This drama is like the holiday present we all deserved this year. I don't care if it falls apart (it will), I don't care that it doesn't actually make any sense (it doesn't)...I'm here, apparently with the rest of the internet, glued to my screen, giggling with glee, happy to simply have a bit of fun with a drama.

Bravo, folks.

Thanks @mistyisles for this recap as tasty as this deliciously over-the-top drama.

I just know the Slack group chats must be popping off over at the Presidential Spokesperson's Office. Like, the workplace gossip must be something else... Every time the (married) boss keeps hitting on the pretty new hire and all the skinship & shy glances 🔥 their coworkers must never be bored, always something new to talk about.

These two episodes weren't as intense as the previous ones, but they were still very gripping and entertaining.

Again the phone calls were the highlight, including of course their first conversation after Baek Sa-eon finally finds out that his wife is 406. While he may have been angry and disappointed before, this conversation makes him determined to show Hong Hee-joo how he feels about her. As he is unable to communicate his feelings directly, these phone calls are the perfect means of communication for the two of them. He is too traumatised to talk about his feelings, she is too blocked to talk at all. I really hope we continue to see at least one of their phone calls every episode. Even though it's very implausible that Hong Hee-joo still believes that she hasn't been exposed, I absolutely don't care.
That's why I completely overlook the fact that Hong Hee-joo was able to survive that fall. Just like I didn't bother to think about why a bomb that sets off a big fire hardly causes any physical damage. I like how the makers are so convinced that the overall package of the drama is so good that they don't let little things like that stop them.

One of the best scenes was the one in which Baek Sa-eon learns sign language for the first time, even though it's at least three years too late (and no sooner has he decided to do so than he's already learnt the alphabet). Even though he knows his wife can speak, he finally makes the effort to learn how to communicate with her at her level.  However, I still think he already has some basic knowledge of sign language, as you can see in one of the flashbacks. Understanding it doesn't mean you can use it, of course.

Incidentally, Mini-Baek Sa-eon seems to have been a tsundere from a young age, which is hardly surprising given his family history. And now we also know why his screen background is a sunset.

I can always watch a jealous Baek Sa-eon, for example the bus scene. Or how he's once again the jealous party pooper at dinner.
During the team building competition I could hardly watch while laughing madly, I knew he was going to make a terrible fool of himself.

I'm not really a fan of accidental kisses, so I wasn't too keen on the ending of episode 5, but the epilogue of episode 6 made up for it.

My wish for Hee-joo is that she can fulfil her dream and work as a newscaster. And hopefully they move out of this sterile appartment and find something more cosy.

The end of ep 6 oh my gosh. Nonsensical situation, yes. But CSB and YYS nailed it. Even my dog was concerned and convinced we needed to help these people in the TV

This show is often ridiculous, as any mystery thriller makjang romcom should be, and I'm loving it. It shines (whenever Im Chul-soo is on screen) anytime we get to focus on these two who both have such messed up lives thanks to their even more messed up families and who get a chance to finally have their first honest conversations and get closer after they've totally been diggin' on each other for years, all because of a kidnapper, and now they have this slow-burn, burner phone romance going on. What even. It's awesome.

Too many good moments, but I always love when the phonecall scenes shift to them being in the same room. Sa-eon's petty jealousy was actually pretty funny too, flinging the coffee can away so he could give Hee-joo the juice from that OTT love heart lunch truck.

This ended on a cliff hanger, I am so glad we will get both episodes next weekend. This drama is such a mess, lol, but I love it so much. The melodrama is so extra. That being said, it seems Sa Eon is one of the missing boys, I wonder if my favorite secretary, Kang Young Woo is bad guy. Secretary Park seems too young. Also, it would be nice if this drama gave us a little bit of romance and a proper kiss, both thise actors can do better. I am still loving it though.

Thank you for the recap. 📳🤳
🔥🔥🔥

Ah! The accidentally landing on each other knocking our teeth out kiss trope is back!! Along with the heart shaped lunch, the jealous ML peering over to read the messages on the FL's phone and the FL on the ledge. Now all we need is the ML to jump off the helicopter.

Bring it ALL on folks. We are lapping it up. 😊❤🥰🥳

This show continues to be my happy pill in the darkness of the Northern Hemisphere winter. I feel the FEELS, and I am obsessed with the happiness and escape it gives me!

Couple of things (among many, MANY others) I adored:

- I didn't realize we'd be treated to "foursome" dinner, Part 2. The sound of that wine that Yu-ri pours in tense silence was laugh-out-loud for me. It also illustrates further that our Sa-eon doesn't back down from a fight (even if his wife is frustrated with him) with a potential romantic rival (or a potential kidnapper/family accomplice) and "bulldozes" his perfectionist goal to the very end. I don't know why I find this trait of our ML so hilarious AND adorable.

