This kdrama doesn’t require much analysis so “quick takes” are my instant reactions and unfiltered opinions on the episode. Initially, I wanted to limit myself to 100 words but who am I kidding? That’s not going happen. I said “quick” takes, not “brief” takes.
Let’s go.
1. Shin Hari’s disguises
If last episode was about Shin Hari getting injured, physically and emotionally, this episode was about Shin Hari’s multiple disguises.
a. There was the eye patch.
I like how she covered her other eye when she turned around to speak to Taemoo.
b. The napa cabbage (or baechu)
c. The hair
She reminded me of Cousin Itt from the Adams Family.
d. But the teddy bear hoodie with the face grill won the prize for ingenuity.
The teddy bear hoodie was a “punk” disguise. It had an earring with a cross, and earring with a chain, lol.
Did I forget any other disguise in this episode?
2. Chef Lee Minwoo is jealous.
@Fern and I were talking about this. We disapprove of Minwoo’s song request at the concert. The singer said that they were taking song requests along with their special stories. He read Minwoo’s letter which said, “I bought tickets for today’s show and gave them to a friend for her birthday. We’ve been good friends for seven whole years. She even bought me drinks and comforted me when I broke up with my girlfriend and when I had to go to the army. But she doesn’t have a boyfriend yet. I’m hoping that she’ll go to the concert with her boyfriend. I ask that you gift her with your amazing song.”
Although Minwoo didn’t explicitly write that his friend had a one-sided love for him, he might as well have. Women could read between the lines.
It doesn’t come as a surprise that Minwoo’s interest was piqued when he heard that Hari went out on a day with a guy.
Minwoo: Oh, right! Where’s your review?
Hari: What review?
MW: Of the concert you went to. Yoora was wondering, too.
Ugh! So his girlfriend was wondering, too? Did they really want to know how humiliated she would have felt if she ended up going by herself, or with Youngseo, and the singer read Minwoo’s letter on stage?
Hari: Ah.
MW: How was it? Did you have fun?
Hari: (nodding head) Yes. I had fun.
MW: Man, I was hoping you would go with a guy. I bet you went with Youngseo.
All she said was that she had fun. Why did he immediately assume she went out with her bestie? This is a thinly veiled insult.
Hari: I went with a guy.
MW: (pausing) Really? Who?
Hari: (snorting) Just someone I got to know by chance.
MW: You never told me you were seeing someone. Do you even know what kind of guy he is?
Well…he didn’t tell her either that he reconciled with his ex.
Hari: Yes. Well…
MW: You’re too naïve to even get a good read on guys. Bring him with you sometime, will you? I’ll take a look at him for you.
Hari: I can take care of myself, Minwoo. So take care of your girlfriend now instead of your friends. You two got back together after breaking up. Pay more attention to her.
My comments:
a. I like her nice subtle hint that she wasn’t going to be a shoulder for him to cry on next time he broke up with his girlfriend.
b. More importantly, he got the message that Hari had ended her one-sided feelings for him.
3. Team Taemoo vs Team Minwoo
When Minwoo called up Hari to find out where she was, Taemoo heard Hari’s ringtone. It was the same “Love, Maybe” by Melomance dedicated to Geumhui at the concert.
It triggered him to ask about Minwoo about his relationship with Hari — not because he suspected a connection between Hari and Geumhui but because he learned to empathize. Geumhui’s story taught him to not to take feelings, especially seemingly platonic feelings, for granted.
Taemoo: You’re college friends, right?
MW: We met when were 20, so we’ve known each other for 7 years now.
Taemoo: And you’ve been just friends this whole time?
MW: Excuse me?
Taemoo: Oh. I apologize if my question was too personal. I just thought maybe one of you could have developed feelings since you’ve known each other for such a long time.
MW: (looks away)
Taemoo: (pointedly looks at him)
If Taemoo could anticipate romantic feelings to develop from that seven-year platonic relationship, then the thought should have crossed Minwoo’s mind that Hari had fallen in love with him.
