A Virtuous Business – Episode 12 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

Farewell

Episode 12 of A Virtuous Business begins with Geum-hui out walking, reflecting on the drama involving Do-hyeon. Now that we know she’s the missing mum, she reflects on her story to this point. 

In the past, Geum-hui left the house to protect her child and it was the first time she experienced poverty… and true happiness. She actually was happy being a mum but believed Do-hyeon wold be better off somewhere else.

The catalyst for this stems from a fire that broke out back at home. Geum-hui blamed herself for almost losing her baby and eventually she made the decision, for her parents’ sake, to leave the baby in exchange for medical bills being paid to help with the burns he suffered. It pained her but she made the decision all the same.

This ties in with the end of episode 11, as Geum-hui whispers her apologies. It works to clear the air between them, and Do-hyeon recovers and seems to be better now. Won-bong is very supportive as well, deciding that Do-hyeon should stop by for food sometime.

Through all of this, Ju-ri has obviously been oblivious to everything going on. When she finds out about Geum-hui’s long lost son, she’s shocked. In fact, Yeong-bok is also just as shocked, as the truth comes tumbling out. All of them are super supportive of her, as this friendship is something that’s definitely got stronger now that they’ve all shared their lives with one another.

For Do-hyeon, it’s still quite difficult to properly express himself and he’s not quite sure how to react around Geum-hui. He doesn’t want to pressure her, while he’s also awkward too.

Jeong-suk gives him some advice and reminds him that he has plenty of time to try and bridge that gap. Well, that is until he finds out he’s being transferred to the Cold Cases team. There’s a case involving a missing child that he’s been personally asked to oversee. After solving the one in Geumje, this is his big opportunity.

When Jeong-suk finds out about this, she broaches the idea of doing a “Get Close Quickly Project”, where he and Geum-hui try and bridge the gap between them before he goes away.

Ju-ri and Dae-geun though no longer decide to keep their “casual” relationship a secret. They openly head in the street and he gets to walk her home every day. She’s also been looking at other lots and potentially opening a salon in Oksan. Ju-ri is refreshingly optimistic but she’s pretty shocked when she discovers he’s been sleeping at the pharmacy recently.

Ju-ri approaches Ms Heo and agrees to her terms – but there’s a condition. Despite Dae-geun giving her a framed photo of them together, she calls him out to break up. Unfortunately, Ju-ri walks away, even with Dae-geun telling her he can’t live without her. It’s incredibly painful and she doesn’t show up to work either.

The condition we heard about was actually for Ms Heo to let Dae-geun study photography again. But this isn’t what Dae-geun wants. He wants to be with Ju-ri and Ms Heo is pretty shocked when he doesn’t immediately take to it.

Heo eventually realizes the error of her ways and swallows her pride, allowing her son to be with her after all.

The Get Close Quickly project goes ahead, and for the next week, Jeong-suk and Do-hyeon get to know one another. They drink alcohol, Geum-hui cooks a packed lunch, and the pair even have a little argument as well. Do-hyeon is finally starting to seem settled and happy here, but with him leaving, he’s a little bummed that she’s not more unhappy.

Jeong-suk’s facade is shattered though when Min-ho reveals that no, actually mum has been crying at night about him leaving. And Min-ho has even left a farewell gift, which includes the games they played together. Min-ho hugs him, giving the guy a kiss on the cheek and telling him to ring if he gets bored.

With this project done, the attention turns to Yeong-bok, as she heads out to greet Jong-soon, who’s back from his time behind bars. While Yeong-bok gives him a swift kick to the shin, Jeong-suk returns to Fantasy Lingerie and is shocked. The place has been completely trashed and the pay has been stolen too.

The only other person with a key is the Director of Fantasy Lingerie. It soon becomes clear that they’ve all been scammed. Jeong-suk is absolutely crushed and walks away from the others without saying a word. Her entire world has come crashing down and it’s hard not to feel bad for her. She put everything into this business and uprooted her entire life to try and make this happen.

In the morning, Jeong-suk returns to find the group back bright and early. They’ve cleaned the place up and decided to try and get back on track. They’ve come up with a plan to make things right. They have composite sketches of the CEO and Director of Fantasy Lingerie to distribute out round town… but Yeong-bok isn’t exactly a great artist. Still, it’s a nice sentiment all the same!

Detective Na is on the case and he may actually have a lead too. The CEO has been spotted in Incheon and funnily enough, Jeong-suk is on the case and finds her.

The CEO explains that at first, people came and bought the products she offered. However, they eventually stopped coming and she had to close the business after six months. She decided to move out to the countryside where nobody knew her. She sold her car to pay for the products initially and when Jeong-suk and the others got involved, she admits that they did much better than she thought.

Unfortunately, the person who bought the products from abroad ended up getting arrested. Someone must have made a report and now she’s on the run as a result of the cops wanting to question her. She doesn’t know what to do and eventually jumps out the window of her motel, deciding that she’s going to persevere and hopes they’ll meet again. She rushes away and that’s the end of that.

Jeong-suk has a lot to think about and decides to continue with the lingerie business despite the setbacks. This time though, she’s going to do it herself.

We then skip forward 4 years later. Jeong-suk is on the cusp of opening her own little shop selling the adult products, while Do-hyeon returns to town with balloons. This is to signify the business taking off, while Jeong-suk has a much more steely resolve than she ever did before. Jeong-suk wants him to be her first customer at the shop for their grand opening.

However, there are protests in town surrounding their business opening up but this time, Jeong-suk is much more open to facing adversity and she decides to do what she can to make this business a success.

The Episode Review

Perhaps I’m going to be in the minority here but honestly, I thought that was a pretty disappointing ending for A Virtuous Business. The time jump really hurts this drama a lot and while I appreciate this is here to signify Jeong-suk’s growth as a character, it also leaves a lot of threads unresolved.

How did Yeong-bok’s pregnancy go? Where are the kids? Have Ju-ri and Dae-geun managed to live together in harmony? What happened to Won-bong’s standing at work? Has Ms Heo’s perceived softened demeanour helped turn a corner for anyone else? What about a reunion with Ju-ri and Ms Heo?

Then we turn to the situation involving Fantasy Lingerie itself. I had a feeling way back at the start of the show that this could have been a bit of a scam and it turns out it was. Did they catch the CEO and Director? How has Jeong-suk and the others managed to finance and lease a new shop without any work? And on that same note, what’s happened to Seung-soo?

Despite these questions, A Virtuous Business has been a compelling watch and there’s definitely some stand-out moments, even here in the finale. The humour has been on-point and seeing Jeong-suk cheerleading Geum-hui and Do-hyeon together and bridging their gap is really heartwarming and great to see.

Ultimately, issues aside, this has been a solid K-drama. The ending is a bit disappointing no doubt, but it at least leaves things open for a potential season 2, so there is that!