Café Minamdang Episode 4 Recap (2022 Korean Drama)
**This recap of Café Minamdang Episode 4 contains spoilers**
Trigger Warning: Topics of suicide, murder, rape are a ongoing theme of this show. Please look after yourselves.
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Vice Chairman Shin is inside his villa high on drugs. In his intoxicated state he an appearance of the young woman he caused to die. Unable to find his men he starts wandering outside the residence attempting to drive away in his car.
Hye-Joon and Na-Dan see him and stop him from leaving. They are unable to reach neither Han-Joon or Su-Cheol by phone, so Na-Dan sneaks away to update them. He wants to inform them as well of the police being onsite. After securing Shin, they saw and heard Lt. Han and Prosecutor talking nearby. They are waiting for the arrest warrant to come through and backup to arrive.
Shin’s goons have dragged Inspector Jung to a previously dug hole in the woods and pushed him inside. Han-Joon and Su-Cheol come up with a scheme to scatter and overpower the men. Afterwards they arrive just in time to catch Jung who managed to crawl out of the and was about to run away. When the two remove their masks, Inspector Jung instantly recognizes them.
<<Flashback [3 years ago]>>
Inspector Jung interrogates Han-Joon after accusing him of evidence tampering and involvement in Prosecutor Han’s murder. Initially vehemently proclaiming his innocence, Han-Joon soon realizes he has become the scapegoat in a mayor bribery case that he had nothing to with.
Inspector doesn’t even deny this being the case when Han-Joon asks him straight-out. He tells him instead to just accept it and go to jail.
A emotionally distressed Han-Joon is then taking to the pententiary with no hope of proving his innocence.
The police fires Su-Cheol under accusations of him knowing about the whole thing.
There is no doubt in Han-Joon and Su-Cheol’s mind about Inspector Jung involvement in the whole matter.
<<End of Flaschback>>
Leaving Jung tied up next to the hole, Han-Joon and Su-Cheol demand that he give up his boss. Because someone more powerful than the Inspector must be behind this plot.
In the midst of this, Na-Dan comes to tell them of the police’s arrival at the residence. They manage to set up the scenario of the prayer ritual before Jae-Hui and Cha come upon them.
With Shin’s men now securely placed in the hole and Jung restrained and kept quiet by Hye-Jun and Na-Dan among nearby trees, their plan seems to be working.
After briefly acknowledging Jae-Hui and Cha’s presence, Han-Joon and Su-Cheol continue their pretense ritual. Not receiving an answer to any of her questions about Shin’s whereabouts from the two, she rushes past them and finds the men in the hole.
All of them look worst for wear, rambling about having encountered an evil spirit. Their claims to the presence of said spirit seems confirmed when a haunting wail sounds from somewhere in the darkness of the forest. [The sound is actually from Inspector Jung’s attempt to yell for help after Hye-Joon and Na-Dan fail to keep him quiet for a brief moment.]
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In the meantime the police team has arrived at Shin’s villa. Detectives Jang, Kim and Na barely manage to apprehend a Shin still under the influence of drugs and mistaking them as ghosts.
After hearing the commotion, Jae-Hui and the prosecutor leave to assist her team. Han-Joon allows Shin’s men to make their way out of the hole and towards the residence as well. The team holds on to Inspector Jung as he still has not given them the name of his boss.
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While the police take Shin away, they notice a big brown envelope tucked into the waist of his pants. Taking a closer look, Jae-Hui and Cha notice that it is evidence including a DNA test confirming Shin’s involvement in all charges against him. This also indicates Inspector Jung’s complicity in the matter.
Han-Joon and Su-Cheol with the still restrained Jung are now within earshot of Cha and Jae-Hui. Realizing he might go down as the main instigator for the whole thing, the inspector finally reveals what he knows in exchange for his freedom. Although he does not think this person is the big boss either, he received orders from Superintendent Lim Min-Jun. At Han-Joon’s request, Jung calls Lim and arranges a meeting between the two at Lim’s house.
As the trio pulls up to Lim’s house not long after, they see an ambulance out front and emergency responders taking someone away on a gurney. Lim’s frantic wife manages to communicate to them that he suddenly appears to have suffered a shock. Initial thoughts are that he drank something caffeinated by accident, causing him to have an allergenic episode.
With Inspector Jung’s credentials, they enter to take a look inside the house. Han-Joon observes that Lim never drank from the caffeinated drink, making him suspect that it is a set-up. Superintendent Lim was likely murdered to keep him from disclosing what he knew.
Hearing Han-Joon’s suspicion, Jung starts being extremely worried about his own safety.
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Lim dies on the way to hospital and Jae-Hui finds out medical staff found a needle mark behind his ear.
While Detectives Kim and Na interrogate Shin, Jae-Hui and detective Jang further question actress Min. She eventually slips up, revealing it was Han-Joon who told her to relay the message of Shin’s whereabouts to them at just that time. He was the one who convinced her to go talk to police about what she knows.
After yet another anonymous report directing them to an amusement park, the detectives find Inspector Jung strapped to one of the attractions.
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Han-Joon and Su-Cheol attend Lim’s funeral hoping to gather something new in the case. They take note of the fact that his cremation happened rather quickly and without first performing an autopsy.
On their way out, they see Chairman Cha Seung-Won (Lee Jae-Woon) of Choekang Group, making his appearance.
After receiving payment in cash from CEO Lee (Shin’s wife) for their services, Han-Joon and Su-Cheol go directly to the hospital to see Woo Cheol’s wife. Woo Cheol continues in bad condition after his motorcycle accident caused by Shin.
They proceed to give his wife the money, who hesitates to accept it at first. Han-Joon urges her to hold on to it for now. He ads that she will have use for it in the near future and know when the time to use it has come.
