My good friend USAfarmgirl posted this on another site I used to frequent. I’m posting my response to her, with additional comments.
Dear USAfarmgirl,
I hope you don’t mind if I copied your post and transferred it over here.
More and more, I ignore posts on soompi. Many posters either bloviate like cows or argue like shrews. 
But I still search for posts from my old friends, like you, because you think outside-the-box and observe things which elude others. Plus, you don’t take everything so darn seriously. 😍
I attached my observations on SJ and SJoo at the end.
Thanks, USAfarmgirl!
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The kiss was a nice surprise but hearing him counting made me hurt inside. Wishing that TH had held off a little longer and not given in making herself weak and allowing him to feel stronger. Although it’s certain that he is starting to show signs of doubting. Yet his heart nor mind can forget why he is there and continues counting. Nor is he able to draw that line in the sand even though I believe he wants to be a better man. He likes the reflection that TH allows him to see but his heart is bonded to SJ and their history…
For some odd reason I thought about the beautiful roses that SH brought to SJ and how she reacted to them then and even later in not taking them with her or placing them in water. I realize the life of the rich and famous is different but still I don’t understand how her heart works. It almost feels like sometimes she is the Great Seducer instead of SH. Keeping both SH and Joo close enough but never to close like a tease forgive me for those who really like her. I’m not sure I do. I do think her attitude and selfishness comes from being molded by power and money and the real lack of love…
My heart hurts for Joo most of all among the 3 because he truly is in love and I don’t think he is in the dark about SH & SJ at all. He just chooses to look the other way and cover up his heart. The sad part is SH & SJ never even take the time to notice…
TH may have seemed to move to fast but then again we don’t know everything about her accident or her past. We know she got a scholarship although her mother it would seem is in a position to have taken care of all that. She chooses to be independent and not lean or be attached to her mothers success. Which to be honest puts her in a whole different world than the 3 who all live and are tied to their parents wealth. It’s not just that alone that sets her apart it’s her caring for others and those values she holds within her heart…
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I’m here, @USAFarmgirl.
And I’m with you. Counting “hana, dul” before leaning in to kiss her bugged me, too. It put the kiss in a different light.
It would be stupid of us to ignore that in the previous phone scenes, he had also counted the number of rings before he hung up on her. He’s a player and he knows that timing is key. Definitely, this kiss COULD be seen as a jerk-move on his part. He planned to kiss TH as part of the seduction game that he and SooJi are playing.
However, the romantic in me choose to think that his counting “hana, dul” exposed how he truly felt about her – that he was indeed falling in LIKE with her. 
An aside:
How do the young generation Koreans say “I love you”?
Answer: Joahae. Jinjja joahae.
You see, he didn’t finish counting before he swooped in. Hana, dul, SET. On the count of three, he should have kissed her. But he didn’t finish counting because he couldn’t resist her.
He lost his marbles. Meaning, he lost his mind AND if this was some kind of game he was playing, then he lost this round. 
On the whole, I think the writer will utilize this guessing game, i.e., is SH manipulating TH or not, and drag it for a few more weeks to keep our attention.
But I don’t mind the extension of the guessing game because it will provide us time to understand SH. A big part of understanding his character is looking at his unguarded reactions, particularly in those unfamiliar moments when he is NOT required to play the gigolo.
He’s perfected acting suave — according to the conventions of HIS social status. But outside his privileged habitat and decadent lifestyle, he reveals his true nature.
Take for example those days spent with the senior citizens at the nursing home or when he was hauled in to the police station like a common thief.
Both times showed that he was out of his league, and nothing like a “dangerous beast” that he claimed to be in episode 1 poetry-reading class.
As a matter of fact, in those moments, TaeHee proved to be THE lethal seducer. She had charmed the halmonis with her cheerfulness, and she had blown away the police sergeant with her argument. Meanwhile, SH looked like the inept teenager that he was. And HE was succumbing to TaeHee’s alluring combination of poise and aegyo.
Okay. I have more to add to your comments – like, why I don’t think SJ is the Great Seducer but the Misguided Manipulator, and why I don’t think he and SJ are a good match. But I have to rest my wrist now. I AM blogging about this kdrama, however. So if you’re interested, come on over and chat with me sometimes. I’ll double-post this over there.
