Café Minamdang Episode 12 Recap (2022 Korean Drama)
**This Café Minamdang Episode 12 Recap contains spoilers**
Trigger Warning: Topics of suicide, murder, rape are a ongoing theme of this show. Please look after yourselves.
Cha observes his brother Seung-Won joining the VIP table and notices Gu walking away from that area.
Gu and his men take an unconscious Han-Joon and Su-Cheol away while Hye-Joon looks on via surveillance. She proceeds to call Jae-Hui to tell her about the men’s kidnapping. She in turn calls detective Jang to have the team assist.
Park Jin-Sang and CEO Lee happen to witness the men being taken away in the parking lot and take a video. When Jae-Hui and Cha run up to them, they provide her with the recording which caught the cars license plate.
The police team drives into the parking lot just then and goes in pursuit of the kidnappers after collecting Jae-Hui and Cha.
Café Minamdang Episode 12
Hye-Joon is still able to connect to Han-Joon’s eyeglasses camera and forwards that info to Jae-Hui. Shortly after the connection stops but in the last image Hye-Joon can make out part of a sign reading ‘IEND’ in the background. She gives this information to Jae-Hui.
Having arrived at their remote destination, Gu notices Han-Joon’s glassses, takes them off him and steps on them. With Han-Joon slowly coming to, he and Su-Cheol are roughly thrown unto the concrete floor of what appears to be an old warehouse.
Gu demands to know what the men heard and why they are looking into this. Han-Joon counters that Gu is going to kill them both regardless of him telling what he knows or not. Su-Cheol is still lying on the ground semi conscious, not really aware of their current situation.
Café Minamdang Episode 12
Due to the kidnapper’s threat, Han-Joon agrees to spill what he knows. He proceed to say that Gu was his target but that he since discovered the bigwigs behind him as the real people in charge. All the while he keeps secretly trying to wake up Su-Cheol by pinching him and stepping on his hand. (A/N: Poor Su-Cheol!!)
He proceeds to name mayor Lee Myeong-Jun as rapist and murderer of 18-year-old Kang Eun-Hye. Han-Joon admits to have thought Auntie Im as being the mastermind behind Gu. But turns out Cha Seung-Won of Choekang Constructions seems to also be involved in what ever they are scheming. A mayor, an assemblyman and a high-ranking prosecutor, all getting together for a land development project.
Gu replies that this is not a game someone like Han-Joon would understand. Han-Joon mocks him asking if that’s what Auntie Im said to him. He states that Gu is just a disposable prawn to them and they will get rid of him once the project is finished. The later Han-Joon overheard earlier while eavesdropping on the VIP table. Without anything further, Gu gives the command to his men to get rid of both Han-Joon and Su-Cheol before walking off to the side.
Café Minamdang Episode 12
While Jae-Hui and Cha arrive where Gu dropped Han-Joon’s glasses, he is desperate to get both himself and his friend out alive. Resorting to extreme measures, he hits Su-Cheol over the head with a piece of wood, which unbelievable finally brings him back to his senses. Thinking it was Gu’s men who hit him, Su-Cheol is eager to make them pay. Leaving his men behind to fight, Gu takes his leave.
While Jae-Hui and the team run towards the sounds of the fight, Detective Jang notices Gu walking by on the other side of a nearby door and follows him. Cha decides to go after Jang.
Jae-Hui arrives at the scene of the fight just in time to knock out the bad guys. Her obvious worry for his wellbeing has Han-Joon going all heart eyes
Jang catches up to Gu and a fight ensues. Just as Gu is about to win and get away, Cha cuts him off. However, Gu manages to grab Jang in a chokehold threatening to kill him if Cha doesn’t let him go. When Jang asks Gu if he is Lim Yeong-Ju, the man seems surprised, lets go of Jang and runs away in his nearby van.
As they sit on the ground trying to catch their breath, Cha asks Jang if he knows Lim Yeong-Ju. Jang says he is not sure abut will tell him once he confirms a few things.
Café Minamdang Episode 12
Now at the Daeun Police Station, they listen to the recording obtained by Han-Joon’s team. Things get awkward when Cha Seung-Won’s voice is heard since Prosecutor Cha is also still with them. He assures them to not mind him. Even if Seung-Won is his brother, he has to be punished if he was involved in something bad.
After several members of the team voice their disgust at the casual manner in which the men at the VIP table discussed Eun-Hye’s death, their focus turns to Auntie Im. Knowing first hand how shrouded in mystery she is, has Han-Joon thinking that she does not trust others. It is also likely that she has something on all these officials to ensure they won’t dare to betray her. For starters, they need to get whatever information Gu has before she gets to him. They decide to see if there is any evidence of a connection between the name Lim Yeong-Ju and Auntie Im.
Jae-Hui offers to drive Han-Joon and Su-Cheol home with the pretext that she lives in the same area. A worried Hye-Joon awaits them both but to their surprise runs towards Su-Ceol instead of her brother. Despite him putting on a show about her injuries, Hye-Joon’s focus is on Su-Cheol. She asks Jae-Hui to take care of her brother before exiting the room dragging Su-Cheol with her.
