Aahana Swrup
Disney+’s Kdrama, ‘The Worst of Evil,’ steeped in Gangman’s underground gang world, continues to chronicle Detective Park Joon-mo’s thrilling undercover investigation of Jung Ki-cheol. While the central storyline of Ki-cheol’s international meth business across Korea, Japan, and China builds fitting high stakes to the narrative, the addition of Joon-mo’s wife, Yu Eui-jung, to the case brings in the emotional tension. In episodes 8 and 9, the narrative crafts a nice blend of both, highlighting the toll Joon-mo’s infiltration as Seung-ho is taking on him and his marriage alongside depicting the dangerously volatile nature of Ki-cheol’s job.
If you’re looking to get caught up on the recent developments in Joon-mo’s case, now joined by Eui-jung to his chagrin, here is everything you need to know. SPOILERS AHEAD!
The Worst of Evil Episodes 8 and 9 Recap
The drug trade between the Chinese Boss Oson, Ki-cheol, and Japanese Yakuza Boss Kanemoto remains halted due to Gangnam Union’s one missed drop-off. As a result, Lee Hae-ryeon, Oson’s daughter and the one in charge of deliveries, meets with another Gangnam gang, Jaegeon Group. Nevertheless, the meeting does not bear a fruitful outcome, leaving room for Joon-mo to swoop in.
If Hae-ryeon maintains her distrust of Ki-cheol and refuses to do business with him, Joon-mo’s entire operation will have been for nothing. Joon-mo has already given so much of himself to the mission. Only recently, he chased a man to his death to keep his cover. As such, he’s unwilling to watch his efforts be wasted and is prepared to do anything.
Likewise, Joon-mo’s wife, Eui-jung, witnesses the pain and stress her husband is surrounded by, which propels her to get more involved in the case. Thus, she continues to use her past history with Ki-cheol to lead the man on and get closer to him. Meanwhile, Joon-mo prepares for an outing with Hae-ryeon, who has expressed clear attraction toward him. As a result, the spouses end up going out with other people on the same day for the sake of their mission.
For their date, Hae-ryeon makes Joon-mo take her around a low-income neighborhood since she wants to know more about his upbringing to get to know him better. After spending a pleasant afternoon with him, Hae-ryeon brings up business and offers him a deal with doubled price and trade amount, insisting he makes the decision without consulting Ki-cheol. Afterward, the Chinese woman takes Joon-mo back to her hotel room to seal their deal.
Yet, their time together is interrupted after the latter gets news that her father has made a deal with Jaegeon Group, who are on their way to attack Gangnam Union right now. Although the news is unpleasant, it’s to Joon-mo’s benefit since he doesn’t want to cheat on his wife by sleeping with Hae-ryeon as Seung-ho. Therefore, the man rushes to warn Ki-cheol about the upcoming attack and arrives in time to fight ruthlessly against the Jaegeon Group.
While Joon-mo’s brutal fighting leaves Eui-jung incredibly disturbed, it helps Gangnam Union best Jaegeon Group in the gang war. Having asserted their dominance as the sole gang in Gangnam now, Ki-cheol tells Kanemoto’s second-hand man Oyama that his Yakuza father will have to personally apologize to him if he wishes to continue their trade. However, at the meeting, Ki-cheol pitches an impossible deal to antagonize Kanemoto. Consequently, the meeting ended sourly, without any continuation of the drug trade, increasing Joon-mo’s desperation.
The Worst of Evil Episode 9 Ending: Does Ki-cheol’s Drug Trade Start Again?
Ki-cheol’s drug trade is the primary source of the Gangnam Union’s power and influence and continues to rake in huge profits for the Chinese and the Japanese gangs involved. Nevertheless, Ki-cheol is only a middleman in this operation. Oson creates the crystal meth while Kanemoto distributes the drug in Japan. However, Ki-cheol’s only involvement in the matter is to transport the drugs from the Chinese to the Japanese. As such, when he fails to do so due to some inter-gang war, both sides begin to question the man.
