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My Ajusshi: Episode 2

by LollyPip

Something interesting is beginning to happen between Dong-hoon and Ji-an, though it’s hard to say what that is at this early point. They barely know each other, and have only spoken a few words to each other, yet they’re each sticking their neck out for the other without really knowing why. No matter what the nature of their relationship is now or may be in the future, they seem to sense a kinship in each other that promises to be very interesting to watch unfold.

 
EPISODE 2 RECAP

The morning after stealing the bribe money, Ji-an goes to her loan shark’s office to pay off her debt. He counts the money then calls Kwang-il, the guy who beat up Ji-an for accusing him of liking her, to tell him that the debt is paid. Kwang-il instructs him to accept the money, then report it as stolen and have Ji-an sent to jail. While she’s locked up, he plans to increase her interest rate until she’s on the hook to him forever.

He says he’s on his way and has his guy stall Ji-an. She demands her receipt, and when the shark tells her to stay for coffee first, she tries to grab his receipts from his desk. The shark confesses that Kwang-il doesn’t plan to let her go so easily, then wrestles her purse from her and finds the rest of the stolen money. Unfortunately, it’s still in the original envelope with Dong-hoon’s name on it.

Just moments before Kwang-il returns, Ji-an slips out, managing not to let him see her. She notices a truck piled with crates parking next to the loan shark’s fancy car, so she pulls up her hoodie, marches over, and pulls several crates over to smash the windshield. Awesome.

The shark blames the truck driver, but Kwang-il senses that it was Ji-an. He races back upstairs to the office, but she’s already gone back in and taken back the money, then called her friend Ki-bum to have him bring her grandmother to his place. Kwang-il is angry, but he also looks a little impressed.

While all that’s happening, Dong-hoon is blamed for taking the bribe (which was originally meant for Director Park) and escorted out of the office. Ji-an ignores him when he yells at her on her way in, and she stays calm at her desk as his office is taken apart by security officers. She slips the envelope the bribe came in into a pile of discarded papers and carries them downstairs to the janitor.

Dong-hoon tries to call his wife Yoon-hee, who’s an attorney, while he waits to be questioned. But the security officer interrupts his call and confiscates his phone. He shows Dong-hoon the CCTV footage of him accepting the delivery, and Dong-hoon says truthfully that he doesn’t know who sent it. The officer obviously doesn’t believe him and asks where they money is now.

The janitor seems to know everything about Ji-an’s circumstances, and he warns her that Kwang-il won’t stop coming after her, and that now he’ll also target Dong-hoon. He has her put the envelope in the garbage, then takes it to a security officer, saying that he found it.

Director Park goes over the CCTV footage of Dong-hoon from the day before, including his return to the office late that night. They discuss the blackout, and check the number the courier gave when he signed in, but it’s not in service. Director Park wonders out loud if the bribe was solicited.

The envelope is brought to the security office, and strangely, it still has all the money and the original note inside. Director Park guesses from the note that the bribe was unsolicited, and he warns his assistant to keep it a secret that they have it.

He asks to see the email reporting him as having taken the bribe, and a few minutes later, Director Yoon releases Dong-hoon. He’s escorted to his office to get his personal things, and Ji-an ignores him again as he tries to get her to talk to him. The security officer makes Dong-hoon hand over his key card, promises to return his phone when they finish the investigation, then leads him out.

Outside, Dong-hoon can’t even get his lighter to work so that he can smoke a cigarette — ouch, that’s adding insult to injury. He remembers his older brother Sang-hoon telling him that he has to keep his job, or he’ll become like him.

He goes to Yoon-hee’s office and tells her the whole story. He’s confused as to what happened and where the money went, but he’s certain that he was targeted for some reason.

He decides he needs to get the money back in order to defend himself, and he tells Yoon-hee that there’s someone he suspects who might’ve taken it. He asks her to hire someone to look into it, but she advises him to wait and not do anything hasty.

After Dong-hoon leaves, Yoon-hee calls Joon-young, CEO of the company and her lover, to ask if he did this. He just says that it wasn’t his intention intially, then hangs up when Yoon-hee gets upset.

There’s a board meeting to discuss the matter, and Director Park advises patience while they figure out who sent the money. Director Yoon vehemently disagrees, arguing that Dong-hoon is clearly guilty of taking this and probably other bribes (even though he’s the one who sent it, intending to frame Director Park).

Director Park reminds him that it was his name, Park Dong-woon, not Park Dong-hoon, on the report of bribery. Director Yoon stammers that the names are easily confused, until Director Park points out that it also said “director” instead of “manager.” Oops.

That shuts up Director Yoon, and Director Park says that he’ll personally find out who sent the money and ask them who it was meant for. As they leave, Executive Director Wang says that if they play their cards right, they can get both Director Yoon and Joon-young fired.

In the privacy of his office, Joon-young asks Director Yoon if the company that sent the money will stay silent. Director Yoon assures him that they’re trustworthy, and he decides to make Dong-hoon resign so that there’s no reason to investigate further.

That evening, Dong-hoon waits for Ji-an to leave work to follow her, but two of his team members exit right after her so he has to keep his distance. They stay between Dong-hoon and Ji-an all the way to the subway station, but Dong-hoon eventually maneuvers until he’s standing next to her on the train.

He tells her to get off at the next stop and asks if she took the money and where it is, but Ji-an just says she threw it away. When the train stops, Dong-hoon tries to pull Ji-an off the train with him, but she yells, and another passenger who thinks Dong-hoon is a creeper shoves him off the train.

He calls Ki-hoon from a pay phone and tells him he lost some money. Ki-hoon bellows when he hears the amount, and he runs out to meet Dong-hoon, while Mom pushes Sang-hoon out to follow him. Dong-hoon tells his brothers what happened, and that he thinks Ji-an took the money.

Ki-hoon wants to call Ji-an, but Dong-hoon’s phone has been confiscated so he can’t even call around for her number. Ki-hoon starts yelling at Dong-hoon for losing his job when he just told him not to so he could pay for Mom’s funeral, and Dong-hoon yells back that his family is why he was going to keep the money. They shout at each other childishly as Sang-hoon starts to laugh, clearly drunk.

Once they settle down, Sang-hoon says that they’ll be fine without that money, but Ki-hoon just turns his anger on him. He snaps that it’s not the money they want, but to turn it in and salvage Dong-hoon’s job. He shrieks that he’s sick of his brothers, so Sang-hoon yells, “Then don’t be our brother anymore, you bastard!” It’s not funny, but this is so funny.

Dong-hoon’s brothers offer to watch the exit to the subway station for Ji-an, though they mostly end up lurking at the top of the stairs, staring at all the women like weirdos. Ki-hoon has a cop friend search for all of the Lee Ji-ans in Seoul to find her address.

At the same time, Dong-hoon goes back to the grocery store where he ran into Ji-an before, but she’s not there. She’s at her friend Ki-bum’s place with her grandmother, and she feeds Grandma the food she took from her dishwashing job before nodding off sitting up.

Dong-hoon meets up with his brothers again and tells them to go home. Ki-hoon thinks they should go to the police (Dong-hoon: “To report stolen bribe money??”) and as they’re discussing it, Director Yoon screeches up in his car.

He takes Dong-hoon to a private room at a club and pours him drink after drink while claiming outrage at the way Dong-hoon was treated today. Once Dong-hoon is thoroughly drunk, Director Yoon tells him that he should quit, promising to find him an even better job.

Yoon-hee tries to talk Joon-young out of framing her husband, saying that she intends to divorce him. Joon-young says that it would be best if she divorces Dong-hoon after he’s fired, but the thought of doing that to Dong-hoon upsets her.

