Unlock the Boss: Episodes 3-4

by mistyisles

Our newly appointed interim CEO starts investigating who was behind the CEO-becoming-a-cell-phone incident. But he’s not the only person investigating, and someone seems to be watching his every move.

 
EPISODES 3-4 WEECAP

Sun-joo and In-sung’s first order of business is to find out who’s been calling Sun-joo’s phone, since it seems likely they know something about what happened to him — or that they’re directly responsible.

During the next board meeting, In-sung has everyone leave their (labeled) phones at the front of the room. While they’re watching a presentation, Sun-joo calls the number back. Right on cue, someone’s phone lights up, but the sticky note label has conveniently fallen off, and the meeting is interrupted and adjourned before In-sung can identify the suspicious phone’s owner.

The interruption comes from OH YOUNG-GEUN (Jung Dong-hwan), vice president of Silver Lining’s partner, Bumyoung Group. Young-geun is on the suspect list for a number of reasons: he and Sun-joo often butted heads over company decisions, he has a generally creepy aura and spies everywhere, and Sun-joo’s disappearance occurred on the way back from playing golf with him.

The other person of interest present at that golf game was Young-geun’s niece, Bumyoung Chairwoman OH MI-RAN (Lee Sang-hee). She and Young-geun also butt heads regularly, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s on Sun-joo’s side. The two are old friends, and her appearance at his late wife’s funeral sparked rumors of an affair, but she also hints at a broken promise on Sun-joo’s part and warns In-sung not to trust him too much.

But, as it turns out, neither Young-geun nor Mi-ran were the mysterious caller. No, that was Se-yeon, who’s been working with Sun-joo’s butler to try and uncover why Sun-joo would just up and leave without even telling Min-ah goodbye. Se-yeon’s top suspect is In-sung, what with his sudden appearance as CEO and the fact that he has Sun-joo’s phone.

Having confirmed the latter, she literally drives In-sung to the edge of a drop off to demand answers. And by “drives him to the edge,” I mean she stops the car so it’s teetering with its front wheels in the air, only held up by some plastic netting (inevitably, the netting breaks and down they go, but it’s not a very long drop and they’re both unhurt).

Considering Se-yeon is so desperate as to put herself in danger to learn the truth, In-sung and Sun-joo decide to trust her. So now she’s part of the team, and In-sung gives her one of his earbuds so they can both communicate with Sun-joo without arousing suspicion from anyone else.

Sun-joo also sets In-sung up to stay in his house so he can plug into his home computer without them having to sneak in again. Though Sun-joo worries that Min-ah might have trouble adjusting to the new face, she’s actually ecstatic to have In-sung around because he plays with her instead of just giving her a toy or high-tech gadget to entertain herself with. After watching their interactions through the phone’s camera, Sun-joo thanks In-sung for spending time with her, sounding both touched and a little sad.

Since Se-yeon was also present at the fateful golf game, she knows that one other person was there: KWAK SAM-SOO (Kim Byung-choon), who also happens to have been In-sung’s interviewer. To get his black box footage from that night, Se-yeon and In-sung stage a fender bender. In-sung ushers Sam-soo away by taxi for a meeting with Young-geun, leaving Se-yeon to comb through the footage alone.

But the “meeting” is actually a surprise press conference designed to trip In-sung up with controversial questions. Sun-joo feeds him answers, and In-sung again draws on his acting skills to sell them as his own words. Young-geun isn’t so easily fooled, though, and removes In-sung’s earbud, dropping it in water for good measure. Dismayed, In-sung flails a bit at the next question (concerns over AI technology taking over human jobs), but he quickly recovers.

Paraphrasing what Sun-joo had told him about the meaning behind the name “Silver Lining,” In-sung assures the reporters that Silver Lining will always keep humans at the forefront of its technological advances. He nails the delivery so well that the reporters are stumped for more questions, and Young-geun is forced to admit defeat — for now.

Throughout all this, we get to see a little more of what makes Se-yeon tick. What seems like emotionlessness is actually just her doing her best to survive — and being too financially strapped and physically exhausted from caring for her comatose mother to afford the luxury of caring about much else. Her loyalty to Sun-joo specifically comes from some promise he made to her, probably also related to her mother.

Also, loan shark MA-PI (Kim Sung-oh) is still after her for the remaining interest on her loan. When he accosts her in front of In-sung, however, In-sung steps in and promises to pay instead. Ma-pi gives him two days to follow through, or else.

In-sung and Se-yeon’s investigation leads them to the spot where Sun-joo must have gotten out of his car and hiked into the woods. Being near In-sung’s parents’ home, the two end up having dinner with his family after their search turns up no clues. Seeing them mix their food into bibimbap reminds Se-yeon of her mother doing the same for her, moving her to tears.

On the way back to Seoul, Se-yeon and In-sung come to a chilling realization: they’re being followed by the same car that was following Sun-joo prior to his disappearance. They pull into a deserted parking lot to confront the man, only to find themselves surrounded by thugs who try to kidnap them.

Fortunately, Ma-pi is nothing if not persistent, and he shows up right on time to collect his dues. Since he can’t have Se-yeon getting kidnapped before she pays up, he fights off the thugs (notably, In-sung goes back to help him when it seems he’ll be overpowered). When pummeled into a confession, however, the guy claims to be under orders from none other than Sun-joo.

Much as I love a good thriller, I’m glad Unlock the Boss is retaining its sense of humor alongside the mystery elements and social commentary. Se-yeon’s bitter remark that she doesn’t share secrets because she can’t spare the brain power hit home, as did Sun-joo’s observation that living in poverty leaves people without options. It’s easy to connect with the main characters in this show, because, at the core, they feel very honest and true to life.

But at the same time, the comedy — especially In-sung’s colorful imagination — keeps the story from veering overly bleak. I’d be lying if I said In-sung’s dream/daydream sequences weren’t some of my favorite parts, and I kind of want to watch a full-length “The Park In-sung Show” now.

And I think what helps balance it all is In-sung himself. He’s a fun-loving, regular guy who’s been dropped into a ridiculous situation, and although he takes full advantage of that situation, he doesn’t take advantage of people. Rather, he uses his newfound power to stand up for those who are normally kicked down or overlooked. It’s no wonder he’s winning over Silver Lining’s entire workforce one person at a time.

 
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