4 Moments That Prove Ju Ji Hoon & Ha Ji Won Pull The Strings In Episodes 5-6 Of "Climax"
Things are getting edgier and darker as both Bang Tae Seop (Ju Ji Hoon) and Chu Sang Ah (Ha Ji Won) are being pushed against the wall. When a video broadcast accuses Sang Ah of being the chief perpetrator in Oh Gwang Jae’s (Seo Hyun Woo) murder, the allegations impact Tae Seop’s political candidature. As both stand to lose everything they have built, it is time for them to up their game.
Tae Seop threatens Chairman Kwon (Kim Hong Pa) with proof that could destroy the very edifice of WR Enterprises. Meanwhile, Park Jae Sang (Lee Ga Seop), who is on the run, threatens to reveal a recording exposing Sang Ah and Tae Seop.
And Jeong Won (Nana), though set up by Tae Seop to shadow Sang Ah, stands up defiantly against him.
But it seems everyone is a mere pawn in Tae Seop and Sang Ah’s game, as the couple is the one pulling the strings. Here are four of those moments in the latest episodes of “Climax.”
1. Jeong Won switches sides
Jeong Won has been assigned by Tae Seop to shadow Sang Ah both on set and beyond. When she overhears a conversation between Tae Seop and Sang Ah, she trails Sang Ah’s car. Episode 4 ended with Sang Ah’s shocked face as she sees her name splashed across billboards in connection with Gwang Jae’s murder. We now see the face of the person standing behind her: it is Jeong Won.
Jeong Won ushers her into the car and drives away. When Sang Ah sees Tae Seop’s number flash on Jeong Won’s phone, she understands that her husband has been having her followed and surveilled.
Jeong Won admits that although Tae Seop brought her onto the job, her reasons for following Sang Ah were simple: she wanted to make sure she was okay. She brings Sang Ah to her home and switches off her phone. In that moment, it becomes clear that she has chosen her side. This is not an act of rebellion but rather Jeong Won’s emotional alignment toward Sang Ah.
She confesses that during her darkest moments, Sang Ah felt like a beacon of light—someone who cried with her and looked out for her. As she shares her story, flashbacks reveal a teenage Jeong Won living with her mother, both subjected to constant abuse by her alcoholic father. After her mother dies by suicide, Jeong Won kills her father and is arrested. She recalls that on the day of her mother’s death, she saw Sang Ah on TV, crying for her own mother. Reel or real, both women were mourning their loss. This parallel binds both women beyond their circumstances.
Jeong Won tells her that Tae Seop was the lawyer who helped reduce her sentence. After prison, her life only grew darker, marked by violence and substance abuse. She met Tae Seop again while trying to flee a drug bust, after which she begins working for him. Jeong Won reveals that shadowing Sang Ah was, in her own way, an act of protection.
Sang Ah, already delirious, mistakes Jeong Won for her lover Ji Soo and kisses her. Jeong Won is stunned, but her expression reveals much more. These are two women bound by similar fates—both manipulated by the same man for his own interests. It becomes clear that if Jeong Won has to pick a side, she will choose Sang Ah’s.
Tae Seop, unhappy with Jeong Won’s defiance, admonishes her. But Jeong Won, having seen through him, is resolute. Her loyalty has shifted into something far more dangerous.
2. Tae Seop makes his move
Tae Seop’s political ambitions have taken a huge hit. His wife has been labeled a murderer, and he, as the prosecutor who tampered with evidence, is equally complicit. The political party does not want to endorse him, and even Kwon Jong Wook (Oh Jung Se), the heir to the WR Group who had promised to support and fund his candidature, is avoiding him.
The floodgates have opened, and Tae Seop is clear that if he drowns, the rest will go down with him. He clearly warns Jong Wook that along with him, the WR Group will crash down like a house of cards. This is the moment he flips the game. Cornered and powerless in public, he becomes the most dangerous player.
It is time for him to divulge what he knows, that it wasn’t Jae Sang but a hitman appointed by Chairman Kwon who killed Gwang Jae. He arrives at the chairman’s birthday banquet and threatens him with the evidence. Tae Seop is clear that either the chairman’s wife, Lee Yang Mi (Cha Joo Young), stops Jae Sang and the YouTuber from broadcasting the videos, or he goes public with the evidence he has.
