Modestly introducing the world of accounting in different industry settings, Numbers is an interesting drama to add to your K-Drama plate.
Both Kim Myung Soo and Choi Jin Hyuk assume their anchor roles in this appealing story of accountants.
abbyinhallyuland watches Numbers on Viu
Opening Week Rating:
Numbers Opening Week Story
Found by Mr. Jang, a company CEO at a construction site, Jang Ho-woo (Kim Myung Soo) was later taken in by the construction company boss because the young Ho-woo suffers amnesia and no one also filed for a missing child report.
Grateful for the kindness and father figure he received from Mr. Jang, Ho-woo decides to skip college. He enrolls in an accounting academy after Mr. Jang took his life when his business succumbed to bankruptcy.
“I don’t know if they are all cautious about going up against Taeil or if only insiders can understand. No one gave me an answer. The police and the prosecution gave me answers that they don’t know because the accountants have authority. I’m going to join Taeil Accounting Firm.”
Lucky for him, his intention to know the details of Mr. Jang’s case at Taeil accounting firm went smoothly at first glance. He enters the firm in the blind application process.
But being just a high school graduate, he becomes invisible to the employees of the top accounting firm.
Meeting Han Seung-jo again, the man who handed the papers informing the bankruptcy of Mr. Jang’s company at Taeil, Ho-woo who has been called “pushover Jang” by his fellow employees was given an offer to join Seung-jo’s team. But he declines the offer.
At least he is building a good relationship with Yuna (Yeonwoo), the senior associate who led the new hire training and agreed to help him if he will have questions.
Prior to the offer, Seung-jo illuminates Ho-woo’s perception that his fellow employees are not giving him work because of his educational qualifications.
Realizing he has to earn his worth to be deemed visible, he starts helping his colleagues in any way he can like preparing for meetings as well as photocopying documents.
“The more you work in this field, the more you will be disappointed in people. Perhaps even in yourself. “
In his own way, he thinks that he has become indispensable. He then gets an opportunity to prove his worth when he helped the audit team assigned to an important case involving People’s Entertainment, an entertainment company. He secures an important document that previous accountants failed to get.
While the higher-ups are pushing for the merger and acquisition of Sanga Group and the entertainment company currently being audited by the law firm, Kang Hyun (Kim Young Jae) the lead auditor of the team evaluating the entertainment company was asked to include Ho-woo in his team.
He later learns from Ho-woo the reasons for the irregularities in the entertainment company’s financial statement. Accordingly, he was asked by Taeil Law Firm’s Vice-President Han Je-kyun (Choi Min Soo) to turn a blind eye since the company is actually set to the merger.
In a dilemma between his principles and VP Han’s order, Auditor Kang receives a profound pep talk from Ho-woo about how he has the ability to utilize his power.
“Decisions aren’t made in an instant. They’re made based on the time you’ve lived until now. That’s why decisions show how someone has lived and how they’ll live going forward.”
In the end, Auditor Kang listens to Ho-woo’s advice and chooses his upright convictions so as not to face a similar situation in the future. His report contradicts the previous year’s report of People’s Entertainment so VP Han grilled Director Sim. The latter of course blames Ho-woo for being supposedly a spy who did not do his job.
It turns out that all Ho-woo’s working time in front of the photocopying machines led him to amass insider information about Taeil Accounting Firm.
He learns how to get to the core person, VP Han and is on the move to target his trusted right hand, Director Sim.
Numbers Opening Week Musings
Layering subdued tension, Numbers is so far a smartly done workplace drama that has maximized the rarity of its story premise.
Viewers’ general view of accountants especially those who don’t know anyone at all is that the job deals with financial audits and ensuring financial records are accurate.
In this insightful MBC series, we are taken to the various and numerous roles accountants do along with the disheartening reality of how the biggest accounting law firm can be a life leash for dying businesses.
Other than that, the story also promises more interesting details about everything that the power of numbers encompasses based on how accountants leverage their knowledge.
Dauntless in his character choices, Kim Myung Soo is doing a great job in picking roles, to be honest. It can’t be helped to trust him on office dramas owing to his record in Miss Hammurabi.
While his goal to get retribution to honor the person he’s indebted to is a long shot, the underdog vibe of the narrative so far is what made its premiere chapters hooking.
On the horizon, his connection with Seung-jo obviously will prosper since they are both after stopping the cycle of evil manipulations of VP Han. More interaction between Ho-woo and Yuna is also expected to bring the romance aspect of the story.
Likewise, Seung-jo’s backstory which involves Ji-soo, a woman he especially cares about who is also acquainted with Ho-woo will be unfurled in the coming episodes.
Follow Jang Ho-woo’s journey to be the best accountant at Taeil in Numbers on MBC every Friday and Saturday!
Photos/Videos: MBC Drama
