'Private Lives' Episode 9: Joo-eun and Jeong-hwan may have kissed but does this really mean they have made up?
'Private Lives' Episode 9 begins with Bok-gi (Kim Hyo-jin) as she explains her philosophy in life as she visits her own resting place. We are taken back to a time when Bok-gi did not have much but she had the love and undying support of her family. Her mother believed that her daughter was born brilliant and that no one would say no to her. She seemed extremely happy when that was all she had. Now, she is taken over by cynicism about the world and the people who make up the upper echelons of society. So when we skip to the present, we find Bok-gi all ready to use the only bargaining chip she had ever had, the black book that contains the secret of the biggest conglomerates in the country to get what she wants.
Meanwhile, we see Edward Kim approach the lawyer that he and Bok-gi have been using all this while to find and lock scapegoats for their crimes and con jobs. Turns out this lawyer has a closer connection to the GK Vision Room than we had expected. She is the daughter of a powerful man called Director Oh who would very well disband the vision room for good. Right now, the team of shadow agents is working in secrecy. This includes Lee Jeong-hwan (Go Kyung-pyo) and Edward Kim. Woo Seok-woo is a pawn as much as Joo-eun (Seohyun) is and she doesn't realize the same when he attempts to drug him and use him to acquire information. Seok-woo got married to the lawyer to ensure that her father would have a vested interest in keeping the vision room active. All of this comes down to one corporate conglomerate having enough power to influence the outcome of what drives the country's economy and who it is in support of.
This is what Jeong-hwan has now figured out after working with the vision room for years. So if there is anyone who can bring this group of influential planners aka shadow agents down, it is Jeong-hwan. The 'Kingmaker', who leads this team of shadow agents is aware of the same and that is why he decides to bring Edward Kim back on board. Edward uses Jeong-hwan and Joo-eun to put his plan into motion. This is not only about bringing Jeong-hwan down but also about having control over the upcoming elections in the country. However, Edward made a mistake and that was to involve Joo-eun in his plan. Jeong-hwan rides to her rescue. Of course, this ends up becoming proof of sorts to GK that Jeong-hwan is alive. Of course, the leader knew this from the get-go, but now that Edward also knows, he has the chance to draw the target on Jeong-hwan with conviction.
Joo-eun, on the other hand, was almost arrested for being an industrial spy. Right after, she also watches her husband rise up from the dead. This shocks her beyond anything because the first thing that the two confront is the lies. The lies that their life was built on are the first thing that has to be thrown out the window and it takes effort on both their sides to let the anger go to accept the fact that both of them were sincere about their feelings for each other. Despite telling themselves that this was just another docu that they were shooting, they like each other. So when that does come through, both of them feel relieved and that is what really results in that kiss. However, this doesn't mean that the two of them have patched things up. In fact, she leaves the morning after.
At the moment, the connections are all twisted and mixed up, and only if Joo-eun, Jeong-hwan, and Bok-gi work together can a majority of this chaos be sorted out. First, the couple has to set their differences aside, confide the complete truth in each other. Will they be able to?
'Private Lives' airs on JTBC on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9:30 pm KST and can be streamed on Netflix outside of South Korea.
