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Good Partner: Episodes 6-7

What does it mean to be a parent and to do right by your children? Multiple custody cases this week offer insight into the complexities of being a parent and how children can become collateral damage in a divorce. Now that our ace attorney faces her own custody battle, she finds herself in the unenviable position of seeing it all firsthand. However, being forced to examine her own parenting gives her a new perspective and offers a chance for a stronger relationship with her daughter if she’s willing to put in the effort.

 
EPISODES 6-7

We start off the week with two custody cases on opposite ends of the spectrum. While Eun-kyung and Ji-sang fight to be the primary parent with custody, another set of parents fight to foist custody on the other. Yuri, and the judge, are aghast at these two parents enumerating their own faults to free themselves from raising their children. But when Eun-kyung and Yuri take the mother on as a client, we see it’s not that simple.

This case presents a nuanced look at motherhood, and parenthood in general, and the difficulty of having your individual identity replaced with that of “parent.” We have an unsupported, depressed mother with no family and a husband who barely seems to acknowledge he has children – she’s not unloving, but motherhood is an unwanted burden she’s unequipped to carry.

Surprisingly, we do get a happyish ending to the case with the parents both stepping up once they’re divorced. As the father gets custody and cares for his children for the first time, he learns to be a real father. Meanwhile, the mother has the time and space to prioritize her mental health and reclaim her sense of self, which makes her a better mother.

One thing I appreciate about this show is that it doesn’t take the simple route of establishing villains and heroes in every relationship. People and relationships are messy, and while in some cases there are villains, most of the time, no one’s hands are clean. It’s all a matter of degrees.

Yuri still struggles with all the ambiguity, possibly due to how clear-cut her own parents’ divorce case was. Her father cheated and later married a greedy woman without scruples, unabashedly abandoning Yuri and her mother. Yuri sees the world in black and white, and she holds a grudge. She even got her father and mistress fired by protesting at their work about their affair. Now, her greedy stepmom is coming to collect.

She shows up at Yuri’s work to meet with Eun-kyung… who was her and Yuri’s father’s lawyer all those years ago. The woman brings a document, claiming it’s her late husband’s will bequeathing the house to her – she wants Yuri and her mother ousted. She then makes the mistake of trying to threaten Eun-kyung into firing Yuri.

Instead, Eun-kyung secretly visits Yuri’s mom and helps her push back against the stepmom who has been blackmailing Yuri’s mom. She and Yuri’s mom may never be able to fully understand each other, but Eun-kyung now knows what it’s like to be cheated on and want to protect her daughter amid a messy divorce.

When Eun-kyung does a legal takedown of the stepmom and tells her to get lost, she calls Yuri in as a witness. Yuri is touched by the show of loyalty – and thrilled to see her stepmom thrown out – and surprises Eun-kyung by thanking her for getting her dad to divorce her mom. She never wanted her mom to be stuck in a marriage that made her unhappy.

I like that we get a gender flip in Jae-hee’s custody case with Eun-kyung in the stereotypical father position as a breadwinner who thought providing for her child financially was enough. Now, she’s not so sure, and she might pay a high price for her absence at home. Jae-hee is old enough to have a say in who she wants to live with, so custody rides on what she tells the court investigators. Eun-kyung knows Jae-hee has a closer relationship with her father – it wouldn’t be surprising for Jae-hee to pick him.

Jae-hee is almost too mature and self-sufficient for her age, keeping her pain inside while appearing stoic. What truly breaks Eun-kyung’s heart is when she sees how much her absence has hurt Jae-hee who feels abandoned. She assumes Eun-kyung doesn’t want custody of her since she’s never been around anyway or been interested in being a good mom. Oof.

Thankfully, Jae-hee does open up to someone: Yuri. Jae-hee is observant enough to put together that her father cheated with Sara (who she’s close to and treats like an aunt), leaving her conflicted. Yuri shares her own history with a cheating father and divorced parents, encouraging Jae-hee to think only of herself right now rather than fearing hurting one of her parents by choosing the other.

