My Ajusshi: Episode 9
by LollyPip
Ji-an may not realize it yet, but she’s already been profoundly changed from her association with Dong-hoon. She’s spent her entire life taking care of herself, burdened by the mistakes of others and unable to get out from under the crushing weight of adult responsibility that no child should ever bear. But Dong-hoon is showing her that those things don’t define her, and that she can still make the choice to be a good person.
EPISODE 9 RECAP
On his train ride home, Dong-hoon recalls DP telling him that he needs to take Joon-young down personally. Ji-an watches him, having been instructed by Joon-young to get Dong-hoon to date her, and he’ll use the situation to destroy Dong-hoon. She’d wondered if Dong-hoon likes her, and Joon-young had told her that, by his actions, he believes he does.
When Dong-hoon gets off the train, he finally sees Ji-an, but she doesn’t get off with him. He starts to call her as he walks home, but he changes his mind. When Ji-an does get off the train, she runs to catch another one back to her own stop.
Dong-hoon stops by the supermarket and tries to contact Yoon-hee to see if she needs anything, but she doesn’t respond. He leaves the store and sees Ji-an as she’s putting in her earbuds, unaware that she’s planning to listen to him through his phone. She sees him standing across the street, and she takes out her earbuds as he approaches.
He asks Ji-an if she’s heading to her part-time job, but she says they only call her in when they’re really busy. She asks him why he’s walking in the direction of her neighborhood, and he says that he has an errand.
Ji-an tells him, “Make sure you become a director. You can do it.” Dong-hoon doesn’t think Joon-young would stand for it, because if he becomes a director, Joon-young will lose his job.
He’s worried that Joon-young will start doing crazy things if he’s backed into a corner, but Ji-an repeats for him to become a director and get his revenge. She adds, “I want to see that bastard Do Joon-young crumble pathetically.”
Dong-hoon asks why she hates a man she’s (supposedly) never even spoken to, and Ji-an mumbles, “Because you hate him, Ajusshi.” He asks her to call him “Manager” instead, before splitting off at Jung-hee’s bar to drop off some groceries.
Afterward, he meets with his brothers for a fancy sashimi meal, courtesy of Ki-hoon, and they even pose for hilarious selfies with the fish, hee. Ki-hoon waxes poetic about how much he loves his new cleaning job, feeling useful for the first time in his life.
At the same time, Ji-an gets good news — Grandma’s disability benefits have come through, and she’s been assigned to an assisted living facility. Ji-an assures her that it’s free, and a nice place, telling Grandma that the ajusshi who piggybacked her helped her with this. Grandma cries, overcome with gratitude.
Over drinks and sashimi, Sang-hoon tells his brothers (again) that his primary worry when things went bad for him professionally was that mom would die and he wouldn’t be able to throw her a nice funeral with a lot of mourners. Ki-hoon snaps at him to stop talking about Mom’s funeral.
But Sang-hoon argues that if Mom did die now, the only people they know who would attend are their neighborhood soccer club. He gets weepy as he thinks about Mom being lonely when she passes away, and Ki-hoon yells at him to stop ruining the evening.
Dong-hoon softly entreats them to stop, so they stop fighting but continue talking about funerals. Sang-hoon tells Dong-hoon for the zillionth time to keep his job at the company, no matter how bad it gets, and he bursts into guilty tears to be asking this of his younger brother.
Dong-hoon shocks his brothers by announcing that he’s a candidate to become a director. Over the moon, Sang-hoon calls for a bottle of fine liquor while Ki-hoon calls Mom, telling her that Dong-hoon is a director.
The whole neighborhood is celebrating by the time the brothers get to Jung-hee’s after dinner, and nobody listens when Dong-hoon says he’s just a candidate, not a director. Mom calls and tells him to just say he’s a director already, and he groans that he may not even get the promotion. He tells the guys that they’re going to do tons of digging into his past, but they all agree that he has the cleanest past of them all.
Meanwhile, Mom talks to Yoon-hee on the phone, telling her to take care of herself since she works so hard. When they hang up, Yoon-hee sees that Dong-hoon tried to call her.
When they leave the bar, Sang-hoon imagines the street as the hall of a funeral home, filled to bursting with flowers and mourners. He tells Dong-hoon and Ki-hoon to imagine it, but Yu-ra joins them and shatters their little reverie.
They all file back inside for one more drink, and Yu-ra learns that Dong-hoon is up for a promotion. She says that Dong-hoon has a more reliable look than his brothers, but he ignores her congratulations.
Ji-an listens to them discussing Dong-hoon’s shyness until he says he needs to go home. She jumps up and runs to the bar, passing it as she looks for Dong-hoon. She finds him and follows him all the way to his business, still listening as he calls his wife and she tells him to come home.
Ki-hoon walks Yu-ra to her ride, and she on the way she tells him that she got a callback for a second audition, and that the director wants to help her overcome her anxiety. She’s confident she can do it, now that the guy who messed her up has promised to help her straighten back out again. She mentions his failure again, and how it gave her the courage to ask for his help, and she thanks him.
Ki-hoon, who’s been silent while Yu-ra chattered, sends her in with a muttered, “Do well tomorrow.” Yu-ra tells him with a grin that those words make her feel a tiny bit more straightened out.
Kwang-il had been following as Dong-hoon walked Ji-an home after work, and he’s still obsessing about it. He recalls that it was Dong-hoon’s name on the envelope when Ji-an attempted to pay off her debt with the stolen gift certificates.
At the office the following morning, Director Yoon fires one of the other director candidates in an attempt to avoid splitting the votes. Later he talks to someone he’d tasked with digging up dirt on Dong-hoon, telling him that since he didn’t find anything, to create something instead.
Joon-young calls Director Yoon ignorant for thinking he’d find anything in Dong-hoon’s past. He points out that there’s nothing in Director Yoon’s records either, though he’s far from clean.
Director Yoon joins Dong-hoon’s team in the cafeteria at lunch, asking if Dong-hoon is excited about the possible promotion and who people think will get the director position. They’re clearly uncomfortable, but when Director Yoon says that the subordinates should get to decide these things, Cheater Girl starts talking.
She says that Dong-hoon is practically perfect as a boss, but that he’s too nice to contracted workers, sometimes even taking their side over permanent employees. She tells Director Yoon about Ji-an, skipping over the kiss scandal, but Director Yoon picks up that something must have happened.
He runs to find the man in charge of the temp workers and gets Ji-an’s resume, then sends it to his spy to see what he can find. Cheater Girl overhears them discussing Ji-an, and when Deputy Kim berates her later for gossiping to Director Yoon, she protests that everything she said was true.
Dong-hoon gets a call at work from Kwang-il’s loan shark partner, who asks about Ji-an and the bribe envelope which went temporarily missing a month ago. He tells Dong-hoon that Ji-an owes him a lot of money and that she brought the bribe to him in an attempt to pay him back all at once. He acts as if he nobly turned her down since the gift certificated were in an envelope with his name on it, so Ji-an ran away with the money.
He warns Dong-hoon away from Ji-an, and Dong-hoon is preoccupied for the rest of the day. He ignores Ji-an on the train ride after work and grumbles at her to go home when they arrive at their stop. She asks him to buy her dinner, looking hopeful, but he turns her down.
She goes home and makes an instant coffee, then listens to her recording of Dong-hoon from today, when she’d noticed he was agitated while on the phone. All she can hear is Dong-hoon’s side of the conversation, but he’d sounded anxious and had glanced over at her after hanging up.
Dong-hoon is upset to have learned that Ji-an didn’t take the bribe money to help him as she told him, but to pay off her loan shark debt. When Yoon-hee comes home he says he’s going out and asks if she needs anything. She just snaps that he’s always asking her that, “But you don’t even know what I really need.”
She asks when he was planning on telling her that he’s a director candidate, having heard it from Mom. Dong-hoon says that he’s not sure he’ll even get the job so he was waiting to say anything, but she points out that he told his mother and brothers, unsatisfied with his simple apology.
Kwang-il gets a call from Ji-an, who knows he was the one who called her office and demands to know what he said to Dong-hoon. Kwang-il says that they told him she’s a thieving bitch and warns Ji-an to know her place, and to stop running around being in love and make money or he’ll kill them both.
Whenever Ki-hoon lets Sang-hoon drive the cleaning van, he tries to take that corner on two wheels and tips it onto its side, ha. According to Ki-hoon, he’s also prone to sitting and watching dramas instead of cleaning, and he wonders how his brother lasted in the business world as long as he did.
Yu-ra shows up just as they’re about to start throwing punches, and she announces that she’s on her way to an audition, but she’s scared and wants to run away. She begs Ki-hoon to do something, so with a glare towards Sang-hoon, he tells her softly that she looks pretty.
He says he wants her to be successful, because he wonders what it would be like if she became a top star and came to see him. He says that he thinks about how it would be if he clung to her, so he needs to send her off to spread her wings.
Ki-hoon adds that it would feel lonely to see her on TV or in a movie, but that he’d still be happy, and his own life would feel a little like a movie. Feeling better, Yu-ra says she’ll call him later and leaves.
Mom visits Jung-hee at the bar and helps her clean up. Jung-hee asks where she went yesterday, but instead of saying that she went to visit the monk, Gyeom-duk, Mom is deliberately vague. Jung-hee smells incense on Mom’s clothing and guesses that she went to the Buddhist temple, asking if she prayed for things to end up well for Dong-hoon.
When Mom doesn’t answer, Jung-hee grows agitated and calls her cruel. She screams, “How could you go where that bastard is??” Mom just says that if she’s going to a temple, she’d rather go where there’s a familiar face.
Jung-hee storms up to her room, and Mom follows soon after to apologize. Jung-hee asks if Gyeom-duk said anything about her, but when Mom says he did, she calls her a liar. Mom says that he asked how Jung-hee was doing, but she tells Jung-hee that it’s pointless to ask such questions.
Director Yoon takes Ji-an’s resume to Joon-young and tells him how Dong-hoon hand-picked her despite the fact that there were many temp workers with better educations. He’s proud to tell Joon-young that he’s got someone looking into her, but Joon-young reminds him angrily that he ordered him to stop looking into people.
He tells Director Yoon to have his person stop digging into Ji-an’s past immediately, but he also asks if the employees are gossiping about Dong-hoon and Ji-an. He tells Director Yoon that he wants to wait and see what the nature of their relationship is, instead of making their own moves and possibly warning them.
It may be too late, as Deputy Kim tells Dong-hoon that Director Yoon was asking about him and Ji-an, while Ji-an secretly listens in. He tells Dong-hoon that it felt like Director Yoon was trying to get Cheater Girl (finally we have a name for her — Deputy Jung) to say something strange, but that Deputy Jung didn’t say anything revealing.
Dong-hoon is still distrustful of Deputy Kim and asks what he said behind his back. Deputy Kim insists that all he said was that Dong-hoon and Ji-an live in the same neighborhood. Dong-hoon isn’t comforted, because now his enemies can twist things around to say that he knew Ji-an before she worked there, and that he’d promised to choose her for a job if she applied.
Deputy Kim complains that Dong-hoon didn’t fire Ji-an when he said he would, and when he asks what drew Dong-hoon to her, Ji-an suddenly becomes very attentive. Dong-hoon just says he doesn’t know and apologizes for making the poor decision to keep Ji-an.
