Oasis 2023 Recap Episode 14

Episode 14 of Oasis begins with a flashback to 3 days ago. The gang go over the last stages of their plan. If the Hwang family are together, they are invincible. Du-hak guesses that there is some grudge between Oh and Cheol-woong. They should break them apart by making them doubt each other. Oh is the weakest and if he cracks, everything will fall apart making him the first target.

Then 2 days ago, Cheol-woong confronts his mother. He asks if Oh has some leverage on her to make her protect him and bring him back to Seoul. He tells her to be careful as her real estate business with Oh is illegal. He says the captain cannot be tamed and he can betray everyone. He adds that Oh threatened him and hinted that Yeo-jin killed Lee.

She acts shocked and claims Lee’s death is an accident. Hwang walks in and overhears them. He says Lee was threatening her and Oh took care of it on his own. Cheol-woong refuses to believe it but Hwang tells him to let it go as the truth is not worth risking his life. Cheol-woong tears up as he is upset that Lee would have blackmailed them for money. He says Lee was like a real father to him and leaves. 

Finally, 1 day ago, Du-hak tells Jung-shin to ask Cheol-woong the truth about the Yeosu murder. He also tells her about the NSA’s slush fund ledger he told her to hide and says there is a notebook inside. It is his diary and as she reads it, she finds the entry of the day Lee begged him to go to prison for Cheol-woong.

Back in the present, after Jung-shin confronts Cheol-woong, he jokes that someone would have to be crazy to take another’s place in prison. She says Du-hak is crazy and gives him the notebook. Cheol-woong reads the entry where Du-hak calls himself the son of a servant. He says it was ridiculous to believe he could be human, have a dream of being a teacher and live with Jungshin when he is only a dog or a pig.

Cheol-woong gets down on his knees and apologises to Jung-shin as he accepts the truth and says he was scared. She asks about Lee but he continues to deny his hand in the man’s death as he says he was like a real father to him. She tells him to leave and he blames her for the bully’s death as he could not stand the guy beating her.

He says he will atone for everything and make it up to her and Mrs. Lee but she says she never wants to see him again. He cries as he goes home. Yeo-jin spots him drinking and he asks her why she never raised him as a good person and why she never punished him for his wrongdoings. She tries to comfort him by saying that he is her life and she only wanted the best for him.

He blames himself for Du-hak and Lee’s death and is upset that he lost Jung-shin after he told her about the Yeosu murder. Yeojin, however, thinks he is worried that Jung-shin will report him. She is furious that he told her the truth but is suddenly gleeful as she points out that with Du-hak’s death, Jung-shin’s report cannot hurt him. She says she will shut her up as Cheol-woong looks afraid of her while Hwang watches them from afar.

Meanwhile, Jung-shin tells Du-hak of the confrontation but doesn’t think Cheol-woong is involved in Lee’s death. She tells him to let go of revenge and he says he wants to. But he cannot seem to let go of the anger and injustice done to his family. She finally agrees to help him. In return, he needs to promise her that he will come out of it unharmed. That night he wakes up from a nightmare and she comforts him. 

The next day, Jung-shin invites Mrs. Lee home. She brings her a cake and tells her to blow a wish. Mrs. Lee is confused but excited. After she makes a wish, Du-hak enters and she is shocked. She thinks she is hallucinating and Du-hak tears up. He hugs her and she cries as she realises he is real. As they catch up, he asks if she wants to live abroad and she says her family is her home. 

As for Oh, it seems that Du-hak let him go as he meets up with Yeo-jin. He says Changsung Group is in a worse state and they may go bankrupt. They knew Cheol-woong liked someone and pretended to search for a son-in-law to rope in Yeo-jin because they need the NSA’s influence. The profit is not 100 billion as she was told but 500 billion. She wants to confront Geum but Oh says they should do it after the business is done.

Turns out Du-hak has striked a deal with Oh. He gives him a recording of them faking an assassination order for Oh. The captain at first thinks it is fake but Du-hak suggests it may be from someone whose secrets he knows. Whoever he suspects, Duhak wants that person dead. In return, Oh can have that person’s money. As he leaves, Oh wonders if Yeo-jin and Cheol-woong truly ordered the hit to shut him up.

Meanwhile, Hyung-joo puts up an act of a corrupt businessman and finds Prosecutor Kim who is righteous and hates bribery. Du-hak sends him the NSA’s slush fund ledger and he gets started on it. The next thing they need is a trusty journalist and Geum-ok introduces the steadfast reporter Shin-sik to Jung-shin. She buys out his magazine and starts raising its reputation.

Elsewhere, Dong-pal is furious with Du-hak for giving the wrong information about Changsung going bankrupt. He says there are rumours that they are working on redevelopment construction and their stock rates have increased. However, Du-hak is not deterred as he confidently says he is going to make them go bankrupt.

Meanwhile, Cheung-ja and Poong-ho pretend to be client and agent at Paris Salon. She desperately wants to sell her building and can go as low as 12 million won. Yeo-jin overhears and asks for Poong-ho’s visiting card. 

After the salon closes, Hwang and Yeo-jin call Cheol-woong over for lunch. They try to comfort him and say there is a new head chef and he sees that it is Geum’s daughter, Yeon-hee. Tired of games, Cheol-woong turns her down and says he likes someone but he’s recently been hurt. 

After lunch, Yeon-hee sits with him as he drinks alone. She says that she was told to approach him so that her father would get an in to do business with Yeo-jin. While she does like him, most of her actions were for show. She apologises and says she knows he is in love with Jung-shin. To make up for her actions, she decides to tell him something that she found on Jung-shin.

When her family did a background check on her, they found a man who showed up one day and they acted like crying lovers reuniting after years. Cheol-woong realises it is Du-hak and puts one of his men on Jung-shin’s tail. That evening he is alerted that Du-hak is going to show up and he runs to her house. He stops as he sees Du-hak and Jung-shin leaving for their date and he tears up as he looks on angrily.

The Episode Review

The scene between Yeo-jin and Cheol-woong is so intense and heartbreaking. The boy is trying his best to be a good person but Yeo-jin cannot think of anything but herself. She is so unhinged it is fun to watch the way she reacts to problems. He is out there having a breakdown for possibly killing his father and brother and all she can think about is threatening the love of his life.

Thankfully, she truly sees Cheol-woong as her son and will never do anything to harm him. Because if she didn’t, let’s just say with the way she can manipulate everyone, we are glad she doesn’t use her son.

As for that ending, the way Cheol-woong’s heart breaks and he rushes to see if Du-hak is truly alive was so full of emotions and well done. The obvious reason was that he felt anger that Jung-shin lied to him. It can also be interpreted as he was happy to see Du-hak and hurt that the older boy could not trust him enough to tell him he is alive.