Episode 1 was riveting. I think the screenwriter Kim JiWoon did a good job of fleshing out the original webtoon. I haven’t seen any of her previous kdramas (“Melancholia,” “Doctor John,” and “Hyde, Jekyll and Me”) but the director’s work is familiar to me. He did “Forbidden Marriage” (2022) with Kim YoungDae as the broken-hearted Joseon king who fell in love with Park JuHyun con artist pretending to be possessed by his dead wife’s spirit.

My quick takes on Episode 1.

1. On one hand, it would appear as if the phone call of the would-be killer/abductor set the wheels in motion. But on the other hand, I think the male lead Baek SaEon’s veiled warning to his wife Hong HuiJoo at the start of the show (and the party) escalated the situation to a whole new level.

To HuiJoo in private, SaEon said, “There can’t be any misunderstandings, interest or rumors about our relationship tonight.”

But to the British ambassador and company, he also said, “I would say that my wife is my weakness….I face attacks from all sides. In a way, you could say I’m the government’s official scapegoat. So I don’t want my wife to be exposed to indiscriminate attacks like I am. Yes, she’s my weakness.”

While HuiJoo was already bubbling with rage that he could have treated her blotched murder/abduction with so little regard and so much disdain, his words were the last straw. In her mind, he was obviously just pretending to be concerned about her because it was expedient for him to show a protective loving husband’s façade to the ambassador.

And that’s why she embarked on this dangerous masquerade. She pretended to be her own kidnapper because she was triggered by his faux loving act.

In other words, it was SaeOn who caused the misunderstanding with his defensive explanation of his wife as his weakness.

It must be noted that he also got the people to turn their eyes on her when he waited for her in the lobby and offered his arm to her. The guests would obviously speculate that she was his mysterious wife. So much for not starting any misunderstanding, interest and rumor!

I must note that here that HuiJoo didn’t suspect that SaeOn cut off the phone conversation with her abductor for a reason. He used the time to call up his mother and mother-in-law to confirm HuiJoo’s whereabouts. His mother-in-law lied to him, though, that HuiJoo was at home with her. To me that’s the reason SaeOn didn’t entertain the abductor’s phone call and dismissed his death threats. He wasn’t heartless as HuiJoo assumed; he was only being methodical, calculated and hyper-vigilant about the situation. Since he believed that she was safe and that he was being conned, he mockingly told the killer to call back when a corpse was there.

The obvious sign that he wasn’t so composed as he pretended to be was when he punched the wall in the final scene.

2. HuiJoo (HJ) is not only a sign language interpreter, she’s also a Korean/English interpreter. At the British Ambassador’s party, Baek SaEon had an interpreter with him so his Korean conversation could be fluently communicated in English. But HJ seems to be fluent in English, too, because she conversed with the British Ambassador’s wife in English, albeit in sign language.

If she hadn’t been mute, then she could have done both for him, that is, verbally interpret his his Korean as well as interpret the Ambassador wife’s English into Korean.

So when it comes to languages, I’d say that HJ knew more than SaeOn because she was versed in three languages: Korean, English, and sign language. On technical merit alone, she would make a better spokesman than her husband whose job was Presidential Spokesman.

It must be noted that SaeOn never bothered to learn sign language in their three years of marriage. It showed how much (or how little) he cared for her.

I also think that SaeOn brought her to the party to flush out her would-be killer.

3. The mishap at the tv station wasn’t accidental. Her image froze during the video-taping of the weather report and she was caught with her middle finger up as if she was cursing the director.

To me, this incident was the first sign of the mysterious abductor at work. He was jamming the signal or wireless communication. I’m not a techie, but HJ must have had a transmitter accidentally placed in her possession and it was being used by her would-be abductor.

That’s also the reason she couldn’t get a good reception when she was looking for music on her car radio.

4. I assume that she had a crush on him before.

She studied videos of him doing his briefings as the spokesman because he was a like a “textbook.” I’m guessing that although she thought him to be didactic, analytical, factual, straightforward like a manual, she found that side of him attractive. It wouldn’t surprise me if she was trying to emulate his cold personality/character because it represented something comforting and stable for her.

After the blotched kidnapping, however, she was watching gangster shows supposedly to practice on her interpreting skills. I think she changed her mind about him and wanted somebody who would fight for her and rescue her… somebody with a “gangsta” vibes.

Of course, the whole point of this drama is to show Yoo Yeon Sook as gangsta. Lol.

5. I also assume that she’s suffering from some sort of insecurity. She’s only the second wife’s daughter. Her older sister – the one who went missing – is the real chaebol and, in her mind, the real love of SaeOn.

More to follow. Will edit later. This will have typos because I’m jotting this down while drinking coffee and packing for the beach. 🙂