The Korean drama A Shop For Killers has been directed under the able guidance of Lee Kwon. The series stars faces like Kim Hye-jun and Lee Dong-wook, who seem to do justice to their roles. The dark action-thriller series revolves around hitmen trying to hunt down Jeong Jinman’s niece, Jeong Jian. Jinman had been involved in the weapon smuggling market, which had taken a toll on his personal life. The series highlights the horrific aftermath of accessing the dark web. Will Jian be able to survive the attacks on her life? Will Jinman’s lessons for self-survival help Jian? Let’s find out!
Spoilers Ahead
How Does Jeong Jinman Survive The Hitman?
A hitman was seen taking shots at Jeong Jinman’s house, which Jian was trying to dodge. Her friend, Bae Jeongmin, was already seen lying flat on the floor after being injured, and Minhye (Jinman’s Chinese tutor) was also seen struggling to survive the situation. Jeong Jian, in her quest to survive the situation, remembered Jinman’s advice to her to use the blind spots. She used a broomstick to distract the killer and have a look at his face by tying a mirror on one end of the broomstick. She was, however, unable to see his face, as he was aiming from a very distant area. She was, however, determined to survive the situation and took the risk of jumping across the room to the sofa. She found a gun below the sofa and was successful in shooting the killer. It is possible that Jinman knew before his death that his and Jian’s lives were under threat and therefore kept a gun for their safety.
What Happened After Jinman’s Death?
Jian was seen beating up a man for getting into the women’s restroom and harassing a girl. She was then taken to the police station, and when she called Jeong Jinman for help to remove her from police custody, she was told he was dead. His absence seemed to numb her, as she always felt protected in his presence. He bought her a bulletproof locker, anticipating the future and wondering if he would not be around to protect her. He also taught her self-defense skills to make sure that she could protect herself if any perilous situations arose. It is certain that Jinman knew that the gang he was working with would come after his niece if he was dead!
When Jian went to identify Jinman’s body, she was told that he had slit open his own throat. However, she somehow guessed that his death wasn’t suicide. When she went to her uncle’s house to get one of his pictures for the funeral, she met her childhood friend Bae Jeongmin there. He offered to help her look for her uncle’s picture. He also helped her clean up the bathroom, where Jinman’s body was found. While cleaning the area, he found a cell phone in one of the drawers. Meanwhile, at the funeral, Jian saw a few people whom she had never seen before in the neighborhood. She saw one of Jinman’s neighbors crying wildly at the funeral and telling others how he had helped them with money when his father had lost all their money to gambling. This indicated the fact that Jinman could have acted as a Robinhood for his neighborhood, helping the people in need. Jian was surprised to know that her uncle was involved in such noble deeds and thought to herself that, despite staying with him for 10 years, she didn’t know much about him. However, later, when she got back to Jinman’s house, she broke down and thought to herself as to how she would handle life all on her own now. Meanwhile, Jeongmin came back to give her her uncle’s cell phone, which he had forgotten earlier. Seeing her condition, he stayed back to console her.
What Did Jian Discover About Jinman?
When Jian and Jeongmin opened the phone, they saw messages from unknown numbers asking for a supply of some goods, an exchange of 70 million won. They also checked his account balance and found that he had left behind 18.7 billion won. She thought to herself that it was impossible to earn so much money by only selling hoses. When they went to visit Jinman’s business website, they found out that he was associated with the dark web and was into selling guns. When they opened the dark web page, they received text about the shipment of the weapon. Jian reverted, saying that the shop was closed and that he would get his money back. To her horror, she started receiving life threats, saying that if Jinman was dead, her life would be in danger.
Meanwhile, Minhye came to meet Jinman, and when Jian wouldn’t open the door to her, she said that Jinman had a Chinese language lesson that day. Jian was shocked to learn that her uncle had been taking Chinese lessons. When Jian refused to open up, Minhye insisted that she open the door so that they could talk face-to-face. However, after several requests, when Jian did not open the door, the stranger left. There is a possibility that Minhye was also a part of the gang and had come in to murder her.