Dong-hoon finally catches up to Ji-an the next day outside the office. He asks where she lives, and at her silence, he threatens to tell the company that he suspects that she took the money from his desk. She just keeps walking until he’s blocked from entering the building by security.

He’s allowed in after explaining that he’s under investigation (he hasn’t been fired, just had his key card temporarily confiscated), but Ji-an is already downstairs with the janitor, whose name is Choon-dae. She asks if Choon-dae took the money, since Dong-hoon thinks it’s still missing. But he tells her to let things be or she’ll end up fired, too.

Director Yoon tells Director Park that he talked to Dong-hoon, who confessed to everything. But he makes the mistake of saying that Dong-hoon probably kept the money, unaware that Director Park has it in his possession. Director Park shows him the envelope, which was found in the garbage with the money intact, and Director Yoon starts to sweat.

Director Park tells him that it was found before the start of the day, which means Dong-hoon threw it away yesterday, the same day he received it. He asks why Director Yoon wants Dong-hoon fired, adding that he’s sure Director Yoon isn’t working alone.

Director Yoon gets worked up, Director Park asks if this is about more than just the upcoming election. He believes that Joon-young is kissing up to the ailing company chairman in order to obtain his shares, which would make Joon-young the main shareholder. But since there are a lot of people in his way, he’s trying to take out his enemies — except, something went wrong with this scheme.

He even correctly assumes that Director Yoon and Joon-young are planning to fire Dong-hoon and let the bungled bribery scheme blow over. He says that he won’t let that happen, and he gleefully takes in Director Yoon’s pinched expression as he guesses that Joon-young promised him the CEO position once he’s chairman.

Director Park growls that no matter how nice a person is, there’s one thing he can’t stand to see — someone who should be below him, getting ahead of him. He says he’ll get rid of anyone who doesn’t know their place, and when Director Yoon stammers that he’ll tell Joon-young he said that, Director Park whispers, “Please do.”

Joon-young runs downstairs to the company coffee shop, where he finds Executive Director Wang buying an elderly man in hospital scrubs a drink. The man is Chairman Jang, who’s been ill lately, but who came to see how the company is doing. Executive Director Wang tells him about the bribe and Dong-hoon’s involvement, and that Dong-hoon threw the money away.

Chairman Jang asks why they’re even considering firing Dong-hoon. Executive Director Wang vows to discover who sent the bribe and make sure it doesn’t happen again, and Chairman Jang asks them to pass a message to Dong-hoon (whom he remembers as “that pitiful-looking guy,” ha) that he’d like to share a meal with him.

On his way back inside, Joon-young runs into Director Park and asks him to speak privately. Ji-an is in the elevator with them as they go upstairs in tense silence, and Director Park looks puzzled when Joon-young takes a phone call, but another phone starts ringing and nobody answers it. It begins to dawn on them that Joon-young has a second phone, but before Director Park can confirm it, Ji-an casually pickpockets the phone (an old flip phone) and declines the call.

Once in his office, Joon-young asks Director Park about the found money. He says that the chairman wants the situation to blow over without repercussions, and Director Park agrees to spare Dong-hoon and search for the source of the bribe.

Joon-young goes out into the office, where he sees Ji-an looking at his phone. He gets a message from her telling him to order her to buy him a sandwich after his secretaries leave. He leaves the office to call Yoon-hee from a payphone, and he tells her not to contact his personal phone or accept calls from it.

Throughout the day, Dong-hoon keeps a close eye on Ji-an, and eventually he follows her to the copy room to tell her that he’s going to tell the truth. He confesses to Director Park that he accepted the money but wasn’t the one who kept it, and he’s shocked when Director Park shows him the intact envelope.

Director Park gently fusses at Dong-hoon for throwing the money out instead of turning it in, then tells him that Chairman Jang intends to forgive the entire incident. Dong-hoon says that he didn’t think they’d believe him, and Director Park tells him that he’s sure Director Yoon was behind this. He asks Dong-hoon if he has any guesses as to which company may have helped Director Yoon.

As he goes back to his office, Dong-hoon realizes that it must have been Ji-an who put the money in the trash for someone to find. Security returns the things they confiscated from his desk, including his cell phone, and although his team members are clearly dying of curiosity, Dong-hoon doesn’t tell them anything (ha, they keep rolling over in their chairs, and he just rolls them away again).

The first thing Dong-hoon does is to charge his phone, and he gets a call from Ki-hoon right away saying that his cop friend found Ji-an. Ki-hoon yells in frustration when Dong-hoon whispers that the money was found, and after Dong-hoon hangs up on him, he and Sang-hoon bemoan the fact that their brother is so careless. Mom kicks them both out of the house.

News travels fast, and during a break, Dong-hoon’s team members ask if he really threw away such a huge sum of money. Inside, Ji-an sees Dong-hoon’s phone light up with a call from his wife, and she recognizes the number as the same one that called Joon-young’s extra phone. She pulls out the phone and sees that that’s the only number that ever calls it.

She watches Dong-hoon carefully after he returns to his desk. He sneaks glances at her too, and at the end of the day, they’re the only two people left. Dong-hoon gets ready to leave, and he asks Ji-an to have dinner or a drink with him, but she turns him down.

He leaves as Joon-young enters the office. Ji-an tells Joon-young that she has his phone, but she can’t just hand it to him because of the cameras. Joon-young gives her money to buy him a coffee, and she says she’ll get herself a sandwich because she hasn’t eaten.

She brings back Joon-young’s coffee and leaves his phone on the desk with it, then takes a look around his office. He compliments her nimble hands (heh) and asks what other jobs she’s had, and she says she does anything that makes money.

She tells him that she meant to ask him why he was so desperate to fire a simple manager, but then she figured it out after seeing Dong-hoon’s wife’s number on his phone. Joon-young lies that Yoon-hee’s just a colleague, but Ji-an asks slyly, “Why are you dating an ajumma?” and Joon-young goes still. She confirms that he’s having an affair and begins to leave, but Joon-young stops her.

The brothers meet for dinner and soju, and Sang-hoon confesses that when he was bribed, he took the money before he got fired. Ki-hoon thinks that Ji-an stole the money then threw it away because she likes Dong-hoon and wanted to save him. Dong-hoon decides they’re both nuts.

Later, Ki-hoon tells Dong-hoon that Sang-hoon is leaving next week for a job and that he’s making a movie soon. He instructs Dong-hoon to keep any bribes over a certain amount, and to stay away from young girls like Ji-an.

As he rides the subway home, Dong-hoon gets a text from Ji-an asking him to buy her a meal. He impulsively gets off the train at the next stop and goes to where Ji-an is waiting for him, and she requests that he buy her something expensive.

They eat together in silence, and in a flashback we see that Ji-an told Joon-young that she’s not blackmailing him—she’s going to work for him. She offers to make sure that both Director Park and Dong-hoon are fired, promising to do a better job than Director Yoon. In return, she asks for ten million won (just over $9000 USD) for each of them.

As they ride the subway together after dinner, Dong-hoon offers Ji-an a simple, “Thank you.”

 
COMMENTS

Thank goodness Ji-an returned the money, because Dong-hoon’s situation was looking pretty bleak. All poor Dong-hoon did wrong was to have a name almost identical to one of his bosses, and that he wavered over whether to turn in the money. I don’t even blame him for briefly considering keeping it, since the money would have solved a lot of problems for his family, but it was that hesitation that led to everything falling apart. It’s due to Ji-an inexplicably returning the money that his job was salvaged, and because of that, I strongly suspect she may be playing the double-agent and only telling Joon-young that she’s helping him fire Dong-hoon. Why would she return such a huge sum of money, then ask for less than half that to help fire two people?

