Business Proposal: Episodes 5-6 Open Thread
by DaebakGrits
Our archaeopteryx decides revenge is a dish best served piping hot, and after discovering our leading lady’s secret identity, he doesn’t hold back on the punishment, intentionally placing her in stressful situations that have her wanting to pull out his prehistoric bird feathers. But it’s hard to keep playing the villain when his romantic urges have him wanting to be her hero instead.
EPISODES 5-6 WEECAP
Now that Tae-mu has figured out the glaringly obvious truth, he’s understandably upset by the betrayal — but Tae-mu isn’t a man who typically acts on impulse. So, following a night of plotting, stewing, and shot-putting Hari’s doll across his office, he calmly asks Hari (as Geum-hee) out to lunch, giving her the opportunity to confess her sins before unleashing the full wrath of his psychological warfare. After a series of probing questions, she continues to dodge the truth, and — unbeknownst to Hari — her dishonesty prompts a disappointed Tae-mu to throw down the gauntlet.
While Hari is in earshot, Tae-mu schedules a meeting with her team, forcing her to rush back to the office where the non-public-transportation-taking Tae-mu is already waiting. He orders her to redevelop the white kimchi ravioli recipe and cut the cost of ingredients by a whopping 20%.
Tae-mu is excessively harsh, so much so that Sung-hoon calls him out (rather politely) for “uncharacteristic” behavior, which we all know is K-drama code for, “You’ve got the hots for Hari but don’t know how to express it.” For all his handsomeness and suave hair-slicking, Tae-mu’s flirting techniques haven’t advanced beyond playground teasing and pigtail pulling.
Cue a montage of Hari making various different ravioli recipes and seeking Tae-mu’s approval. He’s increasingly unimpressed, and by the end of it, he’s rejecting her offerings without even tasting them.
Hari reaches her limit, and — forgetting that she’s supposed to be hiding her identity — she gets all up in his personal space and demands he give her and her food the proper respect it deserves. While she fumes and spits fire at Tae-mu, he gets flustered by her close proximity and scuttles away, but not before insisting she continue with her ravioli cooking marathon.
With the GoFood anniversary ceremony fast approaching, Tae-mu amps up his petty revenge by asking the-blind-date-formally-known-as-Geum-hee to accompany him. Hari has a list of excuses for why she cannot attend and be his arm candy, but Tae-mu threatens her with a breach of contract if she fails to appear.
As if the situation wasn’t complex enough, she wins the company Mega Hit Award, which — you guessed it — will be presented to her at the anniversary ceremony, and her whole family has been invited. So now she’s supposed to attend the party as both Geum-hee and Hari. Looks like she’s going to have to pull the ol’ quick change in the bathroom trope and bounce back and forth between being Hari and Geum-hee.
When we cut to the anniversary ceremony, Hari is seated at a table with Tae-mu and Grandpa. She’s keeping an eye on the door, so she immediately spots her family when they enter — not that they’d be hard to miss. Hari’s parents and brother arrive looking like a chaebol family featured in one of Grandpa’s favorite K-dramas (circa 2006). In short, it’s a fashion disaster, and when Hari tries to make a discreet exit, it’s hard to say whether she’s looking for a private place to ditch her Geum-hee disguise, or leaving the party out of second-hand embarrassment.
Covering her face with her clutch, she tries to sneak past her family towards the exit, but her mom HAN MI-MO (Jung Young-joo) recognizes her. Hari averts her face and insists she’s someone else, but the more she struggles, the more Mom creates a scene. And now all eyes are on them. And things just keep getting worse. And oh-my-god-is-she-about-to-get-caught?!
No, wait… It’s all a dream.
Or more like a nightmare, one that doesn’t end when Hari wakes up. She opens her eyes and finds Tae-mu looming over her — living up to his nickname — like a giant extinct bird of prey. He acts all peeved to have caught her sleeping on the job, but when she burns her hand on a pot, he instinctively reacts and has to stop himself from comforting her. (It’s little moments like this that have me squeeing into pillows like a twelve-year-old girl.)
That night, Hari and her co-workers have a team dinner, and Hari drinks her weight in soju, becoming so inebriated that she drunk-dials Tae-mu and tries to beg and plead her way out of attending the ceremony as Geum-hee. Tae-mu tries to remain aloof, but when he hears her let out an alarming yelp and the phone call abruptly ends, he immediately goes into hero mode.
He rushes to her neighborhood where he searches high and low for his intoxicated Cinderella, and after a lot of running around, he eventually finds her at the playground, passed out on a slide.
When she sees him, she assumes that she’s dreaming — because there’s no way the real Tae-mu would come to her rescue — and confesses to “dream” Tae-mu that she’s Geum-hee. The vengeful beast inside Tae-mu is tamed upon hearing her genuine — albeit soju induced — apology, and when she lays her head on his shoulder and snuggles into his warmth, he’s an absolute goner.
The next day, Hari wakes up hungover and with a text from Tae-mu that says she’s been relieved of her duties as his pretend girlfriend. Hari can’t believe her eyes, so she calls Tae-mu and he confirms that she is, indeed, fired. Woo hoo!
Not only did Tae-mu release her from their relationship contract, but he also decided to accept her original white kimchi ravioli recipe! The latter should have ticked her off a little bit, but she’s too busy celebrating her freedom to care that she wasted a lot of time and effort cooking up a bazillion ravioli recipes.
Unfortunately, before Tae-mu left the country on a business trip, he forgot to tell Grandpa that he “broke up” with Geum-hee, and Grandpa dearly misses his future granddaughter-in-law. He’s able to track down Geum-hee’s phone number — but… but… how? — and invite her out to dinner.
Hari hesitantly shows up at the restaurant, but Tae-mu intercepts her at the door. She assumes he’s mad and explains that she didn’t know how to reject Grandpa’s invitation, but Tae-mu is focused on the phone call that he just received from Sung-hoon: Young-seo found a camera in the lamp from her neighbor, and Sung-hoon chased down the Perverted Peeper on her behalf.
Rather than waste time trying to explain the situation to Hari, Tae-mu tells her to come with him, but — Oh snap! — he calls her by her real name. She’s shocked, but Tae-mu doesn’t give her a lot of time to process before he whisks her away to the police station, where she and Young-seo watch the footage captured by the Perverted Peeper. Feeling violated, they are justifiably uncomfortable that the culprit’s only punishment will be a small fine.
Not on Tae-mu’s watch! He buys the company Perverted Peeper works for just so he can fire him. I thought chocolate abs were sexy, but — dayum — that’s a flex far more seductive than popping muscles.
The rise in Tae-mu’s protective instincts makes him acknowledge the undeniable truth: he has developed real feelings for Hari. And now that he’s acknowledged his crush, he decides to go all out and dive right into the deep end by planning an elaborate confession. Except his plan backfires.
Hari is completely unaware of Tae-mu’s budding affection, so when he asks to meet for a private one-on-one after work, she assumes he’s about to fire her. Before he can give her the ax — or confess he wants to date her — she hands him her resignation letter and a presentation detailing all her professional accomplishments.
She says he can either fire her and lose one of his best employees, or keep her and utilize her skills. Tae-mu is flustered by her obliviousness — did she not see the cake and string quartet, or did she think they were part of an elaborate firing ceremony? — but he says he will consider her business proposal.
Instead, all he can think about is his failed dating proposal. Unable to see past his own ego, Tae-mu cannot understand why she doesn’t have romantic feelings for him.
So Sung-hoon spells it out for him: she still hasn’t healed from her crush on Min-woo and needs more time before she can open up to someone else. Plus, you know, you’re her scary boss. Sung-hoon concludes his Ted Talk by advising Tae-mu to create romantic moments that will leave her viewing him as a man, not her employer.
While Tae-mu plots to win Hari’s heart, Hari has lunch with Young-seo, Min-woo, and some of their friends. She keeps anxiously checking her phone, on edge and waiting to be fired, but Yoo-ra and her fangirls assume she’s messaging her boyfriend.
Before she can deny it, Young-seo jumps in and confirms that Hari is texting her super hot, extremely tall, and unbelievably rich boyfriend. And Hari’s perfect boyfriend is the reason she can’t join a jealous Min-woo, insecure Yoo-ra, and their meddling friends on their upcoming trip to Busan.
As they walk home together, Hari scolds Young-seo for lying, but Young-seo couldn’t help it. She wants Hari to date Tae-mu and squash the uppity Yoo-ra in a competitive game of “Who’s Boyfriend is Better?” but Hari’s too concerned about her job to play games.