Han-Joon and Jae-Hui proceed to have coffee in the siblings upstairs living quarters. On a tour of the house, Jae-Hui discovers a little figurine she gave him years ago on his nightstand. When he follows her into the room, she teases him about not remembering her but holding on to her gift. A almost-moment between the two is interrupted by Han-Joon suddenly feeling the pain from the earlier fight in his back.
Café Minamdang Episode 12
Although previously refusing, he now accepts Jae-Hui’s help to place plasters on the many bruises on his back. One thing leads to another and the two are about to kiss when Han-Joon’s phone receives an incoming call from CEO Lee. Displeased he gives his phone a evil stare but does not answer the call.
Instead he starts wondering aloud where Hye-Joon has gone. This prompts a conversation between them about his protectiveness over his sister. Jae-Hui remembers her brother used to be the same way towards her. She admits to having been annoyed by his nagging before but now that he’s gone she misses it.
Han-Joon’s offer to consider him as a brother going forward is met with rejection. He teases if she would instead like to consider him as her boyfriend or husband. Jae-Hui states that she does not see him as anything at all and to get over himself.
Despite her denial, Han-Joon continues to tease her by reminding her that she used to have a major crush on him. She admits that used to be the case but only for a very short time in the past. She definitely has no special feelings for him currently.
In disbelief and with a slightly hurt look, he questions if her heart really does not beat faster at the thought of him. Looking at her up close she can’t hide the fact that she is affected by him. But before anything further can happen, Han-Joon’s phone ringing startles both of them.
Café Minamdang Episode 12
Meanwhile Hye-Joon is hanging out at Su-Cheol’s apartment where he is preparing them something to eat. Despite trying to deflect her advances to him, Su-Cheol is not match for a determined Hye-Joon. After she confesses realizing how deeply she cares for him after the days scary events, she kisses him. Rendered defenseless by her words and show of affection, Su-Cheol finally admits to liking her as well, returning her kisses.
Back at the Nam residence, Han-Joon and Jae-Hui fell asleep on the couch leaning on each other while waiting for his sister to return home. Han-Joon wakes up and after a half-hearted attempt of waking Jae-Hui, he proceeds to adjust her sleeping position to a more comfortable one. Carefully placing her head on his lap, Han-Joon watches over her as she sleeps. (A/N: Why is this always so cute in dramas/movies but in real life would feel a bit creepy?)
Café Minamdang Episode 12
The next morning Su-Cheol drives Hye-Joon back to Café Minamdang. Holding hands, they share a brief kiss and talk, with Hye-Joon reminding him to stop his nervous hiccups so as not to alert her brother. Walking inside, they find said brother and Jae-Hui asleep together on the couch. Giggling in a teasing manner, they are quick to document the moment in photographs.
Startled awake by the noise, both are instantly in defense against any teasing about them spending the night together. A look at the time then has Jae-Hui rushing out the door after exclaiming that she is late.
Within seconds of her departure, Han-Joon turns the spotlight from himself to his friend and sister, asking about their own whereabouts. He especially puts pressure on Su-Cheol, suspicious of what happened. Hye-Joon states she spent the night at an internet café and ran into Su-Cheol in front of Minamdang just now as she came home. At both their insistence, he has no choice but to drop the matter.
Jae-Hui walks into the police station where detective Na hands her the contact number for the real Gu Tae-Su’s family. It appears he was adopted overseas and on bad terms with his family at the time of his disappearance. When calling them, Jae-Hui is told they haven’t had contact with him since he moved to Korea and to not call them again.
The team discusses how being estranged from family and without friends made Gu a perfect target for identity theft. They wonder about the fake Gu Tae-Su and why his prints did not flag his real identity in the system. Perhaps he never registered in the first place.
Café Minamdang Episode 12
Detective Jang goes to the site of an old house partially destroyed by fire. Looking through the rubble, he locates the picture of a woman with a small boy standing next to her.
Han-Joon and the team are hanging out in Café Minamdang. While Hye-Joon and Su-Cheol are secretly flirting with each other, a suspicious Han-Joon does not manage to catch them. Discussing the case, he instructs Hye-Joon to look through Gu’s earlier credit card statements to try and find his possible hide-out. Her search reveals that he used to frequent a restaurant named Forte. Han-Joon seems to be familiar with the place and goes to take a look at it by himself.
The police is unable to find any CCTV that could trace where Gu went the night before. Jae-Hui instructs her team to look into public transportation and taxis in the area to see if he used that method to get away. In the midst of this, Han-Joon calls to request they meet face-to-face at Forte restaurant inside Sinmyeong Hotel.
Café Minamdang Episode 12
After a quick stop at her place for a outfit change, Jae-Hui goes to meet up with Han-Joon. Although he keeps insisting they are there to strictly investigate, his actions make it obvious that he called her out for a date. He even got her flowers. Hye-Joon and Su-Cheol are able to witness the whole thing through the restaurant’s CCTV.
To Han-Joon’s dismay, Cha calls Jae-Hui asking to meet and she tells him to join them at Forte. Upon the prosecutors arrival, the three proceed to ask the restaurants bartender about Gu Tae-Su. The man recognizes Gu from the picture shown as a regular but says he has not come by for the past few weeks. He elaborates that Gu would usually come the fourth Thursday of the month at 8 pm and always appeared to be alone.