Generally office politics bore me to tears, but for some reason I find this situation fascinating. For those following along at home, the CEO of the company is voted on every so often, and some people are upset that a young whippersnapper, Joon-young, was voted in last time. The next vote is coming up, and half of the executives want Joon-young to keep the position, while the other half want him voted out and Executive Director Wang voted in. Right now the votes are split evenly, so in an underhanded move, Director Yoon and Joon-young conspired to get one of the top players on the other side, Director Park, fired for bribery so they could hire someone who would vote their way. It’s a relatively simple plan, and it was kind of hilarious how a tiny spelling error threw everything into a tailspin. Or it would have been hilarious, if it hadn’t nearly ruined an innocent man’s life.

Speaking of which, how awesome is Director Park? He knows he was targeted, but he didn’t let it scare him — he just calmly set out to find out what’s going on and who exactly is trying to get him fired. He knows when to stay quiet and when to tip his hand, and he’s already got Director Yoon scrambling to cover his butt. I don’t think Director Park particularly cares about Dong-hoon, and I don’t entirely trust him, but if Dong-hoon’s job and reputation are saved by Director Park’s smart handling of the situation, then Director Park has my vote for CEO.

As for myself, I generally like Dong-hoon, though it’s more that there’s not much about him to dislike. He’s bland and straight-laced, with a bland job and a bland personality, but he’s also kind and good-hearted. I can’t decide if I like Dong-hoon’s brothers, or if I want to see him drop them both off the side of a cliff. Probably both. On the one hand, I like that they’re always there for each other, but on the other hand, their brand of brotherly support is antagonistic and sometimes downright mean. Both Sang-hoon and Ki-hoon are pretty useless, choosing to whine about their bad circumstances rather than get out there and do something about it (and I don’t count stealing!). But it’s obvious that they love each other even when they hate each other, and are willing to do anything for each other.

I think I misjudged Ji-an in my previous recap. I said that she was beaten down and had given up on life, but after this episode, I now see her as incredibly strong. She’s so strong that she talks back to the guy who beat her up, steals money from him, and even kidnaps her own grandmother rather than abandon her when she runs out of money for nursing care. Ji-an’s silence isn’t a sign of weakness or that she’s caved under life’s pressure — it’s her stone wall against the world, her refusal to let anyone make the tiniest crack in her armor. She’s willing to choose the most difficult path if it means solving a problem, including taking in her handicapped grandmother, stealing money, or maybe even turning on a man who’s been nothing but kind to her. I think she’s just in survival mode, where ethics don’t enter into the equation when you’re starving and desperate. Ji-an may have given up things like her moral compass and her dignity, but she’s still alive, and in her situation that’s a huge accomplishment. Right now she’s doing what she needs to do to get by, but I fully expect Dong-hoon’s commitment to doing the right thing to rub off on her and change her for the better. Eventually.

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Tags: IU, Lee Seon-kyun, My Ajusshi

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Im totally sold after epi 2

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So am I. I don't think I ever enjoyed the second episode of any show this much. Like LollyPip, I found the company politics completely entertaining and even comedic. My only regret is already knowing that the nature of the relationship between the leads will remain platonic, not because the story leads us there, but because the actors themselves have come out and told us. It would have been so much more fun speculating along the way. :)

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They force to do it because of some nasty netizen who complain about ajusshi romance in my ajusshi... I actually thought the writers planning of not revealing it to us viewers about their relatonship development.

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Hmm.. I knew in the beginning there will be no romance just because of Kim Won Suk which I didn't mind in the beginning. But now, I am liking the silence chemistry of Lee Jieun (IU) and LSG:) that if they become romantic as part of the story progression then I would love it too.

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This show does a great job writing the most hateful character. I don't remember when was the last time I hated a female character as much as I hate Dong-Hoon's wife.
Am I supposed to feel for her even a bit? All her scenes seems to be from some overly dramatic-cringey love affair movie

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Err yeah, will she have redemption? I am wondering as well. So far, she seems pretty much two dimensional, but to know that your husband is getting framed, and then still choosing to stick to the guy who framed him up, that's quite something. Anyway, we'll see..

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Agree with you. I despised the woman to the Nth level. Ok I understand you are having an affair with that CEO and wanting divorce. You know what is not cool? Supporting your lover's plot in destroying your husband's reputation and integrity. Please woman just divorce already. A man can find another wife but a ruined reputation is forever.

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Hers is a morally ambivalent character. In a previous episode, it was clear that the wife and the CEO liked their careers too much to just leave everything aside for love. She also wasn't happy about her husband being framed. And, reflects at the end of the scene that she and her lover are turning into bad people.
I don't like her character, but she is who she is.

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it's also can't help lee ji ah acting is so bland, i can't even have feeling towards her character.

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Unfortunately she's always bland but decent in family dramas, especially when she works with a royal diva like writer Kim Soo-hyun. She keeps actors on their toes lol.

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LOL.... writers like Kim SOo Hyun won't let her actor take the character she write for grant. Haha

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Thank you for the recaps Lollypip. I have a lot of questions running in my mind. I keep thinking does money even motivates Jian? What is up with that garbage man ajusshi? She stole the money but returned it back when it didn't serve her purpose getting rid of Gwang Il. Then she asked that CEO for a measly 10 million won for each of the Parks but freely threw away 50 million away in the garbage. This is more than just a flight or fight mode for Jian. She is up to something bigger like revenge or getting even with people that probably did her wrong. I can't wait for another layer of the story to be peeled off next week. I really enjoyed this episode. It keeps me guessing from start to finish. Jian is such an unpredictable cunning character which molds well with Park Dong Hoon's upright sense of righteousness.

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Like you said, she returned the money when she was told that she'd be reported for theft. And now, she has asked for the exact amount of money she needs to pay back the loan. Since the CEO will give it to her, it will be [relatively] legit.

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Hmm.. yes but she could have just run away with the 50 million won and bring grandma. It is enough money to start a brand new life away from Gwang Il. There has to be something more at play here for Jian.

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Here’s to finding out when the writer deigns it!!😊

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The actress playing the wife was the lead in the action series 'Lookout' last year, or thereabouts. I doubt they'd hire her for just a one dimesional 'cheating wife' role. I expect her to have unexpected revelations about both boyfriend and husband before the series is over.

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No. It's Lee Si Young. That's a different actress.

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Such a solid recap LollyPip! Loved it. I was almost giving up on Ji An, after episode 2 again lol, since she decided to work for Joon Young, but your words are giving me hope. If she 'is' indeed working as a double agent, I don't mind at all. Also have to give her credit for quickly picking up on the small details and matching equations, like guessing pretty fast that dong hoon's wife and joon young are dating. I am expecting a lot more from her in the future episodes. Maybe she will be dong hoon's voice since the guy never has the courage to say what he wants to say and instead go to the opposite direction lol. I can see now how they will end up being each other's support system.

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But, picking up the phone was a bit much... How would you guess the kind of situation that Joon Young is in?!

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Yeah I found that scene a bit confusing too! :S

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True, that is truly brazen of her to be doing that to the CEO of the company, no matter how irreverent her character is. So illogically convenient.

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Thanks for these fast recaps Lollypip! I was feeling a bit confused about how she got the phone and the money back.

BTW - if she took that money back from the Loan Shark does that mean that she's still in debt to him? I still don't understand all of that scene other than how badass she was to distract those two men.

Anyway - without knowing much about this show I decided to try episode 1.
It was VERY bleak, and dark, and confusing for me. However, I love Dong-hoon's voice, I LOVE the OST and was hooked immediately by it. Finally, I'm totally intrigued by the steely, quiet presence of Ji-an and how she gets around.
I think your description of her as not a person who is beaten down by life, but one who is beating back at life.