Ji-an deflates at his answer, and she takes out her earbuds and leaves work early without permission. After her part-time job, she walks past Jung-hee’s bar on her way home, and although Dong-hoon is standing outside and tries to talk to her, she just ignores him and keeps walking. Once she’s away from him, Ji-an stops to blink away the tears welling in her eyes.
At work the next day, Dong-hoon visits the temp worker manager’s office and asks about the janitor, Choon-dae. Dong-hoon is given Choon-dae’s address and finds him living in a makeshift shanty. Choon-dae invites him inside, where Dong-hoon spots a photograph of him with a young girl who looks a lot like Ji-an.
Meanwhile, Yoon-hee packs up her office (did she quit her job?) and calls Ji-an to meet with her. She asks how she got DP fired, then inquires how she was planning to have Dong-hoon fired. Ji-an tells her honestly that she was planning on staging a scandal with herself.
Yoon-hee next asks why Ji-an betrayed Joon-young, and Ji-an answers, “Because he’s a disgusting piece of human trash. Do Joon-young is trash and Park Dong-hoon is pitiful.” Yoon-hee asks what she’s going to do now, and she offers the same amount that Joon-young was going to pay her to quietly leave the company.
She promises to help Ji-an disappear so that Joon-young can’t find her, but Ji-an says he’ll just find someone else to get rid of Dong-hoon. Yoon-hee says it’s fine, because now that he’s a directorial candidate, one of them would end up fired no matter what, and she wants to let things play out naturally.
Ji-an mutters that it looks like Yoon-hee is planning to stay with Dong-hoon, but Yoon-hee says it’s none of her business. She tells Ji-an that she’s uncomfortable that someone who knows all her secrets works with Dong-hoon, adding that the things she’s doing are stupid and scary.
Narrowing her eyes, Ji-an asks if Yoon-hee is afraid she’ll tell Dong-hoon everything. She tells Yoon-hee to stop trying so hard, because he already knows that she cheated with Joon-young.
Dong-hoon learns from Choon-dae that when Ji-an was young, her mother racked up a mountain of debt then ran away. She and Grandma were constantly harassed by creditors, and they never saw Ji-an’s mother again.
They don’t know if she’s even alive, but her creditors thought that her mother would come to Ji-an’s elementary school graduation, so they’d all come to the ceremony. Her mother hadn’t shown up, and Choon-dae, who worked at the school, had given the lonely little girl some flowers.
Ji-an inherited her mother’s debt when it was confirmed that she died, and she tried to repay but never made a dent in it. She owed the largest amount to Kwang-il’s father, a loan shark who beat up her grandmother on a daily basis and worked Ji-an to the bone.
Choon-dae only says vaguely that the loan shark died, and that his son is now doing the same things to Ji-an. He tells Dong-hoon that that’s why Ji-an stole the bribe money, but that she was forced to return it when Kwang-il figured out that it was stolen.
After listening quietly, Dong-hoon bows to Choon-dae respectfully and asks where “that bastard” Kwang-il is now. After he leaves, Choon-dae calls Ji-an to tell her that Dong-hoon came to see him.
Dong-hoon heads to Kwang-il’s loan office, thinking about Ji-an the entire way. He confronts Kwang-il and asks how much Ji-an owes him, but Kwang-il just scoffs when Dong-hoon says he’s here to pay her debt. Kwang-il sneers that Dong-hoon has lived a straight-laced life and tells him to fuck off, but Dong-hoon asks again how much she owes.
He tells Kwang-il that her life story moved him to tears, asking why Kwang-il isn’t touched. Kwang-il says angrily that it brings him to tears too, and starts making threats of violence, so Dong-hoon warns that he’s one of three brothers. He says that three boys in a family learn to fight young, but that they stop fighting around age twenty because they realize that they could seriously hurt or kill someone.
Kwang-il laughs and throws the first punch, and Ji-an hears it through her earbuds as she’s running to stop Dong-hoon. Dong-hoon gets Kwang-il in a headlock and yells at him for beating up a girl. Kwang-il wrenches free, punches him to the ground, and screams, “Because she killed my father!”
Dong-hoon freezes, shocked by this part of Ji-an’s story. Ji-an stops running, but then she hears Dong-hoon say, “I would have killed him, too, if I were her. I’d kill anyone who beat up my family!” He pulls himself up and lunges at Kwang-il, and they continue fighting.
Ji-an listens to them, crumpling to the ground as tears stream down her face, and she starts to sob helplessly.
COMMENTS
What a great cliffhanger! Ji-an crying as Dong-hoon fights Kwang-il, both of them so evenly matched that I have no idea who will win this round (I have a feeling this is just the first of many confrontations between them). I’m actually glad that Ji-an cried, though I don’t think it’s because she’s scared for Dong-hoon — I think it’s because she just realized, for the first time in her life, that there’s someone who cares enough to cry for her and to fight for her. Dong-hoon basically just referred to Ji-an as family (“I’ll kill anyone who beats up my family”), something she’s never had beyond a grandmother who was barely able to care for her. But more on this later.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised that the office politics portion of the drama hasn’t become either boring or tedious, and I think it’s because the writer isn’t trying to make it unnecessarily complicated and hasn’t allowed it to take over the plot. I’ve dropped so many dramas when the human part of the story began to take a backseat to political maneuverings, a sure way to make me lose interest. But in My Ajusshi‘s case, we only get just as much office scheming as is necessary to support the growing relationship between Dong-hoon and Ji-an (or the deteriorating one between Dong-hoon and Joon-young), and I’m impressed with how well-balanced everything still is, halfway through the show’s run. I really appreciate it, because there’s nothing worse than getting invested in a drama’s characters and caring about their lives and relationships, then having the focus shift to the office when that’s not what I’m there for.
So far, we don’t know much about Jung-hee, who owns the bar, but I find her fascinating and want to know more about her. Mostly what we know is that she seems to be in love with someone who never visits, and this episode made it pretty clear that it’s Dong-hoon’s monk friend, Gyeom-duk. He’s the friend that Dong-hoon told Ji-an about, who grew up in the neighborhood and whom everyone thought would be successful until he became a monk. There have been previous clues that Gyeom-duk is the man Jung-hee loves — she left Thailand because there were too many monks, and she glared at Sang-hoon when he joked that she always ends up with monks. Then in today’s episode, Jung-hee grew very upset when she learned that Mom visited Gyeom-duk. He seems like an interesting person too, and I hope he gets more screen time soon so we can learn more about him and Jung-hee.
I’ve mentioned before that at first, Yu-ra annoyed me, and I have to admit that a large part of that was because I felt as though Nara’s portrayal of her stuck out like a sore thumb. Yu-ra was much too perky, too cheerful, and she didn’t fit with the rest of the characters and the dark, subdued tone of the show. But I think I unfairly blamed the actress when I should have known better and trusted the director — I’ve seen this director pull masterful performances from actors, and this drama is no different (as we can see from any one of IU’s scenes). I’m beginning to understand that Yu-ra’s character is not in this story just to be a source of humor or a potential love interest for Ki-hoon. Under that overly cheerful demeanor, there’s a strong undercurrent of sadness, desperation, and loneliness, and you can see it in Yu-ra’s eyes if you look closely, particularly when she smiles. The more she talks, the more I think she’s practically a prophet, because she will often say something that’s so profound, you almost miss it among the otherwise meaningless chatter.
I feel so bad for Ji-an after today’s episode — well, worse than usual. She’s never had someone fight for her, and to hear Dong-hoon fighting Kwang-il on her behalf just broke her. I don’t envy her the tough position she’s in. She desperately needs the money she’s been offered by Joon-young to frame Dong-hoon (and now by Yoon-hee to disappear), but by getting a glimpse into his life by listening through his phone, she’s gotten to know that he’s a good man who doesn’t deserve what Joon-young has planned. And if that isn’t bad enough, she’s developing feelings for him. She has an impossible decision to make… protect herself and her one remaining family member, or do the right thing for a good person that she cares for?
I do love seeing the positive change Dong-hoon is having on Ji-an, although he doesn’t seem to know it yet. She doesn’t look defiant and angry when she’s around him these days, and when she asks him to buy her food, it no longer sounds like an order, but a hopeful request. I’m glad that Dong-hoon was able to work through his anger with Ji-an for stealing the bribe money once he learned her reasons, and I hope that he’s as open-minded when he discovers that she’s been helping Joon-young try to get rid of him.
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1 beantown
April 19, 2018 at 11:11 AM
Thank you, Lollypip! I so appreciate your recaps!
I love that we finally get to see these two come out from under their protective shell.
Though all of the storylines have me engaged, and own my soul.
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2 bmore
April 19, 2018 at 11:15 AM
Thank you again for your thoughts. I absolutely love this drama and can't wait to watch it all over again when it is done.
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3 pineapplegongzhu
April 19, 2018 at 11:20 AM
Thanks for the recap, @Lollypip!
Well, that was intense. Our pitiful, lovable, chivalrous Ajusshi…..! #TeamParkDongHoon for the punch (and the win)!
I don’t know about you, but I felt so relieved for Ji An when she was finally able to sob. She let out 10+ years of pent up sorrow, burdens and pain. My heart went out to her. This was the first time someone had actually stepped up to defend her.
Episode 9 was all about secrets being spilled. Dong Hoon now knows Ji An originally stole from him, and she has killed, but he still sided with her. Yoon Hee now knows her husband is aware of her indiscretion. What will the fallout be?
FANGIRLING
I loved the beginning shot of DH in the subway station when he sees JA continue on the train. Their eyes meet, but the doors had closed, separating them - and the train relentlessly carrying JA further away from DH. So close, and yet insurmountably far apart. It was a great visual of their relationship.
She ran to him. Again. Twice. I think the PD is toying with us. Their healing obviously seems to be through a soul-deep friendship that borders on “family”. But ambiguity continues in Dong Hoon and Ji An’s scenes together because their interactions play into stereotypical romantic lead roles, even though that is not where the story is leading. #PDtease
OTHER MUSINGS
Well, we all knew listening in would eventually come back to bite Ji An…and now it has. She heard how others pervert her friendship with DH for political ends. It’s good for her to take a break from listening in to DH’s life.
It was so heartbreaking, yet so telling, when both of them consciously pulled away from one another. First, DH refused to have a meal with JA. While this isn’t the first time he’s said “no”, this rejection hurt because she had let him in already. He doubted her trustworthiness (understandably). Second, when she walks past him outside Jung Hee's bar. He obviously isn’t used to being ignored by her. We saw her choosing to protect him, even if that meant keeping away from him. But, in both cases, they felt the separation from one another, and it hurt.
DH is at his strongest whenever he behaves with honour. The only time he’s gotten in trouble was when he wavered in returning the bribe money. I wonder if he will “waver” once more and jeopardise his director candidacy.
JA is clever, but I wonder if she didn’t make a fatal mistake telling YH that her husband already knows about her infidelity. She knows that DH specifically instructed JY not to reveal his knowledge of their affair. Why did she do it? Still - it’s a bit rubbish that Ji An is more willing to protect DH than his own wife.
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fay17
April 19, 2018 at 11:48 AM
' Still - it’s a bit rubbish that Ji An is more willing to protect DH than his own wife.'