Young-seo excuses herself to use the nearby restroom, but once she’s in the stall, she imagines eyes watching her everywhere. Although she acts tough, she’s affected by her earlier run-in with Perverted Peeper, and now she finds public restrooms triggering.
She begins limiting her water consumption and ignoring nature’s call so she can avoid being exposed and vulnerable in a restroom. But her tactics quickly bite her in the bladder, and she finds herself on the verge of peeing her stylish dress pants while in Sung-hoon’s presence.
As awkward as the situation is, he still demonstrates his hunky manliness by busting down a locked restroom door so she can take care of her personal business. After the whole ordeal Young-seo is too embarrassed to look him in the eye, which is a pity because he really deserved a dramatic swoon and a “My hero!” for that rescue.
While Sung-hoon saves the day one bathroom emergency at a time, Tae-mu summons Hari to his office. She’s surprised — but immensely relieved — when he rips up her resignation letter and tells her that he will be taking her up on her offer and putting her to work, starting with some international marketing research (i.e. a private VIP screening of a movie about a character with a job loosely related to their professional field).
But this wouldn’t be a comedy without something derailing Tae-mu’s well-laid plans. And that something appears in the form of Eui-ju and Kevin, who unknowingly crash Tae-mu’s private movie screening and force their boss to crawl, unseen, out of the theater.
After the failed movie date, Hari joins Tae-mu on a “company trip” to Sokcho, where he says they will check out some restaurants and research some recipes. Unbeknownst to Hari, he’s found her social media profile and has planned a food tour catered to her taste buds. He even arranges for a particular food truck to be parked on a deserted part of the beach, just so they can serendipitously encounter it after their walk along the ocean.
When Hari’s out of earshot, the food truck chef asks Tae-mu why he doesn’t tell her that he rented out his truck for the day, and Tae-mu responds, “It’d be tasteless if I bragged about it.” Dawwww! He just wants to make her happy. The way Tae-mu gazes at Hari is downright adorable, but — no lie — I think I’d rather have a man look at me the way Hari fawned over that burger menu.
As they eat, Hari opens up about her reasons for becoming a food product researcher and what her goals are for the future. Frozen meals were her comfort food as a child, and she hopes her recipes can evoke similar emotions among their customers. Tae-mu listens intently, and when he stoops down to tie her shoe — mimicking their fake anniversary date — Hari is clearly affected by his attentiveness.
But Hari isn’t the only one whose heart is fluttering. Young-seo has another random encounter with Sung-hoon, and many bottles of soju later, she confesses that she’s been avoiding him because she’s attracted to him and wants to step over the professional line he established.
He catches her when she stumbles, and she tells him to let go or else she will cross that boundary and kiss him. She slowly counts down her warning, but he doesn’t let go…
She kisses him, and at first, his reaction is about as bland as flour. But then — Bam! — he goes for it, grabbing her around the waist, bringing her close, and smooching her breathless. (Is it, uh, hot in here?)
Riding high on Young-seo and Sung-hoon’s kiss, we switch to our other happy couple, who are driving back to Seoul. Hari is stuffed from all the food, and Tae-mu playfully teases that she didn’t burst out of her clothes this time. While Hari may not be crushing just yet, the work date appears to have successfully established a friendly rapport between them. But then it starts raining.
Tae-mu’s reaction to the weather is almost instantaneous, and it’s apparent — to us, at least — that Tae-mu’s aversion to the rain goes far beyond him not wanting to get his perfectly coiffed hair wet. He pulls the car over and gruffly tells Hari to get out, leaving her at a bus stop so he can find somewhere private to park and suffer through his anxiety attack alone.
While Tae-mu is bombarded with flashbacks of his parents’ car accident, Hari’s phone dies and she hikes to a nearby hotel so she can recharge it. She dries off in the lobby bathroom and grumbles, speculating that Tae-mu probably ditched her in the rain as part of his revenge plot.
But her ranting slows as she remembers he mentioned that he hated the rain. It warms my heart that Hari is emotionally intelligent enough to read the situation and figure out that maybe, just maybe Tae-mu might have a reason — other than being a jerk — for his actions.
Hari retrieves her charged cell phone from the front desk, and — Surprise! — she runs into Yoo-ra and her gossip crew. Min-woo’s filming was conveniently moved from Busan to Sokcho, and the nosey ladies immediately ask about Hari’s rich boyfriend. Hari’s about to confess that she’s single, but she’s interrupted mid-sentence when Tae-mu calls out to her affectionately.
Hari and the other ladies turn to watch his slow-mo strut across the lobby, and when he reaches Hari’s side, he lovingly caresses her cheek. Dumbfounded, Hari can only stare up at him with her mouth hanging open as he introduces himself to the gawking women as her boyfriend.
And so Business Proposal sets the stage for one of my all time favorite tropes: the Boyfriend Bluff. I especially love this trope when it’s used to take catty/jealous characters like Min-woo and Yoo-ra down a peg or two.
It’s the kind of theatrics that I’m sure Grandpa would have a lot to say about, and I hope we get another drama-within-a-drama scene that mirrors Tae-mu’s Boyfriend Bluff so we can hear Grandpa’s play-by-play. Waiting to find out what happens next is going to kill me!
Ugh! Is it Monday yet? (Words I never thought I’d utter.)
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Tags: Ahn Hyo-seop, Business Proposal, Kim Min-kyu, Kim Se-jung, Seol In-ah
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1 halofan68
March 16, 2022 at 9:36 AM
I find this show to be a twelve scoop sundae of silliness...yet it's at the top of my weekly planning list. I was not previously familiar with Kim Se-jung's work but she is right up there with buddha babies and sassy cat pen stands on the adorable scale.
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Miranda
March 16, 2022 at 9:14 PM
On top of the genuinely entertaining actual show, this is my favorite show-within-a-show since WWW:Search’s “What’s Wrong With My Mother-in-Law”. And the show-in-show product placement is making me chortle, especially when you think of some of the bizarre product placements on Young Lady and Gentleman (“here, grown woman I am attracted to, have a child’s play set!”)
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2 Kafiyah Bello
March 16, 2022 at 9:45 AM
I am kind of obsessed with this drama. It is so fun and ridiculous. I like the way the handled the situation with him finding out. He didn't completely embarrass her and he recognized he liked her. I also appreciate her characters joy at food. That made me happy. As for our second leads, HELLLOOO😏. You love to see it and a proper kiss at that. Get it,😘☺️.
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3 Fan from Nigeria
March 16, 2022 at 9:54 AM
Is it Monday Yet? I made this statement too, i cannot wait for the swoons next week.
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4 emsel
March 16, 2022 at 10:07 AM
@daebakgrits Did your pour out all your affection for this show in this open thread? It was so detailed that I could visualize the scenes again😂😂
I didn't understand why Ahn Hyo Seop's acting received lukewarm response, but I think he was great in both these episodes by emoting Kang Tae Moo as a person who tries appear cool in front of his woman with just enough risible to make the character a parody of rom-com leads than a cringey fool. Be it, Kang Tae Moo restraining himself from reaching out to check on Ha Ri's burn or him desperately trying to woo Ha Ri or secretly stalk her account to learn about her preferences, I just don't know which I enjoyed more even though I din't like that he left her on the road at night!
The drinking scene of Ha Ri with her coworkers was really hilarious because I get really tired of Kdrama's drunken antics which makes me think that these people would rather be clowns with no self control than as a sober human wallowing in self pity.
I'm all here for the secondary couple. They are so cute that I don't even mind that they kissed before our leads became an official couple. Seol In A is killing it in the comical department
Also, I wonder if Kevin has a crush on Ui Joo or if both are secretly dating each other.
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Soyesterday
March 16, 2022 at 11:10 AM
I agree with you on AHS i don't understand the criticism either, to me at least it's fairly obvious that this is how the character is written, i think people simply aren't picking up on how subtle his comedic timing is especially in the face Kim Sejeong and Lee Deok-Wa who have roles which require histrionics and physical comedy, its easier for the latter two to stand out more.
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OldLawyer
March 16, 2022 at 2:22 PM
I think that AHS is playing his character to absolute perfection. As you said, the other characters get to be more over-the -top but AHS has to be like Cary Grant in a late 1930s rom-com: The straight man BUT he does get to say some very witty things.
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DaebakGrits
March 16, 2022 at 12:23 PM
@emsel I do love this show, so I'm glad you can tell! <3 I don't understand all the hate for Ahn Hyo-seop either. His general stoicism seems very in line with his character, and he's very good at delivering subtle micro expressions that reveal his inner thoughts and feelings. I'll freely admit I'm watching this drama with rose-tinted glasses, so maybe the people who find fault in his acting are seeing things I'm too biased to notice.