- I know people will be complaining about this – oh Sa-eon is sooo smart, he should’ve figured everything out on the rooftop! But realization and acceptance are 2 different things. It’s like finding out your spouse cheats – your head knows that all the clues and cold hard facts point to that, but your heart struggles to the accept the harsh truth. So the (looong) process of Sa-eon to double and triple check to ensure that his own wife is the caller and (possibly) in cahoots with a kidnapper was necessary for him to come to terms with the reality. It was a very convincing process I saw on the screen. And so heart-wrenching!

- Another complaint people will have: we got the tropes galore in episodes 5 and 6 (childhood connection, piggyback ride, hike accident, falling-into-accidental-kiss, etc.) But, you know what, they ALL felt appropriate, and it all worked magnificently. It was like eating your favorite soul ramen, but it was prepared by a chef. These tropes didn’t feel like cop-outs to avoid laboring over creativity in writing. Every trope had a logical purpose and was weaved seamlessly into the narrative. For example, the childhood dog incident illustrated how scared and psychologically damaged our heroine was to refuse to even utter the sound. The accidental kiss was there to build up surprise for our Sa-eon to finally admit he likes her in the epilogue. The hike accident was (thankfully!) no-Jirisan moment: it illustrated our ML’s resourcefulness and perfectionist tendencies (how refreshing they actually had a medical kit and a flare gun!) and how strong and determined our FL was.

- Speaking of our Hee-joo, LOVED that they keep presenting her as a physically strong (they way she hiked!), determined and stubborn. Her refusal to speak even with those people who KNOW of her secret is her form of asserting her freedom from the people who forced that upon her, her own way of saying to them, fvck you, I am in CONTROL of when and how I start speaking. She revealed as much to her sister, and I think at that point I seriously fell in love with that character. (That devilish spark in her eyes when she refuses to tell Sa-eon about the full truth of their accidental kiss and her serious jumping-rope skills don’t help my love fever case either...

They totally teased a ML shower scene in the end of credits preview. Are y'all ready?

The jump rope sesh and the 3 legged race were just a bit too rom-com compared to the drama's usual intense, smoldering vibe so I was mighty pleased things came back to being dramatic and desperate in the end.
😂😅

I loved it when Hee Joo saved Sa Eon in that dramatic leap and dive on the street. It was so funny when he commented on her strength after and how it was enough to knock him over. Heh.

The sign language tutoring scenes were also great! Getting a little closer.

The drama dragged that Sa Eon was still in denial about Hee Joo = "kidnapper" after the growing evidence, but thankfully made it clear in Ep 6. It shouldn't be dragged out any longer.

So much fun!! I am loving this new version of Sa-Eon. How did he even contain himself for 3 years. I laughed, I swooned and laughed so hard at the ridiculousness of the trip fall and drone scene. But YYS was so good in that scene - he conveyed the helplessness and desperation so well.
So many logic holes but who cares when it’s so deliciously fun!!

Who knew a 😍 can topple Paik Sa-Eon!!
And him asking for a couple pictures and making hearts. Awwww. He is going to make it his screen saver right?? Secretly :)

I especially loved the conversation with the elder sister. I liked how Hae Joo signed her frustration and anger and said that she decides when she will talk. I really loved that scene. Not sure if sister knows sign language but she got the message that HJ is pissed.
I can’t wait for her to regain her voice and her life!!

I really care little for the orphanage and killer plot.

Is it Friday yet??

As someone who enjoys hiking, I was impressed by the realistic preparations that Sa-eon made for Hee-joo. Every experienced hiker I know, when doing a short, really popular several hour day hike with a lot of people around, makes sure to carry a flare in their backpack. Its the minimum safety precaution you can make, because of course a gps emergency locator, which some experienced but ridiculously paranoid hikers would foolishly pack instead, can malfunction--whereas its always easy to light a flare.

Plus, a flare is really useful when you've fallen off a cliff edge onto a ledge right below the cliff in front of a dozen people, because it can identify that you fell straight down and are likely lying under the cliff edge, rather than falling at a 45-60 degree angle that would put you a mile away, which is what often happens.

I must admit, though, one aspect of this fall that really bothered me because it was so blatantly fantasy. When you fall like that off a cliff in Korea, you always plunge into endless depths of water, with your body sinking downward. And of course, at that point in this show, Sa-eon would have dived after her, and there would have been an underwater shot of him breaststroking after her to bring her to the surface. That is the only realistic way to build a relationship via an accident!

Hee-joo is the Little Mermaid rendered mute by her witch mother until she will turn into sea foam. Sa-eon is the Prince who can save her by loving her.

I understand why she dislikes the Little Mermaid spectacle.

Sa-eon had so many things to assimilate and to handle! She can speak (she spoke his name when she didn't scream over the dog), she's behind the calls except the first one, she sends him ambiguous emoticon, she teases him with what happened when he was drunk, she just sleeps on him on the floor.

Korea search and rescue is hilariously incompetent.
I mean, she fell straight down. It's not like there is a 20 mile radius search zone. It's a 20 ft radius search zone. Should I buy them glasses? Those drone were over the top.
I'm happily switching on and off my brain at the appropriate moments.

