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High Society: Episode 7

Friendships will be put to the test this hour as our characters deal with long-buried truths that have come to light. Important decisions will need to be made and the words spoken now will be more crucial than ever. Some are luckier than others when it comes to a shot at reconciliation, but one can only wonder if that simply places a temporary bandage on the relationship.

With the major heir out of the picture, Yoon-ha’s place in the family becomes center stage because everyone says so. She may not have much of a choice in the matter, but she is free to act upon her decisions as she sees fit.

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Ailee – “열애설 (Scandal)” [ Download ]

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EPISODE 7 RECAP

When confronted with a tensely awkward moment upon Yoon-ha’s appearance, Chang-soo diffuses the situation but keenly observes Joon-ki and Yoon-ha’s interaction before casually asking if they’re seeing each other. Joon-ki doesn’t deny it, to Yoon-ha’s delight.

Chang-soo coolly plays off the moment, saying he could’ve been more careful if he’d known earlier. He’s been on a seon with Yoon-ha, after all. Whereas Chang-soo speaks candidly about this truth, Yoon-ha gets upset that she didn’t get to tell her friend about their one-time date first.

Even now, Chang-soo can empathize with Ji-yi’s hurt feelings about being left in the dark, but Yoon-ha spins that statement to be about her because she just found out about Chang-soo’s relationship with Ji-yi today.

She’s clueless as to why her name has topped the search engines today while Chang-soo explains how he set up this outing so they could all talk through it, but Ji-yi won’t be coming.

He argues in her defense that if he were in Ji-yi’s shoes, he wouldn’t want to see the friend who deceived him that long ever again. “It was probably hard for our Ji-yi to be friends with you,” he notes before leaving behind a still very confused Yoon-ha.

Despite her dampened mood, Ji-yi picks up when Chang-soo calls. She’s quick to point out how casually he speaks of Yoon-ha—why not date each other if they’re both rich? When Chang-soo calls that a skewed perspective, she says he was the one who argued that there was a difference between social classes.

Realizing that this argument will end up in circles, Chang-soo bids her goodnight and hangs up. Evidently Ji-yi hasn’t eaten in light of today’s revelations, but then realizes that there’s no reason to starve herself because of it.

Still puzzled at how the public found out about her not-so-covert part-time job, Yoon-ha explains to Joon-ki that she declared herself completely independent from her family starting today. Although Joon-ki understands how one could declare financial independence, cutting emotional ties is much harder. But Yoon-ha says she’s been emotionally detached for a long time now because she once lived apart from her family as a tween.

At her self-declaration that she’s often highly suspicious of people, Joon-ki asks if that applies to him as well. We know and he knows, but only she knows now that she wasn’t with him. She has a number of reasons why, like how Ji-yi once liked him, that he’s Chang-soo’s friend, and his good relationship with his mother.

This is the first time she’s ever opened up to someone so easily, and she swears that once she lets someone in, she trusts them forever. Ji-yi is one of those people, which makes her wonder if she might be really upset with her. That’s probably a yes right about now.

Just when Yoon-ha decides to go see Ji-yi, she gets a call from home. Joon-ki insists on taking her home, arguing that he’s never done so before and that’s one of the joys of dating. “Won’t you make me happy?” How is that a question? Of course she does.

Noting that Yoon-ha has always been the odd one out, because god forbid she associated with the help, Ye-won remembers how her younger sister lived overseas at a young age. But living in China back then would prepare her little for actually running an office there now.

The way Ye-won and her secretary spin how this is all supposedly Chairman Jang’s pre-meditated plan for Yoon-ha to become a contender frankly gives Yoon-ha more credit than she deserves. However Ye-won still believes that this sense of uncertainty is still yet another test given to her by their father.

Still, one news article could put Yoon-ha in a positive light, and it doesn’t hurt that she’s easy on the eyes. Ye-won finds offense in that, because she thinks So-hyun is prettiest.

Speaking of whom, So-hyun clamors to fill Madam Min on how Yoon-ha’s exposé broke her previous record of most social media attention, of which the latter couldn’t care less about. Hearing that Yoon-ha is coming home, So-hyun says that must mean little sis hasn’t actually left yet. But what grabs Madam Min’s attention is the news that Yoon-ha owns some company stock, thanks to Kyung-joon.

Chang-soo gets called out by a friend to a club, where he runs into Joon-ki’s ex. She’s livid to hear that he’s already seeing someone else, asking if he asked her if she was a chaebol’s daughter beforehand. That piques Chang-soo’s curiosity: “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Madam Min is convinced that Yoon-ha knows something about Kyung-joon that the rest of the family doesn’t, to which I’m going to say, likely not. The rest of the family takes interest in Kyung-joon’s will being read out tomorrow, though the bigger question is: Why would a man his age have already prepared a will? This important insight brought to you by the airhead sister in the family.

So-hyun even points out that everything that’s happened so far hasn’t been what they predicted. She wonders if Yoon-ha might end up becoming Kyung-joon’s daughter’s new guardian, given how close Yoon-ha was to their brother.

Ji-yi is busy drunkenly lamenting her fortune from her rooftop when Yoon-ha finds her. She’s too hurt to be outright angry with her friend, and has tears in her eyes when she mentions how Yoon-ha tried telling her the truth earlier today.

She’s angrier at herself for not having figured it out sooner—even though she suspected when Yoon-ha and Chang-soo recognized one another, she never imagined that her friend might be rich herself. Back then, she thought Yoon-ha’s family could be working for Chang-soo’s family or that she had a sponsor. Yoon-ha: “But when I denied it, you believed me right away.”

It breaks my heart to see Ji-yi look so defeated, as she says she believes herself to be cursed. Then that sad moment turns on its head as she laments how it’s hard enough for people to meet one wealthy person in a lifetime, but there are two chaebols in hers.

The realization that Ji-yi’s well into her second bottle of soju breaks the tension between them, and Yoon-ha tells her friend that she likes Joon-ki too much to have any feelings for Chang-soo. But Ji-yi admits that she’s still sad because while she was never jealous toward a chaebol’s son, she was envious of chaebol daughters.

She wants to be someone that Chang-soo could go on a seon with, date, and then marry. “But why did I become a woman who can date [him], but not marry [him]?”

Being the ever-amazing person she is, Ji-yi sympathizes with her friend’s struggle of keeping her wealthy background a secret. Living an honest life would’ve been hard for someone whose lifestyle everyone envied, and no one would truly understand her suffering.

Moved, Yoon-ha downs some soju before gathering up the courage to open up to Ji-yi about her family. Her mother voiced her disapproval at her ever since she was young, and she was the only one to be hit among her siblings. “I was always alone,” Yoon-ha says tearfully.

“I had trouble breathing ever since junior high. It was better being lonely on my own rather than feeling lonely within my family,” Yoon-ha confesses. She suffered from emotional abuse from her mother, but she still understands where her mother is coming from. Are we… not going to talk about how Ji-yi’s parents are divorced? No, still you?

Yoon-ha envies her friend’s generous personality, which Ji-yi has stolen her heart with. Somehow Yoon-ha’s kind words actually console Ji-yi, and this heart-to-heart has made her feel a lot better. Yoon-ha: “I love you.”

The mood turns when Ji-yi says she misses Chang-soo now, which has Yoon-ha realize that Joon-ki’s still waiting for her in his car. But Ji-yi is against inviting boyfriends over if one of theirs is absent, so Yoon-ha calls Chang-soo over.

We rewind back to Chang-soo’s conversation with Joon-ki’s ex, who’s interested in whether Joon-ki’s new girlfriend is more prestigious and wealthy than she is. Chang-soo won’t stand to hear his buddy being insulted, but she leaves him with words to ponder over: “You think Joon-ki is staying by your side as a friend because he actually likes you? If he doesn’t see a use for you, he throws you away.”

Chang-soo finds Joon-ki waiting down below when he pulls up. He laughs dryly when Joon-ki defends Yoon-ha’s nosy habits, noting that they haven’t been an item for that long. Thank you. Joon-ki counters that their feelings for each other trumps a period in time, then tells Chang-soo to stop beating around the bush.

“I don’t really know you,” Chang-soo states. “Whether or not the Joon-ki I know is the actual you, I can’t be certain.” Hearing Joon-ki toss back that he thought he knew Chang-soo rather well only infuriates him, though Chang-soo keeps his cool.

It nags at him even more when Joon-ki says everyone caters to Chang-soo’s needs anyway. But Chang-soo believes that of all people, his best friend should be different. “You don’t know me, either,” he realizes.

Having reconciled, Yoon-ha and Ji-yi chat about the perks and woes of her lavishly rich lifestyle. Chang-soo is surprised by this sight, thinking that they should be fighting right now. The girls dish it right back, then they high-five at the idea that Taejin Group is probably larger than Yumin.

Chang-soo appeals to Joon-ki for help, which the latter doesn’t give. Yoon-ha says she had too much to drink, Joon-ki says he can take her home. When Ji-yi says the same thing to her sweetheart, Chang-soo flatly tells her, “Go inside and sleep. Don’t come crying to me later.” Pfft.

After Joon-ki and Yoon-ha leave, Chang-soo apologizes to Ji-yi. She says (in banmal) that’s the second time he’s said sorry, and he says she’s the first girl he’s ever apologized to. He’s impressed by her optimistic nature when she says she considers it a good thing to be the first of something in his life and that he’s laughing now.

His anger and frustration dissipated, Chang-soo pulls her close as she nestles into his chest.

Joon-ki drops Yoon-ha and her car at home, and when she asks if he’s just going to leave, he places a kiss on her forehead. She sits down with her mother, who asks what Kyung-joon’s last words to her were. Yoon-ha honestly replies that it was about the guy she’s seeing, whom she’s seriously considering marrying.

She informs her mother of her emancipation from this household; she no longer wishes to remain in a house without her brother. “I wasn’t able to choose the family I was born into, but I will choose my family from now on.” She plans on creating a warm family environment with her special someone. Whoa, getting a little ahead of ourselves, aren’t we?

Hearing all this scares Madam Min, who wonders just how Yoon-ha did all that and coerced Kyung-joon into buying company stocks for her. That’s news to Yoon-ha’s ears, but Madam Min doesn’t believe a word of it, thinking that her daughter lied to her about everything since then.

Madam Min challenges Yoon-ha’s capabilities of breaking free from his household. She’s still hung up on those company stocks (which she hasn’t confirmed), but Yoon-ha says she just wants to live a normal, humble life. Madam Min calls her daughter selfish for continuing to live her own life after her brother’s death disappearance: “Can you still call yourself human after that?” Jeez louise, woman.

Chairman Jang won’t let her walk out that door freely, and furthermore, she’s needed at the company. Not quite the comforting “your family needs you here” chat, Mom.

