The number one question after watching this episode of Strong Girl Nam Soon is whether Ryu Si O is really that gullible. This man who drinks drugs and their antidotes like they are vitamin supplements actually fell for a girl because she made him sing a stupid song and said something inane about city lights? It’s all just very off, and in many ways, it is to be questioned why the mother, daughter, and granddaughter don’t just bulldoze Doogo to the ground with their strength. That will halt their operations once and for all. Additionally, why are the subtitles different from what is being said in the translation? Who is handling this show? The questions whose answers don’t have any actual impact are feeling tiresome, so going through the recap would be wiser.
Spoiler Alert
Why does Ryu Si-O take the drug?
There is a reason Si O is coming across as quite stupid. He always keeps an eye on Nam Soon but does not notice that she is wearing designer clothes or wonder where she is getting the money for that when she has just gotten there from Mongolia and Si O is not paying her in millions. The stupidity could be the side effect of taking the drug and its antidote too many times, but that is just a guess.
Si O takes some of the drugs and beats up someone who comes from Russia to check on the antidote. Si O had developed the antidote using Pavel’s resources, but since he was the one to do the whole thing, he didn’t want to hand it over to the mafia. Once he is done rage-letting, he takes the antidote and asks Nam Soon to lunch. This man thinks that she is his friend and possible future girlfriend, and he is pampering her accordingly. No wonder the mafia has not handed over the reins to him, considering he is so gullible.
In the meantime, Geum Ju finds that Pavel is unlike other mafias because they intensively train their recruits in business, politics, and finance, polishing them with an intellect that is on par with world leaders. That is what enables them to operate such ambitious projects, and Si O is no different. But this sharp-jawline sporting villain has a tragic story. If only he were slightly complicated instead of being outright evil, there would have been another reason to fall in love with him. He really opens up to Nam Soon and tells her his real name and how he lost his friend back then. It probably happened when he tried to run away from the mafia. Throughout this time, Nam Soon is still gauging for information, and she is getting closer than she realizes.
On the other hand, since Si O’s man in jail has been killed, Hee Sik rushes to arrest the last witness who may help them. She is the one who gave Geum Ju the antidote, and Hee Sik tells her that it won’t be long before she is also killed by her organization if she doesn’t start helping the police. What Hee Sik wants from her is to gather a list of all the clients in the country. The drug ring operates by giving the drug to rich and unsuspecting people and then blackmailing them for the money. This woman was one of many with a client list, and for a complete crackdown on Pavel, Hee Sik needs all the details he can get.
Elsewhere, Si O is cleaning up some of the mess that has been created by the captain’s death. The man wrote a detailed diary where he noted down everything he knew, including names and witnesses, and that is an extremely incriminating piece of evidence. No one had anticipated that he would place his duty over his addiction, and that is the reason for the current problems. The prosecutor is definitely against Si O, but the latter is more than prepared for it. Pavel is extremely well-connected, and Si O already has more power and influence than the prosecutor could imagine. That means that no matter the evidence, it will all boil down to their word against each other, and Si O will win that. The prosecutor has no choice but to side with Si O in the end.
What Happens To Geum Ju’s Secretary?
There is a lot of scrutiny on Geum Ju from Si O, as he has found that the person in the hospital has to be a fake. Nevertheless, he sends someone to kill that person, and there is honestly no saying to whom this futile exercise was helpful. Geum Ju tells everyone in her family to stay in their houses and not venture out for a few days due to the threats to their lives. For Bong Go and Nam In, this is a party. Joong Gan is still trying to convince the doctor to marry her son, and she wouldn’t be scared anyway. Geum Ju tells her secretary to lay low for a while, and Nam Soon starts living with Hee Sik. The girl has no guile, and she straight away tells Hee Sik that she needs to be with someone she loves, and it is quite evident who she is talking about. This is really not a love story, but we always appreciate it when the villain brings more chemistry to the screen than the male lead.
Hee Sik is working overnight while Si O slowly starts getting more possessive of Nam Soon. He wants to know who she lives with and whether he can help her get her citizenship or a bigger apartment. Si O wants Nam Soon to be closer to him, and she tells him that for that to happen, she has to know why Doogo, a logistics company, has a research lab. This should have been another clue for Si O, but he has been blinded by love. In many ways, first love really is the worst because it has the strongest rose-tinted glasses.
At the end of Episode 12, Bread Song finally meets Geum Ju. These two are not destined to date, but their secretaries are. Regardless, Bread asks Geum Ju to date him if she wants to know about his picture with Si O. Elsewhere, Hee Sik gets the puffer coat for Geum Ju that has all the drugs stored in it, but Geum Ju’s secretary is attacked and killed by Si O’s men. Finally, Nam Soon’s love story somersaults forward, and it is completely exasperating and not the least bit swoon-worthy.
Final Thoughts
Si O wants Nam Soon by his side so that he can fight Pavel. That means that her betrayal may not completely break his heart. But Geum Ju and Bong Go getting back together may be more interesting if that ever happens. This is all we look forward to.