Episode 2 was good and in fact it was the first one I watched last night. I was particularly struck by the pity in Ji-an's eyes when she realized the number in the CEO's phone was Dong-hoon's wife.

This is going to be an interesting show and I'll keep watching. Can't wait until the OST begins to be released.

Overall, I'm glad to have Wacky Waikiki and My Husband Oh Jak Su to counteract all these serious dark dramas.
Thanks again Lollypip!

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I actually love episode 1 so much... Might be there is alot of detail in episode 1 for character introduction what make it addicting for me.... I cried alot when the scene involving Ji An with her gramdmother, what she does is just very touching and make all her bad intention towards ajusshi make sense. I really think she is really mean it planning to steal the money from ajusshi to pay her debt.... But her moral keep pushing her back and she end up planning all those move to get the money back. She is fighting with her own moral.

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I interpreted that scene with the loan shark like this. She wanted to pay all her debt with the stolen money, but then confirmed that Kwang-il's goal is to send her to jail and make her suffer all her life. So that money is practically useless to her, since those loan sharks wouldn't count it as a payment. With or without that money, she is still in debt. So she stole it back and then throw it away. I guess, she felt it was unfair to drag Dong-hoon through this when the money has no use for her. And maybe she also felt bad for him, knowing well what kind of person he is.

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@gadis I didn't think she would hear the whole conversation of the 2 boys. So I Didn't think she would think the same. Nice catch...

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The first guy told Ji-an what Gwang-il had said on the phone.

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And She is also catch quit fast when the boy see who is the name on the envelope, which means she read the situation pretty quick, the 2 boys eventually know the money it's not hers and there is a big possibility they will report it to the police

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Thank you @gadis and @missjb for those explanations. All I saw was a woman who was thinking VERY fast. But I didn't see her take the cash - just the envelope. Maybe it was too late or my eyes were too tired.
I may have to go back and watch this again to see what else I missed.

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I don't think she returned the money because she felt bad for him at all. It's because at that point she knew Dong Hoon would likely report her and they'd find the envelope on her at work and shed be fired. When she stole it, she was also counting on the fact that he would not be able to report stolen bribe money like she told the janitor to get him to turn off the lights for her. But when she couldn't pay off her debts with it and realised that Dong Hoon was under investigation instead of getting outright fired it would only be a matter of time it was traced to her. Everything she does at this point is for hers and her halmeoni's survival. I don't think there's a need to romanticize her character and think she was morally conflicted. When a person is living so desperately like this, there's no space to care for anyone else. But of course the show is going to show her changing cuz Dong Hoon is going to be nice to her cuz he's grateful to keep his job. But at this point I don't she cares about him at all yet.

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@pinkyp, I think your explanation makes the most sense. Her instinct for survival is much greater than any moral decision at this point.
It will be interesting (as it always is WHEN DONE WELL in kdramas) to see how the two of them affect each other and change their lives.
Good watching!

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Thanks @stpauligurl :). At first I wondered why Ji-An didn't just use the vouchers for buying stuff for herself and halmeoni but what janitor ahjussi said to persuade her to throw it out was the clue. Also with Director Park getting actively involved as well since he was implicated in the whistle blowing email, that was no way things would blow over so easily. She'd be dead meat to keep the vouchers.
I didn't think I'd like this drama because I didn't want to watch another ahjussi romance like Goblin (shudder). But this is surpassing all my expectations!! Still I want it to remain platonic friends who heal each other rather than the usual drama trope of man rescues dirt poor woman and they fall in love....
I haven't figured out though how she knew the CEO wanted to get rid of Director Park since I don't think she'd know about all the politicking at the higher up levels.

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This is a reply to @nerdy below. I also don't want to see IU go all cute and cheery either. That is just so out of character. I trust this team to be able to show romantic affection creatively, but not to worry, I don't think we would see any romance here.

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I really hope the writer has the same idea as you do because that story line will take us to deeper places. Right now she can defend all her actions by saying bad lucks have followed her for too long and she is only trying to survive. But I want her to see that she could grow to care about other people too and that her actions could hurt those people as well. And maybe for DH to feel completely betrayed after they have formed a friendship. You mentioned below that you hope the relationship stay platonic, which is fine by me. But even if it goes the way of romance, this is already going opposite trope. This would be a cold jaded woman healed by the love of a long-suffering hero. :) Too cheesy?

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''Too cheesy?''

yes... kaka

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@stpauligurl, @maplesilver, @missjb, @milky
IU really rocks the cold hearted jaded vibe! Did you guys watch her in The Producers? There she ended up with no one (refreshing take!) despite crushing big time on Kim Soo-Hyun. So maybe platonic here is not too big a stretch. I just can't see IU getting all cheery and aegyo on us even if gradually...seems a bit of a stretch when she's so bleak now? Also I'm still traumatized by the ahjussi romance in Goblin...and I can't get my head around the image of DH giving Ji-An a back hug....just saying...
Show don't let me down! Pu tak ke
Side track - I thought it was funny how DH asked Ji-An why she killed the ladybug, he was that bothered by it and she didn't even care to reply.

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@pinkyp @stpauligurl
but a cold angsty female lead falling for a guy kindness is always gets me.. Especially when both female lead and the guy is acting convincing as character having the opposite personality. And the writers write their journey with heart.

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That works for me @missjb and @pinkyp. I've only been watching these dramas for going on 4 years now and usually, it's the angsty cold guy that falls for the cheery hopeful girl.
With what I've seen so far with the acting and OST this show has great promise. But not without some serious heartbreak.

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Fyi that OST's lyrics is written by IU, which is so awesome.

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I think we got a bit of foreshadowing, (or "Chekhov's gun") when the first thing we learned about mild-mannered Dong-hoon used to slaughter hogs as a child. I expect that knowledge about spilling blood is going to get utilized before episode 16 rolls around.

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Love the way you think. I personally would love to see him go completely bezerk.

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I really liked the first episode, but the second really drew me into this bleak and infuriatingly unfair world. The opening scene of the series where Dong-hoon attempts to catch and release the ladybug only to have Ji-an calmly smack and brush it away with such economy of motion, so elegantly setup their two personalities. They both are problem solvers, but in completely and diametrically opposed ways. Right now, Dong-hoon seems a little too good, too bland, and too easily manipulated, but I have a feeling the show won't necessarily let that stand. But Ji-An, man oh man does she know how to work a situation ruthlessly. Her actions may lean to the amoral, but her motivations are anything but, and I love the hypothesis that she is playing double agent. I have a soft spot for characters that ride the line of morality, particularly if they are fighting for survival and justice, and Ji-an definitely fits this bill.

Thanks for the recap @lollypip. You are definitely the workhorse of DB right now, and I appreciate both your insights, and commentary.

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I don't think Ji-An has any plans at this stage to be a double agent. She is fighting for survival but not justice at the moment. She is not morally conflicted and she doesn't yet feel bad for him. The way she killed the ladybird is kind of a clue I feel. There is no empathy in her, she doesn't have time for that. The girl is eating other people's leftovers for dinner and she can't even afford to keep a light on in her house! :-(

Also, we forget she barely knows him. We the viewers know Dong Hoon is a good kind person because we see how well he treats his family and how he tried to buy the persimmons for Ji-An at the supa when she couldn't afford. But Ji-An doesn't know any of these things about Dong Hoon. She is just trying to survive and find some way out of her debt enslavement and right now, the only way to 18 million won is to help CEO Do to get rid of Dong Hoon and Director Park. She knows she can do it because now Dong Hoon is starting to feel thankful to her so it'd be easy to manipulate him. But of course she'll be moved by his kindness later (even if he is bland) lol.

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I have a brother, who is exactly like Lee Jin Man's friend (is he a friend?): living for a game without responsibilities. How desperating. I want punching him, so much like I want to slap Dong Hoon' s wife. And I am not even to say a word respect the directors' conspirations.

