Two things that require clarification.
1. Question: Is Madam Yoo just using SangEun?
SangEun seems to think that Madam Yoo call her up to ask for her help because she was about to be jailed for her illegal land deal. But she’s wrong.
a. Here’s her phone conversation with Madam Yoo.
SE: You change your mind often. I thought we were never seeing each other again.
Madam Yoo: (not answering)
I think she didn’t answer because she was caught off guard by SangEun’s hostility.
SE: Hello?
Madam: A human can be this way and the other way.
She means that change is part of life; and people can change their minds.
SE: Life must be easy for you, Madam Yoo.
Madam: Is a cup of tea fine for you?
SE: (mumbling) You’re the one who wanted to cut ties. Is this a joke? (replying) I’m sorry but I’m busy preparing for a flight. I’m leaving the country. You probably don’t care where I’m going. Anyway, have a nice life, Madam Yoo. I’ll hang up.
Then, Madam Yoo is seen in her car. She looks at the purchases she brought with her commission from signing the contract with John Brown and Kangin company.
She asks herself, “What have I done anyway?”
Then, she returns home and hands the luxury bag to her landlady to shut up the lady’s complaints.
b. Here’s SangEun conversation with Madam Yoo after finding about the illegal land deal. She visits her at the correctional facility.
SE: “When a person is unnecessarily hospital toward me, there’s always a reason.” Madam Yoo, that’s what you taught me, no? How did a foreigner take advantage of you like that?
SangEun sounds derisive when she reminded Madame Yoo that she taught her to be wary of people who suddenly treat her nicely because they have an ulterior motive for doing so. Had Madam Yoo followed her own advice, she wouldn’t have been conned by a foreigner.
Madam: There are exceptions to the rule when there are paybacks.
That’s the viki sub. I think the dramanice sub is easier to understand. She says, “There’s an exception. If you’re in debt.” The implication here is that Madam Yoo was desperately in need of the money.
Then, she explains her relationship with this John Brown. Using euphemism, she underplays that she once fended off Mr. Brown’s unwanted attention (or harassment?).
Viki sub: A long time ago, he tried to own me, trusting solely on his abilities. I didn’t let him have his way. But he couldn’t understand the situations where he couldn’t get what he wanted. I thought it’d be a chance for me to forgive him for what he had done to me.
Again, the dramanice version is easier to understand:
Dramanice sub: Long time ago, he wanted to have me just based on his power. I didn’t agree to it. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t have something he wanted. I thought this was a chance to forgive him for what he did to me.
SE: So…you were reckless with someone who didn’t even seek your forgiveness.
SangEun grills Madam Yoo for being rash and impetuous. Why did she give Mr. Brown a second chance when he didn’t believe he did anything wrong in the first place?
Then, she suddenly changes topic.
SE: You have something to learn from me, Madam Yoo. You shouldn’t use people for your own success.
To me, she’s telling Madam Yoo that she doesn’t believe her story about John Brown pursuing her. She thinks Madame Yoo got caught in her own scheme to get money from the land deal with John Brown. Madam Yoo deserves to be in prison for using people like John Brown to get ahead.
SE: (continuing) Let me ask you one thing. Did you call me knowing things would turn out this way?
There! She believes that Madam Yoo called her up that night because she knew she was in trouble and was seeking her help to bail her out.
She didn’t know that:
• the instant that Madam Yoo was paid, she thought of buying an expensive bag for her.
• Madam Yoo called her up to arrange to meet with her and gift her with the handbag.
• And, Madam Yoo was upset that she snubbed her. That’s why she just tossed the bag to the landlady. She didn’t care to see it anymore.
SE: (accusatory) You tossed me aside when you had a place to make money. Are you sorry now things turned out this way?
SangEun couldn’t be more wrong here. As I just pointed out, Madam Yoo didn’t toss her aside when she got money. Her first instinct was to share the money she earned from the John Brown deal with her.
SangEun’s accusation hurt Madam Yoo so she decided to hurt her back.
Madam: You still think you were responsible for me, don’t you? You gave me the money of your own volition. That’s how your personality always was since childhood. You can’t stand to have your ego bruised. All the generosity you showed me was to satisfy yourself. Isn’t that so?