To me, Taemoo gave him that “look” to let Minwoo know that he was aware that Minwoo took Hari’s feelings for granted. He didn’t like it because he could imagine GeumHui on the receiving end of such callous behavior.
Taemoo sipping tea reminded me of Kermit sipping tea. It was really none of his business but Minwoo treated Hari badly.
On the way home, he thought some more about Hari’s situation. He remembered that GeumHui said that she’d no regrets in her unrequited love of seven years.
Taemoo: (muttering to himself) Seven years.
Assistant Cha: Sir, when you asked Chef Lee about his relationship with Ms. Shin, was it because of something you heard?
Taemoo: What do you mean?
Assistant Cha: I overheard some of the employees talking, and apparently Ms Shin had a crush on Chef Lee.
Taemoo: Is that so?
Since his hunch was proven correct, he began feeling sorry for Hari. He pitied her for being in the same boat as GeumHui. He hadn’t yet discovered that Hari and GeumHui were one and the same person.
I wonder if he would block the white kimchi ravioli to retaliate against Minwoo.
4. Cha SungHoon’s backstory
I think this is a foreshadowing. The secret birth is a common trope in kdramas.
I know Assistant Cha has a picture of himself at an orphanage.
But my guess is he’s Taemoo’s secret cousin or secret brother. He might have been a love-child of Taemoo’s father. The grandpa had a Freudian slip when he called them his grandsons.
5. Taemoo’s blindness
Taemoo heard Hari’s “Love, Maybe” ringtone and realized that he was heard the same song twice in less than 24 hours.
Too bad his sense of sight isn’t as acute as his sense of hearing.
I get why many viewers are getting impatient with Taemoo’s inability to see that GeumHui is Hari.
However, I’m cutting the screenwriter some slack because for one, I personally have a problem telling apart the faces of the girl group singers. I can’t tell Yuri from Krystal, Jessica, Tiffany, Stephanie, Victoria, and so on. For me, they look alike.
For another, I actually like the idea that Taemoo can’t recognize Hari.
Why?
Because it tells me that he only has eyes for GeumHui.
He doesn’t have a roving eye like Minwoo. While Minwoo dates a lot of women, Taemoo regards most women as a piece of office furniture. He isn’t interested in them so he doesn’t scrutinize their physical appearance.
He likes GeumHui for her charm, and he likes Hari for her ideas. Because he likes them for different reasons, he can’t see the connection between the two of them.
Up until this episode, he wasn’t paying much attention to GeumHui’s physical features. Remember now: he was attracted to her zany personality. In his eyes, she was unique among other women.
He only began looking at her when she tried on the new clothes.
As for Hari, he also didn’t pay attention to her physical attributes. Why should he? To him, she was a hard-working employee with innovative ideas. Her looks didn’t matter to him.
Hence, when he watched the behind-the-scenes footage of the Hari in the cabbage patch, he didn’t recognize GeumHui in the bare-faced Hari. He admired Hari, not for her looks, but for her dedication to her job. Even on the field, she wanted to catch the napa cabbage so it wouldn’t fall and get bruised.
He smiled because he was pleased with her work ethics.
In my opinion, it’s to Taemoo’s credit that he hasn’t connected the two women by appearance. It tells me that he can individualize the two women, and won’t be in danger of falling in love with a certain “type” in the future.
6. Taemoo’s phone call
As I mentioned in my other post, Taemoo can be clingy about his phone calls. He gets anxious when Hari doesn’t pick up, probably because he thinks she’ll ghost him again.
This time, he texted her as a follow-up.
Taemo: Why aren’t you picking up? It’s an emergency, so call me back.
So she called him back as he ordered. But rather than answering his phone right away, he waited till the sixth ring. We know this move was petty. He wanted to make her wait as payback for not responding to his call quickly.
Taemo: Hello.
Hari: (whispering) What emergency? What’s going on?
Taemo: Never mind that. Why didn’t you pick up?
