If I Were A Whale….
The episode starts in an orphanage, a lady named Gye Hyang-sim with her 5-year-old daughter, who is sleeping in her lap, gives her details to the orphanage representative to admit her daughter. She says she gave medicine to her daughter to sleep as she won’t let her mother go. The representative asks for her address. She says she will return to her daughter so they can’t put her daughter up for adoption. She gets angry when the rep asks for an address again and asks not to take her word lightly as she will come back for her daughter for sure as she is going to prison for a while. The rep recognises her as a North Korean defector from her slang. Hyang-sim gets teary eyes and asks not to discriminate against her daughter just because she is a North Korean defector. While leaving, her daughter wakes up and cries and the rep has a hard time holding on to her. Hyang-sim apologises to her and says she will for sure return and leaves while crying.
In Hanbada, Attorney Jung calls Young Woo and says she should tag along with Attorney Choi in her public interest case which is “A North Korean defector charged with injury resulting from robbery”. He says she is taking the case personally and is passionate so Young Woo should “Whoa Whoa” her. He says to cool down Attorney Choi with “Whoa Whoa” so she does not take the case personally. He teaches her to wave her hand downward and say “Whoa Whoa”. Young Woo repeats after him and he asks her to leave as it starts becoming awkward. (lol. What an adorable duo!!)
Young Woo goes to Attorney Choi’s office. Attorney Choi is in her pyjamas and her office is upside down. Young Woo make face at her and asks whether she did not go home or yet to come to work. Attorney Choi says she doesn’t know what “go home” means and says it only exists in fantasies, not in real life. Young Woo says she has a lot of work as well and says she has already have Asperger’s syndrome from typing so much and says at this rate she would probably get carpal tunnel syndrome as well. Choi says she started growing white nose hair from not getting sleep. (They are so relatable!! Only that I am on the next level because of stress). Choi starts getting changed to her blazer. Young Woo turns around and says Attorney Jung asked her to “Whoa Whoa” her in the public interest case. Attorney Choi smiles and says they are going to meet defendant Hyang-sim in the detention centre and it is the first time for Young Woo to go to one. She says Hyang-sim is cool and feels like she is a strong older sister.
In the detention centre, Attorney Choi is indeed passionate as she smiles brightly on seeing Hyang-sim. Choi introduces Young Woo and Young Woo gives Young Woo’s touch in her introduction making Attorney Choi clear up the awkward air. Attorney Choi asks how Hyang-sim is doing as it would be tough in there. Hyang-sim has a bright personality and says she feels like it is a hotel but she seems to miss her daughter. Young Woo asks why Hyang-sim is not using the North Korean dialect. Hyang-sim, in a North Korean dialect, says “Comrade Woo Young Woo, Why would you say that as it is been a while since I defected” (She is funny and has a strong personality. I already love her!!). Young Woo realises and apologies.
They then start talking about the case.
To conclude, 5 years ago, Hyang-sim asked “Mom”, the North Korean defector broker, Choi Young-hui, for the ten million won she borrowed from Hyang-sim. Then, rather than paying Hyang-sim back directly, Mom told Hyang-sim that Lee Sun-Yeong had the money and asked to get it from her. So, on the day of the incident, Hyang-sim and Jeong Hui(her accomplice) were planning to get money from her but they were armed because they were going to get the money which even mom could not get. They go to meet Sun-yeong, who lives on the first floor and asks for the money. As Sun-Yeong said she did not have that money, Jeong Hui got violent and started beating everything around in the house to scare Sun-Yeong and in the end, they started to fight like pulling hair, and fists fight. The lady, who lives downstairs, could not bear the sound and called the police. Police came and arrested both Hyang-sim and Jeong Hui on the spot. They both get 4 years jail sentence as Sun-Yeong was severely injured. But Hyang-sim says they did not beat her that much. Jeong Hui went to jail but Hyang-sim fled in order to take care of her daughter.
Young Woo asks why she came now to accept the punishment as she could have accepted it five years ago. Hyang-sim says there is no one to look after her daughter as her husband died in a car accident and says she did not leave her daughter in an orphanage as she was a baby and did not know her mother well to remember her but now she is old enough to remember her. Young Woo feels touched and says she is like a whale mother who remains devoted to their child as there are not many safe places in oceans.
