4 Times That Masks Crumbled In Episodes 7-8 Of "Numbers"

The second half of “Numbers” begins with a bang as masks start to fall, antagonists start getting cornered, and villains resort to increasingly dangerous methods of keeping people quiet. Jang Ho Woo (Kim Myung Soo), Han Seung Jo (Choi Jin Hyuk), and Jin Yeon Ah (Yeonwoo) know they have allies in each other, but they’re facing the equivalent of a dynasty and a villain who knows no bounds in Han Je Gyun (Choi Min Soo). As his noose around them starts to narrow, everyone’s masks start to slip. Here are four illusions that fully shattered this week!

Warning: spoilers for episodes 7-8 below.

1. Han Je Gyun is the mysterious An that Ho Woo was searching for

At first, Ho Woo is convinced that Ahn Seung Yeon (Bae Hae Sun) is the mysterious figure named An who manages HK Equity. As a private fund, the fund operator is well-shielded. Trouble is, An is also the person who wired the funds into HK Equity that allowed it to purchase the patents owned by Ho Woo’s foster father’s company Haebit Construction. In effect, whoever it was purposefully had Haebit Construction liquidated so that HK Equity could swoop in, take all of Haebit Construction’s assets, and walk off with a tidy set of golden eggs to sell to rich politicians.

Yeon Ah and Seung Jo explain how this works to Ho Woo. Passing on stocks and money to their children leaves records. However, giving their children an asset like a patent allows chaebols and politicians to dangle methods of production over various companies’ heads, which, in turn, means that the children of these chaebols and politicians will receive income from those companies for using “their” patents. It’s just plain unethical, especially since those patents were obtained by forcing perfectly profitable companies into bankruptcy so that a rich person could give his kid a shiny, money-producing cash cow.

Ho Woo finds that Seung Yeon helped create a slush fund for Chairman Lee Chang Joo (Jung Hae Kyun) of Sang Ah Group, which is held by HK Equity. He confronts her about being An, but she denies saying that even she doesn’t know who it is. But it takes Ho Woo and Seung Jo only a chance moment to find out. There’s no financial trail. There’s nothing in the way of proof. But there’s only one person diabolical enough to pull this off. Han Je Gyun. The mysterious “An” was actually Seung Jo’s father all along. And Je Gyun is holding some dangerous cards as he prepares to wage a war of domination.

2. Jang Ji Soo is a mom

Jang Ji Soo (Kim Yoo Ri) has presented herself as ice-cold and willing to do anything to work her way up HK Equity, such that she can get to the bottom of the mysterious An who was after her father’s proprietary technology and ruined him to do so. Her relationship with Seung Jo is still quite strained, with her having resented him for years and him having done nothing to clear his name when he wasn’t the one who wrote the report that doomed Haebit Construction. Rather, Shim Hyung Woo (Sungyeol) did.

After learning the truth from Ho Woo, Ji Soo approaches Hyung Woo to demand that he provide her with information that could destabilize Je Gyun. She sees it as the least he can do. The trouble is that Je Gyun has even more dangerous information on her. Ji Soo is a mother to a five or six-year-old son, very likely Seung Jo’s son. Je Gyun holds the pictures of her child over Ji Soo’s head to get her, as HK Equity’s representative, to vote the way he wants at a shareholder meeting.

Seung Jo finds out about the pictures and is beside himself. He knows that he’s the child’s father but also knows that Ji Soo won’t take anything he offers her at this time. He still hasn’t avenged her father’s death and has beaten himself up for years over that. He sets out to foil Je Gyun’s planned shareholder meeting. Je Gyun attempted to pull a fast one over Chairman Lee Chang Joo by supporting his wealthier younger brother Lee Sung Joo (Jung Woong In). He convinced Chang Joo that he was on his side while secretly working to undermine him by having Sung Joo buy up Sang Ah Group’s shares. By the time Chang Joo found out, Je Gyun was certain that he wouldn’t be able to halt ownership of Sang Ah Group going over to his brother. But Seung Jo doesn’t allow that. He and Ho Woo canvass enough votes to win over shareholders to Lee Chang Joo and secure his position as Chairman. In doing so, they gain a valuable ally in Lee Chang Joo and a dangerous enemy in Lee Sung Joo. And Je Gyun loses big.

