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Romance Town: Episode 4

Soon Geum finally spends her money! This drama isn’t perfect (there’s whiplash-like, choppy editing during Gun Woo’s changing scene that drives me nuts), and is full of tropes and cliches (cold chaebols, unreliable dads, etc). But it’s perfectly enjoyable, so I hope you think so too!

SONG OF THE DAY
Jessica – “Overflowing with Tears” – Romance Town OST
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While Soon Geum is burning up from embarrassment, Hwang Yong is driving home, admiring his new lottery ticket. He notices the phone number on the back, but thinks nothing of it. Soon Geum sees his car driving by and ducks down, but when she realizes that it’s Hwang Yong – with the lottery ticket – she starts banging on the window trying to get his attention.

Hwang Yong just drives on by, pretending he never saw her. They had made a deal that the two of them will never see each other again or discuss the loan.

But woops – another knuckle raps against the window. It’s Tae Won, Yoon Joo, and San. Why is she in the car and not coming out? Why is she with…of all people, Gun Woo!? Pow-wow in the living room time.

It’s cute that San refuses to let Soon Geum put him down from her lap, afraid that she’ll leave again. Soon Geum kneels in front of Tae Won and the family, and begs for her job back. Of course, Gun Woo explodes: “Who says you can!?” Tae Won tells him to shut up and get out; they can’t live without Soon Geum, but they can live without Gun Woo. Even San pipes up in agreement.

Ouch.

Tae Won shames his son: just as Gun Woo is desperately looking for Choon Jak, San has been desperately looking for Soon Geum. But Gun Woo is stubborn; he will definitely bring Choon Jak back to the household. Soon Geum says she’s not going to stay after Choon Jak comes back, since she feels unfairly treated by Gun Woo and has her pride to keep.

The decision is made; Soon Geum will stay. San excitedly hugs Soon Geum as Gun Woo looks on sullenly. Soon Geum goes around even greeting the dog, and then calls her father to make sure he’s at the hospital. When he asks where she is, she replies, “At the madam’s home (Kang Residence), where else?” That’s a surprise to her father, as he really did think she was lying about being employed.

At the Jang Residence, Mistress Boon Ja rushes to show off the rings to Wife Soon Ok. She shows her two rings: the big pearl that belongs to Hyun Joo, and her own pearl. (Boon Ja’s pearl is still bigger than Soon Ok’s, but not as big as Hyun Joo’s.) They speculate their husband must have another woman. Soon Ok bristles with anger, but she’s going to pretend she doesn’t know anything. Boon Ja is worried – if he has another woman, the two of them might be kicked out!

Later they watch TV with Jang Chi Gook, cramming him right in the middle. Boon Ja falls asleep, and her head leans against his shoulder. When he tries to get up for some water, Soon Ok warns him, “If your eye wanders one more time, Boon Ja and I are going to mummify you.” He-he-he…old man is trapped between his two ladies.

The next morning, Gun Woo is doing his morning run, and bumps into Joo Won. They smile in greeting to each other, and Joo Won looks particularly happy to see him.

Not. Cool.

Hyun Joo is in the market early as well, purchasing the freshest crabs, octopus, and squids. She tells the stall owner that money is no option; she just wants the best. The owner thinks that Hyun Joo must be the wife of a rich household. Methinks Hyun Joo is freely spending money as a form of revenge against Chi Gook.

She goes around to each of the houses and gives Da Kyum and Zar Lin her “extra seafood” purchases. She tells them to prepare good meals for their masters, and pretend that they actually woke up early to go to the market. When she serves octopus soup for her masters, Chi Gook praises, “You’re so diligent!” That praise doesn’t go unnoticed, so Soon Ok shares her disapproval over how the soup was made. Boon Ja pokes at Hyun Joo’s lack of education, but Chi Gook rises to Hyun Joo’s defense: both Soon Ok and Boon Ja graduated only from high school, but at least Hyun Joo graduated from a specialized college in Seoul. In your face!

Soon Geum oversleeps on her first day back, and so Yoon Joo angrily storms into her room to wake her up. As Soon Geum tries to blink away the remnants of sleep, Yoon Joo gives a tirade of all the things to do: clean the bathroom…do the laundry…boil the underwear and make sure it’s not in the same pot used for soup…clean out the fridge and do grocery shopping…clean the dishes…give San and the dog a bath. Oh, and make breakfast, because all the yelling has made her hungry.

When Yoon Joo leaves, Soon Geum musses up her hair – was she insane to go back to the household, or what?

Next visitor: Gun Woo. He asks her, early in the morning, what she did with the lottery ticket? Soon Geum: “I don’t have it…Aren’t you going to ask how much it was worth?” Gun Woo kneels next to her and tauntingly asks if she won first prize. Belittling her, he hits her forehead with a finger and asks, “Or second place? Or third place?” Soon Geum swats his hand away.

Soon Geum: Are you belittling me because I’m the maid? Or because I don’t have money? Or because you’re uneducated?
Gun Woo: All three.
Soon Geum: If I have more money than you, would you still belittle me?
Gun Woo: Do you not have self-confidence, (and so) are you trying to buy my affection?

He tells her he’s annoyed she lacks self-respect, because she chose to come back to such a demeaning job after being kicked out, and used San as an excuse. He gets karmic justice for his insults when he drives to work, because his gas tank empties out on the way. He’s forced to push his car to work, and arrives at the business meeting late.