Later, Jeongmin explained to Jian that there were people who were given different codes on the dark web so that they could buy certain enlisted products as per their codes. He explained that code red was for killers, and they could buy guns, weapons, bombs, and poisons. Spies were code purple and were majorly into buying and selling information. They could also buy equipment like listening devices, cameras, and minor weapons. Code yellow was for the clean-up crew, who were majorly associated with the disposal of dead bodies. All the other codes protected Code Green. They found out that Jinman had the green code and was the operator of Murtlehelp (the dark website from which he sold guns). Right after finding out her uncle’s secrets, they were attacked inside the house. Drones came outside the house and started showering bullets on them, but somehow they managed to survive because of the bulletproof windows. Later, when the drones eventually broke in, they somehow managed to escape, and when Jian found the right chance, she crushed the drone with a chair.
What Led To Jian Living With Jinman?
In the past, when Jian was just 7 years old, she had first seen her uncle, Jinman, as he came to visit his family after 8 years. Later, when Jinman’s mother died and he came to the funeral, he was tracked down by hitmen. His brother and sister-in-law were killed at the community hall, but Jinman somehow managed to protect Jian and get her to the safety of her home. He told Jian that he would have to rush to the community hall and that she should not open the door to any stranger, but only his friend. When a hitman tried attacking Jian, she was saved by Jinman’s friend, but in the process, he was killed by other members of the gang.
When the goons pursued Jian to kill her, she tried to escape their claws by jumping out of her bedroom window. While she was trying to run away from the hitmen, she met with a road accident. The goons did not stop following her even at the hospital; they tried to attack her when she was in bed, but she somehow managed to escape them. On her way to safety, she went inside the morgue, where she got into a drawer. She saw her mother’s dead body inside it and clung on to her for safety. Little did she realize that her mother was gone forever and would not be able to protect her anymore! Meanwhile, Jinman arrived at the spot, killed the hitmen, and saved Jian. He took pity on Jian’s condition, and being a responsible uncle, he decided to take her home along with him.
What Fears Did Jian Have To Overcome?
We cannot imagine the trauma that Jian must have had to undergo at such a young age. Jinman showed her a fight sequence between many hyenas and a lion on television once. That show had such a deep impact on her mind that it transformed her life drastically. Jinman had asked her to be as strong as the lion to fight opponents single-handedly. This made Jian a lot more self-sufficient from a very young age. At a very young age, Jian was diagnosed with aphasia along with dissociative amnesia. Since the shock of suddenly losing her parents had shaken her to the core, she couldn’t speak much. She expressed herself through paintings and was often bullied at school. Bae Jeongmin was the only friend that she had at school. She was seen turning violent when her classmates made fun of her parents. When the teacher complained to Jinman about her behavior, he told him that Jian would have to learn to be strong at an early age. He wanted her to become strong enough to cope with difficult life situations at a very young age.
Jian was lonely from a very early age, as she had no friends and often felt alienated. She saw how her classmates’ parents pampered them, while she would do everything on her own. She had learned to mature at a very young age after facing such a cruel situation. Initially, she did not seem to have a very good relationship with Jinman, as he showed her the tough side of life. He wanted her to overcome her problems on her own to become strong. However, after a few days, when Jinman started showing his soft spot for Jian, they slowly started sharing a good bond with each other. However, as a child, Jian was often seen envisioning a hyena with a human hand in its mouth. This brought out the mental insecurities that she had within herself. She had seen the hitmen murder Jinman’s friend in front of her eyes, traumatizing her forever. She must have thought of Jinman’s friend as a lion, who had died protecting her from the hyenas single-handedly. The events that she had faced at an early age eventually made her a strong warrior, not letting things affect her easily. Her nature can be compared to the character of O-Ren Ishii in Kill Bill, by Quentin Tarantino. She had also been exposed to the harsh realities of life at an early age after she had seen her parents being butchered in front of her eyes.
What Will Happen Next?
At the end of the second episode of A Shop For Killers, we see members of the black market for weapons gathering together. Mr. Kim, being the head of the association, ordered Jian’s murder. It is possible that they feared that she might expose their crimes to the world and, hence, wanted to tie up the loose ends. It is likely that in the next episode, Jian will have to use some more of the skills taught by Jinman to save herself against the black-market mafia. It will also be revealed how Minhye got into the same room as Jian and Jeongmin, even after they denied her entry into the house. It is possible that she sneaked into the house with the motive of killing Jian and got stuck there after the drones started firing at them. There is a possibility that Minhye was not a part of Mr. Kim’s gang and had some other feud with Jinman. Minhye’s real identity will be revealed in the next episode, along with a lot more new revelations waiting in line. The series is sure to unleash a list of murderers waiting in line to finish off Jinman’s only successor, Jian. Let’s find out if she manages to escape all of them or gives in!