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ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
As for the bouquet roses, yes, I noticed that too, USAfarmgirl. 👍 ShiHyun brought bouquets twice. One to give to TH (but it ended up with NaYoung), and another one for SooJi. SJ hung it up on the wall to airdry. She was preserving them.
The bouquet could be taken as a metaphor or a symbolism of their future love life (or non-existent 😂) love life. Meaning, their relationship is something that’s bound to wither and die so it’s best to preserve them. So sad. /sarcasm
As I said in my other post, I find the floral theme in this story interesting. I wish more people would observe and discuss things like this, instead of non-stop raving and spazzing over the leading actor. But fangirls will be fangirls… (shrug)🤷♀️
Re. SJ, I’m with you here, too. 
There’s something about her that strikes me as plain mean.
However….
From what I gather from my literary friends, there’s a trend in fiction and cinema to create sympathy for villains. When the original novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses was written, characters were either black or white. But now however, even the wickedest villain can be created to become a LIKEABLE, excusable fellow IF he’s given a terribly cruel childhood.
The more tragic his backstory is, the more readers and tv viewers are willing to excuse his depravity.
Why? Because the readers and viewers can put themselves in the shoes of the villain. They rationalize that, if they were given the same harsh environment, they themselves would have turned out just as warped as the villain. They learn to IDENTIFY with the plight of the villain.
To a large extent, this is what I think is happening to our acceptance of the behavior of SooJi, ShiHyun and SeJoo.
Their dysfunctional families are great “sympathy builders”. So, instead of judging SooJi’s actions as intrinsically wrong, viewers see her person as a misunderstood daughter with an overbearing mother. Not only that, they also downplay her manipulations as “survival tactics.” She was “forced” by bad events and bad parenting to abuse or mistreats other people.
That’s why you wrote, “I do think her attitude and selfishness comes from being molded by power and money and the real lack of love…” 
As far as you’re concerned, Sooja wasn’t a Devil’s spawn. Her upbringing corrupted her good nature.
Unfortunately/Fortunately, there were no such background story or “sob story” to mitigate the immoralities of the characters in the original 18th century novel.
I also agree with your comment on SJoo. He IS a pitiful character.
He takes a lot of abuse but he hides his mountain of hurt behind a façade of gaiety and nonchalance. For instance, he acts like he isn’t jealous of the relationship between the two when he is. Take for instance when he did an about-face and returned to their hideout where he had left SJ and SH alone. 😂
They had been joking about the SH and SJ getting married but the thought of them discussing marriage made him cancel his evening plan and go back up the elevator. (Episode 3) He lied to them here that his plans got canceled. HE canceled his plans.
I’m beginning to suspect that the characters of SJoo and SH both represent the original male protagonist/villain, Valmont – just split into two.
SJoo is the one who is more shameless in seducing women, and more flamboyant. He openly brags about his conquests, and he doesn’t show the slightest bit of guilt about rejecting KyungJo and hurting her feelings. SeJoo’s more like Valmont in this sense.
(will add pic here later)
However, as you pointed out, SJoo doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeves when it comes to SJ. He pretends harder that he’s unaffected by SJ’s outbursts and he distracts her when she’s down in the dumps – which SH doesn’t do or simply cannot do.
For example, after the announcement of their parents’ engagement, SJ was having a major meltdown and SJoo simply let her go on. It was SH who tried to stop her antics. SJoo’s method was to distract her with ice cream the following day, while SH’s method was to wade in her emotional morass with her, that is, to go down to her level. SH is much more susceptible to SJ’s moodiness and hysterics. In this sense, SH is more like Valmont.
Put together, the boys possess the worst traits of Valmont.
I’ll have to postpone discussing TH in detail because my wrist is tiring again.
But I do agree with you that TH is worlds apart from the other three.
It’s interesting that she’s resembled both her parents. She’s interested in pottery like her mother and in law like her dad. Then, she’s kind-hearted and dreamy like her mother, but she’s also skeptical and rational like her father. Of course, it’s entirely possible that she’s a scholar at Seoul National University for something unrelated to the arts or the legal field.
I also find it amusing that she’s a bit superstitious. She believes in making wishes on birthday cakes, in snow falling on your move-in day brings good luck, and in lit streetlamps as a sign of destiny.
See you in a bit.