Wonder what you meant by this. :)
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Tyn123
April 19, 2018 at 3:55 PM
Fay17 I believe she means YH is tradhed for not even caring about her own husband compared to JA.
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pineapplegongzhu
April 19, 2018 at 4:13 PM
@fay17, ah, apologies for just leaving such a comment but not elaborating.
Disclaimer: Yoon Hee obviously doesn't know Ji An's relationship with or admiration for Dong Hoon, so she only sees Ji An as a threat (and a murderer). For her own selfish reasons, she wants YH out of DH's workplace.
But, we as the audience know that Ji An is probably the best ally Dong Hoon can have right now because Joon Young has put a target on his back. She doesn't reveal to Yoon Hee (who I assume she holds in contempt) that she's on Dong Hoon's side...but she IS on his side. She wants to remain at the company to protect Dong Hoon - and she will succeed because she's bad-ass like that.
For Yoon Hee to ask Ji An to leave is effectively removing his protective shield, which he desperately needs right now since he's about to enter the battlefield of office politics. DH is a bit too pure and naïve to spar with the rest of them, but JA is clever, cunning and experienced enough to help navigate him while countering any attacks that she sees hurled his way.
Yoon Hee cannot seem to grasp that Dong Hoon actually LIKES his job. He likes what he does, and he's good at it. She doesn't want Ji An's involvement (fine), but she's not remotely helping her own husband in his career. If anything, she has already humiliated him by sleeping with his hoobae/enemy, Joon Young. Ji An was correct that Yoon Hee is only motivated in preserving her own interests with no thought to supporting or protecting her own husband from her lover's schemes.
That's what I meant. Ji An has Dong Hoon's best interest in mind. Yoon Hee only has her own interests in mind.
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Mayada
April 19, 2018 at 4:57 PM
At first I expected that Yoon Hee had aplan to get revenge on Joon Young and she wanted to meet Ji An to use her for that purpose and I thought she would support Dong Hoon to get the director position as this may be some sort of revenge too, but I was actually surprised by her carelessness about who will win this battle and just asking Ji An to leave the company.
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persianrose❤️战哥
April 19, 2018 at 12:17 PM
The anger built up in our Ajusshi until he met the loan shark and start beating him up, was one of the best scenes I’ve ever watched in a k-drama! Kudos to the PD LSK for such great performance! And then JA sobbing after hearing that her Ajusshi is on her side all the way (and even considers her as his family)… This drama is killing me inside in a good way!
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gadis
April 19, 2018 at 3:56 PM
I was both worried when Ji-an told Yoon-hee that Dong-hoon already knew everything, and also glad she did that. I understand Yoon-hee's disappointment because Dong-hoon never really shared his life with her. It must be hard to feel like an outcast in her own family. But her behavior this eps really grated me. He was still trying to be nice, but she completely blew him up when her restlessness is a result of her own infidelity. I wonder if this will be the thing that drove her to ask for a divorce. Her pride is too big and I don't think she can bear the thought of them living together when Dong-hoon already knew her darkest secret.
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neener ~ Inside the Magic Shop ~
April 19, 2018 at 9:16 PM
When she snapped, I literally screamed at my screen.
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Moonbean
April 20, 2018 at 5:22 AM
I hope you are right about her pride and she does ask for a divorce. For some reason I don't see it happening but I really hope I'm wrong.
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4 KS stuck on 🥰 Aegiya KHAAJA🥰
April 19, 2018 at 11:21 AM
thanks for such wonderful recap @lollypip
and this is the best episode so far. i loved it so much. its one perfect drama that you can't find faults no matter how hard you try. its dark gloomy but at the end of each episode all that gloominess turns into something light as feather and heart feels much relaxed but swelled up with all good emotions.
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risa
April 19, 2018 at 12:16 PM
Yes! While watching the end of this episode, I was in awe of how this scene (much like the drama as a whole) that's filled with bleakness, suffering, violence, and a revelation of murder, strikes me as one of the most beautiful things I've seen in a long time.
How different the world would be if we all had a Park Dong-hoon in our corner-- someone who knew our deepest, darkest, most repulsive secrets, and still saw the good in us, cared for us, and fought for us.
This is a deeply touching drama, and I'm so sorry to hear that it's been getting a lot of flak from netizens.
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noromancepls
April 19, 2018 at 8:34 PM
What?! Why would they be giving this drama flak?
I haven't been so moved and emotionally invested in a since Misaeng (of all dramas).
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MapleSilver
April 19, 2018 at 10:50 PM
You know, Ajusshi romance, 20 year old age-gap, Lolita complex, and all that good stuff. {sarcasm}
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piningapple
April 20, 2018 at 6:56 AM
There seems to be a parallel between real life (netizens) and drama (dh and ja getting slandered). And i hate both! How petty minded indeed, as what dh was telepathying to jh in the bar...
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risa
April 20, 2018 at 7:28 AM
Good point about the parallel. Lots of people getting their knickers in a twist based solely on their unfounded assumptions.
KS stuck on 🥰 Aegiya KHAAJA🥰
April 19, 2018 at 11:07 PM
so well said. agree with you completely.
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5 javinne
April 19, 2018 at 11:27 AM
I cried a lot when she started to cry, and I will cry even more if I remember.
This is what an amazing show can do: you actually feel you love these people. I love Ji an, and I am loving Dong hoon too.
Just like some beanies, I don't see them falling for each other in a romantic way, but definitively loving each other as human beings. Yeah, it might be like family, being like adoptive family. I know, because I have some people like that in my life.
This show is killing me, but all in a good way.
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6 marina
April 19, 2018 at 11:29 AM
What a fantastic drama.
I`ve been LSK`s fan since Coffee Prince and I`m not surprised to see how brilliant his acting is but IU made my heart melt. I`m ashamed to say it is the first time I`m watching one of her dramas and she made me one of her biggest fans <3
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SadKDramaLama
July 1, 2019 at 12:50 AM
@marina
LSK has this magical ability to make his co-stars shine and lift to another level.
But here...OMG his performance is spellbinding.
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7 gadis
April 19, 2018 at 11:45 AM
This eps reminded me yet again that sometime, hope could be the most painful gift you receive from others. Nothing fazed Ji-an in the early, darker eps where she has been numbed by too much pain and life burden. But now, when her life has gotten several shades lighter, the absence of Dong-hoon felt like a huge void. She was too used to having someone who was willing to spend some time together with her, who gave her gentle advices, who sometimes walked her to her home, who always said good things about her.
Unknowingly, Dong-hoon has become the embodiment of hope in Ji-an's life. And when he draw a line and pushed her away after Kwang-il's interference, it felt like her sad reality mercilessly crushed her once again. She couldn't even find comfort in Dong-hoon's life that she had continuously overheard anymore, for fear of hearing him not saying anything about her. Suddenly her day turned dull and dreary again, for she never fully realized just how much she has unconsciously immersed herself as an invisible part of Dong-hoon's daily life, with the warmth circle of his family and friends turned into a happy place she could go to whenever life become too exhausting to bear.
And maybe that's exactly why Dong-hoon's "I would kill him too if he hurt my family" speech felt so powerful. Because as much as he hurt Ji-an by distancing himself, he gave that hope back a hundred folds with that line alone. That simple, yet not-so-simple understanding and emphathy for what she has gone through finally liberate her. And hopefully, the hope that he gave her this time wouldn't feel painful anymore.
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Kimberly
April 19, 2018 at 11:58 AM
Yeah..Dh truely showed how he felt for Ja though he may not recognise it or want to accept...Same wit Ja
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cherry 🍒
April 19, 2018 at 12:15 PM
Very well said! At first I didn’t understand why she was so angry after she overheard him talking about her to his colleagues. She wouldn’t even blink if she heard those things in earlier episodes but now... it hurts her when he talks about her like that. Without realising it she now longs for his acceptance and approval.
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8 cherry 🍒
April 19, 2018 at 11:57 AM
The last 15 minutes made me cry hard 😭 Why is Ji An’s life so pitiful?
Does anybody else has a feeling that she was forced to prostitution? When the janitor said she was forced by Kwang Il’s father to do many “bad things” and her grandma collapsed when she found out about it...
It also fits with how she asked the CEO instantly if she should strip naked in front of DH. Well, just thinking about it makes me mad and sick 😰
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marina
April 19, 2018 at 12:18 PM
oh no, please no. Even thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. Poor baby girl, she has gone through lots of things.. :(
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Adal
April 19, 2018 at 12:19 PM
She must have been a child then, cause she killed Kwang Il’s dad when she was in middle school. So I’m really hoping it’s not child prostitution but maybe pickpocketing or stealing. No wonder she is so weary and disillusioned. Poor kid!
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meowingme
April 19, 2018 at 6:15 PM
I think (and hope) that it's something along this line too, like maybe running scam. Joon-young remarked that she was like a pro. If it was a group scam, she and Kwang-il would probably work together.
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windsun33
April 20, 2018 at 11:25 AM
She seems to know a lot about scamming and phone hacking, so I suspect that more than prostitution.
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egads
April 19, 2018 at 12:50 PM
As the writer isn't pulling any punches, I'm with you on that theory. Either Kwang Il's father was forcing her into prostitution or was abusing her himself.
This was a tough episode.
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JustMe
April 19, 2018 at 2:40 PM
I thought that too... What else would make a halmoni faint?
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
April 19, 2018 at 2:48 PM
Prostitution for sure. To some degree anyway.
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KS stuck on 🥰 Aegiya KHAAJA🥰
April 19, 2018 at 10:22 PM
i too thought exactly that when reference to bad things came in discussion.
and that does match the reaction JA gave to JY abt stripping naked.
i just dont know how much more this girl gone through in past. its so painful n sad to see and feel her.
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potatodrama
April 20, 2018 at 5:49 AM
Oh I had the same thought... poor Ji-an, what a horrible life!
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piningapple
April 20, 2018 at 6:59 AM
I'm mad and sick too :( remember how she kissed dh so casually, and then told him she hadnt kissed someone in a while? I think that could be another hint :,(
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SadKDramaLama
July 1, 2019 at 12:56 AM
@cherryinbloom
The last 15 minutes of this episode is the best, most intense, compelling 15min KDrama has ever produced.
This drama just knows how to slowly build, and build and then with out seaming to change gear it just overwhelms you until you can't breath (or you are in tears).
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9 Amy
April 19, 2018 at 12:03 PM
I just. This show you guys!! Every single episode has so many things going on and I feel like I have so much to say about it but after it ends I just feel so overwhelmed. Like the human embodiment of the I'm_in_a_glass_case_of_emotion.gif.
But I will say that in an episode filled with wonderful little moments - I especially love the scene where Ji An walks by Jung Hee's bar ignoring DH. It's such a short scene but I can't stop replaying it. The tentative way DH tries to ignore her at first and then fails and asks her anyway. But Ji An just zips past him and you can see his face fall in an almost impercitable way. And then we finally focus on Ji An and see how much even that small act of rudeness cost her. So in conclusion - FEELINGS. Lots of feelings. - The end by Leslie Knope.
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10 Mayada
April 19, 2018 at 12:06 PM
I'm totally speechless about this episode. every single shot and every small detail is very well made.
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noor
April 19, 2018 at 12:47 PM
yeah!
