Episode 3 is the type of show I would have loved to watch with @agdr03. With our lowbrow humor, we would have laughed our socks off at many scenes.
Like, this one.
Though we didn’t see MinHan’s male anatomy, there was no way it could have been intimidating in size. If I were the heroine JiWon, my reaction would have been this,
and followed by this:
The other interesting moments for me:
1. The appearance of this guy
The actor is one of my favorite extras. He’s a veritable scene-stealer.
I wasn’t surprised at all that he “mis-delivered” the chicken order. I suspected right away that JiWon’s boss, Na InWoo’s character (wait, I’ll look up his name) was behind it.
2. The backstory of JiWon’s boss = Na InWoo’s’ character = Yoo Ji Hyuk
a. He ordered the chicken guy, not only to disrupt the JiWon’s “romantic” night with MInHan, but also to hunt down JiWon’s high school crush, Baek EunHo.
It’s a risky move. He likes JiWon, and he would like to date then marry her. But he needs JiWon’s high school crush to clear up the high school rumors and end the bullying of JiWon once and for all. Of course, he runs the risk of JiWon’s crush on EunHo being rekindled (thus, leaving him out again), but I like that he puts her needs before his.
b. He and JiWon apparently met back in high school (or even college), but JiWon could only recall the encounter hazily as she had been drunk at that time, and she didn’t have her glasses on.
She bumped him…and somehow he ended up unconscious or knocked out.
Oh gosh! I hope they didn’t have drunken sex.
The details of that first encounter (meet-cute) is still unknown. But it’s quite telling that HeeYeon, the new bestie, knew all about it despite JiWon not having disclosed it to her.
HY: Why haven’t you been drinking? It’s so nice drinking together.
JW: What do you mean? I drink a lot.
HY: (blurting) Oh! You said you didn’t drink. You said you quit drinking since one big drunken mistake you made before.
JW: (confused) Me? A drunken mistake?
JiWon’s reaction clearly indicated that she never mentioned this to HeeYeon.
HeeYeon blundered. JiWon had NOT revealed the drunken incident to her. She learned about the fateful encounter from another source…that is, from the other party who was involved in it, Yoo JiHyuk himself.
HeeYeon’s gaffe actually jogged Jiwon’s memory and it was only then that Jiwon recalled then how she bumped a guy when she drunk. Instead of getting angry at her, he was concerned about her intoxicated state. He asked her if she was okay. She couldn’t see his face clearly because she dropped her eyeglasses. Then she was drunkenly burrowing her head into his chest (or shoulder?! Na InWoo’s too tall, though). I’m hoping that she slugged him (and not have drunken sex with him) because when she became sober (temporarily sober?) she saw that JiHyuk was lying on the grass? on a bed? on something green.
c. He confessed to his grandpa that he had a “jjagasalang” or one-sided love, and didn’t want to marry anyone else.
3. The mysterious/not-so-mysterious HeeYeon
Tsk. It’s so obvious that she and Na Inwoo’s chara…I mean, JiHyuk are siblings. I’m sure he instructed her to:
a. encourage JiWon to find out the reason the bullies were after her back in high school.
b. bring JiWon to the expensive stylist and get a make over
c. help JiWon pick out new clothes
d. lend JiWon her expensive earrings so she wouldn’t have to wear the fake ones
e. give Jiwon courage and confidence to go to the reunion.
I learned something from her.
HY: When it comes to knockoffs… I mean, copies, there are different grades. S grade, A grade, B grade. Anyone can tell these are super fake dupes.
(Remember now: I’m not Korean.) I think the word she used is “museongi.” By that, she meant to be insincere or to not even put in the effort to make it look real. The word also means asexual…but I’m not getting into that discussion.
JW: They are?
HY: They’re knockoffs that don’t have the decency to pretend to look real. There’s only one reason for a gift like this. Hu.mil.i.a.tion.
This is a funny take on fakes. They should have at least the “decency” to work hard at faking themselves.
4. The “revenge” confrontation
This is a revenge drama, after all. It was entertaining to watch her swan in to the restaurant with her new glamourous look, expensive jewelry and fetching gown.
As the teens would say, she “slayed” it.
But I must agree with JiHyuk. He thought that she was overdressed (or underdressed, to be exact) for a high school reunion in a not-so-fancy restaurant.
It was also fun to watch her take down her bullies in the ladies’ room. For a second, I was worried that she would get flustered or become tongue-tied but she did well.
I especially liked it when she shocked the bullies by kicking the toilet stall door open and bursting out of there confidently. That was a great reversal. And she took control of the situation.
Bully: (in her Busan accent) Where you here all this time? Why did you pretend like you weren’t? Then –
JiWon: I came in here first. Do I have to come out to greet you?
