Ah that scene with Yu Na breaking it off (maybe more for his sake because she still is a rich girl not dependent on this career) and then crying made me feel worse than the ML's life.

He is in a bad situation for sure but he is being treated like a child and not a grown up man by all the people surrounding him. (Sadly, he does behave like a child instead of an adult)

Sorry for being snarky: A grown up man has an entire company vowing to protect him? Why he is still sulking? Ae ya? Is he that fragile? I'm Do Bong-soon then.

I had feared that these two episodes would be about revenge and more scandals, but still hoped that the issue would be closed at least this week. Unfortunately, it will drag on until at least episode 13 and Tae-sung will be devastated, thinking that everyone betrayed him.

Up until the middle of episode 12, I would have said that I didn't believe in a (temporary) breakup between Tae-sung and Han-byeol, but after Yoo-na broke up with her colleague, I'm not so sure anymore. Because Yoo-na and Jae-hyun's relationship was always a harbinger of what would happen between Tae-sung and Han-byeol a short time later: fighting, kissing, secretly dating, .... I hope I'm wrong and it just stays a big fight.

But now for the things I enjoyed, and thankfully there were quite a few of those in episode 11.

First, there's the camping scene. Tae-sung and Han-byeol talk openly about their fears and feelings. And who would have thought Tae-sung would be so capable of self-reflection?

Poor Ji-woo, but I had to laugh hysterically when she ran into Yoo-sung in the parking garage and tried to escape by car.

Is there a bromance developing between Tae-sung and the lawyer? I'd love to see more of this!

Since my hopes that the whole drama about the antifans will be over soon have already been destroyed, I hope that at least in the last two episodes there will be sunshine again.

Although it was a tough watch and all the villains are 2-dimensional, I liked the angle of the scandal spiralling out of control and how it affects Tae-sung and puts Han-byeol in a tough spot professionally. I was expecting the hurdles to be all about insecurities dating a top star so in some ways I was pleasantly surprised…? Maybe I’m the odd one out, but I so sympathise with Tae-sung. The way the fans turned on him so quickly - I felt genuinely scared for him. Kudos for the acting. (Also 10/10 for girlfriend reassurance, man!)

I’m on the reporter /lawyer ship. And also rofl at Ho-young driving off with the windscreen wipers going!

I liked the reintroduction of Luca, because of the implication that the 'paternity scandal' (I thought Han-byeol's eye-roll made clear that the show understands the ridiculousness of this rumour) puts Tae-sung under pressure to disown Luca and so perpetuate what his mother did to him - and he has treated Luca lightly until now, really.

I thought Yoo-na and Jae-hyun's breakup was hilarious, sorry.

Also, in Ep 11 I was really glad the show faced up to Tae-sung's behaviour to Han-byeol - I mean, as Han-byeol implies, it's a feeble and unconvincing explanation, but at least one was given, unlike, say, in Hometown Cha Cha Cha.

Did Yoo-Na just do something selfless? K-Drama character development for the win!

I really hope Si-woo has some selfless solution to help her son, but my hopes aren't high.

Moral of this story: I don't know why anyone would ever want to be famous!

Tae-Sung sees himself as immature. He says so to Han-byeol at the start of episode 10--that he didn't have a chance to do what kids do. He knows he was babyish to tease the person he liked for so many years. He does need protection--he's fragile, and by agreeing to be a public person, he's putting himself at risk from the public. It's the reason the people around him are always trying to protect him. One of the weird things about this show is that Tae-Sung is smart, rich, talented and physically strong, but he's also suffering from trauma, incredibly vulnerable and liable to collapse. Remember the scene when Han-byeol smells his hair and tells him to stop freaking out that someone said his hair smells bad? He's a paradox.

I actually appreciate that the writers decided to incorporate the fact that TS knew he was acting like a child in his treated of HB all these years. He acknowledged he was petty and I found that refreshing.