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naomi316
April 16, 2022 at 5:43 AM
DaebakGrits, I agree with you that AHS is 'very good at delivering subtle micro expressions that reveal his inner thoughts and feelings’. Probably, critics of AHS may have changed their mind after watching the whole show.
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chibi8535
March 16, 2022 at 12:26 PM
>>with just enough risible to make the character a parody of rom-com leads than a cringey fool.<<
Yeah, I'm late to the party in recognizing his comedic talent. The missed hair-sweep when his hair is casually blow-dried instead of the usual gelled-back office-look, was SO on point!!! The way he takes to that hair-sweep, is such a parody of Park Seo Joon's Young-Joon as well as Sae-Royi! 🤣🤣
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ladynightshade wants her own ryu sunjae
March 16, 2022 at 1:52 PM
Ahh, I finally found someone else who finds the hair sweep funny! To me, it’s pretty clearly supposed to be a parody of what Park Seo-joon did in What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?. While I fully admit to currently finding Ahn Hyo-seop weaker than the female leads, he’s certainly not doing as bad a job as some online have been saying. It’s clear that he’s doing a pastiche of 2000s/early 2010s chaebol types and his acting choices honestly seems purposeful, because there are enough “slip-ups” (or actual good acting, if you will) from that general stoicism.
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ceca
March 16, 2022 at 2:50 PM
AHS's comedy is more subtle compared to what Kim Se-Jeong is doing. It is almost like Easter eggs. I really like it. When he crawls on stairs from the movie theatre, the way he moves his arms totally reminded me of a CGI documentary I saw years ago about archaeopteryx where the dino-bird clumsily jumps from a tree to a tree with some help of its couple of feathers and claws itself up. Add some Archaeopteryx noises, and it's brilliant.
I'll admit that when he talks, it sounds a bit robotic, but I would think that is a character choice.
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Miranda
March 16, 2022 at 9:17 PM
They need to keep the dinosaur noises forever, they’re perfect - if she’d just called him an archaeopteryx that would have been funny, but his obsession over it and then acceptance of it really sealed the deal. I already miss the little phone hologram when he calls Hari.
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Elinor, Team Glasses team co-captain
March 16, 2022 at 3:14 PM
I thought the aborted chaebol hair-stroking thing was also a sign of of Tae-moo’s growing awareness about how Ha-ri sees him (furthered by Secretary Cha pointing out that to her, he’s just a terrifying vindictive boss) and physically reflects his increasing self-awareness. He also both reacts and visibly takes stock of his own reactions when she blithely comments on how he couldn’t possibly do something considerate like coming to look for her. So, props to AHS for some subtle acting.
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BedeliaJane
March 16, 2022 at 7:48 PM
@chibi8535 Which episode is this missed hair-sweep in, please?
I've just joined this party! I started ep1 two days ago and ended up marathoning all 6 eps! I actually don't really like to binge-watch coz I tend to not remember some scenes.
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Elinor, Team Glasses team co-captain
March 16, 2022 at 11:26 PM
I first noticed it in Ep. 6, about 41 minutes in. There may have been more later. Tae-moo's hair definitely looked more loose and natural in this episode - I like the way the show's stylists are providing visual hints as he becomes less uptight.
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BedeliaJane
March 16, 2022 at 11:41 PM
Thanks Elinor!
Oh well, I guess I'll rewatch all the eps while waiting for the next one! And catching up with past weecaps 😁
chibi8535
March 16, 2022 at 11:53 PM
Here you go!! :P
https://twitter.com/byeelacc/status/1503767448616534020?t=YBr4JYs23m0mg81OdZDRew&s=19
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Mina00
March 17, 2022 at 2:26 AM
Thank you for sharing . How come I missed it :)
BedeliaJane
March 17, 2022 at 6:20 AM
Thank you! Lol! I'm glad I asked! Yeah, that's the one Elinor mentioned, about 41 minutes in Ep 6, when they've reached the closed makguksu restaurant. Any more? Do share! 😁
LaurenSophie
March 16, 2022 at 12:27 PM
I'm not hugely impressed with AHS in this drama, but I will say that I thought he did best in these last episodes, and his English is pretty good, too.
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Doppelganger
March 16, 2022 at 12:36 PM
"His English is pretty good too."
He grew up in Canada.
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LaurenSophie
March 16, 2022 at 12:39 PM
That would explain it, lol.
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Ally
March 16, 2022 at 6:00 PM
I’m glad you are enjoying my adopted son’s acting charms. I’m in utter rhapsody at him these two episodes!
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PurpleTeapot
March 16, 2022 at 8:09 PM
I had an inkling that Ahn Hyo-seop was doing a parody of 2000s-style chaebol characters at the start, but what really confirmed it for me was when his "perfect" facade cracked in ep. 2 after being put through 10 arranged marriage meetings in a day. I just couldn't help laughing at his quivering, "Grandpa what did I do to deserve this" expression.
I also loved the way he smugly delivers the cliched chaebol lines; he somehow manages to reflect both Tae-mu's misplaced confidence and also the show's fun elbow-to-the-ribs awareness of the cheesiness of such a personality.
I definitely agree that his comedic acting is harder to catch than the other main cast, but it's there, and I'm all here for it.
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ar_arguably romantic
March 17, 2022 at 3:51 PM
I loved the drinking scene with her coworkers and Ha-Ri's crying on behalf of her coworker's misfortune was had me LOLing like crazy.
AHS is stiffer here than he has been in other dramas. I think it's his acting choice in order to match the fearsome CEO archetype. His line delivery weirdly sounded more natural in English. His comedic timing and delivery is still wonderful though in those moments where the drama needs him to be funny or react to something in a funny way.
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PinkyInToronto
March 23, 2022 at 8:56 AM
Comment was deleted
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PinkyInToronto
March 23, 2022 at 9:01 AM
I like him! I also enjoyed his performance in 'Abyss' and started watching 'Queen of the Ring' because he's in it. A shout-out to his Canadian roots, as well.
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5 Nal
March 16, 2022 at 10:09 AM
This show is really my happy pill these days and I can't believe I am looking forward to Mondays (yeah crazy). I love everything about it!
Waiting 6 days until next episode seems like torture 😩. Maybe I should I waited for it to finish airing and binge watched
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6 Kurama
March 16, 2022 at 10:26 AM
I kinda missed the funny effects from the first 2 episodes. Now, it's just like any rom-com, no more archaeopteryx 😥
I found funny that Ha-Ri found so many ways to hide her face at the beginning, but her character had no issue to show him her face anymore like she forgot it...
It's refreshing that the ML knows his own feelings so fast and makes his moves to get the girl! He's not shy about it and ready to pull out all the stops.
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7 Ayalynn
March 16, 2022 at 10:48 AM
I have been watching kdramas since 2000 (when I was young and studying Korean language in Seoul), I have to say, this show is the best rom-com ever.
Sure, there were good rom-coms before but they always had unnecessary dramatic or stupid plot and stayed on the same misunderstanding or problems too long (because they have to fill 16-20 episodes...) .
But this show is it's not trying to be something it's not. I love it so much!
Fast paced, all the tropes are done so well.
And there are no annoying 2nd leads!
I love Taemu trying to tell Hari how he feels about her.
It didn't even take 1 episode. That's so new and refreshing.
I only hope past trauma won't be too serious and Minwoo/Yura are not going to be super annoying.
I want to see more Youngseo's OMG cousin. She is so funny!
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Mango Juice
March 16, 2022 at 5:43 PM
"This is so much bissago yumyeonghan de keoyeyo!"
Youngseo's cousin's mix of Korean and English just cracks me up... And that pronunciation! I am learning Korean and I understand most of what she's saying because that's how I form Korean sentences in my head lmao.
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junichyung
March 16, 2022 at 7:22 PM
One of the best decisions really is to make this a 12-episode drama just to avoid some unnecessary and dragging parts. I think the edge of this drama compared to the other romcom ones is the pacing is just so good (and of course, the chemistry for both couples is just exploding). I know some of the viewers really want to make it longer (because it will be hard to say goodbye to the characters) but I still believe that the main reason why this drama is doing well right now is because the pacing is just done right.
Still, I hope there will be minimal not so interesting parts in the future episodes. I have faith that this will be fun until the last episodes. I hope I'm correct.
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ar_arguably romantic
March 17, 2022 at 3:55 PM
So true! The webtoon is completed and has like 100+ chapters and they could have stretched it to 16, but the decision to keep it at 12 was genius, including some of the changes that made the characters more suited to a kdrama while maintaining the fun and funny of the webtoon. As we've seen from other adaptations, it takes skill to adapt!