Yoon-ha doesn’t understand why Kyung-joon would have reserved stocks for her, which is when she remembers the key he gave her. She heads for the now-empty library where Ye-won is waiting for her.

Yoon-ha denies that she’s searching for something and declines her unni’s help for getting acclimated at the office because she won’t show up for work. She’s already cleared the matter with their father, a statement Ye-won takes note of.

The two sisters leave together to avoid suspicion, though Ye-won orders her secretary to dig into Yoon-ha’s activities. Once in the clear, Yoon-ha heads back inside, searching through the drawers for the key, to no avail.

Her eyes well up with tears at the sight of the bench she and Kyung-joon shared their final chat on. She sobs at the happy memories she shared with Kyung-joon.

Chairman Jang gets the lowdown on Joon-ki the following morning. He wonders how his daughter could be dating someone so beneath her station, to which his right-hand man mentions that Joon-ki possesses model-like features. Does this show realize that this is the second time they’ve used physical attractiveness as a defense for their leads this hour?

Apart from the fact that Yoon-ha slept at home despite declaring herself financially independent from this point forward, she reflects upon these recent truths made known to her before sitting down with her father about the media debacle about her having a part-time job.

She argues that her father could use it to his advantage, playing up the story that he’s instilling good life lessons for his privileged daughter. When asked when she plans to move out, Yoon-ha says her opinion doesn’t matter when Chairman Jang will do as he wishes anyway.

He orders her to show up to work at the company, surprised when she readily agreeable. Yoon-ha attributes it to women usually being fickle, and asks for a few days to prepare herself.

Chairman Jang and Madam Min sit to hear Kyung-joon’s will, which names Kyung-joon’s child to inherit all of his assets and Madam Min as the child’s legal guardian. She’s not surprised to find Yoon-ha waiting in her room to tell her about working for the company now. But when Yoon-ha brings up Kyung-joon’s name and about his death/disappearance, she sends Yoon-ha away.

Yoon-ha calls to let Joon-ki know that she won’t be moving out after all. He takes a mental note of that, then keeps asking her questions about her next steps. His persistence isn’t lost on her, but a quick sidestep is enough for her to change the subject.

Agreeing to spend the day together, Yoon-ha recalls her friend’s wishes for some opulent indulgence, which would be one happy memory that she’d remember for a lifetime. So she sends a car to Ji-yi’s place, then calls up Chang-soo (whose mother thinks they’re seeing each other again) to join them on a double date.

Elsewhere, Lady Kim trades out her sparkly figure skating outfits for bright-colored suits. It’s her attempt to looks more like a classy chaebol woman, and fishes for compliments from Mama Lee.

She reveals her desires to bear Chairman Jang’s child, since that would provide her with some security. Lady Kim admits that the thought crossed her mind in her thirst for revenge, and Mama Lee has her reflect on the kind of impact that would have on the child.

Ji-yi gasps when pulling up to Yoon-ha’s lavish mansion, then turns into an excited fangirl when she meets So-hyun in person. So-hyun is flattered up until the moment Ji-yi mentions that she made a spelling error in one of her recent posts. Ha.

Ji-yi looks to be on the verge of tears when Yoon-ha shows her a closet full of clothes, shoes, and accessories she bought for her friend. Now she can finally give them to her, and directs her to choose her outfit for her fancy night out tonight.

The girls have fun trying on dresses together and prettifying themselves for their big night out. They take a selfie together, and Yoon-ha has no idea that that key she’s been looking for is tucked amongst her various accessories.

While Yoon-ha and Ji-yi enjoy drinks in the limo, the mood is strained in Joon-ki’s car ride with Chang-soo, who announces that his father has decided to give him stocks from the hotel without his other two hyungs finding out. He asks Joon-ki to take care of the matter.

Joon-ki points out that Chang-soo holds a smaller percentage than his elder brother, to which Chang-soo says he own real estate, which is a better investment. He scoffs at Chang-soo’s mention of meeting his ex who seems to harbor a lot of grudges against him—they must share some common ground then since it seems like Chang-soo’s also holding a lot of grudges against him lately.

Chang-soo takes a beat before saying that he’d never talk about his friend behind his back, and Joon-ki changes the subject by asking after his buddy’s future with Ji-yi. Chang-soo turns the question back on him, and Joon-ki replies, “How can a man and woman date each other if they already know what the outcome is?”

He disagrees when Chang-soo says it’s the same for him: “You’ve already determined the outcome.”

The mood is still strained between them while they wait for their ladies outside. That’s when the limo pulls up and Ji-yi and Yoon-ha emerge in their fancy dresses.

Chang-soo breaks into a smile, but then starts to be a tease, telling Ji-yi that he won’t say what she wants to hear from him. Ji-yi pouts, and Chang-soo returns, “You’d think I’d fall for it, didn’t you?” Ji-yi scowls back, “Can’t you just say that I look pretty?”

Both pair of friends look at their partners for the evening—one friendship on the mend, the other threatening to come apart at the seams.

 
COMMENTS

We’re at a weird place with both of our friendships, and to be frank, I feel more awkward for our main four characters in that last shot than they do. The revelation of Yoon-ha’s wealthy family and that’s why she and Chang-soo run in the same social circles has led to two different outcomes between them: one friendship has reconciled rather quickly while the other is shaken from its foundation. Of these two, I’m drawn to how Chang-soo is faced with questioning the one friendship he never had to before. We know that he hates to feel used by others, and at present, he’s still scoping out the situation with Joon-ki. He even calls Joon-ki’s bluff when told to come right out with it, and it’s Joon-ki who then clams up again.

It doesn’t help that our leading couple are people we still don’t quite fully understand in this series. You’d think by the halfway point in a series, you would at least know a main character’s motivation regardless of whether it makes sense or not, or if you do or don’t agree with it. It’s the idea of clueing us in as viewers that’s essential if we’re to follow along in step with them, and yet we’re still left in the dark. Instead you have Joon-ki, who has remained a mostly static character who may or may not have a grand plan for success in place, and a heroine who touts ideals that get cast aside not long afterward.

So because there’s so little to decipher from Joon-ki the cipher, my attention is drawn to Yoon-ha. Even if we were to call the jinx a fluke, there have been other instances since then where her behavior doesn’t match the words she professes. It blows my mind to think that her most important ideals like earning money to be financially independent and placing emotional and physical distance from her crazy family were discarded when a convenient plot point suddenly became important. More than the idea that a show needs to keep its story chugging along, it’s the fact that doing away with Yoon-ha’s core principles pokes holes in the veracity of the high-minded declarations she makes. In other words, the more you break down a character’s integrity in the decisions that she makes and the actions that follow, the less reason I have to care for her as a viewer.

What should be a moment of pity for her as Yoon-ha opens up to her best friend — who must be an actual saint — I couldn’t help but think how unfair Ji-yi has it being friends with Yoon-ha. And how Yoon-ha thought of how understanding Ji-yi would be about keeping her in the dark, only to be upset when her friend was legitimately hurt over it. Ji-yi’s unconditional love for Yoon-ha is one of the slim threads that keep us connected to Yoon-ha. One can only hope that Yoon-ha won’t think that she can fall back on the idea that Ji-yi will accept her no matter what to do whatever she likes, following Chang-soo’s words of advice about not taking advantage of Ji-yi’s sweet nature.

Yoon-ha’s family is an even stranger lot of beings, because they actually think that Yoon-ha is some sort of strategic mastermind. It’s a warning bell when the dumbest sister is the one coming up with the smartest hypothesis in the hour, because it shows promise that the writer can insert sense and logic into its characters but using the least important mouthpieces to do so. What’s even more mind-boggling is how the last fifteen minutes tried to balance the idea of her newest determination of working at Taejin (when she was prepared to take her Taejin perks and be financially independent not too long ago) and make it up to her friend with things presumably bought with her family’s money. Next thing you know, they’ll be telling us that her relationship is a sha—… wait a minute.

 
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Another interesting ep. for me. Thank you for the recap! I love that JY found out about YH in the last ep., yet made up with her in this ep. Those girls are good friends. I wish CS and JK could do the same, and fight their real enemies, like CS's brothers. I liked that YH gave a make over to JY, and that they had fun together.

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Chang-soo and Joon-gi have a lot to work through before their friendship can be repaired. Chang-soo needs to understand that he's not better than Joon-gi just because he was born into a chaebol family, he needs to respect Joon-gi and treat him like an equal, not a lackey. He treats Joon-gi the way the mistress treats Joon-gi's mom. That's not a friendship, and Joon-gi needs to release his inhibitions, not every rich person is going to look down on him, he needs to know that being rich and powerful doesn't mean people will respect you, it just means they won't disrespect you to your face. I think he's learning that bit by bit from his relationship with Yoon-ha.

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Hello Ek Ladhki Thi,

I hope you saw the messages I left you in ep.6 recap. Last week ended up being so busy, and I also got sick, which didn't help :-( I had so much I wanted to say though...

I really like what you said in your response. It would be interesting to find out how CS and JK’s “friendship” started, because CS seems to be able to treat and talk to JK however he sees fit (at the time), however JK cannot reciprocate the behavior. I am curious as to how long that has been going on. Did this behavior start when JK came to work under CS, or did it start when they started hanging out together, when they were in school? To be honest, since the beginning of the drama, when JK tries to tell CS what he honestly thinks, on an issue, CS makes a point of demeaning him, and reminding him of his position in their “friendship.” How (and when) is JK supposed to be honest with CS then? I would be the same way, if I cannot be honest with someone, especially with someone who considers me “his/her friend.” I would have a hard time talking honestly to that person, and I would personally not be “Friends” with that person. I know that JK wants to be among the rich and powerful, which is part of why he is still around CS.

Unfortunately, JK seems to think that one could not become wealthy in Korea if one is not a part of the elite. That seems to be one of the underlying themes/thoughts of this drama universe, and so JK has bought into the idea that he either needs to marry (really) rich, or/and be among the rich and powerful, to eventually have that position and lifestyle. The thing for me is that I still don’t see JK as totally dark (as a character). Whether he is (totally) calculating or not, I continue to find some sincerity and genuine tenderness for some of the things he does to and for YH, such as the forehead kiss, for ex. It was a simple gesture, but that touched YH. Yes, JK himself outed YH to the press, however, as YH and YW’s Sec. have pointed out, what JK did could be spinned into something positive. I would do that.

I am still hoping this drama is a case where JK and CS fall deeper and deeper for their girlfriends, while not realizing at the time how deep they have fallen in love with them. CS is certainly going that route, so I hope JK will too. About their friendship, and about this, “he needs to respect Joon-gi and treat him like an equal, not a lackey.” Yes, CS does. However, as JK pointed out to him, because of CS’s position/status, everyone “matches up to him,” so CS has never had to learn to actually respect other people, and try to see and feel things from THEIR perspective. Maybe that would be the case if CS had guy friends who were chaebols or higher socially than him, maybe not. Also, CS has been getting the message at home and from his mom, that he doesn’t need to care about how other people feel, unless they have money and power. And I agree with this, “He treats Joon-gi the way the mistress treats Joon-gi’s mom.”