His father tells him it will cost him $10 for every 10 minutes that he’s late. $10 – to every person in the room. That pretty much depletes all his cash and he’s left with only $5 in his wallet. Tae Won smiles to himself – his son is now a beggar! On top of that, Gun Woo’s stocks are going down.

Meanwhile, Soon Geum meets Hwang Yong in her storage locker for a “secret-sharing session.” He calls her out for being a fool and going back to work as a maid, even with her father acting the way he did. He tells her to make sure she keeps his secret, and she says he should do likewise about the money. She asks if there’s anything he could do to help her deal with her father, and he says, “Like what, cut off his hand?” His company’s motto is “Don’t give up a precious part of your body,” and Soon Geum mutters, “What kind of gang is this?”

BWAHAH! That’s the thing though – Hwang Yong is the anti-gangster!

Gun Woo talks to his father on the rooftop for a private chat. He wants to know why he’s getting such terrible treatment from his father. Tae Won says that he’s pushed him off the edge; Gun Woo will now have to climb his way back up on his own. He’s also added San to his registry and is about to break the news to Yoon Joo, so Gun Woo cannot threaten him with that information anymore.

Gun Woo’s all, “What the hell, man?” Tae Won has never shown him any love, so the least he could do is give him money. It’s not like he’s scared of being penniless, but he does think it’s unfair that his own father is not giving him a single thing (love, money, anything).

Tae Won: You know what I find the most scary in this entire world? Money. You don’t have to be scared of me, Gun Woo.

Soon Geum is busy cleaning the entire house, per Yoon Joo’s instructions. As she vacuums the steps, Yoon Joo offers up Hwang Yong’s handkerchief and asks that she wash it separately, and carefully. Soon Geum reaches over to grab it, but is a little too far out of reach, tumbling down the stairs instead. Aish – what a fool…

The pain in her back bothers her all day as she cleans. She puts on a patch while cleaning Gun Woo’s study, and takes a break – wailing about WHEN and HOW she’ll spend her money.

First up: paying off Shi Ah’s college tuition. She imagines telling Shi Ah to quit working at the bar and finish school instead. Soon Geum would also be attending college diligently, and getting A’s, making her mother proud.

Next: taking the maids to an expensive hair salon, where they can pamper themselves. Soon Geum promises to take care of them and their hair forever!

Soon Geum giggles at the thought of what she’d do with her money.

Da Kyum prepares a nice seafood soup for Young Hee, warning him that it’s hot. Not like he ever listens, and he bites into a juicy mushroom right away – squirting hot soup onto Da Kyum’s forehead. Young Hee apologizes profusely, and grabs petroleum jelly for her. He’s worried she’ll get a scar, because if she does, she’ll never get married!

As Young Hee applies some petroleum jelly on her forehead, she notices that for a guy who can’t even find something right in front of him, he sure can find something he hardly uses pretty quickly. You know that Da Kyum is going to read deeper into his acts of kindness. I just hope she isn’t disappointed in the end.

Gun Woo walks home from work that night, and Soo Jung catches him on the road. She informs him that she’s told Soon Geum the truth about where the money came from. That only incenses Gun Woo more: “She knows I gave her money and betrays me like that!?” Soo Jung is confused – wait, Soon Geum is back?!

Soon Geum is sprawled out in the middle of Gun Woo’s study, asleep. He nudges her awake with his foot, and then sends her out to buy some medicine for fever; he’s sick because of “someone.” Soon Geum follows him into his room, where he was about to change, asking for money. He tells her that she has money, and for a moment, Soon Geum is afraid he’s referring to her lottery winnings.

He asks if she used up all the money on the hospital fees, and she relaxes. She’ll know the total hospital fees when her father is released tomorrow, and asks if the money is something he’s lending to her, or giving to her. Gun Woo says he’s giving it to her, and she thanks him. He just wants to be rid of her from his room, but she keeps talking: “I’ll accept it. I’ll use it well!”

Gun Woo is so angry and annoyed, he loosens his tie violently.

Soon Geum purchases the medicine and bumps into Young Hee. He’s happy to hear that she got her job back, but then asks when she’s going to give her liver to him as promised. Soon Geum: “Ah…soon?” Young Hee smiles, and then reaches his hand up to her forehead to check if she has a fever. GAH! Guy needs to keep his hands to himself!!

Satisfied after checking her temperature, he asks for some ointment (presumably for Da Kyum!) and leaves together with Soon Geum.

Soo Jung calls up all the maids and informs them that Soon Geum’s back! But she has a hunch… Gathered at her front lawn, they all pester her about the hunch. Soo Jung starts to say it, but then stops! She’s always blamed for being a rumor-mongerer, and so this time she won’t say anything until she has more proof.

They spot Soon Geum coming home with Young Hee and all of them rush outside hugging her excitedly. Even Young Hee can’t help but laugh at the maids’ excitement. You can never break the Sisterhood of Maids.

The next morning, Hwang Yong receives a text from Soon Geum while he’s shaving. She’s asking for the number behind the lottery ticket. Hwang Yong mutters, “She thinks I’m so easy,” and lies that he doesn’t have the ticket anymore.

