The ninth episode of Mad Concrete Dreams starts with a flashback to nine years ago that shows Su-jong’s troubled past. He was working in HR at Yongshin Trading at the time and was having a hard time with a company restructuring that made him fire half of the workers. In the meantime, Kim-sun suggested that Da-rae go to school in another country.
Su-jong thought about leaving the corporate world to start his own business because he was unhappy with his job. That’s when Hwal-sung came up to him with an investment opportunity: buying the Seyun Building. The plan was to split the money equally, but Su-jong didn’t have enough, so Hwal-sung suggested getting a loan. Su-jong made the down payment, and the property was put in his name.
Su-jong got a bank loan to pay for his part, and Kim-gyun helped with the first payment. But Hwal-sung didn’t keep his end of the deal, which was the start of Su-jong’s financial problems. If Su-jong backed out of the deal, he would lose the down payment, so he took out more loans, finished the purchase, and quit his job. Later, he found out that the area was no longer eligible for redevelopment. Hwal-sung already knew this, so the investment was a huge loss.
In the present timeline, Yi-gyeong takes Da-rae hostage and locks her in the same cold storage room where Hwal-sung and Su-jong had kept her before. Yi-gyeong is angry that Da-rae lied to her and tells her how angry she is that others betrayed her behind her back.
Da-rae says she knows exactly how that feels. Because she is deaf, she has often felt left out, like the world goes on without her. She didn’t know what her parents were talking about when they talked about private things in front of her because she couldn’t hear. She begs Yi-gyeong not to make the same mistakes again, but Yi-gyeong, who is in a lot of pain, says that her parents have to go through what she did.
Su-jong and Kim-sun hurry to the Seyun Building after getting a message from Yi-gyeong. Su-jong’s first plan is to stick to their story that Kim-sun only helped Hwal-sung without knowing about the kidnapping, but their lies don’t last long. A tape that Dong-chul gave to Hwal-sung’s car shows that they were involved.
Su-jong and Kim-sun have to confess because they have no choice. They get down on their knees and beg Yi-gyeong not to hurt Da-rae. Yi-gyeong lets them see her first, but then she makes them record a video confession of their crimes.
Su-jong takes full responsibility when it’s his turn, saying he did it all by himself. He even falsely admits to killing Hwal-sung, even though he is still alive. Then, Su-jong offers himself as a way to make up for what he did. He suggests killing Hwal-sung, who is currently working against Yi-gyeong to get her mother’s money. He says that everything started with him and should end with him.
He says he will do the act and turn himself in, but he asks Yi-gyeong to let Kim-sun and Da-rae keep the Seyun Building and not hurt them. Yi-gyeong agrees, but she keeps Da-rae hostage and sends Dong-chul to watch over them.
But Su-jong and Kim-sun don’t really want to kill Hwal-sung. Instead, they come up with a plan that is similar to Romeo and Juliet’s. They want to give him a drug that slows his heart rate and makes him look dead. They get in touch with one of Kim-sun’s friends to get the things they need.
At the same time, Hwal-sung thinks about what Su-jong said earlier about Yi-gyeong’s pregnancy. After that, he goes to a baby store and buys things for newborns. Then he gets a call from Kim-sun. Even though he doesn’t want to meet her at first, she keeps asking, and he finally agrees.
Su-jong and Kim-sun then kidnap him and take him to one of his buildings. During the whole thing, Dong-chul keeps Yi-gyeong up to date in real time, but she still thinks they don’t have the guts to kill him.
Dong-chul sees them suffocating Hwal-sung, which shows that this assumption is wrong. He falls down and doesn’t move, and Dong-chul sends Yi-gyeong a picture. She breaks down in shock and disbelief, realizing that they might have really done it.
The moment changes how she sees things. Her face gets darker as she looks at Da-rae, which could mean that she is now trying to take away what is most important to Su-jong and Kim-sun. Da-rae is scared and tries to get away.
Su-jong and Kim-sun call Dong-chul for help at the scene. They want to make Hwal-sung’s death look like an accident by throwing his body out of the building. They plan to use a taser to incapacitate Dong-chul without him knowing, which will give them time to bring Hwal-sung back to life.
But the plan falls apart quickly. Su-jong gets tasered, and Kim-sun has to use a hammer to protect herself as Dong-chul gets closer. At the same time, her phone rings to let her know that four minutes have passed, which is the last chance to save Hwal-sung. If they don’t do something right away, he might die for real.
Review of the Episode
In Episode 9, the characters get more and more desperate, and each one takes more extreme steps to avoid the effects of their past choices. Su-jong, Kim-sun, and Hwal-sung keep making the same mistakes, and Yi-gyeong is in danger of losing herself completely by doing the same thing.
There’s no denying that the episode is tense, but the story is starting to lose its credibility. There are so many strange things going on with this group that it’s hard to ignore the fact that the police haven’t done anything useful. At the same time, some subplots seem to be ignored, especially the investigation into Kim-gyun’s death and Ju-ran’s part in finding out what really happened.
Even though the drama is still exciting, it will need to tie up these loose ends soon to keep the story going.