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8 Soyesterday
March 16, 2022 at 10:51 AM
This show really is my happy place!!
The web comic shows Min-Woo as a squid everytime he appears next to Tae-mu, i hope they keep that in the drama .
Hoping our second couple gets a little bit more screen time and we need more of Grandpa's running commentary on his favorite drama "Be Strong Geum Hee" (i would totally watch if it were a real drama)
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ladynightshade wants her own ryu sunjae
March 16, 2022 at 10:55 AM
Min-woo as a stupid squid? Yes please. I really hope the drama doesn’t deprive us of that comedic goldmine. And more archaeopteryx jokes too please! The two guys are gonna be so stupid next episode and I cannot wait for the mess.
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DaebakGrits
March 16, 2022 at 12:47 PM
Oh gosh! Now that you mention the Min-woo and Tae-mu's animal mascots, I really need a scene where they the men face off, and a giant archaeopteryx and squid are CGI-ed behind them. Kind of like the loading screen for a versus match on Mortal Kombat or something.
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ladynightshade wants her own ryu sunjae
March 16, 2022 at 5:34 PM
Now that you’ve said it, I can’t get the image out of my head. I need it for episode 7. And the comparison to Mortal Kombat…perfect!
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bbstl 🧹
March 16, 2022 at 8:08 PM
I missed Haraboji in these episodes, more Grandpa, show!
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9 ladynightshade wants her own ryu sunjae
March 16, 2022 at 10:52 AM
Is it Monday yet, indeed. I am utterly and completely in love with this drama. I think the 12 episode length is really showing its strength here; we aren’t being plagued with boring corporate politics or unnecessary “we met once as children and are therefore soulmates” nonsense. Sure, there’s the underlying trauma Tae-mu has about rain, but I find that more realistic than the other two options so I don’t mind it…for now. I just hope they address it properly with the care it deserves, and we can move on to the fun parts instead of dragging it through the mud.
I like that despite Tae-mu’s pettiness with that white kimchi ravioli (god, that sounds fantastic) stunt, he didn’t really feel outright malicious. It’s still a huge waste of Ha-ri’s time, energy and resources, but I never felt like he truly hated her. The way he had to stop himself from touching her after she burnt herself and then going on to say so confidently that he liked her…oh be still, my heart.
Young-seo and Sung-hoon are ADORABLE. I love their interactions at that bar/eatery place. Dude has it just as bad for her as she does for him. I kinda like that they jumped into first base so quickly. It provides a nice contrast to the slower burn of Ha-ri and Tae-mu’s romance. Theirs is such a love-at-first-sight scenario that I can actually believe they would jump into bed at the first opportunity.
God, the fake boyfriend hijinks next episode will be delicious. Fake dating is my favourite romcom trope of all-time for a reason. This show is giving me everything. Thank you writer(s), and thanks especially to @daebakgrits for the wonderful weecaps. I can feel your love for the show exuding from every word.
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Kafiyah Bello
March 16, 2022 at 12:40 PM
Right, that kimchi ravioli sounds divine. If bibigo(a real company) makes it, I will buy it tomorrow.
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OldLawyer
March 16, 2022 at 7:36 PM
I like Bibigo's products. Especially the frozen Mandu.
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Kafiyah Bello
March 17, 2022 at 4:42 AM
I have their Mandu in my freezer right now. They are yummy.
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ar_arguably romantic
March 17, 2022 at 3:59 PM
I have two bags of the beef mandu in my freezer now too! I'm sort of confused about the company structure. So is bibigo supposed to be a subsidiary of Tae-mu's company, GoFood? Or vice versa? I remember the company as being GoFood, but was surprised to see the bibigo logo.
ladynightshade wants her own ryu sunjae
March 17, 2022 at 6:10 PM
Looks like I found a new brand to check out. I’m always down for some good mandu.
Kafiyah Bello
March 18, 2022 at 4:05 AM
@ar I believe they are more of an affiliate because when he went to the states they mentioned they were happy to be working with him on a new product.
bbstl 🧹
March 16, 2022 at 8:13 PM
I just had bibigo frozen chicken and vegetable dumplings for dinner, I love them. I was shocked to find a whole line of bibigo frozen foods in my local midwestern US grocery about 6 months ago, now I can pretend it got there via a meeting like Tae Mu’s in NYC.
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DaebakGrits
March 16, 2022 at 12:40 PM
I would love it if they created a cook book as part of the merch for this drama. White kimchi ravioli sounds amazing.
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hacja
March 16, 2022 at 1:57 PM
I was wondering if the white kimchi ravioli was in fact a product placement? Is there a company that makes white kimchi ravioli? They had the funny product placement in the show that Grandpa was watching, a Red Mango drink, and I was thinking that might a real product too.
Anyway, thanks @daebakgrits for a great recap on a show that I'm very happy to read everyone is enjoying as much as I am.
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hacja
March 16, 2022 at 2:14 PM
Sorry, but I actually looked up to see on the internet if there was white kimchi ravioli and I'm not finding it. So I was thinking more about the white kimchi ravioli recipe--the ravioli would have the cabbage, and chestnuts, with a little sweetness from jujubes (dates would probably be easier for me to find) and what else? But then you'd probably use a cream sauce, right? (Back to the show--if so saving 20% on the ingredients would probably mean a terrible gummy corn starch concoction.) Or is there some other Korean sauce that would be more appropriate?
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10 welh
March 16, 2022 at 10:52 AM
I like the show but the wackiness is going down as the relationships start to get serious. Tae-moo interposing the BF lie on Ha-Ri borders on the trope I hate the most: the chaebol stalking the FL in order for her to fall for him. He is using his employment authority to make her go out with him. Cringe. I also don't like the chef's reaction to Ha-Ri having a potential BF. Double cringe if we have a love triangle/cat fight amongst Yoo-Ra and Ha-Ri.
I like Young-seo and Sung-hoon's natural flowing relationship better even though it was kick started by the trauma of a stalker creep and a drunken confession.
I missed Grandpa in these episodes. We need more Grandpa!
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Haru
March 16, 2022 at 1:55 PM
We’ll see on Monday, but I disagree with that interpretation of the BF lie. Obviously he has no issue pretending to be her boyfriend, but I think it’ll be played as helping her save face as an apology for kicking her out of the car in the middle of nowhere in the pouring rain.
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beffels
March 16, 2022 at 2:18 PM
The chef’s reaction seems super normal to me - if someone’s had a crush on you for years then they out of the blue show up with someone new you’ll feel a bit chagrined even if you know you shouldn’t. Be interesting to see how far they take it though. I’m hoping for no love triangle.
I’m going to give Tae mu a pass on the coercion into dating with employment/chaebol stalking because a) this show makes me very generous 😂, b) he didn’t intend to do it at first and I feel like his character would be horrified at the suggestion his clever trip idea could be construed sinisterly (though it totally could)
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rubytuesday
March 16, 2022 at 6:47 PM
Tae Mu’s abusing of power are definitely the one blemish on an otherwise perfect show, in my opinion. I’m staying optimistic because his conversation with Sung Hoon’s (and the latter’s judgemental af expression lmao) make it seem like the show is aware that Tae Mu crossed the line, but we guess we’ll have to wait and see.
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Seline
March 19, 2022 at 4:48 PM
could you remind me of which point this was? I would love a refresher on SungHoon's judgemental expression please!
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rubytuesday
March 22, 2022 at 9:37 PM
It's in episode five! Around 21:40. Tae Mu is all like "she shouldn't be bringing her personal feelings into work!" And Sung Hoon's face says it all lmao
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11 Cindy Mahri
March 16, 2022 at 10:52 AM
The show that made us love Mondays. Haha!
Gah! Episode 6 just might be my favorite episode so far.. And based on the preview, it looks like it'll only get better. Yay! So many adorable and poignant scenes this week but shucks. Yeong-soo and Sung-hoon's are 🔥🔥🔥. Love how this show thrives on collecting all possible tropes it can carry into its 12-episode run. Might as well make a tally, eh? 😆
The only other thing that can make this better is that prehistoric bird hologram. Come on, Show. We're loving the archeopteryx jokes. Keep 'em coming!
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Alluvial_Fan
March 16, 2022 at 3:31 PM
Brilliant! I will set myself the task of making a trope tally using tvtropes.org. Then I will diligently re-watch all 6 episodes and tick them off. It's a tough job but somebody has to do it.
That should get me through to Monday.
Each time her phone buzzes, I cross my fingers hoping for a 150 million year old dino-bird to appear.
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ladynightshade wants her own ryu sunjae
March 16, 2022 at 5:24 PM
Is there a tv tropes page for Business Proposal? I feel like this’d be the perfect show for one.