Joo Won visits Young Hee for some breakfast, and with the way Da Kyum plunks the tea in front of her, it’s clear Da Kyum dislikes her. Joo Won comments that Da Kyum seems to be quite the insolent maid, but he says, “Don’t look down on her. Don’t talk behind her back, and don’t come in to inspect when I’m not around.”

Ha! Joo Won is offended, and wonders if Young Hee likes Da Kyum. He says the girl is just family, and they’re 12 years apart. But he catches on fast, and confronts Joo Won: does she like him or something?

Joo Won makes it clear that Young Hee is sort of like her consolation prize since Gun Woo is now a father and no longer available. Young Hee tells her to go after Gun Woo instead, since he’s really not a father. OOOH! Scandalous rumor will now spread.

Without a car and money, Gun Woo goes to various banks borrowing lots of money, no matter their interest rate. Meanwhile Soon Geum has lots of money, and pays off her father’s hospital bill with her cash. She then goes to her father to complain more about her work, and says that she’s feeling sick from anger towards him. He notes that she’s becoming just like her mom; her mother used to say they never had any money, but she was just really good at hiding it from him. Soon Geum grows worried – will her father find out about her secret?!

Later that day she visits Shi Ah, who’s house hunting at an apartment building’s basement. Though it’s decent, Soon Geum doesn’t feel good about it. She passes by a high-rise apartment building and vows to purchase an apartment there for Shi Ah and her daughter.

She phones Hwang Yong again (who would rather not hear from her anymore), asking if she can buy a house without her father knowing. She’s only working as a maid to keep up pretenses with her father, but she wants affirmation that she can buy a house without his knowledge if she’s not going to live there. She grows teary-eyed and wistful, and spills her guts to Hwang Yong about her mother’s dream to own a home.

Hwang Yong is all, “Why the hell are you telling me all this!? Stop crying!” Heh! He’s like her unwilling confidante. He gets so frustrated he hangs up on her. But he gets a call back – and this time it’s Tae Won requesting a meeting.

Gun Woo has a few beers with Young Hee that night; apparently, he borrowed all that money to purchase a bunch of stocks. If it goes up, he’s going to sell them because he has absolutely no money. His father’s not even going to give him a salary. Young Hee asks if Gun Woo wants to borrow money, but Gun Woo just wants him to keep his trap shut about him being penniless. He says Young Hee’s lips are too loose, and Young Hee grabs him into a headlock. Though Young Hee is playing at first, the two of them break out into a full fledged tussle on the grass.

Heh. Bromance.

Tae Won and Hwang Yong have dinner together. Tae Won knows about what Hwang Yong does, and gets down to business. If Tae Won leaves an inheritance of 10 billion Won, half of it will be gone because of inheritance tax. He knows that Hwang Yong has the winning lottery ticket in his company. Tae Won wants to buy the ticket for 11 billion; the winner got 500 million more over the 9.5 billion in winnings, and Hwang Yong would get an extra 1 billion. Tae Won’s heir would get the lottery ticket – and the full 9.5 billion.

Hwang Yong has one question: Who’s the heir? Tae Won doesn’t have an answer.

Soon Geum is removing lint from some laundry when she hears Gun Woo stumble drunkenly into the kitchen. She hands him his envelope of money. Gun Woo yells that he just gave it to her (sort of as a way to preserve his pride), so Soon Geum swallows up her pride and just thanks him for it.

Gun Woo opens a new bottle of white wine and drinks straight from the bottle. He drunkenly spills some on the kitchen floor, and leaves it for Soon Geum to clean up. She notices his dirtied suit and goes up to his room, where he fell asleep without even changing.

Soon Geum tsks at him for being so dirty when she had just finished doing all the laundry. She uses the lint roller, grabbing all the grass stuck on his suit, and decides to use it on his neck too – just for the heck of it, since he’s dead asleep. But then, the roller gets stuck on his hair! Gun Woo stirs, and Soon Geum tries to pull the sticky roller off his hair without waking him. (He even winces in pain in his sleep!) He rolls over and traps Soon Geum under his arm and leg.

That wakes him up – “What are you doing here?” Soon Geum tries to break free, but then starts rolling the lint roller over his clothes. She’s just cleaning, you see… Gun Woo: “Are you trying to seduce me right now? Is that why you came back, to seduce the son of a rich family?”

Properly offended now, Soon Geum quietly gets up and leaves his room, tears forming in her eyes. In the darkness of the kitchen, she drinks a bottle of soju. In his darkened room, Gun Woo is pensive, clearly thinking about Soon Geum.

The next day, Soon Geum takes a huge stack of cash and hands it to the real estate office. It’s the contract fee for the apartment, and she smiles in excitement. It’s also the day that Tae Won and Yoon Joo leave for a mini vacation by themselves, so Soon Geum is stuck in the house with Gun Woo. She serves his dinner and cleans up after him, all the while feeling sick. Gun Woo notices, and he offers the fever medicine she bought last time. Ha – like she’s going to take anything from you.

Young Hee gets a call from the real estate office about the apartment being sold, and he says he’ll go over tomorrow. He sees Soon Geum heading into his house (to see the maids and Da Kyum), and notices that she’s sick. She brushes it off as just being overworked and tired, and he goes to find some medication for her (if he can tell the difference between sleep and pain medication). Back at her home, Gun Woo is puzzled as to why Soon Geum isn’t in her room, or anywhere in the house for that matter. He heads over to Young Hee’s to take a look.