SE: Madam Yoo, you really deserve to be punished.
Sigh. Their pseudo-mother-daughter relationship is so complicated. It’s easy to see by their actions and sacrifices that they cared for each other deeply. But with their words, they’re intent on hurting each other.
2. Question: Is HaeJin an evil second male lead?
I’ll quote an uber-dramatic soompi writer on HaeJin:
HaeJin is without a doubt a spoilt, privileged man-child who believes himself in love with Sang Eun after only having met her for maybe half an hour 15 years ago. It’s frankly incredibly domineering of him to assume that he knows her or is entitled to her, but that’s exactly what he does. Sang Eun is brokenhearted after having used up all her life savings and crushing her dreams to bail Mi Ho out of jail. She wants nothing more than to go to Ji Ho’s home and eat by herself – which he freely gives her permission to do. But despite Hae Jin’s family being behind Sang Eun’s present pain, he doesn’t give her the luxury of going to her safe space”?
Instead, because he has been embroiled in dating rumors after paparazzi caught pictures of him helping Sang Eun after the attack, he forces her into the spotlight. Without even doing her the courtesy of telling her what he’s doing, he announces her as his girlfriend. All without her consent. For someone who tries to disassociate himself with his family, he’s the spitting image of them, walking over everyone to get what he wants no matter the cost. He doesn’t even think about the assailant who targeted Sang Eun because of him and ignores it when he sees someone who looked exactly like the attacker. Why? Because he can. Yikes.
It seems that Hae Jin is going to force his way into a contract with Sang Eun given her lack of money, and that makes him all the more unlikeable. Thankfully, our wonderful male lead more than makes up for Hae Jin’s ickiness.
Source: soompi
In a word, nope. Let’s break this down, shall we?
a. “a spoilt and privileged man-child”
Did this writer pay attention or did she fast forward through the second male lead’s scenes?
In the beginning of Episode 2, Kang HaeJin was featured on tv for a new film that he was going to star on. The interviewer expressed surprised that the actor agreed “to appear in a 500M won (or around $350,000) LOW-budget film.” Not only that he called the actor the “best Hallyu star of our era.”
The interviewer wasn’t just exaggerating. In KHJ’s living room there was a revolving panel display of all the movies he starred in.
Then, his trophies were on display, too.
The posters alone should tell any critical viewer that the second male lead was hardworking as they come. He escaped his chaebol lifestyle to make his own way in a competitive entertainment industry. Nobody knew he came from a rich family. He earned the privileges that he had.
b. “who believes himself in love with Sang Eun after only having met her for maybe half an hour 15 years ago.”
Technically, no. He doesn’t *believe* himself in love with her. It’s his manager who insists that he’s fallen in love with Jamie.
From Episode 1:
HJ’s assistant: You named your cat after you first love, and you’re like this on a daily basis.
HJ: What first love? So childish. She was just the first strong, cool, and oddly sexy woman I’ve seen. So she has been stuck in my head for 13 years, and made me lose interest in other women. That’s pretty much it.
HJ’s assistant: This is ordinarily called a first love, Hyung.
HJ: Well, am I ordinary?
HJ’s assistant: How would you feel if Jamie married someone else?
HJ: (scoffing) That woman isn’t your normal, run-of-the-mill woman. Married, my ass.
HJ’s assistant: Exactly! She could have met an incredible man who could make her into that ideal run-of-the-mill wife. And she could have become the Queen of Housewives with a lovey-dovey life.
HJ: (acknowledging) She is in a marrying age. I guess…I don’t feel great about it. But hey, who could take responsibility for that woman? He must be someone like me, at least. Did she get married?
HJ’s assistant: See that? She is your first love.
Do you see that? HaeJin himself DENIES that she’s his “first love.”
His mindset is easy to understand. Since he’s in the business of faking feelings for the camera, he’s prudent and cautious about using the term “first love.” He wants to ascertain what “first love” means before he labels his attachment for Jamie as such.
All he would admit is that he still finds her unforgettable after all these years, and that she’s his yardstick for judging other women he meets.
c. “It’s frankly incredibly domineering of him to assume that he knows her or is entitled to her.”