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SadKDramaLama
July 1, 2019 at 12:57 AM
THIS!
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11 Adal
April 19, 2018 at 12:13 PM
IU nailed the crying scene just right, with the right mixture of vulnerability and gratitude that for once someone defended her and didn’t turn away instead of reacting with condemnation and disgust.
I’ve actually been in a position where someone’s good will towards me made me cry so I can relate.
I’ve no words for Dong Hoon’s wife. Remind me why she is still married to a man she no longer loves or even likes?!! So, it’s okay to cheat at as long as hubby doesn’t know? She displayed no remorse for what she’s done.
I can only imagine her reaction when she realizes he’s known for a long time but was still being considerate of her feelings. He’s a better man than me cause I would have called her out as soon as I discovered the affair. Avoidance does no one any favors, it just leaves a host of unspoken words and resentments simmering and stewing.
I wish DH and his wife will at least, just for once, have an honest conversation about their issues. He always apologizes too early and backs down. No wonder she’s irritated with him.
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MikeyD signed up
May 3, 2018 at 11:07 AM
Don Hoon's wife has had a 10-15 year marriage to an introvert who doesn't communicate. Dong Hoon is painfully aware of his own shortcoming but you can't magically change a closed-off introvert into an extrovert. I (half) joked a couple episodes back that what Dong Hoon needs most is a prescription for Prozac.
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12 Rukia wants melona
April 19, 2018 at 12:14 PM
Thank you, Lollypip!
This show is beyond amazing and your recap and comments help me to savour it even more.
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13 noor
April 19, 2018 at 12:39 PM
Thanks @lollypip!
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14 saturtledaisy
April 19, 2018 at 12:40 PM
I just finished watching as this recap came up. Great timing!
This drama owns my heart.
That last scene just broke me. As I see it, Ji An broke down not just because Dong Hoon is willing to fight for her, but because he is the first person who's ever told her she was justified in her killing that awful loan shark. Ever since she'd killed him, she'd been living with this horrible guilt, not even fazing when she got beat up by Kwang-il, like she was punishing herself. I'm sure that anyone who heard that she killed a man has distanced themselves from Ji An, leading her to believe that she is a horrible person.
Enter Dong Hoon. Calling her a good person. Helping her without wanting anything in return. And now, to top it all off, saying that she wasn't at fault for killing the loan shark. And of course fighting for her sake. I believe she's also crying out of relief, as there still is a soul in the world who won't abandon her after finding out, and even agrees with her actions. She might finally be able to start letting go of the pain and guilt she'd been bottling up for all these years, and finally believe she isn't necessarily a bad person.
Also, I still love Yura. She won me over when she implied that failing mustn't be so bad after seeing Ki Hoon and the guys at Jung Hee's bar. After all, their lives don't seem to be too bad even after 'failure'. That was surprisingly poignant coming from her, and ever since I've appreciated the little gems of poignancy coming out of her every episode or so. One of my favourites is also when she described a world where nobody had to be good or the best at anything and people just had to love eachother instead. In an increasingly competitive world, that sentiment is extremely relatable to young people at me, who have just started (or are trying to start) their career.
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Kafiyah Bello
April 19, 2018 at 3:51 PM
All of this, I wrote my comment before I read other replies. You stated everything I did in a more detailed manner. Huzzaah!!!
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
April 20, 2018 at 1:44 AM
I've now seen episode 10 and having seen how they cut that scene, I think she's also crying because she has to listen to somebody she loves get beaten up again.
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MikeyD signed up
May 3, 2018 at 11:12 AM
That was my impression too. The recapper described a kind of self-involved reason for JA to be crying. I read it more as her being helplessly distraught over her ajusshi being harmed.
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15 caeparius
April 19, 2018 at 1:09 PM
But has she really been helping Joon-young? Ji-an seems to have become more of a sleeper, double agent for Dong-hoon. She is providing just enough information to Joon-young to stay creditable, but not anything that could do him any harm. I am not saying she started out on Dong-hoon's side, but has gradually moved to that position. I added "sleeper" because Dong-hoon is unaware of her behind the scenes support.
I also think that Joon-young has grossly underestimated Ji-an. She is way too street smart for him. Ji-an was hired to monitor Dong-hoon and has done a masterful job of it. Joon-young has had many conversations with Ji-an, just how many of them do you think she has recorded? What kind of evidence has she collected on Joon-young's illegal activities? Ji-an is not a woman who should be underrated, it will come back an bite you.
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persianrose❤️战哥
April 19, 2018 at 1:58 PM
I agree with you @caeparius... I think Ji-an will eventually destroy Joon-young, not only because he is a bastard, but also since her Ajusshi hates him, and so she does... However, she might have to pay a big price for this...
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caeparius
April 19, 2018 at 2:38 PM
@persianrose... I am hoping that Ji-an will ultimately gain something much more valuable that is certainly worth any price, a loving family. I have no "realistic" hope of a romantic relationship between Dong-hoon and Ji-an. Dong-hoon would never allow it, it goes against his very core. However, I do see Ji-an becoming his "little sister". Just think of what it would mean to Ji-an to gain a mother and three big brothers, not to mention the rest of Dong-hoon's extended family. Lets face it, Dong-hoon's two knucklehead brothers need constant adult supervise and Ji-an would fulfill that role perfectly.
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
April 19, 2018 at 2:47 PM
I don't want a romance. I think if this turned into a romance it would ruin what I thought the show was about. She needs a parent, not a lover.
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caeparius
April 19, 2018 at 3:04 PM
Spot On! Ji-an could certainly use a parent, but a large messy family like Dong-hoon's would be much better. The interactions better Dong-hoon's mother and Ji-an would be magical. Having three troublemaker sons, you know she has always wanted a daughter to dote on. A dependable, protective brother is the role that best suits Dong-hoon.
caeparius
April 19, 2018 at 3:07 PM
correction
The interactions between Dong-hoon's mother and Ji-an would be magical.
Tyn123
April 19, 2018 at 3:48 PM
Agreed. What Ji An needs is a loving family to replace the one she never had. She needs to be able to live through a day without worry or fear.
I don't want a romance, though I wouldn't mind it, bit would love a lot more if they end up having a paternal relationship.
DH family are very nice people, I hope they will also be kind to JA one day.
stpauligurl
April 19, 2018 at 8:31 PM
She needs a family as well as a parent. The three brothers would be excellent family for her. I can just see them running to take care of her.
caeparius
April 19, 2018 at 9:05 PM
@stpauligurl... It is much more likely that Ji-an will be saving her two "adopted" knucklehead brothers. Dong-hoon is smart enough to stay out of trouble unless he is helping his brothers.
That said, I feel sorry for the guys that Ji-an eventually dates. Meeting her family for the first time is going to be very, very interesting.
SadKDramaLama
July 1, 2019 at 1:18 AM
@leetennant
:D You have just condemned most marriages I know.
On a serious side, I think it is a mistake to infatalise JA. Her long exposure to the brutality of life is more that most of us will ever face and she still manages to stand up every day.
She may need compassion and guidance...but who amongst us doesn't. This show set up allows us to see multiple futures.
Neither of them is a clean skin and the danger for 2 people that meet in trauma, is they actually feed on trauma and their relationship can't break the cycle.
P.S. I'll try not to reply to any more of your posts. Just know they always intrigue me and are so worth reading.
Wishing you a many happy drama.
newdramaaddict
April 20, 2018 at 10:15 AM
Thinking about it, I don't know if Dong hoon will bring Ji An into his extended family. As much as they are a grounding point for him, he often has to hide his pain and loneliness from them. They're always telling him to endure but have no idea what he's dealing with. And really, enduring is the thing that made him so defeated. As much as I want Ji An to gain more family, I think that she represents the true part of his life that he's never shown his family. Of course, I do think that they should find out just what he's gone through to be the dutiful son and brother and about his wife.
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caeparius
April 20, 2018 at 11:02 AM
@newdramaaddict...
Perfectly summarizes where Dong-hoon derives his strength. Dong-hoon would not be Dong-hoon without his family and "Scooby Gang".
I think that Ji-an had already become a junior member of Dong-hoon's "Scooby Gang", but acquired "family" status when he heard her story. As a man who lives for his family and friends, Ji-an is a kindred soul worthy of his extra help. As you so clearly stated, he can not allow his family to find out about his sacrifices. Ji-an is probably the only person he knows that understands him completely.
Where I am totally baffled, is what is going to happen with Dong-hoon's marriage? I believe that he still loves his wife, is deeply hurt by her actions and at least partially blames himself for the transgression. I must commend both the writer and actor, for what seems like to me, such realistic inner conflict with this betrayal.
MikeyD signed up
May 3, 2018 at 11:17 AM
I think they're deliberately constructing an internal tension within the character. Either she ruins Dong-hoon and saves herself, or she saves Dong-hoon and ruins herself, or she figures out a way to save both at the same time. From the beginning viewers were projecting an affection between the two leads that simply wasn't there for the first 4-5 episodes.
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16 Carolina
April 19, 2018 at 1:23 PM
I am so annoyed at DH's wife. She has no right to get mad at him for not telling her about a promotion he might not even get. Maybe if she would have dinner with him or answer his calls he might have said something. She is such a hypocrite.
I do love that DH is helping/fighting for JA. She needs a friend.
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MikeyD signed up
May 3, 2018 at 11:22 AM
She didn't know that he knew about the affair so not telling her seemed like a slight. Now she knows that he knows. He didn't tell her about being up for a promotion because she's allied with the guy trying to get him fired.
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Carolina
May 3, 2018 at 11:29 AM
Wow. Totally makes sense now.
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17 Puni
April 19, 2018 at 1:52 PM
Episode 9!!! This is the pivotal episode when emotions are fully invested in the main characters now. We were tentatively leading up to it, but then BAM! The moment he walks up those steps and enters the loan shark's office asking for Kwang-il. Taking him outside and shouting why would you beat a girl?!! I fell in love at that moment. Chivalrous? Yes! Courageous? Yes! Sexy? Hell Yes! I do not condone fighting, but that bully needed some Karma.
Ji-An hearing it play out, her worst secret being shown to the one person who thinks highly of her.. oh her reaction was spot on!! IU has blown me away in this episode. Every emotion detailed in her facial expressions beautifully. I could feel her pain and relief. Just outstanding. Can't wait for 10!!!!!!!!
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
April 19, 2018 at 2:45 PM
Yes to all of this but what really struck me about that moment was that he had no plan. He always has a plan. He's always measured, even when he's fighting for those he loves. But this was in stark contrast to the previous "threatening through structural engineering" incident.
As he was walking up the steps, I was thinking "stop, think it through, you have no plan" and he even hesitated a bit but then he just kept going like he couldn't stop himself.
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Puni
April 19, 2018 at 4:50 PM
Good point! DH never really loses his control. I had expected some sort of blowout with his wife eventually. He lost it for Ji-an. Defending the little girl that had no one had helped. I imagine he may regret the physical fight, but not the defense.
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18 risa
April 19, 2018 at 1:58 PM
One heart-tugging detail that didn't make it into the recap (I know not everything can) is that Ji-an had noticed that Dong-hoon's office slippers were looking worn out, and she bought him some new ones. That may have been the first time she'd ever bought anyone a gift, and it said a lot about what a difference Dong-hoon was making in her life. She was carrying the gift the night Dong-hoon turned down her buy-me-dinner invitation, and she never got to give them to him, which must've made his rejection sting all the more.