The silver lining is that, like in the earlier custody case, all this has made Eun-kyung step up and be more present for Jae-hee. She makes her breakfast every morning, sends her classmates snacks, and comes home a bit earlier to chat with her. It’s amazing how just showing up makes such a difference to Jae-hee who lights up around her mom for the first time. It might be late, but they’re finally building a relationship.

I’m conflicted about the custody situation because while Ji-sang is clearly in the wrong as a husband and has shown less than stellar personal character, even Eun-kyung doesn’t deny he’s been the primary parent for Jae-hee. From what we’ve seen, Jae-hee is more comfortable with him, relies on him more, and feels more loved by him. The fact that Jae-hee assumed her mother wouldn’t even want her speaks volumes. If Eun-kyung wants to start being the primary parent, she needs to earn Jae-hee’s trust and show this newfound interest in her daughter’s life is here to stay.

I’d also be concerned about Sara’s role in Jae-hee’s life, but it’s clear that won’t be a problem. Sara’s dreams come crumbling down around her when she gets fired for violating the company’s policies due to her relationship with Ji-sang. Then, she’s stunned when Ji-sang has no plans to let her live with him and Jae-hee if he gets custody. When she cries and berates him for only caring about Jae-hee, he breaks up with her on the spot. The cold way he treats her, even telling her to “know her place,” is enough to almost make you feel sorry for Sara.

I’d love to say that’s the last we’ll see of her, but we end the week on a dramatic revelation: Sara is pregnant. I imagine there’s no getting rid of her now. This is going to be so messy. She seems like the type to think she can use a baby to cajole Ji-sang into staying, as if he’s not currently divorcing the mother of his first child. He’s shown his true colors and made it clear he does not view Sara as a true partner, so why she would even want him still is a mystery to me.

If she indeed does try to hold onto him, I think it’ll be less about him and more about winning, especially if it means one upping Eun-kyung. Sara strangely seems to view Eun-kyung as competition, despite not even being a lawyer. She’s clearly jealous of Eun-kyung’s success, skill, and the level of respect she’s earned. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s why she involved herself with Ji-sang in the first place. Maybe she’ll surprise me and choose not to use her future child as a weapon, but based on her actions thus far, I’m not holding my breath.

 
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These two episodes. Phew.

The first case with that poor woman. I think it was a great way to highlight that no one can do anything alone and it is ridiculous to require it. She had all my empathy. My only criticism, was the ending where the father steps up is a rarity. The usual case is the one parent still ends up doing all the raising, usually the mother.

The second case. SMH, Audacity thy name is mistress. What a trash woman. I am glad that was resolved. I also appreciate that Eun Kyung didn't apologize for doing her job. She is a lawyer, she defends her clients. That is her only job. Even though she empathized and felt Yu Ri's mom's pain, she still would have done her job.

As for Sa Ra, what did she think would happen? Ji Sang is a TERRIBLE partner. She actually thought he would pick her over his child. Fool woman.He should stay single and have custody of his kids. Awful man. He seems to be a good dad, so he should just be a dad.

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Awful man indeed.

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A stupid man... I get that there could be a thrill in cheating with someone close to your spouse but doing that with someone that works in the same office as your DIVORCE ATTORNEY spouse??! That's another level of dumb.

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Some old-school dramas have been known to solve the "child born to a lover who isn't particularly maternal and to whom the man is not committed" issue by having the mother simply abandon the child at the father's/father's family's doorstep...I'm thinking about a drama that is truly called Liver or Die in English (original title more like "What’s Wrong, Poong Sang?").

Somehow, I don't think that where we're going here. No matter what, though, if young Kim Jae-hee thought her life was now topsy-turvy because of her parents' divorce...she ain't seen nothing yet. My heart is pre-crushed thinking about what this excellent, excellent writer is going to do to portray what that young woman is about to experience as her father finds out he has another child.