Attorney Choi asks how she managed as she would not have got any job as she was a fugitive. Hyang-sim says she cleaned a motel and stayed in a spare room with her daughter. She tears up while saying that other kids went to kindergarten and care centres while her daughter was stuck in a room because of her mother. Young Woo says her daughter would have still been happy as she was with her mother. Hyang-sim smiles and asks to visit her with her daughter at least once if she got 4 years sentence like her accomplice. Young Woo stands up while slapping the table and asks her not to get weak-minded in a determinant way.
At Attorney Jung’s office, Young Woo and Attorney Choi say they will get probation for Hyang-sim in a determinant way. Attorney Jung says it is very passionate and asks what kind of woman Hyang-sim is, that everyone who meets her is speaking like that (I am sure Attorney Jung will also say the same if he meets her. lol). He says to get probation the sentence should be less than three years but Hyang-sim would at least get 3 years 6months of the sentence. He says they already have the answer with the defendant’s accomplice the sentence. Young Woo says what if they claim that Hyang-sim did not hit the victim hard. Attorney Jung shows pictures of the victim who is severely injured and asks how she can claim that. Attorney Choi says now that she looks again the injury looks too severe to be caused by two women with a small figures. Attorney Jung asks them to investigate what really happened and asks them to manage time so that they do not spend too much time on one case. Young Woo leaves and Attorney Jung asks Attorney Choi to “Whoa Whoa” Young Woo. (I could not stop laughing here)
At Jun ho and Attorney Kwon’s flat, they are drinking and both are drunk. Jun ho says that he made someone he likes feeling like he doesn’t like that person. Attorney Kwon asks him to date every person he likes. Jun-ho gets frustrated that he is not getting the point. Attorney Kwon asks if it is office romance and tries to guess who it is while Jun ho says it is not simple and lies down on a sofa with deep thoughts.
The next day, Attorney Choi and Young Woo go to court to meet the Attorney in charge of the Hyang-sim and Jeong Hui case previously. Young Woo asks if Jeong Hui was small and shows pictures of the victim in order to confirm with him whether they were capable of injuring the victim that much. The Attorney says the biggest flip in the criminal case is the doctor’s diagnosis. The doctor who diagnosed the victim seemed to be biased toward North Korean defectors. The doctor said that Hyang-sim and Jeong Hui were the ones to injure the victim so Jeong Hui ended up in jail for 4 years. The Attorney also shows an article the doctor wrote which is related to Hyang-sim and Jeong Hui and it clearly shows the disrespect he has towards them.
Attorney Choi, Young Woo, and Jun ho go to meet the victim. They start hearing the sound of the husband beating up his wife (the victim) and Young Woo starts getting anxious. Choi tries to protect her and notices Jun ho is ahead of her and tries to understand his gesture. The lady who lives downstairs calls the police.
Attorney Choi and Young Woo go to meet the victim but she does not answer the door. Jun ho investigates the lady who lives downstairs and learns that she calls the police every time the husband beats up his wife and he plans to secure records of those calls in the police station.
In Hanbada, Attorney Choi is drinking coffee when Attorney Kwon comes and asks whether she likes Jun ho as a man. Seeing Attorney Choi hesitate he asks if she is hesitating because he is not an Attorney and says Jun ho likes someone in the office and it seems to be her. Choi is flustered and asks if Jun ho really say that and tries to hide her excitement.
In court, Attorney Choi and Young Woo request to bring the victim as witness. The prosecutor of the case does not agree with that and says how can they call the victim when the incident happened five years ago. Young Woo cuts him and says by the law, everyone has the right to have a fair trial.
The Judge cuts in and asks Young Woo about her family origin. She says she is from the Woo family of Danyang. He then asks why she is in a rush that she is cutting off other people’s words and says it is prohibited in his courtroom. The prosecutor chuckles and understands the game and plays along. He asks the judge if his family origin is the Ryu family of Pungsan. He says they are from the same hometown and the Judge is giving off royal vibes. Attorney Choi asks the Judge to agree to summon the victim but the judge asks what is her origin. Young Woo says the Judge just cut off Choi and it is prohibited. The Judge says the attorneys should raise their hands before talking, until the end of this trial. Attorney Choi plans to join the game as well to save their side. She raises her hand and says she is from the Choi family of wonju. She reveals that her father is Chief Judge Choi who works with him. The Judge gets interested and says Chief Judge Choi is his dear junior. The prosecutor realises that he clearly lost the game (lol). The Judge agrees to bring the victim to the witness stand.
In Hanbada, Attorney Kwon and Young Woo see Jun ho and Attorney Choi talking and Kwon says what he thought was right, and they are a good-looking pair. He leaves after saying that maybe Young Woo won’t be able to understand that.
