Recap Korean Drama "Café Minamdang" Episode 12

Cafe Minamdang episode 12 starts with Han-jun and Su-cheol being knocked unconscious by Tae-su’s men. A scared Hye-jun immediately calls Jae-hui, and she gets into action to rescue her lover. Meanwhile, Jin-sang and Min-gyeong, already at the parking lot, spot Han-jun being kidnapped and starts recording the incident – thanks to them, they are able to find the car’s number plate.

Still From Cafe Minamdang Episode 12

 

Hye-jun taps into the camera in Han-jun’s glasses while Jae-hui tracks the car using the number plate. Meanwhile, an unconscious Han-jun and Su-cheol are carried inside an abandoned warehouse, where Tae-su figures out the secrets of the glasses and breaks them. Regardless, Hye-jun still tries her best to figure out her brother’s location. Do-won, on the other hand, mentions that they should split up once they are inside the complex.

As Han-jun wakes up, he tries to stall Tae-su from murdering them both while trying to wake his friend up. Unfortunately for him, Su-cheol is just happily sleeping away. Han-jun mentions what Auntie Im had said about getting rid of Tae-su once the work is done, which does not amuse him at all – he asks his men to get rid of both of them.

As Han-jun tries to keep the men at bay, he hits Su-cheol over the head to wake him up, and once that happens, Su-cheol goes absolutely Rambo and obliterates everyone in his path. It’s actually hilarious how he fights everyone single-handedly. Funnier still is when Jae-hui gets there and takes on her ‘demonic form’ when one of the men tries to stab Han-jun.

 

Still From Cafe Minamdang Episode 12

A lengthy fight sequence later, Han-jun looks totally smitten with his protector! Meanwhile, Du-jin catches up to Tae-su and, at knifepoint, asks him whether he’s Yeong-ju. Tae-su, of course, doesn’t reply and finds a way to disappear.

 

Back at the station, the entire team listens to the recording from the meeting in the evening and is horrified to hear them laughing about killing Eun-hye. They decide on who will gather what evidence, and then everyone goes home. At Minamdang, Hye-jun seems to be more excited to see Su-cheol back safely than her brother, which annoys Han-jun to no end.

Anyway, Hye-jun takes Su-cheol to the hospital and leaves Han-jun with Jae-hui. He’s clearly very uncomfortable with the attention being showered over him, but… is it the beginning of a romantic relationship? Jae-hui takes a tour of Minamdang, wherein she gets wistful when she sees a picture of Han-jun with her brother. Plus, the bobblehead that she had given him!

Still From Cafe Minamdang Episode 12

 

Some innocent playfighting leads to them to be on each other on the bed, with Jae-hui almost ready a kiss but Han-jun getting away at the last moment, feigning injury. They discuss how lucky Hye-jun is to have an older brother like him, and the topic goes on to Jae-hui having just a tiny crush on Han-jun when she was young. It’s a rather sweet moment Hye-jun, meanwhile, expresses her feelings for Su-cheol and they share a kiss.

Back at Minamdang, Han-jun and Jae-hui have fallen asleep on each other, and when Hye-jun and Su-cheol find them, they are cuddling together on the couch. Han-jun threatens to murder both of them, however, if they do anything together, which Hye-jun promptly denies.

At the police station, Jae-hui finds the real Tae-su’s contact number, but that turns out to be a dead-end as well. Meanwhile, Du-jin checks up on a nagging feeling in his stomach and visits a dilapidated house in (probably) a village. From the rubble, he finds old photos and such, presumably of the real Tae-su.

 

Still From Cafe Minamdang Episode 12

Meanwhile, Han-jun decides to go to Forte restaurant to find Tae-su and calls Jae-hui over to meet him. Although he calls it just investigation, it’s clearly a date in disguise. There’s a pretty bouquet of flowers and everything! Anyway, they figure out a lot of things about Tae-su’s schedule from the bartender. Meanwhile, Do-won goes to meet Seung-won and advises him not to go down the path that he is going on because he will set things right no matter what. Things get heated between the two brothers, and later on, the fight has a physical toll on Seung-won.

 

On the other hand, Han-jun, Su-cheol, Jae-hui and Hye-jun go off to visit the camping sites where Tae-su frequented and try to find his abandoned RV. Jae-hui is the one who finds it, unaware that Tae-su is watching her using CCTV and planning to apparently blow up the RV with her in it.

Cafe Minamdang Episode 12 Ending

Still From Cafe Minamdang Episode 12

 

Inside the car, Jae-hui finds his pictures with his mother (probably) and his password-protected laptop. She also finds several vials of benzene and white shoes. As she’s going through the pictures, Tae-su locks the RV up and douses petrol on it, and Jae-hui scrambles to get out of the car. Han-jun finds the car burning and rushes to her, but before that, he tackles Tae-su to the ground.

And now, he must choose between apprehending Tae-su and saving Jae-hui.

In the epilogue, we see Tae-su meeting Eun-hye for the first time, who is a splitting image of his mother. Du-jin, having found the picture of Tae-su with his mother, is reminded of something curious.

Cafe Minamdang Episode 12 Review

Still From Cafe Minamdang Episode 12

 

If anyone was hoping and praying for Cafe Minamdang to pick up the pace, look no further. Lots of things happen in this episode, starting from the different relationships to progress and a good break in the case.

Now, coming to the romance – I have a feeling the show, much like others, will feature better secondary character romances rather than primary characters. Hye-jun and Su-cheol, both absolutely ridiculous, actually make the perfect pairing and are absolutely adorable. Meanwhile, Han-jun and Jae-hui are still taking it slow, which makes sense if you think of it that way. I just wish they’d stop taking 5 minutes to go in for a kiss thrice. It’s just not possible that you’d miss thrice, come on.

On the other hand, the mystery is getting hotter, with Seung-won’s influence getting bigger. Although we are still stuck understanding Gu Tae-su and his motives, the faint hint of a bigger evil is enough to keep me intrigued. The action sequences, much like others in the show, were absolutely goofy, but I must mention that this particular episode had more intense moments than others.

Lastly, the series has funnier moments than the last few episodes, which I am thankful for. Most silly moments landed, and Su-cheol is too cute not to take a liking for instantly.

All in all, the episode is entertaining and sticks to its goofy mystery-solving way while adding the romance that we have been waiting for for 11 episodes.