Ha. If I were Hari, I would have hung up on him because he stressed me out for no reason. He said there was an emergency, but he only used it as pretext to demand a callback.
But I get it. He was insecure in case she stopped contacting him.
Hari: It’s against company policy to be on our phones during work hours.
Taemo: What? What kind of company does that?
I get this too. He felt protective. He didn’t want Hari working for a company with such and punitive work policies.
Hari: Anyway, what is this about?
Taemo: Would it kill you to exchange pleasantries first? “How have you been?” “How’s your eye doing?” And so on.
He was annoyed because he sensed that Hari was in a hurry to get down to business and end their phone call. It peeved him that she didn’t sound pleased to hear him. Since he called her up expressly to chat with her, he was expecting a more enthusiastic response from her.
Hari: Oh, sorry. I just have a lot going on at the moment. My eye is fine.
Taemo: Do you know what day this Saturday is?
Hari: This Saturday? Saturday? (excitedly) Isn’t that our fake one-year anniversary?
Taemo: (smiling) You’re better than me. I’d forgotten about it.
He was mollified here. He liked that she didn’t forget their one-year anniversary, although it was a fake one.
Gifs from becomeundone’s tumblr
Hari: Well, I’ve always been good at memorizing stuff, you know. What about it though.
Taemo: My grandfather found out, so things got a bit complicated.
Hari: Your grandfather?
Taemo: (hesitantly) Do you want to…meet for dinner today?
Was this the emergency?? He wanted to ask her out to dinner?
Hari: Oh, but I’m on a business trip right now.
Taemo: A business trip?
Hari: Yes. They scheduled it last minute.
Taemo: That’s a shame then. Oh, and it turns out that song is rather popular.
Hari: What song?
Taemo: The song that you’ve set as your ringback tone. I’ve been hearing it play all over the place.
I like that he volunteered this information. Of course, he had no idea that Hari was deceiving him. But the fact that he was sharing with her that he heard her song again indicated that he was trying to make small talk with her. He didn’t want their phone conversation to end yet.
Hari: Ah…
Taemo: I’ll call you tomorrow then.
Hari: Okay.
After he put down the phone, he wondered what kind of company banned people from picking up their phones and sent an employee with an injured eye on a business trip.
Awwww. He was looking after her welfare already.
My comments:
a. This was another breakthrough for him. This was probably the first time he got on the phone with a girl to chat with her. There was no emergency. He just thought of her in the middle of the day and wanted to find out how she was doing.
b. Ordinarily, this would have been a sweet and romantic gesture. But Hari didn’t know what to expect from him when she saw the text. She thought she was in trouble with him again.
6. The medicine
That night, he called her up again.
Hari: Hello?
Taemoo: Are you back from your business trip?
Hari: Oh yes, I just got back home.
Taemoo: That’s good. I’m in front of your house. Can I see you for a moment?
Hari: (panicking) You’re in front of my house? Wait…why?
Taemoo: I have something for you. It won’t take long.
Hari: I’m so sorry. But I don’t think I can go out right now.
Taemoo: Really? Then should I leave it at the shop.
Hari: At the shop? No. Don’t do that!!
Then, she hatched up a plan to meet him at a park. This scene cracked me up.
Hari: Did you wait long?
Taemoo: (surprised) Who are you…?
I was still laughing when he didn’t recognize who came up to him.
Taemoo: (taking a closer look) Ah! No. But what are you wearing?
I wouldn’t have been able to keep a straight face if I were Taemoo.
BTW, this is another trope. The food delivery guys in SK sometimes wear funny costumes (like a chicken). She was desperate to see him that she arranged to wear this ludicrous outfit.
Hari: This? I told my family that I was going on a delivery. In case they asked me who I was going to meet. I can’t tell them I’m meeting my fake boyfriend.
Inside her outfit, she was thinking: “Tell me what you want.” “There isn’t anyone who recognizes me, right?” “Man…This is embarrassing.” “I’m in such a pickle.”
