Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Connection: Episode 2 Recap

Cast

Ji Sung as Jang Jae-kyung, a detective of the Narcotics Team at Anhyeon Police Station

Jeon Mi-do as Oh Yun-jin, a social affairs reporter of the Anhyeon Economic Daily

Kwon Yul as Park Tae-jin, a prosecutor at Ahn Hyun District Office

Kim Kyung-nam as Won Jong-soo, Geumhyeong Group's successor

Yoon Na-moo as Park Jun-seo, the central figure in the incident

Jung Yoo-min as Choi Ji-yeon, Jun-seo's wife

Jung Jae-kwang as Kim Chang-soo, Jae-kyung's teammate

Cha Yup as Oh Chi-hyun, Jong-soo's chief secretary

Jeong Soon-won as Heo Joo-song, CEO of Two Star Holdings, an insurance company

Park Geun-rok as Jung Sang-ui, a researcher at Geumhyeong Pharmaceutical


Jae-kyung removes a vial of his blood that could detect drugs from the hospital and hastily escapes. However, a skilled doctor at the hospital realizes in that short time that Jae-kyung displayed symptoms of drug addiction. The doctor reports this, but Jae-kyung returns to the hospital and intimidates the doctor with his authority, forcing the doctor to cover up the incident in the emergency room. 

Jae-kyung then tracks down Jang Cheol-gu, who has a motive for revenge against him and threatens him. Cheol-gu claims to know nothing about the dead Park Jun-seo or the drug that got Jae-kyung addicted, except for some vague information he heard. Jae-kyung realizes he needs to find someone named Ms. Yoon, who Cheol-gu mentioned. 

Ms. Yoon is a female gang leader in Anhyeon City, notorious for making money through all sorts of criminal activities. She was the one who kidnapped and drugged Jae-kyung in exchange for directly dealing drugs from the Doctor. Up until now, she had been supplying drugs through Gong Jin-wook and sharing the profits. 

Through the fact that he was left drugged at subway station 3-4, Jae-kyung deduces that Ms. Yoon wants him to catch a man in a baseball cap, Gong Jin-wook. This raises suspicions that he was being used to take down a rival organization. 

Jae-kyung visits Jun-seo's funeral and persuades the bereaved family that an autopsy is necessary. There, he meets Won Jong-soo, Oh Chi-hyun, and Park Tae-jin, who are also paying their respects. Jong-soo is the vice president of Geumhyeong Group, Chi-hyun is the chief secretary, and Tae-jin is a prosecutor. They were all high school classmates of Jae-kyung, and this is their first reunion in 20 years. Through Joon-seo's phone, Jae-kyung discovers that Joon-seo had called the three of them right before he died and confronts them. They claim it was just a courtesy call. 

Later, another high school friend, Heo Joo-song, also arrives. He is the CEO of Two Star Holdings, the insurance company where Joon-seo had a policy. Joo-song is a non-violent, talkative, and warm-hearted character. Through Joo-song, Jae-kyung learns why Yun-jin became a corrupt reporter and that Joon-seo had a life insurance policy. 

At that moment, Joon-seo's will is revealed. It states that he took out a 5 billion won life insurance policy through Two Star Holdings a week before his death and bequeathed all his assets to Jae-kyung and Yun-jin. 

The insurance payout wouldn't be made in case of suicide, suggesting Joon-seo knew he was going to be murdered and wanted Jae-kyung and Yun-jin to prove he didn't take his own life. 

The episode ends with Jae-kyung and Yun-jin in shock at the contents of the will, setting the stage for the next episode.