This is hyperbole based on untruth.
In Episode 3, when he rescued SangEun from the attacker, he offered her assistance.
HJ: Are you okay? (he helps her stand up and releases her right away)
SE: Thank you.
HJ: (seeing the blood on his palm) Aren’t you hurt? I don’t think I got injured. (shows her his bloody hand)
SE: (wincing)
HJ: Let’s go to my house.
SE: (hesitating)
HJ: Will you be okay with that injury? The lights were off in your apartment. You don’t want to go to the hospital looking like that.
SE: (still hesitating, still not answering)
HJ: If I’m concerned for nothing, forget it.
Then he walked away.
Walking away is NOT the action of a man who’s domineering and entitled. He was well-aware that she didn’t want his help and that she perceived his concern and solicitude as unwanted.
So, he was willing to leave her alone to deal with her own problem. But she changed her mind and called him back.
SE: Excuse me.
HJ: (turning around)
SE: (extends her hand out like a princess)
HJ: (mumbling to himself) You sure are Jamie.
As a matter of fact, when they were in his apartment, SangEun was the one who was domineering and entitled. Remember how she demanded that he lent her an oversized white shirt, rummaged through his medicine cabinet without asking, undressed and ordered him to bandage her cut, and trashed his house?
HaeJin thought she was a spoiled kid.
d. “Sang Eun is brokenhearted after having used up all her life savings and crushing her dreams to bail Mi Ho out of jail. She wants nothing more than to go to Ji Ho’s home and eat by herself – which he freely gives her permission to do. But despite Hae Jin’s family being behind Sang Eun’s present pain, he doesn’t give her the luxury of going to her safe space”?”
Oh, please spare me this verbal diarrhea.
Hae Jin is NOT a mind-reader. How would he know that SangEun is “broken-hearted”?
But one thing that he is, is a mathematician. He can put 2 and 2 together. When his brother talks about the fiasco about John Brown, he knows what’s up.
Scumbag Hyung: I’m sorry, Father. (But) we settled everything legally.
Father: Sending that matchmaker to prison isn’t the issue here. How about the money the company lost?
HJ: (his interest piqued)
Scumbag Hyung: There’s no loss on our part, Father. She paid back the entire 7.5 billion won. I heard a young woman got Yoo MiHo out.
Hae Jin knows that SangEun paid for Yoo MiHo.
That’s why I’m guessing then that this marriage deal is NOT for his benefit alone. Sure, he puts an end to the gay rumors and his arranged marriage, but he’s also going to help SangEun regain the money she lost by paying for the marriage service.
e. “he forces her into the spotlight…to get what he wants no matter the cost.”
Is this writer even watching the same kdrama as I am?
Yes, he puts her in a spotlight, but watch what he does. He covers up her eyes and her face.
Does that action constitute as putting her in a spotlight?
It can be argued that he’s PROTECTING her identity…for his sake and hers.
You see, if SangEun walks into that building — just as she is — the news reporters will immediately pounce on her because they know that there are only TWO residents in that building, HaeJin and a legal professional, and SangEun looks like the woman photographed with HaeJin.
In effect, HaeJin is killing two birds with one stone.
One, he stops her from walking into a trap.
and two, he hires himself a fiancée who’s a pro at these pretend relationships.
f. “Hae Jin is going to force his way into a contract with Sang Eun given her lack of money, and that makes him all the more unlikeable.”
Nope. The contract is a win-win situation for ALL.
For HaeJin, the gay rumors and the arranged marriage stop.
For SangEun, this is an easy way to get replenish her bank account. Moreover, if she plays her cards right, she’ll have access to the Kang family as HJ’s fiancée and be in a position to take revenge on the Scumbag Hyung.
For JiHo, jealousy will rear its ugly head and get him all hot and bothered for SangEun.
For us viewers, it’s more entertainment because JiHo is finally, actively pursuing SangEun.
Look here: HaeJin is useful tool to goad JiHo into action. If you haven’t figured it out by now, JiHo’s main flaw is paralysis-by-analysis. JiHo overthinks everything.
But with HaeJin in the picture, JiHo will be motivated to fight for his “wife.”
My advice to viewers of this kdrama and haters of the 2ML is to calm down.