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I have this weird feeling that Eun-Kyung is going to represent Sara when Sara sues Ji-sang for child support. Meanwhile, Jae-hee's choice will be made easy, because she'll realize that its far better to have your lawyer Mom on your side than have her suing you.

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You're right, her struggle and pain is truly just beginning 😭 It will be hard to watch. I don't like the "mature" for her age label she has adopted. It doesn't matter that she had to grow up quickly, she's still a child and shouldn't be expected to be making these decisions like an adult.

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If I understood the mother's distress with her kids, I just felt really sad for these kids whose parents were fighting to not get them... I don't even understand how they can say that to a Judge and still have the custody.

For the mistress's case, if Eun-Kyung did her job in the past, in the present she was not professional by playing both sides. She should have told she won't take this case and won't have any interaction with the mother and the mistress after that. But I enjoyed Eun-Kyung with the mistress.

I was happy that Ji-Sang chose his daughter without hesitating. I think Sa-Ra and their affair were only a part of the problem in the marriage. Sa-Ra wants what Eun-Kyung has, the career and the husband. And she ended with a child instead. It will be a big mess!

So Nam Ji-Hyun acted with Ji Chang-Wook, Seo In-Guk or Lee Joon-Hyuk why she had to act with PO? In this cast, he appears even worse than usual...

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I was just as baffled by (yet sympathetic to) those parents. I don't know that you can ever be prepared to be a parent but those two didn't give me any confidence at all that they had even considered the question in the first place!

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Of course he would choose his daughter over another grown up. But he has one baby coming up - I don't expect the writers to suggest abotion as the best solution, and besdides, Sa-Ra, apart from the scheming, actually looked like she was happy to be expecting.
That other child is his, too. To ignore that and shout at Sa-Ra whom he impregnated ... that is not adorable at all.

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This part wasn't in the episode 6 and 7.

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Sorry!

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Funny how I watched a movie where the exact same conversation Ji-sang and Sara had played out and I was totally pissed at the father for uttering such. Still, I'm unbothered when Ji-sang said same here. Unlike Sara, the widowed father in the movie told his woman off for wanting to be intentionally included in raising his child, more like a mom and less of a nanny. Hence he told her to "know her place."

Sara totally went far when it became clear to me that she was trying to sabotage Ji-sang getting custody of Jae-hee. I want to believe Ji-sang will maintain his stance from last week and make some put-your-foot-down choices next week.

The poor woman from episode had my total sympathy. I liked that this aspect of parenting and sense of self is mentioned and contrasted side by side.

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It was so clear in these episodes that Ji sang and Sa ra hadn't talked much about a "real" future. It's al well and good to be having fun in the bedroom in secret but once real life comes in, the illusion cracks. They deserve whatever is coming at them.

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Ji Sang definitely saw through Sa Ra's bullshit and hopefully continues to be a committed dad. It's the only thing he's apparently good at, since he's a shitty human otherwise.

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Sa-Ra has behaved really sh*tty. However, she didn't get pregnant alone. I am not enthused at all, and he should know his place, too. He could be angry with her (very!) for behaving like she did towards Jae-hee, but also, she is right when she says the parents ought to tell Jae-hee stuff. It seems that if JAe-hee didn't feel disloyal for it, she might actually like Sa-Ra. The more honest grown-up - to her, at least - and the one who has been there to fetch her sometimes when none of her parents had the time.

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Thank you for the weecap, @quirkycase! I sympathize with the depressed mom who was overwhelmed with taking care of her kids. I, too, lost myself while I was raising mine. I became my son's mom, my husband's wife - I truly lost most of my friends because I was busy taking care of my family. Ji-sang wanting custody of Jae-hee is commendable, however, making her live with the mistress on the side is the lowest he could get. I'm very glad Yu-ri talked to Jae-hee about life after divorce.