IU and Lee Seon-kyun are doing AWESOME. Their corporal languages haven't price, they are so elocuent without a single word... There exist a strange comunication between Jin An and Dong Hoon, and I love it. Dong Hoon feels atracted to Jin An, perhaps having the impression that they are similar. Yes, she stole him and, he wants to clear his name... but at the end he sees across her and tries to extend his hand. She will fall for him, very fast.

Some people told me, in my firts review, that this isn't a romantic drama... Well, maybe I agree. After the first momentes, I noticed that this drama is not about love. Its center is life, the life with others in a horrible world. Some type of relationship has to grown, specially when the script is pretty good and gives a solid support to the characters.

The chapter's extension makes little bit hard to watch it, and as viewer I acept it becase creates a extraordinarie atmosphere of anxiety and suffocation. Everything is going slowly, we flow into a pitiful scenario where our protagonists sufert while we only contemplate their reality fading in grey colors just in front our eyes.

My Ajusshi is alredy a sadly and bitter story. With two chapters I am in love.

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NEETs are a problem that societies like Japan and Korea are facing. I may be wrong in classifying Ki Beom as a NEET because we haven't been given enough information yet, but that's one of the first things that comes to mind. He may also be a professional gamer. You can earn a living from playing video games these days. He may also very well be addicted to playing video games and close to being a shut-in.

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NEET or profesional gamer, he is a terrible friend. His actions are disconected from Jin An's troubles, even if he helped her with Granny sometimes. However, both cases are pretty interesting now that you say it: people without work and people obsesionate with virtual worlds are more and more frecuently in our century. Korea and Japan have a record in this matters, because the employees' competition is brutal. This drama shows us many ways of living.

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So I just wanted to say that IU is giving me my WHOLE LIFE!! I'm sold on this drama.

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This episode really set the story in motion. I, too, do not know what to make of our male lead, he seems bland. (i know that writers sometimes do that with main characters so we can relate to them and see the story through their point of view, so I'm wondering if it's that, or simply, we'll get to know more about him as we go on.

I like all the characters and i like to hate the current young CEO. But I find Dong-Hoon's wife, aka CEO's mistress, rather unsettling. really? Now? she's a bad guy after her bf almost fires her husband. So you weren't bad before? I'm just chocked by her conscious. They tried to humanize her but I dont feel pity for her. Not just yet.

It was also my understanding that maybe the CEO has mixed up the names on purpose so both Director Park AND manager Park get fired (did I misinterpret ?)

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I don't think they tried to humanize Dong-hoon's wife with that statement that they're becoming bad people. Sometimes bad people don't quite see their actions for what they really are (at first). She is cheating on her husband. She seems to be in love with Joon-young. She may have come to terms with those actions, but that guilt and other feelings associated with the affair are being compounded now. If I look at it that way, I find it clever writing.

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The CEO didn't mix up the names (unless he called the same company later etc.) because Director Yoon set up the whole thing.

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Watching Ji-an this hour felt like witnessing a multiple car crash that you knew would come from miles away. You don't like what she did, but you understand where she comes from. You want to stop it, but the only thing you can do is watch everything going to crash and burn. I'm just going to believe in that 10-million-won-per-person loophole, that she will stop before she truly dragged Dong-hoon through it.

Also, I couldn't remember the last time I felt this much anticipation for the phrase "Buying someone food" to mean something more. That soon, it would mean "Please stay by my side," "Can I take care of you?", or just a simple code between them that they need someone to listen to their stories. I want them to stand together and find unexpected solace in each other.

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I actually found their dinner scene together very poignant. As Jian and Dong Hoon sat together and drank alcohol in silence, they were temporarily at peace with what's been troubling them. No words necessary. Then he simply thanked her during the train ride home. So poetic and touching. I don't have any words for it.

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I don't know why, but I teared up when Dong-hoon said that simple "Thank you". Maybe it's because the PD cleverly showed us the deal Ji-an made with the CEO right before he said it. Or maybe because Ji-an looks genuinely surprised hearing it.

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Ji-an is clearly not used to being treated well :'(

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Thanks for the recap @lollypip!

This was the episode that made it clear. Much like everyone else here, I'm sold! Very clever empathetic and sympathetic writing and acting. What's not to love!?

It’s due to Ji-an inexplicably returning the money that his job was salvaged

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I have to disagree with you a bit on Ji-an. When she went to make the payment to the loansharks and Kwang-il was notified of her payment, his accomplice told Ji-an of Kwang-il's plan. So it made sense for her to save her own hide by getting the money back--that scene was awesome! Then it was the janitor who ultimately made sure that she parted with the money. I think it's much too early to make heads or tails of what Ji-an's real play is here, aside from the financial one that is.

1. When Dong-hoon's wife commented that they are becoming bad people, I don't know how she didn't realize she was already a bad person for cheating on her husband, with her husband's boss and former hoobae no less.
2. It's hard to dislike Ji-an. She is a survivor. She has done some pretty messed up things. You may not condone it, but you can at the very least sympathize. She most certainly is strong. That's makes it all the more desirous for me to see her open up and be a bit more vulnerable. I would love to see her in her unguarded moments. IU is killin' it!
3. I love the politics thus far. There are some things that are frustrating like the way in which the management handled Dong-hoon while he was under investigation. Speaking of which, I really love how the CEO's plan backfired.
4. I cannot wait to see how all these situations will affect and change Dong-hoon.

I really am hoping they don't screw up this drama. It has tons of potential. So many characters and relationships to figure out and storylines to see play out.

BTW, does anyone else get the feeling that certain parts of this drama are dubbed--if not the whole thing. Sometimes the sound seems a bit weird to me.

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It seems a lot of people think Ji An returned the money in order to save DH.

But to me it didn’t look like that at all. She just threw it away because she didn’t want to be caught. It only happened coincidentally that it helped DH in the end.

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"She just threw it away because she didn’t want to be caught"

Idk, but if that was the intent then she could have thrown the money on some random trashbin but she purposely threw it at the company's and made sure the cleaner would deliver it to the bosses so yeah.. she purposely saved him.

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But didn’t she ask the cleaner afterwards what did he do with that money?

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I think after she took it back from the loan sharks when she realized she couldn't pay off her debt with it, she may have thought about keeping it. But when she arrived at work and saw Dong Hoon getting dragged off and his stuff being packed up for investigation, she got spooked. With all the CCTVs around, the only way to get rid of it then was to hide it among the papers for recycling and bring it down to janitor ahjussi.

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Saving Dong-hoon was a chess move in order to save herself. She was either going the get thrown in jail from the loan shark end for posessing stolen money or from the company end when DH rats her out so her only option was to make the situation go away. At this point she appears to have zero 'feelings' for DH who she just agreed to get fired for the CEO.

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This is the rare moment that I like the office politics because it is both interesting and actually adds the story.

I think if the loan sharks accepted her money, she's be coldhearted enough to move on without looking back. but since they didn't she did that...

Also, for me, I trust the director at this point to not screw the drama up.. *fingercrossed*

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The office politics reminds of Stranger in a way. There are some messed up people with important things at stake here. Plus, we don't get all the silly office humour stuff, at least not yet.

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I haven't watch Stranger/Secret Forest. I have been wanting to but haven't gone around to do it.

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It's good. You should give it a try.

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Oh yes the dubbed part, it sounded sometimes like CEO Do's lines were dubbed! I thought I was the only one! Who is this actor?

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Kim Young Min. He's actually a veteran actor, though most of his works are in film. But he is in 2016 FantastiC and Beethoven Virus.

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At 46, the man looks fantastic for his age! He's older than Lee Sun-gyun!?