3.  Shim Hyung Woo has a conscience

Shim Hyung Woo is a fascinating character in that he epitomizes what it means to have to sell yourself to get to the top. He rose hard and fast above his superiors like Kang Hyun (Kim Young Jae). And he’s starting to feel the squeeze. He spends all day sucking up to these wealthy people, spying on others as per Je Gyun’s requests, and manipulating everyone in sight, playing with their lives. And it’s starting to really wear on him. Hyung Woo knows Je Gyun better than anyone at this point, perhaps even better than Seung Jo. And he’s growing weary of having to sell his conscience and hurt people in order to get a few words of praise from Je Gyun, plus a promise of a promotion that never seems to be coming.

So, when Je Gyun asks him to get rid of a bunch of evidence, financial reports that Je Gyun had other people manipulate to hide slush funds, illegal transactions, and the works, Hyung Woo can barely take it anymore. He goes to Ji Soo with information on Je Gyun. But Je Gyun has his spies and discovers that Hyung Woo may be about to turn tail. The aforementioned incriminating documents were set to be burned at a warehouse tucked away in the mountains. It’s a place that even the fire department doesn’t show up at for a while because they know it’s being used to dispose of evidence, and they’re being paid not to care. In a test of loyalty, Je Gyun asks Hyung Woo to do more than just get rid of the evidence at the warehouse. He needs him to get rid of an accountant at Taeil who knows too much, who dared blackmail Je Gyun with proof of Je Gyun forcing others to manipulate reports and the like. Hyung Woo is shaken when Je Gyun asks him to get rid of, aka kill, the accountant. And when the time comes, he can’t do it. But Je Gyun has a plan for even that.

4. Han Je Gyun is a killer

We’ve seen the many, many faces of Han Je Gyun. He’s a brilliant tactician, a whiz with numbers, a coldhearted father who cares for nothing but money and prestige, and a manipulator. He is only one man so he can be outsmarted as Ho Woo and Seung Jo have done in the past. But he has so much power and spies everywhere that it’s difficult to outsmart him. Yet, for all Je Gyun’s flaws, he’s only come off as a money-hungry sociopath. He’s been a great depiction of a villain who doesn’t have to kill to be pure evil, and the show has carefully shown how Je Gyun’s brand of greed doesn’t need to spill blood to be morally bankrupt.

So, it comes as a real shock when Je Gyun has his men lock Hyung Woo and the other accountant in the warehouse and light it on fire. As usual, he doesn’t get his hands dirty —the men do it for him. But to see him so casually resort to violence is a shock and a great bit of escalation by the show, proving that Je Gyun will dive to any depth to preserve his wealth and status. It would be nice to know why he’s so obsessed with money and power. But perhaps “Numbers” is trying to tell us that there isn’t necessarily a reason. People like Je Gyun will always want more.

Hyung Woo and the accountant are locked in the burning warehouse with no way of escape. But Hyung Woo called Ho Woo prior to this whole mess going down, and Ho Woo called Seung Jo. Both arrive at the location in time to force open the warehouse. Hyung Woo directs them to rescue the other accountant first. But when Seung Jo goes back to get him, the warehouse blows up, taking Hyung Woo with it. Seung Jo and Ho Woo watch in shock, realizing that they just witnessed Je Gyun kill another man.

We leave off on that explosive note. Now that it’s clear that Je Gyun is willing to murder, the stakes just went sky high. It’s one thing to fight numbers with numbers, but when blood and money get involved, no one’s safe. With four episodes left to go, this fight promises to get ugly. Next week shows Seung Jo and Ho Woo preparing for war against a man who has never seemed more powerful. Can they win? Next week will tell!

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Shalini_A is a long time Asian-drama addict. When not watching dramas, she fangirls over Ji Sung, and spins thrillers set in increasingly fantastic worlds. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram, and feel free to ask her anything!

Currently Watching:  “See You In My 19th Life,” “Delightfully Deceitful,” “Revenant,” “Numbers,” and “King the Land.”
Looking Forward to: “Gyeongseong Creature,” “Ask The Stars,” “The Girl Downstairs,” “The Worst Evil,” “Queen of Tears,” “Vigilante,” “Demon,” “Daily Dose of Sunshine,” and Ji Sung’s next drama.