Summary
Episode 13 deals with the tension between Bok-gi and Kim Jae-wook as the other characters skirmish on the sidelines.
This recap of Netflix K-drama series Privates Lives episode 13 contains significant spoilers.
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The opening
Episode 13 opens with President Choi’s personal driver, Jeong Hyeon-cheol. Lee Jeong-hwan and Cha Joo-eun narrate, asking why he had to die; they blame it on his private life being infringed upon. In the present day, Cha Joo-eun wonders why Bok-gi is meeting Assemblyman Yoo Byung-jun. Episode 13 sees Cha Joo-eun seemingly chasing information while Bok-gi seems to have her own ideas.
Head to head: Kim Jae-wook and Bok-gi
Kim Jae-wook, Bok-gi and Assemblyman Yoo Byung-jun all sit in the same room, and it is rather tense. Kim Jae-wook pretends he is meeting Bok-gi for the first time. They both trade their business cards and Bok-gi states she is now part of Yoo Byung-jun’s election team. Bok-gi asks Kim Jae-wook for intel, but he thinks she is crossing the line. It gets tense, so Yoo Byung-jun calms it down. It’s so obvious that they know each other and it’s rather surprising that the politician accepted their antics.
Tracking down Bok-gi
Cha Joo-eun manages to infiltrate the Gentleman’s Club, and Lee Jeong-hwan listens in. They are looking for Bok-gi. Meanwhile, Kim Jae-wook grabs Bok-gi to have a private conversation; Bok-gi tells him she’s trying to get revenge; she wonders why he has changed when he has GK intelligence and Choi’s ledger. Kim Jae-wook tells Bok-gi that “revenge” is for those who have been wronged and asks what he did to her. This is a tense face-off, and Cha Joo-eun stands idly at the end of the corridor and seemingly out of place.
Cha Joo-eun is caught
Assemblyman Yoo Byung-jun tells Bok-gi and Kim Jae-wook that if he can get hold of the ledger, he will be able to undermine Assemblyman Kwon. Meanwhile, Cha Joo-eun is cornered by security as she’s acting suspiciously. The head of security knows her name, and she asks her to take her earpiece out. Lee Jeong-hwan is alarmed and runs towards the club. Cha Joo-eun is locked in a room. Head of security finds Lee Jeong-hwan and brings him to Cha Joo-eun, and they end up both locked in a room. For a series that prides itself on spying subplots, Episode 13 is making these two characters look like clowns.
Yoo Byung-jun asks them to find the ledger
Kim Jae-wook denies that the ledger is with GK Technology and calls it “fake news”. Bok-gi states her sources are trustworthy. Assemblyman Yoo Byung-jun concludes that he will get the ledger as soon as possible from one of them. Kim Jae-wook agrees to find the ledger. After the dinner, Bok-gi asks Kim Jae-wook why he’s hesitating in giving Yoo Byung-jun the information. As she leaves, Kim Jae-wook looks very concerned — his mind is now conflicted, plus there are inklings of feelings that remain; it’s etched all over his face.
The recording
Lawyer Oh Hyun-kyung enters the room Cha Joo-eun, and Lee Jeong-hwan is in. She brings up Bok-gi and believes Cha Joo-eun and her have gotten very close. Oh Hyun-kyung wants to know what Bok-gi is up to as she and her father have already picked Assemblyman Kwon. She shows them a device that was recording Assemblyman Yoo Byung-jun’s conversation and wants to bargain information with them. They listen to the information and hear Bok-gi and Kim Jae-wook agree to get the ledger. Lee Jeong-hwan finally talks and tells the lawyer who Bok-gi really is.
Where it went wrong
On the way back, Cha Joo-eun asks Lee Jeong-hwan how long he has been working with lawyer Oh Hyun-kyung. Lee Jeong-hwan states 4 years, and Cha Joo-eun is confused and upset to why he saved Bok-gi; she believes it has gone wrong ever since that moment. Episode 13 brings back the pain for Cha Joo-eun — no matter how much she gets close to Lee Jeong-hwan, she’s always struggling with new information about him.
A very brief meeting
Kim Jae-wook offers to show Assemblyman Yoo Byung-jun the ledger but only if it’s Kwon’s record. Kwon reminds Kim Jae-wook that he and GK Technology will be making decisions for this country and wants him to bear that in mind.
A strange merge of world’s in a pork rib restaurant
Kim Jae-wook meets director Kim Sang-man for something to eat at “Pork Ribs Aplenty”. He’s confused to why he wants to meet here. Cha Joo-eun’s father is working there, and her mother asks if she has a plan. This is a strange overlap of characters in one room — Episode 13 is demonstrating how much these stories interlink.
More information on President Choi’s personal driver
Kim Jun-beom brings up President Choi’s personal driver, Jeong Hyeon-cheol to Cha Joo-eun — he explains that he was the director of All Together Church’s Haneul Foundation. Cha Joo-eun rushes to the Spy Detective Agency to look up the information — she finds out Lee Jeong-hwan was spying on the man and made him write his will while semi-conscious. Detective Kim Myung-hyun is also looking into Jeong Hyeon-cheol.
Re-open the case
Lee Jeong-hwan meets detective Kim Myung-hyun about Jeong Hyeon-cheol’s case because even though it was deemed a suicide, he doesn’t believe the case is closed. He tells him how the man changed his testimony then became director of a megachurch, but Kim Myung-hyun already knew that; his hunch is that he’s still alive.
A past between Kim Jae-wook and Bok-gi
Late in the evening, Kim Jae-wook finds Bok-gi. The pair reminisce about their past and flashbacks show them eating together in a simpler moment. Bok-gi brings up how Yoo Byung-jun met President Choi three times in the location they were in and asks Kim Jae-wook if he believes there is one copy of the ledger. She also asks Kim Jae-wook why he has chosen Yoo Byung-jun. Kim Jae-wook claims he has nothing to gain with revenge; he talks about how his parents chose to die and that he chose this path himself. Bok-gi wonders what she saw in Kim Jae-wook all this time. She gives him a warning about showing his true face but then he holds her hand as she walks off. But she brushes him off, stating she has matured too much to trust him. But you can tell how painful it was for her to walk off and audiences must wonder now if the pair’s past romance will end up compromising the other characters.
The ending
As Cha Joo-eun returns to her apartment, she’s alarmed that the door is still open. She tackles a woman to the ground who tries to attack her, but she ends up being knocked over before she finds out who it is. Cha Joo-eun rings Lee Jeong-hwan, but she cannot speak. Director Kim Sang-man had planned all this.
Lee Jeong-hwan finds Cha Joo-eun on the floor — as she is breathless and concussed, she asks him if he killed Jeong Hyeon-cheol.
Privates Lives episode 13 deals with the tension between Bok-gi and Kim Jae-wook as the other characters skirmish on the sidelines. This a satisfactory chapter but there’s still not a sense of how this will all end with three episodes to go.
Additional points
- After his meeting, Assemblyman Yoo Byung-jun picks up his daughter. They appear to have a difficult relationship.
- Woo Seok-ho tells Oh Hyun-kyung they should have a baby as director Kim Sang-man tells him it will change his perspective.