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Alluvial_Fan
March 16, 2022 at 7:09 PM
Not show specific but still fun : https://www.nytimes.com/
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Alluvial_Fan
March 16, 2022 at 7:13 PM
Trying to make this link work. No it is not show specific, but it is fun: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KoreanDrama
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Cindy Mahri
March 16, 2022 at 10:08 PM
We will be awaiting your tally, @jossie4cheryl! 😄😆
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12 Lord Cobol (Kdramas, like water, flow downhill)
March 16, 2022 at 11:00 AM
How many of the other ravioli dishes would have made good products and how much money has Tae-mu missed out on because of his pettiness?
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panshel
March 16, 2022 at 6:14 PM
He needs to surprise her and release all the ravioli versions including the ones he never tasted.
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13 currypuff
March 16, 2022 at 11:50 AM
Aaaaa, all the squees! I adore everything about this show. Kim Sejeong is a delight and this show would not be what it is without her -- her comic timing is perfect. I can't wait to see the new twist, from Fake Girlfriend to Fake Boyfriend. Harabeoji the Cutie continues to light up every scene he's in, which makes such a nice change from the evil in-law trope. The second leads get together...wooooot! Someone please give Kim Min Kyu and Seol In Ah some lead roles. And do I spy me a third lead couple in the making, heh?
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14 Lord Cobol (Kdramas, like water, flow downhill)
March 16, 2022 at 11:52 AM
If Tae-mu can't stand rain, he could just move to some place where rain just isn't an issue, like California. And an overseas base might help him with his plans to get into markets outside Korea. Just sayin'.
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Cindy Mahri
March 16, 2022 at 12:13 PM
My thoughts exactly! I remember before he went back to Korea that he was based in New York.. Where it constantly rains? How could he have possibly survived without getting this trauma dealt with through therapy? 😅
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pohonphee
March 16, 2022 at 12:22 PM
Maybe it needs 2 components to trigger the trauma 1st rain 2nd driving. It seems he always has secretary Cha to drive him around.
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Cindy Mahri
March 16, 2022 at 1:08 PM
Oh right! Could be. Since it was a car accident in the rain that caused his trauma. And anyone who watches How I Met Your Mother knows New Yorkers don't drive. Lol. Ok. The story fits. 😆
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Kafiyah Bello
March 16, 2022 at 12:41 PM
This was my thought, he was in New York, it rains all the time lol
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OldLawyer
March 16, 2022 at 7:39 PM
It would not have damaged the story if he had been in LA instead.
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15 The Kdrama Enthusiast
March 16, 2022 at 12:05 PM
Thanks for the weecap, @daebakgrits.
This drama is one of the only reasons I look forward to Mondays.
So. The show is a solid 10/10 for me. The characters are all great, but I want to talk about Tae-mu, specifically.
First off, thank heavens for no excessive throat clearing. It's the go to for expressing embarrassment/sheepishness in kdramas, which means it can be used a LOT in some of them. Now, on to Tae-mu. I love how he doesn't treat Ha-ri like crap in order to avoid acknowledging his feelings. He realizes he likes her, accepts it, and proceeds to do something about it. After the intial petulance and pouting. It's so great how mature he is. We don't get a lot of chaebol characters who know what to do when they like a woman. And even though his attempts at wooing Ha-ri end up going hilariously awry, it's great that he doesn't dwell too much on these failures, but proceeds to try again. He's sweet and thoughtful, and he's fast becoming on of my favorite male kdrama characters of all time.
Tae-mu's attempts to woo Ha-ri were so sweet. And Young-seo and Sung-hoon? A secondary couple whose romantic journey I'm just as invested in as the main couple's.
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16 loveblossom🌸
March 16, 2022 at 12:08 PM
Hari is so freaking funny. All her expressions. I liked how they showed her acting out her party dilemma. I felt for her. XD
I’m really glad they didn’t drag out Tae Mu taking his petty revenge on her. Seeing her cooking all the dishes wasn’t super funny, but maybe a little interesting cuz they started looking different from the original lol. I get him being upset about her lies though. I did like that she eventually stood up to him and asked him for some clear feedback instead of his vagueness.
THE KISS between Young Seo & Sung Hoon was HOT. I was a bit tensed before it happened because Young Seo was tipsy, but she initiated the kiss and then he reciprocated. All good. Hehee. Oh one minor thing though, I thought their scene was abruptly cut off.
I love the role reversal. I wasn’t expecting it before this week. Now Tae Mu gets to play the fake partner and have some fun too.
Eui Ju & Kevin! Slowly, but surely…they’re gonna be a couple. Poor Kevin. His team members got him good with their insults, but his lamenting was so funny!
Not enough Grandpa this week~~!
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PurpleTeapot
March 16, 2022 at 9:20 PM
I didn't find Tae-mu's petty revenge funny, but it was a clever way to show how capable and determined Ha-ri is in her working capacity! What I did find amusing was Sung-hoon standing primly in a corner, silently judging Tae-mu 😁
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panshel
March 17, 2022 at 3:38 PM
The funniest Ha-ri scene for me was when she ran to the restaurant door as they hung up their closed sign and pleaded with the owner to let them eat. I laughed so hard when she breathed on the glass to write a "2" on the condensation, then shook her finger, "No?" Kim Se-jeong has impeccable comic timing.
As soon as Young-seo fibbed about Ha-ri having a boyfriend, I expected our Boyfriend Bluff but thought Ha-ri would be the one to initiate it. Like when they surprisingly run into her friends, she would blurt out "Jagiya" at Tae-mu and wink at him to play along. Later, she would propose another fake relationship contract, which he would reluctantly sign but secretly jump for joy inside.
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ar_arguably romantic
March 17, 2022 at 4:05 PM
For a moment, I thought the whole getting caught by her parents at the party was real and was squealing in horror. Luckily, it was fake! Ha-ri's been through a lot of stress these past 6 episodes!
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17 WindChimer
March 16, 2022 at 12:20 PM
One of the best ever....
The drama came along at just the right time. Uplifting, non-toxic, funny, cute, wonderful....and a delicious diversion from the bleakness of world events.
I ADORE the actors and the music is fabulous.
Season 2 ?
Drama remains steadily in Netflix Top 10 !!!
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18 fourwithsun
March 16, 2022 at 12:24 PM
The chemistry between Cha Sung Hoon and Young Seo is sizzling!!! They are literally the posterchild for the calm boyfriend/chaotic girlfriend trope! I can't get enough! Both the characters and the actors! I saw them in some promo videos and interviews, and they just seem to match really well! In one clip, they played a "This or That" game, and they answered the same for every question XD
Yeong Seo is so hilarious and relatable. Even though she's energetic, it never comes off annoying! As someone who's naturally bubbly and talkative like her, I can't help but love her and sympathize with her reactions to things. People might be intimidated by her strong presence, but she's really soft-hearted and extremely loyal. Not to mention her confidence!
And Sung Hoon, oh dear *swoons* Like, on one hand, he gives me these soft puppy vibes that make you wanna cuddle him (maybe its the eyes), but at the same time, he's got this very masculine, assertive energy bubbling below the surface (and no, it's not just the muscles hehe). Like he's reserved, but not a push-over. I feel like that calm-yet-dominant energy makes him such a good complement for a firecracker like Young Seo.
Like when they were at that restaurant and he leaned in, put his hand on the back of her chair, and said firmly to stop avoiding him, I was about to combust!!
And then the KISS!!! I literally have nothing coherent to say about it, but I literally replayed it over and over and over! Secretary Cha was getting on Tae Moo for confessing without proper buildup, but then he goes making out with Young Seo without even asking her out or telling her how he feels lol
Can't wait to see what unfolds between them next week!
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PurpleTeapot
March 16, 2022 at 7:47 PM
I hadn't noticed the delicious irony of Sung-hoon completely tossing his advice to Tae-mu out of the window by kissing Young-seo XD Thanks for bringing it up!
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darwi
March 18, 2022 at 7:52 AM
Sung Hoon did express his feelings, but Young Seo has been clear from the beginning. She is doing the courting (or chasing...) and he just accepted the kiss as any FL in the similar situation.
At first I found his lack of reaction in the kiss too close to a "Park Shin Hye kiss", but after a few reviewing (I had to, you see, only for understanding reasons I swear) I comprehend that he was at first still unsure of the situation and possibilities and then when she pulled out he finnaly acted on what he wants.
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loveblossom🌸
March 18, 2022 at 12:10 PM
Omg yes, I noticed his arm on her chair too! I liked that he moved a little closer and acted less formal, but also he wasn’t too much in her space.
I love your analyses of the secondary couple! So good!