Taemoo: Sorry. I didn’t think that through.
Finally, he got it! Previously, all he was concerned about was getting Hari to meet him right away. Now, he realized that his demands on her imposed a burden on her. She had to lie to her own family to sneak out to see him.
Taemoo: I just wanted to give this to you.
Hari: What is this?
Taemoo: My grandpa went to a clinic and ordered this special tonic.
Hari: Was he injured that badly?
Taemoo: What? How did you now that he was injured?
Hari: What? Well…I mean… You said that he went to a clinic, so I though that maybe he got hurt?
Taemoo: He had a light fall, but he tends to overreact.
Hari: Oh, okay. Please tell him thank you for me.
Taemoo: And… (cough) I picked up some ointment on the way here. It’s supposed to be good for bruises. Use this.
Awwww… Is this why he wanted to go out on a dinner date with her that night? Because he wanted to see how her bruise was coming along?
Hari: Oh! You really didn’t have to do this. Thank you. Oh, wait! I have something too. Here!
Taemoo: Is this fried chicken?
Hari: I couldn’t come out to deliver chicken without bringing chicken, right? Go eat it with your grandpa. Our chicken is really good.
7. Their anniversary dinner date
The gifs will have to do…
a. Well…this is one of showing that he’s got her back. They both heard the ripping sound, and he quickly moved to save her from public embarrassment.
b. The fireworks.
Gifs from deokmis’ tumblr
This is a trope. What’s a romcom without fireworks over the Han river?
That’s also a trope. The guy is supposed to say that the fireworks are pretty while admiring the girl.
I’ll add more gifs when I see them.
Hey @Packmule3!
Yesterday, I gave you an idea on the webtoon, but not the details.
So, I will say that you and @Fern are right about MinWoo. I wrote yesterday on the episode 3 quick notes, that MinWoo is a douche. This is exactly the reason I wrote that…!
Also, you got an eye for the foreshadow! It is not explained how, but Secretary Cha is indeed family to them.
About Taemoo and realizing who is HaRi.
In the webtoon he will not go on full retaliation on her. He will find out who Hari is because of that swelling in her eye. She will tell him during a work dinner when they are alone, while being drunk that she didn’t want to fool him, but she had to because she was afraid that he would fire her.
BUT
from the preview we got for Episode 5, it reminded me the Red Sleeve Cuff and the revenge Yi San was taking in the first episodes from our lovely Deok Im by making her write an official letter of Apology!
We shall see how that will go…
Awww, he’s genuinely concerned for her now. I haven’t seen the episode but I want the teddy bear costume. 🥰
Aah great! Thanks @pkml3. I was transcribing the same scenes.
Changing Perceptions
Don’t we love the way strangers/opponents/parties in a contract change from being at loggerheads to showing their softer sides?
Ep 4 – Ha Ri has observed that Tae Moo is considerate. She stands up for the Archaeopteryx.
HR to Young Seo : “Don’t get all friendly with him (Secretary Cha) and blab that Shin Ha Ri is actually Shin Geum Hui.”
YS : “I don’t think I’ll talk to him again. So don’t worry about that.”
HR : “Why?”
YS : “Well you know how Tae Moo’s family and mine are on bad terms because of the blind date? So he said he doesn’t want to get involved with me, either.” (From a bit of his backstory, we understand why Cha Sung Hoon maintains his loyalty for the Kangs.)
…
YS : “Wait, what if Tae Moo bad-mouthed me and told Mr Cha to avoid me because I’m completely nuts? That petty Archaeopteryx.”
HR : “No, no. I don’t think President Kang is the type to talk badly about other people. He looks a bit cold-hearted, but he has a considerate side to him too.”
YS : “Why are you taking Kang Tae Moo’s side? That’s suspicious.”
…
YS : “Have you fallen for him?”
HR : “It’s not like that. It’s just, I didn’t know when I saw him from a distance, but now that I’ve seen him up-close, you know, he’s not that bad.”
