A former gangster, a children’s content creator, and a prosecutor. What a weird mix! Interestingly, our main trio is entangled together in more ways than they think.
Be it an upcoming love triangle, an ardent fan looking out for his favorite influencer, our leading men having different beliefs in life and perhaps becoming begrudging partners fighting crime, or finally a mystery regarding the identity of our heroine’s neighborhood oppa.
Will our leading lady fall in love with her oppa again without knowing his real identity? Or will her heart swing another way this time?
Bunny S. watches My Sweet Mobster on Viu
Opening Week Rating:
Episode Recaps: 01 & 02 | 03 & 04 | 05 & 06 | 07 & 08 | 09 & 10 | 11 & 12 | 13 & 14 | Final Recap + Series Review |
My Sweet Mobster Opening Week Story
“Officer Minnie successfully rescued the baby.”
After defeating other gangs and coming out on top, our male lead, Seo Ji-hwan (Uhm Tae-goo) resolved to call it quits and turn over a new leaf. Setting up a food company named Thirst Deer specializing in making meat products, Ji-hwan made it his mission to help ex-convicts wipe their slates clean and make an honest living.
Hunting down a missing employee who is assumed to be back into drugs, Ji-hwan comes face to face with our heroine Go Eun-ha (Han Sun-hwa) for the first time. An ensuing fight has Eun-ha mistaking the situation for Ji-hwan trying to harm another man. Thus, she cuffs him up and arrests him on the spot.
Except, neither is Eun-ha a policewoman nor are the handcuffs real. Eun-ha is a children’s content creator who just finished filming a video featuring “Miss Minnie” rescuing a baby from an evil monster trying to kidnap it.
Having been lonely in the past with no one playing with her except for one sweet boy, Eun-ha’s neighborhood oppa “Hyun-woo”, Eun-ha wants to be that person to other kids. Growing up, Eun-ha kept searching high and low for her oppa, getting herself in trouble many times. But unfortunately, she doesn’t know his surname.
“Are you crazy? Spit it out!”
The next day, Eun-ha runs into Ji-hwan again during her part-time gig. Assuming he mugs children for money, Eun-ha smacks Ji-hwan. Realizing it was the same lady from last night, Ji-hwan gives chase and catches Eun-ha. But it isn’t just because Ji-hwan had to enter a police station after a long time because of Eun-ha but because Ji-hwan suspects Eun-ha of being a drug distributor, having mistaken the packets of candy that Eun-ha had in her possession for new drug pills.
To prove him wrong, Eun-ha shoves the candy pieces down her throat. And a shocked Ji-hwan pats her hard to get her to spit out the “pills.” However, one last piece of candy is left stuck in Eun-ha’s throat. Funnily enough, the candy piece, a heart-shaped one, slips out of Eun-ha’s mouth into Ji-hwan’s, a metaphor for him falling for her.
“Do you think a guy like me, who beats a man to a pulp, won’t beat up a woman?”
With her drug test coming negative, Ji-hwan bids Eun-ha farewell, warning her to stop being reckless and stay at least 50 m from people like him. But you know how small K-Drama world is. So, our leads end up coming across each other again at a children’s food festival.
Hearing that an employee got into a fight while promoting the company’s new product, Ji-hwan rushes over there. (I have to say I wasn’t fond of Ji-hwan scolding the employee, though the customer was the one at fault.) On his way out, Ji-hwan spots Eun-ha, who happens to be holding her kids’ cooking class at that exact time. Eun-ha is having fun playing with the kids and Ji-hwan’s heart is thumping, watching her.
“Here. Take my hand.”
It won’t be interesting, though, if things went smoothly without some ensuing trouble to spice things up. And next thing we know, Eun-ha accidentally pokes Ji-wan with a mop stick and causes him to flail down a staircase and pass out.
That small accident resulted in Ji-hwan breaking two ribs and getting a mild concussion. And what is a better activity to do to kill time while stuck at the hospital other than watching videos from Eun-ha’s channel all night and then daydreaming about her until Eun-ha actually shows up at Ji-hwan’s hospital room?