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About this, “That’s not a friendship.” No it is not, and it makes me wonder if CS truly wants a friend, or merely a lackey, or a dog who barks and does what he wants, when he wants it. I find CS hard to please, when it comes to JK, and when it comes to YJ (to an extent). I feel that CS rationalizes his behavior towards JK and JY, and he makes excuses as well. CS SAYS he wants one thing, yet his behavior (at times), says otherwise. If CS wants a lackey, he should have said so. Masters and bosses can be kind and (financially) generous to their minions/lackeys as well, (the way CS has been to JK). It is just that each person knows his/her place in the relationship.

Regarding JK, maybe every rich person he has met so far has looked down on him, which might be why YH feels different and refreshing to him. He might not buy into her ideals and ideas, however, the longer he is with her, the more I hope JK would come to appreciate the love, warmth, and genuine care that exist in his family, and how precious that is. Having money does help a lot in life, though I agree with YH, it will not guarantee happiness. I think JK was traumatized, when he saw how his father had been disrespected, and treated. Children can take those kinds of things as their own, and become really hurt by it. I was the same way as a teenager, when my mother was having a hard time, I wanted to protect her, and I took that pain on emotionally. That is why parents have to be careful what they tell their children, and how much they share. JK also does not seem to have any true friends, like CS. He seems to have acquaintances, like the journalist, but no true friends, who truly know him, and can be honest with him. Does JK wants to have such friends? It doesn’t seem so. I am hoping that YH can become that person, over time.

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i find it unfair that Chang Soo is heavily judged for not treating Joon Ki with the utmost respect as a friend, yet Joon Ki's insincerity himself is being justified with assumptions. Well, then again, that's just me. the lopsided judgment is too blatant for me to not see it as such.

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I don't see any true moments, after he kissed her on the forehead, he had this look of disgust--even hatred--on his face.....
And the other episode when she gave him a back hug, he pushed her away.
It seems painful to him to be emotional with her, so I don't think he truly likes her at all....

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Hello ocapstic,

I guess we are looking at it differently then, and that is OK. I feel that JK does at times tender things, because he can tell YH wants it, or would feel comforted by it. At the same time, though he might not have originally initiated the forehead kiss for example, I feel that JK was left pensive after he had done it (and other acts like that). I think that on the rooftop, he actually wanted to kiss her, so he did, and she welcomed his kiss. I don't know if JK was an affectionate boyfriend before, or if he is at all (in general). I think he is ambivalent about those things. At times, he would make comments like, "don't expect me to say that I want to see you alone [you are enough,]" and then he drives her home (to maybe see her home), and yet at times, he seems to want to have that skinship with her, like when he takes her hand (when they are walking), when he wiped the food from her mouth, when he took her shopping at night (and he was going to pay for it), etc...

I think that in the kitchen, he felt uncomfortable by YH's affection and declaration (of what she wanted to do with her boyfriend), because he knew he had just betrayed her trust. It was kind of hard to play the loving BF there.

Also, they are in their 20s, and he might be physically attracted to her (she is to him, for sure). He didn't try to seduce her, and sleep with her when she was at this home. He slept on the sofa. He could also get her pregnant, CS's brother suggested that to YJ. I think the same could apply to a guy to wants to move up the ladder socially, since the wealthy family would not want the child to be born out of wedlock. But he has not gone that route. At times, he acts reserved with YH, and there could be many reasons for that.

Those are some of the reasons for me why JK has shades of grey. He knows what he wants, and he is very ambitious. Yet, as a commenter pointed out below, he had a good mom and parents, and 1-he might not go totally dark, or 2-he might go dark and come back, to being good, realizing what is important in life, and what YH actually meant to him (if he lost her, which I am hoping he will).

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Hi Ivoire, I do hope you're feeling much better now.

You're right about children taking on their parents' pain. It's something I've felt with my father, heaven rest him. I'm hoping JK and YH separate for a while too, and normally I hate when that happens in a drama, but these two need it. It'll give JK time to assess his feelings for YH and it'll give YH time to become a stronger person cause JK's betrayal would be the worst thing she ever experienced in her life, probably more than her brother dying.
And, I do think there are times when JK is being sincere with YH, but I don't think the first kiss on the rooftop was one of them. JK isn't all evil, yet at least, and I don't think he's capable of being as evil as he'd want to be, there are too many positive things in his life. His parents are stand-up people and he was raised with so much love it's not possible.

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really kwl episode!! thx for the recap!! <3

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writer should change Hyungsik-Jiyeon as the main lead and Sungjoon-Uee the 2nd one..

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that would be a "more realistic" version of boys over flower.

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I actually like that for once the main lead isn´t a chaebol who treats his girl like dirt.

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Despite being a straight female, I legitly went "wow" when JiYi came out of that limousine. I don't know if it was the pop of colours by that dress, her simple and elegant hairstlye, her bright shining eyes and smile or just that bright aura around her or everything combined that made her so beautiful. YoonHa was styled well too, but she didn't make me go "wow".

But so far, I'm not as frustrated about the characters as gummi though. Since last ep, I'd just tossed whatever YoonHa says becasue gurl has no idea what she wants, just what she doesn't want but now her oppa is messing with her getting away feom what she doesn't want.

JoonKi is layered and has walls up a mile high. People may scorn him for being fake but I s

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I thought the same! There's something about that blue dress JY wore that just makes her stand out!

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Someone in the last ep recap describe this as 'the chaebol daughter story from Can We Get Married grafted into the story of Innocent Man'.

the only difference is that the chaebol in CWGM actually leaves her family wealth and the guy in Innocent Man actually has some sort of reason for trying to seduce Moon Chae Won's character. I feel bad for the actors here because the drama leads are so poorly written.

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This is by no means a rant, just some observations:

1. Yoon Ha's mom belongs in an institution. I don't say this out of malice. I think it'll do her good.
2. The mistress is a piece of work. I'm not sure where she belongs.
3. The eldest sister somehow reminds me of Cruella de Vil, a tad cartoonish, a tad more hateful.
4. Yoon Ha is just delusional, in more ways than one, about starting a little family w Joon Ki and about being independent of her family. How do things work inside her head, I wonder.
5. Why is this show so intent on giving us long segments featuring 'fashion shows'? Last ep it was CS taking JY shopping; this ep it is YH and JY trying on pretty dresses? Is it that they have designer or dept store sponsor(s) who pay a lot for PPL? Or do they simply think that viewers are superficial enough to be salivating and satisfied by such parades of material goods? I kinda resent their idea if it is the latter.
It is not a grating watch, but neither is it gripping IMO.

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If the fashion show was meant to be PPL, then that is possibly the most adorable use of PPL I've seen in a drama. Yoon-ha had previously asked Ji-yi what she would want to do if she was a chaebol's daughter, and Ji-yi had replied that she wanted to go to a party wearing a pretty dress. Yoon-ha was trying to make her friend's wish come true by playing fairy godmother and I think to also show Chang-soo that Ji-yi also has class and how pretty she is. I really thought it was sweet. My favourite thing about this show is the adorable friendship between the girls.

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Yes, I thought it was cute we got another "makeover" sequence but this time from the perspective of a friend and not a princely boyfriend. Ji-yi seemed to actually enjoy this one.

Ahaha, it just occurred to me what an awesome twist it would be if the two girls ended up together. It'll never happen but they're 150% more compatible with each other than the guys.

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I definitely agree with your last statement.

Among the four lead characters, the two girls have the best chemistry together.

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Seriously?? I honestly find the two the most awkward with each other. The moments of friendship seem so forced, especially in this episode. I feel like when YH is supposed to be looking concerned at JY, she looks like she's staring at a terminal kid or something. I get it to some extent, cos JY's so oblivious/cute/helpless, but their friendship just really doesn't sell for me.

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I agree. The girls are adorable together, and it's nice to see positive, supportive female friendships when people are always so weirdly obsessed with "bromances. "

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Another comment well said, Ek Ladhki Thi! I personally loved the fashion show as well, and the make-over in general. And both girls (and maybe actresses) had fun doing it, and they were trying on beautiful dresses, better than when JY went out with CS.

And yes, YH WAS trying to make her friend's wish come true, by playing fairy godmother. And I loved the dresses they ended up wearing, and the ones they tried on. I for one am glad that JY is not made to be the evil 2nd lead we often get in Kdramas. This is much better. We see more bromance in Kdramas, than we see sistermance, IMHO.

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Ha, ha... I love your statements/questions.
1. Betrayed hysterical rich man's wife and probably some tycoon's daughter.
2. The mistress is the "has-been cute girl". The future is tough for her. I will not even start on my views about the depiction of mistresses in kdrama.
3. I think of her as a guy (and a much older one) and she makes perfect sense. Actually I think that oppa and unni were supposed to be older.
4. Romantic rich girl's dreams. She hasn't thought it through.
5. Ads! SBS is really pushing the envelope in all its dramas.

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@korini - #2 Frankly, when I first read your "has-been cute girl", right after reading "some tycoon's daughter" I conflated the two and now have this theory:

What if Mme. Min (or as Butler Hong affectionately calls her, Agasshi) and Chairman were actually like YH and JK forty years before? Didn't Mme. Min lament that Chairman had been different? Didn't she say in some previous ep that there had been love in their marriage before? Or what she perceived as love? That Chairman couldn't fire Hong because he came with her dowry, so to speak - meaning SHE was the one with the money in that relationship. Hmmmm.

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I forgot to mention my two fav chars in this show:

1. JK's mom. She can teach that most popular course at Harvard, the one on Happiness. The woman is an expert on Positive psychology. She is so steadfast, so honest, so sweet. That is why I have confidence in JK. So he has thoughts of crossing to the other side of the tracks, but I trust that he'll do right by YH in the end. With a mother like that, he's gotta turn out alright.

2. YH's Oppa. Is it strange that the person I care about the most isn't even in the picture anymore? I want to know if he is hiding somewhere, if this is all an elaborate plan of his, to wring control of the company from his nasty sister, and transfer it to YH. As to why he thinks YH is smart is beyond me. The writer hasn't given us any evidence of it 8 eps in.

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@Ivoire (sorry I can't make replies on my phone), it is a nice change to see a poor girl's style makeover coming from another girl instead of from her bf. That's not common in any drama.

and girls are more likely to have good fashion sense anyway.

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@ pigsnout, Hi!

