We went from dwelling on mothers who deserve to have kids and mothers who don’t to abusive dads pretty darn quickly in Beyond The Bar. The show is getting more interesting by the day, and while I’m quite tired of the unfriendly man paired with socially awkward woman trope, I’m quite enjoying the chemistry that’s developing between the two leads. The episode focuses on a rich man who is accused of abusing his daughter, but the twist is that he wants Seok-Hoon to defend him because he’s heard that he’s a good lawyer. We see the moral dilemma of a lawyer who has to do anything to defend criminals if it comes down to it. If only things were as easy in real life as Seok-Hoon has it. Anyway, with that said, let’s jump straight into episode 4.
Spoiler Alert
Did Cheol-Min Abuse His Daughter?
In Beyond The Bar episode 4, a new wealthy client comes to the firm and specifically asks for Seok-Hoon to represent him. He’s a single father, and his maid has accused him of hitting his 6-year-old daughter. Cheol-Min’s at the firm to have those charges dismissed, quietly, of course. It seems he’s also a man of means, so Seok-Hoon agrees to do his bidding. As usual, Hyo-Min decides to do her own thing when she’s asked to visit the woman who accused Cheol-Min. The maid tells a compelling story about how she found In-Yeong, the little girl, bruised and sad every day when she got to work. She was never like a 6-year-old child, always staring glumly out of the window and always afraid of her father.
Hyo-Min is instantly on the side of the maid, choosing to believe that Cheol-Min abused his daughter and deserves punishment. However, she gets in trouble because the maid sends Cheol-Min a threatening message. Cheol-Min, of course, tells the boss, who then yells at Hyo-Min for acting out as a mere rookie. Seok-Hoon then tells her not to get emotional and jump to conclusions. It seems this maid has been accused of theft before, which makes her eager for a payout. So, the obvious idea is that she’s accusing Cheol-Min, a rich man, for money. Additionally, it seems she tried to steal some money from his open safe after the accusation as well. This makes her look bad, and Hyo-Min then immediately switches sides without evidence as well. But this case obviously teaches her that she shouldn’t let her emotions get in the way of solving a case.
Turns out the maid did steal, but it was because she didn’t have any resources to look after the child, who she was going to take away for safety purposes. Turns out Cheol-Min had erased any evidence to prove he was abusive by bringing in an in-house doctor and not even letting the girl go to school. Seok-Hoon defends him anyway, though, and blames her for defamation and lies, all through which Cheol-Min wears a dastardly grin on his face. After the deal’s done, Hyo-Min blames Seok-Hoon for doing the wrong thing, but he kind of raises his voice at her and helps her understand that if he hadn’t done what he had done, the girl might’ve been in grave danger because the thing you cannot do is provoke a man like Cheol-Min.
The next few days, Seok-Hoon doesn’t show up to work, and Hyo-Min starts to miss him. When he returns, she’s sleeping in his chair, and it’s a clear sign she’s got a massive crush on this dude, who she believes is married with a child. Soon, Cheol-Min makes a call to Seok-Hoon and tells him that there are police in front of his house, and he can’t let them see his daughter. Seok-Hoon tells him he’ll be there immediately. When he gets there, he calmly asks where the daughter is and tells him he’s going to take her to a doctor. Cheol-Min calls him meticulous, but what he doesn’t know is that Seok-Hoon is rushing the girl to safety.
What Did Seok-Hoon Do When He Didn’t Come In To Work?
Seok-Hoon gets the girl in the car, and Hyo-Min immediately drives them to the hospital. She’s shocked by the turn of events, more so because the maid shows up, saying she was summoned by Seok-Hoon. The days he was missing, he was gathering incriminating information on Cheol-Min. The man was embezzling money from some really big names, and Seok-Hoon knows them better than he does. Seok-Hoon went to one of these wealthy (gangster) businessmen and told them about how he was a fraud and an abuser.
Finally, Seok-Hoon goes back to the house after seeing how badly In-Yeong was injured, with internal bleeding, and beats up Cheol-Min. The businessman shows up with a gang of men, and Cheol-Min thinks they’re there to save him, but they’re actually there on Seok-Hoon’s orders. Seok-Hoon wants them to give him what he deserves, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” He also wins back all the money Cheol-Min stole from the businessman and gets him arrested for fraud and embezzlement. The girl goes back to her mother, who decides to divorce her abusive husband (she had been living separately).
At the end of Beyond The Bar episode 4, Hyo-Min wipes the blood off Seok-Hoon’s bleeding hand. At the hospital, he tells her that In-Yeong should’ve “come to him,” i.e., that she should’ve been born his daughter. He thinks about how people like Cheol-Min are able to have kids, but not him. Hyo-Min tells him he must be a good dad, and he says he’s got no kids; he just co-parents a dog with his ex-wife. The next day at work, he gets a call about said dog, but when he gets there, he meets his rival, i.e., his ex-wife’s new partner. The duo are arguing before the ex-wife shows up and tells them to stop. Seok-Hoon is shocked to see her pregnant. So, I thought in the previous episode it was an imagined scenario, but it seems it was a real situation where his wife is now pregnant with a different man’s baby.