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He's not making her live with the mistress on the side. I am sure he specifically got that apartment for him and his daughter's time together.

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It is incredibly hard work raising children and at the same time maintaining a separate self (identity), I hear you.

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My one concern with these developments in the last several episodes, is that the show is still too close to blaming "the other woman" or the "neglectful wife" for the husbands' philandering. The primary responsibility to either pursue the affair or not give into temptation lies with the betrayer--and yet of course its the other woman who is regarded as the home wrecker.

Fortunately, I thought the exceptionally cruel "promoted to finally get an office then get immediately fired" moment was treated with some poignancy, as you got a sense that Sara, coming from a poorer background and dreaming of a successful life could have easily been seduced by the wealthy doctor. And also, Ji-sang has, in my opinion, shown himself to be such a terrible person that the blame for the affair has swung a little away from just being Sara's fault.

Anyway, its not that the point that it takes two to tango is lost on this show, its just that I feel residual attitudes of women's responsibility are still too much present, for example in Yuri’s criticism of the poor woman exhausted as a single mother wanting to give up her children. (While I appreciated the show's solution to force the man to assume some responsibility, I was a little skeptical when it showed child raising clearing up his problem with alcohol. I would have been gratified if someone had said, "I sure wish the state provided free child care for women in these situations”, making the argument for institutionalized child care!)

I have somewhat the same concern about assigning guilt to women for Eun-kyung’s neglect of Jae-hee. It was a mistake, no doubt, but she realized it (and not so late in child’s life—still the entire formative teenage years to play a role )So I hope the show does not punish Eunkyung’s neglect by removing Jae hee from her custody, while rewarding Ji Sang just because he spent more time with their daughter, even though he’s a horrible guy.

Of course, right now Ji Sang is something of a mystery, especially since we discovered in these episodes that Eun-kyung only knew him for a few months before marrying him. I think whether we should side with Ji Sang as a "good dad" because he “compensated” for Eun-kyung’s neglect by cooking breakfast for Jae-hee and was there at night when she went to bed will be revealed in later episodes. Right now, I'm not convinced!

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One other small issue I have with the episodes so far (and I want to make clear, I generally like them, and I love the two FLs--both Jang Nara and Nam Ji-hyun are excellent in these roles)--the show is awfully sanguine about the success of the divorce cases in general. Every case, even the one involving Yuri's Mom which is ruthlessly pushed by the young Eun-kyung, works out for the best (better to have her divorced than trapped in an unhappy marriage). I too think in real life, in an unhappy marriage, better to divorce than to keep torturing each other--but I wouldn't say every divorce in the end is a just one. Plus, there is the perennial problem of the main bread winner, usually the Dad, refusing to pay court mandated child support. So while I'm willing to buy into a sunshiny view of divorce as a legal procedure, given that the two heroines are divorce lawyers, it strikes me as a bit panglossian in its positive view of clearcut legal solutions reached in cases involving messy and complex personal affairs.

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We can take, as an example, those school friends who gave up custody of their children to their cheating spouses. In series everything worked out best because school mates got the money and later the cheaters got bored with kids and dumped them on responsible parents nonetheless.

However, what is more likely is that the rich guy would just have hired a bunch of nannies and school mates would never have seen their kids again, at least until kids are adults. That rich guy clearly wanted kids to prove that he & his mistress had won - why would he later admit defeat and give up the kids? Even if it gets difficult to look after the kids, he has money to hire 20 nannies if he so chooses.

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Ah! Good point: "right now Ji Sang is something of a mystery, especially since we discovered in these episodes that Eun-kyung only knew him for a few months before marrying him." We also saw a flashback about him losing his job because he stopped working as many hours. There's a lot going on here and I am looking forward to the gradual reveal.

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Exactly this! Well said.