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Kafiyah Bello
April 19, 2018 at 3:47 PM
So true. I got really sad for her, but at the same time, I'm glad it wasn't as harsh a rejection as it could have been. Subtlety is this dramas charm, and the writer and director do it better than anyone.
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Del
April 19, 2018 at 6:45 PM
Exactly. Thanks for mentioning this. When he rejected her request for a dinner, that sad puppy eyes look that she pulled really made me feel for her.
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Mamas Boy
March 21, 2023 at 6:49 AM
Thanks a lot for this comment. I actually missed this detail and was wondering what was inside that bag she was holding. Thank goodness I read your comment otherwise this quite important detail would have escaped me. =)
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19 john
April 19, 2018 at 2:08 PM
LollyPip, thanks for the recap. Dong-hoon fights for his girl, Ji-an! 🤜!
I have to wonder if AJ reveal of DH’s knowledge of the affair wasn’t just a fit of rage on AJ’s part.
Is it just me, or is it Kang-hoon that has eyes for Yoo-rah? It seems as though he is the one looking at her rather than Gi-hoon.
Not sure how or why monk upset Jung-Hee.
Looking forward to the next episode.
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Hwari
April 19, 2018 at 7:04 PM
Because the monk is DH childhood friend and also their neighborhood star when they young. So maybe JH got crush on him before and surprise when the monk went for the temple.
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MikeyD signed up
May 6, 2018 at 11:17 AM
If this were a *bad* K-drama it would be revealed that the bar owner and monk are in reality Ji-an's long-lost parents.
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20 JustMe
April 19, 2018 at 2:37 PM
Just a tiny comment: Am I the only one who felt slight satisfaction at the horror in Yoon-hee's face when Ji An told her about DH knowing her affair?? @kdramaswimmer and I were wondering about the «dont call me ahjussi part.... Can anyone explain why he said that?
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
April 19, 2018 at 2:43 PM
The subtleties of Korean kinship terms is something I'm still working out. But I took it as him re-asserting that they have an employer/employee relationship - he's her boss and he was making sure she didn't get too familiar.
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하데스
April 19, 2018 at 4:32 PM
I too still have a lot to learn about this topic but I've noticed that even people who are very familiar with each other use titles like Manager, CEO, etc in conversation. I'm guessing it's the whole politeness, age, success, etc thing going on.
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pickledplumtree
April 19, 2018 at 5:03 PM
Love your user name!
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stpauligurl
April 19, 2018 at 8:35 PM
Isn't Ajusshi a sign of respect as well? I too found that a little confusing why he told her to call him manager rather than "mister".
So many subtleties in Korean relationships.
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gadis
April 20, 2018 at 12:03 AM
Well, as far as I know, Ajusshi is a polite term if you addressed an older men you knew from neighborhood, or your family's acquaintance. But it's definitely inappropriate or even bordering rude to address one's superior or coworker that way. They always use their title to refer to each other. (I do believe that at first, Ji-an is purposefully being rude by calling him Ajusshi. Though now, it's kinda feel like a special way she called him.)
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KS stuck on 🥰 Aegiya KHAAJA🥰
April 20, 2018 at 12:46 AM
yeah to Ji An's special way to call him ahjussi just like a nickname to him which only she can call him with.
and thanks for the clarification. so what i understood is "DH wants them to be Professionally linked and thats the reason he asked her to not to call him Ahjussi as it's not appropriate consider their work relationship"
@justme thanks chinguya for putting up my question. i almost forgot abt it.
stpauligurl
April 20, 2018 at 5:21 AM
Aaah thank you for that clarification @gadis. Now it is making more sense.
There is so much to understand and learn about all the language/relationships in these dramas.
mrsdimple
April 20, 2018 at 5:41 AM
To me, it seems like Ji an calling him ahjussi is like, "i have your back, don't you worry, ahjussi". She acknowledges and wants to be closer to Dong Hoon. Though I do understand Dong Hoon's response to that. It's true that she might sound a bit rude, but if they can be Ji-an - ahjussi outside working hours, then I'm satisfied😊
Carolina
April 19, 2018 at 3:10 PM
It was super satisfying but I almost wish DH would have also seen her face.
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Moonbean
April 20, 2018 at 5:42 AM
I don't expect Yoon Hee to reveal to Dong Hoon she is aware of his knowledge of the affair. So what I wonder is whether Dong Hoon will be able to tell she knows from the way she acts. Remember his confidence when he told Joon Young "Don't tell her I know and get her to pretend, we have been together for 15 years, I can tell"? Let's see if his confidence was well placed or not.
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Carolina
April 20, 2018 at 6:22 AM
Oh, this will be interesting to watch.
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MikeyD signed up
May 3, 2018 at 11:32 AM
There's a Youtube clip of the three actors who play the brothers joking about at what age a guy changes from being an oppa to an ajusshi. It sounded like the equivalent here in the states of women being traumatized by being called ma'am for the first time.
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21 LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
April 19, 2018 at 2:41 PM
She's packing up the love nest (wow I hate that expression!). She's packing up the room she used to meet Do Joon-young in.
This show does subtle optics so well. Her standing in that room - in the process of being emptied - telling Dong Hoon's wife that her lover is trash and her husband knows everything was just devastating. She eviscerated her verbally and all in that blank monotone.
I just realised that she is a woman who wins every battle but somehow never wins the war.
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22 Tyn123
April 19, 2018 at 3:42 PM
I cried so many times this episode.
1. When Ji An and her grandmother was talking and her grandmother hugged her.
2. When Dong Hoon was angry at Ji An and ignored her, the way she held onto the slippers she bought.
3. When Ji An found out that KI told DH the truth and she realises that he is distancing himself. Especially when she walked past him and had to stop to stem her tears.
4. The hopelessness on Ji An's face when she heard KI tell DH she killed his father and the onslaught of tears when DH takes her side.
I'm a wreck. I didn't realised how much I cared for JA and Dzh till this episode. It's been a while since I cared about a character so much.
I sincerely hope DH gets the directors position and JA can get away from everything and start life over with less of a burden on her shoulder or a dark cloud hanging iver her head.
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piningapple
April 20, 2018 at 7:09 AM
I totally cried too. I cried with dh when he first heard ja's story... then i cried with ja on the bridge. The hopelessness and distancing in the first half of the episode, then everything flipped when dh took ja's side again... just as she had taken dh's side when talking to yoon hee. Such a masterful episode!
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23 Kafiyah Bello
April 19, 2018 at 3:43 PM
I actually slightly disagree with @lollypip about why Ji-An cried. I think she also cried because she realized she wasn't wrong for killing that man. That she isn't a bad person for protecting her Halmoni. She has been punishing herself this whole time, but she doesn't have to anymore, not only because someone believes in her, but also because she also simply a good person.
Also I utterly adore Yu-ra. The female characters in this drama are A+, so many layers and dimensions. Such a sublime drama.😍
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
April 19, 2018 at 3:55 PM
What I loved about that scene in the cleaning company with You-ra is that she comes there for support and he says "you're pretty" and she doesn't register it at all. Like, why would a comment about her looks be vaguely helpful in this situation?
She only responds when he has a more-meaningful discussion with her about success.
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aramina
April 19, 2018 at 10:03 PM
Yes I agree! I don’t think Dong Hoon was saying that he considered Joan family, rather that he understood why she killed Kwang Il’s father. We’ve seen that he has strong family values from how he takes care of his brothers, especially with the rude building owner, and he empathasises with Ji An. And this makes Ji An cry because she’s never had anyone understand her, who hasn’t automatically categorised her as an unscrupulous murderer. He understands that family is important, essential to who they are
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24 risa
April 19, 2018 at 3:45 PM
Is anyone else getting increasingly nervous every time they do a side wheelie in the cleaning van? It almost rolled over this time-- I have a feeling it's gonna end much worse next time. 😟
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egads
April 19, 2018 at 3:53 PM
The funeral fantasy adds another layer of anxiety.
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meowingme
April 19, 2018 at 7:32 PM
Am getting really worried for Mom now...
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risa
April 19, 2018 at 10:09 PM
I know, right? There was too much time devoted to Mom's imaginary death.
They also opened the door to an Alzheimer's/dementia storyline when Mom told Dong-hoon to buy "that thing", and Dong-hoon replied "You mean a melon"? (That certainly doesn't indicate that she's got dementia, but the fact that they threw that memory slip in there worries me.)
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Moonbean
April 20, 2018 at 5:47 AM
Nooooo! There's enough tragedy in this drama. Please don't let t go makjang.
Moonbean
April 20, 2018 at 5:50 AM
Funeral "fantasy" - as if it's a desirable thing... But Sang Hoon really views it as such. Very strange and insensitive. I don't know of any old - or for that matter young - person who would enjoy their death to be constantly talked about.
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하데스
April 19, 2018 at 4:27 PM
Yes and no. It's a running gag kind of thing. It's possible someone might get seriously hurt, or die. Sure. But there is more to it than just that. I think the reason eldest brother did it today was as maknae said, so he wouldn't be asked to drive again. I think the other times they've done it was for the adrenaline rush. To feel alive.
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25 pineapplegongzhu
April 19, 2018 at 3:52 PM
Random thoughts and questions:
[1] Dong Hoon never fails to go up to bat for his family, if ever they are in danger or humiliated. This now includes Ji An. Cool, but then, what is it about Yoon Hee that DH can’t seem to muster up the same kind of passion and ferocity to fight for her as well?
Is it because she’s so capable that she’s never in that kind of position that requires him to “fight” for her? Or, on a related note, because she is so competent, he wanted to rely on her to be a pillar for him for once? Or, is it because she requires something of him (intimacy through honest and open communication) that is his weak point?
[2] I’d like to know how Dong Hoon and Yoon Hee fell in love…..because, ya know, this Show needs more angsty feels.
[3] Is it just me or is the voice dub over for Ji An and the CEO getting on other people’s nerves as well?
[4] Anyone know how My Ajusshi is doing in terms of ratings? @Lollypip, any idea?
[5] I fail to see the relevance of Ki-Hoon and Yu-Ra’ storyline. I’ve lost interest in them.
[6] By contrast, I’m more intrigued by Jung Hee’s relationship with monk dude.
[7] Thank goodness Yu-Re interrupted and spoiled Sang-Hoon’s morbid fantasy about a lavish, well-attended funeral for his mother. Dude needs to get sorted. Why is he always using his mother’s funeral as a gauge for his family’s success as if it were the ONLY standard by which to measure it? This also reminds me of when Ki-Hoon said he always wears expensive underwear in case he dies. Weird family hang ups.
[8] While I’m still not a fan of wifey, at least she’s starting to express some of her discontentment. Not only has Dong Hoon prioritized his family of origin over his own family (Yoon Hee and Ji Seok), but he seem uncommunicative in a way she really needs for emotional fulfillment.
This is a great example of how one’s greatest strength (in one area) can be one’s greatest weakness (in another area).
Dong Hoon plays the filial son and brother to perfection, but at the expense of emotionally investing in his own family/wife.
Dong Hoon’s silence and just/measured (if slow) responses are generally great assets at work, and in keeping a spotless record. But, that silence separates him from his wife.
