Going to make me explain what you already know?
Let's say you beat a confession out of me.
Will that change anything?
There's no evidence that
I did it using your e-mail.
They'd all find out.
Would they believe the words of a loser?
Man, what a killer phone.
You really think you can snatch this out of my hands?
You, punk.
Thanks.
Episode 17
Coordinator/ Sa-hyun Kim
Assistant Producer/ Sun-mi Lee
Scenario/ Sun-mi Lee, Ki-ho Kim
Sleeping?
Producer/ Hee Han
What were you doing? You haven't even eaten?
Something was up at work.
- Something was up at work? - Yes.
Like what?
It doesn't concern you.
Looking down on me now that you're a bigshot?
It's amazing you've avoided getting canned.
I guess the world-class LK Corporation
isn't such a big deal after all.
After all, you're still working there.
Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?
Does it bother you that much that I work for LK?
Well, you thought it was absurd to begin with.
So of course, it bothers you.
So should I resign? Should I quit?
Would that make everyone happy?
What have I done so wrong!
You, Mr. Kim, Mr. Koo, and Bong-sam...
I never wronged any of you!
Bye.
How did you cheat at cards?
I didn't.
What?
You lost to yourself.
This is so good.
- Eat up. - Help yourself.
You...
- Hey, you're home. - What's going on?
Bong-sam brought us some fruit.
- It's so sweet. - Come have some.
I need you to step out for a sec.
- Ho, what is it? - We have to talk.
Don't you have to say something too?
Let's talk in your room.
- Excuse me... - Okay.
Go ahead.
I'm sorry.
I don't expect my apology
to win you over.
I know I did a very cold-blooded thing.
But I hope you'll see that my apology is sincere.
And?
Ho.
Can't you forgive me just this once?
Even if you can't, I have nothing to say.
And if I forgive you, what about my life?
I really don't want to look at you. You'd better go back.
Forgive me just this once.
I really don't want it to end like this.
You have no idea what my life's been like.
If you forgive me just this once I'll forever be grateful to you.
Ho...
Please... Save me just this once.
- Ho. - Let go.
Ho, just this once...
- Please, Ho. - Beat it!
Ho, Ho...
- Don't you have any pride? - Ho.
- Let go. - Ho.
Hey...
What's going on?
- Did that punk leave? - Yes, he just left.
Something happen between you two?
But he looks very well-mannered.
Seems to be a fine young man.
- A fine young man! Right! - Then...
Did he do something unforgivable?
Whatever you do comes back to you.
As the saying goes, you reap what you sow.
The way he was asking for forgiveness
suggests he must've wronged you terribly.
But it isn't easy for a man
to cry and be so repentant.
It's not like that!
Maybe it's not my place to tell you what to do.
But think about the long run.
And think about what's really important in life.
Don't worry yourself to death though.
- Ho. - Let go.
Ho, just this once...
- Let go. - Ho.
I do feel a bit sorry for Ho...
But what can you do? If it's his fate, right?
You're here early.
I guess there's no way you can forgive me.
I have no idea what possessed me
to do something so foolish.
No matter how unfortunate my childhood was...
Even if my mom did run away and my dad's an alcoholic...
Even if we couldn't pay the rent and had no power or gas...
I'm well aware that nothing justifies what I did.
No matter how desperate,
I should've held onto my dignity
as an LK employee.
But the thing that's the hardest to bear is that I got
on my knees and pleaded with a loser like you.
I'll never live that down.
What should we do?
You want to tell them? Or should I?
I happen to think it'd be better for you to tell them.
Stop stalling and tell them today.
Are you...
afraid that people might find out you are not the top hire?
Isn't that why you want me to tell them?
- What was that, punk? - If I knew you wouldn't forgive me,
I would've never disgraced myself in front of you.
So do as you please.
You can make the recording public.
You mean that?
But as long as they don't press charges,
I can find a job at plenty of other places.
If worse comes to worst, S Corporation will take me.
I doubt if you can find a job though.
- Good morning. - Come on.
Good morning.
- How are you, sir? - Hello, sir.
Good morning.
Let's start the day. Meeting time, everyone.
Ho, you're excused.
The auditing office wants you.
I'd like to talk with you later.
I probably don't have to say this.
But indulge an old man.