===
Tae Moo and His Growing Attachment
I’m thinking TM has an inkling that he likes Geum Hui already, but he’s not ready for her to know it yet.
I liked how TM was so empathetic towards Ha Ri because he’d witnessed Geum Hui bravely dealing with her one-sided crush. I like that he didn’t mock Geum Hui for being a fool for 7 years.
When Grandfather insists that TM cancel his scheduled appointments for the date, Sung Hoon is surprised that Tae Moo is willing to go along with this. My guess is that he’s pleased to have another excuse to see Geum Hui.
He calls her to give her advance warning about the date, but she does not pick up the call. Tae Moo didn’t want to answer the phone at once when HR called him back. Was that to appear busy or out of spite because she didn’t answer the call at first?
I’m thinking he was just sitting there, doing nothing, waiting for her call, and so didn’t want to answer the call too soon. He was afraid that if answered too soon, it would have looked obvious to her that he was waiting for her call.
It also seems to me that he wanted to have a longish phone call with her, and that he definitely wanted to see her sooner than their anniversary date ie he was hoping to see her that night.
He mentions her eye, so that was probably the reason he wanted to see her.
TM : “Why didn’t you pick up?”
HR : “It’s against company policy to be on our phone during work hours.”
TM : “What? What kind of company does that?” (Yours! LOL)
HR : “Anyway, what is this about?”
TM : “Would it kill you to exchange pleasantries first?” (He does not mind spending time on pleasantries with her, when he used to complain about wasting time before.) ” ‘How have you been?’ ‘How’s your eye doing?’ And so on.”
HR : “Oh, sorry. I just have a lot going on at the moment. My eye is fine.”
TM : “Do you know what day this Saturday is?”
HR : “This Saturday? Isn’t that our fake one-year anniversary?”
TM smiles at this : “You’re better than me. I’d forgotten about it.” (He generously praises her and admits his own failing.)
HR : “Well, I’ve always been good at memorising stuff, you know. What about it, though?”
TM : “My grandfather found out, so things got a bit complicated.”
HR : “Ah grandfather?”
TM looks a bit tentative and hopeful : “Do you want to meet for dinner today?”
HR : “Oh, but I’m on a business strip right now.”
TM : “A business trip?”
HR : “Yes, they scheduled it last minute.”
TM : “That’s a shame then. Oh, and it turns out that song is rather popular.” (He’s being more conversational than necessary.)
HR : “What song?”
TM : “The song that you’ve set as your ringback tone. I’ve been hearing it play all over the place…. I’ll call you tomorrow then.”
TM to himself : “What company bans people from picking up their phones and sends and employee with an injured eye on a business trip?” Hah!
Grandfather wanting to give Geum Hui tonics gave TM another excuse to see her. Her eye had been on his mind and he got her ointment for it.
TM realises that HR had to go through quite a lot of subterfuge to meet him on the spur of the moment.
He apologises, which is nice : “Sorry, I didn’t think that through.”
TM wants to give HR something for her bruised eye, without looking like he cares too much.
TM : I picked up some ointment on the way here. It’s supposed to be good for bruises.” He hands her a med packet as nonchalantly as he can “Use this.”
Ha Ri to TM : “Oh you really didn’t have to do this.”
Ha Ri to herself : “Is he worried about me?” (There were more thought bubbles in Korean but they were not translated.)
She gives him the fried chicken and he looks a bit regretful that she has to leave.
Ha Ri at home, looks at the ointment and says to herself : “I thought he was just cold, but he has a sweet side to him too.” (A pity all these positives may get upended when TM starts being petty next episode.)
TM to himself : “I went to see her face to check if her bruise was okay.” (He looks a bit sad that he didn’t get to see her face.)
Ha Ri to herself : “Why do I care if he’s sweet or not? Whatever.”
TM arranges the boy and girl dolls on his table and smiles.
It’s interesting that TM smiled when he saw the BTS footage of the researchers at Namhae, where Shin Ha Ri appeared catching the cabbage, and wanted to use the behind the scenes video as well.
