The Heirs

Chapter 13

Tan states firmly that he doesn't want Rachel, and she brings up his mother as a last resort/threat. She wonders why Madam Han would pose as Eun-sang's mother to the PTA and insinuates that she'll be digging into the story, but Tan tells her to keep her nose out of his mother's business, as well as Eun-sang's and his own.

Then he parks himself out of the girl's bathroom, having seen Eun-sang go in and worrying that she's crying. Bo-na protests when he shoos her away, calling herself Eun-sang's savior for hosting her. Tan lights up in relief and gives her an unexpected high-five, and Bo-na freaks out and goes running to Chan-young. I love how she always makes everything about herself, in a cutely misguided way.

Eun-sang isn't in a flood of tears (thank goodness), but worries for Tan's sake. She asks if there's really nothing she can do to protect him. There isn't, but the question makes his day.

Ye-sol snipes at Bo-na to watch make sure Eun-sang doesn't steal her boyfriend, and manages to get in a dig at everyone: at Eun-sang for being a man-stealer, at Chan-young for being a nobody's son, and at Rachel for getting dumped by her fiancé. Ye-sol really is the worst type of mean girl, terrorizing the weak and sucking up to the strong, enjoying seeing people being torn down.
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She looks nervous when Rachel overhears her comments but sticks to her bravado, sneering that Rachel's family is heading for ruin. She all but calls Rachel's mother a gold-digger, and that gets Rachel fired up. So I'm not even sympathetic when Rachel asks loudly, "What were you thinking when you hid the fact that your mother is a room salon madam?" The hallway of students immediately starts buzzing, while Rachel invites Bo-na to lunch together. Uh-oh. Lunch is never just about lunch in this school.

Thus Ye-sol finds herself facing the victim's seat, fearful of sitting down and sealing her fate as new target. Rachel takes Young-do's place as the menacing bully perfectly, but Bo-na looks uncomfortable and guilty, especially when Chan-young arrives and sees what's going on. Bo-na says defensively that there's a valid reason for this, but it's a pretty lame-sounding excuse.

Tan arrives and sizes up the situation, then makes a show of grabbing a plate and taking that seat for himself. He plays obtuse as he pretends this is just a normal lunch, upsetting the social order and discomfiting everybody.

Then Young-do arrives and says Tan's breaking the rules-to demonstrate what that seat means, he dumps a plate of curry on him. Tan replies that he's the one who made the rules, and these things can be changed. He flings his dirty jacket in Young-do's face and orders him to have it cleaned.

Eun-sang pulls Tan away, and Chan-young takes Bo-na aside. The crowd disperses and the two almost-siblings stew in their thwarted violence. Poor babies.

Eun-sang chides Tan for stirring up more antagonism with Young-do, which he argues was unavoidable given what was unfolding. At the same time, Chan-young tells Bo-na that she was stooping to Ye-sol's level by retaliating, and that he's disappointed in her. Bo-na argues that Ye-sol had denigrated him as a secretary's son, but he says that if Bo-na was angered by that, it means she was ashamed (and therefore agreed), which is not logic that makes any sense to me. Bo-na gets offended right back and stomps off.
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Tan returns home to a furious father and nervous mother and faces his punishment. Chairman Dad isn't in a forgiving mood and kicks Tan out of the house, ordering him to turn in his phone, credit cards, even the coat off his back. Yeesh. Calling the engagement Tan's insurance for a smooth life, Dad barks that he has no need for the idiot who'd throw that away.

Tan just complies without complaint, merely asking to take his school uniform-and paying Dad back for its price later. He says, "I know that Rachel was insurance for my life, but insurance shouldn't become my life."

Mom pleads with him not to go, wanting him to beg Dad to change his mind. But Tan walks out, and heads straight to Eun-sang's cafe... where he asks her to pay his taxi fare. Haha.
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Eun-sang thwacks him for taking a taxi when he's broke, which is a totally valid complaint, and gives him a glass of water instead of a fancy beverage he can't pay for. Tan says "I'll pay you back later" with the nonchalance of somebody who's never been poor, and I have to laugh at how he states that he'll just work hard and make his own fortune, like it's just a matter of deciding to do that.