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I don't like him. And he is going to have two children soon, while he pretends to only have one. I hate that.
But as for Jae-hee: Being there counts for a lot, I think.
And I do think that Eun-kyung totally failed to prioritise her daughter even a little bit. As I recall she wasn't there even for special days. And though she felt she bonded when she smiled at the sleeping child, I am not sure Jae-hee felt that.
Then again, hammering Sa-Ra against the frosted sliding doors the moment Jae-hee closed her eyes was just ... NOT okay.

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@quirkycase Thank you for the recap. Ep 7's twist was unexpected and I think it will lead to the reveal of the real intention behind Ji Sang and Sa Ra's affair. Jealouwy and loneliness as root cause would be cliche, but if the execution and writing is strong it would be interesting otherwise I felt no sympathy for Sara in her flashback scene. She worked hard but threw away everything for a lousy guh. Tssk

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It's sad, self-inflicted *and* also societal pressure. She wanted the marriage/love (whatever it is Jisang was giving her) plus her job and she was willing to pay whatever price to get. But all actions have a reaction so...here we are.

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I felt like the show had gone from still a little iffy to hitting its stride this week. I think my favorite parts were Yu-ri's one on one scenes, especially the one with Jae-hee. I also liked her one on one with her mom at the fancy tea place, but really all the scenes where her character is one-on-one were better. I think because the writers wanted to show her growth as a person.

The other piece that felt sad to me was the relationship between Sa Ra and Eun Kyung. We had a flash back to Eun Kyung knowing about Sa Ra's dream of being a manager in the firm. Even though Eun Kyung winds up firing her, she seems really reluctant and sad about it. Like she lost her work friend because of the affair. She had said as much in an earlier episode, but in the end it was Woo-jin the work husband (not) who forced the issue and the firing.

She spent more time with Sa-ra and Sa-ra was easier to get along with than Ji Sang. Sa-ra is definitely behaving a lot worse toward Eun Kyung than Ji Sang is. All in all, a very big betrayal that Eun Kyung is trying hard to be as fair as she can about for the sake of work!

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I agree. I, too, felt Eun-kyung's hesitation and a hint of (former?) respect and admiration for Sara. I'm curious to see what the writers have in store for that relationship...if we'll get a redemption arc of some kind. But yes, big betrayal for sure.

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Agreee! Eun Kyung had a double dose of betrayal, with her husband and her work wife, they've worked together for 10 years, so I applaud Eun Kyung for still being professional and giving her full marks for Sa Ra's assessment despite this mess.

I think this episode is about growth and consequences, and how the perspectives change with growth. From Eun Kyung, Yuri, and even Sara, I can't wait to see what's in store.

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I do think that work wife is the right description for Eun Kyung's relationship with Sa ra. Her other coworker had a crush on her, but she didn't even notice. He thought it was because he was sneaky and stoic, but even Yu-ri noticed it! Whereas she was really invested in Sa-ra's success. She didn't want her to stop working there! Some serious sismance vibes there.

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The first case reminded me of Eric Trump.....its well documented that his dad didn't care and his mom used him as a leverage. Regardless of what they are now, that was a traumatic childhood. As for Ji Sang and Sara. I don't get Ji Sang. Like his feelings for Sara are surface level so why make this mess instead of going out of the marriage in an unfussy way. Also, Sara is too dumb in some aspects which seems weird. Like you had affair with one of your boss's husband and then you tried to slander the other boss who happens to be the nephew of the law firm owner. How was she expecting to keep her job?

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Very messy all round, isn't it? But then are people really thinking of ramifications when they are having affairs? I think something else takes center stage up until the rose coloured glasses are taken off and reality hits again.

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I think Sara was jusg too consumed not to be the rumor topic that she is too willing to throw someone else under the bus regardless of the consequences. That scene when she got her promotìon and got fired seconds later is too satisfying. I can't believe she thought she could get rewarded for her bs behavior.

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I think she had been prepared to be fired earlier, but as she kept her job, she started feeling secure again in it. I can understand that.

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Thank you @quirkycase for the recap!