He hears Ha Ri in the BTS : “I don’t want it to fall and go bad. A food researcher should care about the ingredients.”
It didn’t occur to him that he may have ‘liked’ what he saw because HR reminded him of Geum Hui, but he knew that he liked the work attitude of Ha Ri. It was the first time that he’d seen Ha Ri’s face without her hair covering it. It may be indicative that when it comes to thoughts of Geum Hui/Ha Ri, TM is more ready to smile.
At their date, TM gets enthusiastic and talks shop. Then he is nice enough to apologise.
TM : “I’m sorry. I’m boring you with all this work talk, aren’t I?”
HR : “No, I’m enjoying it. I’m always interested in food.”
After the date HR says : “I had fun on our fake anniversary date tonight.”
TM : “I too had fun on our anniversary date.” (He left out the word ‘fake’. She looks a bit taken aback.)
She walks off and is surprised to see that he’s watching her still and that he waves a farewell.
Finally, before the big bust, I liked how TM didn’t pry into HR’s wallet until he was stunned to hear Min Woo calling out Ha Ri’s name. He double checked by calling Geum Hui, only to see that it’s HR who answers it. To the extent that he liked her, will be the extent that he feels let down.
However, he could probably guess the reason why she felt that she had to hide her identity.
I like that anniversary gif. 🥰
I like that he put her shoes on like she’s a Princess and with his collar up like that then Taemoo is definitely the Prince. ☺️
I liked that he tried to ask her out for dinner. I think that’s a first for him. ☺️
I liked that Taemoo enjoyed the anniversary, no fake word. ☺️
I liked what he said to Minwoo about taking Hari’s feelings for granted.
I liked that he bought Hari an ointment for her bruise. ☺️
I like this episode except for grandpa falling like that. 😬
Yeah @agdr03, there’s so much to like in Episode 4. I hope they get over the angsty, angry parts quickly and get back to being sweet to each other for more episodes LOL.
Yes to that @GB! We understand Taemoo for wanting to get back at Hari but she did say no before. 😁
Hopefully with Minwoo there, he’ll just get jealous and sort out his feelings once and for all. 😁
I can’t wait for more sweet scenes! ☺️
@agdr03,
That shoe moment — 😂 that was definitely a Cinderella trope. We were just missing the glass slipper.
Didn’t you find it weird though that Taemoo went around her before kneeling down? I was thinking, “Hey! Where you going with that shoe?”
And mind you, this is the SECOND time he laid down her footwear for her. First was her Adidas slides. Now, her heels.
We didn’t get two handkerchiefs, but we got two shoes. 😂😂
The Grandpa’s skin-tight outfit was funny though.
But this incident showed that he is a kind chaebol. He didn’t get anybody fired after that incident.
Hari’s father’s cheesy line had me snorting. “I’m sorry. If only I had hidden my love for you back then, you wouldn’t be living like this.” 🤪 I couldn’t think of a comeback when he was already self-pitying himself.
Annyeong @Pm3 & BOD peepz,
Love your quick takes – all good points.
re: HR’s disguises. I also like the Teddybear head the most also. Poor HR – she has to think fast just to cover herself. when she didn’t catch the grandpa’s hand, OMG, i was like… catch his hand!!! LOL I can’t believe she just let him fall hard (even tho TM didn’t think it was that bad- it looked like a bad fall)… for the sake of disguise. poor grandpa. and yes, that tight pants looks funny on him. but he wore it well haha.
re: TaeMoo’s blindness. I get your explanation. Yes, He only has eyes for the girl he knows. not the one in disguise or the girl at work.
re: Anniv date – love every bit, even the tropes. yes, why did TM circle her before going down on his knees like a prince??
i think TM is now enjoying this relationship, beyond all the “fake” reasons. 💗except that cliffhanger of a reveal… waaah. it looks like he’s gonna make her suffer for living a double life. poor HaRi.