“She destroyed your ribs! So, we should at least separate her spine and check her sirloin and tenderloin.”
It is already bad enough for Eun-ha that Ji-hwan’s employees are set on catching her to take revenge for hurting their boss. But things get more complicated when a video of the fight from before gets uploaded on Eun-ha’s channel without her consent. Ji-hwan’s employees getting enraged and having it in for Eun-ha is one thing. But Eun-ha gets hurt while reading the negative comments on the video.
Unbeknownst to Eun-ha, there is someone who got just as hurt, reading the comments. It is our prosecutor lead, Jang Hyun-woo (Kwon Yul). Given how ardently Hyun-woo follows Eun-ha’s channel and gets worried about her, he might have a soft spot for Eun-ha that extends to being her fan. I mean, Hyun-woo even posted a comment on how leaving hate comments and slandering others can be legally punished to stop people from posting more comments.
On a side note, I don’t know if we have a backstory here or it is only because Hyun-woo doesn’t believe people can change. Yet Hyun-woo seems to be hung up on Ji-hwan’s news and hoping to catch him red-handed. Interesting!
“I think you are the one with a different goal.”
Scared of the legal punishment he might face if Ji-hwan takes this matter to court, Eun-ha’s boss agrees to take down the video but throws all the blame on Eun-ha. And it really doesn’t help the situation that Ji-hwan takes Eun-ha’s boss’s words for it and treats Eun-ha harshly without giving her any chance to explain.
“I hate being misunderstood, but, that is how I treated you.”
Take the video down or not, Ji-hwan’s company’s image has already taken a hit. Their products are getting returned and customers keep calling, asking for a refund and making all sorts of claims. Ji-hwan’s employees are devastated to see their hard work go down the drain while there is nothing they can do to save the company.
Luckily, things take a turn after Eun-ha uploads the original footage from that day. Realizing his mistake, Ji-hwan regrets how his mean words hurt Eun-ha. But he is too ashamed to look her in the face and apologize. After following Eun-ha for a bit, Ji-hwan gets caught by her and they both apologize to each other and clear the air between them.
Losing her job after blowing the whistle is one thing, but more trouble hits Eun-ha when numerous children get food poisoning after consuming a milk brand she promoted. Visiting a hospital to check on the sick children, Eun-ha is greeted by angry parents who attack Eun-ha and throw milk bottles at her. Yet Ji-hwan shows up in the nick of time, shielding Eun-ha and taking the hit himself.
My Sweet Mobster Opening Week Musings
For now, we have two theories. #1 It isn’t a red-herring and Hyun-woo is indeed Eun-ha’s oppa. #2 Ji-hwan got his name changed or told Eun-ha any random name. But seeing the touched look on Hyun-woo’s face when running into Eun-ha on the street and how Ji-hwan seems to have no memory of Eun-ha, I guess the former theory is more likely.
I will hold off my thoughts on Hyun-woo till we get more on him. Yet I am already rooting for Ji-hwan. Uhm Tae-goo’s dreamy voice surely plays a part in that. But it is mainly because of how not only did Ji-hwan redeem himself but he also extended a helping hand to ex-convicts and supported them so they won’t go back to committing crimes. Being a novice at romance also makes Ji-hwan more charming.
Eun-ha feels relatable too, wanting to pursue the thing she loves but having to fight through various obstacles getting in her way. It felt sad watching Eun-ha go through all that humiliation, though she was totally unaware that the milk was bad. Hearing the news, Eun-ha practically rushed over in a panic to stop a sick child from drinking the milk bottles she brought him while volunteering and was relieved to find the bottles unopened.
What tops it all for me is the zany and sometimes ridiculous tone. I really appreciate how the drama doesn’t take itself so seriously. It may be full of tropes and mildly exaggerated situations. But that is what makes the drama fun.
That being said, I hope for the drama to keep a light-hearted tone throughout its run and not turn dark midway. There are some hints of a drug distribution cartel. And for sure, we can’t have Hyun-woo as a prosecutor without getting an investigation into bad people. But please, show, keep that to a minimum, and give us more funny scenes.
Photos and Videos: JTBC Drama