The maids gather for some bibimbap in Da Kyum’s room, where they’re playing another round of go-stop. Soon Geum just takes the blankets and lies down to rest. The maids continue eating, and Zar Lin has a piece of rice stuck on her face. This little scene just emphasizes that people confuse their right and left sides based on whether they’re the onlooker or the subject.

Lottery drawing time! Zar Lin once again checks the numbers, and this time – they actually got four numbers in a row! They’re fourth place, meaning they get $50 in winnings. If they split it 5 ways, everyone gets $10. However, Da Kyum, Soo Jung, and Zar Lin don’t want to split it with Soon Geum – she didn’t even play in this lottery! Hyun Joo thinks that’s unfair, but she’s outnumbered. Then, Da Kyum remembers that Hyun Joo owes her money, and so she wants to split the winnings three ways, with Da Kyum getting more of it to signify Hyun Joo’s share.

Everyone turns against Hyun Joo at this opportunity for a bigger share of the pie. Zar Lin even mentions that Hyun Joo got a raise, and she doesn’t have to farm or take care of children. She’s got it easy, and therefore doesn’t need the money. Eventually, all four maids dissolve into a loud and petty argument over the money. Soon Geum weakly begs for them to quiet down, but they pay her no mind.

That is, until Young Hee crashes into the room and yells at all of the women to shut up. There’s a sick person in the room, and they’re all so cheap in quarreling over $50. Do they want the money? He’ll just give it to them for free right now if they could just shut up! He picks up Soon Geum in front of the cowering maids and walks out of the room. Even Da Kyum is shocked.

Except. Gun Woo’s standing at the door. And he just saw everything. He’s more surprised to see that of all people, it’s his maid in his friend’s arms.

Young Hee: “MOVE!”

And he brushes right past Gun Woo.

Comments:

There’s one thing going for this series, and that is the endings. The writer knows how to make cliffhangers of the romantic comedy kind. Episode 3 had the confession; episode 4 had the declaration of a love triangle (or square, or pentagon).

It’s interesting to see the responses towards Gun Woo. I can see why people think he’s a jerk or an asshole. However, I don’t think he’s intentionally being a jerk. He saw Granny Choon Jak and Soon Geum as his true friends for not looking down on him because of his weight. But when he finds out that his family kicked out Choon Jak, that Soon Geum replaced her and works for the family he resents, he feels betrayed. He says in episode 3 that he thinks Soon Geum deserves to work at a better place than his home. In a twisted way, he too is thinking about her. As for when he accuses her of wanting to seduce a chaebol, I think he’s just become cynical. He can’t seem to understand why Soon Geum would return to his family because he can see through their facade. We know he’s capable of goodness from the way he helped Soon Geum in episode 2, so I just don’t buy that he’s a jerk.

As for Hwang Yong – I love his relationship with Soon Geum right now. While Hwang Yong would rather have nothing to do with Soon Geum, she constantly looks to him for advice on how to use her money. It’s cute, and he might be an awesome surrogate father – if only he wasn’t the father of Joo Won (her potential love rival).

The problems about money is a little confusing, but interesting. The drama has shown how too much money are a curse and a blessing depending on how you look at it. I think Tae Won is actually afraid his son will do better than he will, and is therefore taking away Gun Woo’s money as a way of controlling him. I fear the wrath of the maids when they find out Soon Geum is a billionaire. There’s gonna be a big, messy pay-off from all those blatant hints about what’s right or left.

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I'm starting to like this drama more and more, tbh! Thank you for the recap, kaedejun :) The subs are intolerable

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i'm loving this drama more, can't wait till for a love triangle! well, we have to wait for a week to know about that tho, but i smell it already! i just love that Gun Woo was there during Young Hee's show of concern, weeeeeeee!

oh btw, the softsubs are available at http://www.darksmurfsub.com

here is the linky:

http://www.darksmurfsub.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1341-romance-town-2011/

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thanks so much kaedejun for the recaps.

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Go to Epdrama where the subs are better though not immediately available .

I love how this drama is turning ...very interesting subplots appearing every now and then . Kudos to Sung Yuri for her handling of her role here .

Looking forward to new episodes all the time

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Thnx for the recap kaedejun, I'm starting to really like this drama.

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thanks recap. SYR Soon Geum success with her find money.
so interesting episode 4. can't wait continue.
Saranghae SYR

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Goddammit! i cant wait for the next episode!!! :D this drama is too cute!

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Oooh!
Your remark about Loan Shark made me think of Mr. Knightley. She could be his Emma!

I know people get all creeped out about the Emma-Mr. Knightley romance, but I'd like to see King Jeongjo happy with the Young Maid; he never did get to fulfill his dreams for a new Joseon...

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yesss!!! I've been waiting for this recap. Thanks so much!!!

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and tomorrow night is going to be the 5th episode, kiyaaa so excited. I've been watching Lie to Me and Romance Town... and i have got to say that Romance town is so much sweeter and cute. But Lie to Me is definitely more hilarious hahas. x)

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God I just love the friend now more and more.. ex-fat dude is way to rude to her.. Don't get it why!.. but his friend is funny and nice I hope she ends up with him even the ex-fat dude is HOT..XD

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..and what's with the poking the forehead with his finger... if somebody dares touches my forehead like that, I'll be plenty mad.