I had the same problem last week, when I tried to respond to Ek Ladhki Thi. My comment went at the very bottom, as a post, instead of a comment/response to a post that was already here :-)

In response to your comment, thank you, and I thought the same way. I did think it refreshing to see a girl/woman give another woman a make-over, for a change. That was really nice, and yes, YH had a much better fashion sense than CS did . It just felt different, when YH gave the make-over. She was fulfilling her friend’s dream, whereas CS wanted JY to “match up” to him, so he could actually be “seen” with her. I think the motives behind each make-over make a difference as well, don’t you? And both women had fun, during that session. I loved it when YH was applying make-up on JY, like JY was her sister, which she probably sees her as such. I really love their friendship, how they understand each other (or try to), and how they respect each other. A tell sign was when JY was putting Director Jerk down, for only wanting to date her, and not marry her, and YH proceeded to insult CS. As soon as JY said, “hey, don’t go that far about my boyfriend,” YH apologized, and looked contrite. That was so cute, but also an indication of how much both women care about each other. I really loved that scene.

I also personally liked that YH actually does know YJ. She knew that YJ would eventually understand why she did what she did (hide her identity), and forgive her. I didn’t think that YJ was dumb or dense, for not figuring out sooner that YH was a chaebol’s daughter. JY is actually very emotionally intelligent, and she is smart in general. She can read people, and interpret what is going on. She knew when JK was interested in YH. She also knew what CS’s brother was trying to do to her (make her feel terrible), and I think that it is one of the things YH appreciates about YJ. YJ also guessed what the chef said, at the Japanese restaurant. I find YH to be very protective of YJ, and I love that. She does want her friend to be happy and live well. And so far, YH has not put down or treated YJ or JK badly. I hope she won’t change. Also, in YH’s defense, she did try to tell YJ who she really was.

When CS was on the rooftop with YJ and YH, I loved it when they ganged up on him, and put him in his place (loved that line about “you are not even among the top 10 chaebols, and my family is wealthier than yours”). And then JK left him hanging, so satisfying  I really love the sistermance in this drama. I hope that will continue. I also love that CS actually cares about how YJ feels at any moment (he wanted to reconcile with her), though I still wish he would have a mouth filter and see her as his equal, not someone he is superior to. Why did he apologize to her? For not telling her earlier about the blind date with YH and knowing her, or about going on a blind date earlier with the other chaebol daughter?

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Was CS apologizing about wanting to date YJ, but not marry her? Or about all of the above? I was confused about that. Do you know?

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It was most likely all of the above, since all those things made her hurt and he does care about her feelings even though he's such a jerk.

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Thanks heaps for the recap gummimochi!

I'm watching this show out of a perverse interest in seeing what might go wrong for the characters and in the execution of this show LOL! So my enjoyment of it is tinged with much to question and critique.

I do like that we still have our couples to compare and play off each other as we look for some signs of healthy couple growth.

It was extremely telling that Joon Ki seems to have all the 'action' of a caring boyfriend when he has ulterior motives, while Chang Soo who really wants to date Ji Yi does not bother with the 'action' much, except where it suits him. It's so ironic that for both couples, we as viewers cannot swoon over their romances, because JK's actions don't reflect the right sentiments, and CS's true admiration are not reflected in his actions. Frustrating!!!

Something more that bothers me about JK... 'Joon-ki insists on taking her home, arguing that ... that’s one of the joys of dating. “Won’t you make me happy?”'... is this not emotional blackmail? Not nice even in the ordinary run of relationships, but somehow it seems doubly bad here, because of the deceit or the doublespeak... maybe he is happy to give her a lift so that he gets to be near where the chaebols live and might bump into them or something, (Sorry for the cynical note) but he lets her think he's caring about her and effectively twists her 'No' into a 'Yes'.

I've said before that I worry about YH. :)

Trying to understand YH's change in decision... she seems to remember that her brother had been hinting that she should be taking over the company's business and that he left something for her under lock and key. Perhaps now realizing that this is important and needing time to find the key, and discover what her brother may have planned, she has changed her mind about abandoning her place in the family.

Ji Yi was cute and honest enough to admit that if YH had not said she was not smart, she would not have believed the rest of what YH said. But when asked what she'd do with lots of money, I rolled my eyes when she wanted to wear an off-shoulder dress and make memories wearing it. Childlike maybe, or shallow? Anyway, I'm glad that we had that happy sequence of 2 girls playing dress-up and taking selfies. I should watch it again and take a note of the clothes LOL!

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I agree, Yoon-ha herself said to her mother that she wasn't leaving the house until she figured out what happened to her brother. She was going to leave because she had no reason to stay when the only person that made her feel welcome was gone, but now that she has found a reason, she's not going anywhere.

I don't think Ji-yi was childish or shallow, she wants to experience a once-in-lifetime thing. I think it is very true of how people normally are. We all have dreams, some just have dreams that simpler than most people's.

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About this, "I don’t think Ji-yi was childish or shallow, she wants to experience a once-in-lifetime thing. I think it is very true of how people normally are. We all have dreams, some just have dreams that simpler than most people’s."

I agree with Ek Ladhki Thi again. I didn't take JY's comment as being childish or shallow. I saw it the way Ek Ladhki Thi saw it. I actually did it once. I nannied (took care of their children) for a family for 5 years, and the mom traveled a lot to conferences (she was a professor). I would go with her because she had 3 children in 6 years, so she was usually nursing at some point, and needed me when she would be gone during the day. One time in Chicago, a limousine picked us up from the airport, I don't remember how and why that happened. When we got off, I did take some pictures of the limo, because I didn't know when I would be in one again, and it was my 1st time being in a limo. And I haven't been in one since. So that might seem shallow or childish, however to me, it was a sentimental memory. I got to experience that because of my work, and I had wondered what a limo feels like inside.

And yes, when I feel down, I too like to look at old or past pictures of places I have been privileged to go to, and people I have been blessed to meet. Some of whom I never thought I would get to see up close. So when JY said that "she wants to create memories [so she can hang on to them, and trudge/push through the hard times]," (or something to that effect), I totally understood her. In some ways, I am the same way.

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>she seems to remember that her brother had been hinting that she should be taking over the company’s business and that he left something for her under lock and key

Yes, that was what the writer came up with but it was such a cheap plot device. How working at the company will help her find a key and what he was thinking? I'd have preferred if her reason was that old cliche of mad CEOs threatening the poor boyfriend.

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@ Lixie

The flashback to the key seems to have triggered her change of mind, however there were other memories she had about what her brother would have wanted for her plus assurances that her brother would have had a good reason to buy the stocks in her name. So in that sense, I do not feel it is a 'cheap' (as in used because it was convenient instead of because it adds to the story) plot device, but it can be considered a plot device to explain the path she chose. Anyway, it's better than our not understanding where she is getting her ideas and ideals from! :D

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Hello GB unnie,

Good to read from you! :-) I totally agree with how Ek Ladhki Thi has explained things in the comment posted. I did feel that YH was dead set to leave the house, especially now that Oppa was gone. However, her mom's insistence that Oppa is not dead, and her mom's questioning of why Oppa bought stocks for her (under her name), + Butler Hong also pointing out to her that Oppa thinks things through before he acts (so he had some valid reasons/motives to buy those stocks under YH's name) made YH reconsider moving out. She has only changed her mind to figure out what is going on, and how that is related to Oppa's disappearance/death. YH has not changed her mind about moving out, she has simply postponed it. I got that.

YH knows that Oppa loved her, and if he wanted her at the company (though he knew his sister and what she was interested in, make-up), there had to be reasons for that. And as we know, Oppa gave her a key, and he mentioned wanting her to take over the company. YH not only loves her brother, she respects him as well. She knows him well enough to know that (as many have pointed out in the show), there must have been some reasons for him to manipulate many things to get YH involved in the company.

I love this turn of events, and I look forward to what Writer-nim will do next. YH was not fickled about moving out. She simply changed her mind, when she realized that Oppa was trying to tell her something. Why all his warnings to her? Which he didn't give his other sisters, hum...

And being at the company, and living at home are the best places for YH to be at. The shenanigans are happening at the company, and YW might move back in. YH needs to be in the thick of things, where the action is taking place, to find out (eventually) what is going on. The main players are there after all, at home and at the company: her dad, YW and their lackeys. Butler Hong seems nice though, and devoted to mom and to YH. I hope he is a good guy.

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Hi Ivoire

I'm glad the questions I posed have elicited such good responses. Although I rolled my eyes, I too understood. Maybe personally I'd use the money to travel for fun, so I'm probably equally 'shallow'.

Yes, I like that Yoon Ha has a valid reason to change her mind and stay where she can find out more about what her brother may have meant for her to do. I also think it is a nice twist that Joon Ki's publicising her part-time job was the trigger that brought this about indirectly. So whether or not Joon Ki knew how it would go, he certainly manipulated the start of the series of events that led to YH staying home, where he wants her.

However this twist is ironic in that despite the publicity YH was still going to leave the family, but the events (YH's father, sisters and mother's reactions) which neither JK nor YH could predict completely or manipulate still gave JK the desired result. I hope this does not make him too arrogant, or to think that he is the prime mover of YH's 'life'.

I hope that Butler Hong is not only loyal to the mother (that horrible woman) but is also compassionate and supportive of Yoon Ha. What she needs are allies so that she can obtain her position as is her due, as a daughter of the house. In this Joon Ki (because of his own objectives) and even Chang Soo (who's a friend of the family) and Butler Hong could be of help. I'd like to see that happen... that the relationships that began with mercenary motives evolve to become true friendships and love relationships because they decided to help Yoon Ha and each other. :)

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I can't help but I wanna say So Hyun 's voice is very annoying.

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Thank you!

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LOL!!!!! Yes, and I think it was done on purpose though. I think So Hyun is supposed to be annoying herself. That was probably why CS did not spend even 5 mns in her presence. And when she asked him if he did not find her attractive (personality and looks), he said, "yeah!" And he almost rolled his eyes, as he was leaving. He made a comment that I don't think was translated. It wasn't when I watched the ep. (6).

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The whole time I was watching this episode, I kept wondering who the main male lead was. Chang-soo seems more primary to me than Joon-ki. I'm not sure what's going on but Joon-ki acts like a second lead here than the first. In fact, his acting here is reminiscent of his role in Hyde, Jekyll & Me. Very odd.

Yoon-ha's mother is incredibly harsh. I feel no love, misguided or not, towards Yoon-ha. That scowl as she said "da-ga" when Yoon-ha pleaded with her to be on the same side was so hard to watch. I don't care if Yoon-ha "supposedly" resembles the president, isn't she your own flesh and blood? I can't see her being redeemable in the end. What would be her excuse for being such a wicked mother to her own child?

I love Joon-ki's mother. She's so direct with her employer, it's awesome.