Don't mention what's happened outside of work.
Bong-sam,
close the blinds.
Got a good night's sleep?
Let's start this all over again. How much were you paid?
Nice shot.
Oh, my...
- You scared me. - I'm sorry, sir.
Don't you know how to knock?
I'm sorry, but it's urgent.
I told you not to frequent my office.
What if Mr. Kim catches on?
And you call yourself my secret weapon?
I'm sorry, sir. But it's awfully urgent.
Were you drunk?
How could you make such a ridiculous mistake?
So what do you want me to do about it?
Are you trying to drag me into this too?
Pardon?
You sold the info for a few lousy bucks.
It's not me.
I don't care.
This doesn't concern me, so leave.
How can you do this to me, sir?
I should be asking you the same thing!
Are you trying to make me the fall guy?
Such bad manners towards a superior who cared for you.
Don't you think?
Yes, President.
No, sir.
No, I'll be right up, sir.
You'll think of a way.
This is a true test of your abilities.
It's not always about just doing your duties.
Have you heard? It was someone in administration.
Really? Who?
I'm not sure but I heard it was a new hire.
The only new hires are the two fine guys.
Which one?
- I heard it was the top hire. - Really? Why?
Why would the top hire do that?
- Why isn't she wearing the uniform? - I know.
She acts as if she can hang out with the college grads.
Okay...
- What are you doing here? - Good morning, sir.
Why are you hanging around another office?
Did you hear something and come to eavesdrop?
Get out of here. I've had enough stress.
Is it because of Ho?
Don't worry. We know he didn't do it.
Good morning, sir. Sorry, I'm a little late.
- Mi-ok. - Yes.
Could you wear the uniform from now on?
People are saying it's not fair.
- I'm kind of in a tough spot. - I will, sir.
Starting today, okay?
I'm sorry to cause you distress.
It's not that serious.
Where were we?
I need to go to the general affairs department.
Okay.
Let's see.
What did you want?
- Have you heard about it already? - Heard what?
Ho's been implicated in the case of the proposal...
- I know. I heard. - How can you just sit still?
I hate it when things get complicated.
But aren't you and Ho close?
And what does that have to do with anything?
How can you think that he'd do such a thing?
I'm so disappointed. I didn't think he was like that.
- Ho didn't do it. - So what do you want me to do?
You like him.
And what's your relationship with him?
- Nothing. - Are you sure?
Yes...
Then why are you butting in?
Because he didn't do it.
Weren't you teaching him English when this happened?
Talk to Mr. Kim about it. You can do that much at least.
Like when I had you canned?
Then apologize to me first.
- About what? - About everything that's happened.
I...
I really can't stand you.
For behaving in ways you couldn't stand...
I'm very sorry.
And one more thing.
Don't you even go near Ho.
Can you promise me that much?
Yes...
Okay, I'll think about it.
You know something? You look better in uniform.
Oh, my...
You're really something else.
Want to see who wins?
- Aren't you having lunch? - What?
- Want some Chinese noodles? - What the...
We'll resume after lunch.
- How are you, ma'am? - Please have a seat.
Yes, ma'am.
- Have you notified the police? - No, ma'am.
- Why not? - Well because...
Mr. Kim asked me to take care of it quietly in-house.
Oh?
Shouldn't you do a thorough investigation?
I've been told to just get him to resign...
So the goal is to get rid of this man?
Pardon?
Why are you trying to conceal this incident?
- That's not the case... - He was with me.
on the evening of the incident.
I'm sorry?
So conduct a proper investigation.
And stop torturing an innocent man.
But...
Did you eat? Let's get some lunch.
Take care, sir.
But...
What the heck...
Two orders of Chinese noodles and pot stickers please.
Okay.
You aren't going to leave me to eat it all again, right?
I'm sorry about that night.
- How did you hear about it? - Everyone at work's heard about it.
I always end up needing your help. Thank you.
By the way... If the proposal was leaked.
...it'd be an administration or cosmetics division employee.
Who could it be? Who'd do such a thing?
Have any idea?
- Don't you have any pickles? - Coming right up.
Let's eat.
Bye and thank you.
- Want to get some coffee? - No, I should get back to work.
Want to go for a drink after work?
I think I might be busy tonight.
Then when?
I'm not sure...
Hi.