I so so wish I could still see a bit of chemistry between the two leads though. Ugh! Am I the only one? They are just pretty people sharing a screen to me. Much like my dismay in Hometown Chachacha

I want to go live at that camping site, so beautiful 🏖

Loved the cameo by Lee Sang-yub! I’m also shipping the lawyer and reporter and the Tae-sung-lawyer bromance.Good thing the lawyer doesn’t work past 6 pm! He’s suddenly got a busy social life. But seriously, I like the advice he gave Tae-sung about anti-fans: the worst thing they do is cause anxiety. The anti-fans plant seeds of doubt and insecurities and that is the worst.
While I don’t care for this anti-fan/crazy netizen storyline, it’s probably reflective of a celebrity’s real life. Fame usually comes with a price. But as others have stated, I hope they wrap it up soon - including the mama drama - and get back to the romcom. I was really beginning to enjoy the blossoming romance between Tae-sung and Han-byeol.
The one thing I did not appreciate this week was Tae-sung’s snarky, “You’re a great liar. Maybe it’s because you’re a lawyer.” Et tu, Tae-sung?

Thank,you @unit for your rapid recap. As has been the case throughout these episodes I agree with your assessment. Just as previous episodes were a lot of fun, so episode 12 overloaded on the negative. But I kind of knew that would be the case. The epilogue was exactly what I was worried about.

As I wrote last week, why bring in the revenge sub-plot when you already had Internet anti-fans and the Mom-traum? I'd just like to give the writer a good talking to! What were you thinking, that this is some sort of artistic cinematic drama with 3 siblings stuck in dead end jobs having to commute to Seoul? Stick with the fun!

In my opinion, too much time spent on these subplots are undermining chances to develop the lead relationship further. I actually do think there is some chemistry between the leads--the camping scene was great. But that was one of the few scenes (except for the hospital) where they were depicted together.

On the bright side, there still were some fun scenes in episode 11. I liked the development of Soo-Hyuk and Ki-bbeum's relationship. I hope there is a lot more of that! And actually, I also like the love triangle involving Ho-Young. I found the role assigned to the underwear model (sadly) amusing.

And finally, I'm glad that they dealt a little bit with the "Africa" tone-deafness of the first episode, by having the hateful editor try to push a related racist story onto Ki-bbeum, and then him calling her a "social justice warrior" when she objected. (Far right-wingers in the U.S. always phrase to attack well-meaning people). It shows some awareness, at least!

Thanks @unit for a great recap. I am not happy with the dark side stories either, we could have had enough drama with the main couple maintaining their relationship in the midst of busyness and lack of privacy, and the usual agency drama. Even if the writer felt the need to add one drama like the death of a friend or the mum abandonment that would have been enough and left space for the rom com elements. Not sure why they decided to go all out with nasty characters on all fronts.

My favourite scene was the beach scene when he said she would be his first and last love. I am hopeful this will play out to the last episode despite the challenges they are facing.

What happened to my frothy rom com? Bring it back please! I need TS to haul himself out of his mom issues and look at the bigger picture and how this is affecting the people around him. Enjoying Lawyer Do and KB, I hope they pair up those two.
I feel sorry for YS, but hopefully it'll bring him closer to HY.
Finally, I was surprised at Yu Na, taking one for the team, there's character growth!😄

Jin Ki Joo cameo ♥

Can my ship sail already? The show is about to end! Yu Sung and Ho Young are perfect for each other, why aren't they together?

Tae Sung telling Yu Sung he's like any other manager was awful. He has no right to treat my boy like that! Tae Sung's such an ungrateful kid. He better apologize.

Watching Si Woo preparing to talk at the press conference, I cried silently with Tae Sung... Ottokke.., it must've been hard for him...

This drama made me wonder if maintaining one star is this hard, imagine how hard it is for an agency to take care of 7 or more idols in the kpop world. There are so many untold stories and wounds that we as the public didn't know... Omo, it's a hard life for them... I prayed all the best for them...

I agree with Unit- a little too much melodrama this week and not enough romance and comedy.

Exception: Our lawyer and our favorite reporter make such a great couple. I am cheering for them.