A Virtuous Business – K-drama Episode 9 Recap & Review

Conflicting States

Episode 9 of A Virtuous Business begins with the fallout from Do-hyeon’s tender hug. The pair are interrupted by a drunk man wandering past and Do-hyeon messes up his words, calling Jeong-suk a “forever friend”.

While this is going on, we get more context over Jong-seon and Du-seok’s scheme. They did rob the jewellery store together after all, but on the way out of town, they end up hitting someone in the road. Jong-seon heads out to check on them and with blood on his hands, is convinced to just leave them in the road and rush off.

Jong-seon is consumed by guilt though and hurriedly rings the police from a payphone nearby. Du-seok eventually hightails it out of there, as it soon becomes clear who was hit in the road. It was Geum-hui’s husband, Won-bong. He’s rushed into surgery, while the cops head to the scene of the crime.

Do-hyeon realizes that the jewellery store theft and the hit and run are related to the same cases. Do-hyeon heads to the hospital though and speaks to Geum-hui, who is upset and struggling to hold it together. That is especially apparent when she realizes he was out getting her a wedding anniversary present.

The surgery goes well and Won-bong eventually does regain consciousness. Thankfully he’s not too badly hurt and Dae-geun is elated to see him open his eyes. He promises to look after the pharmacy no matter what until he returns.

Do-hyeon shows up not long after and asks him a few questions about what’s happened. He heard two people fighting but isn’t sure if he’d be able to recognize their voices or not, so I guess for now it’s a bit of a dead-end. There’s still tension between Jeong-suk and Do-hyeon through all of this and they aim to clear the air after. Do-hyeon apologizes for making her uncomfortable and admits that his feelings have been growing over time, especially after seeing her beautiful smile and seeing how hard she works.

As for Jeong-suk, she admits she hasn’t really thought seriously about her feelings and right now, she just wants to focus on being a good mum for Min-ho. There’s a lot going on though, especially with her recent promotion to juggle too.

Speaking of parenting, Jong-seon is wracked with guilt. While Yeong-bok wants to keep their baby, he’s shocked when he finds out that Geum-hui’s husband was the one hit. Yeong-bok rings and wants him to come help out with Won-bong at the hospital. Jong-seon does just that and helps, but this guy is definitely struggling with his guilt.

Yeong-bok knows something is going on and she takes her husband aside and asks him outright. Jong-seon soon admits the truth to her. She’s shellshocked and he’s ready to turn himself in and repent. However, Yeong-bok brings up the repercussions of doing that and reminds him of the vow he made while in prison. Yeong-bok tells him he needs to be careful and not reveal anything. Right now, the most important thing is doing right by their kids, even if it means covering up the hit and run. She’s obviously conflicted, and it doesn’t seem like she’s going to stick by her own word.

Do-hyeon is no pushover detective and he soon finds evidence inside the phone booth, coming from a smudged fingerprint. He also tries to get recording of the 119 call too to try and match the voice.

It doesn’t help that Yeong-bok is not her usual bubbly self while the four sit and have dinner together. It’s a shame, because the group all open up about how much they care for one another, and how they hope they’ll be friends forever. Yeong-bok though is quiet through all of this.

Interestingly, Jeong-suk gets some ideas around how to handle the situation involving Do-hyeon. After all, Ju-ri is managing a casual fling with Dae-geun, who certainly doesn’t mind all the kissing they’re doing right now! Jeong-suk rings Do-hyeon that night and asks to meet the following day.

Do-hyeon intends to dress casually… and in the end he decides on a really smart suit. Its a bold strategy cotton, let’s see if it pays off for him! The others in the office believe he’s about to start dating, while Jeong-suk gets into the groove as Branch Manager.

Of course, there’s bound to be something that goes wrong and this stems from Do-hyeon’s car breaking down before the big date. Thankfully, he does make it over and the pair decide on a date at the theme park and end up having a great time. This is not what Jeong-suk expected but she wants to do this again. She hasn’t laughed like that in a long time and is happy that things didn’t go as planned. They even run for the bus too!

That night, Yeong-bok shows up to talk to Geum-hui at the hospital. This causes a ripple effect as Do-hyeong receives a call on his date and finds out that the culprit has turned themselves in. Geum-hui is livid and eventually admits that she regrets all of it, deciding none of them should ever seen see each other again.

The Episode Review

Unfortunately, Yeong-bok’s decision to open up and tell the truth to her friend, thanks to her guilt, has caused the whole friendship circle to be hanging in the balance. The show has been a really solid watch up until this point, balancing its various subplots and ideas together into a cocktail of differing ideas that all stem from themes of healing, love and relationships.

The two big storylines this episode come from Jeong-suk embracing her feelings for Do-hyeon, and the hit and run incident. The latter is where most of the darker, more intense drama takes place, and eventually that moral confliction comes out through Yeong-bok, who tells her friend the truth and ultimately destroys what they’d all built together,

Meanwhile, Ju-ri’s conversation about casual dating helps Jeong-suk embrace her femininity once more and although the date doesn’t go to plan, the pair end up having a really good time together.

With all this going on, the ending eventually leads to a very dramatic moment that has everything hanging on a precarious knife edge going into tomorrow’s follow-up.