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Joon ki's mother has mastered the art of saying much without saying anything at all. I do agree that she IS awesome! I also agree that Chang Soo is shining in his role more than Joon ki who does seem like the second lead. Maybe Sung Joon is struggling with his role, maybe the part of Chang Soo is easier to play but I can't help thinking that Park Seo Joon, who was initially offered this role, would've played the part so much better. Joon ki's role needs an actor who can convey enough to keep the audience interested, but still remain mysterious enough to keep us guessing and wondering. I don't think Sung Joon has enough skill as an actor to do that convincingly. (Don't shoot me, I am still his fan!) And that's why his scenes feel so flat and you get the feeling that he is second lead.

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I kept thinking that if JK were played by Joo Won, I'd feel his pain and resentment and motivations to break out of his poverty more!

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I agree...Sung Joon always just has those blank model looks but not a lot of emotion behind it...the only emotion I see is when he's kissing someone... LOL
Joo Won wouldn't been awesome--he can be mysterious but when he smiles he lights up the screen--not seeing that with Sung Joon.

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I though all four were leads. At least that´s what I have read about the drama.

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I felt the same way, too. I don't think this has happened to me watching a drama before. I was never confused as to who the main character was - be they broken or villainous. Being overshadowed by a second lead is not a good sign.

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The only thing keeping me watching this drama is the cuteness between Chang Soo and his mom.

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Seriously ? 7 episodes would mean 420 minutes and 'cute' mummy scenes with CS took all of 5 minutes in total ? Wow...talk about being able to sustain on so little :)

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I'm surprised a lot of people don't understand Joon-gi, one of the things I like about him is that no matter how ambitious he is, he isn't completely evil. He's loyal, very loyal in fact. He could do a lot betterthan Chang-soo if what he really wanted was a fast track to success, but he chose to stick by him even though sometimes Chang-soo treats him unfairly and without respect. He didn't break up with his ex-girlfriend until she insulted his parents and he didn't start anything with Yoon-ha until he saw how she treated his mom. Joon-gi is getting the short end of the stick because he's someone who has to keep all the walls built up. Yoon-ha mentioned in an earlier episode thathe has such huge bricks stacked onhis shoulders, but no one knows just how much those bricks are. Because of his friendship with Chang-soo, and because of how he saw his father being treated, he wants to be someone powerful, someone to be reckoned with. He doesn't want people to look down on him. He is so much smarter and more hardworking than Chang-soo and instead of Chang-soo to honestly ask his advice on how to do things, he orders Joon-gi around like he's his secretary or lackey and throws around the friendship thing when it suits him. I've said this before, I only find Chang-soo likeable when he is with the ever-adorable Lee Ji-yi. He is a huge, selfish and arrogant jerk mostof the time.

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Totally agree about Joon Gi and Chang Soo. Until Chang Soo stops acting like a brat, he annoys me. I like him and I want him to become a better person, but I think he's got a ways to go.

I like Joon Gi, except for how manipulative he is with Yoon Ha sometimes. Also that he outed her to the reporter. But for the most part, I think he is falling for her and is a good boyfriend, even if his initial intentions were shady.

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you are my favourite person in the internet right now..

i wonder why people dont get where Yoo Na is coming from.. are we even watching the same show?

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Perfect understanding Infact...totally I agree with you ! About JK and CS.. And JK really likes yoon ha because of her unconditional love for him.. And Ji yi is absolutely adorable... She is the one who is making this drama lovely and interesting in every episode..

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I disagree. :)

I don't think he's completely evil, at least not yet, but loyal???? I guy who lies all the time and has completely false close relationships is far from that.

He could not DO a lot better than CS, he could have a better job but he would hardly get a more naive and self centered chaebol who would think of him as friend even if he acts otherwise many times.

We don't know exactly why he broke up with the first girlfriend it was never explained, all his actions towards YH have been calculated and he manipulates her completely. There are plenty of ways to rise above his economic situation without using people like he does.

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Yes yes yes! TotLly agree with you. I don't understand why ppl can't understand Joonki!!

His character is wonderfully made, he is ambitious but ethical, calculative and attentive but amazingly loyal to his family. He already had that ticket to riches with the previous chaebol girl. He broke it off because he noticed the lady looked down and treated his parents poorly. That's why he lashes off curing the break up.

And despite being treated like lackey he works hard and doesn't actually take his "friendship" with changsoo lightly.
He is a be realistic character that understand he can't reach the top without connection be it friendship or marriage no matter how good he is at work. And what's wrong with that. He want that power and status to ensure nobody will insult his parents again!

I really love Joonki and his amazing characterization in this drama.

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Hello again Ek Ladhki Thi!

I loved reading your comment, as I too have understood JK from the time I started watching this drama. His motivations (and goals) to me are clear, and the reasons behind it are as well. I don't have to agree with him, however I understand him. Also, I don't find JK to be black and white (yet), I feel that he has shades of grey (I have said it before, I think), and I like that about him. JK is ambitious, yes! And he wants to turn his life around, socially, in a 180 degrees kind of way. In his mind, that would involve getting married to a chaebol daughter, and hanging out among the rich. It is not admirable, however he is not the only one to be that way (in the world).

I also do think that to a certain extent, he has been loyal to CS, maybe because for now, it serves his interests. That doesn't change the fact that JK works hard for CS. Also, I really love how JK continues to care about YJ. He still doesn't want YJ to be hurt by her relationship with CS, which she will be. I wrote a long response to your comment (to me) above, and I hope that you will read it. I understand JK's bad experience as a child, every child (or most) looks up to their parents, and it hurts when their "hero" is insulted or put down. Some children are more sensitive than others, and soak up what happens around them like a sponge. I was that way as a child, and I can still be that way at times. So again, Jk is not an enigma to me.

I have loved that what JK has done so far might have backfired positively. YH was outed, yet she decided to quit the same day, without knowing that she would be outed. And YH thought of a positive spin for the "scandal," which was good. So things have worked out, so far. I also think that JK is touched (something in him is touched) when YH opens up innocently to him, hugs him and basically shows him how much she cares about him and loves him. Where he is calculating and reserved, she is open and loving. I am hoping/thinking that the writer wants us to see that contrast, and I am hoping that eventually JK will realize that he would do well, with a woman like YH, in many areas. She has been traumatized as well, I don't think that her abuse by her mom and by her family is a small deal. She was hit as a child, and I will be willing to bet that she was not a horrible child. I was hit too as a child. Sometimes, parents don't know what to do with their children, and they are also a reflection and a product of their time. Being hit was seen as bad, back then.

I found it interesting that YH understood her mom, and to an extent she forgave her. I find that commendable. It is the best thing YH can do, for her mom, and for herself. I also understand why YH wants to leave home: she has not been safe there physically, and emotionally, and that was damaging.

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And with Oppa gone, why stay? He was the only person who came to love her, and wanted what might be good for her, and for the company.

I also feel that YH needs JK: he thinks before he jumps, which she doesn’t always do. And JK at times has told her what he was thinking, like what he was really thinking. The two of them could work well together (romantically and professionally), and add JY to that group (professionally). And I am hoping that Oppa will return. I miss him too. YH is moving fast with JK, though I understand it. She is in love, and for the time being, she feels safe with him, which she never felt at home. She wants those feelings again (that she kind of had with Oppa). I also think that YH can also read JK, when she pays attention. She did it in this ep.

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Great analysis!

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About this, " I only find Chang-soo likeable when he is with the ever-adorable Lee Ji-yi. He is a huge, selfish and arrogant jerk mostof the time."
I kind of feel the same way, though I wish he would filter some of what he says to JY at times (the hurtful and demeaning things. Not when he says things like " I only do things I don't want to do, when I am with you." That one was good).

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Very nice comment. I agree with you. He isn´t ashamed of being born to his poor parents, he loves them and he didn´t approach YooNa until he observed her behavior. It isn´t right he probably has some ulterior motives but it´s actually more realistic than those black or white characters we usually see in k-dramas.

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Your analysis about Joon Gi is excellent. I think his character is definitely misunderstood just because he might seemed scheming and ambitious, but not evil. And he is a filial son as well. He just has that shadiness in him that once the layers are all unpeeled it would make more room for character growth.

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Joon-ki DOES work for Chang-soo. Chang-soo is his BOSS. Bosses tell employees what to do.

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@Ek Ladhki Thi - 100% agree. JK could have sided with CS's Hyung, as Manager Sung did, but he didn't. I notice how aware he is, for example, of SC Mom's real feelings towards him. And CS's Hyung also. But that still hasn't pried him from CS's side. Despite CS's shoddy treatment of him at times.

I also believe he has too much love inheritance from his upbringing to succumb to the temptation surrounding him. That's why I'm invested in this drama. Can't wait to see what happens next, even though I'm already feeling for JK, especially.

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Hyung Sik totally stole the main lead from Sung Joon. His acting is way much better. He has the expression that Sung Joon failed to show in bringing his role. I wish the main lead were Sung Joon buddy in real life, Kim Woo Bin. He will definitely brings the character of Joon Ki way much better.

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Hyung Sik was really good on What Happens to my Family? though I could see his acting improve as the series went on. Seo Kang Joon was also on that show and he said that the veteran actors on that show worked to help their younger costars improve their acting. I think that's paid off for Hyung Sik as well.

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Ji Yi and Chang Soo continue to be the only consistent characters thus far. Unless we consider the consistent crazy that's YH's mom and the rest of that family.

Joon Ki is STILL so static I'm literally bored to death. Which is unfortunate because I marathoned Shut Up Flower Boy Band last week and loved Sung Joon so much that to see his character be literally an inatimate prop saddens me. I don't even care anymore why he is the way he is.

Yoon Ha's saving grace is literally her friendship with Ji Yi- in that her BFF is an angel that would forgive her for murder....probably. Other than that I see her absolute trust and obsession with Joon Ki off putting because he's done NOTHING that would clue us in as to why except that she's so blinded by his beauty she's thrown all caution to the wind. I did feel sympathy for her sob story but it was a little misplaced considering she should have been explaining why Joon Ki knew about her background before her best friend. Why she's turning to this guy over BFF for comfort at losing her brother.

I love that Chang Soo is finding out all these things about HIS BFF. He may have thrown his status around little with Joon Ki but honestly I think he'd have learned to back down on nonwork related topics had Joon Ki actually tried to call him out. It just seems like he liked JK enough to do so-I mean he's STILL defending him to other people despite his suspicions.

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I think it's really hard to play a character when a majority of what's happening is in his head. Like I said the other week when he stared into the mirror, I could see the emotional struggle... but it's hard to actually express it.

I've tried to take a step back and look more at the whole arc and not the individual episodes. The best I've come up with is that Joon Ki is ambitious but waffling because he was so well-raised. He reminds me of the girl from Cheongdamdong Alice. "I like you, but bonus, you're filthy rich and that's become a part of my like for you. So What?" On the other hand Yoon-Ha... the most generous interpretation I could come with for her is that she's trying to keep her family off-balance. She is about to push to break free and senses her dad is ready to push hard on the subject so she caves; this throws him off-balance and buys her time to think. It's like someone who can instinctually deflect and dodge in heated debate.