Omo! We did have two shoes! 😂
It just occurred to me maybe Taemoo went around her while holding her shoes as if to look like he was waltzing/dancing. I don’t know. 😁
Yes to grandpa being kind still even after his fall. I thought he pulled off the tight and short pants pretty good. 😄
Hari’s Dad walking away too after that comment. 😂
I liked how it was played though, the soap and then Hari with Taemoo. ☺️
I was wondering whose jacket the denim belonged too but I noticed it on Taemoo. He was wearing it underneath his long coat even in the car. He is very tall. ☺️
@pm3, Correct me if I’m wrong, wan’t it at this dinner that Taemoo appreciated Hari’s discerning food palate? I know it was someplace and think this foreshadows what a great coupl they’d make given their mutual interests. My fantasy is that they have children who enjoy eating a variety of food, much to their parent’ delight.
Taemoo is brilliant. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Harvard. Hari is no slouch either-our regular girl got into and graduated from a top national university. That says more about her because she didn’t have the ease and lriviledge of wealth to give her advantages. She also worked while attending university and still helps out at her family’s chicken restaurant. She has a phenomenal work effort. For everything mentioned previous.y she is so much more than a worthy partner for Taemoo and far better than his chaebol matches. They are a match made in kdrama heaven.
Yes, it was a payback comment for the mother talking about her now-wealthy ex. So why did she choose her husband?
Thank you for the episode highlights, @packmule3. I also went through everyone’s comments and agree that this pair is growing on me too. Even though I watched quite a few episodes of Lovers of the Red Sky, I didn’t like AHS as much as I like him in this drama. I even like all the romantic drama tropes here, in spite of knowing they are tropes😛
In Episode 4, it is clear that Hari is growing on him, and I don’t think he is willing to acknowledge to himself yet that he likes her. I hope he doesn’t get too petty in the following episode to get revenge and understand why Hari had to pretend.
I really like how protective he is of her, how he shields her when he dress rips and how he tries to comfort and take care for her (even though it’s something he is clearly not used to, being too absorbed in his work).
On the foreshadowing parts, I agree that there could be future backstories on:
– Assistant Cha being a family member, possibly a brother
– I also think there will be some sort of chaebol murder mystery on how Tae-moo’s parents were murdered (maybe on a day when it was raining, Tae-moo witnessing it as a child maybe) and Tae-moo either finding out and seeking the perpetrators in the family or Tae-moo’s life being threatened later too.
I’m glad that I finally found a feel-good romantic comedy drama like this one to watch😊
I’m so happy you’re liking it too girlfriend @Phoenix! 🙌🏻
Yes, even with all the usual tropes and story, the main leads were able to suck us in and enjoy it. 😁
@agdr03: Girlfriend, thank you for the recommendation 😘 We are twinning, as ways 🙌 Waiting for the kisses 😛
*as always
@packmule3 I love the Cinderella type shoes scenes too😊
This show is filled with tropes, and I’m finding they’re making it more fun to watch. The tropes are not incorporated because Writernim lacks creativity, but inserted knowingly, with flair, because they fit the based-on-webtoon genre; in this case, cartoonish is good.
It seems obvious to me that Chairman Kang wears a hairpiece. I can point this out without being rude because the actor who plays him, Lee Deok Hwa, admits to his receding hairline and does advertisements for wigs and hair implant services. I think Chairman Kang warms to Shin Geum Hui is because he senses she’s a kindred spirit in the wig department. It also helps she has the name of a character in a Kdrama he’s currently enjoying. I think he’ll be upset to learn that Shin Geum Hui is an act adopted by Shin Ha Ri, but will be quick to forgive her because he, himself, understands that artifice is sometimes needed in navigating society.
I sense that Chairman Kang is wise and kind, and very lonely. He recognizes sycophants that try to gain something from him, or through him: people surrounding him who are not true friends, nor loyal employees, nor loving family members. His grandson is one of the only people he can trust. Secretary Cha, although not a blood relative, is considered trustworthy by Chairman Yang as chosen family. (Family of choice is another common trope.)