He doesn’t share with her his burdens. She doesn’t know he once had to kneel and humiliate himself for his family. He didn’t tell her he knows about her infidelity. He doesn’t explain why he dislikes Joon Young. He may think he’s being a good husband not burdening his wife, but she feels isolated and shut out.
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하데스
April 19, 2018 at 4:24 PM
[3] Whenever the voice dub kicks it annoys me. It's very glaring.
[4] You can find the ratings here. Use the Nielsen Nationwide Ratings. tvN is a cable channel. The show crossed the 5% mark in todays episode, it's highest ratings yet. It's no Reply 1988 or Signal, but I would say that anytime a cable drama crosses 5%, that's very good. There are many cable dramas that don't cross 1% let alone 2%. It's lowest rating was 3.37%. So overall, it would say it's doing pretty good. You also have to factor in the drama's return on investment etc with the whole successful bit.
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
April 19, 2018 at 5:14 PM
So I was under the impression that the voice dub was deliberate. This show is so well-crafted that I found the glaring voice dubs... glaring... until I realised that when it happens it gives a sense of disconnect that is similar to the camera work.
Or I could be completely off base and it's just bad dubbing.
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Puni
April 19, 2018 at 5:18 PM
1) The marriage had to have suffered from DH's continuous support for his family. They must have fought so much already.... This is the tail end of it we are seeing. They lead such separate lives. We haven't seen them have a meal together, other than the birthday dinner. They both are too tired to fight. Still respect each other, and maybe still love, but not enough to fight. For Ji-an, there is no intimate history to muddy the passionate defense. He has seen her time and again put her grandmother first. For this hurt girl that has no-one, he could do it. Maybe this is the catalyst to fight for his own family now. He got his mojo back..
2) I'm curious too, but okay not seeing it as well.
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Moonbean
April 20, 2018 at 6:03 AM
I disagree with you regarding Dong Hoon and Yoon Hee and their relationship on a number of points.
[1] Dong Hoon didn't fight with his wife? He fought with the CEO of his company to extricate his wife from the awful situation she put herself in at his expense. He found a graceful solution that would not hurt his wife's pride and not ruin her life. He tried to protect her from her lover who would write her off in a second to save himself while she was plotting with her lover to get him sacked. What more could he do to fight for her?
[8] She is starting to express her discontentment? We saw nothing but discontentment from her towards Dong Hoon even in the flashbacks. As she is the only one in the relationship who's constantly whinging it's easy to blame Dong Hoon but that would be unfair at this point. So far he hasn't said a word against his wife but she must have a role in the state of their relationship he must have his complaints of his own about her as well as emotional needs to be fulfilled. In my experience the deterioration of a relationship is hardly ever completely one side's fault.
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pineapplegongzhu
April 20, 2018 at 7:09 AM
@moonbean, you definitely bring up some good points. I see where you're coming from. And you're certainly right that DH found a graceful solution to a messy and painful situation. My response to your thoughts are as follows:
[1] While I understand how you've characterised Yoon Hee's relationship with Joon Young, we probably see it differently. Yoon Hee is not a victim of Joon Young's false promises. DH was correct that JY would never risk his reputation or career over a woman who cannot help him advance. But, JY was also right: YH would never leave her family for him! YH and JY were both culpable for (1) using one another, (2) making false promises they had no intention to keep and (3) betraying and plotting against DH.
Fighting for someone does not necessarily mean fighting against an external threat. DH used the building metaphor to describe relationships. JY might have been an external "threat" to DH-HY's marriage, but had the "internal forces" been stronger, it could have weathered the external forces.
As the episodes show slowly but surely, DH is considerate of YH's physical needs, like asking if she needs anything from the market when he's there. He's a lot blinder and less responsive to her emotional needs. That is what I mean that DH didn't fight for his wife. He didn’t understand what she wanted from him, and therefore couldn’t give it to her…emotionally starving her. This does NOT make him a bad guy. This means Dong Hoon a wonderful, kind-hearted, stoic, loving husband….who is just as human and flawed like the rest of us!
[8] Well, I think it's fair to say that the episodes show they have problems in their marriage, but in the first few episodes all we saw was YH having an extramarital affair, and nitpicking at annoying things that DH does. But, generally, the audience is on DH's side because he's such a great guy. But, as we start to peel back the layers we see YH is actually grossly unhappy in her marriage because DH seems to shut her out of his thoughts and feelings.
This does NOT excuse YH's actions. She is guilty for grossly hurting and betraying her husband. But, Show basically reveals that both parties are responsible for the estrangement and comatose state of their marriage. It will take BOTH of them to address the real problems, which seem to swirl around communication. I think this is quite a fascinating, nuanced, thoughtful and thought-provoking theme to explore!
I'm excited to see where this Story takes us, and I'm really thankful to be able to discuss and analyze it with fun Beanies like yourself!
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MikeyD signed up
May 3, 2018 at 11:42 AM
My interpretation is Dong-hoon is a close-off introvert. He retreats into his shell, avoids confrontation, which can be as frustrating as heck for an extrovert trying to have an argument with him. I was frankly surprised when DH backed away from the pretty wannabe actress because he was too shy to talk to her. I was like "Oooooh, I get it now. I know that guy."
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26 하데스
April 19, 2018 at 4:06 PM
Thanks for the recaps @lollypip!
Ok. There are so many reasons to love and respect this drama. The mirroring of real life is probably my favourite. Sometimes the drama becomes frustrating because of it, and at other times, it seriously becomes one of the best dramas I've seen in a long long time.
1. When Dong-hoon said that he would have probably killed Kwang-il's father given what he did, I was pleasently surprised. Sure, violence is bad. Sure, killing someone is bad. However, the empathy here is such a breath of fresh air given where things could have gone. What makes it better is that it's so much in Dong-hoon's character so say something like that, yet still, I wasn't expecting him to stand up for Ji-an in that way. What's more, as @lollypip said, he surely isn't fighting for a coworker here. It's quite possible that he's fighting for someone he values like family. As Joon-young said, Dong-hoon isn't one to let people in to go eating with them etc.
2. Speaking of family, I really didn't care for the brother at first, but they're growing on me. This might mostly likely be because I see a lot of them in my relationship with my own brothers. While not everyone may have the same experiences, brothers when they're younger and even as they get older may not always get along. I wouldn't say that Dong-hoon was too far off when her referenced the physicality, however, I wouldn't say it's that bad either. That aside, seeing how close they are and how much time they spend together is very heartwarming.
3. I love how the brothers give their mother an allowance. This is something you rarely see in drama land--probably because we often see characters in the 20s and 30s and rarely in their 40s. If we do see characters taking care of their parents like this, it's most likely a celebrity.
I bring up the allowance because of the scene when they were thinking about their mother's death. It's so true that as you get older, you think not only of your own death, but also that of your parents. It's not a pleasant thing to think about, but you would, just like yourself, want to know that they were loved. You would want to send them off well. So I really really appreciate how they've show this family taking care of each other, and what they mean to each other.
4. I still cannot stand Yu-ra. She is shockingly self-centred. I mean, you go into the brothers' office, you see them fighting, and you think about yourself. The self-centredness, selffishness, and for lack of a better word, balls on this woman, is seriously astounding.
5. Dong-hoon's wife is an amazing piece of work and Dong-hoon is a saint. So many characters in this drama are self-centred.
6. Which brings me to Deputy Jung. She knew exactly what she was doing when she was talking with Director Yoon. I really dislike that woman. She does something wrong but would do whatever it takes to survive. Sure, not that different from may other people here but, argh. I...
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Moonbean
April 20, 2018 at 6:07 AM
I agree 100% on Yoon Hee's self-centredness and Deputy Jung. I can't stand that woman and want er affair revealed so she loses her job.
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27 rychastings
April 19, 2018 at 4:13 PM
qq
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28 Peridot
April 19, 2018 at 4:36 PM
Ji-an was able to release so many pent-up emotions in that final scene. She has been holding so much inside herself, fearing what would happen if her past came to light.
As much as she is an interesting character, I can't support some of the things that she has done. I am happy to see the changes that she is undergoing, even if they were influenced by her invasion of Dong-hoon's privacy. I guess she would never have been able to have that window into his thoughts and beliefs without eavesdropping on them in the first place.
I do worry about how Dong-hoon will react upon finding out the truth, but I do have faith in his character.
Another dilemma: I would love for there to be a romance between our two leads. And a subtle one would do just fine; I don't need anything big here. At the same time, I am consistent in my dislike for adultery (in real life and in fiction). Even if this show went the divorce route, I do not know how I would feel. I am not too fond of that either, as there is a young child involved. Dilemma, dilemma....
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javinne
April 19, 2018 at 10:00 PM
Are you me or what?? Because I am in the same dilemma. Don't enjoy the idea of a divorce but staying together just for the sake of "the family", what others will say, etc, when there is no love and also not much of a real family anyway... it is also hypocrisy.
She doesn't love him, he is also closer to his brothers than to her. It is a difficult situation, with our without the possibility of DH falling for JA, and with or without the wife having an affair.
Eliminating the two other parties won't make DH and YH a couple of they no longer love each other.
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Peridot
April 20, 2018 at 10:12 AM
Yes, I think we must be the same person!
;)
While I do not think that divorce should be the default response to every marriage problem, I do agree that people shouldn't suffer in a union for the sake of appearances or for the benefit of other parties. Despite all this, I'm still a little conflicted.
Do you think that Dong-hoon will want to remain married by the end of the show?
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javinne
April 20, 2018 at 1:01 PM
I am afraid, yes. Because he is honorable. And he honors family, though he had not been the best of all husbands, like some other beanies have pointed out before.
Also, it seems that YH really regrets what she did.
DH is the kind of guy who would forgive adultery even...
But since I am not shipping him with JA I have to agree with him remaining with his wife.
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29 pickledplumtree
April 19, 2018 at 4:56 PM
Doubleyou tee eff with that funeral fantasy, amiright?! It was a fantastic black comedic moment for sure.
Thanks LollyPip! I like your insights the office politics...whatever they're doing to keep the show extremely engaging, they certainly are doing it right! I also agree that Yoo are has some definite interest and value as a character.
The scene with Ji An's flashback to Joon Young giving her the cash envelope made me hopeful that perhaps she didn't accept it.
I still don't have sympathy for Yoon Hee, though I understand how it could have felt lonely for her feeling that Dong Hoon didn't "let her in," ...something about her (and her coldness I suppose? And her bad behavior...)just does not make me feel bad for her!
I love Jung Hee and her amazing style. I loved that gal at first sight.
That's all for now!
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Moonbean
April 20, 2018 at 6:11 AM
What I found most amusing about the funeral fantasy was that it was literally the brightest scene of the 9 episodes.
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30 pickledplumtree
April 19, 2018 at 5:04 PM
Also WILL SHE EVER GIVE HIM THOSE OFFICE SLIPPERS (?!) that made my heart melt so much!!!!
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Puni
April 19, 2018 at 5:23 PM
The hurt in her eyes at that scene. 😭 Post fight.... I have feeling they will be under his desk the next day.
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31 Lutisse
April 19, 2018 at 5:28 PM
Why did DH ignore Yoo Ra's greetings?