No one is perfect in this show, but some are making more of an effort than others. Ji sang is the worst of men in my opinion. He wanted to have his cake and eat it too. When you take away all the fluff, privilege, power and hierarchies make for deluded fools. Maybe he has a reason for behaving this way. Let's hear it and we will weigh it too. For now, he should just go sit in a corner and meditate on his wayward ways (assuming he even recognises his mistake).

I especially despise how his actions have sown discord between two women who could have been colleagues and supporters of each other's work and ambition. It's clear Eun-kyung recognised and maybe even admired those qualities in Sara. In a way, I felt sorry for Sara. In addition to her own faulty reasoning, she also seems like a victim of societal pressure. It's not normal to be inundated by messaging that pretty much socialises women to do just about anything to "get" a man (and achieve that commercialised happy ending). Even if they have to trample other people in the process. The irony is that women are demonised for this alot more than men are for the same infraction in real life or fiction. *smh*

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I finally got around to starting this drama and getting caught up to the latest episodes. I love this show and my favorite is the friendship between our 2 FLs. I enjoyed every episode and hw much heart is put into every case especiallt the custody cases in this two episodes.
About Sara, I think she will use the baby to dig her claws deeper to Ji Sang. She has acted on every mistressy actions thus far so I know that smile is not a happy-new-mother smile. Its a I-finally-have-a-bigger-reason-to-coerce-marriage-and-win. As if Ji Sang is a prize but if she wins they will be miserable together and that is okay.

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thank you for the recap @quirkycase! I binge-watched and now I'm all caught up but now I have to waitttt. I'm really enjoying the show and the cases that can have all sorts of endings. Life doesn't end after the divorce or the court case, there is no specifically a happy or sad ending, there are shades of grey, just like life is.

Yuri has been learning that it's not one or the other, and she shouldn't force her ideals or opinions onto her clients, it was my peeve with her the first few episodes, she's judged her clients based on her morals when a lawyer should be unbiased and make her case based on her client's requests. She'll grow to be a very good lawyer learning from Eun Kyung, in fact I think they're more alike than they think.

I was surprised when Yuri thanked Eun Kyung for helping her mom divorce. It's a great way to get that resolved, and both women got a little closer with that exchange and understood each other a little more.

Eun Kyung remains my favourite character, she was so cool and a much better person than I thought haha, I thought she'd gotten Sara fired but it was actually Woo Jin. It's so easy to be unprofessional and personal but she actually gave Sara full marks for her assessment. I wouldn't be surprised if the affair stems from Sara's jealousy and rivalry from trying to be better than Eun Kyung. If it was, I sure hope Sara comes to her senses and at least apologize to Eun Kyung. She was her work wife for 10 years for goodness sake. It's a double betrayal so I love Eun Kyung even more for staying so professional.
Ohhhh and she totally reminded me of So Ji Sub's Go Jio(?) in The Master's Sun with the mistress smackdown. I wanna be like Eun Kyung so I understand why Woo Jin is smitten. Jang Nara continues to slay with her awesomeness. It's also her big doe eyes, when she's with Jae Hee and the expressions, I get emotional along with her.

Ji Sang is a terrible person, the only thing he's good at is prioritizing Jae Hee. While Sara is an idiot who thinks she can get away with scandalising her boss and the 'nephew' of the law firm owner? I hope she realise Ji Sang isn't her happy ending and what she gave up in exchange. She seemed to have a satisfying and well paid job that she was happy at, why give that up for an affair, with your boss's husband to boot? She ain't no Ariel and Ji Sang ain't no Eric either, there's no real love there girl.

p.s sorry PO I still find you a sorry excuse of a distraction

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Sa-ra as the actual "Work Wife" 😏 Good one...

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haha, I kinda wished they had showed more of Eun Kyung and Sara working together so we can see more of Sara's motivations and their work relationship. Though we may be able to get more details as we move on, I have faith in the writer, she's got me investedddd

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