Typhoon Family on tvN: Lee Joon-ho achieved a thrilling come-from-behind victory in a competitive bid against Pyo Sang-seon. However, the joy of victory was short-lived, and an existential crisis revealed what he most wanted to protect.
The 12th episode of the tvN weekend drama Typhoon Family, which aired on the 16th (directed by Na Jung Lee·Dong-hwi Kim, written by Jang Hyun, planned by Studio Dragon (Studio Dragon), produced by Imaginus·Studio PIC·Tree Studio) recorded nationwide household average ratings of 9.9%, a peak of 11%, Seoul metropolitan area household average of 10%, and a peak of 11.1%, setting a personal best and firmly holding first place across all channels including terrestrial broadcasters in the same time slot. The 2049 target ratings also rose to a nationwide household average of 2.8%, a peak of 3.3%, a Seoul metropolitan area household average of 2.6%, and a peak of 3.1%, setting a personal best and taking first place across all channels including terrestrial broadcasters in the same time slot. (Based on paid platforms combining cable, IPTV, and satellite / provided by Nielsen Korea)
Starting with Kang Tae-poong's (Lee Joon-ho) narration asking "what is the most precious thing," the episode's subtitle that day was "the reason I live." Once an easy question, it became a very difficult dilemma after the IMF shock. His soliloquy, "If someone asked me now, what should I answer," foreshadowed the day's narrative in which, before the major matter of a national project bid, he would face the "most precious thing" he must protect.
The American company that held the monopoly on the surgical gloves being bid insisted on the list price regardless of quantity or conditions. With identical costs, it was a game 100% in favor of Pyo Sang-seon, who owned both ships and containers. Moreover, if they forced the bid price too low, there would be almost nothing left. As no solution emerged despite relentless probing, the weight of the president who had to provide for five employees and their families pressed down on Tae-poong.
Then Tae-poong got a hint about wholesale prices from his friend Wang Nam-mo (Kim Min-seok), who had business experience. He thought of a direct deal with a Malaysian factory that bypassed the U.S. headquarters, a way to get goods cheaper than the wholesale price. Tae-poong urgently sent Song-jung (Lee Sang-jin), who was in charge of delivery, to Malaysia two days before the bid. But Song-jung, on the ground, learned that the factory had ended its contract with the U.S. headquarters and switched to pillow production, and that the surgical glove production had moved to one of more than 800 Malaysian islands.
In an anxious situation where overseas calls were hard to connect and progress on the ground couldn't be confirmed, Typhoon Family faced the bid day for "Meadow of Hope" waiting for uncertain contact. Then, three minutes before the bid application deadline, Song-jung's telegram arrived by a hair. Tae-poong immediately grasped the meaning of the cryptic message "5111, 40, ok." He quickly ran the bid calculator, and the result submitted just seconds before the deadline was a dramatic victory for Typhoon Family.
The secret to securing 3 million surgical gloves was that Song-jung secured the factory's entire inventory at a 40% discount. It was a thrilling come-from-behind victory made possible by Oh Mi-seon's (Kim Min-ha) intuition that the inventory wouldn't have been handled after the contract with the U.S. headquarters was terminated, Tae-poong's bold gamble to take all the stock, and Song-jung's negotiation skills that made it a reality.
Pyo Sang-seon, who lost the bid, boiled with rage. President Pyo Park-ho (Kim Sang-ho) was shocked by losses of more than 200 million won caused by leftover U.S. orange juice inventory and fiercely pressed his son Pyo Hyung-jun (Mu Jin-seong) over losing a national project due to a wrong decision. But Hyung-jun, instead of backing down, shouted back that he would not yield to distorted competitiveness. He also subtly tested Cha Sun-taek (Kim Jae-hwa) and discovered the existence of a 1989 IOU.
Amid the tense standoff between Typhoon Family and Pyo Sang-seon, the surgical gloves were delivered, and another trial befell Tae-poong and Mi-seon. Mi-seon, left alone in the warehouse to check quantities, was caught in a fire of unknown cause and collapsed after struggling to protect the goods. The night before, after the bid victory while watching the night view together, when Tae-poong asked "what is the most precious thing," Mi-seon answered "tomorrow." It was hope that tomorrow would allow her to learn more, think more, and be a better version of herself than today.
At that moment, Tae-poong's previously guarded answer of "a secret" was revealed amid the crisis. Upon discovering the warehouse fire, he did not hesitate to remove a hot piece of metal and plunged into the flames. The question he posed at the start of the broadcast was answered as Tae-poong rushed toward Mi-seon, saying, "the most precious thing is you." In the harsh reality of the IMF, Tae-poong and Mi-seon's struggle to protect each other's "tomorrow" deeply pierced the episode titled "the reason I live," and viewers are more curious about the emotional changes the two will face going forward. Typhoon Family airs every Saturday and Sunday at 9:10 p.m. on tvN.
[Photo] tvN
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