The chairman goes into shock and collapses. Tae Seop walks out calmly, fully aware of the chaos he has caused. Meanwhile, Lee Yang Mi, desperate to hold onto control, worries not about her husband’s health, but about the will and her daughter’s shares in WR’s fortunes. She asks the YouTuber to stop the broadcast and think of a Plan B. Her grip is tenuous and her desperation is clear. Jong Wook, on the other hand, remains unfazed. He doesn’t care for his father, and he seems to relish in his stepmother’s discomfort as her position weakens.
At this point, the balance of power tilts. Tae Seop has become a wild card, Yang Mi is on the defensive, Jong Wook watches the chaos, and it is time for Sang Ah to dictate a new game.
3. Sang Ah sets the stage
An actor is always an actor. If there is something Sang Ah knows, it is how to perfectly mask her emotions and, most importantly, her intentions.
When she learns Tae Seop has tried to thwart the release of the video, she makes her first move. She heads out to Jae Sang’s neighborhood, well aware that he will turn up there. She spots his mother, a waste picker, and falls at her feet, begging the old lady’s forgiveness.
Jae Sang watches the exchange, clearly triggered by her presence. She asks him to speak with her, looking miserable. For a moment you almost believe her. She invites him to the neighborhood cafe and is very aware that a crowd is gathering around, even though her manager has blocked entry inside. She provokes and mocks Jae Sang, calling him naive to think they had a future. He attacks and nearly chokes her, and the moment captured on camera by onlookers outside.
As her manager rushes in to rescue her, Jae Sang flees, and the video goes viral. This is a moment cleverly orchestrated by Sang Ah, even at the risk of her own life.
Meanwhile, Jae Sang is stung by the deception and announces he will be hosting a livestream to divulge the truth regarding Sang Ah and Tae Seop. The moment becomes national news.
Jeong Won, assigned by Tae Seop to locate Jae Sang, is trying to locate him. As soon as she figures out the location, she gets a message from Sang Ah. Jeong Won freezes. She rushes to the hotel and barges into Sang Ah’s room to find her lying unconscious in a pool of blood. She has self-inflicted serious injuries on herself. Jeong Won is shocked and gutted and rushes her to the hospital. The message that Sang Ah sent her flashes, which clearly says she knew Jeong Won would come to her when she reads them. Is it yet another clever move by Sang Ah?
As the news spreads, there is a shift in opinion. Sang Ah is the victim, her actions framed as an extreme step driven by the media witch hunt and Jae Sang’s threats.
Tae Seop lands at the hospital, worried, and for once looking lost. He recalls his own father, who had taken his own life after being wrongly accused. This is the first time one sees a shred of remorse on Tae Seop’s face, and you would almost think this man has a moral compass.
But when he visits Sang Ah after her surgery, he realizes this is the second act of Sang Ah turning the public opinion in their favor. The games have just begun.
4. Sang Ah and Tae Seop, partners in performance
Once again, Tae Seop and Sang Ah step in together, playing the perfect act. Sang Ah tells Tae Seop this was the only way to keep each other from falling off the cliff. They both need their careers and must navigate public opinion in their favor.
And time is running out. Jae Sang has not been found, and the livestream is about to begin. At the appointed hour, everyone is in for a shock. Instead of Jae Sang appearing on screen, it is his dead body. But who killed him?
As investigations begin, Tae Seop and Sang Ah address a press conference, apologizing to the public for the inconvenience caused. The two claim to be equally distressed and are eager to move past the scandal and return to their lives.
They are summoned for questioning regarding Jae Sang’s death and are informed that he was killed by a woman. Both act surprised, insisting they know nothing.
The scene shifts to the final moments before Jae Sang’s death. A silhouette enters the room, and when the person exits, it is revealed to be Jeong Won. As she stares into the CCTV, there is no remorse on her face. Jeong Won has taken the fall for Sang Ah.
But what happens next, and where do the two go from here? We will only have to wait for the next episodes.
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Puja Talwar is a Soompi writer with a strong Yoo Yeon Seok and Lee Junho bias. A long time K-drama fan, she loves devising alternate scenarios to the narratives. She has interviewed Lee Min Ho, Gong Yoo, Cha Eun Woo, and Ji Chang Wook to name a few. You can follow her on @puja_talwar7 on Instagram.