I found that Lee Sun-gyun's lines sounded more dubbed than his though.

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Ah! Now I know where I had seen him before. He was the horrid husband in Fantastic, wasn’t he?! (Looks so young.) Affairs are his characters’ thing, I guess!!

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46? WOAH! Good genes and a good dermatologist maybe hahahah. With Lee Sun-gyun's lines I just thought it was his low low voice that made it sounds dubbed..
Also I'm waiting to see his story with his wife unfold. I mean she clearly doesn't love him anymore but she's financially independent so what's been holding her back from getting a divorce earlier? Also other the the photos, we see no signs of children...if there were, they'd be at their cousin's wedding. Something must've happened there...

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No way. I thought he was 39/40?
I googled him and he’s 47? Jesus Christ. Those must be pretty good genes.

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Yeah, so did I.

Mydramalist forgot to update his age.

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Thank you so much for your in-depth recaps, LollyPip. Office politics tend to confuse me because I’m not familiar with how these things work, especially in Korea, so your comments help me keep track of everything going on. I agree that Director Park is amazing. It’s funny because I’m currently watching Rescue Me where I hate his character, so I was prepared to hate him here, too. I don’t trust him but loved him for saving Dong-hoon, even though, as you said, he probably doesn’t actually care about our too-kind-for-his-own-good ajusshi.

Ji-an. Oh, Ji-an. Her character is still such an enigma but I LOVE HER. She is tough as nails and smart as a whip, and I’m sorry for using so many cliches to describe her because she’s not a cliche. It’s refreshing to have a young female character like her in dramaland. The show has done a great job at making me understand why she is so amoral despite knowing basically nothing of her backstory. Her current life is more than enough for me to know exactly where she is coming from. While I definitely don’t excuse her actions, I can still almost admire them in a way. I love that you mentioned that she is likely playing the double agent, because I wasn’t so sure about her motivations in this episode until you said that. Now it is all making more sense. I’m really looking forward to seeing where her character is headed. I’m counting on you, writer. Give her the awesome character arc she deserves without compromising her wit and grit in the process.

I’m so pleasantly surprised by IU in this role, but I shouldn’t be. My previous favorite role of hers was as Cindy in The Producers, and with this it’s clear that she shines while playing cold characters. After reading her response to the criticism of the show’s first episode I somehow respect her even more than I already did. She clearly has a deep understanding of this script and her character, and I am eagerly looking forward to seeing her on my screen in the following weeks.

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After reading her response to the criticism of the show’s first episode I somehow respect her even more than I already did.

Wait, what!? What is the problem people are having with the show that it's being criticized?!

I agree with you about the recaps filling in the gaps about the things I'm ignorant. I had no idea that the director tokens in the first episode were representative of the game Pog. Now we know why the sakes are so high for both factions. Could you imagine the scandal that could happen if the affair came out now!?

It really is refreshing to have a character like Ji-an. Her resourcefulness and survival instincts are remarkable. I'm really hoping that Dong-hoon does not make her a shell of who she is as this happens far too often in dramaland. Sure, try to guide her moral compass in the right direction, but don't rob her of her self-sufficiency.

Speaking of which, I was thinking that Dong-hoon might end up being like a school teacher/counsellor type figure. Now I have no clue how things will play out.

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Here's the Soompi article that talks about it: https://www.soompi.com/2018/03/22/iu-responds-controversy-surrounding-storyline-violence-ahjussi/

She touched on both the pre-premiere criticism of the possibility of a romantic relationship between her and LSK's characters:

“We’re not making a romance or fantasy drama, but telling a story about reality and people. It’s not a story that says, ‘Reality should be like this,’ and it’s not a beautification of reality. Rather, it’s a drama that says, ‘There is this kind of reality. How should we live?'”

And also on the controversy that arose after the first episode aired about Kwang-il beating Ji-an:

"IU described the relationship between the two characters as “perhaps the most intense conflict in the drama.” She added, “They fought fiercely in the first episode, so she wouldn’t be able to love someone like that. Their story will slowly unfold.”"

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Thanks for this. I almost missed your post because I accidentally clicked the bell notification icon when there was more than one notification on there and forgot to either open the others in new tabs or go back to the notifications.

I'm more than a bit annoyed by the double standard here. So we can have a huge age difference in a noona romance like Witch's Romance but it's a no no with an ajusshi romance?! If there is a romance though, these things happen in real life as well. It's not like she's not an adult.

I'm really also very annoyed at the violence thing. I wouldn't call the violence here gratuitous. It's very much purposeful and in line with the story being told. Why can't people leave well enough alone. It's because of issues like these that dramas end up editing and changing their original content for ratings or to appease those who have problems.

I would say though that there are instances where the manner in which violence, race/racism, gender, homophobia etc are poorly done and as such create problems. As such, my sentiments here don't constitute a blanket statement.

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I can't like this comment enough. That's why public stations and popular channels avoid making interesting content, they can get ratings without it, plus avoid any controversy.
In Korea, because of complains like that, it is especially a big problem. I can count on one hand writers who go on a risky, more than rom-com routes and even they often get in trouble (as evident, in the case of Live).
I am still hoping writers didn't fully change the story, not because I especially ship them, but because writers shouldn't have to walk on the eggshells to please everyone.

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I'm really replying to @nerdy below, there is no more reply button directly under her post. Unfortunately we may never know the original intent of this PD/writer duo as they too seemed to have caved under viewers' pressure to remove any romance from the relationship. Too bad, because romance does not have to mean saccharine sweet or hot passionate kisses.

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Director Park knew that if they got rid of Dong Hoon, Director Yun and CEO Do would be able to just sweep the whole incident under the carpet and move on. He needed to keep the case alive, front and centre in the company because if they could track down the vendor who provided the bribe, they'd be able to take CEO Do and Director Yun down. Dong Hoon is a pawn in their game, nothing more.

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Ji-an is so BADASS. That moment when she knocked over the water containers into the car I knew I was falling in love lol. I'm totally on her side for whatever she'll be doing in the future.

I'm glad Director Park has smarts and he won't sit back and have his minions figure everything out for him. Because it shows we have someone we can anticipate outsmarting Director Yoom who is already failing lol.

I am of the same opinion as @lollypip about Dong-hoon's brothers. They're both useless and wow talk about giving bad advice lol.

I can not wait till Dong-hoon finds about his wife cheating and for his and Ji-an's relationship to progress however it may.

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Thanks for the recap LollyPip, you are awesome to do this recap. Hope that you get enough sleep 😄
I'm not use to see JKY violence over IU (after their interaction in Friday MV). But JKY doing a good job and he deserve to take a lead role in the next project.
I still confuse in the story and vibe that been build from ep 1, but I still want to continue to watch My Ajusshi.
I think Ji An know something and she try to get more than just 10 million for each people. I'm curious about Ji An's past, she brave to do something and messing with the others business.

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I don't think so, I think she asks for 20 million is because her debt is 18 million + 2 million of don't-ever-look-for-me-again money.

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I was wondering why the actor playing Kwang-il looked so familiar. A quick google search shows he was Jung Nam-Gil, the cute guy who liked Jang Nara's character in high school. What a change!

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I love this episode even more than the first. Somebody hands the Daesang or Baeksang for the Kim Won Suk quick!

This is also my brand of comedy and am also really curious what kind of relationship Jian and her friend have. I thought he was her little brother at first.

The way Jian handles everything with that quiet calm is both scary and refreshing for me. Scary if imagine what happened to her to be like that. Refreshing for the portrayal, how IU didn't overemote.

For Dong Hoon, I adore Lee Sun Kyun so even though the character is meh, Lee Sun Kyun still wins.