Which brings me to another point. Her older brother said that his father should make her the heir. Why? What does he know that we don't yet about her capabilities? Even though we've just seen her being kind of flaky, she's really well educated and has already studied abroad, right? It sort of does imply that Y-H has a certain... tactical talent and that her family isn't exactly making it up out of thin air. The problem is the writer should show US more evidence of that.

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I think they showed her negotiating ability very well in her conversation with her dad. I noticed that she is the one member of the family he actually listens to and treats with a kind of respect. He hasn't belittled her the way he has done with his wife, older daughter and son. She simply states what she wants from him and leaves, they don't really fight and she is level headed, clear and dispassionate when speaking to him. The chairman is no fool, he may know his children's abilities better than we think.

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@ Adal,

I really like your read on YH. Not only does she negotiate well with her dad, but she doesn't seem to be afraid of him. She tries not to disrespect him, to his face, and yet, she does state what she wants, and why. I was surprised, and impressed when she retorted to her dad that she had done her calculations, and that she felt that yes, she was entitled to the things that she had (through the company and at home), as compensation for her pain and suffering for living with the family she had, for so many years. And she didn't bat an eye, when she said it, and she was not disrespectful as she said it (her tone of voice). And her dad never said that she was wrong, when she mentioned her pain and suffering.

I wrote in my notes that I love how her dad opens his mouth, and then closes it, when she talks (like he is speechless). He did that in this ep., a few times. I feel that he is at times taken aback by what she says, and by who she is, and by how she says it. Her dad likes, in a way, I think. He might see in her what GJ saw in her as well. I sure hope GJ was not wrong, and I hope dad does not exploit her. I find her interactions with her dad interesting. Those interactions say quite a bit about those two, and how they see each other.

Some have indicated or seem to imply to that YH had it really good or still does, and she did, but only up to a point. To not have your mother's love (SMH) your whole life, to not be liked by your sisters (who kept insisting that YH is not pretty. Why are they so jealous of her?!!!!), to be causing "trouble" because you play with the help (SMH again), and to be around people and yet feel extremely lonely, has to be very hard. I don't have as much money as YH has, yet I don't know that I would want her life. And that is part of why when JK gives her some attention, she soaks it up, and she is open and so affectionate with him. She longs for that, and she likes that (and she missed that, growing up). Some people are just like that. I work with children, and I see that in some of them.

And JY said in this ep. that her parents' divorce was not that hard on her, lucky her. That is not usually the case. Emotionally, JY is better balanced than YH, which is another reason why she is good for YH, IMHO. I just really love how both girls get each other. I feel that they really do.

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Yeah I don't really take much issue with how she approaches her ridiculous family because they're so crazy you can't blame her being completely checked out emotionally.
So how she approaches her father is spot on in this case. In comparison to her older sister who has ambitions for the company, YH couldn't care less about it so when she's speaking to her father, she knows she gain/loses nothing from being a doormat and accordingly speaks with respect while standing her ground.
My issue with her character is more so on her complete trust in JK. I know she mentioned that JY thought he was such an upstanding guy and so she takes that to heart but there was still no point in time where he did something (does pouring water in her cup count?) that explains giving her heart so completely to him.
I do really like the BFF bonding between the girls because yes, JY is emtionally stronger and less damaged at heart compared to YH. In retrospect I get that she was trying to show JY that being filthy rich sucks regardless if your family treats you like shit. I just thought she'd do more to explain why she felt she needed to hide it all from her non judgy bestie all the while using stranger bot JK as her emotionally supportive pillar (unless it's simply because he's a MAN in which case...?)

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I agree with both of you. JK really is being pretty boring and static, which is funny considering all the machinating he's supposedly doing, somewhere...

Bringing up Cheondamdong Alice is interesting here--especially because I'm not sure we know the full extent of JK's sincerity. I'm not sure why exactly he told the reporter about YH (did I miss that?) but other than that, he seems to like her. It's not that I don't think he's being dishonest, but I'm not sure why he is. It's not like there's someone else he likes or that he doesn't like her and is pretending--so I don't really get this conceit of why he's being (or trying to be) so manipulative and scheme, outside of plot necessity.

And yeah YH's sympathy for herself is getting a bit old now. And I like this idea of her and JY contrasted with JK and CS, in addition to the contrast between their respective romances, but honestly, a lot of their friendship sometimes comes off as kinda awkward. Not totally sure why. Maybe it's because sometimes YH looks at JY like a puppy she's picked up off the street. The two just aren't natural with each other. Even CS and JK, for all their problems, can sell their friendship better. I'm actually rooting for them to fix themselves up, whereas JY and YH's friendship I'm rooting for mostly cos of JY.

CS's defense of JY to YH in the beginning was actually pretty spot on, and a nice moment for him. Though he's still generally a dick. I am hoping for some comeuppance there, so hopefully there will be conflict I'm more interested in soon.

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Just the mention of Cheondamdong Alice makes me realize how uninteresting this show has become for me. I didn't always like or admire Alice but she was intelligent and complex, and the love story there had real depth and bite.

The storyline here between the two leads is just dead-in-the-water. I don't think either of them is giving any kind of a performance, but this script isn't giving them anything at all to work with. The storyline with her family and the business machinations is even deader and more boring than the love story. At this point, I'm not sure even the reappearance of the nice dead brother can fire things up.

Chang Soo is adorable but his romance with the wide-eyed innocent begins to pall. I also wish the actress wasn't being directed to play this part like an overly enthusiastic puppy being offered a series of treats.

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Lol yeah I'm not sure if he's supposed to be doing any grand master planning (although staring out the window in the dark suggests it?) but all I'm seeing is is a guy that's resentful and has a chip on his for being treated as a bro while simultaneously being told his place by the same bro. I can see why that would piss anyone off. Espcially because he's ambitious enough to not want to let that go.
I just need to know what the stakes are, where is his line of thought, should I be lowkey rooting for the boy to fall in love when she's basically done all the work for him and I still don't know for sure if his reaction to that is just surprise or him reciprocating unintentionally.
I'll be honest I actually like the JY and YH relationship. I think they're cute and it's nice to see 2 females having a separate conversation about emotional pain over family vs just talking about boys all the time.
I do like where the guys are at as well because if they're going to have a lasting friendship, they need to really see each other first. So having CS open his eyes to JK's ambitious nature is overall going to be good once they air out their greviances and fight it out.
I do like CS with JY but yeah, he's a dick and needs to be out on the spot. Heh I like the girls ganging up on him to call him out on his BS though.

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You're "literally bored to death"? OMG, a ghost on the internet!

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LOL!!!! That was a good one :-)

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LOL okay I'll give you that haha

In my defense, I'd been up since 3 am?

:\

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I think the bad editing is the problem.

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Thanks for the recap. I am also frustrated with the lead couple relationship. We are practically at the halfway point and I'm still not all that invested. And I want to be because JK-YH are definitely the more interesting -there is a lot going on there. Is it the writing? The acting? the directing? The writing definitely needs improvement, but the acting is not strong with the 2 leads either - not strong enough to overcome the problems in the writing, in my opinion. Joon Ki 's character especially suffers because the audience is still being kept in the dark regarding his thoughts and motivations. I do wish that the writers had bothered to explore Joon Ki's reluctant attraction to Yoon Ha at the beginning, before he found out about her chaebol status. It would have been nice to see Yoon Ha have a reluctant attraction to Joon Ki while knowing that Ji Yi liked him. I feel this would have helped things make a bit more sense, rather than "He gave me a glass of water, some potatoes, and my friend told me that I like him. Therefore I am in love." Which is how it came across to me. In fact, I would have liked to have seen a longer setup for the JK-YH romance. I think just taking one extra episode to really set things up between them before the brother died would have gone a long way in making things seem more organic and allowed the audience to be more invested, imo. Hopefully, things will improve in the next episodes.

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And I really think there's more to Ji-yi than this excitement over Yoon-ha's wealth. Even how quickly she got over the "betrayal" at being left in the dark about Yoon-ha's status seems fishy to me. Like she's holding it in until she can't anymore. Even the featured picture of Yoon-ha cheesing at the camera eagerly while Ji-yi seems reluctant and forced... I'll just drink my green tea and wait this out.

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Can we please put an end to duck lips when taking selfies?

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ROTFL right now

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I've spent years of my life thinking and wondering about how duck lips began, and why it's still going, and how so many people have learned to do it so naturally.

Still dunno.

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I seriously struggle with the characters in this show. One of the most basic rules of character design is:
If you want the audience (reader/viewer) to care about a character, give the character a goal. You don't need a tragic backstory or "original" personality, all you need is a character who wants something and the audience will care about him/her (great advice for writing good villains, btw).

Now, in this show, the only character I care about is JK, because I understand what he wants.

YH is really, really hard to support on an emotional level, because I simply have no idea what's going on in that huge head of hers. She claims to have goals, but they seem to change at the rate of her heartbeat.

CS wants to have the cake and eat it too. I understand that, but I find it kind of disgusting. He wants JK to be honest with him, but only say things that CS wants to hear. He wants JK to be his friend, but also do all the work for him and never complain about it. When it comes to JY, CS is not very far away from what YH's father does: Having a wife on one hand and a lover on the other. He already came up with the rationalisation of that setup.

JY is mostly a "here and now" kind of person. The very idea of a goal seems to be lost on her.

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I think they have pretty easy to understand goals but you don't like how the characters are developed or don't like their personality which makes you not care about them.

Your description of CS is perfect, he wants to be the perfect son, he wants the good marriage, he wants the faithful loyal friend and he wants to have fun with YJ. Yes, he is selfish but you can't really complain about lack of goals. :)

YH is being caught up in a silly plot device so I can't really defend how she sticks to her goals but they are there, she explains them every single episode, she just doesn't go after them like we thought she would.:)

The goal for YJ is to live in the moment for now, that was her choice, I'd say her goal is to avoid getting a broken heart. :)

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Having a main goal is pretty good advice for writing villains, but most characters (and ppl!) have multiple goals of varying importance, which can change as the circumstances do.

Joon-ki is definitely the most straightforward of the four in that respect (and possibly the most villainous?) He's ambitious and wants to move up in the world. Perfectly understandable, if not always likeable.

Yoon-ha has multiple goals that fluctuate. Her essential wish, I think, is to end up in a more warm and loving environment than what her family provides, and to do so she chose to throw herself headlong into loving Joon-ki. And now that she's convinced she Loves him the relationship itself is a goal she's determined to fulfill. But she also doesn't truly want to end up dirt poor, and she did love her older brother, so now that she has the opportunity to both gain power and find out what happened to him why not take it?