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19 LaurenSophie
March 16, 2022 at 12:45 PM
I don't have any great insights, but I just love this show. It is somehow very predictable and unexpectedly wonderful at the same time. I am also so impressed with the lead actress; her comic timing is impeccable. The chemistry between the entire cast is fantastic, too.
I'm simultaneously happy this one is just 12 episodes (because it's tightly written and paced) and sad it'll be over soon.
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20 Sifimoyo
March 16, 2022 at 1:00 PM
Monday and Tuesday are usually the worst days of the week, but not any more. I absolutely adore the four leads, and I think the ML is brilliant - it is a very nuanced parody of every young woman's dream man and he does it with such great timing. I loved the death-look he gives Hari when he starts his ill-fated plan of revenge, and you can read every stage of the internal battle between his natural arrogance and pride and the rapidly-increasing feelings for his nutty leading lady. All the minor characters are really well-played, and I have never been more willing to overlook the obvious K-drama tropes, which I have so often found irritating. I think AHS is an extremely talented actor, not to mention being absolutely scrumptious, and I hope he continues to get decent roles, instead of the type of drama which puts him in red contact-lenses with a ridiculous script. Handsome is as handsome does, as we say in England, and he's definitely not just a pretty face.
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Seline
March 19, 2022 at 4:58 PM
...I didn't know we said that in England, but we shall certainly be saying that in England in the future!
:D
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21 OldLawyer
March 16, 2022 at 2:13 PM
We love this show. This continues to be one of the best written rom-coms that I have seen in a long time.
We are already at the mid-point of BUSINESS PROPOSAL and so right on schedule the sixth episode ended (or nor at least close to the end) with a kiss- but this one was between our second leads. One more standard trope both honored and yet changed and deployed in a non-standard fashion. As I suspected (OK, a lot of us saw this one coming), the catalyst for this developement turned out to be Young-seo’s really creepy neighbor- but we were aalso treated to the very effectively deployed drunken love confession and kiss from Young-seo: There is no way Sung-hoon’s walls could ever have withstood such an assault and they shatter instantly- and so we are treated to the sight of Sung-hoon kissing her back- really, really kissing her back. That is a ship that needed to sail and now has.
And Daebak grits is right about our new trope with our lead characters. “Fake Boyfriend” has indeed been done many times before but it is always a really emotionally satisfying one (Cathartic- to borrow a term from Aristotle).
And Grandpa? Our fairy Godfather as it were? I stongly expect that there will be no pumpkins into coaches action for him: He wants greatgrandchildren so you can just bet that his actions, albeit nicely expressed, will more likely be closer to “The Godfather” as opposed to a fairy godmother. Picture him booking a wedding hall in the near future.
What a fun ride we are getting from this show. I think I will immediately re-watch episode 6.
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brian
March 17, 2022 at 1:47 AM
LOL, so they'll skip that tired ol' trope of "you're not good enough to marry my perfect Grandson" and change it to "You're plenty good enough to marry him and how does next Saturday work for you . . ."
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OldLawyer
March 17, 2022 at 11:02 AM
Exactly- Grandpa is not picky.
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💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
March 17, 2022 at 2:45 PM
This. This is exactly what I'm hoping for. Tbh I think they could've revealed it all to him this week and he'd have been fine with it! But Ha Ri has to fall for Tae Moo first hehe.
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ar_arguably romantic
March 17, 2022 at 4:08 PM
Even when the truth comes out, no way is he going to miss Ha-ri's parallel to Geum-hee from the drama. Poor daughter of chicken restaurant with CEO? His fave drama come to life?
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22 💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
March 16, 2022 at 3:12 PM
For me the strongest part of this show is that it's so aggressively self aware of itself.
Episode 5 had both Yeong Soo and Ha Ri break the fourth wall, staring straight into the camera, whilst delivering their satirical lines, but Ha Ri's took it one step farther and fleshed out the very situation she was dreading and that any other drama would've made the whole episode about, and probably would've played off seriously at that. Instead, we get two imaginary sequences during Ha Ri's fourth wall break/ dream of what COULD'VE happened at the ceremony, only for Tae Moo to realise he likes her, realise that's why he's acting the way he is and realise that he's being a dumb dumb acting the way he is, and calling the whole thing off. So you get both the show satirising itself/ what it could've been, and a genuinely good character development moment out of it at the same time.
Or you have moments like in Episode 6 where Tae Moo declares all his award winning attributes with utter confidence, where you can just tell that the show is pushing into that stereotype with utter GLEE, exaggerating it as tongue in cheek to every Chaebol ML in Kdrama ever, who has never been as introspective as Tae Moo is.
Those are only two examples; the most obvious running one is of course Grandpa's favourite drama, which gives me utter hope for his reaction to all the secrets revealed in the future.
It's stuff like that that really draws me back into the show.
Because if I have one criticism, it's that I do have a bit of a technical quibble with its execution sometimes- whether it's a translation from script to screen issue, a pacing, structural or editing issue, I'm not sure, but sometimes I just find how the episodes are put together to be quite clunky and because I'm more sensitive to that kind of thing than average, I can find it quite frustrating. But because it sometimes actually presses into this awkwardness, and because of all that self awareness, and obvious ridiculousness that it is clearly having a lot of fun with, I am able to still enjoy the show a lot and it saves me every time I get thrown off by the clunkiness.
Heck, this week it even became that much more obvious that, last week on Tae Moo's part, and this week on Ha Ri's part during the White Kimchi Ravioli Fiasco, the whole nonrecognition trope and story line being unbelievable was in fact part of the gag itself.
And underneath this all I just find it has a very nice little beating heart;
- I adored that Tae Moo, upon discovering his feelings, accepted them after very little denial and jumped straight to "Well, I will marry her then", absolutely no questions asked, and complete confidence that she would ofc, say yes, and not just give him a presentation on why he shouldn't fire her. That he forgave her so fast and instantly switched to trying to win her heart and get him to notice him as him.
- Grandpa being their biggest shipper and just wanting babies...
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💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
March 16, 2022 at 3:13 PM
... already and his picture perfect emoji worthy tee hee face
- How the show is running through every possible angle of the Fake Relationship Trope it possibly can, and maintaining it in different ways every week.
- That Tae Moo realised he ditched her ceremoniously and immediately tried to call her, that she remembered his hate for rainy days and immediately tried to call HIM.
- and lots more little sweet moments that would be too many to list.
I enjoyed this week the most after Episode 2 (nothing will beat the legendary Archaeopteryx episode for me, that hit every single sweet spot- although it gets points for maintaining the screeches as his personal sound track, and hers as the start of Flight of the Bumblebee .) and like most everyone else, it was over too soon. *twiddles thumbs till her next Tuesday*
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23 panshel
March 16, 2022 at 3:51 PM
Instead of confessing, I want Ha-ri to fall for Tae-mu naturally while they work on their "new product," but she's going to be touched at him pretending to be her boyfriend. I assume the front desk told him the phone's owner was at their hotel, so I wonder what was the receptionist's reaction to seeing a call from "Archaeopteryx." On their business trip date, when Tae-mu entered the guksu restaurant in his GPS and Ha-ri shrieked in excitement, it was so cute how he smiled to himself. I loved how even when she ordered him around ("Go go! Put on your seat belt quick.") and hit him excitedly over the food truck, he didn't get offended.
I felt sorry for Tae-mu after he found out the truth because he was clearly hurting and jealous of Min-woo, but I hoped Ha-ri would realize it soon because I felt more sorry for her for slaving over ravioli recipes left untasted. I thought Grandpa knew they had broken up and invited Geum-hee to dinner when Tae-mu was in New York to get them back together. Did both of them know the other was coming to dinner? I would've liked to see her and Grandpa dining alone for him to warm up to Ha-ri since he loves Geum-hee.
I panicked when Mom recognized Ha-ri and hoped it were a dream, but it was sweet how Tae-mu was worried over her sleep talking apology. Her character is so refreshing when she figured out the connection to the rain. He didn't want her to see his anxiety attack, but I'm sure she'll calm him the next time it starts raining. I wish they had run into each other in Young-seo and Sung-hoon's apartments the morning after drinking.
Sung-hoon is our hero. Instead of Tae-mu's search party, I wish Sung-hoon had helped the police find the Perverted Peeper's camera by telling them to check his spy glasses. I thought he would lead Young-seo into the men's restroom, but it was locked too. I love him for reassuring her there's no need to be embarrassed because using the bathroom is natural, but I hope the show addresses her PTSD.
Your weecaps are side-splitting, @DaebakGrits!