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Gojila
April 24, 2018 at 10:07 AM
he was shy with pretty girl.. And he didn't want to talk to new woman...
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32 Milky
April 19, 2018 at 5:35 PM
as much as I hate the wife, i can't say the DH has been a good husband to her. She comes home everyday to a partially drunk guy who only communicates through monosyllables. He's very loyal and filial but he's not a good husband. Or father, for that matter...
This doesn't justify the wife action but at least gives another layer into their home life.
I'm enchanted by IU's portrayal here. She fragile and tough at the some time. Cold yet longing to be loved. She's giving a very layered performance to this character and I can't help but think that if given to someone less capable, JiAn would become irritating rather than compelling rather quickly.
It's a shame that Yoora and PKH have little chemistry as a pair. They could otherwise be giving the romantic release so many need.
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Puni
April 19, 2018 at 6:11 PM
IU is no longer just the "idol" actress, but one of the best actresses I have seen in a while. She doesn't fit the mold of other actresses her age. She has grit and substance that is showing so well here. I thought she was great in MLSHR. Glad to see her be able to really show her skills again. Any other male or female lead would have been less stellar.
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mrsdimple
April 20, 2018 at 5:32 AM
I agree..i don't see her as the idol IU, but instead as Ji-an, the character. That speaks volume on how well her acting is I think.
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Mayada
April 19, 2018 at 6:24 PM
Totally agree that Dong Hoon is not agood husband, I woder why he is like that despite of his great appreciation to the concept of family. How he let this gap to widen without trying to sew it, but this certainly, as you mentioned, can't justify betrayal.
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luzitania
April 19, 2018 at 11:13 PM
@2percentmilky I agree with you about DH not being a good husband. He is a great human being but I noticed since episode 1 that he pretty much checked out of the marriage a long time ago. I remember thinking during episode 1 that it didn't surprise me that she cheated on him since they didn't talk, eat or spend time together. They didn't even seem very intimate. Then the wife supported getting her husband fired and she lost all my sympathy, but at least I understand how it all started.
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Moonbean
April 20, 2018 at 6:14 AM
Regarding Dong Hoon's treatment of his wife, my assumption is that he has been trying since the affair started and received no positive response from her so he has given up. Since the beginning of the series she did nothing but refuse him and criticize him whereas he made an effort to spend time together. How long can one try by themselves like that?
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john
April 22, 2018 at 3:55 AM
DH’s hobbies consist of getting drunk with his brothers and soccer brawls. It wears on people, primarily his wife and his mother. The withering “drunk again” look she gave him. She already has two layabout sons , I believe she expects better behavior from DH. I believe the funeral fantasy gave him reason to reflect on how he’s treated his mom.
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33 meowingme
April 19, 2018 at 6:05 PM
Yoon-hee throwing Dong-hoon's apology to his face made me want to scratch her face, oh the irony! Am so glad she knows now that he knows. After her high-handed words about Dong-hoon fighting with Joon-young over being a director or over her, am so satisfied it ends up Ji-an is the one h got into a fight for. And I was totally cheering at him to punch the hell outa Kwang-il!
The marriage seemed doomed now that the affair is out in the open, Yoon-hee seems to be the type who would prefer to cut loose. Dong-hoom is trying so hard to keep them together, but is it because he still loves her or because of "family" sake?
All in all, such a heartwarming episode.
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meowingme
April 19, 2018 at 6:18 PM
Also, Dong-hoon has a contender. Isn't the janitor uncle Ji-an's original ahjusshi? ^^
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piningapple
April 20, 2018 at 7:14 AM
😂
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Del
April 19, 2018 at 11:17 PM
As @Milky pointed out, Dong Hoon himself is not really a good husband and we don't know either what really drove their marriage to such comatose state. But I agree with you, Yoon Hee is such an annoying bitch. She vented out her frustrations on her husband as if she had no faults that made them so emotionally distance and worst, she seems blaming DH for her failed affair with Joon Young, irritates by every sight of him.
IMO, DH still loves his wife but not in love with her. His reason to keep the family together because he is the kind who has been playing safe all his life. Because that is the right to do. I am intrigued to know how he truly feel about Ji An (at this juncture, Idk if the interest is in a romantic sense or not) and if DH will eventually make decision based on what he wants instead of what is right for him to do.
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meowingme
April 20, 2018 at 1:03 AM
Agreed that both has a hand in the unraveling of their marriage. They were college couple, I wonder whether they got married too fast without fully understanding each other. They seem to want different things from life, have different standards of happiness.
One good about Yoon-hee being a bitch, tho, is her going all out on putting Joon-young through the wringer!
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Del
April 20, 2018 at 1:13 AM
Tbh, I am more curious on why she actually married Dong Hoon and not Joon Young since she knew both of them since college. Did she really love DH and only seeking solace in JY when her marriage unraveled? Or there is some unfinished business with JY and DH is just a replacement? By knowing the history between the 3 of them, then only I can actually figure out why each character behaving the way they are now. But we still have 6 episodes more to go and hope we can have better understanding on them. LOL.
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Moonbean
April 20, 2018 at 6:23 AM
My understanding from the break up conversation between her and Joon Young was that at that time Dong Hoon was the more promising of the two. In fact Joon Young wanted to be is disciple and kept following him around but didn't get a positive reception. Dong Hoon had a bright future and came from a better of family. To hurt him Yoon Hee told Joon Young that at college they used to pity him because they all knew he didn't have anything but was desperately trying to hide it. Joon Young "made it" by marrying well.
Yoon Hee is quite shallow. Joon Young only got in her radar after he became rich and powerful by becoming the CEO.
pineapplegongzhu
April 20, 2018 at 7:17 AM
@Del, LOVE your commentary, especially the
I also think DH still loves his wife. In fact, dare I even say it, I think YH still very much loves her husband. She could have divorced him so easily - why start an affair if she were truly through with her husband?
I hope Show will reveal how they fell in love and how they slowly reached the current state of their marriage....and also how they will repair it. I know, I might be alone in the "save the marriage" camp...but I truly feel YH is not beyond redemption.
I would agree that YH plays victim a lot, which is annoying. But, actually, several of the characters play victim: Dong Hoon (or so Joon Young accuses him), Joon Young (always giving excuses for his actions), Sang-Hoon, Ki-Hoon, Yu-Ra, even Ae-Ryon and Momma Park...all of them have a certain victim narrative they tell themselves.
Thing is, Ji An is ACTUALLY a victim, but she keep trying to come out on top - fighting NOT to be a victim. That's pretty admirable.
I'm also curious to know how Dong Hoon feels about Ji An (like, for real...without any of his normal filters).
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34 Beverly
April 19, 2018 at 6:20 PM
Almost home from work and then on to ep 10. Can't wait. Can't stop thinking about it.
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Mayada
April 19, 2018 at 6:38 PM
It's passed 3 AM in my country and I can't fall asleep before watching ep 10, I just have been refreshing the site every other miute hopefully I find it 😂😂😂
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35 Del
April 19, 2018 at 6:39 PM
Comment was deleted
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36 Del
April 19, 2018 at 7:30 PM
Boy, this show is really something. There are so much depth, so much layers to peel and each and everytime, I feel elated with every new discovery.
@lollypip No, it's not that Yoon Hee quit her job and moving out of her office. I think she took her stuff out of that secret love nest she shared with Joon Young.
I am still not sure about a possible romance between Dong Hoon and Ji An (they could continue with a platonic relationship) but if there is anything, I find that they deserved each other and most of all, they are what each other needs. What I like even more is that they continue to become the source of strength for each other.
Kwang Il remains to fascinate me because I find him conflicted in a sense that he hates Ji Ann for killing his dad, but now he is getting so worked up that she had fallen for Dong Hoon, which speaks of his romantic interest in her.
The office politic definitely keeps the show momentum and least of all boring but I would very much like to see Dong Hoon finally step up to control his fate instead of allowing others to manipulate his.
Just one minus point is that I really dislike the parts with Yura. I mean, no matter what being explained about her, she is just plain annoying.
Overall a great episode and now, I am finally impressed by IU's performance.
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javinne
April 19, 2018 at 9:43 PM
You are not the only one finding Yu ra annoying. I don't hate her, and I have paid attention to lollypip's comment on her (that I maybe watch the next time I watch this serie, because for now, I have so invested in the main conflict that I always fast forward Yu ra's scenes) but I cannot like her either, nor I get why we have her in the drama in the first place.
Definitively I am just fast forwarding her... sorry, Yura.... I even fast forward some of the brother's scenes when DH is not with them, because without DH it doesn't work for me.
Anyway, it always happen that some characters you just cannot take. A little bit of a minus as you said, over a very very well done drama.
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Del
April 19, 2018 at 10:55 PM
Unfortunately, I caught this episode when playing on our local cable TV 24 hours after Korea, so I can't fast forward those parts with Yura. I would have done so if I was streaming online.
I could still do with the brothers but at minimum level. Agree with you, without DH, nothing much sparks my interest. I know at times they are meant as comic relief but if there is anyone I find the funniest.... it's the arse-wiper Director Yoon. He is dimmed without realizing it himself and his reaction especially when his plan backfired, always got me burst out laughing.
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37 spazmo
April 19, 2018 at 8:40 PM
the brotherhood - meaning the three actual brothers PLUS their posse - is amazing!!! i love it! oh, maybe i'm jumping to ep10... but, still... this show has SO MUCH HEART on every level with all of the characters under duress... warms my heart to watch.
i don't worry about Ji An, she's a smart cookie and she knows what she's doing. she won't let Joon Young get the best of her...
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38 lemoncello
April 19, 2018 at 10:14 PM
Man, I just love the three brothers! They can be so pitiful one time, but can be so hilarious in other times! They're so caring to each other though it's clear they have different personalities: Sang-hoon the romantic, Dong-hoo the quiet, and Ki-hoon the hot tempered maknae. :))). I just love their relationship. It's very rare in K-drama when have such loving brother relationship. No wonder Yoon-hee is angry (and jealous) with Dong-hoon on how much he cares with his brothers and Mother.
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39 X
April 19, 2018 at 10:48 PM
I have a qn. Was Ji-an in juvenile detention for killing the loanshark? Which ep. mention it? I always thot the translation for YH talking to JY in ep. 4 was “she murdered someone. 2012, ard year 2, year 3 of middle school”. Sorry. Couldn’t get over this qn whenever someone commented she was locked up but I don’t rmb any subs mentioning this.
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MoguNehaqu
April 20, 2018 at 1:38 AM
She's criminal record is obscure from the whole aired episodes I've watched. You could be right she could got convicted for murder and served some time in the detention facility.
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MikeyD signed up
May 6, 2018 at 11:49 AM
When I first heard that 2012 number I calculated backward from the actress IU's age, but the character is supposed to be 5 years younger. So the murder happened when she was only... 14? Juvenile criminal records are usually sealed, I believe.
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40 Lou
April 20, 2018 at 1:34 AM
I have nothing smart to say so I will just announce to you all fellow beanies that I am still obsessing over the fact that that creep Kwang Il is my sweet Nam Gil.
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lemoncello
April 20, 2018 at 3:02 AM
He’s completely a different person! 😬. I can’t believe either it’s the sweet and swooned Nam-gil 😬😬😬
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41 MoguNehaqu
April 20, 2018 at 1:34 AM
Joeong-hee and three stooges' mom are not blood related. She just used to work part time for smal earning. Sometimes She seems to do what she don't have to for Jeong-hee.