Chang-soo, as you said, wants to have the cake and eat it too. He wants the privilege and respect of being a high status chaebol without the work (which he offloads to Joon-ki), and he also wants Joon-ki to treat him both as that high status, worthy person he wants to be *and* as a close, sincere friend. And that's not even going into his thing with Ji-yi.

Ji-yi I think just wants to have a normal, fulfilling life. She knows getting involved with Chang-soo in all likelihood won't end well, but she likes him too much so she decided to take the 'carpe diem' approach.

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Another great analysis! I love dramabeans.

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It seems to me that YH has stated her goals out loud on multiple occasions: she wants to live like a normal person. She wants to be happy. She doesn't want to be miserable like her mother. She set her goal of working to get out of her house and tells her sister that she will go when she is ready. And she is almost ready. She even takes the risk of giving up her social position and wealth if that is what it takes, as she says to her father. But she isn't a fool, so she has been doing it carefully, by working, saving, and learning at a crappy job that she doesn't need. It seems to me that this shows purpose, perseverance, and clarity of goals. She also has said, repeatedly, that she wants to marry for love, not for business advantage.
Whatever else one thinks of the character, it is precisely her goal-driven behavior of working at this job so she can eventually be independent, and refusing to go along with the marriage customs of her class, that have set up the entire story. Now new elements have entered the plot since her brother disappeared and she has fallen for JK, but she continues to speak up about her values and her goals in the face of rather crude and even violent opposition.

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You got some interesting points there :-)).

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I am quite frankly frustrated at Yoon ha. It is like she resolves to do one thing, but acts in a way totally different. I fear she's going to take advantage of Ji Yi. I felt sorry for her 'poor me' routine. But not sorry enough to overlook her inconsistencies. I think she needs to come to a point of self realization, where she understands herself completely and accepts herself, flaws, warts and all. And that only comes with time, experience and enduring the hard knocks of life. Actually, all four leads could do with a dose of self reflection, with the exception of Ji Yi, who has a good head on her shoulders.

This show is doing so many things RIGHT:

It's exploring the themes of friendship over romance,which is so deliciously interesting, sonew, that I find myself NOT bored at all. That is not to say thete is no romance,. The second lead couple: Chang Soo and Ji Yi are pushinh all my ♥♡buttons. I absolutely love them! However the themes of love and romantic relationships have been done to death in most dramas. It's nice to see a drama exploring the friendship between two straight men, when it's not immediate bromance or total adversaries but something in between.

It also has two parallel love lines, not love triangles or love squares. I can't tell you enough how refreshingly normal it is for two people to just fall in love and work out the kinks in their relationship without worrying about everyone else and their mothers being in love with them too.

Poor Chang Soo, he's genuinely baffled by Joon ki, because, whatever Chang soo's flaws are, he's an open book, while Joon ki keeps his emotions and thoughts hidden, and those kinds of friends ate the most dangerous to have. What is friendship for, butto exchange your fears and confidences? He needs to realize what he's doing to make Joon ki behave the way he does. He cannot expect Joon ki to be open with him if he pulls rank on Joon ki whenever Joon ki says something he doesn't want to hear.

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Warts and all !! Hahaha..I can't stop laughing

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I am quite frankly frustrated at Yoon ha. It is like she resolves to do one thing, but acts in a way totally different. I fear she's going to take advantage of Ji Yi. I felt sorry for her 'poor me' routine. But not sorry enough to overlook her inconsistencies. I think she needs to come to a point of self realization, where she understands herself completely and accepts herself, flaws, warts and all. And that only comes with time, experience and enduring the hard knocks of life. Actually, all four leads could do with a dose of self reflection, with the exception of Ji Yi, who has a good head on her shoulders.

This show is doing so many things RIGHT:

It's exploring the themes of friendship over romance, which is so deliciously interesting, so new, that I find myself NOT bored at all. That is not to say there is no romance. The second lead couple: Chang Soo and Ji Yi are pushing all my ♥♡buttons. I absolutely love them! However the themes of love and romantic relationships have been done to death in most dramas. It's nice to see a drama exploring the friendship between two straight men, when it's not bromance or total adversaries but something in between.

It also has two parallel love lines, not love triangles or love squares. I can't tell you enough how refreshingly normal it is for two people to just fall in love and work out the kinks in their relationship without worrying about everyone else and their mothers being in love with them too.

Poor Chang Soo, he's genuinely baffled by Joon ki, because, whatever Chang soo's flaws are, he's an open book, while Joon ki keeps his emotions and thoughts hidden, and those kinds of friends are the most dangerous to have. What is friendship for, but to exchange your fears and confidances? He needs to realize what he's doing to make Joon ki behave the way he does. He cannot expect Joon ki to be open with him if he pulls rank on Joon ki whenever Joon ki says something he doesn't want to hear.

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Oops double comment. I posted it twice sorry!

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This ep was pretty enjoyable. I agree with everything said in the recap. Couldn't say it better myself. And yh, JY is such a saint for forgiving her friend so quickly. Sometimes it feels like JY is an afterthought for YH. But u knw, the show is like watever so I'll just move on with that complaint.

isn't it kinda strange that we're in ep 7 & 8 now but it still feels really early in terms of story progression?If wwe're being real not much has happened. And that's kinda weird. I mean by now, KMHM and other shows started to move with sum real plot. Im left wondering hw the nxt 8 eps will be carried out. But maybe its too early (heh) to tell.

On a side note, is the mistress even remotely necessary right now. I get the conflict betwn the lady of the house vs. mistress. But when her scenes come on, I can't help but wonder how irrelevant she feels as a character. If she's not YH's real birthmother at the end of the show, I will really nt understand y she keeps getting important screen time.

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Hi!

I think the scenes at Lady Kim's are to showcase Mama Lee, actually. We get to see and hear how Mama Lee reacts to this whole situation. And her position about loving and supporting her man in spite of her poverty, contrasts to Lady Kim's humiliating circumstances, despite the perk$.

And Mama Lee's take on things will have an influence later on JK's actions, because there's NO way he can have escaped Mama's upbringing.

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I also somehow feel like Yoon-ha doesn't get enough credit, she's actually quite smart. In an earlier episode, there was a scene where she was telling Chang-soo everything that was wrong with the premium food for the upper class concept, the response to Joon-gi's question he couldn't get from Ji-yi. Her brother notices this ability in Yoon-ha and that's why he said he would make her an heir if he was dad. She isn't selfish like Chang-soo is. She listens to Ji-yi and respects her. If Ji-yi wanted to say more about her parents' divorce Yoon-ha would have listened. It's what makes their friendship so good, that mutual respect and adoration they have from each other. I can never forget Yoon-ha's "hurt my best friend and I will end you" speech she gave to Chang-soo in the previous episode, it shows that since she's the more powerful one in the relationship, physically at least, she would do anything to protect her friend. Ji-yi is the more powerful one emotionally, it's a perfect match. Complementing where the other is lacking.

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Ji Yi has more people skills then major marketing skills. She'd be great in sales and promotions. Some people are meant for financial management and some have people management skills. Yoon Ha did very poorly while handling customers. I can see Ji Yi having a good career in sales and customer service. I think that is where she will help Yoon Ha after she joins Taejin group.

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Yeah I completely disagree with Gummi's irritation with YH in that moment talking to Ji Yi. I felt were were supposed to understand Ji Yi's family and life is something they had already talked about extensively from previous episodes. However Yoon Ha is someone JY knew nothing about, especially about her family. That was YH's first time opening up in a real way to JY and I feel it is unfair to paint such a difficult and sincere moment for YH as somehow narcissistic. I believe that not only does she love JY sincerely, she respects her as a worthwhile human being and it's nice to see that reciprocated.

I do think Yoon Ha is smart. She's lived this double life away from her family for years and they knew nothing about it. It might be an abrupt plot point but she loves her brother enough to give up on her set escape route to figure out what happened to him and what he wanted out of her. I even understand how someone so smart and rational can fall so much for Joon Ki but I don't like that they did all of that in telling rather than also showing. It doesn't carry as much weight because of that.

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@Dot - Good points. Just one observation. I think Chairman had known all along about YH working. He had that conversation with his Sec. about it and just let her continue.

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Poor UEE this is at least two failed projects in a row. Though I'd say this is the worse one as Ho-gu's Love was mostly ruined by poor execution of interesting ideas leading to the last 10 seconds being the best part of the drama. While this is just poor writing all around with inconsistent characters, especially Yoon-ha.

I wasn't sure last week but now I know I'm done with this drama.

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When yoon ha was talking about her family to ji yi !!! I too wished that they would show something about ji yi's parents !!! I feel there's some story there !!! Yoon ha and chang soo maybe an book !!! But I feel there might be some mystery behind ji yi !!!

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I'm liking the fact that the tension between CS and JK is revving up. Their friendship isn't built on solid foundation in the first place, and it'll be interesting to see what course it'll take in the coming episodes.

While that happens, it's kinda funny that YH and JY are bonding more than ever at the same time. I think YH owes it to JY. If it was anyone else other than JY, YH might just as well remain a loner. I'm echoing gummimochi, JY is the saint of this relationship!

On a side note, I still can't see the chemistry between YH and JK. I really tried... but nope, nothing there. I can understand that JK hasn't allowed himself to feel deeply for YH yet, but I'm not buying YH's declarations of love for JK. While CS is childish and draws silly chaebol boundaries in love/marriage and in friendship/status, his chemistry with JY is undeniable and they look like lovebirds to me.

My fear is that this second leads lovebirds will be separated in due time. Cue chaebol mom and JY in a cafe, chaebol mom hands JY an envelope with lots of money, asking her to stay away from CS.

Oh well... let the melo-angst kick in!

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Sighhhh I'm just sad because I think Ji yi is gonna get dragged along for the ride. She's so lovely but I wish Changsoo would show his love more. I still think he's gonna toss her aside for a chaebol marriage given how he hates to lose to his brother.

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I mean, I'm kinda hoping he does, at least initially. I feel like he needs to mess up HUGELY with her at least once, because so many of his defects are signing to it. CS talks such a game about status and what's marriage material, I feel like he should act on it at least once--or the point of the character would lose all bite.

I'm also just so ready for some actual drama from this melodrama.

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I'm solidly behind CS even though there's a little bit of brattiness in him, at least he has some genuineness to go along with it. I keep seeing flashes of something from JK, but SJ isn't giving me enough to arrive at any conclusions or understanding of his motivations. JK is the very worst sort of friend IMO. I just want to know where JK's sense of entitlement comes from. Friendships grow from interactions over time. You learn about the person's likes and dislikes and make adjustments over time. If you can't deal, you withdraw or completely abandon the relationship. From the show, it's obvious JK has never considered CS a friend, has manipulated CS into thinking he was genuine and reliable, all the while resenting, but still sticking by him because of his ambition. CS has been an open book the whole time, and has but pretty insistent on the fact that his biggest pet peeve is being used. Knowing this about him JK still has no qualms about using him. And after manipulating another chaebol, this time a chaebol girl with even deeper pockets, he's ready to replace CS. Yet it's the person who's finally realizing he was being manipulated all this time that's being called out.

