We sometimes come across a person who makes us realize that it is not the profession that is bad but the people running it. In Bloodhounds, Choi Tae-ho’s kindness and generosity won our hearts. He initially started as a money lender or loan shark but eventually had a change of heart. When we first met Mr. Choi, he was sitting in a wheelchair inside his little bookstore, looking like a regular man. A woman arrived at his doorstep to return the money that Mr. Choi had lent her for her daughter’s surgery. She even told him that her daughter would have died if Mr. Choi hadn’t stepped in. But any loan shark would have helped her with money, so what made Mr. Choi different? Well, it was his method. He never pressured the woman to return the money, as he knew that his wealth was being used to save a person’s life. Additionally, he didn’t charge a single penny as interest because he believed that God had given him enough to lead a content life. Throughout the series, we notice that greed is the single most important factor that turns humans into bloodhounds, but Mr. Choi chooses not to be one. And the reasons for such a decision were deeply rooted in his past.
Born to a humble family of farmers, Mr. Choi had to watch his father die a ruthless death. He had taken a loan from some money lenders in the village, but due to a fatal famine, he wasn’t able to pay the debt. Mr. Choi was only ten when his father died in his arms because his family didn’t have enough money to take him to the hospital. The incident left a scar on Mr. Choi’s heart, and he later decided to earn enough money so that he could help those who couldn’t afford medical treatment. Perhaps it was his way of honoring his father’s death and making sure that no one else went through the same.
Even though Mr. Choi wanted to help people and make a difference, he ended up in a shady business and probably lost his way. Like all other loan sharks in Bloodhounds, Mr. Choi used to charge high rates of interest on loans. He even used to lend money to large corporations, which sometimes refused to pay it back. To deal with such people, Mr. Choi employed five ace knifers to fight the gangs hired by these powerful people. In short, Mr. Choi had to spill blood to get back his money, and it wasn’t something he was proud of. But even then, he stood by his principles and tried to do the right thing. But soon an incident happened that influenced Mr. Choi’s decision to shut down his business completely.
It was a cold winter morning when Mr. Choi found out that one of his clients had committed suicide. Surprisingly, Mr. Choi couldn’t understand the reason behind such a grave step, as he had given an interest-free loan to this man along with an infinite time period to return the money. The person mentioned used to work multiple jobs to support his only daughter and had been doing quite well, so why did he decide to end everything?
Mr. Choi’s knifers investigated the mysterious suicide of the person and found out that one of his employees, Kim Myung-gil, paid a visit to this man along with his muscleman, Kang In-beom. Myung-gil used to threaten Mr. Choi’s clients to recover hefty loan extension fees in order to fill his own pockets, and Mr. Choi was totally unaware of his practices until two or three innocent people lost their lives. Perhaps these deaths took a toll on Mr. Choi’s heart, which is why he decided to shut down the business completely so that no one could exploit people on his behalf. Mr. Choi even adopted the dead person’s daughter, Kim Hyeon-joo, in order to relieve himself of some of the guilt. Later, he looked after Hyeon-joo like his own daughter and taught her the tricks of the trade so she could continue his legacy.
Mr. Choi wanted to help people who couldn’t afford their medical expenses, but people like Myung-gil never understood his plight. He was an ex-convict who chose to remain a criminal even when a person like Mr. Choi gave him a chance to redeem himself. In the end, when Mr. Choi decided to put up the shutters, Myung-gil planned a robbery in his office to steal what was left in Mr. Choi’s safe. Mr. Choi tried to stop him from stealing his hard-earned money, but In-beom threw him out the window, which crippled Mr. Choi for life. He could have taken his revenge, but he didn’t want any more people to get hurt, which is why he disappeared from the scene along with his two surviving knifemen. Throughout these years, Mr. Choi kept a low profile and continued lending no-interest loans to people who really needed them.
In the meantime, Myung-gil’s illegal business gained a lot of momentum. Mr. Choi could have stopped him earlier, but he chose not to for Hyeon-joo’s safety. But perhaps it was destined that he would face his nemesis once again. We all wanted Mr. Choi to take his revenge, but alas, that day didn’t come. Myung-gil found Mr. Choi’s whereabouts and arrived at his home with his little army, where he mercilessly killed Mr. Choi and stole all his money. Soon after his death, Hyeon-joo left the country and rented a small apartment in Rome, where Mr. Choi had promised to take her. We believe she made the right decision by giving up her pursuit, or Myung-gil would have killed her too.
Kim Geon-woo, on the other hand, didn’t give up the battle that he had started and waited long enough to strike back to destroy Myung-gil’s kingdom. In the end, Geon-woo finally confronted Myung-gil in a one-on-one fight and knocked him down as the ultimate payback. Finally, he was arrested by Interpol and would probably be serving a sentence for his long list of serious crimes. Meanwhile, Geon-woo gave away all the gold bars to Hong Min-beom, who would use the money to build a hospital in Mr. Choi’s name so that his legacy would continue forever. It was the only gift he could give to his boss, who had taught him so much about kindness, and we believe it was the reason why Mr. Choi shared his childhood dream with Geon-woo, as in his eyes, Geon-woo was the only person who could fulfill it.