When Han-Joon pulls out a picture of Cha Seung-Won to ask the bartender if he has ever seen that man, Cha excuses himself to make a call. He tries to find out through his brother’s secretary if his brother frequents Forte but is told he cannot reveal Seung-Won’s schedule under any circumstances. The secretary does inform him that his brother will be at the office late tonight and suggests Cha come speak to him in person. After ending the call, Cha then calls Jae-Hui to inform her that something came up with a case and he has to leave. She promises to call him if they find out anything.
Café Minamdang Episode 12
Further conversation with the bartender reveals the possibility of Gu owning a trailer and staying at different campsites. Han-Joon calls Hye-Joon to have her do a search of campsites but is informed that she is already doing so. Surprised about how she knows, she readily admits to placing a bug and GPS tracker on his person due to his recent kidnapping incident. After disconnecting the call, Han-Joon checks his outfit in an attempt to find said bug.
Meanwhile Cha arrives at this brother’s office and walks straight in to speak with him. Without delay he asks him about Gu Tae-Su, his involvement in Choi Jeong-Cheol’s murder, and the VIP table assembly at the recent party. Seung-Won’s reply that the meeting involving those high officials was regarding business elicits a sarcastic laugh from Cha. He questions if Kang Eun-Hye’s death was also just business to him. In regards to Auntie Im, Cha wonders if she was the one who under their father’s order made Seung-Won’s previous case go away.
Seung-Won angrily shouts at his brother to shut up as he doesn’t know anything. Cha retorts by asking Seung-Won if he really is willing to go that far to become the president of Choekang Constructions. In response Seung-Won accuses him of always looking down on him when in fact Cha is not any better than himself. Cha counters that he at least got to where he is through hard work and not by cheating .
Café Minamdang Episode 12
As their discussion continues, he warns his brother to stop whatever he is up to or he will come after him as a prosecutor. Declaring that it was their father who ruined Seung-Won by always cleaning up after him, Cha departs from his brother’s office. A angry and shaken Seung-Won grabs his head in pain before taking some pills from a nearby box. These seem to calm him down.
Meanwhile the team has tracked down Gu’s trailer to the Samcheon Campsite. Jae-Hui forwards the location provided by Hye-Joon to her Team so they may join her and Han-Joon there. The two of them plus Su-Cheol and Hye-Joon arrive at the campsite first.
The manager of the campground recognizes Gu from a picture and confirms he does park his RV there. He appears to move it back and forth between their two big parking lots and he does not know the spot it is in at this moment. They are a free campsite so no registration is required and people can park their campers wherever. This also means that although he recently saw Gu leaving in a sedan, there is not record of the license plate.
They split up in order to faster locate the RV. As nighttime falls, Jae-Hui comes across a camper slightly isolated from the rest. After a brief check indicates no one to be inside, she proceed to break the lock.
Café Minamdang Episode 12
Unbeknownst to her, she is being watched by a camera installed on the outside of the camper. The person watching her via his mobile is none other than Gu Tae-Su, currently at a nearby gas station. After hesitating for only a moment, Gu pays the attendant with his credit card instead of cash for a container of gasoline just obtained.
Jae-Hui’s team calls her to advise of Gu’s credit card being used just now at a gas station near her location. She instructs them to head in that direction instead to confirm it was in fact Gu who made the purchase. Jae-Hui also informs them that she believes to have found his camper, and will update them after having a look around.
Entering the camper, Jae-Hui discovers pictures and other items like white heels and a stack of folded burial shrouds. She calls Han-Joon to inform her of her find and indicates the RV’s approximate location to him. Taking a closer look at a picture depicting a woman with a small boy by her side, she thinks to herself that the mother resembles Kang Eun-Hye.
A noise outside alerts her and has her running towards the door. The door has been chained close from the outside. A terrified Jae-Hui can only look on as Gu Tae-Su proceeds to splash gasoline all over the outside of the camper. Looking straight at her, he lights it on fire and walks away.
Café Minamdang Episode 12
Han-Joon notices the fire and runs towards it while calling Su-Cheol, telling him Jae-Hui is in trouble and to come help. Nearing the burning camper, he bumps into Gu and after a brief altercation has him pinned to the ground. Looking at Han-Joon and then the burning trailer with a sinister smile, Gu asks him what he will choose. Save Jae-Hui, or apprehend him.
Epilogue
Gu Tae-Su enters an elevator. Just before the doors close, Kang Eun-Hye enters as well and proceeds to greet him. Her smile seems to elicit a memory in Gu. A flashback shows a woman wearing white shoes sitting in a chair and beckoning a smiling little boy to join her. A photographer then takes their picture. The picture that was found by detective Jang inside the burning building earlier in the episode.
Café Minamgdang Episode 12 END
Authors Note
Wow!! This was yet another rollercoaster. Each episode so many things happen that I feel my head spinning. My only complaint about this episode was Jae-Hui’s reckless behavior. Come on Girl, you’re a experienced police officer!
Until next week,
Cee