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I want to add about the Jian-Do Joon Young collaboration. I really think Jian will bring Director Park down, but she will have her redemption by not bringing Dong Hoon down and probably use everything in her arsenal to bring Do Joon Young down, eventually.

But I think she's solidly in team Do Joon Young for now. Even though I prefer that I am wrong.

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I’m actually kind of impressed with IU’s acting - I’m glad that they didn’t cast someone like Suzy for this role.

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One thing I've learned from this episode : Lying is super tiring - I'm looking at you Joon Young, he always had this tense expression on his face..

I love Ji An's observant and quick-thinking personality. In some scenes with Dong Hoon and CEO Joon Young, I like it that she IS being the boss and has control over them with their secret wraps around her fingertips 😎

Looking forward to the next episodes ! 💕

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Also, I started to think that the janitor might be the one who helped her to get the little job in that company in the first place. It seemed like Ji An didn't go to college too, did she?

There must be more connection between Ji An, the janitor, and also Gwang Il in the past..

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Great point on the janitor! Yeah, considering her circumstances, i would say she's lucky to even graduate high school..

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The absence of a soundtrack throughout large parts of the episodes really adds to the feeling of realism.

While Ji An's life is ridiculously difficult - so much so that I can't relate, Dong Hoon's life represents my biggest fear as I grow older - that I'll be stuck in a mediocre job, that I won't be happy with my partner (if any at all), that my world will be filled with a daily routine of mediocrity. I'm both fascinated and appalled by him, and at this moment, Lee Seon Kyun is my very favorite actor. :)

(re-posted from OT)

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You're right, its terrifying. I'm only 19 but it's amazing how quickly dreams can evaporate. Dong Hoon's life is so average, so normal, but I pray it will never be me.

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Hahah I used to think this too until about two years ago (I'm nine years older than you) - but now I think normal is okay, everyone lives within their normal. But average and mediocre is not. It's tough to avoid it though. :/

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Mediocrity isn't all bad, but add in the unhappy relationships and it can be stifling. If Dong-hoon's family life wasn't so unsettling, and he wasn't the so-called responsible one in the middle of his slacker brothers, or his wife wasn't cheating on him with his boss, he might not feel so stuck in his career. When you feel stuck by circumstances, even a good job can become unbearable.

I'm enjoying the subtleties of Lee Seon Kyun's performance so far. I do hope he begins to talk more though.

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I agree - and I think you helped me understand what I meant by my biggest fears with more clarity.

It IS everything about his life that comes to form what I mean when I say "mediocre". One of the characters even describes him as having a "pitiful air".

Re Lee Seon Kyun, I thought he was fantastic in This Week, My Wife is Having an Affair - but he seems to be putting in an even more nuanced performace for this role.

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Agree about your assessment of LSK's performance, it's understated but nuanced. Yes, people have said his character is bland, but I guess there is not much for him to do yet other than looking anxious all the time. I can't wait for his story to begin properly. So far the focus has been mostly on Ji-an and what others have done around him.

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One of my favourite LSK moments in this episode was when his brothers were teasing him about Ji-An, and he looked secretly pleased about the suggestion while being all gruff. So cute!

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Hahaha... I hope someone would comment on the teasing done by the brothers. So cute, these grown men acting like school kids. And maybe this is the director's way of calming all the fears out there about an old man romancing a younger woman.

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One of my LSK moments is the drinking scene at the bar/restaurant when Director Yoon is trying to get a confession out of him. Minimal dialog there, but everything is conveyed loud and clear, and so heartbreaking.

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Agreed! I was impressed that the director chose to have that extended scene with little dialogue and repeat actions. A whole lot of confidence there, clearly.

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Definitely agree.. One thing about being an adult, it is boring and tedious. Dong Hoon's life is something an average person can relate to like being stuck in a corporate job, huge family expectations, responsibilities, and bills. It is hard to find that center in life where you can just be steady and allow yourself to enjoy life as an adult. A great actor like Lee Seon Kyun understood this very well and made Dong Hoon exhibit a certain calm nervousness of not being able to live up with those expectations. I admire LSK for giving that more realistic approach.

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Yes to this. DH could have easily been portrayed over the top, but I am glad LSK chooses to go with this calm and yet nervous at the same time approach. There is no guessing how he is feeling in any scene. For example, I really enjoyed the scene in the subway where he kept asking JA to get off and have a talk with him, and she kept saying no. The frustration is sooo obvious even with so little words spoken. Both LSK and IU are doing well with minimal dialog.

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LSK and IU have this silent chemistry together. It is evident whenever they will have meals or just sitting in the train. It is rare in kdramaland to have characters who don't waste their words but still have enormous spark whenever they share a screen together. I am glad Kim Won Suk is really nailing and maximizing that between his two leads.

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I agree, even more unusual because their chemistry is neither the cute, smiley nor the cold antagonistic kinds typical of what people refer to when they say chemistry. Theirs is the sensing and sharing of misery, even if they themselves don't realize it yet.

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Does anyone else feel something really intense between Ji-an and Kwang-il? I know he is currently an antagonist but something about the scene where he was waiting in her flat, turning the light on and off, made me wonder how interesting it would be to see a complete 360 turn in his character. We don't know why he hates Ji-an so strongly, but I could imagine it being a misunderstanding. Obviously I can't condone the way he beat her in episode 1, but what a feat it would be to put viewers on his side! I think he and Ji-an could be an interesting ragtag duo... I've forgiven much worse antiheroes in dramas before.

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There's definitely something intense there, but after that beating I don't foresee him becoming a sympathetic antihero that joins forces with Ji-an. Rather, we might learn more about his motivations and obsession with Ji-an and gain some sort of insight, but the magnitude of the physical abuse he inflicted on her probably brands him a villain throughout.

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Yes to more backstory on his character, but him doing a 360 and helping Ji An.. issa NO for me lol. He's forever cancelled in my book

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I only just watched Angry Mum so I was trying not to transfer my feelings about Jisoo's character onto him. I think he's just a violent thug but kdramas are notorious for episode 15 redemptions so, who knows?

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A Broken Vessel!

Nothing is absolute, but only relative unto something else.
I have always been fascinated, when I discovered once again that woman can be as jaded, nihilistic, and amoral as men, and then some.
Ji-an for the little information we have been given so far, fits the description of "a broken vessel". But when we take a closer look I find a person that is running on survival mode almost 24/7, animals in the wild must adapt to their surroundings, or the will die out pretty fast, I do not find Ji-an to be a weak person but some one with a great deal of resilience, self awareness, self confidence, and a fierceness beyond her years. My hope its that as the story unfolds, it will gives us more of an insight, on what makes her tick.

One of the things that caught me by surprise was the question that
Ji-an pose to Dong-hoon. "Have you ever hit a woman". This is a very loaded question, specially coming from a battered woman, Is she hoping for him the feel empathy towards her, and see her as a victim, or does she feels that she deserves to be treated that way, or does she genuine wants to know what it feels to be in total control, against some one who is totally helpless.
I do not know the answer, but that scene brought me to tears, because in the mist of her bravado, we can see her acknowledgment, that she was unable to fend of her abuser, even though she try with all her might, but what I like the most is the fact the she did not back down out of fear, but out of sense of survival.

The other thing that I like about Ji-an is her sense of "strategy on the go". For a normal person take years of training in order to develop a kin sense of improvisation, to get the desire results at the right time. I love how in the midst of all the office politics, and backstabbing, this little girl is set to bring all of them down. Some times the pain of hunger is the best motivator to achieve greatness, wit or without morals...... Ji-an Fighting!!!!!!!