I'll call you later.
Thank you.
Hold on. I'll call you right back.
- Ho. - Yes?
Come with me.
NOTICE OF DISCHARGE
I guess you don't realize the gravity of this incident.
You should thank heaven no charges are being filed.
Thought President Suh's daughter
could get you off the hook?
Do you know how much our stock fell today?
The company had already made up its mind.
But Mr. Kim wanted to
give a young man the opportunity
to resign on his own.
Talk about being ungrateful...
I knew all along you were trouble waiting to happen.
And we gave a punk like you so many breaks.
It's time for you to stop ruining this company.
Sir.
What now? Still have something to say?
- No... Half-wit...
- He's applying to a major corporation. - Why?
He's lost his mind.
- Just 20 bucks. - Just get some sleep.
- Hooray! - Hooray!
- Hooray, my son! - Hooray, honey!
Cheers!
I'm so proud of you, my son.
I got this cell phone.
You just started and you already won something...
This is my son Ho, the one who works for LK.
I knew all along you were trouble waiting to happen.
It's time for you to stop ruining this company.
NOTICE OF DISCHARGE
I thought you were different.
But...
You insist on playing me till the end.
You're coming home late.
- I heard about what happened. - Did you?
So it's come to this.
I guess I won't be seeing you at work.
Can we still say hi if we bump into one another?
This is so sudden...
I never had the chance to prove what a joke I am.
But I guess there's no need to prove it now.
I was on pins and needles the whole time.
But I...
I never played you. Not even once.
I guess you don't want to talk to me.
Bye.
It's not that...
I was worried sick.
I thought with Hyun-ah's help, everything was fine.
But then I heard you were fired.
And your phone wasn't working...
I didn't think you'd do such a thing...
But people were talking behind your back...
I just wanted to see you so much...
Is that you, Ho?
Yes.
You're home late. Get some sleep.
Okay.
Is he new?
Ho, time to go to work.
Get up. You're late.
How can you shove food in your mouth after you just got up?
And so much too.
Eat up and go.
I haven't seen that suit before. Where did you get it?
I guess you got yourself a summer suit.
When Ho gets paid, get me a suit.
I might be the only guy
at my age with no suit.
We got you one for your high school graduation.
I can't wear that. It's so embarrassing.
And why would you need a suit?
I'm older. And I have get-togethers too.
You good-for-nothing. Get-togethers my behind.
If you've got time for get-togethers,
use it to find a job
instead of begging Ho for money.
I've never begged him.
It's all money I earned by running errands for him.
Good for you.
Running errands for spending money at your age.
You guys are too much!
I'm your son too.
Sure, I might be a little older.. But I still need your attention.
Sure Ho works for
that world-class LK Corporation.
That's no reason to treat me so bad...
- Aren't you running late? - I'm not finished!
Just quit while you're ahead.
You can wear my suits. I don't need them anymore.
What do you mean you don't need them?
I mean...
that we can share them.
By the way, where's your badge?
I left it at the office.
- Bye. - Have a good day.
Bye, dear.
Are you stupid or something?
Think of all you did to survive there.
And you were always rubbing it in my face.
And you're going to let such a ridiculous
accusation get you kicked out?
Who's the punk that framed you?
And to be honest, for the sake of your job,
we all pitched in so much too.
I feel as if I've been fired by LK as well.
I was always so proud of you for working there.
Sung-tae went to Seoul National University.
And you, Ho, started working at a world-class company.
You guys were the source of my pride...
Did you get a pension?
Listen.
Only people who work longer than a year get pensions.
And people deemed detrimental to the company
are not eligible for a pension.
He may even have to pay them compensation.
Wait. Don't you have work?
Well, about that...
You didn't know? He got canned too.
- Why? - What do you think?
You know what they say about addictions.
He'd cut work all the time and gamble all day.
Didn't I tell you to stop?
At least, I was indulging in my hobby.
I didn't get canned because I was framed.
Isn't that special?
Now that we're on the subject, how about a round?
How much do you have?
You've completely lost your mind.
How are we going to support ourselves now?
Now that things have come to this,
why don't we give a call to Mr. Maruyama?
More than that, he has to prove his innocence.
We have to catch whoever did this.
What's this?
Just listen.
So you caught him. How did you find out?
