnd… he promptly loses it all on purpose in order to sniff out a potential informant.

The card dealer happily gives him all the intel he needs to come back later and arrest everyone, but this particular gambling establishment is also run by the Yuchae gang. At first, the gang leader tries to bribe Hee-woo, but Hee-woo only adds more charges to their crimes. So the gang leader unleashes his thugs, and Hee-woo has to fight them off all by himself, treating us to a beautifully choreographed brawl. As much as I question the pacing and convenient plot devices, it’s action scenes like this one that make Again My Life a guilty pleasure drama for me.

Following the fight, Hee-woo finds all the evidence he needs to charge the Yuchae gang with not only illegal gambling, but human trafficking and drugs, too. The other leaders of Gimsan, such as the police chief and mayor, are not pleased that a young upstart like Hee-woo has arrested one of the town’s finest “businessmen.” They tell Seok-kyu to keep his junior prosecutor in line, but — oh no! — the press is already reporting on the case. Not much they can do to keep it hush-hush now. Whoops!

Of course, the media coverage is all Hee-woo’s doing, too, and the reporter he tipped off was none other than Han-mi, who is making a name for herself despite her father’s wishes that she’d live a life of obscurity. Hee-ah is also briefly passing through Gimsan (for vaguely convenient reasons), and she and Han-mi have a meaningful slow-mo moment as they cross paths, alluding to the fact that these two women are going to be vying for Hee-woo’s affection the hardest.

Sang-man, who watched Hee-woo’s encounter with the two women, teases Hee-woo when he joins him in the car. He asks what we’ve all been wondering: soooo, which one are you dating?

Hee-woo takes his Yunchae gang case to Seok-hoon. In exchange for handing over the case to Seok-hoon, Hee-woo wants a “ticket” for him and Seok-kyu to the Seoul office. Seok-hoon likes the idea, but first he has to run it past Tae-sub, who agrees it’s a smart move and — unbeknownst to him — places Hee-woo, his biggest enemy, on the fringes of his inner circle.

While visiting the Seoul office, Hee-woo also runs into Min-soo and Gyu-ri, and the whole gang is officially reunited. Sang-man spies Hee-woo having a lingering conversation with Gyu-ri outside the prosecutor’s office, and Sang-man calls Hee-woo out on being a player.

It was a nice little meta moment that had me chuckling because this harem is a bit ridiculous. Admittedly, the drama does paint Hee-woo as impossibly perfect, so I get it. But seven years is a long time for these women to carry a torch for him, and as far as I can tell, he has no interest — or chemistry — with any of them.

Anyway, after handing over the case to the Seoul office, Hee-woo, Sang-man, and the overworked office investigator OH MIN-GUK (Na In-kyu) go undercover to assist with the drug smuggling sting. Disguised as hired labor, they load containers of “fish” into the backs of trucks. They just need to get a peek inside the containers and confirm they contain drugs.

Unintentionally, the clumsy Min-guk gives them the opportunity they need when he bumps into Sang-man and the contents of their boxes go tumbling onto the ground. They find drugs stuffed inside the split belly of a gutted fish, and Min-guk proudly holds up the evidence. Hee-woo steps out to reveal himself and arrest the drug smugglers, and with a finger gun pointed at the sky, he celebrates his victory.

 
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