Red Swan – K-drama Episode 2 Recap & Review

The New Bodyguard

Red Swan episode 2 starts with an intriguing flashforward of someone dying at the house. Based on the servants’ confession, it looks like a bodyguard died. After the police questions, we can’t help but wonder if the bodyguard in question is Do-hyun. According to some rumours between the servants, Do-hyun and Wan-soo might have been having an affair! 

We circle back to the night of the auction party just after Wan-soo learns that Do-hyun is the new bodyguard. She quickly collects herself while Yong-guk makes an insincere show of thanking Do-hyun for saving his wife. The two then head in and are warmly welcomed by the guests at the party. Sitting at the party, Wan-soo reflects on her life and how she got here.

Through a flashback, we meet a young Wan-soo in the year 1990. At the time, her mom used to work as a cadet at the golf club that Chairwoman Park used to play at.

One day, Wan-soo’s mom got on Chairwoman Park’s bad side and got a few hard slaps to her face. She was also fired because no one wanted to annoy the President’s daughter-in-law. Out of spite, Wan-soo’s mom stole two golfing clubs from Chairwoman Park and made it her life mission to teach Wan-soo how to golf. 

Soon, Wan-soo took up golfing and became really good at it. She saw it as a way to help her family out of poverty. Unfortunately, Wan-soo’s mom gambled all of her daughter’s winnings away. It got too much for Wan-soo, and in the end, she was forced to cut ties with her mom. After this, Wan-soo opted to use her money to help people in need and was nicknamed the angel of charity. 

It was during one of her charity trips in Africa that she met Yong-guk, and they got to know each other. Soon, he proposed, and she agreed to marry him. Wan-soo vividly remembers her first tense meeting with Chairwoman Park. As expected, Chairwoman Park did her best to demean Wan-soo and her brother.

At one point, Chairwoman Park even mentioned she had one of Yong-guk’s exes killed, then laughed it off as a bad joke. Chairwoman Park even offered Wan-soo’s brother a job and tried to get him to break up the couple. Nonetheless, Wan-soo succeeded in marrying Yong-guk and learned how to deal with her rude mother-in-law. 

Presently, Wan-soo gives a speech to show her gratitude to the Arab Crown Prince for doubling his donation after her attack. The party begins in earnest, and people start mingling and drinking. Yong-guk signals his mistress, and they leave the party and head to the room.

Sadly, his mistress is someone close to Wan-soo. When the mistress’ son approaches Wan-soo looking for his mom, she sets out to help him only to find the woman in question having sex with Yong-guk on the sofa. 

However, Wan-soo doesn’t react angrily; she keeps calm and asks why they can’t be more careful. She reveals that she knew about the affair, but she has no time to deal with these clowns. She excuses herself and tries to calm down before taking her husband and heading to the party as if nothing ever happened. The mistress is forced to watch the couple as they share a dance, looking every bit like they are so in love. 

Later, Chairwoman Park calls  Wan-soo for a meeting and reveals she knew about the affair. It has been happening even before Wan-soo got married to Yong-guk. Chairwoman Park is worried that Wan-soo will divorce Yong-guk after finding out the truth. However, she is beyond angry and shocked when Wan-soo tells her there will be no divorce.

Wan-soo warns Chairwoman Park that she stands to lose more than anyone else if she leaves. Wan-soo is aware that Chairwoman Park has been stealing the foundation’s money and asks her to stop. He asks the Chairwoman to keep away from the foundation because it is not hers and walks away calmly as the old lady rages. 

Wan-soo then heads to the bar to drink and gets more pissed when Kyeong-ju informs her that Yong-uk is sleeping in a different room to give her a chance to sleep better. She asks Kyeong-ju to leave and hits the bottle harder. Do-hyun finds her stumbling on her way to the room and helps her. She starts flirting with him and, point blank, asks if he wants to sleep with her. He is surprised and asks if she is lonely or sad. She answers no, but it is clear she is hurting. 

As a true gentleman, Do-hyun helps her get into her room, but in the process, her room key drops on the floor. As he wishes her a goodnight,  a drunk Yong-guk walks to her room and starts knocking. Do-hyun moves to open it, but Wan-soo stops him. The two wait for Yong-guk to leave, and Kyeong-ju shows up to help his boss. He tells Yong-guk that Wan-soo drank too much and is probably asleep and helps him to his room.

Do-hyun walks out of Wan-soo’s hotel room. Meanwhile, we see Wan-soo sitting on the bed, thinking about things. The next morning, Wan-soo and Do-hyun act like nothing happened, but it is still a bit awkward between them.

The group returns to South Korea, and Kyeong-ju shows Do-hyun to his new room in the servant’s quarters. As they talk, Do-hyun subtly tries to find out if Kyeong-ju secretly helps Yong-guk with some underhand dealings. Kyeong-ju doesn’t spill much only that he works exclusively for Yong-guk most of the time. As Do-hyun settles in, a servant informs him that Wan-soo is calling him.

On his way out, Do-hyun accidentally knocks over the picture of Ju-hyuk he brought with him. The picture falls, and he sees a USB attached to it. This jogs his memory of Ju-hyuk’s last words; he mentioned a picture. Do-hyun quickly checks the USB and finds pictures of the Chairman being taken outside the house. By the looks of it, the Chairman was already dead, but what was the real cause of his death? In another twist, we see in a flashback that Wan-soo was close to the Chairman, and he had even asked her to stay married until he looked into something. Whatever it was, it probably led to his death and Ju-hyuk’s.

The Episode Review

Our curiosity is piqued as we delve deeper into this show. Ju-hyuk was killed because of whatever he found out about the Chairman’s death. It also looks like Wan-soo is staying in her marriage to uncover the truth. Does she know who Do-hyun is? It seems unlikely that she doesn’t know he is tied to Ju-hyuk. What does she want to tell him? 

Our main suspect right now is Chairwoman Park. She likes talking about killing people and mentions it so casually, as if she is ordering dinner at a restaurant. What role did she play in all these deaths that have something to do with Hwain Group? Based on the opening scene of the episode, we can deduce that someone is dead, so we know more bloodshed is coming.

Who do you think died? Is it also possible that Do-hyun and Wan-soo developed feelings for each other? They already have some chemistry between them, but did they cross the line?

Once again, I am disappointed in how these K-dramas continue to portray Africa. Why are they always doing charity work in Africa? As an African, I hope these writers will try to educate themselves about our continent before mentioning us in such light all the time!