- So? - Isn't that Bong-sam...?
Let's say you beat a confession out of me.
Will that change anything?
Who do you think they'll believe?
They'd believe you
if you really were the top hire.
But you're a loser who's been pretending to be the top hire.
That really is Bong-sam.
So you were lying about being the top hire?
Why are you sitting still when you have the smoking gun?
I've been mulling this over.
- I feel sorry for Bong-sam too. - What are you talking about?
He never did as well as I did in school.
Now he's doing well driving that fancy import.
Sounds as if you'd kill yourself if we drove imports.
It's different with you guys.
What are we? Chopped liver?
Anyway, you can't forgive him for this.
How can he do that to a friend?
Joon-ha.
Do you remember
those few times we stole his lunch?
Sure I do. He always brought fish cakes.
I guess that really hurt him.
What a dweeb...
We thought his family owned a fish cake factory.
Right, but instead,
his father was a drunk, and his mother had left.
How did he do so well in school
under those circumstances?
Amazing.
Stealing someone's lunch isn't even comparable to this!
Because you stole his lunches, you're going to get framed
and get kicked out of a world-class corporation?
- Am I missing something? - No you aren't.
Anyway, he and I are even now.
But the really strange thing is...
Bong-sam had stolen my idea
and was receiving kudos.
So why would he do such a thing?
Who stands to benefit
the most out of this?
Bong-sam's a pretty smart guy in his own right.
Would he have really done this for a few bucks?
It could've meant the end of his career.
He's sticking to his guns even after I made the recording.
That might mean someone is behind this.
Mr. Kim?
He couldn't wait to get rid of me.
Director Koo?
But he just doesn't have that kind of power.
Mr. Song?
Then who was the other party?
If someone sold the info,
someone else paid for it.
Could you guys help me?
- In what fashion? - How?
I thought something was up.
I heard everything. I won't tell mom and dad.
Just let me in on it too.
Hello?
Hey, Mi-ok...
I'm in a meeting right now.
I miss you too.
Welcome to visit, Mr. Maruyama.
I'd like to express my sincere gratitude
to you for visiting us.
As I've already mentioned,
LK is branching out into the energy field as well.
To extract fossil fuels
and natural gas in the former
Soviet republics of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan,
it's imperative that we form a consortium with Hatsushiba.
But for some reason, Hatsushiba's no longer
showing an active interest.
We don't know what's going on
with Hatsushiba internally,
but there may be some ulterior motives.
And that is why we have
invited you, Mr. Maruyama, to ask you
to cut through the negotiations.
We had no idea you were in Korea.
We used all our resources to look for you in Japan.
We're so fortunate to have found you
before you left Korea.
Without our caliber of resources, it would've been impossible.
Do you know an employee named Ho Kang?
You could've reached me right away through him.
You wasted a lot of time.
I'd like to meet him now that I'm here.
Could I see him?
Ho! Call him now!
Call Ho's home, cell phone. Put me through!
Now!
Is this Mr. Ho Kang's residence? We're calling from LK.
- Is he available? - What's going on?
- He went to work? - Hurry!
I understand. He's not at home.
Why, that punk...
Sir, his cell phone is turned off.
Keep trying!
Just when we need him the most...
Where the heck is he?
Keep trying and let me know.
My, what shall we do?
No one knows where he is.
What?
I'm sorry.
Mr. Kang Ho is out on some urgent business.
Actually, the reason I came today was to see him.
Did you try his cell?
Yes, but it's turned off.
I understand what you brought up today.
But I don't believe now is the time to give you a reply.
I'll be in touch.
Until next time.
Where could Kang Ho be?
Koo, what am I to make of this?
I'm confused myself, sir.
He's haunting us even after we canned him.
Yes, I know, sir.
Can you see that flunky and Maruyama together?
- No. - How could they know each other?
Wasn't Kang Ho your secret weapon, Mr. Kim?
That was until you found out about it.
How would Mr. Maruyama know Kang Ho?
I'm wondering the same thing...
Do you plan to ask him to come back?
I'm not sure...
Yes...
I need you to do it as soon as possible.
Yes.
Janitor's room
Stop right there!
What are you doing in the building?
Are you here on business?
Are you looking for someone?
Gentlemen, you're here. Hello.
Come this way, please.