'Stranger 2' aka 'Forest of Secrets 2' Episode 8: Yeo-jin connects Seo kidnapping to detective Song's suicide
Yeo-jin and Shi-mok began tracking Prosecutor Seo Dong-jae's steps in the previous episodes and this has already left some big players in the show nervous. First, is Woo Tae-ha who had worked with the prosecutor on an off-the-book investigation into Choi Bit. Then there is Hanjo group's current Chairperson Yeon-jae who had been in touch with him recently regarding a case that connects her to Choi Bit. Then there is the connection between Detective Song who had reportedly died by suicide but Shi-mok and Dong-jae had been investigating the possibility of the cop being bullied by his colleagues after they were caught being bribed by him.
So, any of these cases could have been the reason behind Dong-jae's kidnapping. With Yeo-jin taking over the case and also receiving the support of the prosecution, this episode shows the cops and the prosecutors doing everything they can to find Dong-jae in time. The cops have definitely crossed the golden time and the possibility of Dong-jae having been killed already is high. At the end of episode 7, we also saw how someone had dragged a blindfolded Dong-jae, bloodied, and bruised, across the floor.
While the chances of Dong-jae surviving seem extremely low, Yeo-jin and Shi-mok have dug their heels at this point and they will not stop until they have found the truth. What is more shocking is that Choi Bit and Woo Tae-ha, the two who are sworn to be on opposite sides of the upcoming Council are on the same side behind closed doors and the two of them are mired in a conspiracy which also involves Hanjo and the death of a lawyer called Park Gwang-su.
The death of lawyer Gwang-su is something that connects who key players -- Choi Bit, Tae-ha, and the Chairperson of Hanjo group Yeon-jae -- who are not supposed to be up in arms but at the moment their relationship that is not public knowledge reeks of corruption. Yeon-jae is not aware of how Gwang-su is connected to the cop and so she employs a former judge to find out more about the senior police officer. However, the more that Shi-mok digs, the more anxious that Tae-ha gets about being connected in any way to corrupt practices. Not only Tae-ha but also Choi Bit seems to be in deep trouble as well seeing as how she is cooperating with someone she had considered an opponent just until a few days ago.
Interestingly, for now, the key players are suspicious about each other. Tae-ha wonders if Choi Bit kidnapped Prosecutor Leo to stop him from digging farther while she wonders if he did. It isn't until Prosecutor Seo was kidnapped that either was aware of how much the prosecutor had learned through his investigation. The first time Prosecutor Seo had mentioned discrepancies in Gwang-su's death, Tae-ha had told him not to look further into the case, and at that time, just as Prosecutor Seo did, we also assumed that Tae-ha would look into it himself as she was a big fish. However, in this episode, we learned that not only did he not investigate further, he also alerted Choi Bit about Prosecutor Seo digging dirt on her. So if neither of them had a part to play in the kidnapping of the prosecutor, could it really be Hanjo?
While we are left to contemplate who could have had a hand in this kidnapping, Shi-mok hears from Yeo-jin that the kidnapper had left a message. What could it be and why now? These are questions that will be answered in the upcoming episode.