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Divorce Attorney Shin: Episodes 7-8
by lovepark
Things start to heat up for our divorce attorney this week as he faces his opponents in earnest for the first time. Despite the obvious trap laid out for him, our hero accepts the challenge, and with the help of his friends, he uncovers a crucial secret that may turn the tide of this case.
EPISODES 7-8
The time has arrived for Sung-han’s big battle against the ones who have wronged his sister, so he gears up and buys himself a new suit. Looking stunning, he marches to Attorney Park’s office and verbally drags him through the mud (just for fun). After destroying his opponent to the point of silent rage, Sung-han reveals the real reason for his visit: a message for Young-ju. “1225, nice timing.”
As the dutiful lapdog, Attorney Park immediately reports to Young-ju who positively beams at the thought of Sung-han falling into her trap. However, her smug smile disappears as soon as she hears his cryptic words.
Backed into a corner, Young-ju turns to her father-in-law, Chairman Seo, for help, but the old man pays more attention to his model kit than to her. Whine as she might about Sung-han, the chairman merely sighs at her complaints and tells her to get over it. (He said it more tactfully than that but just barely.)
While Sung-han busies himself with his next divorce case against Attorney Park, Seo-jin has her hands full with a different one. Teaming up with Jun, they hope to help a wife with schizophrenia, and they head to the hospital after hearing about her attempted suicide.
There, they run into the family, including the husband, but the latter’s tears feel insincere to Seo-jin who is reminded of her ex. She tells Jun to keep on an eye on him, and he follows the husband to the lobby where he snickers to himself while watching variety shows.
Meanwhile, Seo-jin meets with the wife again, but unlike their previous exchange, she maintains eye contact with her. She shares a personal story about her ex and tells the client that she wants to be happy even if that makes her shameless. Hopefully, like her, the wife can choose a different path and be happy one day.
Returning back to the Haenam farmer case, Sung-han finds a few peculiarities surrounding the situation, and his consultation with the client only muddles it further. However, before he can make sense of the facts, Young-ju strikes first and releases their side of the story to the press. She paints the farmer as an abusive husband who bought a young wife from overseas, and public sentiment swings in her favor.
Fighting fire with fire, Sung-han uses the media as well to reframe the issue, and reluctantly divulges his identity as piano man to get on a radio show (his initial plan to garner attention as a sexy attorney was mocked out of the meeting room). When he reveals his latest case on air, the comments switch from glowing to outraged. It even creates an online campaign to bring him down, and everyone accuses him of being an attention-seeking jerk.
In order to figure out some of this case’s inconsistencies, Sung-han sends Hyung-geun down to Haenam and tells him to borrow Jung-shik’s car. Of course, Jung-shik refuses, but as soon as he hears Attorney Park’s name, his expression darkens and he willingly volunteers to drive.
When Sung-han learns about his friend’s sudden addition to the trip, he pulls Jung-shik aside for some alone time and tells him to stop feeling guilty. As it turns out, the one to introduce Ju-hwa to Attorney Park was Jung-shik, and no matter what anyone else says, he feels responsible for what happened.
While his two friends make a long trip down south, Sung-han gets an update on Seo-jin and Jun’s case. Both sides are claiming to be the victim of marriage fraud – the husband says that he was unaware of his wife’s disorder, and the wife says that she was unaware of his… daughter. (What the heck!?) Seo-jin and Jun think the husband may be lying, so Sung-han advises them to dig deeper into his contacts.
Putting a pin on the marriage fraud case for now, the show shifts focus to the Haenam farmer, and Sung-han devotes all his time trying to figure out the two sides of the story. Currently, the farmer denies ever hitting his wife, but he does admit to getting mad while drunk one day which still constitutes as abuse. Sung-han, though, has a harder time understanding the wife’s motives, but thankfully, Hyung-geun and Jung-shik’s excursion brings some much-needed clarity.
As Sung-han starts putting the pieces together, a sudden but welcome distraction enters his life: his adorable nephew is here for a visit! To the bewilderment of her family, Lady Ma decided to stay in Korea, and while her intentions are unclear, she seems to have sided with Sung-han and is looking to divorce her husband. As a result, she secretly takes her grandson away from his stifling family and drops him off at his uncle’s place for a day.
Unfortunately for our sweet pair, Young-ju storms to Sung-han’s home and demands her son back. She reminds Sung-han of his place, reiterating her four-person family as the only ones who matter. Curbing his annoyance, he sends his nephew off with a smile, but this little encounter only fuels him more for their upcoming battle.
That very same day, Sung-han drives all the way down to Haenam and surprises the farmer with an impromptu visit. Having seen the news about piano man, the farmer asks him about the song he played, so Sung-han tells him about the poem behind the piece. He describes it as a tale of a father trying to save his dying son from the Erlking, which reflects the farmer’s present circumstances. The farmer wonders if Sung-han sees him as the father or the Erlking, and Sung-han answers with neither — he reminds him of the dying son.
The case’s incongruity finally clicks when one variable changes, and both attorneys come to the same conclusion: the farmer is not the son’s biological father. While Attorney Park wields this information to control his client through fear, Sung-han takes a different approach and allows the farmer to make his own decisions. In court, Sung-han requests a paternity test, and looking over his shoulder, he smirks at Attorney Park.
It’s another fun and breezy watch this week, and as usual, the characters shine in this show. Though I’ve said this before (and will probably repeat myself until the end), I adore the friendship depicted among our three ahjussis. All of the actors are doing a superb job — no one feels like a weak link — and their chemistry together is wonderful. We got to see different pairings this week which were fun, and I’m glad Jung-shik got some development as a character. He has always been the lighthearted one out of the bunch, but now we understand why he feels so protective of Sung-han when it comes to his sister’s death.
However, more than the reveal of Jung-shik’s guilt, I loved the friends’ reactions to it. The show made it obvious that there really are no secrets within the friend group, and this issue has been something they’ve been dealing with for a long time. It makes their bond feel authentic rather than forced, and once again, it emphasizes not only the strength but the longevity of their relationship. Even if they tease each other relentlessly, we know that these three will do anything for each other and be present during the tough times.
Besides our wonderful trio, I’m also immensely enjoying the new addition to the team. Jun is shaping up to be a riot, and my initial misgivings disappeared almost immediately after his first interaction with the group. It’s nice to see his fish-out-of-water antics, and the contrast between his enthusiasm and the others’ lack thereof is hilarious. He continues to surprise me with his utter dedication to Sung-han, and it’s nice to see the others slowly accept him under their wings even if it’s more of a “two steps forward, one step back” kind of deal.
The other character I want to highlight this week is So-yeon. While I have a soft spot for Han Hye-jin, I think Seo-jin is a bit one-note for my taste. However, her budding friendship with So-yeon is a delight to watch, and I think most of the credit goes to the latter. So-yeon is such a fun character and brightens up every scene she is in. She’s witty, kind, and perceptive, which makes her an interesting supporting role despite the lack of screen time. A lot of the character’s charm is due to Kang Mal-geum’s delivery, and I hope we see more of the ramyun shop owner in the future as well.
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