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lemoncello
April 20, 2018 at 3:05 AM
Yes, they’re not related. But I feel like the people in their neighborbood are closed. Like those ahjusshi who spend every single night drinking in JH bar or when they play Sunday morning soccer (with drinking off course). I got a feeling that those people have been living in the same neighborhood for years.
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42 Lord Cobol (Kdramas, like water, flow downhill)
April 20, 2018 at 2:42 AM
Someone needs to do a "Drama-Induced-Shopping" write-up about their fancy new ear-buds and the sneaky software they bought to install on someone else's phone.
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
April 20, 2018 at 9:50 AM
HA!
I wasn’t interested in illegal covert surveillance until I saw UI do it in My Ahjussi. Now i’m lining up for the new equipment and software upgrades! Dramas can sell me anything!
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
April 20, 2018 at 6:02 PM
And in fact I might just write that post...
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43 buttersunshine
April 20, 2018 at 2:44 AM
This episode is so intense and making me falls in love even harder with this drama.
I wasn't expecting that Dong hoon will having confrontation with kwang il. I was suprised that DH went to kwang il place knowing for sure that things will gone bad. It was an action without any well prepared plan unlike before when he went to defend his brother dignity.
Its was bittersweet that even tho Dong Hoon know Ji an darkest secret, he still stand up for her. At earlier episodes i wasn't expecting any love line between 2 main roles but now i cant help but hoping for it. Because i think what Dong hoon doing for Ji an are against his will and logical reason but he still doing it like a person who unware that he is in love. But despite all of that platonic love isn't so bad for both of them.
When UI finally cried, my heart breaks apart. I'm not a fan of her, but after seeing her in this drama, i think will be one.
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lemoncello
April 20, 2018 at 3:09 AM
Actually, I really loved when Dong-hoon confronted Gwang-il. A quiet like DH is sometimes quite scary when he’s angry. I was quite surprise at the beginning when he asked a guy to ask apologize to Sang-hoon while punching his office with hammer; or when he arrived at the camping ground then confronted and punched JY the next day!
This guy can be so determined sometimes.
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44 zoneweed
April 20, 2018 at 3:04 AM
Some people will just find a way in themselves to sexualize situations and situational characters.
The dark cloud which constantly follow JA is because she sees herself as an indebted murderer. If she had been forced into prostitution early in life, I don’t think she would have been that arrogant towards men. Her cold demeanour is mainly caused by her violent past and hence, she felt, her social stratification. If she had been forced into prostitution as fantasized by some here, she would have had self image issues and certainly wouldn’t even consider herself romantically appealing or likeable by men.
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mushroomsoupie
April 20, 2018 at 5:59 AM
It's still a possibility. Harsh reality in South Korea. http://wce9noorazim6103.blogspot.co.id/2011/11/dark-side-of-loan-sharks-in-south-korea.html
To make grandma faint, the crime she did must've been something serious. Aside from prostitution, drug dealing could be possible too.
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45 Moonbean
April 20, 2018 at 3:48 AM
I interpreted Ji An's crying as a sign of her immense relief that someone supported her act of murder, did not abandon her when they learned the truth. This must have been a first for her. The people who stick with her are all people who knew her pre-murder.
I am with Dong Hoon, the more I hear about Ji An's story the sadder it gets. Poor baby, as if being abandoned by her mother at such a young age isn't enough she had to shoulder the responsibility of her disabled grandmother and pay off her mom's debts. And then to have to commit murder... It is too much for anyone, but someone so young and alone? There are so many heartless people like her mother and the loan sharks. What did Kwang Il's father gain by beating Ji An or her grandmother? Did he get more money that way? The more I think of it the angrier I get.
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46 Moonbean
April 20, 2018 at 4:00 AM
Not that it's anything new but I found Yoon He extremely annoying again in this episode. The way she is treating her husband is outrageous. The guy is trying to act normal asking his cheating wife if she wants him to pick up something from the store and she is all like “you don’t even know what I want” and then as if they are couple talking about and sharing everything she gets annoyed that she has to hear of his possible promotion from his mom. I am glad she started feeling a bit of the family pressure Dong Hoon is constantly subject to from his mom.
I was pleased to see Ji An easily wiped away the superior air she was exhibiting with the information that her husband knows of her affair. I am really curious to see how she will react to that (not that I have much hopes for her, she has shown herself to be extremely selfish again and again).
I felt sorry for Dong Hoon when his family and the whole neighborhood started celebrating his candidacy as if it was a done deal. No wonder the poor guy didn’t want to share the news. I am starting to find Sang Hoon’s obsession with their mom’s death and funeral very annoying.
Poor Dong Hoon. There is no help or support from any quarter. His subordinates who kept complaining he s not promoted yet are more hindrance than help to his promotion. I hate cheater girl. I hope her affair comes to light as well.
Another sad part of the episode was poor Ji An's moping when Dong Hoon gave her the cold shoulder after learning about why she stole the money from him. Clearly she has started relying on him for moral support if for nothing else.
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risa
April 20, 2018 at 7:24 AM
I was pleased to see Ji An easily wiped away the superior air she was exhibiting Yeah, I enjoyed some schadenfreude at seeing how expertly Ji-an turned the tables: When Ji-an arrived, Yoon-hee looked like she was gonna eat her alive, but before long, Ji-an was cocking her head and studying Yoon-hee's face, like an animal who enjoys toying with its prey... then BAM!, she delivered the devastating blow by telling one more truth.
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stpauligurl
April 20, 2018 at 8:03 AM
The only thing about Ji An telling Yoon-hee that her husband knows of her infidelity is that how in the world is he going to react when he finds out it was Ji An who told her?
You know that all hell is going to break loose when he finds out about her listening in and recording his whole life.
A LOT of trust is going to be lost. That is an essential part of this story I think - trust and respect.
Though Ji An has been changed in so many ways by Dong Hoon (in a good way) - the bottom line is that she has violated his trust in every way possible.
We can't forget that and it is going to be very painful to watch when it all comes out. I think that the bastard CEO is the one who will spill the beans. ugh.
He and Yoon-hee deserve each other.
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Moonbean
April 20, 2018 at 8:19 AM
I am conflicted about Dong Hoon's possible reaction. I consider trust the most important thing in relationships and it is a huge betrayal, but Dong Hoon who understood Ji An killing a person would surely understand this as well. They had no relationship when she started listening to him. At that point she owed him no loyalty and she wasn't doing it fr money for frivolous things. She was still trying to protect her grannie and get rid of the loan sharks. Once she started listening in at what point can one come clean and say what they have been doing?
I'm sure Dong Hoon would feel very angry and betrayed at first but he doesn't seem to view world as black and white but consider motivations. For some reason I think he maybe more angry at her for getting Director Park fired than listening into his conversations.
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stpauligurl
April 20, 2018 at 8:33 AM
Yes it is going to be interesting to see what the writers do with this part of the story which is at the heart of how her feelings have changed for him.
risa
April 20, 2018 at 8:36 AM
MTE.
gadis
April 20, 2018 at 8:26 AM
Oh yes, I guess this will be the angstiest conflict in the drama. Because every understanding and genuine connection Dong-hoon and Ji-an have built basically are based on violation of his private life. It would be hard for him to reconcile that with how much closer they have become. Well, unless the drama one-up us once again, and give us an even angstier conflict that never crossed our mind before.
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risa
April 20, 2018 at 8:34 AM
"Well, unless the drama one-up us once again, and give us an even angstier conflict that never crossed our mind before."
*ptooey ptooey ptooey*
Moonbean
April 20, 2018 at 8:35 AM
If any drama can pull that off this would be the one!
stpauligurl
April 20, 2018 at 8:36 AM
Exactly @gadis - I know that he is kind and forgiving/understanding (to a point) but to find out that she has been privy to all parts of his life is such a betrayal. And the fact that SHE was the one who told his wife and that she is still meeting with the CEO.
Yes we are in for a boatload of angst and pain (as if we haven't already experienced enough so far) but I'm still all in for the ride. This has been one helluva masterpiece to watch.
47 mrsdimple
April 20, 2018 at 4:42 AM
Haven't watch ep 10, but the scene at the end of ep 9 was like oh god-protect-my-dear-heart..
'I would kill him too if he messed with my family!!' And Ji an listening to all that..I know there's not supposed to be a love line here, but their relationship is so profound in such a deeper level that I was just, blown away. Kudos to the writers.
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48 delphy
April 20, 2018 at 8:00 AM
Dong hoon looking for Kwang-il echoes the scene when he showed up with a fruit basket at his brother’s bully. He can’t stand for anyone bullying his family and by now Ji-an’s practically family in his eyes.
Throughout the show we see that Dong hoon takes whatever thats thrown at him, until someone crosses the line and touch his family. I always feel a sense of triumph when he rataliates to protect people who matters to him.
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49 pineapplegongzhu
April 20, 2018 at 8:04 AM
I love reading @lollypip's analysis, but this one was especially incisive and spot on! I really loved these words:
I completely agree that Yu-Ra's character is a lot more profound than one would guess at first glance. She sort of reminds me of the character of Phoebe from Friends, who just seems so off-the-wall, you miss how intelligent her pronouncements are because you are distracted by her zaniness.
I think Yu-Ra expresses how the world can be so very bleak, but also where to find true hope. I really liked that, even though I still find her annoying.
So true. So much angsty feels.
I hope so, too. Ji An only had about three big secrets that could potentially destroy her friendship with Dong Hoon: (1) the fact that she stole from him deliberately, (2) that she killed someone, and (3) that she originally planned to destroy him.
Really, only #3 is still left. But, given that he seems to regard her as family now, I think he will be forgiving...especially when he realizes how many times she saved him.
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persianrose❤️战哥
April 20, 2018 at 9:53 AM
I will add the 4th: The fact that she loves him as a man
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pineapplegongzhu
April 20, 2018 at 10:04 AM
......small fact like that. ;)
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50 newdramaaddict
April 20, 2018 at 10:35 AM
1)When Dong-hoon was talking to the janitor about Ji an's past, he'd mentioned that she didn't know about 'forfeiture of inheritance'. That means she wouldn't have had to pay off her mother's debt, right? Which means that her life would be drastically different, it's heartbreaking.
2) I noticed that we are gradually seeing Ji An's face more directly, and the office scenes show more color in her face. I also noticed at the beginning of this episode that the way Dong-hoon walks seems different, like he doesn't look as defeated and has better posture. I really love those extra details the director and actors make to show character development.
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Moonbean
April 20, 2018 at 7:20 PM
Regarding the first: exactly. That reminded me of Dong Hoon's comment to Ji An about the free care for her grannie: "You didn't have anyone to teach you these things?" I thought that was so sad then, now I realize how much sadder than I thought it really is. If only she had a Dong Hoon in her life back then. She suffered through all this for nothing but the fact that she was all alone in the world with no support system whatsoever in the middle of the most caring, supportive neighborhood I have seen. Talk about being alone in the middle of crowds.
Dong Hoon was dragging his feet through life at the beginning of the drama but now he is a man with a purpose, so all his acts, including walking, are more purposeful.
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