A Shop for Killers (2024) K Drama Episode 3

A Shop for Killers Episode 3 starts with a flashback to when Ji-an was 17 years old. She comes back from school to find surprise repair work happening in the house. Which means she and Jin-man need to stay elsewhere for two weeks. Jin-man’s solution to this is to hike up Jirisan mountain. They camp in a cave on the mountain but Jin-man develops a fever and Ji-an’s phone has no signal. He’s even hurt his leg and Ji-an is frustrated.

He pulls out a map and tells her to head towards a shelter, giving her a slingshot to protect her from boars. In case she finds herself in danger, she tells her to shout his name out loud three times. Just like she did when she was stuck in the school basement as a child. When she leaves, Jin-man calls a man named Pasin and tells him Ji-an is on her way. Apparently, he was only pretending to be sick.

Ji-an heads down the mountain and reaches the shelter. She opens the door to see three wild dogs chomping on some meat, which soon turns into the cut-off hand she had nightmares about as a child. She musters up her courage and uses the slingshot to chase one of the dogs away.

A gunshot from Jin-man, who’s standing nearby, sends the rest of the dogs away. He claims to have healed quickly and Ji-an seems to buy his excuses. Later, she practices using the slingshot in the field near their house. Jin-man gets a gun and teaches her how to use it.

At present, Ji-an takes down the drone that was attacking Jeong-min. They use the bulletproof cupboard door to go outside, where Ji-an tries to take the drone down. But the drone gets past the door and is closing in on Ji-an and Jeong-min. Just then, Min-hye — the woman who had tried to enter the house first — shoots a gun which sends a sonic blast and takes down all the drones. She enters the house, injects Jeong-min with something to make him pass out and then moves towards Ji-an.

Their conversation is interrupted by a bullet just missing Ji-an. The bullet is from none other than Seong-jo, who’s attacking Ji-an from his van on the nearby bridge. Back in the house, Min-hye tells Ji-an that she’s here to protect her. She knows that Ji-an was told to shout out Jin-man’s name three times in case she was in danger.

She also knows that Ji-an only used it three times in her life — in the basement in school, in college when she was sexually harassed, and recently when a shopkeeper cheated her. All three times, the perpetrator was faced with justice and it was no coincidence. By shouting Jin-man’s name, Ji-an mobilised all the people who had received a code and, as per the rules, they came to help her.

Elsewhere, military announcements continue telling villagers that the army is practising in the field. A clever lie to stop anyone from helping Ji-an. The rest of Seong-jo’s men suit up for the attack as well. The team leader tells Seong-jo they are ready.

Meanwhile, Min-hye releases a smoke bomb in the house, clouding Seong-jo’s vision. He has a drone sent in to clear the smoke. Min-hye shoots it but then gets shot by Seong-jo in the arm. The team leader tells Seong-jo that dealing with Min-hye will cost more and he agrees to pay.

This is when the first scene from the show happens. Ji-an uses the broom and mirror to find Seong-jo’s blind spots. She jumps off the top of the fridge to get to the other side of the room. When she up turns the sofa, she finds a large rifle hidden underneath. She uses it to shoot and hits a window in Seong-jo’s van. By then, the house is surrounded by the other men on foot.

They begin to attack and Min-hye tells Ji-an and Jeong-min to go to a hidden room in Jin-man’s workroom while she covers them. They get to the storage shed where Min-hye guides them to a locker with a keypad. The passcode turns out to be Ji-an’s school ID number. Ji-an’s face is scanned and the entire section of the floor moves down like an elevator.

It goes down to a massive storeroom, with shelves and shelves of guns. Just when they feel they are safe, a masked man comes out of the shadows and points a gun at them. He introduces himself as Brother.

The epilogue shows Seong-jo’s men entering the shed above ground. Min-hye watches from a spot on the level above them. Gunshots ensue at the end of A Shop for Killers Episode 3.

The Episode Review

The episodic structure of part-present, part-flashback is working really well for this show. It’s a good balance since every episode has moments of intensity and tension as well as slower, more contemplative scenes between Ji-an and her uncle. It is nice to watch how Jin-man has been training Ji-an all her life for this very moment, without her ever knowing it. Both actors do a fantastic job as the naïve niece and the mysterious uncle, creating an easy but unique dynamic between the pair.

Min-hye turning out to be on Ji-an’s side is a nice twist as well. It comes as a pleasant surprise and suddenly Ji-an has more than just a fighting chance against all the other assassins. By presenting her as a sinister character in the beginning, the show is playing with the viewer’s perception really well in A Shop for Killers Episode 3. All in all, the show continues to be very captivating.