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yipppie YAY

thank you.... K

i really like this episode ^^

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By the way, GW is a JERK!
He's not even a funny jerk, or an interesting jerk, or a wounded jerk, a smart jerk, a sexy jerk, a misunderstood jerk. He's a whiney, selfish, babyish, passive jerky jerk.

I will still wait around for his transformation. It had better be good.

Thanks for the recap! The subs have been a little unreliable for this show. It is funny how ONE word change in a translation affects the whole conversation. I had no idea that he was a nice gangster. I just read gangster.

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i feel ya abt the subs.....@ the end of Ep 3 when GW actually says along the lines of : "make me fall in love with you"....the vid that i watched had it as "seduce me" or something.....i was like, "GW, you di-int!!"

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You should download the softsubs from darksmurf, they make sense.

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Thanx!! where wud i be able to download the raw vids?

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You summed up everything that I feel! I was watching first two episodes, and I couldn't finger why I couldn't warm to Gun Woo, it's so unusual for me since I love the K-drama bad boy jerky types but you said everything thats so true! No wonder I'm not jumping up & down to watch the next episode, GW is leaving bitter taste on my mouth =/

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When GW was fat he was nice when he became the sexy guy he became the snob ,arrogant though the recapper might be right it is just a facade so SG will leave the house

But what kind of a Chaebol are these people -they can only afford one maid each ? That is so unbelievable specially how SG has to clean rooms in her hands and knees -that is so medieval -haven't they heard of vacuum cleaners and assorted gadgets ...just so unrealistic ...perhaps to drive home the point the maids particularly SG are so overworked.But then we are in 2011 not a sageuk drama

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korean people still clean the floor on their hands and knees with a "걸래" (rag)
they vauum too, but everyone also does it on their hands & knees.
that's just how they do it.......
because a vauum sucks up the dust but doesn't necessarily wipe it clean

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I must be really biased towards JKW, as I really adore GW!
Funny jerk, yes. Misunderstood jerk, yes. Sexy jerk, yes.
He is just lonely, frustrated, etc. But I see his soft side. Plus, JKW is such a cutie...he makes me laugh so hard at times!

And I think the Darksmurf subs are great ;)

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Yes! Thank you! Had to watch it without subs. My limited Korean helped very little.

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I absolutely love this drama. But where is little San while this is happening?

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i like this better than Lie to Me. I find it more romantic and the lead guy more endearing. Besides it gives more angst and cliffhangers to us viewers vs. LTM.

Thanks Kaedejun for the recaps =), can't wait for episode 5...

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I appreciate the show more when I read the recap than when I watch it. So for now I think I'll stick with the recaps until something is mentioned that makes me think I must watch the show.

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I agree. When I watch it, I don't know if it has something to do with the subtitles, I can't understand many things that the recaps make clear for me. I highly appreciate these recaps.

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As much as I like the cold cheabol types, I can't seem to get warmed up with Gun Woo =(

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Omo! Gun Woo or Young Hee???!! I love both boys so much!!!

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me too....
and i loveeeee San too
he is beyond cuteness

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My vote is for San!!!!!

I think he is the cutest of all three!

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The part where San refuse to let go of Geum Soon so she can beg for her job back...i rewatched too many times. San is so cute!

Gun Woo is getting on my nerves..how can you be a complete jerk to the person you first had good feelings for? He was still all nice and sweet to her when they first reunited. And it's not like it's HER fault the grandma left...his misplaced anger irritates me.

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I really like the development of the stories in the other households. This kinda reminds me of Desperate Housewives/Upstairs, Downstairs.

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this drama isn't outstanding in story, but i feel drawn to it. it's definitely the chemistry of the actors/characters. i love the interactions among the maids. i love the slightly disfunctional brotherhood. gun woo and soon geum are great together too, even though i don't feel they've had enough screen time together. i hope they have more together in this week's episode.

i can already feel the tension, thinking of the time all the little secrets come out. i hope the maids don't hate on soon geum too badly when they figure out how loaded she is. i feel she'll be left to suffer a lot because of everyone.

looking forward to more.

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also, i really don't think gunwoo is being too much of a butt. he was INSANELY nice and sweet to soon geum when he first came back. like, "i've been looking forward to seeing you again," sweet. remember the scene with the broken heel and one-legged hopping? he's just hurt about the halmoni. i would be too if i thought she was the only person who believed in me and she was gone.. which is funny because it was actually soon geum.

yesss. i'm excited for all of that to come out. =D

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ok, I would hugely appreciate someone explaining this money business to me...
sooooo Soon Geum took a loan from a loan shark (a nice one at least) and she eventually gets her ticket back? Or she effectively sold her ticket to Hwang Yong for less than it was worth?
And why couldn't she just claim the ticket at the office if the hospital bill isn't collected until later?
Does Hwang Yong have the right to sell it to someone else? and how does Tae Won know about the lottery ticket/ how does it even benefit him? Gah! So confusing!

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A lot of people seem to be confused by this... sorry if I couldn't explain it clearer!

The lottery winnings is 14.2 billion. There will be a 33% tax deducted from the winnings, reducing it to 9.5 billion.

Soon Geum sold it to Hwang Yong because it would be better than redeeming it at the lottery/loaning business where her father's friend works. If he finds out she won the grand prize, he will tell her father, and her father will take the money from her.

