'Weak Hero' Class 2 Post-Credits Scenes: Did Choi Kill Baek-Jin? What Is Cheongang?

The ending of Weak Hero Class 2 features two mid-credits scenes that set the stage for another violent bloodbath and establish the main antagonist for the next chapter, that is, Weak Hero Class 3. [Spoiler Alert] At the end of episode 8, we come across Choi Chang-Hee, the owner of the infamous bowling alley, which Choi uses as a front for money laundering. Choi had made a high school student, Baek-Jin, the manager of the alley so he could conduct his shady business without attracting too much attention from the police. But with Baek-Jin dead, the Union fell apart, which means Choi had no one to lead the high school kids and use them to carry out his shady business, which was why he had been looking for a new henchman. Well, one of the mid-credits scenes hinted that Choi may have found a fitting replacement for Baek-Jin, and it was none other than Seong-Je, the menacing minion who’d always wanted to rise up the ranks and run the Union in the most ruthless manner possible.

In the first mid-credits scene, we saw Choi sitting alone inside the closed-down alley when Seong-Je, Baek-Jin’s right-hand man, suddenly walks in. Choi asks if he is Baek-Jin’s friend, and as soon as Seong-Je confirms that he is, Choi offers him a job. He wants Seong-Je to work for him as Baek-Jin’s replacement, but wait, not as the manager of the bowling alley; Choi has something more sinister in mind. He gives Seong-Je his card. Well, even gangsters have glossy business cards these days. The card says “Cheongang,” which, as per the Webtoon, is the name of the ruling gang in Mapo District, founded by Janghyeok Woo. After Janghyeok retired and left the gang, Choi took over the reins and expanded it to new districts to take it to new heights. Anyway, Choi handed over his card to Seong-Je, implying that he wants Seong-Je to join the gang, which he already explains is not going to be child’s play like the bowling alley. This further means that Choi is going to close down the alley as it has attracted too much unnecessary attention. He is likely hiring Seong-Je so he can revive the Union under a completely new identity. And as usual, this new setup under Seong-Je’s leadership is going to enroll the high school students to do their dirty work, thereby coming in direct conflict with the boys of Eunjang High School, especially Si-Eun and his friends. At the end of the first mid-credits scene, Seong-Je doesn’t really confirm if he’s going to join Cheongang or not, but I believe he will, because he’s the kind of guy who is always looking for trouble, and working for Choi sounds like the perfect playground for him.

Weak Hero Class 2 had established that the Union used Daesung Corporation as a front to steal all kinds of 2-wheeled vehicles and later sell them through shady channels for a profit. They also made a list of these stolen vehicles and re-stole them from the new owners, as they knew no one would be able to file a police complaint against the purchase of a stolen vehicle. Baek-Jin used a burner bank account for these transactions, and Seong-Je was the only one who had all the information about this bank account, which was why Si-Eun wanted his help to expose the Union and destroy Baek-Jin. Well, Seong-Je did want to bring down Baek-Jin, but he had no intention of being the good guy. And, like I said, he doesn’t find it “romantic.” So, after Baek-Jin’s death, Seong-Je is going to keep all this money for himself and is likely to use it to lay the foundation of his own empire. You may remember that everyone saw Seong-Je as Baek-Jin’s minion, and he really hated whenever someone called him that. But now, with all that money and a new position to his name, no one will dare to call him that again.

In Weak Hero Class 2’s finale, Seong-Je had not only betrayed Si-Eun but also attacked him in the bowling alley when he came seeking his help. This implies that Seong-Je hasn’t yet forgotten the last battle with Si-Eun and is certainly going to strike back at him and his friends in the next chapter. And this time around, there will be no Baek-Jin to hold him back.

At the end of the first mid-credits scene, Seong-Je asks Choi if he has heard from Baek-Jin, to which he replies, “Who knows?” However, in the very next shot, which is the second mid-credits scene, you can spot a bouquet at Baek-Jin’s funeral with the name “Cheongang” on it, implying Choi knew exactly what had happened to Baek-Jin. And maybe the reason he lied to Seong-Je was because he didn’t want to expose himself or scare off the new recruit. In the seventh episode of season 2, when Choi last visited Baek-Jin, he had threatened to kill him, as he was disappointed with the way he was handling the business. You may remember that one of Si-Eun’s friends, Jun-Tae, had removed a page from the register in which Baek-Jin had made a list of all the stolen vehicles. He took that piece of evidence straight to the police. It seemed like Choi had been keeping the cops on payroll too, which was why the officer Jun-Tae contacted refused to take any action due to the supposed lack of incriminating evidence. It’s likely that the corrupt cop informed Choi about the piece of evidence, and Choi had to bribe the cop to keep his mouth shut.

I guess the reason why Choi started the bowling alley and hired high schoolers to run it was because he knew that the authorities wouldn’t suspect the young kids, and even if they did, it would be easier to shrug it off. However, Baek-Jin’s constant failure to keep the business discreet made things worse. The cops started asking too many questions, exposing Choi and his crimes to the authorities. He knew that he had to put an end to these errors; otherwise, it would start an official investigation, bringing the police to his doorstep, which was why he gave an ultimatum to Baek-Jin to sort things out as quickly as possible. Baek-Jin had promised Choi that he would handle the matter on his end, but things got messed up further when Baek-Jin lost the final battle and had to dismantle the Union.

Well, the show’s ending doesn’t clearly reveal the reason behind Baek-Jin’s sudden death, and many people can theorize that he died because of the injuries he sustained in the last battle. However, I don’t think that’s the case. His death has been kept ambiguous and is certainly going to be explored further in Weak Hero Class 3, though for the time being, I think we have enough evidence to support the theory that Choi had something to do with Baek-Jin’s death. And all hell’s going to break loose as soon as Baku finds out about the murder of his childhood best friend. The two lads had different ideologies, and Baku never approved of Baek-Jin’s methods to earn money, but he will not hold himself back when it comes to avenging his death because no matter what crimes Baek-Jin had committed, he didn’t deserve to die. So, loyal fans of Weak Hero, brace yourselves; the next season of this thrilling K-drama is going to be bloodier, with violence escalating to a whole new level.