CS also strikes me as someone who knows the superficiality of the class system, and while he hates that and the competition with his sibling, he happens to have supportive and loving parents. Of course he loves his status even if he's a little conflicted. Thankfully he didn't have the extreme isolation, family dysfunction, and abuse YH suffered (I wouldn't wish that on anyone). I can understand him thinking he can survive toeing the line, marrying the right kind of girl, hoping for an agreeable marriage even if it's an arranged marriage. Most people will choose his life, and do everything to keep it given the opportunity. The show seems to be heading in the direction of pushing CS into wanting more than an agreeable arranged marriage.

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I was expecting seo eun gi's style chaebol heiress, the badass one, but all the thing we have is i-want-to-be-independent-with-my-parents-money's style. Kinda disappointed, it's so obsolete -_-

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For me it's too late to understand the main's couple motivations.
I am only invested now in the second couple.

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@Adal: "I think they showed her negotiating ability very well in her conversation with her dad. I noticed that she is the one member of the family he actually listens to and treats with a kind of respect. He hasn’t belittled her the way he has done with his wife, older daughter and son."

I think that because of this observation you made @Adal and what Butler Hong told Yoon-ha's mother about her resembling the chairman, that might be the reason why she is so evil to Yoon-ha. Because her husband actually considers Yoon-ha...

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This is actually my 1st time commenting (I think....). But I just had to this time. I think this story is well thought out and it assumes that it's watchers are smart enough to infer information that may not be directly spelt out on the screen. I think alot of us have been spoilt by watching too many cliche drama where some kind of overt action must be taken for us to connect and understand the characters. Yoo Na and Joon Ki and more introverted by nature, also they think alot and many of there actions are guided not only by any immediate situation but also there past experiences and over all life vision. Chang Soo and Ji Yi are more ' in the moment' kind of people. They're more extroverted and speak what's on there mind; the other couple kind of 'live in their head' more. Just wanted to place a post that was a bit more balanced; as a introvert myself I guess I can relate to Yoo Na and Joon Ki; even though I do squeal with girlish delight when the second leads light up my screen.

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Sorry about the deplorable grammar and typos, my fingers couldn't catch up with my thoughts.

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I hear you.

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You are right, not everyone has to comment all of their inner struggles aloud. I like JK´s reserved personality.

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Yes, LilyPepper, and thank you!

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I love this show. But i definitely need more chemistry between the main leads

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I think your comments summed it up perfectly! I've enjoyed the first couple episodes of this show, but more and more, I'm finding it really difficult to accept some of the plot lines (especially regarding the relationship dynamics of Yoonha's family). And does anyone find the dialogue to be extremely annoying?--Like why does each character have to say out-loud what they're also thinking. I'm not sure how to explain it, but the dialogue has me cringing sometimes with its lack of creativity. I am also increasingly annoyed by Jiyi's frankness sometimes, although I'm sure the show is trying to push that as her asset. UGH

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Edit: It's also hard to root for a protagonist who doesn't have any redeeming qualities about him so far. Maybe it's coming soon, but there isn't much remorse for knowingly manipulating Yoonha.

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@ gleefully

Perhaps the writer is of the opinion that dialogue-exposition is the way to go rather than to show without words. The latter would work well where actors are able to emote enough, I guess. Otherwise., watching impassive actors, we viewers would be none the wiser about their motives. But it's true that more can be shown without being spelled out so much. :)

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I dropped this drama last week when I realized that there is no forward movement and the leads are barely tolerable, but I am thankful for the recaps so I can find out what's going to happen! Which seems like not much so far ...

I don't hate Yoonha's character, more like indifferent to her, which is worse in my opinion. She has no conviction in what she believes in so it makes it even harder to sympathize for her when she's all "woe is me." I especially do not like when characters resent their backgrounds and wealth so much and then use it when it's convenient! You can't hate on the thing that supports you, even if the situation sucks. Plus she fell harder and faster than a sack of bricks for Joonki whom she's known for all of 5 minutes, which makes it even harder to root for their relationship.

Changsoo is awesome and I love his relationship with Ji Yi but I don't think it's going to be enough to sustain this sinking ship till the end.

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To be honest I wouldn´t watch the show with ChS and JY only because I would be bored after couple of episodes, therefore I like YN and JK couple as they bring different perspective. I don´t really get that main lead parts, I see all four of them as leading characters.

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I find myself most curious about when did the friendship started between ChangSoo and JoonKi. Many said that CS treats JK like a lackey while saying that he's a friend. I find this very true but I see glimpse of them while in high school. CS at that time always hangs out with his elite friends so JK must have help him somewhat to be allowed to be friends. I suspect this is the calculated move from JK. So he's the one tried to butter up to CS. For me real friends mean that any disagreement must be voiced out, if JK feels that CS treats him like a lackey then he should have said so. If it turns out that CS didn't change his ways then they shouldn't be friends in the first place. But since JK wants to be amongst the elite, then it's his own doing to be treated like that. CS is a straightforward person but JK is the one held back his feelings, that cause the fragile friendship they bond. I hope that they can rebuild their friendship from the start again and be the real best of friends.

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So....I've basically been following the recaps only to read the CS/JY parts loll. I have no idea what's going on with the rest of the story...

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Honestly I'm starting to lose interest in the drama. CS and JY's interactions is the only thing that keeps me watching. At this point, I feel like the show does not have a big picture, things does not seem to be moving much, which is worrying if there are only 16 episodes. For a lead character with ambitious dreams, JK is rather passive. So is sort-of wooing YH all he's doing to achieve his goals? I'm not really convinced of her love with JK, the chemistry isn't really there, so when she finds out that JK is merely dating her because of her wealth and status ( I think so. Only the writer knows for sure. I hope), the emotional impact won't as great. Really the problem lies in the fact that I don't know what JK is thinking. It's fine if the writer has great plans for him and is revealing his intentions thoughts bit by bit, but I'm as clueless at episode 8 as I was in episode 1. Way to go.

I do like CS and JI a lot, but because the story of the four leads are so tied up together, when to characters are not having much progress, then no one is able to move forward much.

YH's family...it's really tiring to watch them. How can there be not a decent person in her family? Oh there is/ was, but he's gone. I'm hoping the brother wasn't dead and him going missing was actually part of a plan of some sort. Can the loving oppa just come back?

I don't like CS's brother but I rather wish that he has more screen time. Scratch that, I just hope that the character that can get the story moving can have more screen time, since the leads aren't doing that.

Anyway, I'll still look forward to the next episode... for CS and JY of course.

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There is a very good reason why Kyung-joon would already have a will. He is a father. You should prepare a will when you get married or have a child. It probably isn't even his first will since he is divorced and may have wonted to wright his ex out.

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Yes, this is actually true... no matter how young one is, it's good to have a will when there's stuff to dispose of. It's a real hassle for the surviving family members when a person dies without a will. Where there's lots of property/stocks etc at stake, there can be a big fight over who gets what.

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Okay Joon Ki is getting so much hate, I had to skip down the page to put my 2 cents in. The writer is doing a horrible (or awesome job) of leaving us in the lurch about his true motives. He has never revealed them himself. All we have is circumstantial evidence and him staying tight lipped. All of our witnesses to his craftiness are doubtful...
1. bad break up with an ex of dubious character
2. slick double tongued co-worker who is jealous of him
3. Chan Soo's brother's test of loyalty
4. *spoiler* more to come
None of these people know the real story though, they are there to make us and Chan Soo see him through a lens.

Meanwhile his mom has been established to be a good reader of character and motives and she is the only one that can decode his smirks and grimaces to know his thoughts. She calls him on his issues. Yoon Ha does it too, but we still don't know if she's reading him right. I think she is. Remember when she asked him what he was lying about by the Han River? She has a really good BS detector(honed by a terrible family) and I think his feelings are true regardless of the original motive. Obviously she sees something good there because she is running full speed into his arms even with a history of familial coldness.

Usually we get some sort of voice over for a character that refuses to verbalize their thoughts and emotions. It is so frustrating to watch his facial expressions and try to interpret what he is feeling. It's like freaking real life. Who needs this?!! Even tsundere characters let go of the pretense when no one is around but this boy is sealed like top of the line tupperware. Nothing is getting out...is anything getting in?

I wouldn't be surprised to find out that he is being set up to look worse than he really is.

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@Howforwardsale......your 2 cents are more like 2 million dollars :)

Glad I was tenacious enough to read thru right to the end....else I would miss out on your very well expressed comment ! "It’s like freaking real life. Who needs this?!!" haha

I am rooting for the main leads of JK and YH. It might not be perfectly shown, but there's something really appealing and touching about this story of an abused heiress finally meeting a 'suspicious', intense boy "sealed up like top of the line tupperware " ! I WANT to know where they are heading to in this drama.

Altho CS's relationship with JY are said to be refreshing and cute, too much of such can be tiresome, even bordering on to being downright annoying. And right at the start, CS's character did not really sit well with me....pestering JK to open up..." I like you, I love you even more than my family, say out loud you like/love me too" and yet in the very next breath, commanded his so-called best friend to not cross the line ! Huh....he loves his best friend JK to death ?

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Thanks Mia, a million dollars wow. I just feel the writer is losing the good will of the viewers keeping him so shut up...but again maybe that's the plan. *shrugs*
Yes, CS has always held JK behind a line! I think JK values the friendship (not just what he can get out of it) because he reigns himself in physically and verbally to stay in friendship with him when he has enough business savvy to move on without him and do well. I guess this is the 1st time girls have been an issue between them.

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Thanks, howforwardsale! Another viewer here on JK's side. And your last comment about how much JK values that friendship with CS is truly insightful. Yes, JK could quit working with CS and go anywhere, as CS has already stated to his mom. I don't think he stays out of mercenary reasons only.

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i just observed, your quite behind on your recap for High Society

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*peruses through comments* So, turns out, regular people making excuses for lack of a integrity, deceptive and dishonest behavior by other regular people is just as annoying and off-putting as when it comes from the rich.

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Oh, Cooler, thanks so much for your words of wisdom! I needed that!

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Thanks so much gummimochi.

Especially enjoyed - "Why would a man his age have already prepared a will? This important insight brought to you by the airhead sister in the family." Thanks for pointing that out. Hilarious.

Also appreciate that you included that fleeting Lady Kim and Mama Lee exchange because it says much about the dynamics being played out here. That Lady Kim would use a baby as an instrument of revenge while Mama Lee considers how that would affect the child.

That Mama Lee seems against using people might come back to bite JK in the end, pun intended.

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