The Will
Episode 9 of Mine begins with a shocking reveal as the camera pans out and shows exactly who’s covered in blood. It’s Ji-Yong. We then cut back in time and see the dramatic confrontation between Hi-Soo and Hye-Jin that ended the previous episode. Ji-Yong grabs the latter’s hand and pulls her outside. With Hye-Jin gone, Hi-Soo decides they should call a family meeting. Only, that’s completely sidelined in favour of the Chairman’s Will being read. As they gather around at HQ, they hear what everyone has received. Soon-Hye is given the mansion but no shares in the company. Jin-Ho is encouraged to go to grad school with all expenses paid. Seo-Hyun meanwhile is given all of his Hyowon Electronics shares and is appointed the CEO of Hyowon. Jin-Hee meanwhile is given all the shares to Hyowon confectionery and told to receive therapy for her anger. Hi-Soo and Ha-Joon are given 30000 shares too, with the intent of keeping them together. Ji-Yong is told to do volunteer work and given the role of Director to help grow alongside his students. Soo-Hyuk is to become the heir and he gets all the shares… or at least a large majority anyway. Everything else is given to charity. However, news of Soo-Hyuk’s ascent spreads across the mansion – including to Yu-Yeon too. She’s likened to Cinderella, and even told by Soon-Hye that there will be those desperate to have her glass slipper shatter. She needs to be ready for that. Ji-Yong gets his anger out through his fighting, forcing two men to savagely cage fight. In fact, he even screams at one to kill the other. Flashbacks reveal that his Mother told him she wished he hadn’t been born given he’s illegitimate, which only fuels his rage. As he leaves, Ji-Yong soon receives a call on the back of his recklessness, learning that one of the fighters is actually in a coma. Jin-Hee meanwhile phones Mother Emma and admits she wants to start therapy with her. The saintly woman refuses, telling her she has no empathy and she won’t counsel her. Meanwhile, Soon-Hye finds the hidden room and immediately loses control, throwing things off the shelf. As she does, an ambulance pulls up to the mansion to take a very drunk Jin-Ho away, given he’s passed out on the floor. Anyway, Hi-Soo and Seo-Hyun walk into the art gallery together and start looking at the new pieces that have come in. They’re absolutely gorgeous and the tagline “break it” clearly refers to the stigma surrounding same sex relationships. Seo-Hyun admitting she wants to “break prejudice” confirms as much. That evening, Hi-Soo sits down with Ji-Yong and they talk about the Will. Specifically, how the Chairman seems to know about Ji-Yong’s true nature and sees through this front he’s putting on. Given the lies he’s told in the past, it’s hardly surprising. Just to emphasize this point, Hi-Soo heads out that night and throws her wine glass against the rocks. The next day, Seo-Hyun smiles through the gossip and receives a call, confirming that Suzy Choi has been signed up with Hawon Gallery. More good news comes her way too, when she finds out the chairman has regained consciousness for 12 seconds. In fact, this seems to have coincided with Soon-Hye’s little outburst. Did she hear her? Well, there’s no time to dwell on that. Seo-Hyun speaks to Soo-Hyuk, who outright rejects the plans laid before him to be a CEO. Instead of wishing him well, she simply turns and leaves. Meanwhile, Hye-Jin heads off and hires help to get Ha-Joon back. Only the lawyer warns her it’s going to be difficult to gain full custody. While legal matters begin with her, so too do they begin with Jin-Hee. Her husband has had enough and wants to break up. Only, Soon-Hye is having none of it and refuses to allow it. What she does allow however, is Hi-Soo to build a case against Hye-Jin. To begin with, she requests a list of lawyers that Hyowon have fired over the past 2 years. This lawyer happens to be working with Seo-Hyun and for now, she allows it. The next day she shows up at Studio A9, intent on meeting a mystery artist who’s made some gorgeous paintings that remind her of Suzy Choi. And just like that, there she is. Suzy reveals herself as it’s revealed that all of this was a big ploy to see Seo-Hyun. Now that they’re together, she realizes they were meant to be. Seo-Hyun stayed away because she knew her emotions would betray her if she returned. But now, with tears stinging her eyes, she realizes Suzy Choi is the only real joy she’s experienced in her life. Remember the comatose fighter from earlier? Well, it turns out he’s actually dead. His brother phones Ji-Yong and screams down the phone, clearly irate at what’s happened. Speaking of irate, Hye-Jin heads back to her apartment but finds the lights out and Ji-Yong waiting for her. He begins choking her out, bemoaning that she’s ruined everything and rasping that she should die too. Hi-Soo shows up at the door though and hears Ji-Yong inside, telling him to stop. We then skip forward in time to find Ji-Yong lying face down in a pool of – presumably – his own blood. A single tear falls down his cheek.
The Episode Review
Mine returns with another pressure cooker episode as the tension between Hi-Soo and Ji-Yong reaches fever pitch. With the chairman’s Will read, Ji-Yong finds himself in a difficult position, eventually showing his true colours. It seems like that dead fighter is going to be a big deal in the episodes ahead and I for one can’t wait to see Ji-Yong crash and burn Meanwhile, the highlight of the entire episode comes from the interaction between Seo-Hyun and Suzy at the end. It’s been coming for a while but it’s definitely a stand-out moment. With a cliffhanger ending and lots of unresolved drama, those final shots of a bloodied Ji-Yong pose as an ominous sign of things to come.