You make some good points here. I agree Se Joo can’t really handle Soo Ji. When Soo Ji have her meltdown and cut herself with the glass, Se Joo call Shi Hyun to tell him to come immediately as Soo Ji is out of control. But I think Se Joo really want to be able to help Soo Ji in deep way-you can see he is little bit sad and jealous of Shi Hyun being able to calm Soo Ji down.
I have to say that I like the fact that the writer give some backstory to the Trio so we better understand “how the monster is made.” This help me to better understand the actions of the characters, even if I do not agree with actions. Right now, they still have both good and bad in them. Soo Ji have a small shred of conscience upon seeing the hurt of Kyung Ju, but it does not stop her from using Kyung Ju to get what she wants. But yes, they are still monsters-bad childhood not an excuse for cruelty.
I’m interested to read your thoughts on Tae Hee character because I wish she was better developed character and we get to see more of her backstory, what makes her tick, and how different she is from trio since she has parent problems too. She is studying architecture at university.
I loved the “hana, dul”. Without it the kiss would have been just meh, a random kiss. Who watches a drama in which there’s only happiness? Of course the counting means he’s still the seducer but this is what I signed up for. It’s super early in the show for him to forget his game and start a normal relationship. We can’t have that. Even if he has doubts and wanted to stop. I didn’t think about it while watching but the fact that 3 is missing and he’s only counting to 2 is quite great, as you said, he lost his round. He’s not 100% playing and he’s not 100% genuine even in this moment that would mean a lot to her. I even had the impression that getting TH to his house is still part of the plan to seduce her. Part help, part of a plan to get her to fall for him. Such a great move really because to TH, the drawing, the plate left on the table.. since she doesn’t know he knew she’d lost her place in the dorm.. cannot be part of any plan. So she saw something really private of his, from her point of view. But he knew she’s losing her room and will take her home so he left all those things there on purpose. Highly probably.
Totally agree, oli!
If I remove all emotions – insecurity, anxiety, fear, danger and anticipation – and just focus on the plain aesthetics of it all, I too love the addition of “Hana, Dul” in the kiss moment. It’s the first I’ve seen a director use counting numbers to heighten the tension. And it’s become seductive!
Think about it: from now on, every time I hear “hana dul” said in that low husky voice, I’m going to expect a kiss 😘 from nowhere. I’ve been preconditioned to regard “Hana dul” as a prompt or a magic word. 😂 Good one, director!
And I so agree. We’re only on Episode 8 of a 32 (or 40?) episode show. It IS too early to say that he’s already in love LOVE ❤️ with her. The ambivalence and the guessing game are part of the fun of the show so I don’t mind if the writer drags this push-pull more episodes.
But the plate and the drawing are definitely going on our tally sheet of pro-“he loves her” gestures. Hahaha. I’m making a mental list of pros and cons just for fun.
Same here! I don’t think the move IS entirely altruistic. I think it’s part of the revenge plot, too. Didn’t SJ say something about SH having to continue the game till the “move”?
But I don’t know where he deviated from their masterplan. -He must have. I got the impression that he intended to “double-cross” SH – or to not be totally upfront with her – when he said that bit about a little secret growing inside of him.👍
That’s why I anticipate TH finding the condoms (I think they’re condoms lol, not flu medicine packets🤣😂) secretly left by SJoo in his nightstand drawer. It would be so funny to see her shocked expression. She’s be like, Judging you…
Hey!! (and btw lots of thanks for this long post too since I forgot all the details of the first 4 episodes and the actual details of the bet they made)
“If it was SJ’s plan, then it’s all about the revenge.”
I’m pretty sure it was SJ’s plan too though. She says in episode 8 (copying from a srt file here):
“SJ: Si Hyun, you can stop only after you finish the plan.
SH: What? – What?
SJ:The move. We canceled her move-in to Myoungjeong Dormitory.”
So the question is why did they canceled her move-in to the dorm? Just to hurt her, have her struggle with no room? No, otherwise SJ would have no reason to tell SH that he has to finish the plan. His role is to seduce her. So the cancelation was part of the seduction plan. How? By giving him the opportunity to be the knight in shining armor that saves the lady in distress and helps her find a place to stay. His place would be best because otherwise.. would it really be worth it.. to make such a big move, pretend to be another person to cancel someone’s room just for a moment in which SH helps her find another place to stay? Can’t imagine that. The plan of getting them into a live-in situation seems a lot more plausible.