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24 Ally
March 16, 2022 at 6:03 PM
That preview tho…😜
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brian
March 17, 2022 at 2:22 AM
Yeah it reminds me of Boys Over Flowers where he took her to New Caledonia. But they keep it fresh here because Tae Mu knows what Ha-ri likes, as seen by the hamburger stand bucket list thing. So the difference is he's being flamboyant to impress her "friends" not to impress her. It will be interesting and entertaining to watch, for sure.
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25 BedeliaJane
March 16, 2022 at 7:37 PM
@DaebakGrits - I really enjoy reading your weecap! Awesome writing! Lol at "his reaction is about as bland as flour".
I love the drama-in-drama! Like the one is Search WWW!
The rain phobia, car scene thing seemed familiar. I think it was in She Was Pretty too.
Hari and Young Seo are great besties! I like to see actresses (and actors) who actually eat the food in front of them.
I'm glad that Young Seo is quite down-to-earth even though she's a chaebol. The steam crossing the line scene in the restaurant is funny!
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26 PurpleTeapot
March 16, 2022 at 7:54 PM
Tae-mu's rebooted approach to Ha-ri was refreshing, but the star of this week was undoubtedly Sung-hoon not just ramming down the toilet door, but also reaching for Young-seo and ushering her in when she plainly stated that she could be relieving herself on the spot at any moment now.
I love that Sung-hoon x Young-seo's storyline is a rewired version of the "love at first sight" romance. It's true that they don't have as apparent a connection as the main couple with their enthusiasm for food, but they are both very sweet and kind beneath their composed (Sung-hoon) and eccentric demeanours (Young-seo).
It's also very cute that they subconsciously take on a bit of each other's strengths when they interact. Even if she wails about it in private and hilariously overdoes the "drawing a line" act, Young-seo respects Sung-hoon's wishes for distance, and she uses polite language with him (that he tends to use with others, including her), and not in a sarcastic way. And he becomes rather childishly honest when with her (the way she normally expresses herself). Who can forget the way he literally drew a line with his home slippers in his panic to keep her from seeing Tae-mu on his knees, mopping the entryway??
That said, now that we've seen many heroic rescues from Sung-hoon, I'm hoping the show will give us more moments of Young-seo transcending the damsel in distress to shine in her own way (because I know she can).
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PurpleTeapot
March 16, 2022 at 7:58 PM
Something else about Young-seo's unfortunate experience--even if the outcome was played to a comedic and romantic effect, the scene of red eyes popping up all over the toilet stall was very striking in illustrating the terrifying aftermath of being a spycam victim.
When Sung-hoon earnestly asks if she is all right, we as viewers are encouraged to identify with his deep concern and knowledge that she couldn't possibly be unshaken from such a horrifying experience.
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bbstl 🧹
March 16, 2022 at 8:28 PM
I am so glad they included her specific fear of being filmed in public bathrooms, which, unbelievably, is a real problem in SK.
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PurpleTeapot
March 16, 2022 at 9:15 PM
It's awful how omnipresent spycams can be, particularly in places that once assured privacy (the home, public restrooms).
I really appreciated the two moments that raised the question of why the two male leads were so worked up over something that didn't happen to them personally, and they simply say, "But why shouldn't we be angry at this?" It's subtle, but it makes a statement. You don't need an elaborate reason to be angry at the injustices done upon someone else, and the violations they suffer that will affect them for the rest of their lives.
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OldLawyer
March 17, 2022 at 11:09 AM
It also served to show us that both of our male leads are very decent people, who are not totally self-absorbed but actually care about these things.
ar_arguably romantic
March 17, 2022 at 4:20 PM
I'm glad Tae-mu was so angry and brought the full force of his power to put away the perpetrator - not because it affected him or his loved ones personally- but because that crime is messed up.
Young-seo's bathroom ordeal because of the trauma was really sad. I hear so much about molka issues there and the lax consequences for perpetrators...
kd6606
March 18, 2022 at 10:29 PM
Yes! I also appreciated how this traumatic experience was dealt with. They didn't just use it as a plot device. Rather, they demonstrated, very effectively, the lasting trauma that comes from such an incident. I hope they don't just let this drop, but bring Young-seo to more closure over it.
The other trope they dealt with cleverly was the Pretty Women scenes where the poor girl is trying on clothes for the rich man. I liked the metaphor of the 'slam' effect in the early episodes - the 'slamming' of the various outfits onto Ha-ri implied how insulting it is to suggest that it was her looks and fancy clothes that created her value. Then in this more recent episode, it was very clear that Ha-ri was generously humoring Tae-mu but really couldn't care less about the clothes. And one of the best lines ever was 'this costs so much but they sure were skimpy with the material'. Touche!
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PurpleTeapot
March 19, 2022 at 2:30 AM
I loved Ha-ri's sass in that line you quoted! But yes, to extend your observation, the dress that they ending up choosing (just like the role Ha-ri is trying to fill) was a literal poor fit.
And it was only after the dress (and the persona it represents) came apart (again, literally XD) that the two characters shared a genuine moment of connection.
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kd6606
March 19, 2022 at 8:21 PM
WOW, You are so right! Thanks for extending the metaphor!
27 bbstl 🧹
March 16, 2022 at 8:00 PM
The Boyfriend Bluff, an old trope has a new Official DB Name! 🥳 I think it might be my favorite, too. I was wondering how they’d fill ten (right?) more episodes but now we can have a bunch of reversing of The Fake Girlfriend. Good thing Grandpa will get what he wants by the end, however it happens.
She should totally have been upside down in that slide, though 😆
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bbstl 🧹
March 16, 2022 at 8:29 PM
Oh oops, 12 episodes!
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panshel
March 16, 2022 at 8:42 PM
Six more episodes.
I wanted a flashback that Tae-mu was the one who called Ha-ri's brother from her phone to come pick her up because he knew she wouldn't want him to take her home, but finding his drunk sister must be a regular occurrence for Ha-min.
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chibi8535
March 16, 2022 at 11:59 PM
Ugh, and also dropping off her wallet in front of her house, so she wouldn't lose face. I know for a fact all of those things happened, and that Tae-Moo really has a higher EQ than most other Chaebols... (bless him for that), but showing those little nuggets will push it from WWWSK territory into CLOY/ HCCCC.... and I don't think we're ready for that kind of thoughtful sweetness yet! :')
Can I scream I L-O-V-E how considerate Tae-Moo is? T_T
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Kurama
March 17, 2022 at 2:40 AM
It was more about the fact he didn't want her to discover he knew her real identity than being sweet...
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28 Jingbee
March 16, 2022 at 8:05 PM
This show continues to deliver! It is indeed a trope festival and yet the way they did it so hilariously funny!. Ep 6 convinced me that AHS can really act well, and his anxiety attack scene was deeply moving. Kim Se Jeong is a force to be reckoned with, I find myself giddily grinning too, everytime Hari squeals with happiness. I think I will rewatch this show everytime I need some dose of happiness.
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29 tsutsuloo
March 16, 2022 at 8:08 PM
Y'all, this show is really good for my mental health and I'm here for it!
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30 brian
March 17, 2022 at 1:42 AM
I love the boyfriend bluff, but it may entertain even better here because of how much Ha-ri actually fears Tae Mu. Oh well, it's a long time till Monday, I honestly wish I had forgotten about this show and then got to watch it when it was finished. Then again, marathoning a drama always costs me the next day due to lack of sleep, and sometimes that irritating orange light that shows up outside the blinds reminding me I've pulled an all-nighter.
It's not a perfect show but so entertaining and well plotted enough that I can't help but to beg for more!
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31 brian
March 17, 2022 at 2:32 AM
Heh, I forgot about Grandpa's favorite Drama. It must be a bit odd as an actor to say, "oh, I played an actor in a drama that they were watching in another drama", when asked about his resume.
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Elinor, Team Glasses team co-captain
March 17, 2022 at 11:06 AM
Ha! I've also been trying to get a glimpse of other shows on the various TVs in the background (chicken shop, bars, etc.) to see if I can spot any real shows. I recently watched "The Beauty Inside" for the first time and noticed that when the FL is watching TV, it's the opening scenes of ep. 1 of "Something in the Rain" - another JTCB drama. No one mentioned that in the episode comments for Beauty Inside, so maybe it hadn't yet been released at the time of airing?
Now all we need is for Grandpa's favorite drama to include a background TV showing another character's favorite drama, complete with white kimchi ravioli PPL ...
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32 javinne
March 17, 2022 at 2:40 AM
This show! Ohh this show!