The kindness and consideration displayed by Tae Mu does not surprise me if he was raised by his grandfather.
I agree that some plot developments have been foreshadowed:
–Mysterious circumstances in the deaths of Tae Mu’s parents. It was hinted they may have fallen victim to other family members angling to take control of the conglomerate.
–Secretary Cha’s birth origin, and why he was brought from the orphanage to be raised in Chairman Kang’s home as a member of the family. (Although if Tae Mu lost his parents when he was a boy, one source of comfort and companionship for him would be to grow up with a peer. If that’s why Secretary Cha joined the Kang household, it is another example of Chairman Kang’s cleverness and empathy.)
–The sometimes-spectacled man who seems to be stalking Seol In Ah. I’m thinking the lamp he foisted on her contains some kind of bugging device. Has her father hired him to keep tabs on her? Or does this mystery man have criminal intent? I like that Secretary Cha is already suspicious of him.
@Welmaris, I was wondering whether Lee Deok Hwa wore a hair piece because it looked like that when I watched him win the lifetime achievement award. He wears the same one in this drama. 8n The Red Sleeve he was in a costume drama so modern hair design wasn’t necessary. My general preference is that balding men look bald. I think his toupee looks like a fur hat. I guess hairor the lack thereof, has been an issue for men since before the time of Sampson.
It feels like (to me), we are in for a surprise ending… The grandfather keep’s hinting that SH is a ghost. He wants her to break up with his grandson before… something…
He has been saying all along that HR looks like a ghost with her hair all in her face…
Now, we have seen this foreshadowing. It makes me sad that this is not just a romantic Korean Drama where the two main characters fall in love and are together forever!
However, the last episode gave it away as a ghost story when they showed the flowers vanish into a black haze.. .
The thing I cannot figure out, is if HR is the dead ghost of TM’s mother, does that make HR a dead daughter even in her family?
I am so confused.
Hi @carol. Welcome to Bitchesoverdramas.
No need for confusion and anxiety. This drama is very simple, and it’ll end happily.
Hari is not the dead ghost of Taemoo’s mom. I know Hari overheard men saying that Taemoo looks like his dead father. But it’s too big of a leap to say that Hari is the ghost of his dead mother. Taemoo remembers how his mother looked like. And Taemoo’s also the type to freak out if he’s kissing a lookalike of his mommy. lol. He doesn’t have an Oedipus complex, and he wouldn’t be attracted to Hari if she looks like his mom.
The reason that grandpa says that Hari looks like a ghost is because of her long hair covering her face.
The “virgin ghost” (or chonyo gwisin) is a legend in Korean culture. She’s dressed in white (white is the color of funeral clothes) with her long hair covering her face.
So it’s NOT a foreshadowing of death.
The disappearance of the bouquet of flowers is just a visual metaphor that Hari is about to meet the grandpa. It’s for dramatic effect. lol. The grandpa will eventually come around and love Hari, too. Hari and Taemoo are going to have their wedding in the end.
No worries.
Yay @packmule3-you are the voice of reason. It is very easy to overthink K Dramas. This drama that is now number 9 on Netflix’s popular tv show list in the USA.is too light-hearted to get into tragedy. I think even our TaeMoo’s potential auto accident will be happily resolved. The fun, for me, is to see how they resolve the wily grandfather/HaRi issue. The show within a show has the chaebol dropping dead. I don’t think it will happen to grandpa. However I do think that what HaRi’s family and grandpa will bond over us their live for food and a particular K Drama-how meta can you get.
Same here. I think Hari and grandpa will bond over their love for food AND Taemoo. He’s naturally suspicious of her because he thinks she’s out to hook Taemoo. He doesn’t know that it was Taemoo who forced her to pretend to be his girlfriend to begin with. Hari was the accidental victim here because she was a pushover.
So no worries.
Thank you for making my worries go away! I have really enjoyed watching this Korean Drama. I want a happy ending!
Also, thank you for explaining about the legend.