One, HaeJin isn’t a serious contender for SangEun’s affection. He’s just an intermission, an interlude, a detour while JiHo gets his act together.
And two, HaeJin deserves better than SangEun. lol. She has an incontrovertible mean streak that only someone like JiHo can tame.
@packmule3, I can see where the writer made a misstep; she was probably taking the point of view of Sang Eun who was clearly shocked at the situation. Once in the flat, Hae Jin is rather abrasive, and we see that Sang Eun can’t tell if he is telling the truth about his situation. She glances at his acting awards and thinks he is conning her. However, once Sang Eun thinks this over, she takes full advantage of the situation using her business acumen. But that might be in Episode 5.
I’m looking forward to episode 6.
Madame Yoo is a character who puzzles me. For someone who loves money, she seems to be strangely addicted to spending it as fast as she can. Why, in all of those years, did she never get a job herself? I’m guessing she was fired from the Ina group after that dinner party fiasco. But she seems extremely employable to me. Instead, she spends the money she gets from Sang Eun each month and gets into debt, moving into smaller and smaller flats until she is living in a banjiha, like the family in Parasite, and finally moving in with Sang Eun. Is it just their dynamic, with both being incredibly stubborn and proud?
I thought she might be Sang Eun’s mother who put her in an orphanage and then came back for her, but having seen the orphan selection line-up, I no longer think that. I can see that they could like each other but don’t want to admit it in a healthy way because of the way Mrs Yoo rejected Sang Eun’s affection as a child. It would be very difficult for a child to be relinquished to an orphanage and also rejected by an adoptive ‘parent’. The child learned not to form affectionate ties. It’s interesting that Sang Eun is willing to tutor Ji-ho on interpersonal communication. She is certainly good at the surface actions, but less good at the authentic emotions involved.
Sang Eun thinks only of the fact that Mrs Yoo used her. Mrs Yoo accepted the freely given monthly payments and in doing so, both gave Sang Eun’s ego a boost and put herself into an inferior and vulnerable place. Mrs Yoo is at this point still proposing that Sang Eun link up with a chaebol son before she gets any older. She is a bit like a broken record because Sang Eun has done so well on her own without being dependent on a man. It’s really interesting.
I was thinking about Sang Eun’s housemate and his relationship with his family. Although he doesn’t feel he can communicate that he is gay and he would rather move away than tell them, there is clearly a lot of love implied. I wonder how much certain family members know. The man (brother-in-law) looked as though he might understand but wanted to keep out of the fray.
@Fern,
If you reference the source I included in this Ep 4 write-up, the soompi writer was writing about Episodes 3 & 4. Episode 5 wasn’t released yet.
So, she’s wrong. Her bias skews her interpretation of the drama.
I haven’t watched Ep 5 yet, so please don’t talk about it in this thread. You may do so in the Open Thread.
@Fern,
Please read my FIRST Impressions because you missed the part where I noted that she didn’t touch a dime of the money SangEun deposited in her account. For 13 years.
I may be wrong so take a look at it yourself. I took a screenshot of her bankbook. Madam Yoo has 4,000,000+ won in Jamie’s account. 30k was added every month. No withdrawals. 🙂
You are right. Apologies.
🙂
Please understand, @Fern that this drama, like kdrama involving love triangles, has great potential to start fanwars, Remember “Start-Up”? I didn’t get why people were so gaga over that dubious 2ML/Good Boy when it was clear who The Man was.
Same here, I don’t get why people are threatened by the 2ML/Actor that they can’t see what he’s good for. Obviously, he poses no threat to JiHo, and he’s a poor match for SangEun.
To avoid fanwars then, I insist on sticking to the script.
It’s okay to have different takes on the actions and words of the characters. But it’s not okay to attribute things to the characters that he/she did NOT at all do or say. Because then, I would have to go back and trace the source of the confusion and misunderstanding.
As for SangEun, I’m beginning to see that she’ll make a high-maintenance girlfriend and wife. As seen in her relationship with her pseudo-mom/mommy figure/Mommy Dearest, she thinks highly of herself and dismisses people she no longer needs. Sure, it’s a coping mechanism because of the nature of her job. But of all, the female leads I’ve seen in kdrama this year, I think she’s the one most in need of a psycho-therapy before getting involved romantically with anyone. She has more red flags than the United Nations.