Deliciously overdramatic indeed but who cares I'm all for it. I've seen the last scene several times and were YYS and CSB good in it. But I especially liked YYS and really wish Ji Chang Wook will get a role like this some day because the only person I think who can give deliver the kind of angst, fear and love similar to what YYS did is probably him.

My friends and I felt that the episode 6 seemed to last an eternity. When we had only watched the first half we thought we were near the ending, but no!

After each episode we talk about the mysteries, which is what keeps us watching the show (and Im Chul Soo). We think that there are at least five "baddies" (the four disappeared children + the real son, probably the psychopath child in the mask).
The first kidnapper must be the child who loved playing with cars (according to what the SML remembers)
There is another who liked marbles and was very competitive and another one who was a troublemaker. I'm trying to figure out who is who.

Logically, she was pushed by Park Do Jae. But I'm not sure how far logic is supposed to get us in this. We are operating in an alternate world where people who are pushed off cliffs enter wormholes that teleport them a random distance away.
In a world like that, thinking too hard about the mystery is obviously a mistake. I should expect it to hang together loosely, at best. But...
Sa-Eon is one of the missing orphans, but which one? I think they did not show us a picture of the labeled the 'trouble maker'.
Do-Jae could be one half of the identical twins, who mistakenly believed that Sa -Eon is the bio son and responsible for the disappearances. But if they all were at the orphanage together why do none of them ( including Ji Sang-Woo) recognise Sa-Eon?
It looks like the bio grandson does actually have the traits of his grandfather ( Mr large ring). It's possible that the grandfather is the actual killer, the grandson might have restrained himself to animals.
Favorite moments: Of course, the URST/Romance/Angst is addictive. But what I love best is Kang Young-Woo explaining to Sa-Eon how to to be a husband. Young-Woo does not make fun of Sa-Eon for being ignorant, and is not embarrassed at being seen as silly and loving toward his wife. He explains it in a normal and matter of fact way.
These explanations not only evoke tenderness, but cleverly integrate the story. Perfectionist bulldozer Sa- Eon does not instantly accost Hee Joo about being the phone caller- because sometimes ' You have to pretend not to know'. Silently in love Sa-Eon didn't just not even try to court Hee-Joo in the last 3 years- he did not know how to.
He has had training in hostage negotiations, but only the most tenuous of 'family' relationships.

This drama is just an exhibition of YYS's acting prowess, and every scene of his leaves me in awe. The script is a bare-bones Wattpad novel, but YYS's acting is elevating it beyond that. This is one of the few shows that I think is better than the original source.

The emotional scenes in both ep 5 and 6 were so, so well done. YYS really needs to do a proper, intense melodrama.

Here is my absolute crack theory.
The original PSE is responsible for those boys going missing. He killed them. His parents tried to cover it up UNTIL they came across the now!PSE. They looked so much alike that they decided to swap the boys. original PSE was looked in an institution but because Mom Paek couldn't help it he escaped. Now he has teamed up with Do Jae who is part of the twins and thinks that original PSE is his brother and now!PSE is original!PSE. thats why he tries to help original!PSE.
The only reason Sangwoo did not go missing is because the parents did not know he was a witness.
Original!PSE wants his life back. Which is why he wants Heejoo to divorce now!PSE because she should be his.

One of the things I love most about this show is that we often bemoan the terrible communication between OTPs in k-drama, because it feels (is) forced. If these two people ever had a conversation they could clear up all the obstacles in a few minutes.

But here, the entire premise is about communication- how they 'can't' communicate effectively because she doesn't speak and he hasn't learnt to sign, how his entire job as a 'spokesperson' is literally about communicating and he has also learnt to be a hostage negotiator (essentially about learning to make people at the end of their rope feel heard- that has come in handy!) BUT he has *never* learnt what proper communication in a relationship looks like (or anything about love given his (possible) early life in an orphanage and then messed-up chaebol family). 😭

So now he is getting lessons from his best employee on 'happy wife, happy life' communication styles, and learning not just the 'signing' but the importance of 'affection' , 'sincerity' and 'attention' etc. 💖

Be still my beating heart. This is one of the best arcs ever from seemingly cold to demonstrably loving and I AM HERE FOR IT!!! 😍😍

I described Sa-eon last week as 'inwardly volcanic' and boy it looks like he is getting ready to blow!!!! Can't wait.

PS - don't you love how SE's entire romance arc this week was set in motion by an inadvertent emoji.🤣

Plot? What plot? The mysteries are entangled worse than a fishline caught on the rocks, and I doubt the drama will be able to reel anything in.

Do I care? No.

In my world, the ring is ringing loud and clear - I ADORE this show.

These two are rocking my boat to no end. Will they/Won't they push and pull is totally reeling me in.

I do love the premise and his thought process, flawed though it is. Question is - did she too have feelings before she was married?

I have to give it to the show. I wasn't prepared for the underlying reasons Sa-eon had to treat Hee Joo the way he did, but after he comes out with his reasoning, I have folded like a lawn chair.

Awww.

When he swings her around in glee, it's so cliche and oh so sweet. It pretty much summed up how I felt. I am a sucker for melo so this is giving me all the toe curly feels and I am seated.