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Jae-Hui coincidentally sees Han-Joon talking to Woo Cheol’s wife at the hospital. She sees him giving her money and assumes it is to cover the husband’s hospital bills.
Afterwards Han-Joon goes to visit Han Jae-Jeong’s resting place at the crematorium. He apologizes for taking so long to catch his killer and promises that he will eventually do so. While there, Han-Joon has a flashback to the past.
<<Flashback>>
Jae-Jeong’s mother has come to the prison to visit Han-Joon and informs him that her husband and their daughter Jang-Mi (Jae-Hui) are about to emigrate to the states. They hope to start again over there. She begs him to never agree to see Jang-Mi, no matter how often she tries to come see him. Han-Joon promises her to do as she wishes and rejects any visitor requests from Jang-Mi. [A/N: This is likely why he does not know that Jae-Hui, Jang-Mi, and his “Ms. Little Police” are one and the same.]
<<END of Flashback>>
After discussing with Cha that the ghost Shin’s men insist on having seen was likely a disguised Han-Joon, Jae-Hui once again goes snooping around Café Minamdang. There she is startles by Han-Joon who sneaks up on her. This results in her punching him square in the face.
Once recovering from the hit, Han-Joon points out the little kangaroo keychain and reveals that he knows it was her that night in his closet. He demands she stop stalking him, especially since she is with the police and stalking is a crime. Why not just tell him she likes him, get rejected and be done with it. Either way, even though he is single, she’s not his type.
Jae-Hui strongly rejects the idea that her interest in him is romantic. She wants to know why he first helped Shin only to then lead police to him and the corrupt Inspector Jung.
Han-Joon corrects her that he never helped Shin since his client always was his wife, Chairwoman Lee. He did what he did as part of her plan to usurp her husbands position. He warns Jae-Hui to spread this around though as it concerns the privacy of a VVIP client of his.
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Jae-Hui feels more confused than ever. She questions him about scheming to make the dash cam inadmissible. When he admits feeling bad about having done so, she asks if that is why he paid for Woo Cheol’s Hospital stay.
This makes Han-Joon realize that she has kept an even closer eye on him than he was aware of. This causes him to warn her again no to fall for him.
Jae-Hui protests once again that her having feelings for Han-Joon is not the reason she is following him. This evokes a laugh from him and the advise that if she does not like him she should stop acting like she does. He also reiterates for her to stop stalking him and keep her distance because next time it happens he will call report her.
Jae-Hui returns home extremely annoyed but also still so confused about Han-Joon’s real character. She spends the better part of the night going through his file and researching him. This results in her waking up late the next morning and having to rush to work where she is to give a presentation.
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While Su-Cheol, Hye-Joon and Na-Dan celebrate with some barbequed grilled pork at home, Han-Joon is feeling down. He was going to buy himself a collectible item with the money from Ms. Lee which has now gone to Woo Cheol’s wife instead.
However, a call from Ms. Kim, a new VVIP client cheers him right up. She believes there is a ghost in her house as she has seen a shadowy figure a few times recently after awaking at night.
Han-Joon [wearing glasses with a build in camera] and Su-Cheol visit their client at her house in a obviously very affluent area of town. While Su-Cheol takes a look around the front of the house, Han-Joon goes inside and has Ms. Kim describe to him again what she witnessed. Trough surveillance, Hye-Joon also checks out the house and surrounding area from her computer room.
Han-Joon notices a dog door leading outside from the kitchen. Going outside he spots small footprints leading to a nearby sewer manhole in Ms. Kim’s backyard. Communicating his findings to Su-Cheol he instructs him to see if there is another manhole in the nearby street as well. Han-Joon has a suspicion that the figure Ms. Kim saw is human and not a ghost.
Su-Cheol finds the manhole and also sees a suspiciously dirty looking boy standing nearby. He tries to catch the kid but is met with resistance. The ensuing scuffle causes a neighbour to call the police.
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Jae-Hui and Detective Jang arrive and are about to arrest Su-Cheol as the kid accuses him of attempted kidnapping.
Han-Joon exits Ms. Kim’s house and tells them to let Su-Cheol go, roughly explaining what is going on. Two kids have been using the sewer system to access Ms. Kim’s house to steal food. He advises the second kid is likely still hiding in the sewer system right now.
Everyone except Jae-Hui promptly comes up with an excuse as to why they simply cannot go into the smelly sewer to retrieve the other boy. Keeping one of the protective suits for herself, she hands the other one to Han-Joon despite his protests. Aware that his glasses likely contain a hidden camera, she threatens to expose his whole shaman con unless he joins her. She will also be able to take legal action against him as he conducted surveillance without a person’s knowledge and consent.
Together they make their way down into the sewer system where they do find the younger of the two brothers. Assuring the scared little boy that they mean him no harm, the trio is about to leave when Han-Joon spots something on the ground.
Following the eerie familiar looking piece of cloth deeper into the sewer, his blood runs cold as he rounds a corner. Before him lies the decaying body of a female wrapped in burial shroud. Jae-Hui, following closely behind him, also turns ashen upon seeing the scene.
Both recognize the modus operandi [MO] as belonging to the killer of Han Jae-Jeong. While Jae-Hui says the name Choi Yeong-Seop, Han-Joon exclaims “Goburi”. A serial killer they have been chasing but who seemed to have disappeared has claimed another victim.
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Epilogue [Past]
A call-out over the police radio alerts Jae-Hui about the discovery of a burned body. Hye-Joon, always secretly monitoring these calls, reports the discovery to Han-Joon. Both parties end up going to the scene.
As one leaves, the other arrives. Jae-Hui and Han-Joon walk right past each other unaware of their identities.
Café Minamdang Episode 4 END