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For a drama with such heavy themes, there are some surprisingly funny moments that had me laughing out loud:
- the awkwardness in the elevator when Mr. CEO gets a call on his second cellphone
- when Jian casually takes his cellphone
- everyone in the elevator knew, but decided it would be too awkward to do anything about
- when the two brothers camp outside the subway entrance and stare at exiting girls with full eye contact
- no shame haha

The OSTs are also amazing. Unfortunately, rumours say IU won't be singing any of them. (am I allowed to post links? This is my first post):
https://youtu.be/5OnJK4wUHV8

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Oh how I missed watching a recapped drama!

Reading beanies thoughts after an episode is such a bliss. I have no one around me that watches kdramas and if there's one it's mostly due to bandwagon. So I can't spazz and talk about it deeply because it's more about the romance. Anyways, I'm loving it and will definitely be lurking.

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Damn this episode felt like an espionage drama more than an melo slice of drama. I was planning not watch this drama because not into bleak melo dramas but i wanted to keep an eye out for it because my favourite korean singer/person 'IU' is in it. I love her. So i might be biased but i love her character. And after reading the recap of first ep , i had to watch the 2nd episode. Give the right circumstances , Ji An would have ruled them all. She is so clever and strong. Looking forward to the next episode.
Thanks for the recap :)

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Thanks Lollypip for the recap! jjang! I didn't expect the story to be this interesting when it was first announced, and oh, i liked how Ji-an is a smart person and with "nimble" hands too. Even when she has nothing, her situation seems bleak, she somehow become a player too in the office politics and not the one to be underestimated. Really looking forward to the development of the story

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Thank you for recapping this. I dislike watching Melos. So being able to read a recap of something I was vaguely interested in is great!

Side Note.... Did anyone read about the K-Netizen uproar over the scene of her getting beat up being too violent? Their reaction was amusing to me.

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I am sure the people who were bothered by it were the ones who only saw sneak peaks and not actually watched the show. If this wasn't the case I have no idea how they came to this conclusion

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I say their reaction is amusing because, from my understanding irl, citizens will watch someone getting beat up and not intervene. Man or women. A lot of the foreign teacher vloggers talk about this and it's disturbing to them.

The hypocrisy of the K-Netizens is amusingly sad.

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Hmmm.. so Kwang-il is the more adult and more violent version of the boy pulling the pigtails of the girl he likes I guess

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I'm happy that IU is taking on such a different role. That being said... I'm all melodrama'd out this season. I can't take anymore so I might have to skip this one.

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Honestly, I wasn't expecting the second episode to be this engaging and it's also added so many more questions. Just when I started to feel that Ji-An might be on Hoon's side she makes a deal to get him and his boss fired! I am really hoping, she's being a double agent but i get the feeling that she will get worse before getting better and that poor Hoon will have worse times ahead of him. also, whether romance or no romance between these two, their chemistry is still amazing. eagerly waiting for next week.

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This drama looks very interesting. For now, I am waiting to discover the back-story of the main characters: for him, the story of his failed marriage (there is a picture of a child in a frame on his wife's desk, maybe here is the reason of their mutual estrangement), for her - the probable involuntary manslaughter (this loan-shark guy is somehow mixed up in this, she could have contributed to a death in his family, this being the reason of his antagonistic behavior towards her).

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i just found out that IU grew up poor in a situation not too different from our JiAn T T
apparently her family lost their house to debt and she lived with her grandma, brother and 2 cousins in a single room for a year until she got accepted to be a singer trainee at 14 or 15 T T

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Anyone else wondering what happened to Donghoon's son? His wife has several photos of a child displayed prominently at her desk at home....

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At first I thought their son died, which would explain their marriage problem. But it turns out, going by the character description on the show's website, he is studying in the US.

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Ah I see. Thanks for the info!

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I'm calling it now, but I have the feeling Dong Hoon already knows his wife is having an affair, he might not know with who tho, but something tells me he is just waiting for her to ask for divorce, he just seems like the kind of man who would wait for that to happen so he can say ok. Also Ji An said she 'killed' a person in the first episode, and my bet is on that person being related to the dude who's hunting her down for the money. As expected, I really do want to continue watching this drama to see how everything turns out.

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In the first episode, when Dong Hoon told his older brother that his wife was going on a business trip, older brother expressed doubt that a lawyer needed to go on a business trip. DH evaded his brother's question by saying he just went with whatever she said. But I also sensed he didn't fully trust her, although probably not suspecting affair. He seemed to have given up on his marriage. I hope we see his story more this week.

It's also possible Ji An accidentally caused the death of her parents, and is now paying off their debts.

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The darkness of this series reminds me of Yoo Ah In's Secret Affair. And I like it.

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if she threw the bribe money in the bin, then where did she suddenly get the money to pay the debt from

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She first tried to pay off her debt with the stolen money. After she realized it wouldn't work, so went back to work to get rid of it somehow (that's why she's late to work that day).

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This drama made me remember Whisper

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Haha, with brothers like the ones Dong Hoon has, who needs enemies?!

On a more serious note, I shall wildly speculate that CEO was actually in love with Dong Hoon's wife back in their college days, but Dong Hoon somehow managed to snag her instead. Hence, CEO bears a grudge against Dong Hoon.

My last thought is that IU sure does tragic characters with inner strength really well! I'm quite intrigued as to where Ji An's relationship with Dong Hoon will go. I know it won't be romantic, but somehow I'm quite sad about that. Although I'm generally not a fan of huge age gaps between the characters, because it can just be awkward, in this case...somehow....I wish it would happen. Oh well!

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You are spot on with your speculation on Dong Hoon's wife. I think I read somewhere that indeed the CEO was already hoping to win her love back in college, so it will be interesting to see why she picked DH instead.

Same here with feeling sad that due to viewers' pressure the writer had to abandon her original plan for a romance. :(

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Definetly a very well written episodes so far. I am intrigue to see what is going to happen next.

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I personally hate his brothers. I think they're awful.

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I thought I was the only one. I won't say I hate them but I just found myself mumbling in my head "losers" in the latest episode. I understand their difficulties but some of the things they do are just...juvenile?

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On rewatch they don't annoy me as much. Their inability to mature despite making it to middle age seems like one of the show's statements on middle age - we get there whether we grow up or not. They're still unbelievably immature of course and frustrating to watch. But I don't hate them like I first did. Still, that whole stunt with the wedding money in the first episode was just awful. This really is an Ahjussi horror movie.

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This is the first time I loved ep 1 of something. Usually 1st episodes are boring, slow and just too long. But this one was so natural, easy to watch and nothing fake. My favorite scene was when Lee Ji An picked up CEO's second phone and put it in her pocket. So casually. He was SO surprised. I think he's still a little intimidated by her. When it comes to Dong Hoon's wife, their marriage was doomed, I think. I don't even know how they got together in the first place. They're so different. But it does not justify her cheating on him. I think she's being a coward, hiding behind CEO to take care of her problems, because she's afraid of being the bitch. She should fight her own battles.

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Also, does the CEO actually like like Dong Hoon's wife? They're relationship made me think of stories when a guy was in love with a girl who was older than him. He loved her, admired her but couldn't get her. But now he can. But is he actually in love with her?

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On a rewatch - this episode reminds me of how genre-defying this show actually is. A first time viewer, who has no context of the show's set up or a blurb or anything to go by, could easily mistake this to be a crime thriller, or a suspenseful mystery (where a murder is hinted at - she has killed a human being). The next episode then turns this (presumed) genre on its head, and then, going forward, it transforms into something quite different. At no point, though, do you get bored.

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I didn’t understand the elevator scene (where JI-AN took JOON-YOUNG’s phone – until I read a recap and some comments. So, there was another RINGING and no one was picking up. I went back to the that scene (via Ntflix) but there was NO RINGING from a second phone. Is it just my laptop’s audio or did they forget to put that ringing (second) phone sound there?

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