It makes me sooooooooo happy 😅😍😊😀😀😀
I love them both. I love how calm tae moo accepted he has feelings for her, and how simple he believes she will accept him once he confesses (LOL😂). But of course, it cannot be that easy, unless we are here also for a wedding and the first grand grandson grandpa is waiting for 😅😯😝😜😋😘
Which of course, I wouldn't mind watching.
On the other hand, how nice is that this show only have petty villains and not really anybody that can endanger our OTP's "business proposal".
I hate a show with lots of villains and also lots of villains' screentime, wasting out our precious eyes with all their villain-ess 😐😑😕😠. I mean, what's wrong with going to dramaland in order to be or feel happy for a while?
Anyway, this show is like that, sooo good giving me the happy pill.
Can't wait for next Monday, Tuesday! 🙋
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panshel
March 17, 2022 at 3:55 PM
About the no villains, boy, am I glad that double-dealing Director Park from Episode 1 got fired and actually stayed away.
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33 Toodlepip
March 17, 2022 at 2:59 AM
Happy St Patrick's day everyone! @daebakgrits I ❤️ your recaps, you really capture the essence of the show, which has me grinning throughout. Both of the couples are adorable, I want to take grandpa home with me for tea, and we have some hilarious scenarios. I snorted my way through the toilet scene, I can't remember enjoying something as much in ages.
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34 PYC
March 17, 2022 at 3:18 AM
A Business Proposal is simply a bliss, period.
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35 Scottie
March 17, 2022 at 3:20 AM
Thanks for a great weecap, a perfect match to the drama in style and tone! Love everything about this drama, particularly how Grandpa's favourite soap is underlying the story as it unfolds. I have never liked tropes more than this!
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36 Tazzo
March 17, 2022 at 3:55 AM
Aaaand nobody can convince me young seo and sung hoon’s kiss wasn’t a nod to it’s okay not to be okay’s hot sizzling kiss scene between go moon young and kang tae! It has to be! Love how this drama parodies famous tropes/scenes and at the same time make it it’s own with so much endearment!!
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37 Pan cake
March 17, 2022 at 9:25 AM
I'm glad that they gave Taemu 3 hairstyles for his switch on, off and between mode which makes it more interesting otherwise, the same hairstyle in every shot does not go at all. And I must say this rom-com hits very different if we were to compare to others, totally awsome.
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Elinor, Team Glasses team co-captain
March 17, 2022 at 11:21 AM
Agree, I love how what's on his head shows what's going on in his head. AHS hasn't been at the top of my male eye-candy list, but that tousled, damp, post-tennis hair in ep. 6 could seriously make me reconsider. I might not even make him take a shower. 😈
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Elinor, Team Glasses team co-captain
March 17, 2022 at 11:30 AM
Ah, and there's a parallel, apparently post-shower scene in ep. 5. In both cases, Sung Hoon gently encourages Tae-moo to get outside his own head and see things from Ha Ri's point of view. It's telling that TM is with SH both times - TM can only "let his hair down" with him.
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currypuff
March 17, 2022 at 2:47 PM
Wow, I would not have noticed this bit about Tae Mu's hair if not for Beanies pointing out!
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ar_arguably romantic
March 17, 2022 at 4:22 PM
I dislike his CEO-mode hairstyle, so I really appreciate the variety!
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38 Elinor, Team Glasses team co-captain
March 17, 2022 at 1:21 PM
Maybe the 12-episode time crunch is motivating the writer to value efficiency the way TM does! So much is packed into a couple of minutes and a couple of lines on the beach in ep. 6. HR recalls their anniversary date and when TM asks if the work-related discussion is the only thing she remembers, she mentions the high-end shop and expensive restaurant. His rueful, reflective look says that wasn’t what he was hoping for. Awww, he wants so badly for her to see him in a new light and is disappointed she’s not there. As his gaze moves down, he says “It was like this that day, too.” We cut to a view of them from behind as he kneels to tie her shoe. (Terrific switch of both his line of sight and the camera angle to create misdirection between text and subtext.) Cut again to him gazing up at her from his knees. The sequence mirrors the lost shoe/glass-slipper incident on their anniversary date and he says, “Whether you’re Geum-hui or Ha-ri, I guess this is the same.”
In a straight reading of the scene, his lines can be seen as one continuous thought: here we go again with the shoe issues. But to him, the first line is a look back and the second is a look forward. He realizes that her experience of “that day” was the opposite of his: the new-to-her luxuries were the memorable part but it was essentially a business event and, just like today, she was oblivious to his growing feelings for her. For him, the fancy dinner was routine but the emotions were a novelty. With his second line, he’s saying “I love you, Cinderella, no matter which name you use, but you only see your boss instead of the prince who’s humbling himself before you.”
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Starafar
March 17, 2022 at 1:51 PM
You put it so well! I loved the whole beach scene, and the part you described gave me all the butterflies.
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currypuff
March 17, 2022 at 2:48 PM
Wow, Elinor, I love your insights!
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starandsky
March 17, 2022 at 10:36 PM
You write it beautifully. Love your insights!
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ladynightshade wants her own ryu sunjae
March 18, 2022 at 11:11 AM
Your attention to detail is impeccable. How you described the entire scene is deeply insightful and definitely not something I ever would’ve caught onto myself. This is why I’m so happy to have a community like this where I can see other perspectives and notice these nuances. Props to you for catching it and props to Business Proposal the drama for such intelligent writing. Your writing is excellent!
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BedeliaJane
March 18, 2022 at 9:07 PM
I soooo agree!! I'm happy with a community like this too! Discovering things that I had not noticed, reading great writing from weecapper & beanies, etc. Apparently there are various opinions on AHS's acting, and I'm glad that it hasn't escalated to fan wars.
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ladynightshade wants her own ryu sunjae
March 18, 2022 at 10:17 PM
I think we’re all having way too much fun with the show for it to ever escalate to fan wars, even with the diverse opinions on our chaebol’s acting.
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39 ar_arguably romantic
March 17, 2022 at 4:33 PM
This drama packs so much funny into an episode. Reminds me of comedy-dramas like Parks and Rec and Brooklyn 99 where the laugh-per-minute is high and the speed of the takes is very fast. The fourth-wall-breaking stuff is awesome, and I love our two female leads so much!
I liked how Sung-hoon pointed out that Tae-mu's revenge was unfair since he coerced Hari into the contract relationship. Took the thought right out of my head. I loved how Tae-mu's reaction to Sung-hoon telling him why he was at the police station, was to go there. His body was heading away from the restaurant. And upon seeing Hari, his next reaction was to bring her to her best friend who had just endured something terrible.
Sunghoon breaking open that bathroom door and shepherding Young-seo into it - thereby sparing her from peeing in her pants is perhaps one of the most heroic things I've ever seen in a kdrama.
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PurpleTeapot
March 18, 2022 at 1:01 AM
It was really important that the show tempers the rich chaebol pigtail-pulling cliche through Sung-hoon's (literal) voice of reason, since the male lead's misuse of their position of power is such a perpetual issue in chaebol guy-ordinary girl rom-coms. And "oh he just doesn't know he's in love" or "he doesn't know how to express it" don't make good excuses for the mistreatment either.
And yes again to Tae-mu's reaction after getting Sung-hoon's call! He was all in a tizzy like "What are you still doing here, your friend needs you!" I think it's a sign of kindness that he immediately registered the support that Young-seo needed in that moment. The scene was also a very natural way to make Ha-ri realise he knows her true identity.
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40 fab
March 18, 2022 at 2:29 AM
It literally took me all night to watch this episode with the lagging vpn connection, but it's totally worth it. And I'm back here to read even more comments. Is it Monday yet??
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41 Never recovered from "Start-Up"
March 18, 2022 at 9:45 AM
"BUSINESS PROPOSAL" will have a HAPPY ENDING........
RIGHT?
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42 mom2kidsdog
March 18, 2022 at 6:37 PM
@daebakgrits ... love your WeeCaps, but you totally skipped the part where Tae Moo is away on business and keeps seeing HaRi everywhere. His face when the fireworks over the Han River were showing on the TV!??!? ... good lord, the boy is so gooooone ... I almost snorted my Merlot! This show is the best!!
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43 Pan cake
March 19, 2022 at 12:16 PM
That part is awesome where he was seeing Hari everywhere on his business trip and that annoyed + confused+crying face he made not knowing what to do. LOL
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44 Dennis
December 27, 2023 at 3:58 PM
How do I find out what watches Kang Tae-Moo / Ahn Hyo-seop wears in this show?
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Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
December 27, 2023 at 4:31 PM
Watch the credits all the sponsors logos come up so it will mean identifying the watchmakers logo and checking their website. The problem will be if it’s a limited edition that is only available in some countries or if was a time limited release so it’s not on the site. Good luck on your mission.
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