Hwang Yong accepted lottery winnings as collateral, so she effectively sold it to him.

Hwang Yong gave her an extra 500 million (of which I'm not entirely sure why), bringing her total winnings to 10 billion. She no longer owns the lottery ticket, but got the equivalent of it.

Now Hwang Yong owns the lottery ticket, and he can redeem it at a later date for the 14.2 billion won in winnings (or, 9.5 billion after tax). Or - he can sell it to Tae Won, who will buy it for 11 billion, allowing Hwang Yong to profit 1 billion for himself. How Tae Won knew about him having the lottery ticket is a mystery...

Soon Geum claimed the ticket/sold it to the loan sharks/got money in general in anticipation of the hospital bill, as she didn't know how long her father would stay, and how much the bill will cost.

hope that answers the question!

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I think the reason these guys are willing to pay more is they hope/expect to get around paying all the tax.

Either they know a corrupt person in power, so the bill is actually less than the discussed 33%, or they pay the 33% and get a kickback elsewhere.

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Maybe they are trying to evade inheritance tax, or whatever you call it. Cause in most country's the tax for that is 50%.
Or they can use it to make some illegal money legal. Cause illegal money is really hard to spend, so maybe that's why he is willing to spend a little more money than it's actualy worth.

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But they still have to report the winnings as legal money, don't they?

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thanks K

can't wait for tonight episode ^^

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I think SG settled for the discounting rate -because she is in a hurry to get the money and for the other reasons mentioned by Kaedejun .

She is practical and smart and hopefully no one steals her money . It's good she has invested it in an aprtment to be used by her friend and child

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Thanks kaedejun!

That helped a lot, I was very confused and waiting for her to find out she got screwed over but now I think I understand. I fear money so the more complicated it gets- the more my brain shuts down- plus all these hundreds of millions and billions confuse me :)

I love your recaps, thank you so much for writing them!

xoxo,
Lili

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of course - i could also be wrong - but this is what i think happened based on 4 episodes. :)

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I think she could not take the ticket to the office because then everyone will know that she won the money... and she wanted to hide it from her father in particular... so she went to the loan shark....

Also, Hwang Yong have a right to sell the ticket because it's not claim yet... I am a little confused why he is offering more than the actually face value of the ticket.. and also not sure how Tae Won knew about it.. I guess.. somehow someone worked for Hwang Yong must have lacked the news...

thanks so much for the recap.. I am loving this drama... Yong Hee is so cute and sweet... and I like how the relationship between Hwang Yong and SG.

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I think Hwang Yong offered an extra 500 million for Song Geum for her to keep the secret of Hwang Yong being in a loan shark business...

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I could be wrong. My guess is that Hwang Yong is willing to pay the additional 500 million so that he can declare the winnings later as a "lawful" income. The 10 billion is "laundered" at a charge of 500 million so that it can see the "daylight" as Hwang Yong must likely to be involved in shady dealings.

Cannot think of a reason why Tae Won is willing to pay for the ticket?? As he will need to account for the 11 billion spent.. assuming that he is in lawful business.

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With the above discussions, it's now starting to make sense to me.

Soon Geum does not want her father and anyone else to find out she's a lottery winner so cashed up the ticket with Hwang Yong.

Hwang Yong gave her extra as a bribe to keep quiet about his 'business'.

Hwang Yong can later claim the money and legitimize his 9.5B as a form of money laundering, or he could on-sell it for more profit as what Kang Tae Won is offering to do.

I just have to write it here so I can understand it better. Thanks for the enlightenment.

I like the many twists and turns of the drama of the lives of the 'maids'.

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Tae Won's heir will have the money taxed anyway -- the 33% lottery tax is just preferable to the 50% inheritance tax -- and i think that is why he is willing to buy the ticket. He loses either way, just less with the money in the form of a ticket.

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Love this episode, I didn't feel anything wrong in the editing, it's a fun episode. Thanks for your recap. Will wait for the next and the next. Pls keep going ^^

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GAH! Guy needs to keep his hands to himself!!

HAHAHA. I see I love a dislike for Young Hee (me thinks). I'm sorry, but I like Young Hee. I like his pairing with Da Kyum especially. But should he set his eyes somewhere else, which I'm thinking he will for a while, I don't mind so much. Unless Gun Woo stops being a butt, despite his good intentions, I ain't going to side with him. (He was uter when he was chubby and nice.)

X/

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Oops, I meant "I see a dislike for Young Hee". Too. Early. Need. Coffee.

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Argh, and I meant "he was CUTER when he was chubby and nice". Now all that nice eye candy does nothing to sway me. X/

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Thanks for the recap! I discovered this series last weekend and I really like it.

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You know What ? This drama is PERFECTLY INSANE !!!!! XD

And that's Exactly why I'm enjoying it so much <3

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Jung Gyu Woon (Gun Woo) made a great job ....everyone loved him in episode 2 ans now it's a horrible jerk in episode 4 ... ^_^ i'm loving him more !

But why his pants are too short ?

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Haha I wondered the same thing! They are a horrible cut and don't even flatter him! They just look like they're a bad fit, same for some of the other outfits. But all the same he is HOT! :D

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cant wait till the next epsiode!

