On the Dec. 20 episode of SBS’ Friday-Saturday drama "Taxi Driver 3", the team set its sights on Kang Ju-ri, an agency CEO who lures aspiring idols into traps by weaponizing their dreams.
With trainee Ji-an collapsing ahead of her debut stage, Kim Do-gi stepped in for rehearsal, and rookie group Elements managed to debut without a hitch.
Still, Kang Ju-ri showed no hint of celebration. Suspicious of Kim Do-gi, she tested his motives; he barely dodged the danger and won her trust.
Before long, her real scheme surfaced: she was coercing newly debuted idols into prostitution, holding their hard-won careers over their heads.
The Rainbow Taxi crew was furious. “Kang Ju-ri keeps shoving the idols she debuts off a cliff to make up for her own failures ― brutally wrecking other people’s dreams,” Kim Do-gi seethed.
Exploiting kids terrified of losing the futures they fought for, she set an airtight trap that made them feel like they had no choice. The team laid everything out for Romi ― and let her decide the next move.
After agonizing over it, Romi asked Rainbow Taxi to take the case, and the crew launched their vigilante takedown.
Using the same playbook she’d used on Romi, Kang Ju-ri pushed Su-jeong into a panic: “They want to meet. Say you’ll do anything as long as they don’t leak the video ― even date if they ask. Don’t be scared. You already know what to do,” she coached, then twisted the knife with, “Don’t put your heart in it ― just smile. You’re not selling your body; you’re chasing your dream. If we stop this, we all live. If we don’t, we all go down.”
One by one, Rainbow Taxi cornered everyone complicit ― from a division head to a TV producer ― who helped Kang Ju-ri trample the kids’ dreams.
When the truth finally blew up, Kang Ju-ri tried to flee, only to be blocked by Kim Do-gi. “How does it feel to really debut? I’ve decided to be your manager and make you a star,” he taunted.
He threw her own lines back at her: “Is that a scowl? You should be smiling. Who cares about your true feelings? You’re getting weeded out anyway, right?”
Then came the gut punch: “Everyone starts with pure passion. Everyone can fail. But that’s not a nosedive. Even if you fall today, you can stand up tomorrow. The one who kept free-falling after a single failure was you.”
She still didn’t flinch. “You think those kids can even fly? Who’s going to remember them? I’m the one making them money. How long do you think their shelf life is?” she sneered.
As drone cameras closed in, Kang Ju-ri stumbled and went over the edge. Kim Do-gi grabbed for her, but in the end, she chose the fall.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Hyo-jung)