Therefore, Kanemoto attempts to bypass Ki-cheol entirely by approaching the Sung Ki-Soo of the Jaegeon Group, hoping they will take the Gangnam Union out of the loop. Still, Ki-cheol emerges victorious and leaves Kanemoto without any choice but to continue his deal with Ki-cheol. Nonetheless, since Kanemoto attempted to eradicate Ki-cheol, the latter refuses to let the issue rest.
After the meeting fails, the Gangnam Union seems to be at peace with its decision to uphold Ki-cheol’s pride in its business. Nonetheless, the same doesn’t satisfy Joon-mo, who needs Ki-cheol’s drug trade to restart so that the authorities can have hard evidence against the gangsters. Consequently, he decides to take a risk and approaches Hye-ryeon to get her help.
From Hye-ryeon, Joon-mo learns that Kanemoto contacted Oson to propose they cut out a Korean gang’s involvement entirely and simply trade amongst themselves. As such, Joon-mo convinces Hye-ryeon to forgo her father’s wish as he would Ki-cheol so that the two of them can do business with the Japanese. Hye-ryeon decides to go along with his plan and sets up a meeting with Kanemoto through Oyama, who was kicked out of the gang a few days prior.
At the meeting, Joon-mo offers to take responsibility for the deliveries, and Hye-ryeon backs him up. Still, Kanemoto asks for a more significant sign of loyalty by demanding Yubitsume, the ritual of cutting one’s pinky finger off to atone. Joon-mo nervously attempts to follow through with his demand but has to be held down by others. As Oyama readies to cut off Joon-mo’s finger, he changes tracks and stabs Kanemoto instead.
As it would turn out, Oyama was in cahoots with Ki-cheol all along, who instilled the idea of a coup in the former’s mind. As a result, Oyama is now the Japanese gang boss and will continue to trade with Ki-cheol and Oson as usual. Yet, as Ki-cheol walks into the room, Joon-mo realizes that the man knows that he went behind his back. Thus, although the drug trade has opened up again, Ki-cheol’s brittle trust in Joon-mo likely remains challenged.
Does Eui-jung Gain Ki-cheol’s Trust?
While Joon-mo may have damaged his progress with Ki-cheol, his wife, Detective Eui-jung makes significant progress. On their date in Episode 6, Eui-jung continues to get closer to the gang leader, who takes her out to show his next dream project. Even though Ki-cheol doesn’t disclose the true nature of his profession to Eui-jung, he tells her about his dream of opening a luxurious hotel.
In turn, Ki-cheol asks Eui-jung to be honest with him and share her true self as well. Since Cheon Jinpyung died while investigating Eui-jung’s past connection with “Seung-ho,” Ki-cheol can’t help but be suspicious of her. Nevertheless, Eui-jung uses their past teenage entanglement and Ki-cheol’s existing feelings to instill trust between them.
Furthermore, Joon-mo’s boss, Seok Do-Hyung, ensures to forge fake records confirming Eui-jung’s story. As such, when Ki-cheol’s gang member checks out her background, it gives the gang leader more reason to trust Eui-jung. The final nail in the coffin comes when Eui-jung decides to profess her love for Ki-cheol, apologizing for their past estrangement and claiming that she trusts him and wants to see him achieve his dreams.
So far, Ki-cheol doubts Eui-jung’s coincidental return to his life right when things started going south. However, Eui-jung’s words of destiny and love are just what he wishes to hear. Therefore, after the pair share a kiss on their date, following Eui-jung’s love confession, Ki-cheol decides to trust her completely. While the same, paired with Eui-jung’s horror at Joon-mo’s bloodthirsty fighting, leaves the woman conflicted, it will surely pay off in their investigation.
Read More: Kdrama The Worst of Evil is Not Based on a True Story