The trail day. The victim is called to take the witness stand and we can see that she is injured. Attorney Jung stops Young Woo from questioning and says Attorney Choi should do it. He says the jury is sympathetic towards the victim right now and she should be gentle. Young Woo asks if he thinks that she is stiff, and he says yes (wait! She did not know that?).
Attorney Choi starts questioning with a smile and asks how she got injured. She says that there is a police record of her husband assaulting her frequently, so it is important to understand whether the victim got injured by her husband or the defendant on the day of the incident. She again asks the victim whether she remembers the day Hyang-sim got arrested. The victim says she does not recall as it was five years ago. Hyang-sim gets furious and gets up slapping the bench saying “lies. Did you get dumb by getting beaten up by your husband” this makes Young Woo jump in her place. Attorney Jung tries to calm her down and the Judge asks what she said. She says the victim did not get beaten up by her that much and says the police arrived before they even think. She also says that the victim is trying to blame her for all the beating she got from her husband. The prosecutor says that the defendant is insulting the witness and the courtroom showing no remorse for her wrongdoings and the Judge agrees with him.
Attorney Jung tries to handle the situation but Young Woo turns off the mic saying he has to raise his hand first (She has such a cute side to her). Attorney Jung awkwardly raises his hand, and the Judge asks him to speak. He apologises saying the defendant is not used t the trial and asks for a recess so that she can settle down. The Judge asks the witness to leave home and announces a ten-minutes recess and asks the defendant to calm down.
Attorney Jung and Choi try to calm Hyang-sim but she is nowhere near calm. Then, Young Woo does “Whoa Whoa” to her and asks her to remember her daughter who is waiting for her. This helps Hyang-sim calm down. Attorney Jung is proud of her. He then says the doctor is the next witness and it would be helpful to them if he agrees that the injury could have been caused by her husband but if he didn’t, then they should come stronger to discredit him by showing that he is biased over North Korean defectors. He asks Young Woo to go for the questioning time as she is stiff and asks her to show what she got. Young Woo becomes more determined.
The trail resumes. The prosecutor questions the doctor and he confirms that the defendant and her accomplice were the ones who injured the victim. Young Woo starts questioning and sees that the doctor is not bending up to say that the injury could have been caused by the victim’s husband, she then shows the article he wrote under the title “North Korean defectors are becoming a criminal group”. The witness asks the judge if he can not testify about the article as he got many hate comments, threatening letters because of that.
The Judge says those reasons are not relevant to refuse to testify and asks Young Woo to continue the questioning. Young Woo says that the doctor is biased and asks the doctor if he said that Hyang-sim is the one who caused the injury with the thought that North Korean defectors are criminals. The prosecutor objects to the question saying it is leading and the Judge sustains it. While thinking that Young Woo could not get what she wanted, the doctor, with his loose mouth, says that the trial is held on the taxes that South Koreans pay and asks shouldn’t it be natural to side with the victim’s husband, an abuser but a South Korean rather than siding with a North Korean Defector (the frog finally revealed its true colour). The trail ends.
In Hanbada, Attorney Jung, Attorney Choi and Young Woo are having lunch when Attorney Jang yells at him for pushing the doctor to the corner in his trail. He says the doctor was one of their huge clients he worked so hard to get and now he is backing up because of them. He asks how Jung he not do the background check and leaves furiously. Attorney Choi and Young Woo apologise to him for not doing the background check and making them lose a billion worth of clients. Jung says it is his mistake too and says they should not think of it as “some North Korean defector” case and asks them to work hard. He leaves after saying he is embarrassed. Attorney Choi and Young Woo find him cool for saying that and smile.
Young Woo and Attorney Choi bring Hyang-sim’s daughter to meet Hyang-sim. The daughter and the mother cry and hug each other. While watching them, Young Woo remembers her childhood. When there used to be a family sports day, little Young Woo sees other kids come with their mom and dad and asks her father why she does not have a mom which leaves Gwang-ho heartbroken.
On their way back, Attorney Choi says that seven years sentence for injury resulting from the robbery is too high when it is five years for murder and asks why they don’t file for an adjudication on the constitutionality of the law. Young Woo says it has happened before 3 times but did not work out. She then says north Korean defectors are refugees and asks if there is a law for them to go easy on them. Young Woo says no quickly and Choi asks her to think carefully. Yong Woo thinks and says no and says it would be like giving a criminal licence to them. Choi asks her to think of something as she is the genius one. Suddenly Young Woo’s whale files.