Did SH leave the plate and the drawing on purpose though, for TH to see and be impressed? Not sure, but since he left his house very probably knowing he’s gonna bring her there, the presence of those things left all around (things that he must have known would impress her -even if not consciously) is making everything a bit muddy.
You know what’s funny with the condoms? I think their presence in the drawer could be a hint that he just left his house as is, did not think of cleaning things up for her or making his house look in a certain way for her. But if they are no longer in the drawer then he is guilty for cleaning some things that would put a negative light on him (in her eyes) and leaving other things there for her to see.
Obviously, the drawing and the plate are things he did in sincerity – but leaving them there on purpose to make himself look good in her eyes would taint the gesture. Either way there’s a high risk that when she finds out about the bet she’s gonna think everything was strategically placed. The plate was a lie, the drawing was a lie, him with the old ladies, everything.
I don’t think I’m being cynical though, and this might be my inner bitch talking but I think.. this part with getting her to his place being part of the revenge plan (for SH is not a revenge plan but a help SJ plan) is actually what the romantic in me wishes. Understanding romantic not in a love roses and teddy bears kind of way (boooring).. but a bit differently. The romantic in me loves intense feelings and the conflict we’re promised of his inner feelings, this fact that he’s going to have more and more genuine moments with her while still playing a game hence tainting everything in the process. In her eyes for sure. Whatever pain comes his way is going to be well deserved. He’s playing with fire.
This is one of the things I noted down a while ago after reading A Brave New World
“Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the overcompensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn’t nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand.”
aaannd I wanted to comment this to the the-great-seducer-on-sjs-revenge-plot post. FAIL 😐
Pwahahaha. I only brought my iPad with me so I don’t think I can switch your comment over to the “right” post. But that’s okay.😆
I think using TaeHee’s number PHONE NUMBER as his passcode was also suspicious. Remember SJoo’s comment about it.
Lol. It was guaranteed to “flutter” her heart…and it did.
The problem is deciding later on whether this was part of SJ’s revenge or an honest to goodness sincere act of SH.
Oooohhhh. This is so much fun analyzing the dating techniques of a player.
omg, I even forgot about the phone number as his passcode. Probably since that part was so obviously a scheme to flutter her heart that I gave it no extra thought. And yes. it’s fun analyzing the dating techniques of a player. What is and what isn’t part of the game? what is sincere?
And you can leave the comments here since I failed and posted them here. They kinda fit here too. Whichever you prefer
So far, frantically fixing the broken plate is the only REAL act done that I could think of without the seduction/revenge motives. The others look dubious; can go either way.
Yes, I am wondering also what is real feeling and what is “planned”. Soo Ji say to Shi Hyun he can stop the game when he complete the move day plans. Yes, I think he was supposed to swoop in to “save” Tae Hee and help her find new place to live. I’m still not sure that his apt. was supposed to be permanent home for Tae Hee.
Anyway, now that SH help TH with new place, does that mean is OK with SJ if he call off the game?
I don’t think it’d okay with SJ if he called off the game. She already suspected that SJ was “two-timing” or “double-crossing” her so, my guess is, she’d insist that he go through with the revenge as proof of his loyalty, friendship, love, whatever to her. 😀
Table122000,
to answer your question whether it’s OK with SJ if he called off the game now that he helped TH find new place, the answer is no. 😀
As a matter of fact, she wants him to dump her ASAP and quit being nice to her. During the chocolate scene in Episode 12, she said, “I thought we were going to stop trying to make her fall for you
and thenso you can dump her. Why are you trying so hard?”He said, “Quiet, she might hear you.” She answered, “You must be concerned that she might find out.”
When he chased after TH the following morning, she asked SJoo “Is it a game, or is he acting like it’s a game?”
As for SJoo, his advice to SH the previous night when he found out that SH was planning a star-gazing event was that SH should tell SJ about his plans, to seek permission. Meaning, SH shouldn’t go off on his own and make plans like stargazing (and moving TH to his building) without clearing them first with their the Commander in Chief. lol.
But of course, SH wouldn’t do that because inside him “a secret started to grow.”
I think SJoo is helping out SH by running interference/providing cover. He’s making sure that SH and TH get lots of time together by taking SJ with him. He’s a good “wingman.” At least for now…lol.