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Woah, Gun Woo traded on margin? That's never a good idea. That's going to bite him in the a** later as I'm sure that's what the writer plans on doing when he did it not even caring about the interest rates.

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I thought the guy got an MBA at Columbia!

He learns all this smart stuff about business and comes home and makes a rash and risky move based on a desire to show his father a thing or two? Whatta you an idiot?

Why didn't we make him a screw-up in the first place who never actually attended classes, just lost weight?

I understand what the Old Bad Hair is trying to do with his good-for-nothing son, it worked for Han-Kyul in Coffee Prince.
But don't make him completely desperate. Give him some guidance.

So we guess that Young Maid is going to have to cough up her winnings to Rich Son to bail him out at some point?

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yea... this is a little bit irritating because it doesn't make much sense. How can I possibly root for our hero right now...

All he has done so far is lose weight! That glimmer of niceness he had in the earlier episodes just went fllyyying out the window.

None of these people are making any sense at all. The only person who seems to make ANY sense at all so far in this drama is Young Hee, and that's why I like him.

Soon Geum: why oh why oh why are you being wimpy around Gun Woo?? There's no reason or logic in the world that she should display ANYTHING besides ANGER on her face. I can understand why she can feel a bit guilty because the old grandma maid is out of a job VERY indirectly because of her. But... after what, 3 episodes? I think we should move on from that guilt to pure "WTF?! This has NOTHING to do with me! I AM A VICTIM, @%$%#@Q!!!"

Gun Woo: I just don't understand him at all. The thing is... We don't actually know him as a really nice guy anyway back when he was large. So he told Soon Geum how to eat snacks... yeaaaa.. and had an intention to give a wallet + money back to Soon Geum... yeaa... great.

The Young Hee + Da Kyum "connection": what connection? Does the drama mean to tell me that after 3+ years of Da Kyum working for this guy, Da Kyum is suddenly attracted to him? Does the drama mean to tell me that this is the VERY FIRST TIME Young Hee was attentive to Da Kyum's injuries? in 3+ years? Very hard for me to believe... really.

And just in general... the drama is reaaaaally taking much pains to point things out to us, multiple times. Like the left side, right side thing. And the Soon Geum feeling guilty thing. And the Gun Woo being unreasonable thing. Please, Drama, We get iiiitttt! Let's move ooon to PROGRESS!!

Sorry for the rant... but watching this drama makes me frustrated. Because I like the premise of the story, I feel like the execution and writing falls short of my expectations. :(

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thanks a million for this recaps

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I really hope she doesn't lose the money! I hope she can go to college and enjoy her life and doesn't end up with that jerk, but, of course, we know that is not going to happen.

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Thank you so much for your recap...always looking forward to it. I am interested in the story but doesn't have the time watching the succeeding episodes after i was done with ep 1. Just soooo busy. The recap fills me in on what is happening so that is why I am delighted reading your recap.

Young hee is just so cute...am hoping him and DY will be together (ala Cinderella story)...

Can't wait for the coming episodes....

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Thank you for clarification regarding the lottery ticket. That had me scratching my head....
But the winning lottery ticket belongs to the maids not only to Soon Geum since the confusion of where it was placed in her jacket?
I hope she is smart enough to continue to make good use the money. She had me tearing up regarding the reason for buying the apartment due to her her dead mother previous hardships and circumstances was a good start.
Sooner or later, she has to come clean to the maids. Love the way the maids are starting to have their own interesting characters storyline and how the reversal of fortune is going to wreak havoc of their previous social status. I guess it is a materialistic world. Money talks and bulls***b walks.

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Hehe, I love this drama! Every time I see Soon Geum I think of Han Hyo Jo from Shining Inheritance because their hair style and hair color is eerily similar. Not to mention they sort of have the same type of background story. Living in the rich person's house. Haha.

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hehe can't wait for this weeks ep! thanks for the recap

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i love romance town!

the script-writer of this drama said that she doesn't care if ratings aren't high, she wants the message that money isn't everything to come across well to the viewers.

that definitely raised my respect level!

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Crazy Friend > Asshole lead.

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^
^
antis alert... whew

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now that i watched epi 5 & 6,
crazy friend >>>>>>>> asshole lead.

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Thank you so much for the recap!

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don't know about you..but i'm starting to like young hee more than the lead..he's so cute..and in a weird way he's very similiar to alex!! ( who plyed in pasta)

soon geum is also very cute..

i still have a little hope the gun woo is gonna change..don't like him so much now..loved him nore in the first episode

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I'm still completely confused by the recaps so I'm just going to enjoy this series vicariously through the excellent recaps and the entertaining comments here on Dramabeans. I just hope this becomes an ensemble drama rather than a main protagonists rom com because the secondary characters are very entertaining.

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Is it possible that the winning lottery ticket is not the ticket Soon Geum bought with her own money?? but rather the ticket she shared with all the other maids?? I just thought about it cause they've been repeating the confusion between right/left... anyway, I watch the drama before the recap and all I can say is that I totally don't understand this!! the story... I like all the actors/actress but I just can't understand the plot or where this drama is heading... but I think I will still continue to watch... hehehe..

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lol, it's not just possible, it's true. it's been said in previous recaps, too.

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I originally started watching this for Jung Gyu Woon (or however you spell his name). And he's still easy on the eyes. But after this episode, especially that final scene, I'm a Young Hee fan!