The trail day. Young Woo explains to the Judge that under North Korean law, for personal property robbery, the sentence is one-year community service and says Hyang-sim is more used to the north Korean law and never thought that she would end up with a life sentence and says she went there on the day of the incident to get back the money by all means but did not think stealing the money or causing injury.
The Judge says he should look into it and asks Hyang-sim if she thought that she would not end up in jail for seven years as she is used to North Korean law. Hyang-sim says yes. The Judge asks if she had no intention of getting back the money by forcing the victim. Attorney Jung asks if the defendant can choose not to answer the question (he did not forget to raise his hand. Lol). The Judge says they can have a fair trial if she can answer. Attorney Choi and Young Woo sign “no” to her but she ends up saying yes and that she went there to get that money at all costs as it was hers. He then asks what she thinks about what Young Woo claimed. She says she is not sure and does not know much about the law (she might have poured water at her attorney’s work but I liked her honest answer).
After the trial, Young Woo and Attorney Choi stay back to listen to the verdict. Before leaving, Hyang-sim asks why they have long faces for which Young Woo checks her face until Choi says she does not mean that literally. Hyang-sim asks if it is already clear that she is going to jail. Choi encourages her not to be negative. Young Woo’s whale files and says they did not do the claim adjudication on the constitutionality of the law yet. Attorney Choi says that Young Woo mentioned that it did not work the last three times when others claimed. Young Woo starts walking hurriedly (and it is so damn cute) and Attorney Choi follows her. Choi asks what is she gonna do as the jury is already reviewing the case. Young Woo says the verdict has not been given so they can ask the judge. Choi says they need a visitor’s pass and they won’t give it until the judge permits it, but Young Woo is determined and runs.
At the entrance, Attorney Choi manages to use her influence and tells that she is there to visit her father to get the pass. On the way to the Judge’s office, Attorney Choi asks if Young Woo knows why there is protection and says it is for people like them who try to beg the Judges. She says she can’t believe that she let the wild card Woo Young Woo talk her into this (Come on Choi, you are equally desperate).
They go into his office and thankfully he comes out of his room (in the office, there is usually more than one judge in separate rooms and they would be a representative who takes care of the files, and requests when you enter the office. So if the Judge did not come out, the representative would have reported the illegal entry). They follow him into his room, the Judge gets annoyed and asks what is their deal. Young Woo says that the victim did not get the money ultimately and pleads to allow for the resumption of the hearing. He yells at them and says he can understand the passion they have as young Attorneys. Young Woo says it is not because of the passion but because Hyang-sim is a great mother. She says Hyang-sim does not fully understand what she did wrong until now, but she chose to be a fugitive for five years in order to not to abandon her daughter like a mother whale. Young Woo says she did not leave her child for 5 years so that her daughter can remember her face when she goes back from prison. She asks him to consider how great of a mother she is even though it is not relevant.
The Judge listens to her calmly and says he will not consider those arguments as it was not made in courtroom and asks them to leave.
Outside the court, Attorney Choi and Young Woo sit and whale talk. Young Woo says the most famous way of hunting whales is to kill the baby first. They throw a harpoon at the weak baby and it circles in pain. The mother whale never leaves its side so humans kill the mother whale. She says the mother whale knows that she is their ultimate target, but it never leaves its baby side and ends up getting killed. She then asks if she were a whale then her mom would not abandon her. Attorney Choi looks at Young Woo who is in deep thoughts and pain.
The verdict time. The judge analysis the jury review and says it came out “guilty and 4 years imprisonment”. He then announces the verdict “The defendant is sentenced to one year and nine months of imprisonment. However, the execution of the sentence against the defendant is suspended for three years following the date of the verdict. The court orders that the defendant be on probation and 80 hours of community service.” Hyang-sim is confused seeing Young Woo and Choi excited and asks what he is saying. Attorney Choi explains that she got probation. The Judge says she is a first-time offender and even after 5 years, she confessed without forgetting her crimes. Young Woo says how can they forget that she confessed and both agree they are idiots to leave out that point and the judge is the smart one. Hyang-sim cries out of happiness and thanks them all. The episode ends here.
Epilogue:
Tae Su-mi goes shopping. While shopping, she notices that there are customers who are shopping with their daughters. The salesperson asks if she has got any daughter. Su-mi says she has only one son. Young Woo and Attorney Choi also come shopping in the same mall but they don’t cross paths with Su-mi. We can see that Young Woo resembles Su-mi a lot. (oh! come on, we know that Su-mi is her mom and can’t wait for it to get revealed.)
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