For me, I think the reason I began to respect the 2ML was when it was explained that despite the very large number of sponsorships and endorsements, NONE of them have come from his family group. He stuck to his guns and didn’t take a penny from his family directly nor indirectly.
And I haven’t been swayed on who the main couple is since the cat chose JH. That felt similar to the feather landing on whatever his name was in Start Up. It also feels to me more like an older sister/younger brother relationship with SE. His mother is weak and he must protect her and he only has brothers, so Jamie is someone he looks up to
True, from the way his hyung didn’t want to give their mother the time of day and his father ordered his wife to arrange the date with the Sanggung (?) Group’s daughter, I assumed that she was a doormat.
Yes, I like that part that he didn’t get any sponsorships from his family’s company. He was proud of the 30M won that he earned in endorsement on his own, although for his chaebol family, that was peanuts. His Hyung snorted in amusement…but he’s the one who almost lost 7B won.
Remember, too, that 2ML didn’t want to get involved in the marital affair of Jamie.
From Ep 2, after meeting SangEun in the elevator. He suspected JiHo of being a murderer.
2ML: (thinking to himself) She doesn’t even remember me. Why do I step into a married couple’s matter? A husband could carry a knife. He could have photos of a dead woman. If he’s unhappy, he could break a woman’s finger…Oh, what? what the heck?
Then, he got off at his floor. But then, he changed his mind. He took the stairs to get to her to stop her from ringing the doorbell (which was weird if she lived in that condo with her husband).
2ML: Wait a minute. (tugging her wrist) A little attention could save someone’s life, especially between neighbors.
How is that domineering and entitled? He did NOT want to be bothered but he thought he was doing a public service, being a good neighbor, and saving a life.
SangEun: What are you doing?
2ML: Your husband is dangerous. I saw something. Because of that, I couldn’t sleep at all. How is your relationship with him? Are things good?
In my opinion, he acted appropriately. If this was real life and you suspect your neighbor of being in danger of domestic violence/abuse, it’s okay to approach her when you’re both in a safe place, to ask to be excused for intruding in a private matter, and to let her you’re concerned about her safety.
Domineering is when he bangs on their apartment door and demands that she immediately comes out.
Hi @packmule3, this is to tag you as you suggested.
Yes, please create an Open Thread for The Rational Life when you get home. It will be great to have a properly named thread so that those who come to read can find the relevant discussion(s).
🍏 🧀 🍞 ☕ 🍉 🍱 🍘 🍵 🥗 🍝 🍺 🍌 🥞 🥛
I kept some of my notes on that show and will post them again on the OT. Hugs!!! 🤗 🤗 🤗
Hmm…should I start this? I read “Fan wars” and I am hesitant. 🤔. What happened to PMY’s face? It looks so pinched? I know she’s had work done in the past but I much preferred her when she had a fuller, more natural face (in Healer).
Just watch it, @nrllee. You know what happens to weirdo fans trying to join the blog anyway.
The 2ML was in 100 Days My Prince. He’s the bodyguard and the big brother of Nam JiHyun’s character. IIRC, he had an affair with the Queen/Princess, and got her pregnant.
Yes, PMY looks painfully thin in this drama. I hope she’s okay. I’m not sure that her “Healer” face is her “natural” face. She admitted to plastic surgery early in her career, and this issue is always brought up when she has a new kdrama. She was in the news about a week ago because she was dating an old man with dubious business dealings (crypto??). But you know me, her private life is none of my “beeswax” so all this new input about her life in my memory file will be deleted in 2 hours.
@packmule3 yes she looks too thin. I realize her face in Healer wasn’t her natural face either but at least there I didn’t watch her thinking she needed to fill out a little so she looks less skeletal.
I also recognized 2ML from 100DMP. I remember a fair number of people fawning over him there too. 🙄. I will binge this to catch up with you girls after I finish Little Women. I have a soft spot for SunWoo in Reply 1988 – he was sweet there. But I never followed this actor after that drama. Will be interesting to see how he does in this role.