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How is Zar Lin's name spelled in Korean? Just wondering because I know there is no Z sound in the language. My name also starts with Z and, when I was trying to figure out how to spell my name I ended up substituting it with the S character.

Also, I think we're all having such a hard time connecting with Gun Woo because there is no really good reason for him to be a jerk except "I'm hot now so I no longer have to be nice" Syndrome. He reminds me of those "Look At Me Now" talk shows where people who used to be dorks in high school get all hot and then bring back the folks who used to pick on them to rub it in their faces. I wish the writers would give a better reason for him being so rude. Even the "Everyone was mean to me when I was fat" excuse doesn't work. His parents took him for granted and betrayed him but it's not because he was fat, it's because they were selfish. Young Hee hung out with him and tried to get him girls, Soon Geum was sweet to him even though he cost her her rent money, Choon Jak loved him, the other maids in the neighborhood spoke well of him, and it seems he was friendly with Yoon Joo. So, where is all the anger coming from?

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Zar Lin? Hmm.. maybe like this: 잘 린
Use the 'ᄌ' character as 'z'. So the pronunciation would be 'Jar' or 'jal'.

I'm not sure though.

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i wonder how Zar Lin's name actually is in Vietnamese lol. that kind of name doesn't exist in vietnamese as far as i know since there's no Z in the viet alphabet + you can't put a R after a vowel.

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I like this drama particularly because it has great and cute chemistry between the leads, heartwarming friendship of the maids, and it's overall light. Having watched 49 Days, which was like a roller-coaster, I find this drama my spot to rest, before hitting another weight one :)

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Thanks kaedejun!
I am in love with this series right now. I still dread the potential lottery-mixup-furor but I'm enjoying getting to know the maids and getting to know Soon-geum. And I enjoy not really knowing what is going to happen next. I love the character of Hwang Yong. I hope there was a birth mixup and he turns out to be her real dad or something. The two characters have good chemistry with each other.

Gun-woo, I hope he becomes a nicer person. I know part of his animosity towards Soon-geum is because of losing his halmoni and part of it is because Soon-geum is doing menial work for his family, but he should really understand that SG didn't cause his halmoni to leave and that if he really does feel bad for SG's maid status, shouldn't he be a nicer employer?

I am super curious though as to how Tae-won found out abt the lotto ticket! that came out of nowhere!

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Thanks! I really enjoyed reading your recap. Unfortunately I don't really have time to watch the show but your recaps are really good - it's like I'm watching the show anyway!

Also, I think I'm finally getting more familiar with the character names so I totally will not be confused when I eventually marathon this! :)

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I just came late.I am confused.Viki is giving out good subs so why the complaints about bad subs.I have softsubs to ep 4 myself.

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just saw spoiler pic for epi 5....

me can't waittttt XDD

and also i love the ost part 3...it's alex's new song called good smile..
love it ^^

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i dunno why i feel this drama is boring.sigh.
i don't find the sparkle between the lead yet..

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same here, having a problem with the lead guy... it's not just because he's being a jerk right now.... just don't feel him

like yong hee better... he has better chemistry either with soon geum and the other maid...

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why do drama make the poor characters incredibly stupid? For instance if you have a winning lotto ticket don't you turn it in instead of use it as collateral for a loan from a loan shark. Or am I the only one who would turn in the lotto ticket and get the money the correct way?

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she sorta sold it. i don't really consider it a loan anymore. and she didnt turn it in cause her dad's friend works at the lottery place, her dad wouldve found out about the money and steal it.

and that's actually the problem i have w/ this drama. how is it that her dad has been able to go around stealing her money like that??? it's HER money and she's a grown woman. you can't take people's money like that so easily. why doesn't she just put a restraining order on him or something ugh.

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i can't decide whether the weakness of this drama is in the script, the editing, or the acting. the story lines seem to jump all over each other without warning so i'm left confused, and the acting is sometimes weird. i can't feel much of the crying scenes, or the angry shouting by the guy. i like them together though, there's definitely chemistry.

to be honest, out of all the may dramas (i'm watching them all), baby faced beauty has got to be my fave. when jang nara cries, it seems so real. choi daniel was so hateful in the first two episodes, i thought i'd hate his character forever. but the two leads developed a good friendship with a lot of developing attraction. they're both good actors, choi daniel doesn't look like the typical male lead but he grows on you... he turns adorkable. it's too bad no one seems to be noticing this drama :P

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I agree!Baby faced beauty is such a good drama! It soo funny and entertaining! Such a pity no one really watches it.

The only dramas im actually watching is Baby faced beauty and Romance town thats it oh and Can you hear my heart but thats literally it.

I saw the first 2 episodes of lie to me but it didnt attract to me at all. Best love didnt appeal to me either.

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baby faced beauty is surprisingly awesome. its like watching anime character. i hope girlfriday or javabeans would recap baby faced beauty. I am disappointed with Lie to Me. Best Love is okay but I am not hooked up. I guess I am into unique dramas.

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kaedjun, thanks for clearing up the loanshark thing!

I love the comments and the recaps more than the drama itself sometimes.

And yes, it's nice to see more ppl watching the drama because of Jung Gyu Woon (Jung Gyeo Woon, Jung Kyeo Woon, Jung Gyeoun) I am confused...........

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