Episode 1 of Shin’s Project kicks off with Mr. Shin heading out for work, only to stumble upon a chaotic scene—a tenant of a building is teetering on the edge of the rooftop, threatening to end his own life. He's dousing himself in gasoline as the crowd below on the street pleads with him to reconsider.
Unfazed, Shin ascends to the rooftop, feigning the role of a fellow resident who simply wants to hang up some laundry. Seizing the moment, he launches into a diatribe about his own landlord and the burdens of rent, attempting to forge a connection with the distraught tenant. While appearing to empathize with the man's plight, Shin deftly snatches the lighter from his grasp and subtly signals the police to move in.
Later, when a policeman inquires about his identity, Shin nonchalantly hands over a business card from a fried chicken shop. Meanwhile, elsewhere, a freshly graduated judge named Cho Philip arrives at work, brimming with anticipation to discover his posting. A senior judge, Kim Sang-geun, escorts him to a fried chicken shop—none other than the one owned by Mr. Shin. With a mischievous grin, Kim Sang-geun drops the bombshell that Philip will be working here, at the chicken shop.
A revealing conversation between Shin and Kim Sang-geun unfolds, shedding light on Shin's past as a mediator—a role he's abandoned for reasons shrouded in mystery. Judge Kim hands Shin an envelope containing details of a case in dire need of mediation, compelling him to accept it despite his reluctance.
With tasks at hand, Shin dispatches Philip to make a delivery. The address leads them to an influencer's doorstep, where Philip is coerced into greeting the influencer's followers during a live stream. Upon his return, Shin piles both of them into the car for another errand. However, when Philip dares to comment on Shin's audacious act of driving through red traffic lights, Shin unceremoniously makes him exit the vehicle in the middle of the road.
The envelope from earlier contained details about a legal battle between Gangchun Salted Seafood Cooperative and a television network that broadcasts a show called *On Site Pursuit*, hosted by a man known as Producer Kim Young-ho. The TV program had aired a segment exposing maggots discovered in the cooperative’s food products, an incident that led to the merchants suffering a catastrophic loss of reputation and their means of livelihood. Now, they are taking legal action against the network and Producer Kim, suing them for defamation.
Shin approaches Producer Kim and reveals that the judge has requested his involvement to mediate the dispute. However, Producer Kim appears uninterested in any form of mediation. After Producer Kim departs, Philip arrives at the scene and informs Shin of his intention to see the matter through to its conclusion.
Together, Shin and Philip head to the Gangchun Salted Seafood Market, where Shin addresses a sizable gathering of the merchants who have been left destitute. An elderly woman confronts Shin, insisting that she will accept nothing less than a public apology.
Before departing, Shin notices a sticker for Gangchun Real Estate on one of the now-vacant shops. He and Philip then visit the real estate office, where they discover that all the shops, save for the old woman’s, have been sold.
As they exit, the real estate owner secretly takes photographs of Shin and sends them off to an unknown recipient. Back at the market, the old woman overhears her grandson, Gi-beom, engaged in a phone conversation. She comes to a shocking realization—it was he who had planted the maggots in the food.
Shin and Philip return to the chicken shop for their evening shift, only to find themselves inundated with a sudden surge of orders. It turns out that Philip’s cameo in the influencer’s video had gone viral. However, the customers are let down to discover that Si-on, a young girl employed by Shin, is the one handling the deliveries.
Meanwhile, Shin encounters a man named Player Kim, a hacker whom he had assisted a few years prior. He enlists Player Kim’s help to delve deeper into the affairs of Gangchun Real Estate.
Philip then picks up the phone and dials a number, asking someone to delve deeper into Shin's background. Si-on, who happens to be nearby, overhears the conversation, and a heated argument ensues between the two before they storm out of the shop. Upon returning home, Philip is greeted by his parents' enthusiastic congratulations on his first day as a judge, but he finds himself unable to share the truth with them.
The following day, Shin and Philip reunite with Producer Kim, inquiring about the whistleblower who had provided them with crucial information regarding the maggot incident. Kim, maintaining confidentiality, claims the information is classified, but Philip insists it will inevitably surface in court. Suddenly, Shin receives a call notifying him that the elderly woman has attempted suicide. Fortunately, she is rescued and now requests Shin and Philip's presence. At the hospital, Shin overhears Gi-beom venting his frustrations about his grandmother over the phone.
Later, Kim contacts Shin, warning him that some thugs are on his trail for investigating Gangchun Real Estate. He instructs Shin to meet him at a nearby convenience store to exchange the information he has uncovered. Si-on, riding her bike, rushes Shin to the location, but the thugs quickly catch up. It becomes apparent that their target is Shin, not Kim. In a desperate escape, Si-on and Shin speed away, with the thugs hot on their heels. Si-on skillfully navigates through narrow alleyways until a group of bikers, summoned by Si-on's SOS text to her friends, intercepts the thugs' car, enabling their escape.
Back at home, Shin pours over the files Kim provided and discovers that Gangchun Real Estate has been planning to construct a resort in Gangchun for the past two years. He deduces that their scheme was orchestrated to seize control of the seafood market's land. The mastermind behind this plan appears to be a man named Yang Jin-hyeok. Posing as a potential ally, Shin arranges a meeting with Yang, claiming he can assist in acquiring the last remaining parcel of land—the old woman's store.
The scene then shifts to a mediation meeting where all the merchants, including the old woman, have signed settlement papers. However, Shin makes a dramatic entrance at the last moment, tearing up the documents. He is determined to seek true justice. As he and Philip exit the meeting, Lee Jae-hak (one of the attendees) advises them to take a local road instead of the main one due to ongoing construction. They follow his suggestion but soon find themselves trapped on a railway track, with two trucks pinning their car from both ends.
The car doors refuse to budge, forcing Shin and Philip to smash the windows and escape just in time before a train collides with their vehicle.