Touché!
But most of all, it was satisfying to watch her unmask her ex-bestie SooMin as the frenemy she really was. I’m sure this won’t be the last of SooMin, though. I’m looking forward to Episode 4.
Gotta go.
I have not read the webtoon on which this show is based, so all of this storyline is new to me.
I am looking forward to learning more of Ji Won’s backstory. Why did she, a clever and successful
person in academics and business, become a doormat? We haven’t had any reference to her mother beside the empty chairs at JiWon & Min Hwan’s wedding: the implication is that she’s alone in the world by that time. We learn she was lovingly raised by her father into middle or high school. We hear he died early. Did the high school bullying start at the time JiWon’s father passed away? Did the secret instigator of that bullying, SooMin, have any connection to the death of JiWon’s father? (If the best defense is offense, is her goal to crush JiWon emotionally so JiWon doesn’t even try to uncover the truth?) It is clear SooMin is playing a long game, and for some reason hasn’t become bored over the years with toying with JiWon.
It takes energy to maintain a relationship; SooMin has been JiWon’s “other half” at least since high school. JiWon attended and graduated from a prestigious college, and has been a permanent
employee in a large company for years, rising to the position of assistant manager. SooMin is employed by the same company, because JiWon recommended her, but is a contract worker. JiWon gets companionship from her relationship with SooMin. What does SooMin get? A temporary–potentially permanent–job, for one. She also gets companionship, sticking by JiWon’s side (and inserting herself in JiWon’s relationship with her boyfriend), but her concept of friendship is to control JiWon. She punishes JiWon whenever things don’t go as she pleases (denying companionship, putting JiWon in humiliating situations, etc.). She also isolates JiWon from her peers, dominating her time and attention. Is SooMin so lacking in self confidence that she can only exist in a parasitic relationship? Even if that’s the case, why JiWon, and why for so long? I suspect there is more motivating her than the desire for an exclusive friendship.
@WEnchanteur, ➡️whoops, I mean, @Welmaris,
I didn’t read the webtoon either. I don’t think it’s worth our time anyway. It won’t be deep. 😂😂
Ji won is father-less. Father died of cancer so her frenemy Somin wouldn’t have anything to do with his death.
Don’t know if JiWon’s mother is already dead too or just abandoned the family.
Somin isn’t as smart as JiWon. Only JiWon got into that “prestigious” university (Seoul National University?). Plus, she works harder.
Somin will run true to the Evil Girl/Manipulative Girl Tropes. Instead of hard work, she uses her friendship with JiWon AND her appearance/looks to get ahead. She may be lacking in confidence, as you said. Or she may have figured out that she doesn’t need to sweat it, if JiWon is there anyway to do the heavy lifting for her.
Let’s just say that her survival instincts are more developed than JiWon.
Nevertheless, her scenes were good for laughs. Like, when she was buttering up her male boss, he was dreaming of all things! Like welcoming a new baby with her. I’m sure she would have been grossed out at the idea of procreating with him.
Also, he kept on attempting to do an “indirect kiss” with her. 🤮🤮🤮
Indirect kiss #1 = licking his chopsticks then picking up a piece of grilled pork and putting it on her plate
Indirect kiss #2 = licking his fingers before tearing up the chicken and handing her a piece of chicken with his bare hands
It was stomach-churning sight to me.
JiWon is a doormat because she thinks that she needs to “earn” people’s affections. Just like she goes above and beyond in the workplace, she gives of herself more than she should in her relationships.
The plot of this drama isn’t at all complicated. But I’m having fun learning about dating culture of the young thirty-something.
Is it really funny? 😁 I haven’t laughed in awhile for the dramas that I’m watching. 😃
It isn’t billed as comedy per se, but while I was watching I was wishing you were there with me doing our usual commentary. It’s a drama that elicits many varied reactions.
Thanks @pkml3
This show has become more fun and complicated by the end of Ep 4.
I agree that half the show is not to be taken seriously, or rather I cannot take the husband and best friend seriously.
Great developments and unexpected revelations. 🙂
Yes, @GB. I think this show is not meant to be taken seriously.
But there are moments when the female lead talks as if she’s delivering a “preachy” message or some sort of public service to young people everywhere.
Examples:
When she said she stopped drinking bec of her dreadful accident but she then corrects herself is that drinking in moderation is fine and “being scared of another mistake seemed like a dumb idea to quit drinking.”
When she said that she dressed up nicely to please herself.
When she told the bullies that if they intended to bully her after hearing one side of the story, they should at least try to fact-check the story first.
I like that the story presents guidelines on how young people could behave when dealing with toxic people without resorting to the same toxicity.